70 KiB
Lesson 1: Basic Korean Sentences
Vocabulary
Nouns
한국 = Korea
Common Usages:
- 한국 사람 = Korean person
- 한국어 = Korean language (For Korean people, Korean language class is called “국어 (수업)”)
- 한국인 = Korean person
- 한국 역사 = Korean history (in school, Korean history class is usually called “한국사 (수업)”)
- 한국 문화 = Korean culture
- 한국 경제 = Korean economy
- 한국 전쟁 = the Korean War
- 한국주식시장 = Korean stock market
- 한국어능력시험 = Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK)
Notes:
The formal name of the country is 대한민국
Examples
- 저는 7년 동안 한국에서 살았어요 = I lived in Korea for seven years
- 저는 내년에 한국에 갈 거예요 = I will go to Korea next year
- 저의 어머니는 올해 한국에 올 것입니다 = My mom will come to Korea this year
- 저는 한국어를 한국에서 배웠어요 = I learned Korean in Korea
- 고등학교는 한국에서 어려워요 = High school is difficult in Korea
- 그 집은 한국에서 지어졌어요 = that house was built in Korea
- 저는 한국에서 살고 있어요 = I live in Korea
도시 = city
Common Usages:
- 대도시 = a large city
- 신도시 = a new city (usually a city that is planned to serve a specific purpose)
- 도시가스 = the gas that is used in one’s home (by the heating systems and stoves)
- 도시남자 = a city boy/man (kind of a “cool” and “cold” style of man)
Example:
- 서울은 큰 도시예요 = Seoul is a big city
- 어느 도시에 갈 거예요? = What city are you going to go to?
- 이 도시는 분위기가 좋아요 = This city has a good atmosphere
- 서울 대신에 다른 도시에 갈 거예요? = Other than Seoul, will you go to another city?
- 강가에는 도시에서 내려온 많은 쓰레기가 쌓여 있어요 = A great deal of garbage that had flowed down from the city was piled on the riverbank
이름 = name
Common Usages
- 이름이 뭐예요? = What is your name?
- 제 이름은 ___ 이에요 = My name is ___
- 이름을 개명하다 = to change to one’s name
- 이름을 쓰다 = to write one’s name
- 이름을 부르다 = to call one’s name
Examples
- 그 사람의 이름은 뭐예요? = What is that person’s name?
- 저의 이름은 김한성이에요 = My name is 김한성
- 저는 그 사람의 이름이 기억 안 나요 = I can’t remember that person’s name
- 저는 그의 이름을 불렀어요 = I called his name
- 덕석은 흔하지 않은 이름이에요 = “덕석” is not a common name
- 이 길의 이름이 뭐죠? = What is the name of this road/street?
- 친구 이름을 잊어버려서는 안 돼요 = You shouldn’t forget your friend’s name
저 = I, me (formal)
Common Usages:
- 저는 = I
- 제가 = I
- 저의 = my
Notes:
When used as the subject of a sentence, 저 translates to “I,” when used as the object of a sentence, “저” translates to “me.” For example:
- 저는 그 여자를 사랑해요 = I love that girl
- 그 여자는 저를 사랑해요 = That girl loves me
저 changes to 제 when 이/가 are attached. See Lesson 2 for more information. For example:
- 제가 한국을 좋아해요 = I like Korea
- 저는 한국을 좋아해요 = I like Korea
나 is used instead of 저 in informal situations.
Examples
- 저는 친구를 만났어요 = I met a friend
- 저의 친구는 저를 만났어요 = My friend met me
- 저는 지난 주에 영화를 봤어요 = I saw a movie last week
- 저는 삼일 동안 밥을 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat rice for 3 days
나 = I, me (informal)
Common Usages:
- 나는 = I
- 내가 = I
- 나의 = my
Notes:
When used as the subject of a sentence, 나 translates to “I,” when used as the object of a sentence, “나” translates to “me.” For example:
- 나는 그 여자를 사랑해 = I love that girl
- 그 여자는 나를 사랑해 = That girl loves me
나 changes to 내 when 이/가 are attached. See Lesson 2 for more information. For example:
- 내가 한국을 좋아해 = I like Korea
- 나는 한국을 좋아해 = I like Korea
저 is used instead of 나 in formal situations.
Examples
- 나는 친구를 만났어 = I met a friend
- 나의 친구는 나를 만났어 = My friend met me
- 나는 내년에 한국에 갈 거야 = I will go to Korea next year
- 나는 사과 한 개를 샀어 = I bought one apple
남자 = man
Common Usages:
- 잘생긴 남자 = handsome man
- 강한 남자 = strong man
- 남자 친구 = boyfriend
- 도시 남자 = a city boy
- 남자화장실 = men’s bathroom
Examples
- 그는 잘생긴 남자예요 = He is a handsome man
- 남자는 방에 들어왔어요 = That man came into room
- 저는 잘생긴 남자를 만났어요 = I met a handsome man
- 저의 친구는 주로 남자예요 = My friends are mostly men
- 그 남자가 키가 너무 커요 = That man is very tall
- 어떤 남자는 어제 여기에 왔어 = Some man came here yesterday
여자 = woman
Common Usages
- 예쁜 여자 = pretty girl
- 아름다운 여자 = beautiful girl
- 여자 친구 = girlfriend
- 여자화장실 = women’s bathroom
Examples
- 그녀는 예쁜 여자예요 = She is a beautiful girl
- 그 여자의 머리 색깔은 자연스러워요 = That girl’s hair color is natural
- 저의 여자 친구는 귀엽고 예뻐요 = My girlfriend is cute and pretty
- 저는 그 여자를 사랑해요 = I love that girl
이 = this
Notes:
Certain types of words can be placed before nouns to describe them. For example, adjectives can be placed before nouns to describe them (for example: a pretty girl). 이 is a type of word called a “관형사,” which isn’t an adjective, but is another type of word that can be placed before nouns to describe them. In English, “관형사” translates to a “modifier” or “a determiner.” 이 is placed before nouns within reaching distance to indicate that one is talking about “this” specific thing. For example:
- 이 사람 = this person
Other examples of determiners in Korean (and English) are:
- 그 사람 = that person
- 모든 사람 = all people
- 어떤 사람 = which person
It is easy to distinguish between a determiner and an adjective in Korean. Although both placed before nouns to “describe” them, the dictionary (ordinary) form of an adjective always ends in ~다 and must change in order to describe them. For example, 예쁘다 changes to 예쁜 when placed before a noun to describe it (See Lesson 3 for more information). Determiners keep their original form when placed before a noun. This might be too much grammar for you at this point, but make a note of it.
