Korean Price Tags and Receipts: Words, Rules and Examples

What you will learn

• Read a Korean receipt and find the total, the VAT, the payment type and the change.
• Read a price aloud in Sino-Korean numbers, such as 15,500원 as 만 오천오백 원.
• Ask for a receipt, a refund or an exchange.

Before you start: you should read Hangul blocks, as covered in how to read Hangul. Time: about 30 minutes. Audio plays only when you press a button.

Key Facts

• 합계 is the total, 부가세 is value-added tax (VAT) and 거스름돈 is the change.
• A receipt line reads 상품명 (item), 단가 (unit price), 수량 (quantity) and 금액 (amount), and 단가 × 수량 = 금액.
• Payment types include 현금 (cash) and 카드 (card), and 일시불 means paid in one lump.
• Prices carry commas every three digits, but Korean says numbers in units of 만 (ten thousand).
• 부가세 포함 means tax included, and 부가세 별도 means tax is added on top.
• Refunds use 환불 and exchanges use 교환.

*Last updated: 2026-10-09. The Korean text, romanization and audio scripts on this page are AI-assisted drafts.

What Are Korean Price Tags and Receipts?

Korean price tags and receipts are the short printed texts that tell you what an item costs and what you paid. A price tag sits on a shelf or a product and shows a name and a price, for example 아이스 아메리카노 4,500원. A receipt (영수증) lists everything you bought, the total, the tax and how you paid.

Both texts are built from nouns and numbers, not sentences. Once you know about twenty nouns, you can read almost any receipt in Korea. The numbers use the Sino-Korean system, the same one used for money, which is covered in Korean money numbers and Sino-Korean numbers.

A receipt is also a safety tool. It shows whether you were charged the right amount, whether the right change came back, and what to bring if you need a refund. This lesson teaches you to check three numbers: the total, the tax and the change. First, why this is harder than it looks.

Why Do English Speakers Struggle with Korean Receipts?

English speakers struggle because the words are abbreviated nouns they have never seen, and because large numbers are grouped differently in speech and in print. In English, "total", "tax" and "change" are familiar. In Korean, 합계, 부가세 and 거스름돈 have no look-alike words. And a number such as 15,500 is printed with a comma after the thousands, but Korean says it as 만 오천오백, counting in units of ten thousand.

The solution is to learn the receipt as a fixed layout, which is the next section.

How Is a Receipt Laid Out?

A typical Korean receipt is laid out in three blocks: the items, the totals and the payment. Here is a three-line example written as live text. It is a typical layout, not a photograph of one particular shop.

Read the example in the order of a decision. The item block tells you what you bought. The 단가 is the price of one item, the 수량 is how many, and the 금액 is the amount for the line. The rule is 단가 × 수량 = 금액: 4,500 × 2 = 9,000, and 6,500 × 1 = 6,500. The totals block adds the lines: 9,000 + 6,500 = 15,500, which is the 합계.

The 부가세 line is not an extra charge here. The price already contained the tax, so the receipt splits the total into the taxable amount (14,091) and the tax (1,409), and 14,091 + 1,409 = 15,500. The payment block shows what you gave and what comes back: 20,000 − 15,500 = 4,500, the 거스름돈.

Three numbers are worth checking every time.

1. 합계 is what you should have paid.
2. 부가세 is only part of that total, not a new charge.
3. 거스름돈 should equal the cash you gave minus the total.

합계 is spoken [합꼐]: the ㅂ makes the following ㄱ tense, and 계 is often said like 게. 거스름돈 is spoken [거스름똔], with a tense ㄷ. The Revised Romanization is hapgye and geoseureumdon, and it does not show the tensing. Next come the words themselves.

Which Words Do I Need Most?

You need about twenty words for receipts and tags, and they fall into four groups. The table lists them with a note.

