Basic Korean Words You Need to Learn First
I’ll be writing using 한글 (hangeul), the Korean writing system. It’s helpful to learn Hangul first because it
helps with pronunciation. And, while the writing system may look complex…
Hangul was made to be easy to learn! In fact, you could learn it in only an hour or two. So brush up on
your Hangul first, then start working on the list below!
If you already feel confident enough reading Hangul, let’s dive in.
A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in Korean for at least
15 minutes with the "Fluent in 3 Months" method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.
10 Must-Know Basic Korean Words
If you’re only going to learn 10 Korean words, these are the must-knows!
안녕하세요 (annyeong haseyo) – “Hello”
안녕히 가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo) or 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo) – “Goodbye”
네 (ne) or 예 (ye) – “Yes”
예 (ye) or 괜찮다 (gwaenchanhda) – “Okay”
아니요 (aniyo) – “No”
주세요 (juseyo) – “Please”
감사합니다 (gamsahamnida) or 고마워요 (gomawoyo) – “Thank you”
천만에요 (cheonmaneyo) – “You’re welcome”
미안해요 (mianhaeyo) – “I’m sorry”
몰라요 (mollayo) – “I don’t know”
Related learning: Find 57 more must-know Korean words and phrases in this article
10 Core Korean Pronouns
As in Japanese or even Spanish, pronouns are often omitted from Korean sentences. That’s because
they’re understood by context.
But…
You still need to know them! Because if it’s not clear what you’re talking about, then you need to be
able to make it clear.
-씨 (-ssi) – “Mr., Mrs., Ms.”
나 (na) – “I”
여자 (yeoja) – “She”
그 (geu) – “He”
그들 (geudeul) – “They”
우리 (uli) – “We”
이 (i) – “This”
그 (geu) – “That”
저기 그거 (jeogi geugeo) – “That over there”
그것 (geugeos) – “It”
Pro tip: “You” is 당신 (dangsin) in Korean. However, I’m not counting it as a “core word” because it’s not
used often.
“You” in Korean is only used if you don’t know the other person’s name. Otherwise, it’s a bit rude. So
instead, use the person’s name + the honorific -씨 listed above. That’s the best way to go about it!
If you need more information about Korean honorifics, you can head to this guide I wrote.
42 Basic Korean Nouns
If you’re familiar with Fluent in 3 Months founder Benny Lewis’ Language Hacking method, then you
know he suggests learning words based on what you personally say in everyday life. These would be the
most helpful nouns and verbs to learn to start speaking fast.
And the best way to practice is by creating Korean scripts with words you use a lot.I use that method,
too. Especially after I learn the 100 most common words in a language. So I still suggest you do that, too.
But as for the words below? They’re the ones you’ll hear most often because they’re nouns for time,
places, getting around, people, and so on. Maybe you never ride a train to work, and so you won’t say
the word for train. But other people do, so it’s a good idea to learn it.
Korean Words for Time
일 (il) – “Day”
주 (ju) – “Week”
달 (dal) – “Month”
년 (nyeon) – “Year”
오늘 (oneul) – “Today”
어제 (eoje) – “Yesterday”
내일 (naeil) – “Tomorrow”
시 (si) – “Hour”
분 (bun) – “Minute”
시간 (sigan) – “Time”
전에 (jeon-e) – “Before”
후 (hu) – “After”
지금 (jigeum) – “Now”
Korean Words for Places
여기 (yeogi) – “Here”
그곳에 (geugos-e) – “There”
장소 (jangso) – “Place”
학교 (haggyo) – “School”
가게 (gage) – “Shop”
일 (il) – “Work”
화장실 (hwajangsil) – “Bathroom”
도시 (dosi) – “City”
나라 (nara) – “Country”
기차역 (gichayeog) – “Train station”
방 (bang) – “Room”
대한민국 (daehanmingug) – “South Korea”
Korean Words for Things
것 (geos) – “Thing”
아무것도 (amugeosdo) – “Nothing”
뭔가 (mwonga) – “Something”
집 (jib)- “House”
차 (cha) – “Car”
말 (mal) – “Words”
언어 (eon-eo) – “Language”
물 (mul) – “Water”
영화 (yeonghwa) – “Movie”
Korean Words for People
여자 (yeoja) – “Woman”
남자 (namja) – “Man”
소녀 (sonyeo) – “Girl”
소년 (sonyeon) – “Boy”
친구 (chingu) – “Friend”
사람 (saram) – “Person”
가족 (gajok) – “Family”
이름 (ileum) – “Name”
Related learning: “Family” in Korean: Talking About Your Family in Korean
25 Common Korean Verbs
These are the 25 most common Korean verbs you need to know. You can say a lot with only these 25,
especially with verbs like 하다 and 있다 which combine with other words and nouns to form new verbs.
