1

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 “sleep”
or “die:”
I sleep you
I die 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
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It is incredibly important that you understand this from the very beginning. Every Korean
sentence MUST end in either a verb (like eat, sleep or walk) or an adjective (like
beautiful, pretty, and delicious). This rule is so important that I’m going to say it again:
Every Korean sentence MUST end in either a verb or adjective.
It is also important to point out here that there are two ways to say “I” or “me” in Korean.
Depending on how polite you need to be speaking, many things within a sentence (mostly
the conjugation) can change. You won’t learn about the different honorific conjugations
until Lesson 6, so you do not need to worry about understanding those until then.
However, before you reach those lessons, you will see two different words for “I,” which
are:
나, used in informal sentences, and
저, used in formal sentences.
As Lessons 1 – 5 make no distinction of formality, you will see both 나 and 저 arbitrarily
used. Don’t worry about why one is used over the other until Lesson 6, when politeness
will be explained.
Okay, now that you know all of that, we can talk about making Korean sentences.
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
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We can now make sentences using the Korean sentence structure and the Korean
particles.
1) I speak Korean = I 는 Korean 을 speak
는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
을 is attached to “Korean” (the object)
2) I like you = I 는 you 를 like
는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
를 is attached to “you” (the object)
3) I wrote a letter = I 는 letter 을 wrote
는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
을 is attached to “letter” (the object)
4) I opened the door = I 는 door 을 opened
는 is attached to “I” (the subject)
을 is attached to “the door” (the object)
5) My mom will make pasta = My mom 은 pasta 를 will make
은 is attached to “my mom” (the subject)
를 is attached to “pasta” (the object)
I am sure that you will be tempted to start substituting Korean words into those
constructions to make real Korean sentences. However, at this point, that is too
complicated. The goal of this lesson is to familiarize yourself with the structure of Korean
sentences.
The same could be done for sentences with adjectives. However, remember that
sentences with adjectives will not have an object:
1) My girlfriend is pretty: My girlfriend 은 is pretty
:”은” is attached to “my girlfriend” (the subject)
2) The movie was scary = The movie 는 was scary
:”는” is attached to “the movie” (the subject)
There is one more particle that you should be aware of before we go any further.
에 (Place or time)
We haven’t talked about places or times yet, but if you do an action at a time, you must
attach the particle “에” to the word indicating the time.
“에” is also attached to a word to indicate that it is a place in the sentence. I want to
write more about what “에” does, but at this point, it would only confuse you. For now, it
is sufficient to know that “에” is used to indicate a place in a sentence.
Again, it is hard to translate these particles into English, but, “에” plays the role of the
underlined words in the following sentences:
1) I went at 3pm
2) I went to the park
Sentences with a place/time can also have an object in them. For example:
3) I ate hamburgers at 3pm
 4

If I were to write those same sentence using Korean structure and particles, they would
look like this:
1) I 는 3pm 에 went
2) I 는 park 에 went
3) I 는 hamburgers 을 3pm 에 ate
In these cases, “at 3pm” or “to the park” act as adverbs (a word that tells you when,
where, how, how much). There is no set place for an adverb within a sentence, and it can
generally be placed anywhere (except the end). Adverbs will be discussed at length
in Lesson 8.
Again, the purpose of this first part of Lesson 1 was to familiarize yourself with the
different Korean particles and sentence structure. This knowledge will act as your base
for upcoming lessons when you will apply yourself to make actual sentences with
verbs/adjectives in Korean. While you will have to wait a little bit to create those types of
sentences, we can now talk about creating actual Korean sentences with the word “to
be.”
To be: 이다
Now its time to learn how to make an actual sentence using the word ‘to be.’ English
speakers often don’t realize how difficult this word is in English. Look at the following
examples:
I am a man
He is a man
They are men
I was a man
They were men
In each of those sentences, the word ‘to be’ is represented by a different word
(is/am/are/was/were) depending on the subject and tense of the sentence. Luckily, in
Korean, the same word is used to represent is, am, are, was and were. This word is 이다
이다 should not be thought of as a verb or an adjective in Korean, as in most cases it acts
differently. I will teach you how 이다 differs from verbs and adjectives as it becomes
important (in future lessons).
Sometimes however, 이다 is somewhat similar to adjectives. Remember that sentences
ending with adjectives do not have objects in them. Whenever a sentence is predicated
by an adjective, there will be no object in the sentence. Onlysentences with verbs have
objects. Let’s look at some examples:
I eat hamburgers (eat is a verb, the object is a hamburger)
I meet my friend (meet is a verb, the object is my friend)
I study Korean (study is a verb, the object is Korean)
I 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:
 5

