This post has been updated on my new site here.
These words are very useful in practical situations, and I haven’t seen them covered in any textbooks or online resources so I decided to write a post about it. All three words mean ‘worth’ but all used in different contexts.
짜리
- 만원짜리 지폐. A 만원 note. This can be shortened to 만원 지폐
- 만원짜리 것 있어요? Do you have one worth 만원?
- 네 살짜리 아이. 4 year old child. Only suitable for young children
- 방 두 개짜리의 아파트. An apartment with two rooms/bedrooms
This word can be thought of as equating a number, amount or value to something.
어치
- 시금치 3천원어치 주세요. Please give me 3천원 worth of spinach
- 사탕 3킬로어치 주세요. Please give me 3 kilogram worth candy
Generally used for things that can’t be, or would be difficult to count individually like buying spinach, candy, flour, etc.
치
- 일주일치 식사비 드릴게요. Let me give you one week’s worth of meal cost
- 하루치 얼마예요? How much is it for one day?
- 헬스장 한달치 요금 얼마예요? How much is it for one month membership?
Same concept as 어치 but when used in the context of saying some period’s worth you use 치 instead of 어치. Can be extended out to months and years (2달치, 2년치)
