English Korean Adjectives Hangul Script

Colors
Black comdjung sehk 검정색
Blue pah rahn sehk 파란색
Brown kal sehk 갈색
Gray hweh sehk 회색
Green nok sehk 녹색
Orange choohwang sehk 주황색
Purple pohrah sehk 보라색
Red pahlgahn sehk 빨간색
White hayahn sehk 하얀색
Yellow nohrahn sehk 노란색
Sizes
Big koodaa 크다.
Deep keehpdaa 깊다.
Long kildaa 길다.
Narrow chohpdaa 좁다.
Short (in height) chahkdaa 작다.
Short (in length) chalpdaa 짧다.
Small, little chahkdaa 작다.
Tall koodaa 크다.
Thick gooltaa 굵다.
Thin yaltaa 얇다.
Wide nultaa 넓다.
Shapes
Round doonguldaa 둥글다.
Straight gohtaa 곧다.
Square sahgahkyung 사각형
Triangular sahmgahk 삼각
English Korean Hangul Adjectives

Tastes
Bitter suedaa 쓰다.
Fresh shinsunhadaa 신선하다.
Salty chah daa 짜다.
Sour shi daa 시다.
Spicy map daa 맵다.
Sweet dahl daa 달다.
Qualities
Bad nahpoodaa 나쁘다.
Clean kehkootahdaa 깨끗하다.
Dark uhdooptaa 어둡다.
Difficult uhryuptaa 어렵다.
Dirty duhruptah 더럽다.
Dry gundjohadaa 건조하다.
Easy shipdaa 쉽다.
Empty pidaa 비다.
Expensive pisahdaa 비싸다.
Fast paroodaa 빠르다.
Foreign wehgookui 외국의
Full chadaa 차다.
Good chotaa 좋다.
Hard (firm) tahn dahn hadaa 단단하다.
Heavy mooguptaa 무겁다.
Inexpensive sadaa 싸다.
Light (illumination) chundeung 전등
Light (weight) kapyuptaa 가볍다.
Local chiyuk 지역
New sehrohwoon 새로운
Noisy sihkooruhwoon 시끄러운
Old (about things) ohrehdwehdaa 오래되다.
Old (about people) naheegah duldaa 나이가 들다.
Powerful kanghadaa 강하다.
Quiet choyonghadaa 조용하다.
Right / Correct mahtsumnidaa 맞습니다.
Slow chuhn chuhn hee 천천히
Soft poohdoorupdaa 부드럽다.
Very ahdjoo 아주
Weak yahkadaa 약하다.
Wet chuhtaa 젖다.
Wrong / Incorrect tuleedaa 틀리다.
Young chumtaa 젊다.
Quantities
Few / Little chokum 조금
Many / Much mahnee 많이
Part pooboon 부분
Some / A few chokumui 조금의
Whole chuncheh 전체

learn korean

Sunday eeryoheel 일요일
Monday wuhryoheel 월요일
Tuesday hwa-yoheel 화요일
Wednesday sue-yoheel 수요일
Thursday mo gyoeel 목요일
Friday gumyoeel 금요일
Saturday toh yoeel 토요일
Yesterday uhdjeh 어제
Today ohnul 오늘
Tomorrow neheel 내일
Day naht 낮
Night paam 밤
Week chooh 주
Month wuhl 월
Year nyuhn 년
Second cho 초
Minute boohn 분
Hour sih 시
Morning ah-chim 아침
Evening chuh-nyuhk 저녁
Above / Over wee / wee 위 / 위
After / Past who / chi-nahn 후 / 지난
Back / Behind dwee / dwee 뒤 / 뒤
Before / In front of / Forward chuhn / ____ ui ahp / ahp 전 / __의 앞 / 앞
Between sahee 사이
Coordinates jwa pyo 좌표
Degrees doh 도
Down ah-reh 아래
East tong 동
Far muhli 멀리
Longitude kyung-doh 경도
Left when-chok 왼쪽
Latitude wee-doh 위도
My position is ___. cheh weechinun _______ imneedaa 제 위치는 ____ 입니다.
Near gaa kahp geh 가깝게
North book 북
Northeast book dong chok 북동쪽
Northwest book suh chok 북서쪽
Right ohroon chok 오른쪽
South nahm 남
Southeast nahm dong chok 남동쪽
Southwest nahm suh chok 남서쪽
Straight ahead. ahpooroh chikdjin 앞으로 직진.
Under ah reh 아래
Up wee 위
West suh 서

How to Introduce Yourself

Do you speak (English/ Korean)? Yŏng-ŏ/han-gu-gŏ hal jul a-se-yo? 영어/한국어 할 줄 아세요?
Just a little. Cho-gŭ-myo. 조금요.
What's your name? I-rŭ-mi ŏ-ttŏ-k'e dwoe-se-yo? 이름이 어떻게 되세요?
My name is ... Chŏ-nŭn_____i-e-yo. 저는 ____이에요.
Mr.../ Mrs.…/ Miss… Sŏn-saeng-nim/sa-mo-nim. *3 선생님/ 사모님 (Mrs.)
Nice to meet you! Man-na-sŏ ban-gap-ssŭm-ni-da! 만나서 반갑습니다!
You're very kind! Nŏ-mu ch'in-jŏ-ra-shi-ne-yo! 너무 친절하시네요!
Where are you from? Ŏ-di-sŏ o-shiŏ-ssŏ-yo? 어디서 오셨어요?
I'm from (the U.S/ Korea) Chŏ-nŭn (mi-guk/han-guk)-e-sŏ wa-ssŏ-yo.
저는 (미국/한국) 에서 왔어요.
I'm (American) Chŏ-nŭn (mi-gu-gin)-i-e-yo. 저는 (미국인)이에요.
Where do you live? Ŏ-di sa-se-yo? 어디 사세요?
I live in (the U.S/ Korea) Chŏ-nŭn (mi-guk/han-guk)-e-sŏ sa-ra-yo.
저는 (미국/한국)에서 살아요.
Did you like it here? Yŏ-gi-ga cho-ŭ-se-yo? 여기가 좋으세요?
Korea is a wonderful country Han-gu-gŭn dae-dan-han na-ra-im-ni-da.
한국은 대단한 나라입니다.
What do you do for a living? Chik-tchang-ŭn ŏ-ttŏ-k'e dwoe-se-yo? 직장은 어떻게 되세요?
I work as a (translator/ businessman) Chik-tchang-ŭn (pŏ-nyŏk-tcha/sa-ŏp-kka)-im-ni-da.
직장은 (번역자/사업가)입니다.
I like Korean Chŏ-nŭn han-gu-gŏ-ga cho-a-yo. 저는 한국어가 좋아요.
I've been learning Korean for 1 month Han-gu-gŏ gong-bu shi-ja-k'an ji han da-ri dwoe-ŏ-ssŏ-yo.
한국어 공부 시작한 지 한 달이 되었어요.
Oh! That's good! U-wa! Cho-ŭ-ne-yo! 우와! 좋으네요!
How old are you? Na-i-ga ŏ-ttŏ-k'e dwoe-se-yo? 나이가 어떻게 되세요?
I'm (twenty, thirty...) years old. Chŏ-nŭn (sŭ-mu/sŏ-rŭn)-sa-ri-e-yo. 저는 (스무/서른)살이에요.
I have to go Ka-bwa-ya dwoe-yo. 가봐야 돼요.
I will be right back! Kŭm-bang ga-tta ol-kke-yo. 금방 갔다 올께요.
Wish Someone Something
Good luck! Hang-u-nŭl bim-ni-da! 행운을 빕니다!
Happy birthday! Sang-il ch'u-k'a-ham-ni-da! 생일 축하합니다!
Happy new year! Sae-hae-bok ma-ni pa-dŭ-se-yo! 새해복 많이 받으세요!
Merry Christmas! Me-ri k'ŭ-ri-sŭ-ma-sŭ! 메리 크리스마스!


Congratulations! Ch'u-k'a-dŭ-rim-ni-da! 축하드립니다!
Enjoy! (for meals...) Ma-ni dŭ-se-yo! 많이 드세요!
I'd like to visit Korea one day Ŏn-jen-ga-nŭn han-gu-ge ka-go shi-p'ŏ-yo.
언젠가는 한국에 가고 싶어요.
Say hi to John for me Cha-nan-t'e an-bu-rŭl chŏ-nae-ju-se-yo.
잔한테 안부를 전해주세요.
Bless you (when sneezing) (No reaction, as if nothing happened) -
Good night and sweet dreams! Dwae-ji-kkum kku-se-yo! 돼지꿈 꾸세요!
Solving a Misunderstanding
I'm Sorry! (if you don't hear something) Mwŏ-ra-go-yo? 뭐라고요?
Sorry (for a mistake) Choe-song-ham-ni-da. 죄송합니다.
No Problem! A-ni-e-yo. 아니에요.
Can You Say It Again? Ta-shi han-bŏn mal-ssŭ-mae-ju-shi-ge-ssŏ-yo?
다시 한번 말씀해주시겠어요?
Can You Speak Slowly? Ch'ŏn-ch'ŏ-ni mal-ssŭ-mae ju-shi-ge-ssŏ-yo?
천천히 말씀해 주시겠어요?
Write It Down Please! Chŏ-gŏ ju-se-yo! 적어 주세요!
I Don't Understand! Mo-na-ra-dŭt-kke-ssŏ-yo. 못 알아 듣겠어요.
I Don't Know! Mo-rŭ-ge-ssŏ-yo. 모르겠어요.
I Have No Idea. Chŏ-nyŏ mo-rŭ-ge-ssŏ-yo. 전혀 모르겠어요.
What's That Called In Korean? Kŭ-gŏt han-gung-mal-lo mwŏ-ra-go hae-yo?
그것 한국말로 뭐라고 해요?
What Does "gato" Mean In English? Da-nŭn yŏng-ŏ-ro mu-sŭn ttŭ-shi-e-yo?
”단”은 영어로 무슨 뜻이에요?
How Do You Say "Please" In Korean? “Please”rŭl han-gung-mal-lo ŏ-ttŏ-k'e ma-rae-yo?
“Please”를 한국말로 어떻게 말해요?
What Is This? I-ge mwŏ-ye-yo? 이게 뭐예요?
My Korean is bad. Chŏ-nŭn han-gung-mal chal-mo-t'ae-yo. 저는 한국말 잘못 해요.
I need to practice my Korean Han-gung-mal yŏn-sŭ-p'ae-ya dwoe-yo. 한국말 연습해야 돼요.
Don't worry! Kŏk-tchŏng ma-se-yo! 걱정 마세요!
Korean Expressions and Words
Good/ Bad/ So-So. Cho-a-yo./An-jo-a-yo./Kŭ-jŏ kŭ-rae-yo.
좋아요./안 좋아요./ 그저 그래요.
Big/ Small K'ŭn/Cha-gŭn *4 큰/작은
Today/ Now O-nŭl/Chi-gŭm 오늘/지금
Tomorrow/ Yesterday Nae-il/Ŏ-je 내일/어제
Yes/ No Ne/A-ni-yo. 네/아니요.
Here you go! (when giving something) Yŏ-gi-yo! 여기요!
Do you like it? Kwaen-ch'a-na-yo? 괜찮아요?
I really like it! Nŏ-mu cho-a-yo! 너무 좋아요!
I'm hungry/ thirsty. Pae-go-p'a-yo./Mong-mal-la-yo. 배고파요. / 목말라요.
In The Morning/ Evening/ At Night. A-ch'i-me/Chŏ-nyŏ-ge/Pa-me 아침에/저녁에/밤에
This/ That. Here/There I-gŏt/Kŭ-gŏt. Yŏ-gi/Kŏ-gi. *5 이것/그것. 여기/거기
Me/ You. Him/ Her. Chŏ/... Kŭ-bun/Kŭ-bun 저/title 그분/ 그분
Really! Chŏng-mal-lyo? 정말요?
Look! Po-se-yo! 보세요!
Hurry up! Sŏ-du-rŭ-se-yo! 서두르세요!
What? Where? Mwŏ-yo? Ŏ-di-yo? 뭐요? 어디요?
What time is it? Myŏ-sshi-ye-yo? 몇시예요?
It's 10 o'clock. 07:30pm. Yŏl-sshi-ye-yo. Il-gop-sshi ba-ni-e-yo. 열시예요. 일곱시 반이에요.
Give me this! I-gŏt ju-se-yo! 이것 주세요! .
I love you! Sa-rang-hae-yo! 사랑해요!
I feel sick. A-p'a-yo. 아파요.
I need a doctor Ŭi-sa-ga p'i-ryo-hae-yo. 의사가 필요해요.
One, Two, Three Il, i, sam / ha-na, tul, set *6 일, 이, 삼 / or / 하나, 둘, 셋
Four, Five, Six Sa, o, ryuk / net, ta-sŏt, yŏ-sŏt 사, 오, 륙/ or/ 넷, 다섯, 여섯
Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten Ch'il, p'al, ku, ship / il-gop, yŏ-dŏl, a-hop, yŏl
칠, 팔, 구, 십/ or/ 일곱

learn korean -verbs

Verbs - Polite [Present, Past]
Verbs - Polite Form
While the informal form in (Verbs - Present, Past) is used between close friends or when older people are talking to younger people in informal situations. The polite form is used commonly between adults, by people in formal situations or when younger people are speaking to older people.
There are two ways of expressing negatives and "안~" form which is more convenient to use is more common than the other.
● Just add 요 at the end of a sentence.
Polite Spoken Form Present Past
Positive 먹어요 먹었어요
Negative 먹지 않아요
안 먹어요 먹지 않았어요
안 먹었어요
• 가다 → 가요 (go)
• 서다 → 서요 (stand)
• 사다 → 사요 (buy)
• 자라다 → 자라요 (grow)
• 하다 → 해요 (do)
• 원하다→ 원해요 (want)
• 구하다 → 구해요 (save)
• 앉다 → 앉아요 (sit)
• 먹다 → 먹어요 (eat)
Below is a table showing the polite written form. It is factual and declarative and so it is usually used in formal speeches, presentations and conferences. The news anchors and reporters also use this form while the newspaper articles use the informal form. Many fairy tales and children's stories use this form, too.
Polite Written Form Present Past
Positive 먹습니다 먹었습니다
Negative 먹지 않습니다
안 먹습니다 먹지 않았습니다
안 먹었습니다

● Rules
I. Plain Form → Polite Written Form (Present)
First Take 다 off a plain verb, then:
1. For verbs without a final consonant, add ㅂ 니다.
• 사다 → 삽니다 = buy
• 가다 → 갑니다 = go
• 자라다 → 자랍니다 = grow
• 하다 → 합니다 = do
• 던지다 → 던집니다 = throw
• 쓰다 → 씁니다 = write
• 빌리다 → 빌립니다 = borrow
2. For verbs with a final consonant, just add 습니다.
• 먹다 → 먹습니다 = eat
• 죽다 → 죽습니다 = die
• 듣다 → 듣습니다 = listen
• 읽다 → 읽습니다 = read
3. For verbs with ㄹ as a final consonant, change ㄹ to ㅂ and add 니다.
• 날다 → 납니다 = fly
• 놀다 → 놉니다 = play
• 밀다 → 밉니다 = push
II. Past Tense → Polite Written Form (Past)
● Take 다 off the past tense of a verb and add 습니다
• 갔다 → 갔습니다 = went
• 왔다 → 왔습니다 = came
• 먹었다 → 먹었습니다 = ate
• 달렸다 → 달렸습니다 = ran
• 썼다 → 썼습니다 = wrote
• 읽었다 → 읽었습니다 = read
• 봤다 → 봤습니다 = watched
Verbs - Descriptive Form II
Verbs - Descriptive Form II
The descriptive form II of verbs takes the meaning of "~ed." (ie. past tense) or is used as a past tense clause involving "who, which, that etc.".
Written Form Plain Descriptive II
Positive 달리다 달린
Negative 달리지 않다 달리지 않은

The Table of Common Verbs and Their Descriptive Forms II
Written Form Plain Descriptive II
Run 달리다 달린
Eat 먹다 먹은
Go 가 다 간
Stand 서다 선
Come 오다 온
Sit 앉다 앉은
Buy 사다 산
Sell 팔다 판
Grow 자라다 자란
Throw 던지다 던진
Borrow 빌리다 빌린
Lend 빌려주다 빌려준
Play 놀다 논
Write 쓰다 쓴
Read 읽다 읽은
Listen to 듣다 들은
Live 살다 산
Die 죽다 죽은

Verbs can be used in front of nouns to describe them, and form a past tense clause involving "who, which, that" of English. For example, the descriptive form II of 떠나다 is 떠난 and 떠난 기차 means a "train which left". Literally, 떠난 means "left" therefore 떠난 기차 = a left train

● Rules

First, take 다 off a verb and then,

1. For verbs with a final consonant, add 은

Eg.
• 먹다 → 먹은 = ate
• 사과 먹은 난쟁이 → a dwarf who ate an apple
• 죽다 → 죽은 = died/dead
• 죽은 병사 → a dead soldier (= a soldier who died)
• 믿다 → 믿지 않은 = disbelieved
• 믿지 않은 토마스 → Thomas who disbelieved
• 읽다 → 읽은 = read (past tense)
• 읽은 기사 → an article that I read

2. For verbs without a final consonant and verbs with ㄹ as a final consonant, replace it with ㄴ as a final consonant.

Eg.
• 빌리다 → 빌린 = borrowed
• 빌린 책 → a book which I borrowed (Lit. a borrowed book)
• 쓰다 →쓴 = wrote
• 성루까가 쓴 복음 = the gospel which St. Luke wrote
• 멈추다 → 멈춘 = stopped
• 버스가 멈춘 곳 = a place where the bus stopped

Sentences: Negatives
• 기다리다 → 기다리지 않은 = didn't wait
• 주님을 기다리지 않은 하인 → a servant who didn't wait for the Lord
• 먹다 → 먹지않은 = didn't eat
• 음식을 먹지 않은 개 = a dog who didn't eat food
• 포기하다 → 포기하지 않은 = didn't give up
• 끝까지 포기하지 않은 욥 = Job who didn't give up till the end

Posted by Luke at 8/31/2008 12:58:00 PM 3 comments Links to this post
Labels: Grammar, Verb
30 August 2008
Verbs - Contiunous
Verbs - Contiunous [~고 있다]

There are two ways of expressing negatives and "안~" form which is more convenient to use is more common than the other.
Written Form Plain Form Present Continuous
Positive 먹다 먹고 있다
Negative 먹지 않다
안 먹다 먹지 않고 있다
안 먹고 있다

Written Form Past Past Continuous
Positive 먹었다 먹고 있었다
Negative 먹지 않았다
안 먹었다 먹지 않고 있었다
안 먹고 있었다

Rules

Take 다 off and add 고 있다 for the positive form and 지 않고 있다 for the negative form.

Note: Replace 다 with 어/아 to change a written form to its spoken form.

Eg.
• 쓰다 → 쓰고 있다 = is writing
• 피터는 책을 쓰고 있다 = Peter is writing a book.
• 듣다 → 듣고 있다 = is listening
• 폴은 설교를 듣고 있다 = Paul is listening to a sermon
• 나는 점심을 먹고 있어 = I am eating lunch
• 줄리아는 안 달리고 있어 = Julia is not running
• 아기는 자지 않고 있었다 = The baby was not sleeping
• 영근 근위병은 버킹엄 궁전앞에서 계속 서고 있었다 = The English guardsman was standing continuously in front of the Buckingham Palace.
Spoken Form
Spoken Form Present Continuous Past Continuous
Positive 먹고 있어 먹고 있었어
Negative 먹지 않고 있어
안 먹고 있어 먹 지 않고 있었어
안 먹고 있었어



Formal Form

While the spoken form above is used between close friends or when older people are talking to younger people in informal situations. The formal form is used commonly between adults, by people in formal situations or when younger people are speaking to older people.

