50 plus easy Korean words that every language learner must know

Looking for ways to boost your Korean vocabulary? This post is for you. Here you will find some of the easiest Korean words. You can teach yourself Korean by learning these Korean words and phrases on regular basis. These words will enhance your vocabulary list and enable you to understand Korean writing pieces.

Learning common Korean phrases will enable you to know basic terms related to daily life conversations. Such as greetings, Korean holidays, Korean verbs, conjugating Korean verbs, days of the week and months of the year etc. All these factors are at our fingertips when it comes to English. Learning them in Korean will be fun and a real adventure.

Learning Korean is not as difficult as you think. It is an interesting language. Learning Korean will give a cultural insight and broadens your perspective. If you are looking for a website to learn Korean online, italki is the right direction for you. Here, you will find the most professional and experienced online Korean teachers who will help you build speaking and writing skills. So what you are waiting for? Book your lessons now!

Let us start with some basic Korean greetings to enhance our vocabulary set.

Common Korean greetings

Koreans do not like to mix up with strangers. They are not very outgoing people and do not casually interact with strangers. But they are very welcoming people, especially when they are introduced to new people.

If you are looking for ways to open up to Korean people yourself, be courteous and kind. To do so, you can take the help of the following phrase:  안녕하세요 — “An-nyeong-ha-se-yo” (Hello/Goodbye).

You can learn more about Korean greetings with italki. Here, you will learn the Korean greetings and how the native speakers use them. It lets you have practical exposure with one-to-one learning sessions.

Following are some of the common and easy Korean words that you can learn and use according to your context:

감사합니다 — “Kam-sa-ham-ni-da” (Thank you)

천만에요 — “Chun-mahn-eh-yo” (You’re welcome)

잠시만요 — “Jam-shi-man-yo” (Excuse me)

주세요 — “Ju-se-yo” (Give me)

죄송합니다 — “Chway-seong-ham-ni-da” (I’m sorry)

예 — “Ye” (Yes)

아니요 — “Aniyo” (No)

Due to their nature, Koreans are sometimes considered arrogant. But in reality, they are not arrogant at all. They just socialize a little. It is important for you to understand Korean culture to form your opinion.

Common Korean Questions

Questions are an important part of every language. To ask a question in Korean, it is not necessary to use words like ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘where’.  You can just end your statement on a high note and it will be perceived as a question by the listener.

Just by increasing the pitch, almost any statement can become a question in Korean. For instance, 진짜 (“jinjja”) which means “really” can turn into a question if it is uttered at a high pitch.  

Following are some of the Korean question words that you need to know:

누구? — “Noo-goo” (Who?)

뭐?  — “Mwo” (What?)

언제? — “Uhn-jae” (When?)

어디? — “Uh-dee” (Where?)

어떻게? — “Uh-dduh-kah” (How?)

왜? — “Weh” (Why?)

어떻게 지내세요? — “Eotteoke jinaeseyo?” (How are you?)

이름이 뭐예요? — “Ireumi mwoyeyo?” (What’s your name?)

어디 출신이세요? — “Eodi chulsiniseyo?” (Where are you from?)

이거 뭐예요? — “Igeo mwoyeyo?” (What’s this?)

뭐라고 했어요? — “Mworago haesseoyo?” (What did you say?)

Common Korean family words

Korean family structures are a bit conservative. Unlike in America, you cannot use the first name of the mother or father. Now, the Korean culture has started including other cultural values to enrich itself, but still, it has its own values and customs.

Following are some of the common Korean family words:

가족 — “Gajok” (Family)

친척 — “Chincheok” (Relatives)

부모님 — “Boo-mo-nim” (Parents)

아버지 — “A-buh-ji” (Father)

어머니 — “Uh-muh-ni” (Mother)

남편 — “Nampyeon” (Husband)

아내 — “Anae” (Wife)

할아버지 — “Hal-ah-buh-ji” (Grandfather)

할머니 — “Hal-muh-ni” (Grandmother)

삼촌 — “Sam-chon” (Uncle)

고모 — “Sung-mo” (Aunt on father’s side)

이모 — “I-mo” (Aunt on mother’s side)

Common Korean adjectives

Following is the list of common Korean adjectives that can help you to undergo conversation in Korean:

큰 — “Keun” (Big)

 작은 — “Jageun” (Small)

늙은 — “Neulgeun” (Old)

새로운 — “Saeloun” (New)

이른 — “Ileun” (Early)

늦은 — “Neujeun” (Late)

긴 — “Gin” (Long)

짧은 — “Jjalbeun” (Short)

좁은 — “Jobeun” (Narrow)