하다 (hada) – “To do”
있다 (issda) – “To be, there is”
지다 (jida) – “To become”
말하다 (malhada) – “To say”
오다 (oda) – “To come”
가다 (kada) – “To go”
할 수 있다 (hal su issda) – “To be able to do”
보다 (boda) – “To see”
보내다 (bonaeda) – “To send”
가지다 (gajida) – “To have”
기다리다 (gidalida) – “To wait”
만나다 (mannada) – “To meet”
살다 (salda) – “To live”
생각하다 (saeng-gaghada) – “To think”
주다 (juda) – “To give”
받다 (badda) – “To receive”
알다 (alda) – “To know”
만들다 (mandeulda) – “To make”
사용하다 (sayonghada) – “To use”
배우다 (baeuda) – “To learn”
먹다 (meogada) – “To eat”
마시다 (masida) – “To drink”
웃다 (udda) – “To laugh”
읽다 (ilgda) – “To read”
쓰다 (sseuda) – “To write”
19 Simple Korean Adjectives and Adverbs
There are so many adjectives you could use to add color to your Korean. But these are some of the basic
Korean words to get started with.
They’re super helpful as descriptive words, especially if you don’t know the right one for what you’re
describing.
많은 (manh-eun) – “Many, lots of”
조금 (jogeum) – “Few”
큰 (keun) – “Big”
작은 (jageun) – “Small”
긴 (gin) – “Tall”
짧은 (jjalb-eun) – “Short”
가까이에 (gakkaie) – “Near”
멀리 (meolli) – “Far”
좋은 (joeun) – “Good, nice”
나쁜 (nappeun) – “Bad”
쉬운 (swiun) – “Easy”
어려운 (eoryeoun) – “Difficult”
아름다운 (aleumdaun) – “Beautiful”
못생긴 (mossaenggin) – “Ugly”
맛있는 (masissneun) – “Delicious”
뜨거운 (tteugeoun) – “Hot”
춥다 (chubda) – “Cold”
매우 (maeu) – “Very”
재미 (jaemi) – “Enjoyable”
5 Core Korean Conjunctions and Connectors
Conversation connections are the keys to sounding fluent in any language. They help smooth out your
sentence transitions and give you a moment to think about what you want to say. These five are the
most helpful:
그러나 (geuleona) – “But, however”
또한 (ttohan) – “Also”
예를 들어 (yeleul deul-eo) – “For example”
그래서 (geulaeseo) – “So”
그때 (geuttae) – “Then”
Bonus: 10 Cool Korean Words and Slang to Boost your Korean Vocabulary
You always need some cool Korean slang words to add to your memory bank! These ten slang terms are
a good place to start so you sound more natural in Korean.
대박 (daebak) – “Amazing, great”, or “that’s crazy”
짱 (jjang) – “The best, awesome”
꿀잼 (kkuljaem) – “Fun, interesting, or funny”
닭살 (dalgsal) – “Cheesy”
극혐 (geughyeom) – “Totally disgusting/repulsive”
불금 (bulgeum) – “TGIF”, “Burning Friday” or “Golden Friday”
행쇼 (haengsyo) – “Be happy” (a trendy phrase made popular by K-Pop idol, G-Dragon)
헐 (heol) – “OMG, no way”
ㅋㅋ (kk) – “Haha” or “lol” (Only used in text)
만렙 (manleb) – “Level 10,000” (or as I like to think of it… “It’s over 9,000!”)