I am pretty
I am beautiful
I am hungry
I am smart
This means that we can never use the particle ~을/를 in a sentence predicated by an
adjective (because ~을/를 denotes that there is an object). The object particle is also not
used when using the word “이다.” The basic structure for a sentence predicated by “이다”
is:
[noun 은/는] [another noun] [이다]
For example:
I 는 man 이다 = I am a man
Now substitute the words for “man” and “I:”
나 =I
남자 = man
나는 + 남자 + 이다
이다 gets attached directly to the noun. So, the above construction looks like:
나는 남자이다 = I am a man
It is very important that you remember that ~를/을 is not attached to words in sentences
with “이다.” The following would be very incorrect:
나는 남자를 이다.
이다 is the only word that acts like this, and is one of the reasons why you should treat it
differently than other verbs or adjectives.
The focus of this lesson (and Lessons 2 and 3) is to introduce you to simple Korean
sentence structure. Until you reach Lesson 5 and Lesson 6 you will not be exposed to the
conjugations and honorifics of Korean verbs, adjectives and 이다.
In reality, these words are never (or very very rarely) used without these conjugations
and honorifics. Therefore, while I stress the importance of understanding the structure of
the sentences presented in this Lessons 1, 2, 3 and 4 do not use the sentences in any
form of communication with Korean people, as they will most likely not be understood. In
order to completely understand what is presented in Lessons 5 and 6 (and for the rest of
your Korean studies), it is essential that you understand what is presented in these first
four lessons – even though they may be seen as “technically incorrect.”
For all of the “technically incorrect” (un-conjugated) sentences presented in Lesson 1 – 4
I will provide a correct (conjugated) version of the same sentence in parenthesis below
the un-conjugated version (one formal and one informal conjugation). Note one more time
that you will not understand these conjugations until 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)
 6

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.
This and That (이/그/저)
You can see in the bulary 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
 7

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:
 8

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 person 는 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).
Vocabulary
Nouns:
나라 = country
가방 = bag/backpack
창문 = window
잡지 = magazine
방 = room
냉장고 = refrigerator
 9

개 = dog
강아지 = puppy
고양이 = cat
쥐 = rat, mouse
펜 = pen
전화기 = phone
커피 = coffee
식당 = restaurant
건물 = building
텔레비전 = television
미국 = USA
캐나다 = Canada
호텔 = hotel
학교 = school
은행 = bank
Adverbs
안 = inside
위 = on top
밑 = below
옆 = beside
뒤 = behind
앞 = in front
여기 = here
Verbs:
있다 = to be at a location
Adjectives:
있다 = to have something
Introduction
In Lesson 1 you learned about simple Korean particles. To review, you learned that:
~는 or ~은 are used to indicate the subject (or main person/thing) in a sentence.
~를 or ~을 are used to indicate the object in a sentence.
For example, in this sentence: “I ate a hamburger”
“I” is the subject of the sentence
“Hamburger” is the object
“Eat” is the verb
In this Lesson, you will learn about the particles ~이/가 and specifically how it can
compare with ~는/은. In all situations, ~이 is attached to nouns in which the last letter is a
consonant (like ~은) and ~가 is attached to nouns in which the last letter is a vowel (like ~
는). For example:
 10

책 ends in a consonant (ㄱ), so “~이” is added: “책이.”