● Just add 요 at the end of a sentence.
Formal Spoken Form Present Continuous Past Continuous
Positive 먹고 있어요 먹고 있었어요
Negative 먹지 않고 있어요
안 먹고 있어요 먹 지 않고 있었어요
안 먹고 있었어요


● Formal Spoken Form → Formal Written Form
Rule: 어요 changes to 습니다
Formal Written Form Present Continuous Past Continuous
Positive 먹고 있습니다 먹고 있었습니다
Negative 먹지 않고 있습니다
안 먹고 있습니다 먹 지 않고 있었습니다
안 먹고 있었습니다

Verbs - Descriptive Form I
Verbs - Descriptive Form I

The descriptive form I of verbs takes the meaning of "~ing." (ie. Continuous), or is used as a present tense clause involving "which, that, who etc.".

Written Form Plain Descriptive I
Positive 달리다 달리는
Negative 달리지 않다 달리지 않는

The Table of Common Verbs and Their Descriptive Forms I
Written Form Plain Descriptive I
Run 달리다 달리는
Eat 먹다 먹는
Go 가 다 가는
Stand 서다 서는
Come 오다 오는
Sit 앉다 앉는
Buy 사다 사는
Sell 팔다 파는
Grow 자라다 자라는
Throw 던지다 던지는
Borrow 빌리다 빌리는
Lend 빌려주다 빌려주는
Play 놀다 노는
Write 쓰다 쓰는
Read 읽다 읽는
Listen to 듣다 듣는
Live 살다 사는
Die 죽다 죽는


These descriptive forms I are used in front of nouns to describe them, and form a present tense clause involving "who, which, that" of English. For example, the descriptive form I of 가다 is 가는 and 가는 기차 means a "train which goes". Literally, 가는 means "going" therefore 가는 기차 = a going train.

● Rules

First, take 다 off a verb and then,

1. add 는

Eg.
• 먹다 → 먹는 = eating
• 사과 먹는 난쟁이 → a dwarf who eats an apple (= Lit. an apple-eating dwarf)
• 잠자다 → 잠자는 = sleeping
• 잠자는 공주 → a princess who sleeps (= Lit. A sleeping princess)
• 죽다 → 죽는 = dying
• 죽는 병사 → a soldier who is dying (= Lit. a dying soldier)
• 믿다 → 믿지 않는 = not believing/unbelieving
• 믿지 않는 토마스 → Thomas who does not believe (= Lit. unbelieving Thomas)
2. Take ㄹ off a verb with a final consonant, ㄹ and add 는.

Eg.
• 팔다 → 파는 = selling
• 골동품 파는 가게 → A shop which sells antiques (= Lit. An antique-selling shop)
• 살다 → 사는
• 사는 곳 → A place where I'm living (= Lit. A living place)

More examples
• 사막에서 자라는 선인장 = A cactus which grows in the desert (= Lit. A desert-growing cactus)
• 내가 읽는 책은 다 유익하다. = All the books that I read are informative.
Posted by Luke at 8/30/2008 11:12:00 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Grammar, Verb
Verbs - Future [Will]
Verbs - Will [~거다]

Study the rules and the table below. It should be easy to follow.
There are two ways of expressing negatives and "안~" form which is more convenient to use is more common than the other.

will do won't do
Written Form 할 거다 하지 않을 거다
안 할 거다
Spoken Form 할 거야 하지 않을 거야
안 할 거야

Note: The bold letters are the more commonly used form of the two alternatives in each box.

Rules: Will


1. Take 다 off a verb without a final consonant and attach ㄹ 거다 to it.
eg.
• 하다 → 할 거다 (will do)
• 가다 → 갈 거다 (will go)
• 자다 → 잘 거다 (will sleep)
2. Take 다 off a verb with a final consonant and attach 을 거다 to it.
eg.
• 먹다 → 먹을 거다 (will eat)
• 입다 → 입을 거다 (will wear)
• 앉다 → 앉을 거다 (will sit)

Rules: Won't

Take 다 off a verb and attach 지 않을 거다 to it.
eg.
• 하다 → 하지 않을 거다 (won't do)
• 가다 → 가지 않을 거다 (won't go)
• 자다 → 자지 않을 거다 (won't sleep)
• 먹다 → 먹지 않을 거다 (won't eat)
• 입다 → 입지 않을 거다 (won't wear)
• 앉다 → 앉지 않을 거다 (won't sit)

Example Sentences
• 집에 갈 거야? = Will you go home?
• 존은 박물관에 들어갈 거야 = John will enter the museum
• 난 방에서 기타 칠 거야 = I will play the guitar in my room
• 사라는 수영 할 거야 = Sarah will swim
• 다윗은 골리앗 이길 거야 = David will beat Goliath
집 = home
존 = John
들어가다 = enter
기타 = guitar
치다 = play (the instrument)
사라 = Sarah
수영 = swim
다윗 = David
골리앗 = Goliath

Question Form

Raise the tone of your voice at the last syllable to turn it into a question form.
• 올림픽 볼 거야? (Will you watch Olympics?)
• 축구 할 거야? (Will you do(play) soccer?)
• 씻을 거야? (Will you wash?/Will you take a shower?/Will you take a bath?)
• 벌써 잘 거야? (Will you sleep already?)
• 학교 안 갈 거야? (Won't you go to school?)
• 점심 안 먹을 거야? (Won't you have lunch?)
• 이 책 안 읽을 거야? (Won't you read this book?)


Polite Form

While the spoken form above is used between close friends or when older people are talking to younger people in informal situations. The polite form is used commonly between adults, by people in formal situations or when younger people are speaking to older people.
I. Informal (Spoken) → Polite (Spoken)

Rule: 야 → 예요
eg.
• 할 거야 → 할 거예요 = I will do
• 먹을 거야 → 먹을 거예요 = I will eat
• 달리지 않을 거야 → 달리지 않을 거예요 = I won't run

Polite Spoken Form Will do Won't do
할 거예요 하지 않을 거예요
안 할 거예요
• 집에 갈 거예요? = Will you go home?
• 존은 박물관에 들어갈 거예요 = John will enter the museum
• 나는 방에서 기타 칠 거예요 = I will play the guitar in my room
• 사라는 수영 할 거예요 = Sarah will swim
• 다윗은 골리앗 이길 거예요 = David will beat Goliath
• 올림픽 볼 거예요? (Will you watch Olympics?)
• 축구 할 거예요? (Will you do(play) soccer?)
• 씻을 거예요? (Will you wash?/Will you take a shower?/Will you take a bath?)
• 벌써 잘 거예요? (Will you sleep already?)
• 학교 안 갈 거예요? (Won't you go to school?)
• 점심 안 먹을 거예요? (Won't you have lunch?)
• 이 책 안 읽을 거예요? (Won't you read this book?)

II. Informal (Written) → Polite (Written)

Rule: 거다 → 겁니다
eg.
• 할 거다 → 할 겁니다 = I will do
• 먹을 거다 → 먹을 겁니다 = I will eat
• 달리지 않을 거다 → 달리지 않을 겁니다 = I won't run

Will do Won't do
Polite Written Form 할 겁니다 하지 않을 겁니다
안 할 겁니다
Verbs - Can
Verbs - Can [~수 있다]
Informal Can do Could do
Written 할 수 있다 할 수 있었다
Spoken 할 수 있어 할 수 있었어

Informal Can't do Couldn't do
Written 할 수 없다 할 수 없었다
Spoken 할 수 없어
못 해 할 수 없었어
못 했어

Note: In spoken Korean, 못 해 and 못 했어 are more commonly used than 할 수 없어 and 할 수 없었어.

Rules

1. Take 다 off a plain form of verbs without a final consonant and attach ㄹ 수 있다. For verbs which have ㄹ as a final consonant, attach 수 있다.

Eg.
• 하다 → 할 수 있다 (can do)
• 가다 → 갈 수 있다 (can go)
• 보다 → 볼 수 있다 (can see)
• 마시다 → 마실 수 있다 (can drink)
• 달리다 → 달릴 수 있다 (can run)
• 자다 → 잘 수 있다 (can sleep)
• 놀다 → 놀 수 있다 (can play/muck around)
• 살다 → 살 수 있다 (can live)
• 날다 → 날 수 있다 (can fly)
2.Take 다 off a verb with a final consonant and add 을 수 있다.

Eg.
• 먹다 → 먹을 수 있다 (can eat)
• 입다 → 입을 수 있다 (can wear)
• 앉다 → 앉을 수 있다 (can sit)
• 잡다 → 잡을 수 있다 (can catch)
Exceptions
• 듣다 → 들을 수 있다 (can hear)
• 걷다 → 걸을 수 있다 (can walk)
3. Insert 못 in front of the spoken form of positive informal verbs to express "can't do" and "couldn't do."

Eg.
• 해 → 못 해 (can't do)
• 와 → 못 와 (can't come)
• 봐 → 못 봐 (can't see)
• 가 → 못 가 (can't go)
• 들어 → 못 들어 (can't hear)
• 먹어 → 못 먹어 (can't eat)
• 갔어 → 못 갔어 (couldn't go)
• 들었어 → 못 들었어 (couldn't hear)
• 먹었어 → 못 먹었어 (couldn't eat)

Example Sentences
• 치타는 빨리 달릴 수 있다 = A cheetah can run fast.
• 종달새는 하늘을 날 수 있다 = A lark can fly in the sky.
• 솔로몬은 어려운 수수께끼를 풀 수 있다 = Solomon can solve a difficult riddle.
• 애완동물은 박물관에 들어갈 수 없다. = A pet cannot enter the museum.
• 기타 칠 수 있어 = I can play the guitar.
• 나는 해물은 못 먹어 = I can't eat seafood.
• 아파서 학교에 못 갔어 = Because I was sick, I couldn't go to school.
치타 = cheetah
빨리 = fast, quickly
날다 = fly
종달새 = lark
존 = John
박물관 = museum
들어가다 = enter
기타 = guitar
치다 = play (the instrument)
사라 = Sarah
수영 = swim
솔로몬 = Solomon
어려운 = difficult
수수께끼 = riddle
풀다 = solve
아프다 = sick
해물 = seafood

Formal Form
Formal Can do Could do
Written 할 수 있습니다 할 수 있었습니다
Spoken 할 수 있어요 할 수 있었어요

Formal Can't do Couldn't do
Written 할 수 없습니다 할 수 없었습니다
Spoken 할 수 없어요
못 해요 할 수 없었어요
못 했어요

Note:

The informal spoken form is used between close friends or when older people are talking to younger people in informal situations. The formal form is used commonly between adults, by people in formal situations or when younger people are speaking to older people.

못 해요 and 못 했어요 are more commonly used than 할 수 없어요 and 할 수 없었어요.

Rules

1. Informal (Written) → Formal (Written)
- Replace 다 with 습니다.

2. Informal (Spoken) → Formal (Spoken)
- Attach 요 at the end of a sentence.


Example Sentences
• 치타는 빨리 달릴 수 있습니다 = A cheetah can run fast.
• 종달새는 하늘을 날 수 있습니다 = A lark can fly in the sky.
• 솔로몬은 어려운 수수께끼를 풀 수 있습니다 = Solomon can solve a difficult riddle.
• 애완동물은 박물관에 들어갈 수 없습니다. = A pet cannot enter the museum.
• 기타 칠 수 있어요 = I can play the guitar.
• 나는 해물은 못 먹어요 = I can't eat seafood.
• 아파서 학교에 못 갔어요 = Because I was sick, I couldn't go to school.
Verbs - Have
Verbs - Have (있다) / Don't have (없다)

There are two ways of expressing negatives and "안~" form which is more convenient to use is more common than the other.


Written Form Have Don't have
있다 없다
가지고 있다 가지고 있지 않다
안 가지고 있다

Spoken Form Have Don't have
있어 없어
가지고 있어 가지고 있지 않아
안 가지고 있어

Have (있다)

Expressing that you have/own something is easy to do. You use a verb, 있다. 있다 essentially means "there is." Although there is a word for "have" which is "가지고 있다". It is not commonly used in spoken Korean because it is just too long to say so we use instead "있다".
• written form → 있다
• spoken form → 있어
Sentences

Written Form
• 책이 있다 = I have a book (Lit. There is a book)
• 핸드폰이 있다 = I have a mobile phone
• 시계가 있다 = I have a watch
• 책을 가지고 있다 = I have a book
• 핸드폰을 가지고 있다 = I have a mobile phone
Spoken Form
• 책(을) 가지고 있어
• 핸드폰(을) 가지고 있어
• 책(이) 있어
• 핸드폰(이) 있어
• 시계(가) 있어
Note: 1. Use 이/가 with "있다" and 을/를 with "가지고 있다".
2. The object particles are normally unspoken.

When you have a brother or sister, you CANNOT use "가지고 있다" because it implies the ownership. You don't own a brother or sister but simply there is a brother or sister in your family. So you must use 있다.

For example,
Written Form
• 남동생이 있다 (I have a younger brother)
• 여동생이 있다(I have a younger sister)
Spoken Form
• 남동생(이) 있어 (I have a younger brother)
• 형(이) 있어 (I have an older brother)
• 누나(가) 있어 (I have an older sister)
Don't have (없다)

없다 means "don't have" or literally "there isn't." The negative form of 가지고 있다 is 가지고 있지 않다 or more commonly 안 가지고 있다.

For example,
Written Form
• 있다 → 없다
• have → don't have (Lit. there isn't)
• 가지고 있다 → 가지고 있지 않다
• have → don't have
Spoken Form
• 있어 → 없어
• have → don't have (Lit. there isn't)
• 가지고 있어 → 가지고 있지 않아
• have → don't have
Sentences

Written Form
• 책이 없다(I don't have a book)
• 핸드폰이 없다 (I don't have a mobile phone)
• 시계가 없다 (I don't have a watch)
• 책을 가지고 있지 않다 (I don't have/own a book)
• 핸드폰을 가지고 있지 않다 (I don't have/own a mobile phone)

Spoken Form
• 책(이) 없어
• 핸드폰(이) 없어
• 시계(가) 없어
• 책(을) 가지고 있지 않아
• 핸드폰(을) 가지고 있지 않아

Question Form

In spoken Korean, you'd simply change your intonation by raising the tone at the last letter. To practice this, you'd need to watch Korean dramas or other TV programmes. Listen carefully to actors' intonation when they're asking or questioning.
• 남동생(이) 있어? (Do you have a younger brother?)
• 형(이) 있어? (Do you have an older brother?)
• 누나(가) 있어? (Do you have an older sister?)
• 책(이) 없어? (Don't you have a book?)
• 핸드폰(이) 없어? (Don't you have a mobile phone?)
• 시계(가) 없어? (Don't you have a watch?)

Formal Form

While the spoken form above is used between close friends or when older people are talking to younger people in informal situations. The formal form is used commonly between adults, by people in formal situations or when younger people are speaking to older people.

I. Informal (Spoken) → Formal (Spoken)

● Just add 요 at the end of a sentence.

Formal Spoken Form Have Don't have
있어요 없어요
가지고 있어요 가지고 있지 않아요
안 가지고 있어요
• 남동생 있어요? (Do you have a younger brother?)
• 형 있어요? (Do you have an older brother?)
• 누나 있어요? (Do you have an older sister?)
• 책 없어요? (Don't you have a book?)
• 핸드폰 없어요? (Don't you have a mobile phone?)
• 시계 없어요? (Don't you have a watch?)

II. Informal (Written) → Formal (Written)

● 다 → 습니다

Formal Written Form Have Don't have
있습니다 없습니다
가지고 있습니다 가지고 있지 않습니다
안 가지고 있습니다
Verbs - Want
Verbs - Want [~고 싶다]
Informal Written Form Present Past
Positive 하고 싶다 하고 싶었다
Negative 하고 싶지 않다
하기 싫다 하고 싶지 않았다
하기 싫었다

Informal Spoken Form Present Past
Positive 하고 싶어 하고 싶었어
Negative 하고 싶지 않아
하기 싫어 하고 싶지 않았어
하기 싫었어

Note: 하고 싶지 않다 and 하기 싫다 both mean "I don't want to do." However, In written Korean, 하고 싶지 않다 is more commonly used whereas in spoken Korean, 하기 싫어 is more commonly used. 하기 싫어 literally means "I hate to do."

The bold letters indicate which one is more commonly used.

Rule

Take 다 off a plain form of verbs and attach 고 싶다/고 싶었다/기 싫다/기 싫었다/고 싶어/고 싶었어 etc.

Examples (Written Form)
• 하다 → 하고 싶다 = I want to do.
• 먹다 → 먹고 싶다 = I want to eat.
• 날다 → 날고 싶었다 = I wanted to fly.
• 놀다 → 놀고 싶지 않았다 = I did't want to play.
• 마시다 → 마시고 싶지 않았다 = I didn't want to drink.
• 바나나가 먹고 싶지 않았다 = I didn't want to eat a banana.
• 하늘에서 날고 싶지 않았다 = I didn't want to fly in the sky.
Examples (Spoken Form)
• 하다 → 하고 싶어 = I want to do.
• 먹다 → 먹고 싶어 = I want to eat.
• 날다 → 날고 싶었어 = I wanted to fly.
• 놀다 → 놀기 싫어 = I don't want to play.
• 마시다 → 마시기 싫었어 = I didn't want to drink.
• 바나나 먹기 싫어 = I don't want to eat a banana.
• 하늘 날기 싫었어 = I didn't want to fly in the sky.
Questions (Spoken Form)
• 자고 싶어? = Do you want to sleep?
• 어. 자고 싶어. = Yes, I want to sleep.
• 뭐 먹고 싶어? = What do you want to eat?
• 라면 먹고 싶어. = I want to eat noodles.
• 어디 가고 싶어? = Where do you want to go?
• 공원에 가고 싶어. = I want to go to a park.
Formal Form
Formal
Written Form Present Past
Positive 하고 싶습니다 하고 싶었습니다
Negative 하고 싶지 않습니다
하기 싫습니다 하고 싶지 않았습니다
하기 싫었습니다

Formal
Spoken Form Present Past
Positive 하고 싶어요 하고 싶었어요
Negative 하고 싶지 않아요
하기 싫어요 하고 싶지 않았어요
하기 싫었어요

Note: The informal spoken form is used between close friends or when older people are talking to younger people in informal situations. The formal form is used commonly between adults, by people in formal situations or when younger people are speaking to older people.

Rules
For the formal written form, the suffix , 다, is replaced by 습니다.
For the formal spoken form, attach 요 at the end of a sentence.

Examples (Written Form)
• 하다 → 하고 싶습니다 = I want to do.
• 먹다 → 먹고 싶습니다 = I want to eat.
• 날다 → 날고 싶었습니다 = I wanted to fly.
• 놀다 → 놀고 싶지 않았습니다 = I did't want to play.
• 마시다 → 마시고 싶지 않았습니다 = I didn't want to drink.
Examples (Spoken form)
• 하다 → 하고 싶어요 = I want to do.
• 먹다 → 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat.
• 날다 → 날고 싶었어요 = I wanted to fly.
• 놀다 → 놀기 싫었어요 = I did't want to play.
• 마시다 → 마시기 싫었어요 = I didn't want to drink.
More examples
• 자고 싶어요? = Do you want to sleep?
• 네. 자고 싶어요. = Yes, I want to sleep.
• 뭐 먹고 싶어요? = What do you want to eat?
• 라면 먹고 싶어요. = I want to eat noodles.
• 어디 가고 싶어요? = Where do you want to go?
• 공원에 가고 싶어요. = I want to go to a park.

