How to Say Large Numbers in Korean: 100, 1,000, 10,000+

What you'll learn

• Split any number into groups of four digits and name each group.
• Read numbers up to 999,999,999,999 with 만 and 억, and recognise 조 above them.
• Say 1,500,000 as 백오십만 and 3,500,000,000 as 삼십오억.
• Skip zero groups correctly and know when 일 is kept.

Prerequisites: Sino-Korean numbers 1-100. Estimated time: 45 minutes.

How to Say Large Numbers in Korean

Korean says large numbers in groups of four digits, and English says them in groups of three. English has a new word at every third digit (thousand, million, billion), while Korean has a new word at every fourth digit (만, 억, 조). So the central skill is to regroup the digits before you read them.

The commas in a written number follow the English habit and fall every three digits. They do not tell you where to say 만. Ignore the commas, and count four digits from the right instead.

Look at the middle column and the last one together. A million is 백만, which literally means "100 ten-thousands". There is no single Korean word for one million, one hundred thousand or one billion, and that is why English-style thinking fails. You read them as small numbers in front of 만 or 억.

The method is simple to state: split in fours, read each group as a small number, and add the group's unit. The next section turns that sentence into steps.

How Do You Read a Big Number Step by Step?

To read a big number, mark groups of four digits from the right, read each group with 천, 백 and 십, add the group unit and skip any group that is all zeros. Four steps cover every case, and the method is the same for money, populations and distances.

1. Mark groups of four from the right. For 1,500,000 this gives 150 | 0000.
2. Read each group as a small number. The group 150 is 백오십. The group 0000 is empty, so it is skipped.
3. Add the group unit. The first group of four digits has no unit, the second has 만, the third has 억 and the fourth has 조. Here the 150 sits in the 만 group, so it becomes 백오십만.
4. Read the groups left to right. Join them in order and stop. The full reading is 백오십만.

You will know the reading is right if you can rebuild the digits: 백오십 (150) times 만 (10,000) is 1,500,000.

Now take a larger case with every group filled in: 123,456,789.

The reading looks long, but each group is small. A group never goes above 9,999, and you already know how to read numbers up to 9,999 from the Sino-Korean 1-100 lesson plus 백 and 천. The spacing follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) spelling rule (한글 맞춤법 제44항) that large numbers are written with a space at each 만 unit, which is why the reading has a space after 일억 and after 만.

What Are the Units 십 to 조?

The units 십, 백, 천, 만, 억 and 조 are the building blocks of every large number. The first three repeat inside each group, and the last three name the groups. The table lists them with their powers of ten.

The bold rows are the jumps of four zeros. Each is 10,000 times the unit before it: 만 is 10,000, 억 is 10,000 times 만, and 조 is 10,000 times 억. This regular jump is the reason the method works for any size.

Beyond 조 the names continue in the same four-zero steps: 경 (10¹⁶) comes next, then 해 (10²⁰). Learners almost never need them. Money and populations stop at 조, which already means a trillion.

For prices, the unit 만 is the most useful, and the page on 10,000 in Korean covers it in depth. The lesson on Korean numbers million and billion applies 억 and 조 to money.

Worked Examples with Real-Sized Figures

Three figures from daily life show the method at three sizes. The figures are examples for practice and not statistics.

A monthly rent of 3,500,000 won. Regroup 3,500,000 as 350 | 0000. The group 350 is 삼백오십, and the unit is 만. The reading is 삼백오십만 원.

A city of 51,000,000 people. Regroup 51,000,000 as 5100 | 0000. The group 5100 is 오천백, and the unit is 만. The reading is 오천백만 명.

A budget of 2,000,000,000,000 won. Regroup it as 2 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000. Only the first group is not zero, and its unit is 조. The reading is 이조 원.

Notice that the unit word follows the number and a counter follows the unit. The counter 원 is for money, and 명 is for people. Large counts of people use Sino-Korean numbers, as in 오천백만 명, while small groups use native numbers, such as 열 명. The lesson on the Korean counter won explains how 원 behaves.

The largest number in the outcome of this lesson is 999,999,999,999. Regroup it as 9999 | 9999 | 9999 and read each group in turn: 구천구백구십구억 구천구백구십구만 구천구백구십구. Every group is the largest four-digit number, so this figure shows the longest reading you will need.

Which Large Numbers Come up in Daily Talk?

Large numbers appear in conversations about rent, pay and deposits, and these are the places where learners most need the 만 and 억 groups. The table shows five phrases with the amount, the word for the thing and the reading.