소파 ends in a vowel (ㅏ), so “~가” is added: “소파가.”
But, in what situations should we use ~이/가? Before we get to that, I would like to teach
you how to use the word “있다” in sentences. Let’s get started.
있다: To have
The word “있다” has many meanings. To a beginner of Korean, we can simplify and
generalize these meanings into two forms or usages:
있다 = to have
있다 = to be at a location
Let’s talk about the first usage, “to have.” In English, “to have” is a verb that can act on
an object. For example:
I have a pen
I have a car
This usage of 있다 in Korean is an adjective. This is hard for a learner to wrap their head
around. At this point, this is important to you for one reason.
You learned in Lesson 1 that sentences with adjectives cannot act on an object. Thus,
you cannot have a word with the particle ~을/를 attached to it if the predicating word in a
sentence is an adjective (because ~을/를 indicates an object in a sentence).
If this weren’t the case, we could do the following:
I have a pen
I 는 pen 을 있다
나는 + 펜을 + 있다
나는 펜을 있다 = I have a pen
However, the sentence above is incorrect. 있다 is an adjective and cannot act on an
object like this. Therefore, the use of ~을 on “펜” is incorrect. To get around this, we can
attach ~이/가 to the object instead of ~을/를 in sentences with 있다. This is one usage of
the particle ~이/가; that is, to indicate the thing that a person “has” in sentences with “있
다.” Look at the following example sentences:
나는 펜이 있다 = I have a pen
( 나는 펜이 있어 / 저는 펜이 있어요)
나는 차가 있다 = I have a car
( 나는 차가 있어 / 저는 차가 있어요)
나는 잡지가 있다 = I have a magazine
( 나는 잡지가 있어 / 저는 잡지가 있어요)
나는 가방이 있다 = I have a backpack
( 나는 가방이 있어 / 저는 가방이 있어요)
Again, note that ~을/를 is not used to indicate the object that a person “has.” Instead, ~이/
가 are used.
Remember that the example sentences provided in Lessons 1, 2, 3 and 4
are not conjugated. While one/two forms of conjugations are provided in parentheses
 11

below each example sentence, the grammar within these conjugations is too
complicated for you to understand right now. For now, focus on what is being presented
in these first four lessons before you start to worry about conjugating sentences and
using honorifics.
있다: To be at a location
있다 can also be used to indicate that something/someone is “at a location.” In Lesson
1 you learned about the particle ~에 in Korean. You learned that this particle is used to
indicate the place and/or time of something in a sentence. Therefore, “~에” is often used
in sentences with “있다” to indicate the location of something/someone.
For example: I am at school
If we wanted to write this sentence with Korean structure and particles, we would write:
I 는 school 에 am at
나는 + 학교에 + 있다

This is irrelevant to you now, but when 있다 is used like this, it is again seen as an
adjective. This is confusing, but or now, try to ignore it. I begin to discuss this more
in Lesson 5 when I discuss the conjugations of 있다.

나는 학교에 있다 = I am at school
( 나는 학교에 있어 / 저는 학교에 있어요)
or,
나는 캐나다에 있다 = I am in Canada
( 나는 캐나다에 있어 / 저는 캐나다에 있어요)
Notice the very big difference in meaning between the following sentences, and the role
that particles have in each case. Because 있다 has two different meanings, changing the
particles in a sentence can drastically change the meaning. For example:
나는 학교가 있다 = I have a school – this could make sense, but in most situations, you
would probably want to say:
나는 학교에 있다 = I am at school
나는 잡지가 있다 = I have a magazine
나는 잡지에 있다 = I am at the magazine (this doesn’t make sense)
We can also use position words to indicate specifically where someone/something is with
respect to another noun. The most common position words are:
안 = inside
위 = on top
밑 = below
옆 = beside
뒤 = behind
앞 = in front
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These words are placed after a noun to indicate where an object is with respect to that
noun. The particle “~에” is then attached directly to the position words. For example:
학교 앞에 = in front of the school
사람 뒤에 = behind the person
집 옆에 = beside the house
저 건물 뒤에 = behind that building
These constructions can now act as the location in a sentence:
나는 학교에 있다 = I am at school
나는 학교 앞에 있다 = I am in-front of the school
( 나는 학교 앞에 있어 / 저는 학교 앞에 있어요)
Let’s make some sentences:
나는 학교 뒤에 있다 = I am behind the school
( 나는 학교 뒤에 있어 / 저는 학교 뒤에 있어요)
나는 학교 옆에 있다 = I am beside the school
( 나는 학교 옆에 있어 / 저는 학교 옆에 있어요)
나는 은행 안에 있다 = I am inside the bank
( 나는 은행 안에 있어 / 저는 은행 안에 있어요)
개는 집 안에 있다 = The dog is in the house
( 개는 집 안에 있어 / 개는 집 안에 있어요)
고양이는 의자 밑에 있다 = The cat is under the chair
( 고양이는 의자 밑에 있어 / 고양이는 의자 밑에 있어요)
식당은 은행 옆에 있다 = The restaurant is next to the bank
( 식당은 은행 옆에 있어 / 식당은 은행 옆에 있어요)
호텔은 학교 옆에 있다 = The hotel is next to the school
( 호텔은 학교 옆에 있어 / 호텔은 학교 옆에 있어요)
You have learned that ~이/가 can be attached to nouns in sentences to indicate the object
that a person “has.” ~이/가 can also be used to indicate the subject of a sentence, similar
to ~는/은. What is the difference? We will talk about this in the next section.
~이/가 as a Subject Marker
One of the most difficult things for a new learner of Korean to understand is the
difference between the particles ~는/은 and ~이/가. Earlier in this Lesson, you learned that
you should use ~이/가 on the object that a person “has” when using “있다.”
In addition to this, there are more functions of ~이/가 that you should know about.
In Lesson 1, you learned that you should add ~는/은 to the subject of the sentence. To use
an example using the grammar taught earlier in this Lesson, you could say:
고양이는 집 뒤에 있다 = The cat is behind the house
( 고양이는 집 뒤에 있어 / 고양이는 집 뒤에 있어요)
In this sentence, notice that the particle ~는/은 indicates that the “cat” is the subject.
However the sentence above could also be written like this:
 13