In addition:
When talking about a third person, '고 싶어 한다' is used instead of 고 싶다, and '고 싶어해' instead of 고 싶어.

Examples
• 가다 → 가고 싶어 한다
• 루크는 극장에 가고 싶어 한다 = Luke wants to go to the theatre.
• 선미는 사과주스 마시고 싶어해 = Sunmi wants to drink an apple juice.
Posted by Luke at 12/02/2006 03:03:00 PM 6 comments Links to this post
Labels: Grammar, Verb
07 November 2006
Verbs - Spoken Form
The Spoken Form of Verbs

The following dialogue between two close friends involve the informal spoken forms of verbs.

잘 = well
쇼핑 = shopping
어 = yes
오전 = am
오후 = pm
먼저 갈게 = I'll go first


This dialogue should be easy to comprehend.

대화 시작 = The conversation starts
상우: 지우야, 뭐 해?
지우: 밥 먹어.
상우: 어디 가?
지우: 어. 학교 가.
상우: 언제 가?
지우: 9시에.
상우: 왜?
지우: 학교에서 공부해.
상우: 재밌어?
지우: 어. 재밌어.
상우: 어떻게 공부해?
지우: 선생님이 가르쳐 주셔.
상우: 아~ 그래?
지우: 어. 너는 뭐 해?
상우: 나는 쇼핑 가.
지우: 언제?
상우: 오후 3시에.
지우: 밥은 먹었어?
상우: 어. 먹었어. 나 먼저 갈게. 잘 있어~
지우: 잘 가~

Sang-u: Ji-u, what are you doing?
Ji-u: I'm eating.
Sang-u: Where are you going?
Ji-u: I'm going to school.
Sang-u: When are you going?
Ji-u: At 9 o'clock.
Sang-u: Why? [are you going to school?]
Ji-u: I study at school.
Sang-u: Is it fun?
Ji-u: Yes, it's fun.
Sang-u: How do you study?
Ji-u: My teacher teaches me.
Sang-u: Ahh... really?
Ji-u: Yeap. How about you?
Sang-u: I'll go shopping
Ji-u: When?
Sang-u: At 3 o'clock pm.
Ji-u: Did you have a meal?
Sang-u: Yes. I have. I'll go first then. Bye~
Ji-u: Bye~

This is a conversation between Sang-u and Ji-u. This is a type of conversation that is common between close friends, yet it is extremely simple to understand even for beginners of Korean. So pay attention to how these "spoken forms" are used.

● A list of written forms and their respective spoken forms.

Written Form - Spoken Form
[For detailed explanation, refer to (Verbs - Present, Past)]


go = 가다 - 가
come = 오다 - 와
do = 하다 - 해
eat = 먹다 - 먹어
give = 주다 - 줘
receive = 받다 - 받아
play = 놀다 - 놀아
sleep = 자다 - 자
run = 달리다 - 달려
teach = 가르치다 - 가르쳐
learn = 배우다 - 배워
These spoken forms are informal so you should only use them with very close friends.
Verbs - Present, Past
Verbs - Present and Past Tenses
동사 [Verbs]
The plain form of verbs is almost never used in both written and spoken Korean. The only instance where the plain form is used is when it's listed in the dictionary. The plain form is the most basic form which can be conjugated to produce many other derivatives and tenses of verbs.
There are two ways of expressing negatives and "안~" form is more commonly used in spoken Korean.
Examples of a plain form of verbs
• 하다 = do
• 달리다 = run
• 먹다 = eat
• 가다 = go
Factual/Declarative
(Written) Plain Present Past
Positive 먹다 먹는다 먹었다
Negative 먹지 않다 먹지 않는다
안 먹는다 먹 지 않았다
안 먹었다

Dialogue/Conversation
(Spoken) Plain Present Past
Positive 먹다 먹어 먹었어
Negative 먹지 않다 먹지 않아
안 먹어 먹지 않았어
안 먹었어

Note: The bold letters above indicate which one of the two alternatives is more commonly used in each context.
A Table of Commonly Used Verbs
Written Spoken
Plain Present Past Present Past
Run 달 리다 달린다 달렸다 달려 달렸어
Eat 먹 다 먹는다 먹었다 먹어 먹었어
Go 가 다 간다 갔다 가 갔어
Stand 서다 선다 섰다 서 섰어
Come 오다 온다 왔다 와 왔어
Sit 앉 다 앉는다 앉았다 앉아 앉았어
Buy 사 다 산다 샀다 사 샀어
Sell 팔다 판다 팔았다 팔아 팔았어
Grow 자라다 자란 다 자랐다 자라 자랐어
Throw 던지다 던진 다 던졌다 던져 던졌어
Borrow 빌리다 빌린 다 빌렸다 빌려 빌렸어
Lend 빌려주다 빌 려준다 빌려주었다 빌려줘 빌려주었어
Play 놀다 논다 놀았다 놀아 놀았어
Write 쓰다 쓴다 썼다 써 썼어
Read 읽다 읽는다 읽었다 읽어 읽었어
Listen 듣다 듣는다 들었다 들어 들었어
Live 살다 산다 살았다 살아 살았어
Die 죽 다 죽는다 죽었다 죽어 죽었어

I. Plain Form → Present Tense (Written)
● Rules
1. For verbs with a final consonant, replace 다 with 는다
Eg.
• 먹다 → 먹는다 = eat
• 사과 먹는다 → eat an apple
• 걷다 → 걷는다 = walk
• 사람은 걷는다 → A human-being walks
• 믿다 → 믿는다 = believe
• 나는 예수님을 믿는다 → I believe Jesus
2. For verbs without a final consonant, replace 다 with ㄴ 다.
• 잠자다 → 잠잔다 = sleep
• 지금 새들은 잠잔다 = Now birds sleep (= Now birds are sleeping)
• 가다 → 간다 = go
• 민아는 학교를 간다 = Min-a goes to school
3. For verbs with ㄹ as a final consonant, replace ㄹ with ㄴ. .
• 팔다 → 판다 = sell
• 이 가게는 과일을 판다 → This shop sells fruits
• 살다 → 산다 = live
• 지우는 여기에서 산다 → Ji-u lives here
II. Plain Form → Past Tense (Written)
● Rules
First Take 다 off a verb, then:
1. For verbs without a final consonant, just add ㅆ. 사다: 사 + ㅆ 다 = 샀다 = bought
• 가다: 가 + ㅆ 다 = 갔다 = went
• 자라다: 자라 + ㅆ 다 = 자랐다 = grew
Note: 하다 becomes 했다, NOT 핬다.
2. For verbs with a final consonant, add 었 or 았.
(For a verb with ㅏ or ㅗ, add 았, and for a verb with ㅓ, ㅜ or ㅣ, add 었) 날다: 날 + 았다 = 날았다 = flew
• 놀다: 놀 + 았다 = 몰았다 = drove (a car), urged on (a horse)
• 먹다: 먹 + 었다 = 먹었다 = ate
• 죽다: 죽 + 었다 = 죽었다 = died
• 밀다: 밀 + 었다 = 밀었다 = pushed
3. For verbs with ㅣ as a final verb, change it to ㅕ and add ㅆ.
• 던지다: 던지 → 던졌 → 던졌다 = threw
• 빌리다: 빌리 → 빌렸 → 빌렸다 = borrowed
• 실리다: 실리 → 실렸 → 실렸다 = to be loaded
4. For verbs with ㅡ as a final vowel, replace it with ㅓ and ㅆ. 크다: 크 → 컸 → 컸다 = grew
• 쓰다: 쓰 → 썼 → 썼다 = wrote
• 트다: 트 → 텄 → 텄다 = sprouted
Irregular Verbs
• 하다 → 했다
• 듣다 → 들었다
• 오다 → 왔다


III. Plain Form → Present Tense (Spoken)

● Rules

1. For verbs with ㅏ/ㅓ and no final consonant, just take 다 off.

가다 → 가
• 서다 → 서
• 사다 → 사
• 자라다 → 자라
Exceptions: A verb with 하 as a final letter, 하 changes to 해.
하다 →해 (do)
• 원하다 → 원해 (want)
• 구하다 → 구해 (save)
2. For verbs with ㅗ/ㅜ and no final consonant, add ㅏ for ㅗ verbs and ㅓ for ㅜ verbs.
오다 → 와
• 빌려주다 → 빌려줘
• 미루다 → 미뤄 (procrastinate)
3. For a verb with 르 as a final letter, add ㄹ to a letter before 르 and 르 changes to 라 for ㅏ/ㅗ verbs and 러 for ㅓ/ㅜ/ㅣ verbs. 가르다 → 갈라 (divide)
• 자르다 → 잘라 (cut)
• 오르다 → 올라 (climb)
• 주무르다 → 주물러 (massage)
• 구르다 → 굴러 (roll)
• 가로지르다 → 가로질러 (cross)
4. For a verb with l and no final consonant, change ㅣto 여.
지다 → 져 = lose
• 이기다 → 이겨 = win
• 던지다 → 던져 = throw
5. For a verb with a final consonant, first take 다 off then add 아 for ㅏ/ㅗ verbs, and 어 for ㅓ/ㅜ verbs.
앉다 → 앉아 = sit
• 먹다 → 먹어 = eat
Irregular
• 듣다 → 들어 = listen
IV. Past Tense (Written) → Past Tense (Spoken)
● simply change 다 to 어.
• 달렸다 → 달렸어 = ran
• 먹었다 → 먹었어 = ate
• 갔다 → 갔어 = went
• 왔다 → 왔어 = came
• 마셨다 → 마셨어 = drank

learn korean

Useful Korean Phrases and Expressions
In Store - Korean Vocabulary - Things
English Korean Pronunciation
Do you have…? …있나요? …innayo?
- shirts 셔츠 [ syeo-cheu ]
- pants 바지 [ ba-ji ]
- caps 모자 [ mo-ja ]
- shoes 신발 [ sin-bal ]
Do you have this in…? 이거…로 있나요? Igeo…ro innayo?
- red 빨간색으로 [ bbal-gan-sae-geu-ro ]
- large 큰걸로 [ keun-geol-lo ]
- small 작은걸로 [ ja-geun-geol-lo ]
I’m looking for… 전…를 원해요. Jeon…reul wonhaeyo.
- something particular 뭔가 특별한 것 [ mwon-ga-teuk-byeol-han-geot ]
- something large 뭔가 큰 것 [ mwon-ga-keun-geot ]
- something small 뭔가 작은 것 [ mwon-ga-ja-geun-geot ]
- something cheaper 더 싼 것 [ deo-ssan-geot ]
Where can I find…? …는 어디 있나요? …neun eodi innayo?
- apples 사과 [ sa-gwa ]
- tomatoes 토마토 [ to-ma-to ]
- tuna fish 참치 [ cham-chi ]
- beer 맥주 [ maek-ju ]
How much is this? 이거 얼마예요? Igeo eolmayeyo?
I will pay with a credit card 신용카드로 지불하겠습니다. Sinyongkadeuro jibulhagetsseumnida.
- one-time payment 일시불 [ il-si-bul ]
- pay over three months 3 개월 할부 [ sam-gae-wol-hal-bu ]
Could you give a discount? 좀 깎아주세요. Jom ggaggajuseyo.
Please give me a receipt. 영수증을 주세요. Yeongsujeungeul juseyo.
Please, put it in the envelope. 봉투에 담아 주세요. Bongtue dama juseyo.
Could gift wrap it please? 선물 포장해 주세요. Seonmul pojanghae juseyo.
Give me a refund. 환불해 주세요. Hwanbulhae juseyo.
I’d like to exchange this. 교환해 주세요. Gyohwanhae juseyo.
Give… …주세요. …juseyo.
- 1 geun/ 2 geun (Korean measurement - 1 geun = 600 grams) 1 근/ 2 근 [ han-geun/ du-geun ]
- 100 grams/ 200 grams 100 그람/ 200 그람 [ baek-geu-ram/ i-baek-geu-ram ]
- five thousand won worth 오천원어치 [ o-cheon-won-eo-chi ]
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Learn Korean Language Lesson 32 - Korean Question Word - How
Continue from Lesson 31 - Korean Conjunction - And. Today we come to learn Korean question word - how. In this learn Korean language lesson, we will learn question word - how - 어때요 [ eo-ddae-yo ]. It has the same meaning as English question word - how. However, in Korean, it is use to give a suggestion. So, even though we use it like English word - how, but we use it to suggest, propose or offer something in a friendly manner such as how is something or how is someone? Let’s start!
Korean Question Word - How
When proposing or offering something in a friendly manner, you can use 어때요? It is commonly used to ask for the listener’s thought about the speaker’s proposal. You can simply add 어때요? to the end of the noun. The intonation rises up in the end of the sentence. Like in Comparison of Korean and English and How are English words pronounced in Korean? Together with Korean Subject Marker 이 or 가, The formula “…이/가 어때요?” means “how is something/someone?” Korean Topic Marker 은 or 는 can be use with question word - how - 어때요 too. However, it is use when one wants to stress a new topic.
You may need to refer back both learn Korean language Lesson 4 for Korean topic marker and Lesson 11 for Korean subject marker and understand the difference between both of them. Basically, they are most commonly used noun particles are those used to mark the subject of the sentence and those used to mark the topic of a sentence. Use topic marker 은/는 after the noun and then ask 어때요? The formula “(noun)은/는 어때요?” means “How about (noun)?”
“…가 어때요?” is used with nouns ending in a vowel and “…이 어때요?” is used with nouns that end in a consonant.
“…는 어때요?” is used with nouns ending in a vowel and “…은 어때요?” is used with nouns that end in a consonant.
Read examples below:
• 한국어 공부가 어때요? [ han-gu-geo-gong-bu-ga-eo-ddae-yo ] - How do you like studying Korean?
• 동대문 시장이 어때요? [ dong-dae-mun-si-jang-i-eo-ddae-yo ] - How is Dongdaemun market?
• 오늘 날씨가 어때요? [ o-neul-nal-ssi-ga-eo-ddae-yo ] - How is the weather today?
• 김치가 어때요? [ kim-chi-ga-eo-ddae-yo ] - How do you like Kimchi?
• 토요일은 어때요? [ to-yo-il-eun-eo-ddae-yo ] - How about Saturday.
Be careful!
When connecting this word to Korean verbs which refer to an action (view also Korean adjectives), add “…는 게 어때요?” to the end of the verb stem.
• 커피가 어때요? [ keo-pi-ga-eo-ddae-yo ] - how about coffee?
• 내일 집에서 쉬는 게 어때요? [ nae-il-ji-be-seo-swi-neun-ge-eo-ddae-yo ] - How about resting at home tomorrow?
Learn Korean Language Flashback
Do you remember that we have learned Korean Place Marker in learn Korean language lesson 15? We use the particle -에서 together with Korean verb 오다 to ask someone about their nationality. “에서 오다” means “from”. Use that formula with Korean Question Word - Where 어디 to ask “Where are you from?”, you can say “어디에서 왔어요?” [ eo-di-e-seo-wa-sseo-yo ]. When answering a question, the question and answer can be almost the same by replacing the 어디 to Countries.
• 빌리는 캐나다에서 왔어요. [ bil-li-neun-kae-na-da-e-seo-wa-sseo-yo ] - Billy is from Canada.
• 친구가 미국에서 와요. [ chin-gu-ga-mi-guk-e-seo-wa-yo ] - A friend of mine is coming from America.
• 저는 일본에서 왔어요. [ jeo-neun-il-bon-e-seo-wa-sseo-yo ] - I’m from Japan.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Korean Language Reading Practice
In Korean
샐리 : 다니엘 씨, 어제 뭐 했어요?
다니엘 : 친구를 만나서 시장에 갔어요.
샐리 : 시장에 가서 뭐 했어요?
다니엘 : 시장에 가서 옷을 샀어요. 그리고 영화를 봤어요.
샐리 : 그리고 집에 왔어요?
다니엘 : 아니요. 커피숍에 가서 차를 마셨어요. 샐리 씨는 뭐 했어요?
샐리 : 저는 집에서 그냥 쉬었어요.
In English
Sally : What did you do yesterday, Daniel?
Daniel : I met my friend and went to the market.
Sally : What did you do at the market?
Daniel : I bought (some) clothes. Then I watched a movie.
Sally : Then did you go home?
Daniel : No, I went to a coffee shop and had tea. What did you do, Sally?
Sally : I just rested at home (for no special reason).
Korean Vocabulary
• 어제 [ eo-je ] - yesterday
• 만나다 [ man-na-da ] - to meet
• 시장 [ si-jang ] - market
• 옷 [ ot ] - clothes
• 사다 [ sa-da ] - to buy
• 영화 [ yeong-hwa ] - movie
• 커피숍 [ keo-pi-syop ] - coffee shop
• 차 [ cha ] - tea
• 쉬다 [ swi-da ] - to rest
Korean Expressions
• 어제 뭐 했어요? [ eo-je-mwo-hae-sseo-yo ] - What did you do yesterday?
• 친구를 만나서 시장에 갔어요. [ chin-gu-reul-man-na-seo-si-jang-e-ga-sseo-yo ] - I met my friend and went to the market.
• 시장에 가서 뭐 했어요? [ si-jang-e-ga-seo-mwo-hae-sseo-yo ] - What did you do at the market?
• 시장에 가서 옷을 샀어요. [ si-jang-e-ga-seo-o-seul-sa-sseo-yo ] - I bought (some) clothes.
• 그리고 영화를 봤어요. [ geu-re-go-yeong-hwa-reul-bwa-sseo-yo ] - Then I watched a movie.
• 그리고 집에 왔어요? [ geu-ri-go-ji-be-wa-sseo-yo ] - Then did you go home?
• 커피숍에 가서 차를 마셨어요. [ keo-pi-syop-e-ga-seo-cha-reul-ma-syeo-sseo-yo ] - I went to a coffee shop and had tea.
• 저는 집에서 그냥 쉬었어요. [ jeo-neun-ji-be-seo-geu-nyang-swi-eo-sseo-yo ] - I just rested at home (for no special reason).
Korean Conjunction - 서 is used when a subject performs two actions one after the other. It signifies that the second action occurs in connection with the first, but follows after it in time sequence. For Korean Verbs - 만나다, 사다 and 쉬다, by adding appropriate Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings and Korean Past Tense it will become 만났어요, 샀어요 and 쉬었어요 which are commonly used in everyday life (view Korean Sentence Ending Form). Have you learned something from the Korean Language Reading Practice above? Continue to Korean Language Reading Practice 18. Korean Language Reading Practice is a short lesson. Hope you will like it. Have a nice day.
Credit: Seoul National University
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Learn Korean Language Lesson 13 - Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 12 - Korean Linking Verb. Today, we will Learn Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings form. We knew that there are two ways when you start a conversation in Learn Korean Language Lesson 2 - Korean Basic Conversation, whether formally or informally and the difference between both of them is the Sentence Ending Form, the only difficulty in learning Korean is the question about when to use formal language? Let’s learn it in more details.
Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings
We have seen the Korean Sentence Ending Form and understand the differences between Korean Sentence Ending Formal Polite Form and Informal Polite Form in Learn Korean Language Lesson 3 - Korean Sentence Ending Form. -아요/어요 [ a-yo/eo-yo ] are casual but polite sentence endings which are commonly used in everyday life such as shopping, buying tickets, and asking directions etc, etc. It is use to form all present tense verbs (verbs in the present tense). When a verb stem ends with the vowel ㅏ or ㅗ, -아요 is added. See examples below.
• 가다 [ ga-da ] + -아요 = 가요 [ ga-yo ] - to go
• 사다 [ sa-da ] + -아요 = 사요 [ sa-yo ] - to buy
• 자다 [ ja-da ] + -아요 = 자요 [ ja-yo ] - to sleep
• 오다 [ o -da ] + -아요 = 와요 [ wa-yo ] - to come
• 보다 [ bo-da ] + -아요 = 봐요 [ bwa-yo ] - to see
• 살다 [ sal-da ] + -아요 = 살아요[ sa-ra-yo ] - to live
• 만나다 [ man-na-da ] + -아요 = 만나요 [ man-na-yo ] - to meet
When a verb stem ends with a vowel other than ㅏ or ㅗ, -어요 is added. But verb stems ending with a vowel ㅣ, ㅣ + -어요 results in -여요. For example, 마시다 becomes 마셔요 and 가르치다 becomes 가르쳐요.
• 주다 [ ju-da ] + -어요 = 줘요 [ jwo-yo ] - to give
• 먹다 [ meok-da ] + -어요 = 먹어요 [ meo-geo-yo ] - to eat
• 읽다 [ il-da ] + -어요 = 읽어요 [ il-geo-yo ] - to read
• 배우다 [ bae-u-da ] + -어요 = 배워요 [ bae-wo-yo ] - to learn
• 마시다 [ ma-si-da ] + -어요 = 마셔요 [ ma-syeo-yo ] - to drink
• 가르치다 [ ga-reu-chi-da ] + -어요 = 가르쳐요 [ ga-reu-chyeo-yo ] - to teach
When a verb stem ends with -하다 [ ha-da ] becomes -해요 [ hae-yo ]. -하다 is verbs “‘to do”. Many nouns can be made into present tense by adding the verb -해요. See examples below.
• 일하다 [ il-ha-da ] + -해요 = 일해요 [ il-hae-yo ] - to work
• 공부하다 [ gong-bu-ha-da ] + -해요 = 공부해요 [ gong-bu-hae-yo ] - to study
• 운동하다 [ un-dong-ha-da ] + -해요 = 운동해요 [ un-dong-hae-yo ] - to exercise
• 전화하다 [ jeon-hwa-ha-da ] + -해요 = 전화해요 [ jeon-hwa-hae-yo ] - to make a phone call
• 요리하다 [ yo-ri-ha-da ] + -해요 = 요리해요 [ yo-ri-hae-yo ] - to cook
• 운전하다 [ un-jeon-ha-da ] + -해요 = 운전해요 [ un-jeon-hae-yo ] - to drive
• 수영하다 [ su-yeong-ha-da ] + -해요 = 수영해요 [ su-yeong-hae-yo ] - to swim
Raising your intonation makes the Korean sentence into a question like we have learned in Comparison of Korean and English. View Korean verbs list. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 14 - Korean Object Marker.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Learn Korean Language Lesson 28 - Korean Past Tense

