KOREA · LANGUAGE
Korean Numbers and Money Reader
Enter a number or a price in won to see how it is read in Korean, written in Hangul with romanization.
Read a number
Units to know
| Number | Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 십 (sip) | ten |
| 100 | 백 (baek) | hundred |
| 1,000 | 천 (cheon) | thousand |
| 10,000 | 만 (man) | ten thousand (a new unit) |
| 100,000,000 | 일억 (ileok) | hundred million (a new unit) |
Native Korean numbers
- 1: 하나 (hana)
- 2: 둘 (dul)
- 3: 셋 (set)
- 4: 넷 (net)
- 5: 다섯 (daseot)
- 10: 열 (yeol)
- 20: 스물 (seumul)
- 30: 서른 (seoreun)
How Korean numbers work
Sino-Korean numbers are built from 일 to 구 (1–9) plus 십 (10), 백 (100) and 천 (1,000). After that, Korean counts in groups of four digits: 만 (10,000), 억 (100 million) and 조 (1 trillion). Readings are spaced at each 만 unit, following Korean spelling rules.
Native Korean numbers change shape before a counter word: 하나 becomes 한, 둘 becomes 두, 셋 becomes 세, 넷 becomes 네 and 스물 becomes 스무.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Korean have two number systems?
Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼) come from Chinese characters and are used for money, dates, minutes and phone numbers. Native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋) are used for counting things, age and hours, and only go up to 99.
How do I read big prices like 1,250,000 won?
Korean groups digits by four, not three. 1,250,000 is 125 만 (ten-thousands), read 백이십오만 원 (baekisipoman won).
Is it 만 원 or 일만 원?
People say 만 원 for ₩10,000; the 일 (one) is usually dropped before 십, 백, 천 and a leading 만. Before 억 it stays: 일억.
More tools
Sources and last updated
- Spacing by 만 units (in Korean): National Institute of Korean Language, Korean spelling rules, Article 44
- Romanization follows the letter-by-letter Revised Romanization of Korean; pronunciation changes are not applied.
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