Example:
- 이 차는 너무 비싸요 = This car is too expensive
- 이 방은 넓습니다 = This room is big/wide
- 저는 이 영화를 더 이상 보고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to watch this movie anymore
- 이 고기는 돼지고기입니다 = This meat is pork
- 이 사람은 저의 누나예요 = This (person) is my sister
그 = that
Notes:
그 is another example of a “관형사” in Korean. 그 is placed before nouns that are being referred to from context or a previous sentence. For example, if your father is talking about a specific person, you can refer to “that person” by saying “그 사람.”
Common Usages:
- 그것 = that thing
- 그 사람 = that person
See more information about 관형사 in my description of “이” above.
Examples:
- 그 남자는 저의 아버지예요 = That man is my father
- 그 여자는 나랑 결혼하고 싶었어요 = That girl wanted to marry me
- 저는 그 책을 원해요 = I want that book
- 그 병원은 멉니다 = That hospital is far
- 그 여자의 머리카락은 깁니다 = That girls hair is long
저 = that (when something is far away)
Notes:
저 is another example of a “관형사” in Korean. 저 is placed before nouns that are far away (not within reach). For example, if you want to refer to the person across the street, you can refer to “that person” by saying “저 사람.”
그 and 저 both translate to “that.” This often causes confusion for English speakers.
Also notice that “저” has more than one meaning. Earlier, you saw that “저” means “I/me.” Welcome to the world of Korean! Where often times one word has more than one meaning.
Common Usages:
- 저것 = that thing
- 저 사람 = that person
See more information about 관형사 in my description of “이” above.
Examples:
- 저 사람은 누구예요? = Who is that person?
- 저는 저 케이크를 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat that cake
- 저 바지가 얼마예요? = How much are those pants?
- 저의 친구는 저 쪽으로 갔어요 = My friend went that way
- 저 학교는 역사적인 건물이에요 = That school is a historical building
- 다음 버스는 저 정류장에서 출발할 거예요 = The next bus will depart from that station
것 = thing
Common Usages
- 이것 = this thing
- 저것 = that thing
- 그것 = that thing
- ~는 것 principle (see Lesson 26)
Notes:
Not only used as a simple noun, but also used as a noun that can be described by full sentences. See Lesson 26 for more information about this.
- 것 can be shortened to 거. 것이 can be shortened to 게
Examples
- 저는 비싼 것만 좋아해요 = I only like expensive things
- 그것을 어떻게 해요? = How do you do that (thing)?
- 이것은 뭐야? = What is this (thing)?
- 이것은 얼마예요? = How much is this (thing)?
이것 = this (thing)
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “이걷”
이것 is often shortened to 이거 in speech.
Notes:
When 이, 그 or 저 are placed before “것,” the result is a compound word. Therefore, when placing “것” after 이, 그 or 저, there should not be a space between the two.
Although it can be translated as “this thing,” 이것 itself is a pronoun and can be simplified to translate to “this.” For more information, see the explanation in Lesson 1.
Common Usages:
- 이것저것 = this thing and that thing (this and that)
Examples:
- 이것은 뭐야? = What is this (thing)?
- 이것은 너무 작은가요? = Is this (thing) too small?
- 이것은 여권이야 = This (thing) is a passport
- 이것이 더 좋아요 = This (thing) is better
- 이것을 보셔요 = Look at this (thing)
- 이것을 먹어 봐! = Eat this (thing)! (Try eating this (thing)!)
- 모든 프린터 중에 이것이 제일 싸요 = Among all the printers, this (one) is the cheapest
- 이것을 다 작성해 주실래요? = Can you write all of this up for me?
- 이것은 처음이자 마지막 기회예요 = This is the first and last chance
그것 = that (thing)
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “그걷”
그것 is often shortened to 그거 in speech.
Notes:
When 이, 그 or 저 are placed before “것,” the result is a compound word. Therefore, when placing “것” after 이, 그 or 저, there should not be a space between the two.
Although it can be translated as “that thing,” 그것 itself is a pronoun and can be simplified to translate to “that.” For more information, see the explanation in Lesson 1.
