Korean Basics

This deck is a friendly starting point for anyone brand new to Korean. It introduces Hangul, the Korean writing system, including its consonants, vowels, and how individual letters come together into syllable blocks. You'll also cover basic pronunciation rules, like the role of ㅇ as a silent placeholder and the concept of 받침 (final consonants), as well as a handful of essential greetings such as hello, goodbye, thank you, and sorry.

It's well suited for absolute beginners, self-learners, travelers preparing for a trip, or anyone curious about the language before committing to a fuller course. If you have never studied Korean before, this deck will give you a gentle foundation in both reading and everyday politeness, while learners with a small amount of experience may find it a useful refresher on Hangul structure.

Hangul is famously logical and can be picked up quickly with steady practice, so try short daily sessions rather than long cramming marathons. Spacing out your reviews will help the characters and phrases move into long-term memory, and saying the words out loud as you flip through the cards is a great way to train both your reading and your pronunciation at the same time.

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 consists of 14 basic consonants — ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ — and 10 basic vowels — ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ. Together, these 24 letters form every syllable in the language. In addition, there are five tense or "double" consonants known as 쌍자음 (ssangjaum): ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ, which are stressed versions of ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and ㅈ.

Hangul letters are not written in a line the way English letters are. Instead, they are grouped into square syllable blocks, each containing an initial consonant, a vowel, and an optional final consonant. For example, the word 한글 is built from two blocks: 한 (ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ) and 글 (ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ). The final consonant at the bottom of a block is called 받침 (batchim). Some letters behave differently depending on their position: ㅇ is silent when it appears at the beginning of a syllable (where it acts as a placeholder before a vowel) but makes an "ng" sound when it serves as the batchim, as in the English word "sing." Other consonants, such as ㄱ and ㅂ, are pronounced somewhere between a hard and a soft sound — ㄱ resembles the "g" in "go," while ㅂ resembles the "b" in "bus," with the exact pronunciation shifting depending on what follows.

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 person departing, while 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo) means "stay in peace" and is said to the person who is remaining. To express gratitude in a formal setting, 감사합니다 (gamsahamnida) is used, and to apologize formally one says 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida). The informal equivalents exist as well, but using the polite forms is a safe choice for strangers, elders, and superiors.

Basic responses also vary in formality. 네 (ne) is the formal "yes," while 응 (eung) is the casual version used among close friends; 아니요 (aniyo) is the polite "no." When you want to get someone's attention, 저기요 (jeogiyo) works as "excuse me," and 주세요 (juseyo) means "please give me." Introductions are simple: 만나서 반갑습니다 (mannaseo bangapseumnida) means "nice to meet you," and 제 이름은 ___입니다 (je ireumeun ___imnida) means "my name is ___" — note how the verb comes last in this very Korean word order. To express affection, 사랑해요 (saranghaeyo) means "I love you" in the informal polite form.

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, 7), 팔 (pal, 8), 구 (gu, 9), and 십 (sip, 10). Larger units follow a distinctive pattern: 100 is 백 (baek), 1,000 is 천 (cheon), and 10,000 is 만 (man). Notably, Korean groups large numbers by ten thousands rather than thousands, so 10,000 — not 1,000 — is the next major unit after 만.

The native Korean numbers, in contrast, are used for counting objects (with counters), hours, age, and quantities between 1 and 99. They are 하나 (hana, 1), 둘 (dul, 2), 셋 (set, 3), 넷 (net, 4), 다섯 (daseot, 5), 여섯 (yeoseot, 6), 일곱 (ilgop, 7), 여덟 (yeodeol, 8), 아홉 (ahop, 9), and 열 (yeol, 10). Before counters, these numbers shorten: 하나 becomes 한, 둘 becomes 두, 셋 becomes 세, 넷 becomes 네, and 스물 becomes 스무. Common counters include 분 (bun) for people in polite contexts, 명 (myeong) for people in casual contexts, 개 (gae) for general objects, 병 (byeong) for bottles, and 마리 (mari) for animals. For example, 두 분 (du bun) means "two people" politely, and 고양이 세 마리 means "three cats."

The days of the week are formed by combining the Sino-Korean numbers with 요일 (yoil, "day"), and each weekday is named after one of the five traditional elements plus the sun and moon: 월요일 (woryoil) for Monday (moon), 화요일 (hwayoil) for Tuesday (fire), 수요일 (suyoil) for Wednesday (water), 목요일 (mogyoil) for Thursday (wood), 금요일 (geumyoil) for Friday (gold/metal), 토요일 (toyoil) for Saturday (earth), and 일요일 (iryoil) for Sunday (sun). Months follow the same Sino-Korean pattern with 월 (wol, "month"): 일월 (irwol, January) through 십이월 (sibiwol, December).