Prices end in 원 (won), either after the number (4,500원) or after a won sign (₩4,500). Commas separate every three digits, but the spoken number is built in units of 만 (ten thousand). That is why 4,500 is 사천오백 원 but 15,500 is 만 오천오백 원. Read these numbers aloud:

Notice that 만 is not said as 일만 for a single ten thousand, and 천 is not said as 일천 in a spoken price. In speech, 10,000원 is 만 원, pronounced [마눤]. The sound change in 사천오백 is a link: 천 and 오 join as [사처노백].

Is Tax Included in Korean Prices?

For ordinary shop and cafe prices, yes: the number on a tag or menu is normally the price you pay, and the 부가세 line only shows how much of it is tax. The standard VAT rate is 10 percent, which is why 15,500 contains 1,409 of tax (15,500 ÷ 11, rounded).

Two tags change the picture.

부가세 별도 appears most on business quotes and some service price lists. Read it as "plus tax". The rate and rules can change, so the National Tax Service (nts.go.kr) is the source to check. The sound change in 부가세 별도 is a tense ㄷ after ㄹ: 별도 is spoken [별또], while the romanization byeoldo does not show it.

Now the price tags on shelves.

How Do I Read Unit Prices?

A unit price tells you the price per fixed amount, so you can compare sizes. On food and drink tags it is often written per 100 g or per 100 mL, for example 100g당 1,200원, which means "1,200 won per 100 grams". The big number on the tag is the price of the pack. The small line is the unit price.

To compare two packs, use the small line, not the big number. A 300 g pack at 3,000원 and a 500 g pack at 4,500원 are not equal: the first costs 1,000원 per 100 g and the second 900원 per 100 g. Always match the unit before you compare.

Some menus print prices in thousands, such as 4.5 for 4,500원. That is covered in how to read a Korean menu. Opening hours and closing days on shop signs are covered in Korean store hours signs.

How Do I Ask for a Refund?

To ask for a refund, say 이거 환불해 주세요 ("please refund this") and show the receipt. To ask for a swap, say 교환해 주세요 ("please exchange it"). Both use the polite request ending -해 주세요, which turns a 하다 verb into a request.

Staff speak in honorific questions that you only need to understand: 영수증 드릴까요? ("shall I give you the receipt?"), 봉투 필요하세요? ("do you need a bag?"), 일시불로 하시겠어요? ("one lump sum?") and 현금영수증 해 드릴까요? ("shall I make a cash receipt?").

카드로 할게요 is spoken [카드로 할께요]: the ㄱ in 게 becomes tense after the -ㄹ ending. A refund policy depends on the shop, so ask the staff and keep your receipt. A 현금영수증 is a record of a cash payment linked to your phone number or a registered card, and it can be used for tax purposes. Rules change, so check nts.go.kr.

Let us walk through one line of a receipt.

Worked Example: 합계

The worked example reads the total line of the receipt above and says it aloud.

1. Find the word. 합 is ㅎ + ㅏ + ㅂ, and 계 is ㄱ + ㅖ. The word is 합계, spoken [합꼐]. It means total.
2. Read the number. 15,500 has a comma after the 15, but Korean counts in 만 units. Split it: 1 (만) 5,500. The spoken form is 만 오천오백.
3. Add the unit. Add 원. The full phrase is 만 오천오백 원.
4. Say the sentence. Join them with the polite copula: 합계는 만 오천오백 원이에요.

5. Check the sum. 9,000 + 6,500 = 15,500, so the total matches the two lines above it.
6. Check the tax. 14,091 + 1,409 = 15,500, so the tax is part of the total.

You will know it worked when you can read any 합계 line and say it as a sentence. The same steps work for 부가세 and 거스름돈. A few mistakes catch learners out.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Korean Receipts?

The most common mistakes are mixing up unit price and amount, treating tax as extra and saying large numbers in thousands.

