얼마예요?
To say "how much is it?" in Korean, you use 얼마예요?
얼마예요? is a polite and widely-used way to ask for the price of something. You can also use 얼마인가요? as a common and versatile way to ask how much something is. If you want to ask "How much is this?", you can add 이거 (meaning "this") to the front to say 이거 얼마예요? For a longer phrase with a polite tone, you can use 가격이 어떻게 되나요?
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is built from 얼마, which means "how much" or "how many".
Which one should you use?
While 얼마예요? is a standard polite way to ask for a price, 얼마야? is a casual and abbreviated version. In contrast, 얼마입니까? is a highly formal version used in very professional settings or formal business transactions.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase 얼마예요? is the polite form of "how much is it?" using the polite copula -예요?
Did you know?
- In Korea, you might hear the phrase 깎아 주세요 immediately after learning the price. It means 'please cut it', referring to cutting the price down.
- The phrase is often answered using a different number system than the one used for counting objects, as Korean has two distinct sets of numbers: Native Korean and Sino-Korean.
- When paying after asking 얼마예요?, it is a sign of respect to hand over money or a credit card with both hands or to support your right arm with your left hand.
Examples in context
- 실례합니다, 이거 얼마인가요?Excuse me, how much is this?
- 이거 얼마예요?Can you please tell me how much this is?
- 실례합니다, 가격이 어떻게 되나요?Excuse me, could you please let me know the price?
- 임마, 이거 얼마야?Dude, how much is this?
- 이 사과 얼마예요?i sagwa eolmayeyo?How much is this apple?
- 커피 한 잔에 얼마예요?keopi han jane eolmayeyo?How much is one cup of coffee?
- 그 티셔츠 얼마예요?geu tisyocheu eolmayeyo?How much is that t-shirt?
Example conversation
Ji-eun is asking Do-hyeon about the price of a book at a bookstore.
- 지은 Ji-eun이 책 얼마예요?i chaek eolmayeyo?How much is this book?
- 도현 Do-hyeon만 오천 원이에요.man ocheon won-ieyo.It is fifteen thousand won.
- 지은 Ji-eun조금 비싸네요.jogeum bissaneyo.It is a bit expensive.
- 도현 Do-hyeon맞아요, 정말 비싸요.majayo, jeongmal bissayo.That's right, it is really expensive.
