Jungwook Hong

Article / Updated 03-31-2022

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?

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-14-2022

In learning Korean, you need to become familiar with the essentials: everyday expressions, question words and basic questions, the days of the week and months of the year, and essential numbers.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

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)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

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.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

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