A million won? Think in 만.
He guessed millions. The answer? ₩200,000.
Learn the simple way to read Korean money amounts.
How much did he make?
Watch the Short, then read along. Listen for 백만 원 and 이십만 원.
The speakers use casual Korean with each other.
Transcript
Read the Korean first. Reveal each English translation when you need it.
Reveal English
Hey, do you know how much I made yesterday through trading stocks?
Reveal English
1 million Won?
Reveal English
No.
Reveal English
2 million Won?
Reveal English
No, no.
Reveal English
3 million Won?
Reveal English
200 thousand Won.
Reveal English
You made a lot.
Reveal English
I made 200 thousand Won.
Reveal English
No but still. 200 thousand Won is a lot too.
Reveal English
I didn't make as much as you guessed.
Reveal English
I shouldn't have said anything.
Reveal English
No. It was still a good story.
만 = 10,000. That’s the trick.
For money, use Sino-Korean numbers: 일, 이, 삼… Think in groups of 10,000, then add 원 (won).
For amounts ending in four zeros: remove those four zeros, read what’s left in Korean, then add 만 원.
| Amount | Think | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| ₩10,000 | 1 × 10,000 | 만 원 |
| ₩50,000 | 5 × 10,000 | 오만 원 |
| ₩100,000 | 10 × 10,000 | 십만 원 |
| ₩200,000 | 20 × 10,000 | 이십만 원 |
| ₩1,000,000 | 100 × 10,000 | 백만 원 |
| ₩2,000,000 | 200 × 10,000 | 이백만 원 |
| ₩3,000,000 | 300 × 10,000 | 삼백만 원 |
Normally, say 만, not 일만, for 10,000. Likewise, 100 is 백, so 1,000,000 is 백만.
What if the last four digits aren’t zero?
Split off the last four digits. Read the left side with 만, then read the remainder.
That’s 20,000 + 5,000. Below 10,000, you don’t need 만: ₩5,000 = 오천 원.
The joke: the guesses go from 백만 to 삼백만—but he made 이십만. Still a nice amount. Just a smaller reveal. 😅
Can you count it?
Two quick checks, then a price of your own.
Try ₩50,000, ₩250,000, or an amount of your own. This is free practice; it isn’t automatically graded or submitted.
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