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 27 - Korean Present Tense. Today we come to Learn Korean Lesson 28 - Korean Past Tense. In this Learn Korean Language Lesson, You will learn how to answer Korean question like “what did you do yesterday?” and ask them to your Korean friends. To put action verbs (Korean Verbs) and descriptive verbs (Korean Adjectives) into the past tense, first think of the present tense or Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings, and replace “요” with “ㅆ어요”.
Korean Past Tense
The rule above works with all verbs, including Korean irregular verbs (we will learn this in the future). Do you remember that we added 아요/어요/해요 behind a verb to make sentences in Korean? Korean past tense is very easy, just adding 았어요/었어요/했어요 to a verb or adjective stem makes it past tense. When a verb or adjective stem ends with ㅏ or ㅗ, -았어요 is added. See examples below.
• 가다 [ ga-da ] + -았어요 = 갔어요 [ ga-sseo-yo ] - to go
• 사다 [ sa-da ] + -았어요 = 샀어요 [ sa-sseo-yo ] - to buy
• 자다 [ ja-da ] + -았어요 = 잤어요 [ ja-sseo-yo ] - to sleep
• 오다 [ o-da ] + -았어요 = 왔어요 [ wa-sseo-yo ] - to come
• 보다 [ bo-da ] + -았어요 = 봤어요 [ bwa-sseo-yo ] - to see
• 살다 [ sal-da ] + -았어요 = 살았어요 [ sa-ra-sseo-yo ] - to live
• 만나다 [ man-na-da ] + -았어요 = 만났어요 [ man-na-sseo-yo ] - to meet
• 비싸다 [ bi-ssa-da ] + -았어요 = 비쌌어요 [ bi-ssa-sseo-yo ] - to be expensive
Korean sentences in past tense -았어요.
• 한국에 갔어요. [ han-guk-e-ga-sseo-yo ] - I went to Korea.
• 친구를 만났어요. [ chin-gu-reul-man-na-sseo-yo ] - I met (my) friend.
• 영화를 봤어요. [ yeong-hwa-reul-bwa-sseo-yo ] - I watched a movie.
• 사과가 비쌌어요. [ sa-gwa-ga0bi-ssa-sseo-yo ] - Apples were expensive.
• 지난주에 조금 바빴어요. [ ji-nan-ju-e-jo-geum-ba-bba-sseo-yo ] - I was a little busy last week.
When a verb or adjective stem ends with any other vowel, other thanㅏ or ㅗ, -었어요 is added.
• 주다 [ ju-da ] + -었어요 = 줬어요 [ jwo-sseo-yo ] - to give
• 먹다 [ meok-da ] + -었어요 = 먹었어요 [ meo-geo-sseo-yo ] - to eat
• 읽다 [ il-da ] + -었어요 = 읽었어요 [ il-geo-sseo-yo ] - to read
• 배우다 [ bae-u-da ] + -었어요 = 배웠어요 [ bae-wo-sseo-yo ] - to learn
• 만들다 [ man-deul-da ] + -었어요 = 만들었어요 [ man-deu-reo-sseo-yo ] - to make
Korean sentences in past tense -었어요.
• 밥을 먹었어요. [ bap-eul-meo-geo-sseo-yo ] - I ate (my) meal.
• 책을 읽었어요. [ chaek-eul-il-geo-sseo-yo ] - I read a book.
• 음식을 만들었어요. [ eum-sik-eul-man-deu-reo-sseo-yo ] - I cooked (some) food.
We have learned that when verb stems ending with a vowel ㅣ, ㅣ + -어요 results in -여요. For example, 마시다 becomes 마셔요 and 가르치다 becomes 가르쳐요. Adding -었어요 to a verb or adjective stem ending with vowel ㅣ results in -였어요.
• 가르치다 [ ga-reu-chi-da ] + -었어요 = 가르쳤어요 [ ga-reu-chyeo-sseo-yo ] - to teach
• 마시다 [ ma-si-da ] + -었어요 = 마셨어요 [ ma-syeo-sseo-yo ] - to drink
Korean sentences in past tense -였어요.
• 일본어를 가르쳤어요. [ il-bon-eo-reul-ga-reu-chyeo-sseo-yo ] - I taught Japanese.
• 물을 마셨어요. [ mu-reul-ma-syeo-sseo-yo ] - I drank water.
When a verb or adjective ends with -하다 [ ha-da ], change 하다 to -했어요. -하다 is verbs “to do”. Many nouns can be made into past tense by adding the verb -했어요. See examples below and continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 29 - Korean Time.
• 일하다 [ il-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 일했어요 [ il-hae-sseo-yo ] - to work
• 공부하다 [ gong-bu-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 공부했어요 [ gong-bu-hae-sseo-yo ] - to study
• 운동하다 [ un-dong-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 운동했어요 [ un-dong-hae-sseo-yo ] - to exercise
• 전화하다 [ jeon-hwa-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 전화했어요 [ jeon-hwa-hae-sseo-yo ] - to make a phone call
• 요리하다 [ yo-ri-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 요리했어요 [ yo-ri-hae-sseo-yo ] - to cook
• 운전하다 [ un-jeon-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 운전했어요 [ un-jeon-hae-sseo-yo ] - to drive
• 수영하다 [ su-yeong-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 수영했어요 [ su-yeong-hae-sseo-yo ] - to swim
• 청소하다 [ cheong-so-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 청소했어요 [ cheong-so-hae-sseo-yo ] - to clean
• 빨래하다 [ bbal-lae-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 빨래했어요 [ bbal-lae-hae-sseo-yo ] - to do laundry
• 복잡하다 [ bok-jap-ha-da ] + -했어요 = 복잡했어요 [ bok-jap-hae-sseo-yo ] - to be crowded
Korean sentences in past tense -했어요.
• 방을 청소했어요. [ bang-eul-cheong-so-hae-sseo-yo ] - I cleaned my room.
• 친구가 전화했어요. [ chin-gu-ga-jeon-hwa-hae-sseo-yo ] - A friend of mine called.
• 어제 빨래했어요. [ eo-je-bbal-lae-hae-sseo-yo ] - I did laundry yesterday.
• 어제 공원에서 운동했어요. [ eo-je-gong-won-e-seo-un-dong-hae-sseo-yo ] - I exercised at the park yesterday.
• 길이 복잡했어요. [ gil-i-bok-jap-hae-sseo-yo ] - The road was crowded.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Korean Verbs - 동사 [ dong-sa ]
Meaning Korean Verbs Pronunciation
not to have enough 모자라다 [ mo-ja-ra-da ]
not to know 모르다 [ mo-reu-da ]
to arrive 도착하다 [ do-chak-ha-da ]
to ask 묻다 [ mut-da ]
to ask a question 질문하다 [ jil-mun-ha-da ]
to be careful 조심하다 [ jo-sim-ha-da ]
to be in fashion 유행하다 [ yu-haeng-ha-da ]
to be in sight/ to show (이/가) 보이다/ (을/를) 보이다 (i/ga) [ bo-i-da ]/ (eul/reul) [ bo-i-da ]
to be, to exist (honorific) 계시다 [ kye-si-da ]
to become 되다 [ doe-da ]
to buy 사다 [ sa-da ]
to catch a cold (감기에) 걸리다 (gam-gi-e) [ geol-ri-da ]
to change 바꾸다 [ ba-ggu-da ]
to close 닫다 [ dat-da ]
to come 오다 [ o-da ]
to come back 돌아오다 [ do-ra-o-da ]
to come in 들어오다 [ deu-reo-o-da ]
to congratulate 축하하다 [ chuk-ka-ha-da ]
to cough 기침(을) 하다 [ gi-chim(eul)-ha-da ]
to cry 울다 [ ul-da ]
to cut down 깎다 [ ggak-da ]
to dance 춤추다 [ chum-chu-da ]
to depart 출발하다 [ chul-bal-ha-da ]
to die 죽다 [ juk-da ]
to dine/to have a meal 식사하다 [ sik-sa-ha-da ]
to dislike 싫어하다 [ sil-reo-ha-da ]
to do 하다 [ ha-da ]
to do homework 숙제하다 [ suk-je-ha-da ]
to drink 마시다 [ ma-si-da ]
to drive 운전하다 [ un-jeon-ha-da ]
to eat 먹다 [ meok-da ]
to eat (honorific) 잡수시다 (잡수다) [ jap-su-si-da (jap-su-da) ]
to excuse 실례하다 [ sil-rye-ha-da ]
to exercise 운동하다 [ un-dong-ha-da ]
to find 찾다 [ chat-da ]
to follow 따라 하다 [ dda-ra-ha-da ]
to get up 일어나다 [ i-reo-na-da ]
to give 주다 [ ju-da ]
to give (honorific) 드리다 [ deu-ri-da ]
to give a help 도와주다 [ do-wa-ju-da ]
to go 가다 [ ga-da ]
to go in 들어가다 [ deu-reo-ga-da ]
to go on a date 데이트하다 [ de-i-teu-ha-da ]
to have a meeting 회의하다 [ hoe-i-ha-da ]
to have food (honorific) 드시다 (들다) [ deu-si-da (deul-da) ]
to help 돕다 [ dop-da ]
to introduce 소개하다 [ so-gae-ha-da ]
to invite 초대하다 [ cho-dae-ha-da ]
to learn 배우다 [ bae-u-da ]
to leave 떠나다 [ ddeo-na-da ]
to like 좋아하다 [ jo-a-ha-da ]
to listen 듣다 [ deut-da ]
to live 살다 [ sal-da ]
to look around 구경하다 [ gu-gyeong-ha-da ]
to love 사랑하다 [ sa-rang-ha-da ]
to make 만들다 [ man-deul-da ]
to make a phone call 전화하다 [ jeon-hwa-ha-da ]
to marry 결혼하다 [ gyeo-ron-ha-da ]
to meet 만나다 [ man-na-da ]
to meet (honorific) 뵙다 [ boep-da ]
to move 이사하다 [ i-sa-ha-da ]
to open 열다 [ yeol-da ]
to paint, to draw a picture 그리다 [ geu-ri-da ]
to practice 연습하다 [ yeon-seup-ha-da ]
to prepare/get ready 준비하다 [ jun-bi-ha-da ]
to rain 비가 오다 [ bi-ga-o-da ]
to read 읽다 [ il-da ]
to receive 받다 [ bat-da ]
to return, to go back 돌아가다 [ do-ra-ga-da ]
to ride 타다 [ ta-da ]
to say 말하다 [ mal-ha-da ]
to see 보다 [ bo-da ]
to sell 팔다 [ pal-da ]
to send 보내다 [ bo-nae-da ]
to shop 쇼핑하다 [ syo-ping-ha-da ]
to sing 노래하다 [ no-rae-ha-da ]
to sit 앉다 [ an-da ]
to sleep 자다 [ ja-da ]
to sleep (honorific) 주무시다 [ ju-mu-si-da ]
to smoke (담배를) 피우다 (dam-bae-reul) [ pi-u-da ]
to snow 눈이 오다 [ nun-i-o-da ]
to start 시작하다 [ si-jak-ha-da ]
to study 공부하다 [ gong-bu-ha-da ]
to swim 수영하다 [ su-yeong-ha-da ]
to take (time) (시간이) 걸리다 (si-gan-i) [ geol-ri-da ]
to take a picture (사진을) 찍다 (sa-jin-eul) [ jjik-da ]
to take a rest 쉬다 [ swi-da ]
to take a shower 샤워하다 [ sya-wo-ha-da ]
to talk 이야기하다/얘기하다 [ i-ya-gi-ha-da/yae-gi-ha-da ]
to teach 가르치다 [ ga-reu-chi-da ]
to thank 감사하다 [ gam-sa-ha-da ]
to transfer 갈아타다 [ ga-ra-ta-da ]
to travel 여행하다 [ yeo-haeng-ha-da ]
to use 사용하다 [ sa-yong-ha-da ]
to use a computer 컴퓨터하다 [ keom-pyu-teo-ha-da ]
to visit 방문하다 [ bang-mun-ha-da ]
to wait 기다리다 [ gi-da-ri-da ]
to wear 입다 [ ip-da ]
to work 일하다 [ il-ha-da ]
to write/ to use 쓰다 [ sseu-da ]
Korean Vocabulary - Sports
Korean Question Word - What Kind Of
무슨 allows you to ask about details or characteristic about something. 무슨 can be used with nouns such as 운동 (sports), 영화 (movies), 요일 (name of the week or day), 음식 (food), 계절 (season) to form questions like stated above.
• 무슨 영화예요? [ mu-seun-yeong-hwa-ye-yo ] - What kind of movie?
• 무슨 운동이에요? [ mu-seun-un-dong-i-e-yo ] - What kind of sport?
• 무슨 요일이에요? [ mu-seun-yo-il-i-e-yo ] - What kind of day of the week?
• 무슨 음식이에요? [ mu-seun-eum-sik-i-e-yo ] - What kind of food?
• 무슨 계절이에요? [ mu-seun-kye-jeol-i-e-yo ] - What kind of season?
무슨 can also be use with 날 [ nal ] to ask about occasions (time). We will learn 날 in the future. Below are some examples of Korean Question Word - 무슨 - what kind of?
• 무슨 책을 읽어요? [ mu-seun-chae-geul-il-geo-yo ] - What kind of book are you reading?
• 무슨 음악을 좋아해요? [ mu-seun-eum-ak-eul-joh-a-hae-yo ] - What kind of music do you like?
• 무슨 차를 마셔요? [ mu-seun-cha-reul-ma-syeo-yo ] - What kind of tea are you drinking?
• 오늘은 무슨 요일이에요? [ o-neul-eun-mu-seun-yo-il-i-e-yo ] - What(kind of) day is it today?
• 매년 2월 14일이 무슨 날이에요? [ mae-nyeon-i-wol-sip-sa-il-i-mu-seun-nal-i-e-yo ] - What (kind of) day is February 14th every year?
책 - book, 읽어요 - read, 음악 - music, 좋아해요 - like, 차 - tea, 마셔요 - drink, 오늘 - today, and 매년 - every year. There are many more Korean interrogative sentence can be formed by 무슨, but for now, we learn the easiest first, we will go into more depth as we move on. Practice your Korean reading skills in Korean Reading Practice 4 - What kind of work do you do? Then, continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 9 - Korean Question Word - Who/Whose.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Korean Vocabulary - Time
Time - 시간 [ si-gan ]
English Korean Pronunciation
Calendar 달력 [ dal-lyeok ]
Solar calendar 양력 [ yang-nyeok ]
Lunar calendar 음력 [ eum-nyeok ]
Last year 작년 [ jang-nyeon ]
This year 올해 [ o-rae ]
Next year 내년 [ nae-nyeon ]
Last month 지난 달 [ ji-nan-dal ]
This month 이번 달 [ i-beon-dal ]
Next month 다음 달 [ da-eum-dal ]
Last week 지난 주 [ ji-nan-ju ]
This week 이번 주 [ i-beon-ju ]
Next week 다음 주 [ da-eum-ju ]
Yesterday 어제 [ eo-je ]
Today 오늘 [ o-neul ]
Tomorrow 내일 [ nae-il ]
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Korean Question Word - Who/Whose
Use 누구 like English question word- who/whose. Korean Question Word - 누구 (who/whose) same as 무슨 (what kind of) same as 어느 (which) followed by a noun and goes at the beginning of the sentences and doesn’t used together with 예요. For the time being, just remember that only 뭐 goes at the end of the sentences. 누구 can be used with noun plus 이에요/예요 (Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Identification). Nouns such as 첵 (book), 연필 (pencil), 핸드폰 (cellphone), 가방 (bag), and many more (view Korean Vocabulary - Things) to form questions like stated above.
• 누구세요? [ nu-gu-se-yo ] - Who’s there? or Who is it?
• 누구 거예요? [ nu-gu-geo-ye-yo ] - Whose is it?
• 누구 연필이에요? [ nu-gu-yeon-pil-i-e-yo ] - Whose pencil is it?
• 누구 가방이에요? [ nu-gu-ga-bang-i-e-yo ] - Whose bag is it?
누구 can be use with informal polite Korean Sentence Ending Form 세요 to ask question - 누구세요? means who’s there? or who is it?. 누구 거예요? is the same as asking 누구 책이에요? In here, 거 substitutes for 책. 거 is used in colloquial conversation, while 것 is used more in writing. Generally, 것 means a thing, an object, a matter or an affair.
Differences between Korean question words 무슨 (what kind of) and 어느 (which) and 누구 (whose) - 무슨 ask about ask about something details or characteristic, 어느 is asking someone to make a choice among multiple things. whereas 누구 is asking about belonging to which person or people.
• 무슨 책이에요? [ mu-seun-chaek-i-e-yo ] - What kind of book is it?
• 어느 책이에요? [ eo-neu-chaek-i-e-yo ] - Which book is it?
• 누구 책이에요? [ nu-gu-chaek-i-e-yo ] - Whose book is it?
There are many more Korean interrogative sentence can be formed by 누구, but for now, we learn the easiest first, we will go into more depth as we move on. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 10 - Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - This/That/That. n’t same as 뭐.
Korean Question Word - Which
뭐 is always used together with 예요 to ask questions and is place at the end of the sentences. 어느 followed by a noun and goes at the beginning of the sentences and doesn’t used together with 예요. 어느 allows you to ask someone to specify which among a category or group of objects. 어느 can be used with nouns such as 나라 (country), 회사 (company), 학교 (school) to form questions like stated above.
• 어느 나라 사람이에요? [ eo-neu-na-ra-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - Which country are you from?
• 어느 학교 학생이에요? [ eo-neu-hak-gyo-hak-saeng-i-e-yo ] - Which school are you from?
• 어느 회사 에서 일해요? [ eo-neu-hoe-sa-e-seo-il-hae-yo ] - Which company you work at?
• 어느 대학교 에서 공부해요? [ eo-neu-dae-hak-gyo-e-seo-gong-bu-hae-yo ] - Which university you study at?
학교 means school in Korean refer to primary and secondary school. For university, 대 is added in front of 학교, 대학교 means university. Curious about Educational System of Korea? The answer for Korean question word 어느 above can be normal sentences as below:
• 저는 한국 사람이에요. [ jo-neun-han-guk-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - I am Korean.
• 저는 일본어학교 학생이에요. [ jo-neun-il-bon-eo-hak-gyo-hak-saeng-i-e-yo ] - I am Japanese school student.
• 저는 자동차회사 에서 일해요. [ jo-neun-ja-dong-cha-hoe-sa-e-seo-il-hae-yo ] - I work at a car company.
• 저는 한국대학교 에서 공부해요. [ jo-neun-han-guk-dae-hak-gyo-e-seo-gong-bu-hae-yo ] - I study at Korea university.
일해요 and 공부해요 are Korean verbs, 일해요 means work, 공부해요 means study, 에서 means at. We will learn this in the future, do Korean Language Exercises 2 and practice your Korean reading skills in Korean Reading Practice 3 - What is your name? Then, continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 8 - Korean Question Word - What Kind Of.
Korean Language Reading Practice
In Korean
안녕하세요? 저는 마이클이에요.
미국 사람이에요. 제 고향은 시카고예요.
저는 학생이에요. 제 전공은 경제학 이에요.
만나서 반가워요.
In English
Hello, I am Michael.
I am American. My hometown is Chicago.
I am a student. My major is Economics.
Nice to meet you.
Korean Vocabulary
• 고향 [ go-hyang ] - hometown
• 시카고 [ si-ka-go ] - Chicago
• 전공 [ jeon-gong ] - major
• 경제학 [ gyeong-je-hak ] - Economics
Korean Expressions
• 안녕하세요? [ an-nyeong-ha-se-yo ] - Hello?
• 저는 마이클이에요. [ jo-neun-ma-i-keul-i-e-yo ] - I am Michael.
• 미국 사람이에요. [ mi-guk-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - I am American.
• 제 고향은 시카고예요. [ je-go-hyang-eun-si-ka-go-ye-yo ] - My hometown is Chicago.
• 저는 학생이에요. [ jo-neun-hak-saeng-i-e-yo ] - I am a student.
• 제 전공은 경제학 이에요. [ je-jeon-gong-eun-gyeong-je-hak-i-e-yo ] - My major is Economics.
• 만나서 반가워요. [ man-na-seo-ban-ga-wo-yo ] - Nice to meet you.
You may come from other countries, so you just need to change the name of the countries where you from. For examples, if you are from Korea, you just need to change the word - 시카고 to 한국, for the name of the countries, you may need to view: Korean Vocabulary - Countries. Michael introduce himself by first telling others his Korean names, his nationality, his hometown and his occupation (view Korean Vocabulary - Occupations). This is a nice example when you introduce yourself to Korean and in the end, add 만나서 반가워요 to show politeness. This expression is used to a person at a first meeting, 반가워요 delivers the same meaning. Korean Language Reading Practice is a short lesson. Hope you will like it. Continue to Korean Language Reading Practice 2 - Yes/No.
Credit: Seoul National University
감사합니다 - Thank you!
orean Adjectives
Korean Adjectives - 형용사 [ hyeong-yong-sa ]
Meaning Korean Adjective Pronunciation
to be/to exist 있다 [ it-da ]
to be all right 괜찮다 [ gwaen-chan-da ]
to be bad 나쁘다 [ na-bbeu-da ]
to be beautiful 아름답다 [ a-reum-dap-da ]
to be big 크다 [ keu-da ]
to be busy 바쁘다 [ ba-bbeu-da ]
to be cheap 싸다 [ ssa-da ]
to be cold 차갑다 [ cha-gap-da ]
to be cold 춥다 [ chup-da ]
to be comfortable 편하다 [ pyeon-ha-da ]
to be convenient 편리하다 [ pyeon-ri-ha-da ]
to be cool 시원하다 [ si-won-ha-da ]
to be cute 귀엽다 [ gwi-yeop-da ]
to be delicious 맛있다 [ ma-sit-da ]
to be different 다르다 [ da-reu-da ]
to be difficult 어렵다 [ eo-ryeop-da ]
to be easy 쉽다 [ swip-da ]
to be expensive 비싸다 [ bi-ssa-da ]
to be far 멀다 [ meol-da ]
to be fast 빠르다 [ bba-reu-da ]
to be full 배부르다 [ bae-bu-reu-da ]
to be glad 기쁘다 [ gi-bbeu-da ]
to be good 좋다 [ jo-da ]
to be good-natured 착하다 [ chak-ha-da ]
to be grateful 고맙다 [ go-map-da ]
to be hard 힘들다 [ him-deul-da ]
to be healthy 건강하다 [ geon-gang-ha-da ]
to be heavy 무겁다 [ mu-geop-da ]
to be hot 뜨겁다 [ ddeu-geop-da ]
to be hot (spicy) 맵다 [ maep-da ]
to be how 어떻다 [ eo-ddeo-da ]
to be hungry 배고프다 [ bae-go-peu-da ]
to be interesting 재미있다 [ jae-mi-it-da ]
to be jammed, crowded 복잡하다 [ bok-jap-ha-da ]
to be kind 친철하다 [ chin-cheol-ha-da ]
to be late 늦다 [ neut-da ]
to be long 길다 [ gil-da ]
to be many 많다 [ man-da ]
to be near 가깝다 [ ga-ggap-da ]
to be noisy 시끄럽다 [ si-ggeu-reop-da ]
to be not/there is no… 없다 [ eob-da ]
to be pretty 예쁘다 [ ye-bbeu-da ]
to be sad 슬프다 [ seul-peu-da ]
to be scared 무섭다 [ mu-seop-da ]
to be shamed 창피하다 [ chang-pi-ha-da ]
to be short 짧다 [ jjal-da ]
to be sick 아프다 [ a-peu-da ]
to be small 작다 [ jak-da ]
to be sorry 미안하다 [ mi-an-ha-da ]
to be sorry (honorific) 죄송하다 [ joe-song-ha-da ]
to be strange, weird 이상하다 [ i-sang-ha-da ]
to be stylish 멋있다 [ meo-sit-da ]
to be tasteless, plain 싱겁다 [ sing-geop-da ]
to be the same 같다 [ gat-da ]
to be tired 피곤하다 [ pi-gon-ha-da ]
to be uncomfortable 불편하다 [ bul-pyeon-ha-da ]
to be uninteresting 재미없다 [ jae-mi-eob-da ]
to be unpleasant 싫다 [ sil-da ]
to be glad 기쁘다 [ gi-bbeu-da ]
View Korean Verbs. However, please be careful of Korean Irregular Verbs. For more
Korean Vocabulary – Means of Transportation
Means of Transportation - 교통 기관 [ gyo-tong-gi-gwan ]
English Korean Pronunciation
Airliner 정기여객기 [ jeong-gi-yeo-gaek-gi ]
Airplane 비행기 [ bi-haeng-gi ]
Airship 비행선 [ bi-haeng-seon ]
Bicycle 자전거 [ ja-jeon-geo ]
Bus 버스 [ beo-seu ]
Canoe 카누 [ ka-nu ]
Car 자동차 [ ja-dong-cha ]
Dog Sled 개 썰매 [ gae-sseol-mae ]
Estate Car/Station Wagon 스테이션 왜건 [ seu-te-i-syeon-wae-geon ]
Express Bus 고속버스 [ go-sok-beo-seu ]
Ferry 나룻배 [ na-rut-bae ]
Glider 글라이더/활공기 [ geul-la-i-deo/hwal-gong-gi ]
Helicopter 헬리기 [ hel-li-gi ]
Hovercraft 호버크래프트 [ ho-beo-keu-rae-peu-teu ]
Jeep 지프차 [ ji-peu-cha ]
Jet Liner 제트 여객기 [ je-teu-yeo-gaek-gi ]
Jet Plane 제트기 [ je-teu-gi ]
Jet Ski 제트스키 [ je-teu-seu-ki ]
Limousine 리모진 [ ri-mo-jin ]
Motor Boat 모터보트 [ mo-teo-bo-teu ]
Motor Scooter 모터 스쿠터 [ mo-teo-seu-ku-teo ]
Ocean Liner 원양 정기선 [ won-yang-jeong-gi-seon ]
On foot 걸어서 [ geol-eo-seo ]
Passenger Car 승객 자동차 [ seung-gaek-ja-dong-cha ]
Passenger Plane 여객기 [ yeo-gaek-gi ]
Row Boat 노젓는 배 [ no-jeot-neun-bae ]
Sailboat 돛단배 [ dot-dan-bae ]
Scooter 스쿠터 [ seu-ku-teo ]
Ship, boat 배 [ bae ]
Sleigh 썰매 [ sseol-mae ]
Snowmobile 설상차 [ seol-sang-cha ]
Street Car 전차 [ jeon-cha ]
Subway 지하철 [ ji-ha-cheol ]
Taxi 택시 [ taek-si ]
Train 기차 [ gi-cha ]
Truck 픽업 [ pik-eop ]
Van 봉고차 [ bong-go-cha ]
감사합니다 - Thank you!