The amounts are sample figures for practice and not quoted prices. Each one follows the four steps: 500,000 is 50 | 0000, which gives 오십만; 50,000,000 is 5000 | 0000, which gives 오천만; and 500,000,000 is 5 | 0000 | 0000, which gives 오억. When you hear 만, you know the digits before it sit in the second group from the right, and when you hear 억, they sit in the third.

What Happens with Zeros?

Zeros are never read inside a Korean number (digit strings such as phone numbers are different and use 공). A zero inside a group is skipped, and a group that is all zeros is skipped completely. You do not say 영 in the middle of a number.

The last row shows an important point. In 일억 일, the middle group 0000 is skipped, but the final 일 stays, because it is a real digit at the end of the number. A zero never needs a word, but a 1 at the end always does.

When Is 일 Dropped and When Is It Kept?

Drop 일 before 십, 백 and 천, and before the first 만, but keep it before 억 and 조 and when it ends the number. This is the part of the system that causes most doubts, so the table sets out the pattern.

The formal form 일만 exists in legal and written documents, and some speakers say 일천 or 일백 in formal writing. These are written variants. In everyday speech, say 만 원 and 천 원, and never 일만 원 or 일천 원. Inside a longer number, a 만 group of exactly 1 is less settled: for 100,010,000 you may hear both 일억 만 and 일억 일만. When the 1 is the last digit of a larger 만 group, it is always said, as in 십일만 (110,000).

How Do You Convert English Million and Billion?

To convert English words to Korean, count the zeros and divide by four. One million has six zeros, which is one group of four plus two zeros, so it is 100 groups of 만 and reads 백만. The table gives the common conversions.

Notice the pattern in the Korean column: 백만, 천만, 일억, 십억, 백억, 천억, 일조. The numbers run 백, 천, 일, 십, 백, 천, 일 in front of the group unit. This repeating cycle is the whole logic of the system. Once you hear it, you will see it in every large number.

How Are Large Numbers Pronounced?

Large numbers keep the sound changes of their parts, and a few combinations are worth hearing. According to the standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the National Institute of Korean Language, a final ㅂ, ㄱ or ㄹ interacts with the sound that follows.

These are the sound changes you will hear in conversation. You write the numbers as they are spelled, and you let the sound happen: 백만 is written 백만 but said [뱅만].

Common Mistakes and Fixes

Most mistakes with large numbers come from reading in threes or from carrying English words into Korean. Check each of these before you speak.

1. Reading in threes. Wrong: 백오십 천. Right: 백오십만. Korean has no word for thousands above 천.
2. Saying 영 for a zero. Wrong: 만 영 오십. Right: 만 오십. Zeros are skipped.
3. Adding 일 before 십, 백 or 천. Wrong: 일백오십만. Right: 백오십만.
4. Dropping 일 before 억. Wrong: 억 원 for 100,000,000 won. Right: 일억 원.
5. Mixing up 만 and 억. 만 is four zeros and 억 is eight. Count the zeros.
6. Forgetting the last 일. Wrong: 일억 for 100,000,001. Right: 일억 일.

Limitation: this lesson teaches the standard rules. Some documents write large numbers in digits and words together, and some speakers drop units in casual speech, such as 삼천 for 3,000 won in conversation. Learn the full forms and the table of 일, and let listening teach the shortcuts.

Practice Routine

Three short drills make the method automatic. Do one a day for a week.

1. Regroup drill. Write five numbers with commas and rewrite them in groups of four. For example, 4,500,000 becomes 450 | 0000.
2. Read drill. Read the five numbers aloud using the four steps.
3. Real-life drill. Read three prices or populations from the news or a menu, aloud, in Korean.

You will know the drills work when you can regroup without writing, and when 만 comes out before the digit that follows.

Practice Set

Answer each item before you read the answer line.

1. Read 1,500,000 aloud.
2. Read 35,000 aloud.
3. Read 10,050 aloud.
4. Read 100,000,000 aloud.
5. How do you say one million?
6. Why is 일만 원 not used in prices?

Answers:

1. 백오십만 (baegosimman).
2. 삼만 오천 (samman ocheon).
3. 만 오십 (man osip).
4. 일억 (ireok).
5. 백만 (baengman).
6. Prices use 만 on its own for 10,000. The form 일만 is a formal written variant.

Five or more correct means the method is secure.

What to Learn Next

You can now say large numbers in Korean from 100 to hundreds of billions. Continue in this order:

• 10,000 in Korean for the unit 만 and its everyday uses.
• Korean numbers million and billion to convert English figures in money contexts.
• Korean money numbers for the whole money section.
• Sino-Korean numbers 1-100 if the groups of four still feel shaky.

Frequently Asked Questions