고양이가 집 뒤에 있다 = The cat is behind the house

( 고양이가 집 뒤에 있어 / 고양이가 집 뒤에 있어요)
The two sentences could have exactly the same meaning and feeling. I emphasize
“could” because in some situations the meaning of the two sentences is exactly the
same, but in other situations the meaning of two sentences can be subtly different.
The reason why they could be identical:
고양이는 집 뒤에 있다 = The cat is behind the house
고양이가 집 뒤에 있다 = The cat is behind the house
~이/가, like ~는/은 is added to the subject of the sentence. In some situations, there is no
difference in meaning or feel between adding ~이/가 or ~는/은 to the subject.
The reason why they could be subtly different:
~는/은 has a role of indicating that something is being compared with something else. The
noun that “~는/은” is added to is being compared. In this example:
고양이는 집 뒤에 있다 = The cat is behind the house
The speaker is saying that the cat is behind the house (in comparison to something else
that is not behind the house). The difficulty here is that there is only one sentence; which
gives the listener no context to understand what “the cat” is being compared with.
However, if I were to make up a context that fits into this situation, it could be that “The
dog is in the house, and, the cat is behind the house.”
However, saying:
고양이가 집 뒤에 있다 = The cat is behind the house
…is simply stating a fact, and “the cat” is not being compared to anything.
Another example:
커피가 냉장고에 있다 = The coffee is in the fridge (This sentence is simply stating that the
coffee is in the fridge, and there is no intention of comparison)
커피는 냉장고에 있다 = The coffee is in the fridge (This sentence could simply be stating
that the coffee is in the fridge. It is also possible that the speaker is trying to distinguish
between the location of another object. For example, perhaps the tea is on the table, but
the coffee is in the fridge).

You also might be wondering why “안” isn’t used if we are indicating that the coffee
is in the fridge. In cases like this, where the location being described happens to be
“inside” of something, “안” can be omitted. You can see the similarities of using “안” and
not using it in the following English and Korean sentences:

커피가 냉장고에 있다 = The coffee is in the fridge

커피가 냉장고 안에 있다 = The coffee is inside the fridge
In both pairs of examples (using ~는/은 or ~이/가), the translation does not change by
altering the subject particle. Rather, the only thing that changes is the subtle feeling or
nuance that something is being compared.
 14