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 everyday life, where verbs end in -아/어요; 해체 (hae-che), the casual style used with close friends or younger people; and 해라체 (hara-che), the plain or written style used in narration. 반말 (banmal) refers collectively to casual speech and is reserved for intimates or those younger than you. As a rule of thumb, use formal or polite speech with strangers, elders, superiors, and in any formal setting.

Korean sentences rely on small particles attached to nouns to indicate their grammatical role. The topic marker 은/는 (은 after a consonant, 는 after a vowel) signals what the sentence is about. The subject marker 이/가 (이 after a consonant, 가 after a vowel) marks the grammatical subject of an action. The object marker 을/를 (을 after a consonant, 를 after a vowel) marks the direct object. The particle 에 indicates a static location or a point in time — "at," "in," or "on" — while 에서 marks the location where an action takes place, or signals a starting point ("from"). 의 indicates possession, much like the English "'s" (as in 나의, "my"), and 도 means "also" or "too," replacing the topic or subject marker entirely (so 저도 means "me too").

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 -어요, depending on the vowel harmony of the stem. If the final vowel of the stem is bright (ㅏ or ㅗ), use -아요; if it is dark or neutral (other vowels), use -어요. Some verbs with ㅗ or ㅜ stems contract slightly, and 하다 (to do) becomes 해요. This system lets you express the same verb in many tones of formality simply by changing the ending.

Common everyday verbs illustrate this pattern clearly: 가다 (gada, "to go") becomes 가요 (gayo); 먹다 (meokda, "to eat") becomes 먹어요 (meogeoyo); 마시다 (masida, "to drink") becomes 마셔요 (masyeoyo); 오다 (oda, "to come") becomes 와요 (wayo); and 보다 (boda, "to see/watch") becomes 봐요 (bwayo). Other useful verbs include 사다 (sada, "to buy") → 사요, 주다 (juda, "to give") → 줘요, 알다 (alda, "to know") → 알아요, 모르다 (moreuda, "to not know") → 몰라요, 원하다 (wonhada, "to want") → 원해요, 자다 (jada, "to sleep") → 자요, 읽다 (ikda, "to read") → 읽어요, 쓰다 (sseuda, "to write") → 써요, and the compound 공부하다 (gongbuhada, "to study") → 공부해요. Each verb stem is its own small lesson in Korean phonology, and recognizing these patterns is the key to building fluency.

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, meat, an egg, and gochujang chili paste; 불고기 (bulgogi) is thinly sliced marinated grilled beef; 떡볶이 (tteokbokki) is chewy rice cakes stir-fried in spicy sauce and sold widely as street food; and 삼겹살 (samgyeopsal) is thick sliced pork belly typically grilled at the table in Korean barbecue restaurants. To compliment a meal, say 맛있어요 (masisseoyo), meaning "it's delicious." Before eating, guests say 잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokgesseumnida) to thank the cook in advance, and after eating they say 잘 먹었습니다 (jal meogeosseumnida) to express thanks for the meal. Korea is also known for its drinks: 소주 (soju) is a clear distilled liquor typically around 16 to 20 percent alcohol by volume, while 막걸리 (makgeolli) is a traditional milky rice wine that is slightly sweet and gently carbonated.

Family relationships are reflected in Korean vocabulary, and the words for "older brother" and "older sister" change based on the speaker's gender. A female speaker calls an older brother 오빠 (oppa), which doubles as a term of affection for older males, while a male speaker says 형 (hyeong). Likewise, a female speaker calls an older sister 언니 (eonni), while a male speaker says 누나 (nuna). Koreans also use several colorful exclamations in daily speech: 대박 (daebak) means "awesome!" or "jackpot!" and is used to express amazement, 화이팅 (hwaiting) is a cheerful "fighting!" or "you can do it!" used to encourage others, and 아이고 (aigo) is an exclamation like "oh my!" or "oh dear!" used to vent surprise, frustration, or exhaustion.

Modern Korean culture has spread worldwide under the umbrella term 한류 (hallyu), or the "Korean Wave," which includes K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean cinema. Two iconic social spaces also define leisure: 노래방 (noraebang) is a private karaoke room where groups sing together, and 찜질방 (jjimjilbang) is a public bathhouse and sauna complex where people bathe, sweat in themed hot rooms, and often nap overnight. For visitors, a few key travel phrases round out the basics: 얼마예요? (eolmayeyo?) asks "how much is it?", 화장실이 어디예요? (hwajangsiri eodiyeyo?) asks "where is the bathroom?", 이해 못 해요 (ihae mot haeyo) or 모르겠어요 (moreugesseoyo) means "I don't understand," and 천천히 말해 주세요 (cheoncheonhi malhae juseyo) politely asks the speaker to "please speak slowly."