Korean Dictionary
How to say "Billion" in Korean
“Billion” in Korean is 십억 (pronounced "Sibeok").
십억
Sibeok
Usage & Context
십억 means one billion in Korean. Large numbers in Korean use units of 만 (10,000) and 억 (100,000,000) which differs from the Western system. Understanding Korean large number units is important for business and financial conversations.
Example Sentence
이 회사의 연간 매출이 십억 원이 넘어요.
This company annual sales exceed one billion won.
How to use 십억 naturally
Quick answer
The Korean word for “Billion” is 십억, romanized as Sibeok.
Usage tip
Learn this word together with a complete Korean sentence. Meaning often depends on particles, politeness level, and word order.
Common mistake
Do not rely only on the English meaning. Read the Korean example sentence and notice the particles, word order, and politeness level around 십억.
Pronunciation Guide
Pronounced 'shib-uhk' — 'sib' rhymes with 'ship' but with a softer 'b,' and 'eok' is one beat where 'e' is like the 'u' in 'put' and 'ok' is clipped short. Say the two syllables quickly as one unit.
More Example Sentences
discussing Seoul real estate prices
서울 강남 아파트 한 채가 십억을 훌쩍 넘어요.
One apartment in Gangnam, Seoul easily costs over one billion won.
chatting about lottery odds
로또 1등 당첨금이 십억 원쯤 돼요.
The first-prize lotto payout is about one billion won.
reading a tech news headline aloud
그 스타트업이 십억 원 투자를 유치했어요.
That startup secured a one billion won investment.
Cultural Context
Korean counts in groups of 10,000 (만) rather than 1,000, which trips up almost every English speaker — '1 billion' in English is 10억 in Korean (literally '10 hundred-millions'), not '1 billion.' This is why real-estate ads often read '15억' (1.5 billion won) and stock-market chatter uses 억 as the default unit for 'wealthy.' A quick mental shortcut: 1억 ≈ \$70–80K USD, so 십억 (10억) ≈ \$700–800K, which is roughly the entry price of a modest Gangnam apartment as of 2025. In spoken Korean, people often drop 원 and just say '집이 십억이야' — 'the house is ten billion' — and context makes it clear they mean won.
Editorial note
We review entries like 십억 for pronunciation, example sentence fit, and learner mistakes so the page answers more than a direct dictionary lookup.
Reviewed by Min-jung Park, Korean Language Teacher. Updated May 31, 2026. See our editorial standards.
Common Phrases
집값이 십억이 넘어요.
The house price is over one billion won.
십억 원을 벌고 싶어요.
I want to earn one billion won.
로또 당첨되면 십억이야!
If you win the lotto, it's one billion won!
Related Expressions
억
eok
hundred million (10^8)
만
man
ten thousand (10^4)
조
jo
trillion (10^12)
백만장자
baek-man-jang-ja
millionaire
More Numbers and Time Words
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