Note that this “comparative” function of ~는/은 can be used in much more complicated
sentences, and can be attached to other grammatical principles – neither of which you
have learned yet. In future lessons, not only will you see examples of increasing
complexity applying this concept, but its usage with other grammatical principles will be
introduced specifically. You need to remember that the example sentences given at this
level are incredibly simple and do not really reflect actual sentences that you are likely
to hear as one-off sentences from Korean people. Real speech is much more complex and
it usually is an intricate combination of many clauses and grammatical principles.
Our lessons don’t really get into the use of multiple clauses until Lesson 24. Creating
sentences with more than one clause opens an entire other can of worms that you don’t
have the tools to deal with yet. I encourage you to NOT read ahead to that lesson. Rather,
I encourage you to keep the information from this lesson in mind as you eventually do
reach that level.
As you progress through our Lessons, you will see both “~는/은” and “~이/가” used as the
subject particles in the thousands of example sentences we have provided. As almost all
of our example sentences are just written as one sentence (without any background,
prior context, or explanation of the situation), there is no way to tell if something is being
compared to – and thus – their usage is usually arbitrary. That being said – every Korean
example sentence throughout all of our lessons is always checked by a native Korean
speaker to make sure that nothing is awkward (or incorrect).
In addition to the distinction discussed in this lesson, there are other situations where it
might be more appropriate to use ~이/가 or ~은/는. However, I am not able to fully describe
the distinction between these two particles with the limited amount of grammar (and
vocabulary) understanding you have to this point. The purpose of this lesson is to give
you a general understanding of ~이/가, and to introduce you to the comparison between ~
는/은.
At this point, I would like you to continue to Lesson 3 to continue learning other
grammatical principles you need to deepen your understanding of Korean in general.
In Lessons 17 and 22, we will come back to this problem and dive into more ways we can
distinguish the functions of ~이/가 and ~는/은. I want to stress that I do not want you to
read these now, but you should know that there is more to distinguishing ~는/은 and ~이/가
than is described here.
If you haven’t reached Lesson 17 (and especially if you haven’t even moved on to Lesson
3) you won’t understand what is being described in that lesson. Being able to fully
understand the difference between ~이/가 and ~는/은 is important, but not as important
(at the moment) as understanding other aspects of Korean grammar. I can’t stress this
enough – your understanding of the difference between the two will progress with your
Korean development in general.
The good thing is, even if you make a mistake with the usages of ~이/가 and ~는/은 (either
because you are confused or because you haven’t reached the later lessons yet), 99.9%
 15

of the time, the listener will be able to understand exactly what you are trying to express.
Likewise, if you listen to somebody speaking, you will be able to understand what they
are trying to say regardless of if you have learned the more complex usages of ~이/가 and
~는/은. The difference between these two particles is about nuance and does not
dramatically change the meaning of sentence.
Making a mistake between other particles, however, would cause other people to
misunderstand you. For example, using ~를/을 instead of ~는/은 would (most likely) make
your sentence incomprehensible.
That’s it for this lesson. Please keep all of this information in your mind for future lesson.
We will continue this discussion in Lesson 17.
Vocabulary
Nouns:
음식 = food
케이크 = cake
공항 = airport
병원 = hospital
공원 = park
한국어 = Korean (language)
머리 = head
다리 = leg
손가락 = finger
귀 = ear
팔 = arm
눈 = eye
입 = mouth, lips
배 = stomach
버스 = bus
배 = boat
우리 = us/we
Verbs:
Conjugate 먹다 = to eat
Conjugate 가다 = to go
Conjugate 만나다 = to meet
Conjugate 닫다 = to close
Conjugate 열다 = to open
Conjugate 원하다 = to want (an object)
Conjugate 만들다 = to make
Conjugate 하다 = to do
Conjugate 말하다 = to speak
Conjugate 이해하다 = to understand
 16

Conjugate 좋아하다 = to like

Adjectives:
Conjugate 크다 = to be big
Conjugate 작다 = to be small
Conjugate 새롭다 = to be new
Conjugate 낡다 = to be old (not age)
Conjugate 비싸다 = to be expensive
Conjugate 싸다 = to not be expensive, to be cheap
Conjugate 아름답다 = to be beautiful
Conjugate 뚱뚱하다 = to be fat, to be chubby
Conjugate 길다 = to be long
Conjugate 좋다 = to be good
Adverbs:
아주 = very
매우 = very
너무 = too (often used to mean ‘very’)
Okay, now it is time to get serious. Now it is time to start learning things that you can
apply to any verb or any adjective. There are a few things you need to know about Korean
verbs and adjectives:
1. I said this before (twice) but I’m going to say it again. Every Korean sentence must
end in either a verb or an adjective (this includes 이다 and 있다). Every sentence
absolutely must have a verb or adjective at the end of the sentence.
2. You should notice (it took me months to notice) that every Korean verb and
adjective ends with the syllable ‘다.’ 100% of the time, the last syllable in a verb or
adjective must be ‘다.’ Look up at the vocabulary from this lesson if you don’t believe me.
3. In addition to ending in ‘다’ many verbs and adjectives end with the two syllables
‘하다.’ ‘하다’ means ‘do.’ Verbs ending in 하다 are amazing, because you can simply
eliminate the ‘하다’ to make the noun form of that verb/adjective.
Confused? I was at first too. In fact, I don’t think I knew this until 3 months after I started
studying Korean – but it is something so essential to learning the language. It is
confusing to English speakers because we don’t realize that words can have a
verb/adjective form AND a noun form.
For example:
행복하다 = happy
행복 = happiness
성공하다 = succeed
성공 = success
말하다 = speak
말 = speech/words
 17