Examples:
- 저는 그것을 손으로 만들었어요 = I built that (thing) with my hands
- 저는 그것을 지난 번에 배웠어요 = I learned that (thing) last time
- 저는 그것을 처음부터 끝까지 복습했어요 = I reviewed that (thing) from start to finish
- 저는 그것을 영어로 할 거예요 = I will say that (thing) in English
- 저는 그것을 친구한테서 들었어요 = I heard that (thing) from my friend
저것 = that (thing)
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “저걷”
저것 is often shortened to 저거 in speech.
Notes:
When 이, 그 or 저 are placed before “것,” the result is a compound word. Therefore, when placing “것” after 이, 그 or 저, there should not be a space between the two.
Although it can be translated as “that thing,” 저것 itself is a pronoun and can be simplified to translate to “that.” For more information, see the explanation in Lesson 1.
Common Usages:
- 이것저것 = this thing and that thing (this and that)
Examples:
- 저것은 사과예요 = That (thing) is an apple
- 우리 아빠는 저것을 싫어할 것 같아 = Dad will probably not like that (thing)
- 저것은 사람이 아니라 눈사람이에요 = That (thing) is not a person, it is a snowman
의자 = chair
This word appears in Korean Sign Explanation [Video 14]
Common Usages
- 의자에 앉다 = sit on a chair
Example
- 그녀는 의자에서 일어났어요 = She rose up from her chair
- 고양이는 의자 밑에 있다 = The cat is under the chair
- 의자는 탁자보다 더 낮아요 = The chair is lower than the table
- 저는 의자를 앞으로 움직였어요 = I moved my chair forward
탁자 = table
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “탁짜”
Notes:
The little table that Korean people use when they sit on the floor to have meals is called a “상.” A kitchen table can be referred to more specifically by saying “식탁.”
Common Usages
- 탁자 위에 = on top of the table
- 탁자에 놓다 = to place on a table
Examples
- 저는 잡지를 탁자 위에 놓을 거예요 = I will put the magazine on the table
- 펜이 탁자에 놓여 있었어요 = The pen was (laying) on the table
- 의자는 탁자보다 더 낮아요 = The chair is lower than the table
- 밖에 나가기 전에 열쇠를 탁자에 두었어요 = Before I went outside, I put the keys on the table
- 이 탁자가 너무 낮아요 = This table is too low
- 병이 탁자에서 떨어졌다 = The bottle fell from the table
선생님 = teacher
Notes:
This is often colloquially shortened to “쌤”
선생님 (or 쌤) is often used to broadly refer to anybody in any form of a teaching position, or anybody who works at any position in a school. For example, the maintenance people who work at a school would be referred to as “선생님” within the school.
Common Usages:
- 교장선생님 = principal
- 교감선생님 = vice-principal
- 영어 선생님 = English teacher
- 중국어 선생님 = Chinese (language) teacher
Examples
- 저는 선생님이 되고 싶어요 = I want to be a teacher
- 저는 학교에서 저의 선생님을 항상 봐요 = I always see my teacher at school
- 저는 선생님이에요 = I am a teacher
- 저는 어제 선생님을 처음 만났어요 = I met my teacher for the first time yesterday
- 선생님들은 다 나갔어요 = All the teachers left (went out)
- 선생님은 학생들과 박물관에 갔다 = The teacher went to the museum with the students
- 저는 선생님과 함께 공부했어요 = I studied with my teacher
- 선생님들은 똑똑해요 = Teachers are smart
침대 = bed
Common usages:
- 이층침대 = bunk bed
- 간이침대 = cot
- 침대에 눕다 = to lay in bed
- 침대에서 자다 = to sleep in a bed
Examples
- 애기는 침대에서 자고 있어요 = The baby is sleeping in the bed
- 저는 침대에 누워 있어요 = I’m lying in bed
- 저의 사진은 침대 위에 걸려 있어요 = My picture is hanging above my bed
- 피곤한 사람은 침대에 누워서 잤어요 = The tired person lay on the bed and slept
- 저는 침대에 잠깐 눕고 싶어요 = I want to lie down in bed for just a second
집 = house
Common Usages:
- 집에 가다 = to go home
- 집값 = the price of houses
- 우리 집 = our house (this is used more commonly that “my house”)
- 어린이집 = daycare (literally a “kids house”)
- 맛집 = a new term used to refer to a “cool” and delicious restaurant
- 집사람 = wife (older men often use this to refer to their wife)
- 집을 짓다 = to build a house
- 집 청소를 하다 = to clean one’s house
Examples
- 저는 집에 돌아갈 거예요 = I am going back (returning) home
- 집 값은 비싸지고 있어 = House prices are getting expensive
- 저는 내일 선생님의 집을 방문하겠어요 = I will visit the teacher’s house tomorrow
- 저는 어제 집을 두 번 청소했어요 = I cleaned the house twice yesterday
- 엄마는 우리를 위해 점심을 집에서 만들 거예요 = Mom will make lunch for us at home
- 우리 엄마는 집에 와서 빨리 요리했습니다 = Our/my mom came home and quickly cooked
- 우리는 집에 와서 바로 잤어요 = We came home and went to sleep immediately
- 집에 가지 마! = Don’t go home!
