Korean money and prices: how to say won amounts
Prices are always Sino-Korean numbers + 원 (won). The one thing to master is 만 = 10,000 — Korean prices are counted in 만, not in thousands.
Bills, coins and round amounts
| Amount | Korean | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| ₩10 | 십 원 | sip won |
| ₩50 | 오십 원 | osip won |
| ₩100 | 백 원 | baek won |
| ₩500 | 오백 원 | obaek won |
| ₩1,000 | 천 원 | cheon won |
| ₩5,000 | 오천 원 | ocheon won |
| ₩10,000 | 만 원 | man won |
| ₩50,000 | 오만 원 | oman won |
| ₩100,000 | 십만 원 | simman won |
| ₩1,000,000 | 백만 원 | baengman won |
| ₩10,000,000 | 천만 원 | cheonman won |
| ₩100,000,000 | 일억 원 | ireok won |
Korean bills are ₩1,000, ₩5,000, ₩10,000 and ₩50,000; coins are ₩10, ₩50, ₩100 and ₩500. A ₩10,000 bill is 만 원짜리 (짜리 = “a ___ one”).
Example prices (illustrative)
| Item | Price | Korean | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| A triangle kimbap | ₩1,500 | 천오백 원 | cheonobaek won |
| Coffee to go | ₩4,500 | 사천오백 원 | sacheonobaek won |
| A bowl of naengmyeon | ₩12,000 | 만 이천 원 | man icheon won |
| Taxi across town | ₩15,800 | 만 오천팔백 원 | man ocheonpalbaek won |
| Concert ticket | ₩154,000 | 십오만 사천 원 | siboman sacheon won |
| A month's rent (studio) | ₩650,000 | 육십오만 원 | yuksiboman won |
Prices above are round examples for practice, not current prices.
The 만 trick
- Move the comma four digits from the right: ₩154,000 → 15,4000.
- Read the left part + 만: 15 → 십오만.
- Read the rest: 4000 → 사천. Total: 십오만 사천 원.
Remember: ₩10,000 is 만 원 (not 일만 원), but ₩100,000,000 is 일억 원.
At the shop
- 얼마예요? — How much is it?
- 전부 얼마예요? — How much is it all together?
- 카드 돼요? — Can I pay by card?
- 영수증 주세요. — A receipt, please.
Test yourself at the convenience store quiz — the cashier says the total, you pick the right amount.
Practice on paper: Korean Numbers Practice Pack
$5 · printable PDF. 20 worksheets that follow this site — Sino and native drills, counters, telling time with clock faces, prices and receipts, dates, phone numbers and role-play dialogs — with a full answer key, plus a one-page cheat sheet of both number systems. US Letter, A4 works too.
Practice pack — launching soon
Still learning to read Hangul? The beginner workbook starts from the letters in your own name.
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