성취하다 = achieve
성취 = achievement
취득하다 = acquire
취득 = acquisition
You don’t need to memorize those words yet (they are difficult), but it is important for you
to realize that ‘하다’ can be removed from words in order to create nouns.
Verbs/adjectives that end in “~하다” are typically of Chinese origin and have an
equivalent Hanja (한자) form. Verbs that do not end in “~하다” are of Korean origin and do
not have a Hanja form. If you can speak Chinese, you will probably have an advantage at
learning more difficult Korean vocabulary, as a lot of difficult Korean words have a
Chinese origin.
We have already talked about verbs a little bit in previous lessons, but nothing has been
formally taught. You learned the basic verb sentence structure in Lesson 1. Let’s look at
this again. If you want to say “I eat food” you should know how to use the particles 는/은
and 를/을:
I eat food
I 는 food 를 eat
To make a sentence, you simply need to substitute the English words with Korean words:
저는 + 음식을 + 먹다
저는 음식을 먹다 = I eat food
*Note – Although the structure of the sentences presented in this lesson is perfect, the
verbs are not conjugated, and thus, not perfect. You will learn about conjugating
in Lesson 5 and Lesson 6. Before learning how to conjugate, however, it is essential that
you understand the word-order of these sentences. However, because of some strange
Korean grammatical rules, the sentences provided in the “Adjectives” section are
technically perfect but are presented in an uncommon (but simplest) conjugation
pattern.
As with the previous lessons, we have attached audio recordings only to sentences that
are grammatically correct. Incorrect sentences (due to not being conjugated) do not have
audio recordings. Again, you will learn about these conjugations in Lesson 5 and Lesson
6. For now, try to understand the word order of the sentences and how the
verbs/adjectives are being used.
As with previous lessons, conjugated examples (one formal and one informal) are
provided beneath the un-conjugated examples. Use these only for reference at this point.
Let’s look at some examples:
나는 케이크를 만들다 = I make a cake
( 나는 케이크를 만들어 / 저는 케이크를 만들어요)
나는 배를 원하다 = I want a boat
( 나는 배를 원해 / 저는 배를 원해요)
 18

나는 한국어를 말하다 = I speak Korean

( 나는 한국어를 말해 / 저는 한국어를 말해요)
나는 공원에 가다 = I go to the park (notice the particle 에)
( 나는 공원에 가 / 저는 공원에 가요)
나는 문을 닫다 = I close the door
( 나는 문을 닫아 / 저는 문을 닫아요)
나는 창문을 열다 = I open the window
( 나는 창문을 열어 / 저는 창문을 열어요)
Remember that sentences with verbs don’t necessarily need to have an object in them if
the context allows for it.
나는 이해하다 = I understand
( 나는 이해해 / 저는 이해해요)
Some verbs by default cannot act on an object. Words like: sleep, go, die, etc. You cannot
say something like “I slept home”, or “I went restaurant”, or “I died her.” You can use
nouns in sentences with those verbs, but only with the use of other particles – some of
which you have learned already (~에) and some that you will learn in later lessons. With
the use of other particles you can say things like:
I slept at home
I went to the restaurant
I died with her
We will get into more complicated particles in later lessons, but here I want to focus on
the purpose of ~를/을 and its function as an object particle.
Korean Adjectives
Korean adjectives, just like Korean verbs are placed at the end of a sentence. The main
difference between verbs and adjectives is that an adjective can never act on an object.
Notice, in the sentences below that there is no object being acted on.
Adjectives are very easy to use. Just put them into the sentence with your subject.
(Remember that the examples in parentheses show sentences that have been conjugated
which you have not learned yet.)