• Learners often assume 단가 is the price you pay. Actually 단가 is the price of one item, so the line total is 금액 (단가 × 수량), because the quantity may be more than one.
• Learners often assume 부가세 is added to the total. Actually in ordinary shop prices it is already inside the 합계, so you do not pay it twice, because Korean consumer prices are normally shown with tax.
• Learners often assume that 부가세 별도 means the same as 부가세 포함. Actually 별도 means extra, so the final price is higher, because the tax is added after the shown price.
• Learners often say 15,500원 as "fifteen thousand five hundred" in Korean word order. Actually Korean builds the number around 만, so say 만 오천오백 원, because 15,500 is 1 만 and 5,500.
• Learners often assume the big number on a food tag is the unit price. Actually the big number is the pack price, so look for 당 for the unit price, because the small line allows comparison.
• Learners often throw away the receipt. Actually a refund or exchange usually needs it, so keep it until you are sure, because the shop uses it to find your purchase.

Test these in the practice set next.

Practice and Answer Key

Answer each question, then check the key.

1. What does 합계 mean?
2. A line shows 단가 4,000 and 수량 3. What is the 금액?
3. What does 부가세 mean?
4. A tag says 10,000원 부가세 별도. About how much will you pay?
5. Read 20,000원 aloud in Korean.
6. What does 거스름돈 mean?
7. You hand over 20,000원, and the 합계 is 15,500원. What is the change?
8. What does 환불 mean?
9. What are 현금 and 카드?
10. What does 100g당 1,200원 tell you?

Answer key:

1. Total.
2. 12,000 (4,000 × 3).
3. Value-added tax (VAT).
4. About 11,000원, because the tax is added at 10 percent.
5. 이만 원.
6. Change, the money given back.
7. 4,500원 (20,000 − 15,500).
8. Refund.
9. Cash and card.
10. The price is 1,200 won per 100 grams.

For a speaking task, read the receipt table aloud, line by line, using the spoken numbers. Then play the model for the total line and say it back.

Where to Go Next

This lesson covers the common words on a Korean receipt and shelf tag, the three numbers worth checking and basic refund phrases. It does not cover tax filing, travel tax-refund schemes or the legal rules on returns. The receipt is a typical layout, not a photograph of one shop, and real receipts differ in the order and exact labels. Rules on tax and refunds change, so check nts.go.kr and the shop's own policy.

Next: Korean store hours signs, which reads opening hours, break time and closing days. For sentences to say at the till, see Korean shopping phrases. To return to the other lessons, see Real-World Texts (Signs, Menus).

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 합계 mean? 합계 means total. On a receipt it is the final sum of all item amounts, and it is the number you pay. It is spoken [합꼐]. Do not confuse it with 금액, which is the amount for one line, or with 부가세, which is the part of the total that is tax.

How do I read a Korean receipt? Read it from top to bottom in four steps. Find the item lines (상품명, 단가, 수량, 금액), then the total (합계), then the tax line (부가세), then the payment and change (결제 방법, 받은 금액, 거스름돈). Check that 단가 times 수량 equals 금액 on each line.

Is tax included in Korean prices? For ordinary shop and cafe prices, yes: the price on the tag or menu is normally the price you pay, and the 부가세 line on the receipt only shows how much of it is tax. The standard VAT rate is 10 percent. A price marked 부가세 별도 means the tax is added on top. Check the National Tax Service at nts.go.kr for current rules.

How do I ask for a receipt? Say 영수증 주세요 (please give me the receipt). Staff often ask first: 영수증 드릴까요? means "shall I give you the receipt?" and you can answer 네, 주세요 or 아니요, 괜찮아요. If you pay cash, you may also hear 현금영수증 해 드릴까요?, which asks whether you want a cash receipt for tax records.

What is a 현금영수증? 현금영수증 means cash receipt. It is an electronic record of a cash payment that is linked to your phone number or a registered card, and it can be used for tax purposes. The staff ask 현금영수증 해 드릴까요? when you pay cash. Rules and benefits change, so check the National Tax Service at nts.go.kr.

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