- 저는 세탁을 집에서 할 수 있어요 = I can do laundry at home
차 = car
Common Usages:
- 소형차 = small sized car (If you study Hanja, 소 (小) means “small”)
- 중형차 = mid-sized car (If you study Hanja, 중 (中) means “middle”)
- 대형차 = large sized car (If you study Hanja, 대 (大) means “large”)
- 수입차 = foreign (imported) car
- 국산차 = Korean (domestic) car
- 차를 운전하다 = to drive a car
- 차를 타다 = to be riding in a car
Notes:
The counter for automobiles is “대”. See Lesson 10 for more information
Example:
- 우리 아버지는 차를 항상 안전하게 운전해요 = Our dad always drives his car safely
- 저는 차 두 대가 있어요 = I have two cars
- 어떤 종류의 차를 원해요? = What type of car do you want
- 이 차는 너무 비싸요 = This car is too expensive
- 저는 새로운 차를 샀어요 = I bought a new car
사람 = person
Common Usages:
- 한국 사람 = Korean person
- 캐나다 사람 = Canadian person
- 유럽 사람 = European person
- 그 사람 = that person
- 이 사람 = this person
- 모든 사람 = all people
- 대부분(의) 사람 = most people
Notes
The formal version of 사람 is “분”
The counter for people is “명” (informal) or “분” (formal). See Lesson 10 for more information
Examples
- 그 사람은 아주 똑똑해요 = That person is very smart
- 모든 아시아 사람들은 젓가락을 잘 쓴다 = All Asian people use chopsticks well
- 그 사람은 미국에서 왔어요 = That person came from the United States
- 저는 그 사람을 알아요 = I know that person
- 저 사람은 저의 동생이에요 = That person is my younger sibling
- 저는 그 사람을 싫어해요 = I don’t like that person
- 한국 사람들은 보통 아주 착해요 = Korean people are usually very nice
책 = book
Common Usages:
- 책상 = desk
- 공책 = notebook
- 책방 = bookstore
- 책자 = booklet, leaflet
- 책벌레 = bookworm
- 책갈피 = bookmark
- 만화책 = comic book
- 책을 읽다 = to read a book
- 책을 반납하다 = to return a book
- 책을 빌리다 = to borrow a book (usually from a library)
Notes:
The word used to count books is “권”
Examples
- 저는 좋은 책을 읽고 싶어요 = I want to read a good book
- 저는 그것에 대해 책을 쓸 거예요 = I will write a book about it
- 저는 친구에게 책을 돌려줬어요 = I gave my friend back his book
- 저는 책 두 권을 읽었어요 = I read two books
- 저는 그 책을 읽고 싶어요 = I want to read that book
- 그 학생은 하루 종일 책을 읽을 수 있어요 = That student can read books all day
- 이 박스에 책이 들어가 있어요 = There are books in this box
- 저는 누워서 책을 읽었어요 = I lied down and read a book
컴퓨터 = computer
Notes
Many new Korean words are simply English words with a Korean pronunciation pronouncing “컴퓨터” in Korean will sound like “computer”
Common Usages:
- 컴퓨터를 켜다 = turn on a computer
- 컴퓨터를 끄다 = turn off a computer
- 컴퓨터가 고장 났다 = for a computer to be broken
Examples:
- 컴퓨터가 꺼져 있어요 = The computer is turned off
- 저는 컴퓨터를 켰어요 = I turned the computer on
- 컴퓨터가 켜져 있어요 = The computer is (in the state of being) on
- 그는 고장 난 컴퓨터를 수리했어요 = He repaired the broken computer
- 교실에서 선생님들을 컴퓨터로 대체할 수 없어요 = You can’t replace teachers with computers in the classroom
나무 = tree/wood
Common Usages:
- 소나무 = pine tree
- 대나무 = bamboo
- 단풍나무 = maple tree
- 나무뿌리 = root of a tree
- 나무를 심다 = to plant a tree
Examples
- 저는 집을 나무로 지었어요 = I made a house out of wood
- 나는 우리 집을 나무로 지었어 = I built our house out of wood
- 대부분의 원숭이는 나무에서 살아요 = Most monkeys live in trees
- 아이들은 나무 주위에서 놀고 있어요 = The children are playing around the tree
소파 = sofa
Notes:
Many new Korean words are simply English words with a Korean pronunciation pronouncing “소파” in Korean will sound like “sofa.” Note that there is no way to pronounce the “F” sound in Korean. English words with an “F” that are borrowed to Korean usually use “ㅍ” to make the “F” sound.
Example
- 그는 소파에 앉아 있어요 = He is sitting on the couch
- 이 소파는 아주 편해요 = This sofa is very comfortable
- 애기는 높은 소파에서 떨어졌어요 = The baby fell from the high sofa
중국 = China
Common Usages
- 중국인 = Chinese person
- 중국 사람 = Chinese person
- 중국어 = Chinese language
Example:
- 우리는 곧 중국에 갈 거예요 = We are going to China soon
- 그 사람은 중국에서 왔어요 = That person came from China
- 그 사람은 중국인이에요 = That person is Chinese
- 중국 사람들은 한국사람들보다 더 가난해요 = Chinese people are poorer than Korean people
- 한국 사람과 중국 사람은 문화적으로 달라요 = Korean and Chinese people are culturally different
- 한국에는 황사가 중국에서 봄마다 와요 = Yellow dust comes to Korea every spring from China
- 중국 사람들은 소금을 쓰는 것 대신에 음식에 간장을 뿌려요 = Instead of using salt, Chinese people put soy sauce on their food
일본 = Japan
Common Usages
- 일본 사람 = Japanese Person
- 일본어 = Japanese language
Example
- 그 사람은 일본에서 왔어요 = That person is from Japan
- 일본은 전쟁에서 한국을 공격했어요 = Japan attacked Korea in the war
- 저는 일본에 스무 번 넘게 가 봤어요 = I’ve been to Japan more than twenty times
- 요즘에 한국 사람들은 일본에 별로 가고 싶지 않아요
- These days, Korean people don’t really want to go to Japan
- 한국 집값은 일본 집값보다 훨씬 높아요
- The price of Korean houses is much higher than the price of houses in Japan
- 일본에서 성인들은 미국 청소년보다 만화책을 더 많이 읽어요
- In Japan, adults read more comic books than young people in America
문 = door
Notes:
On the subway, you will hear “내리실 문은 왼쪽/오른쪽이에요” – “The doors are on your left/right.”