Note that due to weird Korean grammatical rules regarding adjectives, the un-conjugated
sentences below are actually grammatically correct as they are. Therefore, we provided
audio examples for the un-conjugated sentences and not the conjugated sentences
(although all are correct). You will learn about this weird rule and how to conjugate
adjectives inLesson 5.

나는 아름답다 = I am beautiful
(나는 아름다워 / 저는 아름다워요)
나는 작다 = I am small
(나는 작아 / 저는 작아요)
 19

이 버스는 크다 = This bus is big

(이 버스는 커 / 이 버스는 커요)
그 병원은 새롭다 = That hospital is new
(그 병원은 새로워 / 그 병원은 새로워요)
이 공원은 매우 작다 = This park is very small
(이 공원은 매우 작아 / 이 공원은 매우 작아요)
그 사람은 뚱뚱하다 = That person is fat
(그 사람은 뚱뚱해 / 그 사람은 뚱뚱해요)
There is one confusing thing about translating sentences with Korean adjectives to
English. Notice that in all examples above, the words “am/is/are/etc…” are used. In
English, these words need to be used when using an adjective:
I am fat
He is fat
They are fat
Remember, the translation for “am/is/are” to Korean is “이다.” However, you do not use “이
다” when writing a sentence like this in Korean. Within the meaning of Korean adjective
is “is/am/are.” Early learners are always confused by this. The confusion stems from the
fact that it is done differently in English and Korean. Please, from here on, abandon what
you know of grammar based on English – it will only hold you back.
의 Possessive Particle

Note: The pronunciation of the letter “ㅢ” can change depending on how and when it is
used. You might want to check outthe section where I discuss the pronunciation of ㅢ in
the Pronunciation Guide.

You already know that ‘I’ in Korean is 저/나. You also know the translation for various
objects in Korean.
“의” is a particle that indicates that one is the owner/possessor of another object. It has
the same role as ” ‘s” in English (for most examples). For example:
저 =I
책 = book
저의 책 = my book
저의 차 = My car
그 사람의 차 = That person’s car
의사의 탁자 = The doctor’s table
선생님의 차 = the teacher’s car
저의 손가락 = my finger
You can use these words in sentences you are familiar with (with verbs and adjectives):
선생님의 차는 크다 = The teacher’s car is big
(선생님의 차는 커 / 선생님의 차는 커요)
 20

나는 선생님의 차를 원하다 = I want the teacher’s car

( 나는 선생님의 차를 원해 / 저는 선생님의 차를 원해요)
나의 손가락은 길다 = My finger is long
(나의 손가락은 길어 / 저의 손가락은 길어요)
그 여자의 눈은 아름답다 = That woman’s eyes are beautiful
(그 여자의 눈은 아름다워 / 그 여자의 눈은 아름다워요)
You will find that words like “my/our/their/his/her” are often omitted from sentences. As
you will learn continuously throughout your Korean studies, Korean
people love shortening their sentences wherever possible. Whenever something can be
assumed by context, words are often omitted from sentences to make them more simple.
For example:
나는 나의 친구를 만나다 = I meet my friend
( 나는 나의 친구를 만나 / 저는 저의 친구를 만나요)
Can be written as the following:
나는 친구를 만나다 = I meet (my/a) friend
( 나는 친구를 만나 / 저는 친구를 만나요)
In this case (and many others like it) you are clearly meeting “your” friend, so the word
“my” can be omitted from the sentence.
Always try to stay away from translating sentences directly, and try to focus more on
translating sentences based on context as done above.
좋다 and 좋아하다
The word 좋다 in Korean is an adjective that means “good.” Because 좋다 is an adjective
we can use it just like any other adjective:
이 음식은 좋다 = this food is good
(이 음식은 좋아 / 이 음식은 좋아요)
그 선생님은 좋다 = that teacher is good
(그 선생님은 좋아 / 그 선생님은 좋아요)
이 학교는 좋다 = This school is good
(이 학교는 좋아 / 이 학교는 좋아요)
There is also 좋아하다 which is a verb meaning ‘to like.’ Because 좋아하다 is a verb, can
use it just like any other verb:
나는 이 음식을 좋아하다 = I like this food
( 나는 이 음식을 좋아해 / 저는 이 음식을 좋아해요)
나는 그 선생님을 좋아하다 = I like that teacher
( 나는 그 선생님을 좋아해 / 저는 그 선생님을 좋아해요)
좋아하다 gets formed by removing ‘다’ from 좋다 and adding 아 + 하다. There is a reason
for why this is done, and thereis an explanation for how it is done – but you do not need to
know this yet. For now, just understand that:
좋다 is an adjective which cannot act on an object
좋아하다 is a verb which can act on an object
 21