learn korean

korean Irregular Verbs are the “Gangster Group” in Korean Hangeul system. There are a total of five Korean Irregular Verbs: ㄷ, ㅂ, ㄹ, 으 and 르. This post is just an introduction of the Korean Irregular verbs, I’ll cover them more details in Learn Korean Language lessons. Why I called them the “Gangster Group”? Because they will change accordingly when they meet with certain consonants or vowels. We will look at them in the Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings. Let’s learn the rules below.
Korean Irregular Verbs - ㄷ
The first irregular verbs we learn today is “ㄷirregular verbs”. When a verb stem ends in “ㄷ”, this “ㄷ” becomes “ㄹ” whenever the verb tense ending begin with a vowel (such as the Korean Present Tense 아/어요). Then add the normal present tense ending to this new stem. See examples below.
• 듣다 [ deut-da ] → 들어요 [ deu-reo-yo ] (듣→들) - to listen
• 걷다 [ geot-da ] → 걸어요 [ geo-reo-yo ] (걷→걸) - to walk
However, there are few exceptions which mean that the “ㄷ” ending verbs that do not change the stems whether the suffix begins with a vowel or a consonant. See examples below.
• 받다 [ bat-da ] → 받아요 [ ba-da-yo ] - to receive
• 쏟다 [ ssot-da ] → 쏟아요 [ sso-da-yo ] - to pour
• 닫다 [ dat-da ] → 닫아요 [ da-da-yo ] - to close
• 믿다 [ mit-da ] → 믿어요 [ mi-deo-yo ] - to believe
Examples:
• 음악을 들었어요. [ eum-a-geul-deu-reo-sseo-yo ] - I listened to music.
• 빨리 걸으세요. [ bbal-li-geo-reu-se-yo ] - Please walk quickly.
• 문을 닫으세요. [ mu-neul-da-deu-se-yo ] - Close the door, please.
• 선물을 받았어요. [ seon-mu-reul-ba-da-sseo-yo ] - I got a present.
Korean Irregular Verbs - ㅂ
The “ㅂ irregular verbs” can be changed to either “우” or “오” for some cases. When a verb stem ends in “ㅂ”, this “ㅂ” becomes “우” or “오” whenever the verb tense ending begins with a vowel (such as the Korean Present Tense 아/어요). When a verb stem ends with a vowel other than “ㅏ or ㅗ”, this “ㅂ” becomes “우”. Then combined the “우” with the present tense ending 어요 to form the ending 워요. See examples below.
• 줍다 [ jup-da ] → 주워요 [ ju-wo-yo ] (줍→주우)+어요) - to pick up
• 굽다 [ gup-da ] → 구워요 [ gu-wo-yo ] (굽→구우)+어요) - to roast
• 쉽다 [ swip-da ] → 쉬워요 [ swi-wo-yo ] (쉽→쉬우)+어요) - to be easy
• 귀엽다 [ gwi-yeop-da ] → 귀여워요 [ gwi-yeo-wo-yo ] (귀엽→귀여우)+어요) - to be cute
• 부럽다 [ bu-reop-da ] → 부러워요 [ bu-reo-wo-yo ] (부럽→부러우)+어요) - to be jealous
When a verb stem ends with “ㅏ or ㅗ”, this “ㅂ” becomes “오” rather than “우”. Then combined the “오” with the present tense ending 아요 to form the ending 와요. See examples below.
• 돕다 [ dop-da ] → 도와요 [ do-wa-yo ] (돕→도오)+아요) - to help
• 곱다 [ gop-da ] → 고와요 [ go-wa-yo ] (곱→고오)+아요) - to be beautiful
However, there are few exceptions which mean that the “ㅂ” ending verbs that do not change the stems whether the suffix begins with a vowel or a consonant. See examples below.
• 잡다 [ jap-da ] → 잡아요 [ ja-ba-yo ] - to catch
• 집다 [ jip-da ] → 집어요 [ ji-beo-yo ] - to pick up
• 씹다 [ ssip-da ] → 씹어요 [ ssi-beo-yo ] - to chew
Korean Irregular Verbs - 으
When the verb stem ends with the vowel “으”, this “으” is dropped whenever the verb tense ending begins with a vowel (such as the Korean Present Tense 아/어요). Then add the normal present tense ending to this new stem. See examples below.
• 끄다 [ ggeu-da ] → 꺼요 [ ggeo-yo ] (ㄲ+어요) - to put out/turn off
• 쓰다 [ sseu-da ] → 써요 [ sseo-yo ] (ㅆ+어요) - to write
• 크다 [ keu-da ] → 커요 [ keo-yo ] (ㅋ+어요) - to be big
• 바쁘다 [ ba-bbeu-da ] → 바빠요 [ ba-bba-yo ] (ㅃ+아요) - to be busy
Korean Irregular Verbs - 르
When a verb stem ends in “ㄹ”, before 아/어요 the “ㅡ” is dropped and one more “ㄹ” is added to the syllable preceding the original “ㄹ”. In other word, two “ㄹ” is produced. Then add the normal present tense ending to this new stem. See examples below.
• 나르다 [ na-reu-da ] → 날라요 [ nal-la-yo ] (나르+아요 = 날+(ㄹ)+아요 = 날라요) - to carry
• 부르다 [ bu-reu-da ] → 불러요 [ bul-leo-yo ] (부르+어요 = 불+(ㄹ)+어요 = 불러요) - to sing/call out
• 흐르다 [ heu-reu-da ] → 흘러요 [ heul-leo-yo ] (흐르+어요 = 흘+(ㄹ)+어요 = 흘러요) - to flow
• 가르다 [ ga-reu-da ] → 갈라요 [ gal-la-yo ] (가르+아요 = 갈+(ㄹ)+아요 = 갈라요) - to divide
• 지르다 [ ji-reu-da ] → 질러요 [ jil-leo-yo ] (지르+어요 = 질+(ㄹ)+어요 = 질러요) - to yell/set fire to
Korean Irregular Verbs - ㄹ
Here comes our last Korean Irregular Verbs, the “ㄹ irregular verbs”, the most difficult irregular verbs. When a verb stem ends in “ㄹ”, this “ㄹ” is dropped whenever the consonants such as “ㄴ, ㅂ, ㅅ” come next. Then add the normal ending to this new stem. There will be no changes when the verb tense ending begins with a vowel (such as the Korean Present Tense 아/어요). See the table below.
Verb/ Adjective -는 -ㅂ니다 -세요 -어/아요
길다 [ gil-da ] - to be long 긴 [ gin ] (길+는→기+ㄴ) not “기는” 깁니다 [ gim-ni-da ] (길+ㅂ니다→기+ㅂ니다) 기세요 [ gi-se-yo ] (길+세요→기+세요) 길어요 [ gi-reo-yo ] (길+어요)
살다 [ sal-da ] - to live/buy 사는 [ sa-neun ] (살+는→사+는) 삽니다 [ sam-ni-da ] (삽+ㅂ니다→사+ㅂ니다) 사세요 [ sa-se-yo ] (살+세요→사+세요) 살아요 [ sa-ra-yo ] (살+아요)
울다 [ ul-da ] - to cry 우는 [ u-neun ] (울+는→우+는) 웁니다 [ um-ni-da ] (울+ㅂ니다→우+ㅂ니다) 우세요 [ u-se-yo ] (울+세요→우+세요) 울어요 [ u-reo-yo ] (울+어요)
팔다 [ pal-da ] - to sell 파는 [ pa-neun ] (팔+는→파+는) 팝니다 [ pam-mi-da ] (팔+ㅂ니다→파+ㅂ니다) 파세요 [ pa-se-yo ] (팔+세요→파+세요) 팔아요 [ pa-ra-yo ] (팔+아요)
밀다 [ mil-da ] - to push 미는 [ mi-neun ] (밀+는→미+는) 밉니다 [ mim-ni-da ] (밀+ㅂ니다→미+ㅂ니다) 미세요 [ mi-se-yo ] (밀+세요→미+세요) 밀어요 [ mi-reo-yo ] (밀+어요)
빌다 [ bil-da ] - to beg 비는 [ bi-neun ] (빌+는→비+는) 빕니다 [ bim-ni-da ] (빌+ㅂ니다→비+ㅂ니다) 비세요 [ bi-se-yo ] (빌+세요→비+세요) 빌어요 [ bi-reo-yo ] (빌+어요)
열다 [ yeol-da ] - to open 여는 [ yeo-neun ] (열+는→여+는) 엽니다 [ yeom-ni-da ] (열+ㅂ니다→여+ㅂ니다) 여세요 [ yeo-se-yo ] (열+세요→여+세요) 열어요 [ yeo-reo-yo ] (열+어요)
감사합니다 - Thank you!