On the bus, you will see signs saying “문이 완전히 열릴 때까지 버스에서 내리거나 문에 기대지 마세요” – “Until the door is fully/completely open, don’t get off the bus or lean on the door”
Common Usages:
- 창문 = window
- 정문 = main entrance
- 뒷문 = back door
- 앞문 = front door
- 동대문 = “east big gate” – tourist attraction and neighborhood in Seoul
- 남대문 = “south big gate” – tourist attraction and market in Seoul
- 서대문 = “west big gate” – tourist attraction and neighborhood in Seoul
Example
- 문을 닫아야 돼요 = You have to close the door
- 저는 문을 잠갔어요 = I locked the door
- 저는 문을 열 거예요 = I will open the door
- 너무 추워서 문을 닫았어요 = I closed the door because it is too cold
- 문이 완전히 열릴 때까지 버스에서 내리거나 문에 기대지 마세요 = Until the door is fully/completely open, don’t get off the bus or lean on the door
의사 = doctor
Notes: Korean people don’t refer to people with a Ph.D. as “doctor.” Instead, they use the term “박사(님).”
Common Usages:
- 한의사 = Korean/oriental doctor
- 외과의사 = surgeon
- 치과의사 = dentist
- 정형외과의사 = orthopedic doctor
- 내과의사 = internal medicine doctor
- 정신과의사 = psychiatrist
- 비뇨기과의사 = urologist
- 산부인과의사 = gynecologist
Examples
- 저는 의사가 무서워요 = I am afraid of doctors
- 의사들은 돈이 많아요 = doctors have a lot of money
- 저의 친구는 의사예요 = My friend is a doctor
- 의사들은 문제에 대해 과학적으로 생각했어요 = The doctors thought about the problem scientifically
- 저는 정신과의사가 되려고 열심히 공부하고 있어요 = I am studying hard to become a psychiatrist
학생 = student
Common Usages:
- 학생증 = student ID
- 학생회 = student council
- 대학생 = university student
- 초등학생 = elementary school student
- 중학생 = middle school student
- 고등학생 = high school student
- 교환학생 = foreign exchange student
Examples
- 저는 좋은 학생이에요 = I am a good student
- 저는 학생이 아니에요 = I am not a student
- 선생님은 내일 학생들을 만날 거야 = The teacher will meet the students tomorrow
- 저는 학생들이 실망스러웠어요 = I was disappointed in the students
- 저는 학생들에게 수업을 가르쳤어요 = I taught the class to the students
- 선생님은 학생들과 박물관에 갔다 = The teacher went to the museum with the students
Adverbs and Other words
이다 = to be
This is the first time you are being introduced to a word that must be conjugated in order to be used. Visit Lesson 5 for more information. Any word that ends in “다” must be conjugated to be used. The conjugation of 이다 is different than other words. I introduce all of these conjugations in Lesson 9.
Common usages
- 제 이름은 ___ 이에요 = My name is ___
- 이름이 뭐예요? = What is your name?
- 저는 ___이에요 = I am a ___
Notes
“to be” can be many words in English. For example, I am, he is, they are, I was, they were. 이다 acts as all of these words.
Examples:
- 저는 예쁜 여자예요 = I am a beautiful girl
- 저 건물은 학교입니다 = That building is a school
- 그것은 사진이에요 = That thing is a picture
- 이 사람은 저의 누나예요 = This (person) is my sister
- 그것은 큰 비밀이었어요 = That was a big secret
- 저는 의사였어요 = I was a doctor
네 = yes
Notes:
Informally, you can say “응” to mean “yes”
When speaking on the phone, Korean people often say this many times and pronounce it as “데”
Example
- 네, 저는 가고 싶어요 = Yes, I want to go
- 네, 알겠습니다 = Yes, okay. (I got it)
- 네, 그렇습니다 = Yes, that is correct (that is the way it is)
- 네, 그럴게요 = Yes/Okay, I will do that if that’s what you want
- 네, 갔다 올게요 = Yes/Okay, I will go, and then come back
아니 = no
Notes
In formal situations, “아니요” is more respectful
Example
- 아니요, 안 했어요 = No, I didn’t do it
Person 1: 숙소비가 얼마예요? 10만원? = How much is the lodging fee? 100,000 won? Person 2: 아니요. 10만원 조금 넘어요 = No. A little more than 100,000 won
There are 1050 vocabulary entries in Unit 1. All entries are linked to an audio file. You can download all of these files in one package here.
For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.
You might also want to try listening to all of the words on loop with this [Vocabulary Practice video]
Greeting Words
Throughout my lessons, I will only use grammar and vocabulary that you have learned from a previous lesson. In Unit 0, I taught you how to write words in Korean. Above, you can see the first set of words you should study to get you started. I have not yet taught you how to use those words or how conjugate them.
