Korean groups large numbers every four digits using the units 만, 억, and 조, following the same myriad pattern as Chinese and Japanese. This tool converts a number into both the mixed digit form and a Sino-Korean Hangul reading.
How it works
The number is split into 4-digit groups from the right, and each non-zero group is tagged with its myriad unit:
만 = 10,000 (10^4)
억 = 100,000,000 (10^8)
조 = 1,000,000,000,000 (10^12)
경 = 10^16Within each group the digits use 천 백 십 and the Sino-Korean numerals 일-구, and
a leading 일 is dropped before 십, 백, and 천. So 123456789 becomes the digit form
1억2345만6789 and the Hangul 일억 이천삼백사십오만 육천칠백팔십구.
Example and notes
Entering 123456789 gives 1억2345만6789 and the Hangul reading above, with a
space separating each myriad block as Korean convention prefers. The mixed digit
form is the everyday way large numbers appear in Korean reporting and finance.
All work is done in your browser, so your numbers stay private.
Why the myriad system creates confusion for Western readers
A Western reader trained on comma-every-three-digits grouping sees 10,000,000 as “ten million.” A Korean reader sees 천만 — literally “one thousand ten-thousands.” The unit shift happens at 10^4 (만), then again at 10^8 (억), not at 10^6 and 10^9. This is why Korean financial reporting looks misaligned to someone expecting Western notation: a headline might say “매출 1조 5천억 원” for a figure that in Western terms is 1.5 trillion won, but the decomposition is 1 조 + 5,000 억, which only makes sense once you have internalised the four-digit stacking.
| Korean unit | Factor | Western equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 만 | 10^4 | ten thousand |
| 억 | 10^8 | hundred million |
| 조 | 10^12 | one trillion |
| 경 | 10^16 | ten quadrillion |
The mixed-digit notation used in Korean media
In practice, Korean newspapers, stock tickers, and government statistics rarely spell large numbers out entirely in Hangul. Instead they use the mixed form — Arabic digits for the numeral within each myriad group, then the Korean unit character — because it is faster to read at a glance. For example:
- 50,000,000 → 5천만 (as Hangul) or 5000만 (mixed digit form)
- 1,200,000,000 → 12억 (mixed digit) — “12 hundred-millions”
- 5,000,000,000,000 → 5조 (mixed digit)
This tool outputs both the full Hangul spelling and the mixed digit form, so you can use whichever is appropriate for your context.
The 일 elision rule in detail
Korean convention omits 일 (“one”) before 십 (10), 백 (100), and 천 (1,000) within a myriad group, but keeps it before 만, 억, 조, and 경 at the myriad boundary. So:
- 1,000 → 천 (not 일천)
- 1,100 → 천백 (not 일천일백)
- 10,000 → 만 (not 일만) — this is actually dropped in many everyday contexts but can appear in formal writing
- 100,000,000 → 일억 (일 is retained at the 억 boundary in formal contexts)
The tool follows the most common convention: elide before sub-unit positions, retain before myriad unit labels where ambiguity would arise.