learn korean

Korean Vocabulary - Family Terms
Family - 가족 [ ga-jok ]
English Korean Pronunciation
Cousin 사촌 [ sa-chon ]
Daughter 딸 [ ddal ]
Father 아버지 [ a-beo-ji ]
Grandfather 할아버지 [ ha-ra-beo-ji ]
Grandmother 할머니 [ hal-meo-ni ]
Husband 남편 [ nam-pyeon ]
Maternal aunt 이모 [ i-mo ]
Maternal uncle 외삼촌 [ woe-sam-chon ]
Mother 어머니 [ eo-meo-ni ]
My wife 아내 [ a-nae ]
Older brother (of a man) 형 [ hyeong ]
Older brother (of a woman) 오빠 [ o-bba ]
Older sister (of a man) 누나 [ nu-na ]
Older sister (of a woman) 언니 [ eon-ni ]
Paternal aunt 고모 [ go-mo ]
Paternal uncle 삼촌 [ sam-chon ]
Relatives 친척 [ chin-cheok ]
Someone’s wife 부인 [ bu-in ]
Son 아들 [ a-deul ]
Younger brother 남동생 [ nam-dong-saeng ]
Younger sister 여동생 [ yeo-dong-saeng ]
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Useful Korean Phrases and Expressions
At the Restaurant - Korean Vocabulary - Food and Drinks
English Korean Pronunciation
Please give me a menu. 메뉴 좀 갖다주세요. Menyu jom gatdajuseyo.
I’d like one order of… …일 인분 부탁 합니다. …il inbun butak hamnida.
Don’t make it hot (spicy) 맵지 않게 해주세요. Maepji anke haejuseyo.
Please bring me some water. 물 좀 주세요. Mul jom juseyo.
Please bring me the check. 여기 계산서 좀 가져오세요. Yeogi gyesanseo jom gajyeooseyo.
Please give me a receipt. 영수증을 주세요. Yeongsujeungeul juseyo.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Useful Korean Phrases and Expressions
Driving Directions
English Korean Pronunciation
Please go to … …에 가주세요. …e gajuseyo.
I’m in a hurry. 급해요. Keupaeyo.
There’s no hurry. 급하게 가지 않아도 되요. Keupage gaji anado doeyo.
Please drive more … 좀 더… 운전해 주세요. Jom deo… unjeonhae juseyo.
slowly / quickly 천천히 / 빨리 cheoncheoni / bballi
Go straight ahead. 똑바로 가주세요. Ddokbaro gajuseyo.
Turn … …으로 돌아가 주세요. … euro dolaga juseyo.
left / right 왼쪽 / 오른쪽 woenjjok / oreunjjok
Stop here, please. 여기서 내려 주세요. Yeogiseo naeryeo juseyo.
How much is the fare? 요금이 얼마예요? Yogeumi eolmayeyo?
Emagasia wish you all the best in learning Useful Korean Phrases and Expressions.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Korean Vocabulary for Countries covers all the countries name in Korean. In order to Learn Korean language, it is vital for you to know and memories the Korean vocabulary. Without knowing the Korean vocabulary, it’s very hard for you to form a Korean sentence. Do you know that when introducing yourself, you may need to introduce your name perhaps in Korean (view Korean names), your occupation, your nationality. Today we will learn the vocabulary for countries in Emagasia.
There are many advantages if you can memories the name of those countries as it has a lot of usage in Korean language such as nationality, race or languages.
Korean Vocabulary - Countries
Countries - 나라 [ na-ra ]
English Korean Pronunciation
Algeria 알제리 [ al-je-ri ]
America 미국 [ mi-guk ]
Argentina 아르헨티나 [ a-reu-hen-ti-na ]
Australia 오스트레일리아/호주 [ o-seu-teu-re-il-ria/ho-ju ]
Austria 오스트리아 [ o-seu-teu-ri-a ]
Bangladesh 방글라데시 [ bang-geul-ra-de-si ]
Belgium 벨기에 [ bel-gi-e ]
Bolivia 볼리비아 [ bol-ri-bi-a ]
Brazil 브라질 [ beu-ra-jil ]
Brunei 브루나이 [ beu-ru-na-i]
Burma/Myanmar 버마/미얀마 [ beo-ma/mi-yan-ma ]
Cambodia 캄보디아 [ kam-bo-di-a ]
Cameroon 카메룬 [ ka-me-run ]
Canada 캐나다 [ kae-na-da ]
Chicago 시카고 [ si-ka-go ]
Chile 칠레 [ chil-re ]
China 종국 [ jung-guk ]
Colombia 콜롬비아 [ kol-rom-bi-a ]
Cuba 쿠바 [ ku-ba]
Czech Republic 체코 [ che-ko ]
Denmark 덴마크 [ den-ma-keu ]
Ecuador 에콰도르 [ e-kwa-do-reu ]
Egypt 이집트 [ i-jip-teu ]
England 영국 [ yeong-guk ]
Fiji 피지 [ pi-ji ]
Finland 핀란드 [ pin-ran-deu ]
France 프랑스 [ peu-rang-seu ]
Germany 독일 [ dok-il ]
Ghana 가나 [ ka-na ]
Greece 그리스 [ geu-ri-seu ]
Hong Kong 홍콩 [ hong-kong ]
Hungary 헝가리 [ heong-ga-ri ]
Iceland 아이슬란드 [ a-i-seul-ran-deu ]
India 인도 [ in-do ]
Indonesia 인도네시아 [ in-do-ne-si-a ]
Iran 이란 [ i-ran ]
Iraq 이라크 [ i-ra-keu ]
Ireland 아일랜드 [ a-il-raen-deu ]
Israel 이스라엘 [ i-seu-ra-el ]
Italy 이탈리아/이태리 [ i-tal-ri-a/i-tae-ri ]
Jamaica 자메이카 [ ja-me-i-ka ]
Japan 일본 [ il-bon ]
Jordon 요르단 [ yo-reu-dan ]
Kenya 케냐 [ ke-nya ]
Korea 한국 [ han-guk ]
Kuwait 쿠웨이트 [ ku-we-i-teu ]
Laos 라오스 [ ra-o-seu ]
Lebanon 레바논 [ re-ba-non ]
Libya 리비아 [ ri-bi-a ]
Luxembourg 룩셈부르크 [ ruk-sem-bu-reu-keu ]
Macau 마카오 [ ma-ka-o ]
Maldives 몰디브 [ mol-di-beu ]
Malta 몰타 [ mol-ta ]
Malaysia 말레이시아 [ mal-re-i-si-a ]
Mexico 맥시코 [ mae-si-ko ]
Morocco 모로코 [ mo-ro-ko ]
Nepal 네팔 [ ne-pal ]
Netherlands 네덜란드 [ ne-deol-ran-deu ]
New Zealand 뉴질랜드 [ nyu-jil-raen-deu ]
Nigeria 나이지리아 [ na-i-ji-ri-a ]
North Korea 북한 [ buk-han ]
Norway 노르웨이 [ no-reu-we-i ]
Pakistan 파키스탄 [ pa-ki-seu-tan ]
Peru 페루 [ pe-ru ]
Philippines 필리핀 [ pil-ri-pin ]
Poland 폴란드 [ pol-ran-deu ]
Portugal 포르투갈 [ po-reu-tu-gal ]
Russia 러시아 [ reo-si-a ]
Saudi Arabia 사우디아라비아 [ sa-u-di-a-ra-bi-a ]
Senegal 세네갈 [ se-ne-gal ]
Singapore 싱가폴 [ sing-ga-pol ]
Switzerland 스위스 [ seu-wi-seu ]
Thailand 태국 [ tae-guk ]
Turkey 터키 [ teo-ki ]
Vietnam 베트남 [ be-teu-nam ]
When you want to describe someone’s nationality, just add the word 사람 (people) behind the country name. For example, Korea 한국 + 사람 = 한국 사람 (Korean). By adding the word 인 behind the country name, it means race, such as 한국 인 (Korean), 인도 인 (Indian), 말레이 인 (Malay) or 말레이시아 인도인 (Malaysian Indians). Names of languages, are formed by placing 어/말 after the name of country. For general language, add 어, 말 is for describing spoken language. Examples - 한국어/한국말 (Korean), 일본어/일본말 (Japanese), 중국어/중국말 (Chinese), 외국어/외국말 (Foreign language). However for English, is just 영어 without referring a country. But for United States English, United Kingdom English or Australia English, may write as 미국 영어, 영국 영어, 호주 영어 to differentiate them.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
earn Korean Language Lesson 33 - Korean Conjunction - But

Continue from Lesson 32 - Korean Question Word - How. Today we come to learn Korean Conjunction - But. In this learn Korean language lesson, we will learn conjunction - But - 지만 [ ji-man ]. It has the same meaning as English question word - how. In Korean, it is use to shows a contrast between the two sentences. 지만 is a coordinating conjunction used to connect two sentences together in a way that shows a contrast between the two. 지만 is added to the stem of the verb or adjective in the first sentence. Let’s start!
Korean Conjunction - But
We have learned Korean Conjunction - And in learn Korean language Lesson 23 and Lesson 31. To indicates a contrast between what is said before and after, use 지만. It is a coordinating conjunction used to connect two sentences together in a way that shows a contrast between the two. 지만 is added to the stem of the Korean Verbs or Korean Adjectives in the first sentence. Simply add it to the end of the verb or adjective stem regardless of whether it ends in a vowel or a consonant. For example, when the food was expensive but not very tasty, add this Korean conjunction to the end of the adjective stem to make contrast between expensive and tasteless. When you want to watch a movie but have no time, use it to show contrast between your desire and unavailability. See examples below.
• 이 식당은 비싸지만 맛이 없어요. [ i-sik-dang-eun-bi-ssa-ji-man-ma-si-eop-seo-yo ] - This restaurant is expensive but not very tasty.
• 그 영화를 보고 싶지만 시간이 없어요. [ geu-yeong-hwa-reul-bo-go-sip-ji-man-si-gan-i-eop-seo-yo ] - I want to watch that movie but I have no time.
• 토요일에는 하지만 일요일에는 하지 않아요. [ to-yo-il-e-neun-ha-ji-man-il-yo-il-e-neun-ha-ji-an-a-yo ] - It opens Saturday but closes on Sunday.
• 한국 친구가 있지만 자주 만날 수 없어요. [ han-guk-chin-gu-ga-it-ji-man-ja-ju-man-nal-su-eop-seo-yo ] - I have a Korean friend but we can’t meet often.
When two sentences are connected using 지만, the repeated part in the second sentence is usually omitted.
• 저는 학교에 가지만 친구는 학교에 안 가요. [ jeo-neun-hak-gyo-e-ga-ji-man-chin-gu-neun-hak-gyo-e-an-ga-yo ] - I go to school, but my friend doesn’t go to school.
• 저는 학교에 가지만 친구는 안 가요. [ jeo-neun-hak-gyo-e-ga-ji-man-chin-gu-neun-an-ga-yo ] - I go to school, but my friend doesn’t.
To make contrasts involving the past, 았/었지만 is used adding 았/었 to 지만 to indicate the Korean Past Tense. Simply replace 어요 in 았/었어요 with 지만.
• 어젯밤에 그 일을 했지만 안 가져 왔어요. [ i-jet-bam-e-geu-il-eul-haet-ji-man-an-ga-jyeo-wa-sseo-yo ] - I did the work last night but did not bring it with me.
• 아까 점심을 먹었지만 배가 고파요. [ a-gga-jeom-sim-eul-meo-geot-ji-man-bae-ga-go-pa-yo ] - I ate lunch a while ago but I am still hungry.
Learn Korean Language Flashback
Here are the learn Korean language flashback of previous lessons. Do you remember that we have learned Korean Irregular Verbs, the “Gangster Group” in Korean Hangeul system? There are a total of five Korean Irregular Verbs: ㄷ, ㅂ, ㄹ, 으 and 르. Let’s revise the ㅂ irregular verbs here. For more details, please revise that lesson. In Korean there are two types of verbs: Korean Action Verbs (to run, to sleep, to do, to work, to think, to study, etc.) and Descriptive Verbs which is the adjectives (to be happy, to be sad, to be cheap, to be expensive, to be good, to be bad, etc.). These two types of verbs are same when it comes to irregular. When an adjective stem ending in ㅂ is followed by the vowel 아, 어 or 으, the ㅂ changes to 우.
• 덥다 [ deop-da ] → 덥 + 어요 = 더워요 [ deo-wo-yo ] - to be hot
• 맵다 [ maep-da ] → 맵 + 어요 = 매워요 [ mae-wo-yo ] - to be hot (spicy)
• 춥다 [ chup-da ] → 춥 + 어요 = 추워요 [ chu-wo-yo ] - to be cold
• 쉽다 [ swip-da ] → 쉽 + 어요 = 쉬워요 [ swi-wo-yo ] - to be easy
• 어렵다 [ eo-ryeop-da ] → 어렵 + 어요 = 어려워요 [ eo-ryeo-wo-yo ] - to be difficult
For examples:
• 날씨가 더워요. [ nal-ssi-ga-deo-wo-yo ] - It is hot.
• 한국 신문이 어려워요. [ han-guk-sin-mun-i-eo-ryeo-wo-yo ] - It is difficult to read a Korean newspaper.
-지만 -아/어요 -았/었어요 -아/어서
덥다 덥지만 더워요 더웠어요 더워서
맵다 맵지만 매워요 매웠어요 매워서
춥다 춥지만 추워요 추웠어요 추워서
쉽다 쉽지만 쉬워요 쉬웠어요 쉬워서
어렵다 어렵지만 어려워요 어려웠어요 어려워서
감사합니다 - Thank you!

Korean Words

The following table contains important words about days and time in Korean as well as in English.
English Korean Words Hangul Script

Sunday eeryoheel 일요일
Monday wuhryoheel 월요일
Tuesday hwa-yoheel 화요일
Wednesday sue-yoheel 수요일
Thursday mo gyoeel 목요일
Friday gumyoeel 금요일
Saturday toh yoeel 토요일
Yesterday uhdjeh 어제
Today ohnul 오늘
Tomorrow neheel 내일
Day naht 낮
Night paam 밤
Week chooh 주
Month wuhl 월
Year nyuhn 년
Second cho 초
Minute boohn 분
Hour sih 시
Morning ah-chim 아침
Evening chuh-nyuhk 저녁
English Korean Expressions Hangul Script

Above / Over wee / wee 위 / 위
After / Past who / chi-nahn 후 / 지난
Back / Behind dwee / dwee 뒤 / 뒤
Before / In front of / Forward chuhn / ____ ui ahp / ahp 전 / __의 앞 / 앞
Between sahee 사이
Coordinates jwa pyo 좌표
Degrees doh 도
Down ah-reh 아래
East tong 동
Far muhli 멀리
Longitude kyung-doh 경도
Left when-chok 왼쪽
Latitude wee-doh 위도
My position is ___. cheh weechinun _______ imneedaa 제 위치는 ____ 입니다.
Near gaa kahp geh 가깝게
North book 북
Northeast book dong chok 북동쪽
Northwest book suh chok 북서쪽
Right ohroon chok 오른쪽
South nahm 남
Southeast nahm dong chok 남동쪽
Southwest nahm suh chok 남서쪽
Straight ahead. ahpooroh chikdjin 앞으로 직진.
Under ah reh 아래
Up wee 위
West suh 서
I hope the content of this page was useful to you, and that you learned some Korean Words, to strengthen your vocabulary and expressions skills. Try to memorize them to be able to use them in your daily conversation. Make sure to check our Learn Korean page, which contains several lessons that might help you in your learning process.

Learn Korean Language Lesson 2 - Korean Basic Conversation

Today, we will start learn some Korean basic conversation ( 기본회화 ) such as normal greetings, thank you, sorry in Korean. The Korean language has various expressions according to specific situations and age and status of the people one is addressing to. In simple, there are two ways when you start a conversation, whether formally or informally.
Basically, the formal way will be use in formal situation and relationships. On the other hand, informal way will be use in informal situations and relationships. The difference between formal and informal is the Korean Sentence Ending Form. There are two sentence ending form – Formal polite and informal polite, both are essential in Korean language, we will learn this in the next lesson. Now, let’s see some Korean basic conversation.
Korean Basic Conversation
Korean English Pronunciation
네/예 yes [ ne/ye ]
아니오 no [ a-ni-o ]
안녕하세요?
안녕하십니까? (F) good morning
good afternoon
good evening [ an-nyeong-ha-se-yo ]
[ an-nyeong-ha-sim-ni-gga ]
안녕히 가세요
안녕히 가십시오 (F) good bye (to person leaving) [ ann-yeong-hi-ka-se-yo ]
[ ann-yeong-hi-ka-ship-si-yo ]
안녕히 계세요
안녕히 계십시오 (F) good bye (to person staying) [ ann-yeong-hi-kye-se-yo ]
[ ann-yeong-hi-kye-ship-si-yo ]
여보세요 hello? (on the phone) [ yeo-bo-se-yo ]
어서 오세요 welcome / hello [ eo-seo-o-se-yo ]
고마워요
고맙습니다 (F)
감사합니다 (F) thank you [ go-ma-wo-yo ]
[ go-map-seum-ni-da ]
[ kam-sa-ham-ni-da ]
천만에요 you’re welcome [ cheon-ma-ne-yo ]
미안해
미안합니다 (F)
죄송합니다 (F) sorry [ mi-an-nae ]
[ mi-an-ham-ni-da ]
[ jwe-song-ham-ni-da ]
괜찮아요
괜찮습니다 (F) it’s all right, it’s ok, don’t worry [ gwaen-cha-na-yo ]
[ gwaen-chan-sseum-ni-da ]
실례합니다 excuse me [ sil-rye-ham-ni-da ]
*Phrases use the informal level of politeness except those denoted with (F).
Yes/no questions can be answered affirmatively with 네/예, 예 gives a polite impression but 네 is more frequently used, and negatively with 아니요.
안녕하세요 is the most common greeting used when meeting someone. No matter the time of day, greet someone with 안녕하세요 when you meet him/her. There is no equivalent to good morning, good afternoon or good evening. It can be used either greet someone you meet for the first time or someone older than you (parents, grandparents) or greet someone you see everyday. So you can always use 안녕하세요 greeting a stranger, or greeting someone you know but need to speak polite to (teachers, older neighbors, co-workers).
If you want to speak more formally or when meeting someone of higher status, or with whom you have a working relationship (boss, customer), use 안녕하십니까. On the other hand, informally, 안녕 is use when greeting a friend of the same age (especially a friend from youth (childhood friends, school friends). Although this phrase is a greeting, you should pronounce it like a question, with your tone rising at the end. If you are meeting someone for the first time, bow your head a bit as you make your greeting.
안녕히 가세요 which also means good bye is say by the host who is bidding his/her guests good bye. You may say 안녕히 가세요 to the person who is leaving. On the other hand, 안녕히 계세요 means good bye, say by the guest who is leaving. You may need to say 안녕히 계세요 to a person who is staying.
어서 오세요 means welcome/hello. You say this to greet a guest or your friend whoever when they come to your house. 고맙습니다/감사합니다 both means thank you. Use 고마워/고마워요 in informal situations and relationships.
괜찮습니다 /괜찮아요 means it’s all right, it’s ok or don’t worry. Informally, 괜찮아. Do you know why is it Koreans say 괜찮아요 so much? The expression 괜찮아요 occurs in many kinds of situations, with many different meanings. Not only a polite substitute for when one’s mood is bad, 괜찮아요 is also used to accept thanks and apologies. The many varied uses of 괜찮아요 can cause confusion for someone just learning to speak Korean.
Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 3 - Korean Sentence Ending Form.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Learn Korean Language Lesson 3 - Korean Sentence Ending Form