넓은 — “Neolbeun” (Wide)

같은 — “Gateun” (Same)

다른 — “Daleun” (Different)

Common Korean Verbs

Here are some Korean verbs that are used in daily routine conversations:

먹다 — “Meokda” (Eat)

마시다 — “Masida” (Drink)

자다 — “Jada” (Sleep)

주다 — “Juda” (Give)

가다 — “Gada” (Go)

놀다 — “Nolda” (Play)

누르다 — “Nureuda” (Press)

달리다 — “Dallida” (Run)

쓰다 — “Sseuda” (Write)

읽다 — “Ilgda” (Read)

Korean Numbers

Koreans have two different number systems. Both the number systems are used for different purposes. The following number system is used by the native speakers to count things like ‘one banana’, ‘two apples’, and ‘three oranges’, etc.

Following is the list of first Korean number system:

하나 — “Hana” (1)

둘 — “Dool” (2)

셋 — “Set” (3)

넷 — “Net” (4)

다섯 — “Dasut” (5)

여섯 — “Yusut” (6)

일곱 — “Eelgop” (7)

여덟 — “Yudulb” (8)

아홉 — “Ahop” (9)

열 — “Yul” (10)

The second number system is used for the figures like telephone numbers, dates, and addresses. They are called Sino-Korean numbers.

일 — “Eel” (1)

이 — “Ee” (2)

삼 — “Sam” (3)

사 — “Sa” (4)

오 — “O” (5)

육 — “Yook” (6)

칠 — “Chil” (7)

팔 — “Pal” (8)

구 — “Goo” (9)

십 — “Ship” (10)

Days of the week in Korean

월요일 — “Wur-yoil” (Monday)

화요일 — “Hwa-yoil” (Tuesday)

수요일 — “Soo-yoil” (Wednesday)

목요일 — “Mog-yoil” (Thursday)

금요일 — “Geum-yoil” (Friday)

토요일 — “To-yoil” (Saturday)

일요일 — “Ee-ryoil” (Sunday)

Months of the year in Korean

월 — “Irwol” (January)

월 — “Iwol” (February)

월 — “Samwol” (March)

월 — “Sawol” (April)

월 — “Owol” (May)

월 — “Yuwol” (June)

월 — “Chirwol” (July)

월 — “Palwol” (August)

월 — “Guwol” (September)

월 — “Siwol” (October)

월 — “Shipilwol” (November)

월 — “Shipiwol” (December)

Korean colors name

Following is the list of basic Korean colors:

흰색 — “Heuinsaek” (White)

검정색 — “Geomjeongsaek” (Black)

파란색 — “Paransaek” (Blue)

빨간색 — “Bbalgansaek” (Red)

노란색 — “Noransaek” (Yellow)

초록색 — “Choroksaek” (Green)

갈색 — “Galsaek” (Brown)

주황색 — “Juhwangsaek” (Orange)

분홍색 — “Bunhongsaek” (Pink)

보라색 — “Borasaek” (Purple)

Korean Holidays and Celebrations

Following are the official Korean holidays and celebrations:

새해 — “Saehae” (New Year’s Day)

설날 — “Seolnal” (Lunar New Year)

삼일절 — “Samiljeol” (Independence Movement Day)

어린이날 — “Eorininal” (Children’s Day)

부처님 오신 날 — “Bucheonnim Osinnal” (Buddha’s Birthday)

현충일 — “Hyeonchung-il” (Memorial Day)

제헌절 — “Jeheonjeol” (Constitution Day)

광복절 — “Gwangbokjeol” (Liberation Day)

추석 — “Chuseok” (Autumn Eve)

개천절 — “Gaecheonjeol” (National Foundation Day)

한글날 — “Hangeulnal” (Hangul Day)

크리스마스 — “Keuliseumaseu” (Christmas)

Common Korean Slang phrases

대박 — “Dae-bak” (Awesome!)

콜 — “Kol” (Sure!)

아싸 — “Ah-ssa!” (Yay!)

파이팅 — “Paiting!” (C’mon!)

These were some of the basic Korean words that can help you understand Korean speech and writing. These were a lot of words. You will definitely need time to absorb and memorize them. You can divide these words and memorize like ten (10) words a day.

Conclusion

Learning Korean is easy. You need to understand the Korean culture to use Korean slang and adjectives especially. There are several other Korean words and phrases that are complex and advanced. We recommend you memorize these words and common Korean phrases first and then, move towards the advanced phrases.

Memorize a few words daily. Practice them with the people around you. You can also have practice sessions in front of the mirror. Lastly, you can make flashcards for these words. It will make your learning process easier.