The words for “hello,” “thank you,” “how are you,” and “please” are actually quite difficult in Korean. There is actually grammar within the words themselves. At this stage, I would simply memorize these “greeting words” as one unit, and you can worry about the grammar within them later when it becomes relevant. The words are:
- 안녕하세요 = hello
감사하다 and 고맙다 are the two words that are commonly used to say “thank you.” However, they are rarely used in those forms and are almost always conjugated. They can be conjugated in a variety of ways, which will be introduced in Lesson 5 and Lesson 6. The most common ways to conjugate these words are:
- 감사합니다
- 감사해요
- 고마워
- 고맙습니다
- 고마워요
The way to say “how are you?” in Korean is:
- 잘 지내세요? = How are you?
Although this is the most literal way to ask “how are you?” in Korean, it is not as common as the English expression. Korean people love food, and common way to greet somebody is to ask them if they have eaten. The idea of asking questions in Korean is taught in Lesson 21.
The way to say “please” in Korean is:
- 제발 = Please
It is, of course, important for you to memorize these expressions in Korean, but you need to know that there is a reason why they are said that way. For now, don’t worry about why they are said that way, and simply memorize them. We will get back to them in later lessons when they become important.
Sentence Word Order
Korean has a sentence structure that is hard to grasp initially for English speakers. For our purposes in Lesson 1, the words in Korean sentences are written in the following order:
- Subject – Object – Verb (for example: I hamburger eat)
Or
- Subject – Adjective (for example: I beautiful)
I am going to quickly explain what a “subject” and “object” mean, as your ability to understand later concepts depends on your understanding of this. The subject refers to person/thing/noun/whatever that is acting. The subject does the action of the verb. For example, the subject in each sentence below is underlined:
- I went to the park
- I will go to the park
- My mom loves me
- He loves me
- The dog ran fast
- The clouds cleared up
In English, the subject always comes before the verb.
The object refers to whatever the verb is acting on. For example, the object in each sentence below is underlined
- My mom loves me
- The dog bit the mailman
- He ate rice
- Students studied Korean
In English, the object always comes after the verb. However, a sentence with a verb does not require an object. For example:
- I slept
- I ate
- He died
Sometimes there is no object because it has simply been omitted from the sentence. For example, “I ate” or “I ate rice” are both correct sentences. Other verbs, by their nature, cannot act on an object. For example, you cannot place an object after the verbs “to sleep” or “to go:”
- I sleep you
- I go you
Subjects are also present in sentences with adjectives. However, there is no object in a sentence with an adjective. The subjects are underlined in the following adjective-sentences below:
- School is boring
- I am boring
- The movie was funny
- The building is big
- My girlfriend is pretty
- The food is delicious
Verbs and adjectives are placed at the end of a sentence. Actually, every Korean sentence and clause must end in one of the following:
- A verb
- An adjective, or
- 이다
I talk about the meaning of 이다 later in this lesson. It is neither a verb nor an adjective, but it behaves like them. Every verb, every adjective and 이다 end in “다,” and these are the only words in Korean that can be conjugated.
Korean also has a formality system built into the language. That is, the way one speaks to an older person who deserves high respect would be different than the way one speaks to a friend. There are many ways words in a sentence can change depending on the formality of the situation, but the two most common, basic and important things to be aware of are:
-
There are two ways to say “I” or “me” in Korean:
- 나, used in informal situations, and
- 저, used in formal situations.
-
There are many ways to conjugate a word. As we saw above, the word 고맙다 can be conjugated many different ways. It is important to know which conjugation to use in which situation. This is taught in Lesson 6. Until Lesson 6, I make no distinction of formality and the focus is more on sentence structure than conjugations. Until then, you will see both 나 and 저 arbitrarily used. Don’t worry about why one is used over the other until Lesson 6, when formalities will be explained.
Okay, now that you know all of that, we can talk about making Korean sentences.
Korean Particles (~는/은 and ~를/을)
Most words in a Korean sentence have a particle (a fancy word to say ‘something’) attached to them. These particles indicate the role of each word in a sentence – that is, specifically which word is the subject or object. Note that there is absolutely no way of translating these particles to English, as we do not use anything like them. The following are the particles you should know for this lesson:
는 or 은 (Subject)
This is placed after a word to indicate that it is the subject of a sentence.
Use 는 when the last letter of the last syllable of the subject is a vowel. For example:
- 나 = 나는
- 저 = 저는
Use 은 when the last letter of the last syllable of the subject is a consonant. For example:
- 집 = 집은
- 책 = 책은
를 or 을 (Object)
This is placed after a word to indicate that is the object of a sentence.
Use 를 when the last letter of the last syllable is a vowel. For example:
- 나 = 나를
- 저 = 저를
Use 을 when the last letter of the last syllable is a consonant. For example:
- 집 = 집을
- 책 = 책을
We can now make sentences using the Korean sentence structure and the Korean particles.
-
I speak Korean = I는 Korean을 speak
- 는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
- 을 is attached to “Korean” (the object)
-
I like you = I는 you를 like
- 는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
- 를 is attached to “you” (the object)
-
I wrote a letter = I는 letter을 wrote
- 는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
- 을 is attached to “letter” (the object)
-
I opened the door = I는 door을 opened
- 는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
- 을 is attached to “the door” (the object)
-
My mom will make pasta = My mom은 pasta를 will make
- 은 is attached to “my mom” (the subject)
- 를 is attached to “pasta” (the object)
The same could be done for sentences with adjectives. However, remember that sentences with adjectives will not have an object:
-
My girlfriend is pretty: My girlfriend은 is pretty
- “은” is attached to “my girlfriend” (the subject)
-
The movie was scary = The movie는 was scary
- “는” is attached to “the movie” (the subject)
We will now switch our focus to using actual Korean words to create sentences ending in 이다.
