100 cards
Korean is written in an alphabet called 한글 (Hangul), which was created in 1443 under King Sejong the Great. Hangul is widely admired for its logical design: the shapes of the letters are not arbitrary but were originally drawn to mirror the shape of the tongue and mouth as they produce each sound. The alphabet consis...
Every conversation in Korean begins with a greeting, and choosing the right level of politeness is essential. The most common formal hello is 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo). When parting, Koreans use two distinct phrases depending on who is leaving: 안녕히 가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo) means "go in peace" and is said to the...
Korean has two parallel number systems, and learners must know when to use each. The Sino-Korean numbers are based on Chinese characters and are used for dates, money, phone numbers, addresses, minutes, and any number above 100. They are 일 (il, 1), 이 (i, 2), 삼 (sam, 3), 사 (sa, 4), 오 (o, 5), 육 (yuk, 6), 칠 (chil,...
Korean verbs change form depending on whom you are speaking to, a system known as speech levels. The four most commonly used are 합쇼체 (hapsyo-che), the formal polite style used in news broadcasts, business, and the military, where verbs end in -습니다 or -ㅂ니다; 해요체 (haeyo-che), the informal polite style used in...
Korean follows a Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) order, meaning the verb always comes at the end of the sentence. For example, "I eat rice" would be structured as "I rice eat," with the verb finishing the sentence. To conjugate a verb into the informal polite 해요체, you remove the dictionary ending -다 and add -아요 or -어...
Food is central to Korean culture, and a few core words cover most situations. 밥 (bap) means both "rice" and "meal," 물 (mul) is water, and 김치 (gimchi) is the iconic fermented spicy cabbage served at virtually every Korean meal. Among Korea's most famous dishes, 비빔밥 (bibimbap) is mixed rice topped with vegetables...