We knew that there are two ways when you start a conversation in Learn Korean Language Lesson 2 - Korean Basic Conversation, whether formally or informally and the difference between both of them is the Korean Sentence Ending Form, the only difficulty in learning Korean is the question that always appears in your mind that when do i need to use formal language?
However, first step you must learn is that what’s the differences between formal and informal Korean language. If you don’t understand this lesson, don’t worry, learn Korean lessons in Emagasia will start from using the informal polite form because it is easier to understand and as we proceed, we will learn more into Korean formal polite form. So, let’s learn the Korean Sentence Ending Form and understand the differences between Formal Polite Form and Informal Polite Form in the table below.
Korean Sentence Ending Form
Declarative (for statement)
Formal Polite Informal Polite
Verb stem + -ㅂ니다/-습니다 Verb stem + -아요/어요/해요
가다 = 갑니다, 먹다 = 먹습니다 가다 = 가요, 먹다 = 먹어요
감사합니다. 반갑습니다. 고마워요. 반가워요.
Interrogative (for question)
Formal Polite Informal Polite
-ㅂ니까?/-습니까? -아요/어요/해요?
가다 = 갑니까? 먹다 = 먹습니까? 가다 = 가요? 막다 = 먹어요?
*-십니까?/으십니까? *-세요?/-으세요?
가다 = 가십니까? 앉다 = 앉으십니까? 가다 = 가세요? 앉다 = 앉으세요?
안녕하십니까? 안녕하세요?
Imperative (for command)
Formal polite Informal Polite
-ㅂ시오/으시오 -아요/어요/해요
*-십시오/-으십시오 *-세요/-으세요
가다 = 가십시오, 입다 = 입으십시오 가다 = 가세요. 오다 = 오세요.
안녕히 가십시오. 어서 오십시오. 안녕히가세요. 어서오세요.
Propositive (for proposal)
Formal polite Informal Polite
-ㅂ시다/읍시다 -아요/어요/해요
가다 = 갑시다, 먹다 = 먹읍시다 가다 = 가요, 먹다 = 먹어요
어서 갑시다. 빨리 먹읍시다. 잘 가요. 또 와요. 어서 먹어요.
* with honorific –시-
가다 = 가 + 시 +ㅂ니까? = 가십니까?
일하 + 시 + 어요? = 일하세요?
Learn Korean Language Lesson 4 - Korean Topic Marker

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 3 - Korean Sentence Ending Form. In Learn Korean Language Lesson 4, you will learn the Korean topic marker and how to used it in forming Korean sentences. So, what is Korean Topic Marker? Obviously, Korean topic marker designates the topic of a sentence. Do you remember that when form a Korean sentences, Korean verb comes last in Comparison of Korean and English? Hence, not like English, the order of the Korean sentence is usually: subject, object, verb.
Korean Topic Marker
Korean Topic Marker 은/는 follows a noun, indicating that it is the topic under discussion. The topic is often not necessarily the same as the subject. Rather, the topic marker appears when one wants to stress a new topic. Like when introducing yourself in Korean, this topic functions like this gesture, emphasizing each person in turn. Topic marker 은 directly follows words that end in a consonant (with batchim), while 는 is used after words ending in a vowel (without batchim). For example, 저 is a Korean character ending with a vowel (without batchim). Therefore, it is a noun ending with a vowel. In this case, 는 will be place behind 저 and become 저는. On the other hand, when a nouns ending with a consonant (with batchim), 은 will be place behind it. Do you remember what is batchim? Refer Korean Consonants 3. See examples below:
Ending with a vowel
• 저는 박정수예요. [ jeo-neun-bak-jeong-su-ye-yo ] - I am Park Jung Soo.
• 저는 학생이에요. [ jeo-neun-hak-saeng-i-e-yo ] - I am a student.
• 애니씨는 인도네시아 사람이에요. [ ae-ni-ssi-neun-in-do-ne-si-a-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - Annie is Indonesian.
Ending with a consonants
• 카르멘은 간호사예요. [ ka-reu-men-eun-gan-ho-sa-ye-yo ] - Carmen is a nurse.
• 선생님은 미국 사람이에요. [ seon-saeng-nim-eun-mi-guk-sa-rami-e-yo ] - The teacher is American.
• 이분은 호주 사람이에요. [ i-bun-eun-ho-ju-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - This gentleman/lady is Australian.
Sometimes, in Korean, the subject is often omitted when it is obvious to the other person.
• 저는 박정수예요 = 박정수예요. - I am Park Jung Soo.
• 엘리스씨는 의사예요? = 의사예요? - Is Alice doctor? Or Alice, are you doctor?
• 선생님은 미국 사람이에요? = 미국 사람이에요? - Is teacher American? Or teacher, are you American?
분 has the same meaning with 사람 both mean person in Korean, but Korean people use 분 when they are mentioning a person that is older or a respective person, is more formal than 사람 even though both of them have the same meaning. 씨 can be added behind a Korean name as a term of address.
5Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 4 - Korean Topic Marker, in Learn Korean Language Lesson 5, we will learn Korean sentence endings expressing identification - 이에요/예요. In Comparison of Korean and English, we knew that Korean verb comes last, the order of the Korean sentence is subject, object, verb. 이에요/예요 comes from the verb 이다. Formally, -입니다 (we will learn this in the future). Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Identification 이에요/예요 are attached to nouns.
Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Identification
이에요/예요 has the same usage as English word – Is. It helps describe some equivalence between two things. The rules are the same as Korean topic marker. 이에요 directly follows words that end in a consonant (with batchim), and 예요 is used after words ending in a vowel (without batchim). Do you remember what is batchim? Refer Korean Consonants 3. The subject is often omitted when it is obvious to the other person. However, when changing the topic, do not leave the subject out of the first sentence. See examples below:
Ending with a vowel
• (저는) 크리스티예요 [ keu-ri-seu-ti-ye-yo ] - I am Christy.
• (저는) 빌리예요 [ bil-ri-ye-yo ] - I am Billy.
• (저는) 간호사예요 [ gan-ho-sa-ye-yo ] - I am a nurse.
Ending with a consonants
• (저는) 이성민이에요 [ i-seong-min-i-e-yo ] - I am Lee Sung Min
• (저는) 경찰이에요 [ kyeong-chal-i-ye-yo ] - I am a police.
• (저는) 일본 사람이에요 [ il-bon-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - I am Japanese.
Do you remember that sentence structure of Korean order of questions and its answer are the same in Comparison of Korean and English? The only difference between questions and answer is questions are always end with a rising tone and declarative sentences end with a slightly falling tone. Hence, when using 이에요/예요, just raising intonation at the end without any change in word order makes the sentence into a question. If you have any doubts on the pronunciation, go through Korean Language Reading Practice 2 - Yes or No.
• 의사예요? [ ui-sa-ye-yo ] - Are you a doctor?
• 한국 사람이에요? [ han-guk-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - Are you Korean?
• 경찰 이에요? [ gyeong-chal-i-e-yo ] - Are you a police?
Do Korean Language Exercises 1 and practice your Korean reading skills in Korean Language Reading Practice 1 - Introducing Yourself. Then, continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 6 - Korean Question Word - What.
earn Korean Language Lesson 6 - Korean Question Word - What

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 5 - Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Identification, in this Learn Korean Language Lesson 6 we will learn Korean question word - 뭐 [ mwo ]. It has the same usage as English question word - what. 뭐 is use to form Korean interrogative sentence (question). Use it like English word - what to ask questions such as what is this? what is that? what is your name? 무엇 [ mu-eot ] is same as 뭐 but used in formal writing. 무엇 can be used with 이에요/입니까 to form questions.
Korean Question Word - What
뭐 is always used together with 예요 to ask questions as 뭐 is a Korean character ending with a vowel (without batchim). We have learn Korean sentence endings expressing identification - 이에요/예요 in Learn Korean Lesson 5 and we knew that 이에요/예요 has the same usage as English word – is, hence, when asking what is this, what is that, 뭐 will be used together with 예요. Do you remember what is batchim? (Refer Korean Consonants 3).
In Comparison of Korean and English, we knew that Korean verb comes last, the order of the Korean sentence is subject, object, verb. Therefore, 뭐예요 goes at the end of the sentences. There are many English speakers will try to emphasize 뭐 as they would stress the word what in English. But in Korean, you tone should rise a bit at the end.
Colloquial Conversation
• 이게 뭐예요? [ i-ge-mwo-ye-yo ] - What is this?
• 저게 뭐예요? [ jo-ge-mwo-ye-yo ] - What is that?
• 그게 뭐예요? [ geu-ge-mwo-ye-yo ] - What is that?
• 이름이 뭐예요? [ i-reum-i-mwo-ye-yo ] - What is your name?
• 직업이 뭐예요? [ ji-geo-bi-mwo-ye-yo ] - What is your occupation?
Formal writing
• 이것이 무엇입니까? [ i-geo-si-mu-eot-im-ni-gga ] - What is this?
• 저것이 무엇입니까? [ jeo-geo-si-mu-eot-im-ni-gga ] - What is that?
• 그것이 무엇입니까? [ geu-geo-si-mu-eot-im-ni-gga ] - What is that?
• 이름이 무엇입니까? [ i-reum-i-mu-eot-im-ni-gga ] - What is your name?
• 직업이 무엇입니까? [ ji-geo-bi-mu-eot-im-ni-gga ] - What is your occupation?
You may need to know more Korean vocabulary in order to answer Korean question word 뭐, such as Korean Vocabulary - Occupations and Korean Vocabulary - Things. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 7 - Korean Question Word - Which.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
earn Korean Language Lesson 7 - Korean Question Word - Which

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 6 - Korean Question Word - What, in Learn Korean Lesson 7 we will learn another Korean question word - 어느 [ eo-neu ]. It has the same usage as English question word - which. 어느 is use to form Korean interrogative sentence (question) too. Use it like English word - which to ask questions such as which country are you from? which university? which company you work at? etc, etc. Korean question word 어느 doesn’t same as 뭐.
Korean Question Word - Which
뭐 is always used together with 예요 to ask questions and is place at the end of the sentences. 어느 followed by a noun and goes at the beginning of the sentences and doesn’t used together with 예요. 어느 allows you to ask someone to specify which among a category or group of objects. 어느 can be used with nouns such as 나라 (country), 회사 (company), 학교 (school) to form questions like stated above.
• 어느 나라 사람이에요? [ eo-neu-na-ra-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - Which country are you from?
• 어느 학교 학생이에요? [ eo-neu-hak-gyo-hak-saeng-i-e-yo ] - Which school are you from?
• 어느 회사 에서 일해요? [ eo-neu-hoe-sa-e-seo-il-hae-yo ] - Which company you work at?
• 어느 대학교 에서 공부해요? [ eo-neu-dae-hak-gyo-e-seo-gong-bu-hae-yo ] - Which university you study at?
학교 means school in Korean refer to primary and secondary school. For university, 대 is added in front of 학교, 대학교 means university. Curious about Educational System of Korea? The answer for Korean question word 어느 above can be normal sentences as below:
• 저는 한국 사람이에요. [ jo-neun-han-guk-sa-ram-i-e-yo ] - I am Korean.
• 저는 일본어학교 학생이에요. [ jo-neun-il-bon-eo-hak-gyo-hak-saeng-i-e-yo ] - I am Japanese school student.
• 저는 자동차회사 에서 일해요. [ jo-neun-ja-dong-cha-hoe-sa-e-seo-il-hae-yo ] - I work at a car company.
• 저는 한국대학교 에서 공부해요. [ jo-neun-han-guk-dae-hak-gyo-e-seo-gong-bu-hae-yo ] - I study at Korea university.
일해요 and 공부해요 are Korean verbs, 일해요 means work, 공부해요 means study, 에서 means at. We will learn this in the future, do Korean Language Exercises 2 and practice your Korean reading skills in Korean Reading Practice 3 - What is your name? Then, continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 8 - Korean Question Word - What Kind Of.
arn Korean Language Lesson 8 - Korean Question Word - What Kind Of

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 7 - Korean Question Word - Which, today we will learn the third Korean Question Word - what kind of - 무슨 [ mu-seun ]. Use it like English question word- what kind of to form Korean interrogative sentence (question) such as what kind of sports, what kind of foods, what kind of season etc, etc. Korean question word 무슨 (what kind of) same as 어느 but doesn’t same as 뭐. 무슨 followed by a noun and goes at the beginning of the sentences and doesn’t used together with 예요.
Korean Question Word - What Kind Of
무슨 allows you to ask about details or characteristic about something. 무슨 can be used with nouns such as 운동 (sports), 영화 (movies), 요일 (name of the week or day), 음식 (food), 계절 (season) to form questions like stated above.
• 무슨 영화예요? [ mu-seun-yeong-hwa-ye-yo ] - What kind of movie?
• 무슨 운동이에요? [ mu-seun-un-dong-i-e-yo ] - What kind of sport?
• 무슨 요일이에요? [ mu-seun-yo-il-i-e-yo ] - What kind of day of the week?
• 무슨 음식이에요? [ mu-seun-eum-sik-i-e-yo ] - What kind of food?
• 무슨 계절이에요? [ mu-seun-kye-jeol-i-e-yo ] - What kind of season?
무슨 can also be use with 날 [ nal ] to ask about occasions (time). We will learn 날 in the future. Below are some examples of Korean Question Word - 무슨 - what kind of?
• 무슨 책을 읽어요? [ mu-seun-chae-geul-il-geo-yo ] - What kind of book are you reading?
• 무슨 음악을 좋아해요? [ mu-seun-eum-ak-eul-joh-a-hae-yo ] - What kind of music do you like?
• 무슨 차를 마셔요? [ mu-seun-cha-reul-ma-syeo-yo ] - What kind of tea are you drinking?
• 오늘은 무슨 요일이에요? [ o-neul-eun-mu-seun-yo-il-i-e-yo ] - What(kind of) day is it today?
• 매년 2월 14일이 무슨 날이에요? [ mae-nyeon-i-wol-sip-sa-il-i-mu-seun-nal-i-e-yo ] - What (kind of) day is February 14th every year?
책 - book, 읽어요 - read, 음악 - music, 좋아해요 - like, 차 - tea, 마셔요 - drink, 오늘 - today, and 매년 - every year. There are many more Korean interrogative sentence can be formed by 무슨, but for now, we learn the easiest first, we will go into more depth as we move on. Practice your Korean reading skills in Korean Reading Practice 4 - What kind of work do you do? Then, continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 9 - Korean Question Word - Who/Whose.
Learn Korean Language Lesson 9 - Korean Question Word - Who/Whose

Continue from Lesson 8 - Korean Question Word - What Kind Of. Today we come to Learn Korean Language Lesson 9 - Korean Question Word - who/whose - 누구 [ nu-gu ]. 누구 is both the English equivalent of who and whose) to form Korean interrogative sentence (question) such as who is it? who’s there? whose it it? whose pencil is this? etc, etc. Korean Question Word - 누구 same as 무슨 same as 어느 followed by a noun and goes at the beginning of the sentences and doesn’t used together with 예요.
Korean Question Word - Who/Whose
Use 누구 like English question word- who/whose. Korean Question Word - 누구 (who/whose) same as 무슨 (what kind of) same as 어느 (which) followed by a noun and goes at the beginning of the sentences and doesn’t used together with 예요. For the time being, just remember that only 뭐 goes at the end of the sentences. 누구 can be used with noun plus 이에요/예요 (Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Identification). Nouns such as 첵 (book), 연필 (pencil), 핸드폰 (cellphone), 가방 (bag), and many more (view Korean Vocabulary - Things) to form questions like stated above.
• 누구세요? [ nu-gu-se-yo ] - Who’s there? or Who is it?
• 누구 거예요? [ nu-gu-geo-ye-yo ] - Whose is it?
• 누구 연필이에요? [ nu-gu-yeon-pil-i-e-yo ] - Whose pencil is it?
• 누구 가방이에요? [ nu-gu-ga-bang-i-e-yo ] - Whose bag is it?
누구 can be use with informal polite Korean Sentence Ending Form 세요 to ask question - 누구세요? means who’s there? or who is it?. 누구 거예요? is the same as asking 누구 책이에요? In here, 거 substitutes for 책. 거 is used in colloquial conversation, while 것 is used more in writing. Generally, 것 means a thing, an object, a matter or an affair.
Differences between Korean question words 무슨 (what kind of) and 어느 (which) and 누구 (whose) - 무슨 ask about ask about something details or characteristic, 어느 is asking someone to make a choice among multiple things. whereas 누구 is asking about belonging to which person or people.
• 무슨 책이에요? [ mu-seun-chaek-i-e-yo ] - What kind of book is it?
• 어느 책이에요? [ eo-neu-chaek-i-e-yo ] - Which book is it?
• 누구 책이에요? [ nu-gu-chaek-i-e-yo ] - Whose book is it?
There are many more Korean interrogative sentence can be formed by 누구, but for now, we learn the easiest first, we will go into more depth as we move on. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 10 - Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - This/That/That.
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earn Korean Language Lesson 10 - Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - This/That/That

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 9 - Korean Question Word - Who/Whose, today we will learn Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - this/that/that - 이/그/저 [ i/geu/jo ]. We use 이 (this) like English word - this. But, don’t use 그/저 (that) like English word - that. In Korean, there are two way to say that, whether 그/저. Even though both 그/저 means that in English but the usage is different. Do you know how to use 이/그/저? When locating objects in space, Korean speakers make a three-way distinction.
Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - This/That/That
In short, Koreans look at the location of an object to decide whether to use 이/그/저 (this/that/that). Korean people use 이 for an object close by - if it is located relative to the speaker and listener, and whether the speaker or listener can see the object, 이 will be use. However, 그 is use when something is near the listener but not near the speaker. 저 is use when the object is far away from both speaker and listener.
• Object near the speaker - 이 (this)
• Object near the listener - 그 (that)
• Object away from both speaker and listener - (저) that over there
이/그/저 can be use with noun 것 (thing) when pointing to things. 이것 is used for something near the speaker, 그것 is used for something near the listener, and 저것 is used for something far from both the speaker and the listener. 이거/그거/저거 are shortened forms of 이것, 그것, 저것 and commonly used in casual speech.
• 이거는 우유예요. [ i-geo-neun-u-yu-ye-yo ] - This is milk.
• 그거는 가방이에요. [ geu-geo-neun-ga-bang-i-e-yo ] - That is a bag.
• 저거는 뭐예요? [ jo-geo-neun-mwo-ye-yo ] - What is that?
이게/그게/저게 are also shortened forms of 이것, 그것, 저것, but it is the shortened forms of 이것, 그것, 저것 and the subject marker. 이/그/저 plus the noun 것 (thing) and the subject marker 이 become 이것이/그것이/저것이, which are then shortened to 이게/그게/저게. 이건/그건/저건 share the same meaning but with a sight emphasis on the object indicated.
• 이게 뭐예요? [ i-ge-mwo-ye-yo ] (informal) = 이것이 무엇입니까? [ i-geo-si-mu-eot-im-ni-gga ] (formal)
• 이건 뭐예요? [ i-geon-mwo-ye-yo ] (informal) = 이것은 무엇입니까? [ i-geo-seun-mu-eot-im-ni-gga ] (formal)
We have learned 무엇 in Learn Korean Language Lesson 6 - Korean Question Word - What. 이게/그게/저게 can be used together with Korean question word 뭐 to ask question. See this in Korean Language Reading Practice 5 - What is this? and go through Korean Language Exercises 3. Then, continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 11 - Korean Subject Marker.

Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - This/That/That
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earn Korean Language Lesson 11 - Korean Subject Marker

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 10 - Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - This/That/That, today we will learn Korean Subject Marker - 이/가 [ i/ga ]. The most commonly used noun particles are those used to mark the subject of the sentence and those used to mark the topic of a sentence (Korean Topic Marker). When form a Korean sentences, Korean verb comes last in Comparison of Korean and English? Hence, not like English, the order of the Korean sentence is usually: subject, object, verb.
Korean subject marker
In Korean, the subject of a sentence is designated by a subject marker 이/가. Both subject markers and topic markers are used to indicate the person or thing that is main actor or element in the sentence. The difference between subject and topics in Korean represents a distinction not directly found in English, as such, knowing understanding the difference between subject markers and topic markers is difficult for beginning Korean language learners. There are some basic principles that govern the use of each.
• A subject marker is often attached to a noun that the speaker wishes to introduce into the conversation for the first time. It has no direct interpretation into English.
• A topic marker is generally attached to a noun that has already been established in the conversion. The noun X-는 can be interpreted “as for X,…”.
In a conversation that involves identifying people or things, the opening question often includes a noun with a subject marker. The corresponding response would mark the same entity with a topic marker. It’s already been established as part of the discourse. We have learned Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - 이/그/저 (this/that/that) in Learn Korean Language Lesson 10.
• 이 것이 무엇이에요? [ i-geo-si-mu-eot-i-e-yo ] - What is this (thing)?
• 그 것은 책이에요. [ geu-geo-seun-chaek-i-e-yo ] - That thing is a book. (As for that thing, (it) is a book.)
In most of the sentences that you will encounter at this point, there will be either a subject or a topic. It’s much less common to find both types of particles in a single sentence. There is one important exception. A sentence that include the verb 아니다 - to not be.
• 이것은 책이 아니에요. [ i-geo-seun-chaek-i-a-ni-e-yo ] - This thing is not a book. (As for this thing, (it) is not a book.)
• 이것은 냉장고가 아니에요. [ i-geo-seun-naeng-jang-go-ga-a-ni-e-yo ] - This is not a refrigerator. (As for this thing, (it) is not a refrigerator.)
Knowing exactly when to use one as opposed to the other takes time and experience. In the meantime, acquaint yourself with the grammatical patterns and open yourself to absorbing new intuitions about these two particles function.
Subject marker Topic marker
Ending with a vowel 가 는
Ending with a consonants 이 은
Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 12 - Korean Linking Verb.
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arn Korean Language Lesson 12 - Korean Linking Verb

Continue from Lesson 11 - Korean Subject Marker. Today, we will Korean Linking Verb - 이에요/예요 [ i-e-yo/ye-yo ]. We have learned this in Learn Korean Language Lesson 5 - Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Identification which are attached to nouns and the sentence structure of Korean order of questions and its answer are the same. Please focus on the opposite of 이에요/예요 in this lesson. In Learn Korean Language Lesson 5, the verb 이다, is a linking verb that requires a noun be attached to it.
Korean Linking Verb
Use 이에요/예요 like English word – Is. It helps describe some equivalence between two things. 이에요 directly follows words that end in a consonant (with batchim) such as 책이에요 - It is a book, 신문이에요 - It is a newspaper, and 예요 is used after words ending in a vowel (without batchim) such as 의자예요 - It is a chair, 지도예요 - It is a map. It is best interpreted as - is (a) ___.
• 이것은 책이에요. [ i-geo-seun-chaek-i-e-yo ] - This is a book.
• 그거는 지도예요. [ geu-geo-neun-ji-do-ye-yo ] - That is a map.
• 저사람은 최선생님이에요. [ jo-sa-ram-eun-choe-seon-saeng-nim-i-e-yo ] - That person over there is Teacher Choi.
• 그것이 무엇이에요? [ geu-geo-si-mu-eot-i-e-yo ] - What is that?
• 이것이 중국 신문이에요? [ i-geo-si-jung-guk-sin-mun-i-e-yo ] - Is this a Chinese newspaper?
아니에요 is the negative counterpart of -이에요/예요. Unlike 이에요/예요, the verb 아니에요 does not involve a directly attached noun. Rather, the pattern for using 아니에요 is - Topic (은/는), Subject (이/가), Verb. There are two particles (Topic Marker and Subject Marker) in a single sentence.
• 이것은 책이 아니에요. [ i-geo-seun-chaek-i-a-ni-e-yo ] - This is not a book.
• 그사람은 학생이 아니에요. [ geu-sa-ram-eun-hak-saeng-i-a-ni-e-yo ] - That person is not a student.
• 이것은 신문이 아니에요. [ i-geo-seun-sin-mun-i-a-ni-e-yo ] - This is not a newspaper.
• 저는 선생님이 아니에요. [ jo-neun-seon-saeng-nim-i-a-ni-e-yo ] - I am not a teacher.
• 이거는 냉장고가 아니에요. [ i-geo-neun-naeng-jang-go-ga-a-ni-e-yo ] - This is not a refrigerator.
You must always remember that 아니에요 does not involve a directly attached noun. The formula will always be -이/가 아니에요. If possible, please revise Learn Korean Language Lesson 10 - Korean Demonstrative Adjectives - This/That/That for the differences between 이것, 이거, 이게 and 이건. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 13 - Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings.
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arn Korean Language Lesson 13 - Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 12 - Korean Linking Verb. Today, we will Learn Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings form. We knew that there are two ways when you start a conversation in Learn Korean Language Lesson 2 - Korean Basic Conversation, whether formally or informally and the difference between both of them is the Sentence Ending Form, the only difficulty in learning Korean is the question about when to use formal language? Let’s learn it in more details.
Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings
We have seen the Korean Sentence Ending Form and understand the differences between Korean Sentence Ending Formal Polite Form and Informal Polite Form in Learn Korean Language Lesson 3 - Korean Sentence Ending Form. -아요/어요 [ a-yo/eo-yo ] are casual but polite sentence endings which are commonly used in everyday life such as shopping, buying tickets, and asking directions etc, etc. It is use to form all present tense verbs (verbs in the present tense). When a verb stem ends with the vowel ㅏ or ㅗ, -아요 is added. See examples below.
• 가다 [ ga-da ] + -아요 = 가요 [ ga-yo ] - to go
• 사다 [ sa-da ] + -아요 = 사요 [ sa-yo ] - to buy
• 자다 [ ja-da ] + -아요 = 자요 [ ja-yo ] - to sleep
• 오다 [ o -da ] + -아요 = 와요 [ wa-yo ] - to come
• 보다 [ bo-da ] + -아요 = 봐요 [ bwa-yo ] - to see
• 살다 [ sal-da ] + -아요 = 살아요[ sa-ra-yo ] - to live
• 만나다 [ man-na-da ] + -아요 = 만나요 [ man-na-yo ] - to meet
When a verb stem ends with a vowel other than ㅏ or ㅗ, -어요 is added. But verb stems ending with a vowel ㅣ, ㅣ + -어요 results in -여요. For example, 마시다 becomes 마셔요 and 가르치다 becomes 가르쳐요.
• 주다 [ ju-da ] + -어요 = 줘요 [ jwo-yo ] - to give
• 먹다 [ meok-da ] + -어요 = 먹어요 [ meo-geo-yo ] - to eat
• 읽다 [ il-da ] + -어요 = 읽어요 [ il-geo-yo ] - to read
• 배우다 [ bae-u-da ] + -어요 = 배워요 [ bae-wo-yo ] - to learn
• 마시다 [ ma-si-da ] + -어요 = 마셔요 [ ma-syeo-yo ] - to drink
• 가르치다 [ ga-reu-chi-da ] + -어요 = 가르쳐요 [ ga-reu-chyeo-yo ] - to teach
When a verb stem ends with -하다 [ ha-da ] becomes -해요 [ hae-yo ]. -하다 is verbs “‘to do”. Many nouns can be made into present tense by adding the verb -해요. See examples below.
• 일하다 [ il-ha-da ] + -해요 = 일해요 [ il-hae-yo ] - to work
• 공부하다 [ gong-bu-ha-da ] + -해요 = 공부해요 [ gong-bu-hae-yo ] - to study
• 운동하다 [ un-dong-ha-da ] + -해요 = 운동해요 [ un-dong-hae-yo ] - to exercise
• 전화하다 [ jeon-hwa-ha-da ] + -해요 = 전화해요 [ jeon-hwa-hae-yo ] - to make a phone call
• 요리하다 [ yo-ri-ha-da ] + -해요 = 요리해요 [ yo-ri-hae-yo ] - to cook
• 운전하다 [ un-jeon-ha-da ] + -해요 = 운전해요 [ un-jeon-hae-yo ] - to drive
• 수영하다 [ su-yeong-ha-da ] + -해요 = 수영해요 [ su-yeong-hae-yo ] - to swim
Raising your intonation makes the Korean sentence into a question like we have learned in Comparison of Korean and English. View Korean verbs list. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 14 - Korean Object Marker.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
Learn Korean Language Lesson 14 - Korean Object Marker

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 13 - Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings, today we will learn Korean Object Marker -을/를 [ eul/reul ]. Do you remember that when form a Korean sentences, Korean verb comes last in Comparison of Korean and English? Hence, not like English, the order of the Korean sentence is usually: subject, object, verb such as 캐시 씨는 텔레비전을 봐요. [ kae-si-ssi-neun-tel-re-bi-jeon-eul-bwa-yo ] - Casey watches television.
Learn Korean Lesson 14 - Korean Object Marker
In Korean, objects are designated by the object marker 을/를. 을/를 is a particle used to identify the object of a verb in a sentence. The rules are the same as others. 을 is used when a noun ends with a consonant (with batchim)and 를 is used when a noun ends with a vowel (without batchim). Do you remember what is batchim? Refer Korean Consonants 3. The subject is often omitted when it is obvious to the other person. Sometimes, in Korean, the subject is often omitted in colloquial conversation, people often leave the object marker 을/를 out.
Ending with a vowel
• 차를 마셔요. [ cha-reul-ma-syeo-yo ] - I drink tea.
• 사과를 먹어요. [ sa-gwa-reul-meo-geo-yo ] - I eat an apple.
• 친구를 만나요. [ chin-gu-reul-man-na-yo ] - I meet my friend.
• 한국어를 공부해요. [ han-gu-geo-reul-gong-bu-hae-yo ] - I study Korean.
Ending with a consonants
• 옷을 사요. [ os-eul-sa-yo ] - I buy clothes.
• 책을 읽어요. [ chae-geul-il-geo-yo ] - I read a book.
• 밥을 먹어요. [ ba-beul-meo-geo-yo ] - I eat a meal.
• 아이스크림을 사요. [ a-i-seu-keu-rim-eul-sa-yo ] - I buy ice cream.
So now, you may form a Korean sentence by combining what you have learned before such as Korean Subject Marker, Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings. For examples, the pattern for using 을/를 is - Subject (이/가), Object (을/를), Verb (Korean Sentence Ending Form). See examples below.
• 빌리 씨가 친구를 만나요. [ bil-ri-ssi-ga-chin-gu-reul-man-na-yo ] - Billy meets a friend.
• 캔디 씨가 음식을 먹어요. [ kaen-di-ssi-ga-eum-si-geul-meo-geo-yo ] - Candi eats food.
• 크리스티나 씨가 옷을 사요. [ keu-ri-seu-ti-na-ssi-ga-o-seul-sa-yo ] - Christina buy clothes.
• 다니엘 책을 읽어요. [ da-ni-el-chae-geul-il-geo-yo ] - Daniel read a book.
Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 15 - Korean Place Marker. We will learn particle that indicates where the action conveyed by the verb phrase takes place in the next lesson. View Korean verbs list. Try Korean Language Exercises 4.
감사합니다 - Thank you!
earn Korean Language Lesson 15 - Korean Place Marker

Continue from Lesson 14 - Korean Object Marker, today we come to Learn Korean Language Lesson 15 - Korean Place Marker - 에 [ e ] and 에서 [ e-seo ]. Both of them are particles that indicates location. So, what is the difference between them? Korean place marker 에 is place after a noun indicates a special location. Korean place marker 에서 is place after a noun indicates a special location to designate where some action takes place. Use Korean place marker 에 after the place name with the Korean Verbs.
Korean Place Marker
Use Korean place marker 에 after the place name with the verbs 가다/오다. 가다 is used when one is going away from the place where the conversation is taking place. Use it like English word - Go. 오다 is used when one is coming toward the place where the conversation is taking place. Use it like English word - Come. When we added the particle 에 with 가다/오다 is attached to the name of a place to designate it as the destination. See examples below.
• 저는 집에 가요. [ jo-neun-jib-e-ga-yo ] - I am going home.
• 저는 학교에 가요. [ jo-neun-hak-gyo-e-ga-yo ] - I am going to school.
• 저는 은행에 가요. [ jo-neun-eun-haeng-e-ga-yo ] - I am going to bank.
• 저는 커피숍에 가요. [ jo-neun-keo-pi-syop-e-ga-yo ] - I am going to coffee shop.
• 저는 대사관에 가요. [ jo-neun-dae-sa-gwan-e-ga-yo ] - I am going to embassy.
On the other hand, 에서 is a particle that indicates where the action conveyed by the verb phrase takes place. This Korean place marker is used with action verbs, with the exception of 있어요/없어요 and 가요/와요, which take the Korean place marker 에.
• 도서관에서 책을 읽어요. [ do-seo-gwan-e-seo-chae-geul-il-geo-yo ] - I read a book in the library.
• 식당에서 밥을 먹어요. [ sik-dang-e-seo-ba-beul-meo-geo-yo ] - I eat (my meals) at the cafeteria.
• 은행에서 일해요. [ eun-haeng-e-seo-il-hae-yo ] - I work at a bank.
• 학교에서 공부해요. [ hak-gyo-e-seo-gong-bu-hae-yo ] - I study at school.
• 노래방에서 노래해요. [ no-rae-bang-e-seo-no-rae-hae-yo ] - I sing at singing room. (view Korean Bang)
Do you remember that sentence structure of Korean order of questions and its answer are the same in Comparison of Korean and English? The only difference between questions and answer is questions are always end with a rising tone and declarative sentences end with a slightly falling tone. Hence, when using 에 with 가요/와요, just raising intonation at the end without any change in word order makes the sentence into a question. When asking a question, use the 어디 (Korean Question Word - Where). Use it like English question word - Where. 어디에서 with action verbs and 어디에 with 있어요/없어요 and 가요/와요.
• 어디에 가요? [ eo-di-e-ga-yo ] - Where are you going?
• 내일 학교에 와요? [ nae-il-hak-gyo-e-wa-yo ] - Are you coming to school tomorrow?
• 어디에서 책을 읽어요? [ eo-di-e-seo-chae-geul-il-geo-yo ] - Where do you read the book?
• 어디에서 밥을 먹어요? [ eo-di-e-seo-ba-beul-meo-geo-yo ] - Where do you eat (your meals)?
• 어디에서 친구를 만나요? [ eo-di-e-seo-chin-gu-reul-man-na-yo ] - Where do you meet your friends?
Remember that Korean place marker 에서 is used with action verbs, with the exception of 있어요/없어요 and 가요/와요, which take the Korean place marker 에. Now, you can try to make your own Korean sentences with Korean Vocabulary - Places, Korean Verbs, and Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 16 - Korean Sentence Endin
Learn Korean Language Lesson 16 - Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Location or Existence

Continue from Learn Korean Language Lesson 15 - Korean Place Marker, today we come to Learn Korean Lesson 16 - Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Location or Existence - 있다/없다 [ it-da/eob-da ]. Do you remember Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Identification? The rules are the same. 있다/없다 always goes to the end. With Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings, 있다/없다 will become 있어요/없어요 which are casual but polite sentence endings commonly used in everyday life.
Korean Sentence Endings Expressing Location or Existence
The Korean verb 있다 expresses location or existence. The opposite of 있다 is the Korean verb 없다. Change both of them to Korean Informal Polite Sentence Endings. Use 있어요 [ i-sseo-yo ] when something exist, 없어요 [ eob-seo-yo ] when something does not. Use them like English “There is(are) or There is(are) not”. Place the Korean Subject Marker - 이/가 after the noun which exist (or not) and then 있어요/없어요.
• 침대가 있어요. [ chim-dae-ga-i-sseo-yo ] - There is a bed.
• 책상이 있어요. [ chaek-sang-i-i-sseo-yo ] - There is a desk.
• 옷장이 없어요. [ ot-jang-i-eob-sseo-yo ] - There is no closet.
• 의자가 없어요. [ ui-ja-ga-eob-seo-yo ] - There is no chair.
• 컴퓨터가 없어요. [ keom-pyu-teo-ga-eob-seo-yo ] - There is no computer.
Korean place marker -에 which we learned in Learn Korean Language Lesson 15 can be use with 있다/없다. Putting the Korean place marker -에 after a noun indicates a special location (Korean Vocabulary - Places). This locative particle -에 is used with -이/가 있다/없다 (as above) to show where someone or something is located. Usually, the pattern for using -에 with -이/가 있다/없다 will be “-이/가 (Korean Subject Marker) -에 (Korean Place Marker) 있다/없다 (Korean Verbs)”.
• 가방이 교실에 있어요. [ ga-bang-i-gyo-si-re-i-sseo-yo ] - There is a bag in the classroom.
• 컴퓨터가 집에 있어요. [ keom-pyu-teo-ga-ji-be-i-sseo-yo ] - There is a computer in the house.
• 예성이 공항에 있어요. [ ye-seong-i-gong-hang-e-i-sseo-yo ] - Yesung is at airport.
• 한경이 공원에 없어요. [ han-kyeong-i-gong-won-e-eob-seo-yo ] - Hankyung is not at the park.
• 려욱 씨가 집에 없어요. [ ryeo-wuk-ssi-ga-ji-be-eob-seo-yo ] - Ryeowook is not at home.
However, it doesn’t matter whether the object is specified before the location, or vice versa. Means that changing the word order does not necessarily change the meaning. But 있어요/없어요 must always come at the end.
• 교실에 가방이 있어요. [ gyo-si-re-ga-bang-i-i-sseo-yo ] - The bag is in the classroom.
• 집에 컴퓨터가 있어요. [ ji-be-keom-pyu-teo-ga-i-sseo-yo ] - There is a computer in the house.
• 공항에 예성이 있어요. [ gong-hang-e-ye-seong-i-i-sseo-yo ] - Yesung is at airport.
• 공원에 한경이 없어요. [ gong-won-e-han-kyeong-i-eob-seo-yo ] - Hankyung is not at the park.
• 집에 려욱 씨가 없어요. [ ji-be-ryeo-wuk-ssi-ga-eob-seo-yo ] - Ryeowook is not at home.
Last but not least, 있어요/없어요 can also be used like English “have/don’t have”. 있어요/없어요 also means have/don’t have which indicate what someone possesses. See examples below.
• 신디가 집이 있어요. [ sin-di-ga-ji-bi-i-sseo-yo ] - Cindy has a house.
• 신디가 자동차가 없어요. [ sin-di-ga-ja-dong-cha-ga-eob-seo-yo ] - Cindy doesn’t have a car.
House and car are objects in English, but in Korean when you use the verb 있어요/없어요, these possessive objects always take the marker 이/가. Now, you can try to make your own Korean sentences with Korean Vocabulary - Things, Korean Vocabulary - Places, and Korean Place Marker to express location or existence. Please remember that 있어요/없어요 always come at the end. Continue to Learn Korean Language Lesson 17 - Korean Question Word - Where.