To be: 이다
Let’s start building sentences in Korean. In this lesson, we will start by making simple sentences using the word 이다. The translation for “이다” is “to be.” English speakers often don’t realize how difficult the word “to be” is. Depending on who is being referred to, the word “to be” could be any of the underlined words below:
- I am a man
- He is a man
- They are men
- I was a man
- They were men
In each of those sentences, a different word (is, am, are, was, were) is used depending on the subject and tense of the sentence. I can’t imagine how difficult this would be for an English learner. In Korean, the 이다 is used to represent all of those “to be” words.
As mentioned earlier, 이다 can be conjugated. In that way, 이다 is similar to verbs and adjectives, but the rules for 이다 are often (but not always) different. I will teach you how 이다 differs from verbs and adjectives as it becomes important in later lessons. For example, in Lesson 52 you will learn that the process for quoting a sentence with 이다 is different than with verbs and adjectives.
Like adjectives, 이다 can not act on an object. Only verbs can act on objects. For example:
- I eat hamburgers (eat is a verb, the object is a hamburger)
- She meets my friend (meet is a verb, the object is my friend)
- They study Korean (study is a verb, the object is Korean)
- We listen to music (listen is a verb, the object is music)
All of those sentences (can) have objects because the verb is the predicate of the sentence. However, in sentences that are predicated by adjectives, there will not be an object
- I am pretty
- She is beautiful
- They are hungry
- We are smart
Look at those four sentences. When we use adjectives in English, we must also use “to be” words like am, is and are. In other words, we cannot make sentences like this:
- I pretty
- She beautiful
- They hungry
- We smart
Unlike in English, 이다 is not used in these types of sentences. That is, we do not use 이다 to indicate that something “is” an adjective. The structure of sentences predicated by adjectives is discussed in Lesson 3.
So, 이다 is not used in these types of sentences:
- I am pretty
- She is beautiful
- They are hungry
- We are smart
However, 이다 is used in these types of sentences:
- I am a man
- He is a man
- They are men
- I was a man
- They were men
이다 is used to indicate that a noun is a noun. The basic structure for a sentence predicated by “이다” is:
[noun은/는] [another noun][이다]
For example:
- I는 man이다 = I am a man
Now substitute the words for “man” and “I,” which are:
- 나 = I
- 남자 = man
The Korean sentence would look like this:
- 나는 남자이다 = I am a man
Notice that 이다 is attached directly to the second noun. Verbs and adjectives are not attached to nouns like this, but 이다 is. It would be incorrect to include a space between the second noun and 이다. For example, this would be incorrect:
나는 남자 이다
Although it might look and feel like “남자” is an object in that sentence, it is not. 이다, like adjectives and unlike verbs cannot act on an object. It would be incorrect to include the object particle on the second noun. For example, this would be incorrect:
- 나는 남자를 이다
The focus of this lesson (and Lessons 2, 3 and 4) is to introduce you to simple Korean sentence structure. Until you reach Lessons 5 and Lesson 6 you will not be exposed to the conjugations and honorifics of Korean verbs, adjectives and 이다. These words are very rarely used without conjugations and honorifics.
The conjugation of sentences is very important, but so is the structure of sentences. When creating these lessons, I went back in forth many times thinking about which one I should present first. You can’t conjugate sentences if you don’t have a logical sentence to conjugate; and you can’t create a logical sentence if you don’t know how to conjugate it. In the end, I figured it would make more sense to present the information this way – where learners are introduced to sentence structure and then learn how to conjugate the words within the sentence.
Throughout all of my lessons, I use example sentences to show how grammar can be used. The example sentences in Lessons 1 – 4 are not conjugated. However, directly beneath each non-conjugated sentence is a conjugated version of the same sentence in parenthesis (one formal and one informal conjugation). You might want to glimpse at how the words are conjugated, but remember that this will be taught in Lessons 5 and 6 (for verbs and adjectives) and Lesson 9 (for 이다).
Other examples of 이다 in use:
- 나는 여자이다 = I am a woman
- (나는 여자야 / 저는 여자예요 )
- 나는 선생님이다 = I am a teacher
- (나는 선생님이야 / 저는 선생님이에요 )
- 나는 사람이다 = I am a person
- (나는 사람이야 / 저는 사람이에요 )
- 나는 **__**이다 = I am a ___
- (나는 ___ 이야 / 저는 **_**이에요)
You can substitute any noun into the blank space to make these sentences.
The words “this” and “that” are often used as the subject of these types of sentences. Let’s now look at how we can apply 이것, 그것 and 저것 to sentences with 이다.
This and That (이/그/저)
You can see in the vocabulary above that the word for “this” is 이 in Korean.
We use 이 in Korean when we are talking about something that is within touching distance (For example: this pen – i.e. the one I am holding). Just like in English “이” (this) is placed before the noun it is describing. For example:
- 이 사람 = This person
- 이 남자 = This man
- 이 여자 = This woman
- 이 차 = This car
- 이 탁자 = This table
- 이 의자 = This chair
Unfortunately, there are two words for “that”: 그 and 저. Early learners of Korean are always confused with the difference between “그” and “저.”
