Lesson 9 - 얼마예요?

About - how to ask how much it is.

There are two numbering systems in Korean: one is pure Korean, and the other one is borrowed from Chinese numbers. The lesson 8 explains how to count one to ten using pure Korean numbering system. This lesson 9 is about counting money in Korean. Usually, pure Korean numbering system is used when counting things such as apple, bottle and book, while numbering system borrowed from Chinese numbers is used when counting years, money and phone numbers.

In the video clip,
Owner: 어서 오세요, 뭐 드릴까요? --- Welcome, what should I get for you?
Customer: 사과 있어요? ------------- Do you have some apple?
Owner: 네, 있어요. ------------------ Yes, we have some apple.
Customer: 얼마예요? ---------------- How much is it? (for an apple)
Owner: 천 원이에요. ---------------- It would be a thousand Won. (for an apple)
Customer: 맛있어요? ---------------- Is it delicious?
Owner: 네, 아주 맛있어요. ---------- Yes, it is very delicious.
Owner: 몇 개 드릴까요? ------------- How many things can I get for you?
Customer: 다섯 개 주세요. ---------- Five, please.
............................
Customer: 이 빵 주세요. ------------ Give me this bread, please.
Customer: 전부 얼마예요? ---------- How much would it be the total price?
Owner: 만 원이에요. ---------------- It would be 10,000 Won.

"얼마예요?" means "how much is it?" and its corresponding answer form is "_ 원이에요." "원 (Won)" is the unit of Korean currency. The phrase "만 원이에요" in the conversation means that it would be 10,000 Won. In general, "(A) 원이에요" means that it would be (A) Won, where A is a certain amount of money.

Furthermore, Let's learn more about one of Korean numbering system based on Chinese words. There is a very good reference about the Korean numbering systems from Wikipedia:

Korean numbering Systems: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_numerals

Now you are familar with the Korean numbering systems. "십" is 10, "백" is 100, "천" is 1000 and "만" is 10,000. How do you read the number-10,100-in Korean? 1o,000 plus 100 equals 10,100, so the number 10,100 can be read "만 백" in Korean. How do you read the number, 450? 400 plus 50 equals 450, so it is "사 백 오 십." When counting money, simply add the unit "원 (Won)" to the end of number. For example, 오 천 원, 만 원, 천 원, 삼 백 원, etc.

How do you read the numbers below?
65,300 원, 7,150 원, 550 원, 20 원, 9,310 원

Expressions
얼마예요? (eolma-yeyo) --- How much is it?
_ 원이에요. (_ Won-ieyo) -- It would be _ Won.

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean