Question words and phrases in Korean
Learning Korean means asking a lot of questions, and if you want to ask those questions in Korean, you need to know the basic question words — who, what, where, and so on — as well as helpful questions themselves. The following table shows the basic question words:
| English Question | Korean Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Who? | nugu? | noo-goo? |
| What? | mueot? | moo-uht? |
| Where? | eodi? | uh-dee? |
| How | eotteoke? | uh-ttuh-kae? |
| When? | eonje? | uhn-jae? |
| Why? | wae? | wae? |
When you want to ask a full-fledged question, use the phrases in the following table:
| English Question | Korean Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| How’s it going? | annyeonghaseyo? | an-nyoung-ha-sae-yo? |
| Do you speak English? | yeongeo haljul aseyo? | young-uh hal-jool a-sae-yo? |
| Can you help me? | jeo jom dowa jusillaeyo? | juh jom do-wa-joo-shil-lae-yo? |
| What is your name? | seonghami eotteokke doeseyo? | sung-ha-mee uh-ttuh-kae dwae-sae-yo? |
| What time is it? | myeotsieyo? | myuht-shi-ae-yo? |
| How much is this? | ige eolmajyo? | ee-gae ul-ma-jyo? |
| Where is the bathroom? | hwajangsiri eodiiseoyo? | hwa-jang-shi-ree uh-dee-ee-ssuh-yo? |
| Can you repeat that? | dasi malsseum haejusillaeyo? | da-shi mal-sseum hae-joo-shil-lae-yo? |
| Can you slow down a bit? | jom cheoncheoni malsseum haejusileyo? | jom chun-chun-nee mal-sseum hae-joo-shil-lae-yo? |
| Where is it? | eodi itjiyo? | uh-dee eet-jee-yo? |
Everyday expressions in Korean
Conversing in Korean means knowing the everyday expressions everyone uses in normal conversation. The words and phrases in the following table give you the essential words and phrases:
| English Expression | Korean Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hello. | annyeong. | an-nyoung. |
| Please. | jebal. | jae-bal. |
| Thank you. | gomapseumnida. | go-map-sseum-nee-da. |
| Thank you. | gamsahamnida. | gam-sa-ham-nee-da. |
| I’m sorry. | joesonghamnida. | jwae-song-ham-nee-da. |
| I don’t know. | moreugetseumnida. | mo-reu-get-sseum-nee-da. |
| I don’t understand. | mot aradeutgetseumnida. | mot a-ra-deut-get-sseum-nee-da. |
| Excuse me. | sillyehamnida. | shil-lae-ham-nee-da. |
Korean calendar terms
Being able to talk about the days of the week and months of the year are standard, new-language skills you need when learning Korean. The following tables list both, starting with the days of the week:
| English | Korean Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | woryoil | wo-ryo-il |
| Tuesday | hwayoil | hwa-yo-il |
| Wednesday | suyoil | soo-yo-il |
| Thursday | mogyoil | mo-gyo-il |
| Friday | geumyoil | geu-myo-il |
| Saturday | toyoil | to-yo-il |
| Sunday | iryoil | ee-ryo-il |
The following table translates the months into Korean:
| English | Korean Translation | Pronunciation | English | Korean Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | irwol | ee-rwol | July | chirwol | chi-rwol |
| February | iwol | eeh-wol | August | parwol | pa-rwol |
| March | samwol | sam-wol | September | guwol | goo-wol |
| April | sawol | sa-wol | October | siwol | shi-wol |
| May | owol | oh-wol | November | sibirwol | ship-ee-rwol |
| June | yuwol | yoo-wol | December | sibiwol | ship-ee-wol |
Numbers in Korean
Numbers are essential in becoming familiar with a new language and Korean is no different. The following table shows the basic numbers from 1 to 20 along with the decade numbers to 100 in both Korean and Sino-Korean:
| Number | Sino-Korean Number (Pronunciation) | Korean Number (Pronunciation) | Number | Sino-Korean Number (Pronunciation) | Korean Number (Pronunciation) | Number | Sino-Korean Number (Pronunciation) | Korean Number (Pronunciation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | il (Il) | hana (ha-na) | 11 | sip il (shipil) | yeol hana (yuhl ha-na) | 20 | i sip (ee-ship) | seumul (seu-mool) |
| 2 | i (ee) | dul (dool) | 12 | sip i (shipee) | yeol dul (yuhl dool) | 30 | sam sip (sam- ship) | seoreun (suh-reun) |
| 3 | sam (sam) | set (set) | 13 | sip sam (shipsam) | yeol set (yuhl set) | 40 | sa sip (sa-ship) | maheun (ma-heun) |
| 4 | sa (sa) | net (net) | 14 | sip sa (shipsa) | yeol net (yuhl net) | 50 | o sip (o-ship) | shwin (sween) |
| 5 | o (o) | daseot (da-sut) | 15 | sip o (ship o) | yeol daseot (yuhl da-sut) | 60 | yuk sip (yook-ship) | yesun (yae-soon) |
| 6 | yuk (yook) | yeoseot (yuh-sut) | 16 | sip yuk (ship-yook) | yeol yeoseot (yuhl yuh-sut) | 70 | chil sip (chil-ship) | ilheun (il-heun) |
| 7 | chil (chil) | ilgop (il-gop) | 17 | sip chil (ship-chil) | yeol ilgop (yuhl il-gop) | 80 | pal sip (pal-ship) | yeodeun (yuh-deun) |
| 8 | pal (pal) | yeodeol (yuh-duhl) | 18 | sip pal (ship-pal) | yeol yeodeol (yuhl yuh-duhl) | 90 | gu sip (goo-ship) | aheun (a-heun) |
| 9 | gu (goo) | ahop (a-hop) | 19 | sip gu (ship- goo) | yeol ahop (yuhl a-hop) | 100 | baek (baek) | baek (baek) |
| 10 | sip (ship) | yeol (yuhl) |