We use 그 when we are talking about something from a previous sentence or from previous context, regardless of if you could see it or not. Providing examples would be too difficult right now because you do not know any Korean sentences. However, if I were to say: “I don’t like that man [when your friend mentioned him in a previous sentence].” The word “that” in that sentence would be how “그” is used.
We use 저 when we are talking about something that we can see, but cannot touch because it is too far away.
We can place “그” or “저” before a noun to describe “this” or “that” thing just like we did with “이.”
- 이 사람 = This person
- 그 사람 = That person
- 저 사람 = That person
- 이 남자 = This man
- 그 남자 = That man
- 저 남자 = That man
- 이 여자 = This woman
- 그 여자 = That woman
- 저 여자 = That woman
- 이 의자 = This chair
- 그 의자 = That chair
- 저 의자 = That chair
- 이 탁자 = This table
- 그 탁자 = That table
- 저 탁자 = That table
Again, although the English translations of “그” and “저” are the same, it is important to remember that they are not the same word in Korean.
One of the most common words in Korean is “것” meaning “thing.” When 이, 그 or 저 are placed before “것,” the result is a compound word. Therefore, when placing “것” after 이, 그 or 저, there should not be a space between the two. In other words, the following are words in and within themselves, and not two separate words:
- 이것 = this thing
- 그것 = that thing
- 저것 = that thing
We see this same phenomenon happen with other common words that you learn in future lessons. You don’t need to worry about this now, but we see this same thing happen with the word 곳 (meaning “place”) and 때 (meaning “time”).
With these words, the word “thing” isn’t necessary in the English translation. Let me explain.
I’ll use “that” as an example, but the same idea can be applied to the word “this.”
“That” can be placed before a noun to describe it. As we saw earlier:
- That person
- That man
- That woman
However, it can also be a noun itself. For example:
- I like that
In this type of English sentence, “that” is referring to some thing that you like. It is a noun. It is a thing.
Therefore, the sentence could just as easily be said as:
- I like that thing
I don’t like to use grammatical jargon in my lessons, but if you know what these words mean, it could be helpful. In both English and Korean, “that” can be a determiner (as in, “I like that man”), and it can also be a pronoun (as in “I like that”). When used as a determiner in Korean, you should place 그 before a noun. When used as a pronoun in Korean, the word 그것 is used.
In this same respect, while “이, 그 and 저” translate to “this, that and that” respectively, and are placed before nouns to indicate “this noun, that noun and that noun,” “이것, 그것 and 저것” are nouns (they are pronouns). Therefore, they do not need to be followed by the redundant word “thing,” although their meanings would be exactly the same:
- I like this
- I like this thing
- I like that
- I like that thing
We can now use these nouns as subjects or objects in a sentence. We will look at how they can be used with “이다” next.
Using This/That with 이다
Remember, 이다 translates to “to be” and is conjugated as “am/is/are” in English. Now that we know how to use 이, 그 and 저 (and 이것, 그것 and 저것), we can now make sentences like this:
- That person is a doctor
We can start by putting those words into the Korean structure:
- That person는 doctor is
And then changing the English words to the appropriate Korean words:
- 그 사람은 + 의사 + 이다
- 그 사람은 의사이다
- (그 사람은 의사야 / 그 사람은 의사예요 )
More examples:
- 그 사람은 선생님이다 = That person is a teacher
- (그 사람은 선생님이야 / 그 사람은 선생님이에요 )
- 이것은 탁자이다 = This (thing) is a table
- (이것은 탁자야 / 이것은 탁자예요 )
- 저것은 침대이다 = That (thing) is a bed
- (저것은 침대야 / 저것은 침대예요 )
- 그 사람은 남자이다 = That person is a man
- (그 사람은 남자야 / 그 사람은 남자예요 )
- 그 사람은 여자이다 = That person is a woman
- (그 사람은 여자야 / 그 사람은 여자예요 )
- 그것은 차이다 = That (thing) is a car
- (그것은 차야 / 그것은 차예요 )
- 이것은 나무이다 = This (thing) is a tree
- (이것은 나무야 / 이것은 나무예요 )
There are 1250 example sentences in Unit 1. All entries are linked to an audio file. You can download all of these files in one package here.
Wow! That was an extremely difficult lesson. If you were to pick up another Korean text book, I am sure the first chapter would be much easier than this. Trust me though; learning this at the start will be very useful to you later on. When I was learning how to speak Korean, it took me months to realize some of these things (not because they were hard, but because I was using a text book that never taught me the reason why things are the way they are in Korean).
Before you move on, make sure you understand the simple Korean sentence structure presented in this first lesson. Also, remember that the sentences not in parentheses are technically incorrect (or very very uncommon) because they have not been conjugated.
Okay, I got it! Take me to the next lesson! Or, Click here for a workbook to go along with this lesson.
Summary
Want to try to create some sentences using the vocabulary and grammar from this lesson?
This YouTube video will prompt you to translate English sentences into Korean using the concepts from this lesson.
[Round 1]
[Round 2]
Want to practice your listening skills?
This YouTube video will prompt you with Korean sentences to dictate using the concepts from this lesson.
[Round 1]
[Round 2]
Want to practice reading some sentences?
These YouTube videos will prompt you with some written Korean sentences, and you can try to figure out the meaning of the sentences!
Want to apply what you learned in this lesson?
This YouTube video will prompt you with English sentences using the grammar from this lesson, but vocabulary you haven’t been exposed to yet!
The following videos are available to reinforce the concepts in this lesson:
[Word Listening]
[Lesson Recap]