Korean grammar · Level 1 · 1급
일 · 이 · 삼 … + 원
Sino-Korean numbers and money
Korean has two sets of numbers. The Sino-Korean set (from Chinese) is used for money, minutes, dates, phone numbers and floors. Two habits to learn: say 천 and 만 on their own, never 일천 or 일만; and count big numbers in units of 만 (10,000), not thousands.
| When | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 | 일 이 삼 사 오 육 칠 팔 구 십 | 십오 = 15 · 이십 = 20 |
| 100 · 1,000 · 10,000 | 백 · 천 · 만 | 천 원 · 만 원 (no 일 in front) |
| large numbers count in 만 | 만 | 20,000 = 이만 · 35,000 = 삼만 오천 |
Examples
천 원이에요.
It's 1,000 won.
삼천오백 원이에요.
It's 3,500 won.
만 오천 원이에요.
It's 15,000 won.
Practise it in context · Level 1, Unit 5
Three apples, please
A dialogue with audio, practice that checks itself, Hoya’s mistakes, a reading and a writing task.
Open the unit →