We, Us, and Our (우리)

At this point I would also like to introduce you to the word “우리” which you can see from
the vocabulary list of this lesson translates to “us” or “we.” In English, even though they
are technically the same word, the usage of “us” or “we” depends on its location within
the sentence it is used in. Just like “I” and “me”, if the word is the subject of a sentence,
“we” is used. For example:
I like you
We like you
However, if the word is the object in a sentence, the word “us” is used. For example:
He likes me
He likes us
In Korean, they do not make this distinction, and “우리” is used in both situations. For
example:
우리는 너를 좋아하다 = We like you
( 우리는 너를 좋아해)
I deliberately didn’t include a formal version of the conjugated sentence above because
it is usually awkward to say the word “you” politely in Korean. We’ll get to this in a later
lesson.
선생님은 우리를 좋아하다 = The teacher likes us
( 선생님은 우리를 좋아해 / 선생님은 우리를 좋아해요)
By placing the possessive particle “의” after “우리” we can create the meaning of “our”.
While this can be done, I feel it is much more common to omit this particle when it is
used with “우리.” In fact, the particle “의” is very commonly omitted from words other
than “우리” as well. However, I don’t suggest thinking about doing this until you have a
better grasp of the language. At this point, I only suggest that you do this with “우리.” For
example:
우리 선생님은 남자이다 = Our teacher is a man
( 우리 선생님은 남자야 | 우리 선생님은 남자예요)
우리 집은 크다 = Our house is big
(우리 집은 커 | 우리 집은 커요)
A formal version of “우리” is “저희”. However, even in formal situations it is acceptable to
use “우리”. At this point, you haven’t even begun to learn about the different levels of
formality of Korean, so I don’t want you to get too worried about this word.
Nouns:
길 = street
Common Usages:
길을 잃다 = to get lost (literally, to lose a street)
길을 건너다 = to cross a street
길이 막히다 = for the streets to be “clogged” with traffic
 22

Notes: This is also used to indicate that somebody is “one the way” somewhere. For example:
저는 집에 가는 길이에요 = I am on my way home
This grammar is taught in Lesson 113.
Example:
이 길에서 오른 쪽으로 가세요 = Turn right at this street
이 길에서 직진하세요 = Go straight on this road
우리는 옛길을 따라 걸었어요 = We walked along, following the old road
거리 = street/road
Common Usages:
사거리 = intersection (with four ways)
삼거리 = intersection (with three ways)
Examples:
거리에 사람이 많았어요 = There was a lot of people on the street
저는 긴 거리를 건넜어요 = I crossed the long street
저는 거리를 안전하게 건넜어요 = I crossed the street safely
우리는 사거리에서 왼쪽으로 돌았어요 = We turned left at the intersection
손 = hand
Common Usages:
손으로 = with one’s hand
손가락 = finger
손목 = wrist (literally “hand neck”)
손잡이 = handle (literally “hand grabber”)
저의 손은 커요 = My hand is big
Example:
저는 (저의) 손을 들었어요 = I raised/lifted my hand
손을 씻으세요! = Wash your hands!
손을 잘 씻고 먹어요 = To wash one’s hands well, and then eat
영어 = English
Common Usages:
영어로 = in English
영어로 말하다 = to speak in English
영어회화 = English conversation
영어 수업 = English class
Examples:
제가 수업을 하면 항상 영어로 해요 = When I teach, I always do so in English
저는 영어를 공부할 거예요 = I will study English
한국 사람들은 외국 사람들과 영어를 연습하고 싶어요 = Korean people want to practice their English with
foreigners
저는 영어랑 한국어를 학교에서 배웠어요= I learned English and Korean at school
그 사람은 영어를 자연스럽게 말해요 = That person speaks English naturally
영어를 어떻게 배웠어요? = How did you learn English?
 23

한국어는 영어보다 훨씬 어려워요 = Korean is much more difficult than English

그 선생님은 영어를 가르친 지 20 년 됐어요 = That teacher has been teaching English for 20 years
택시 = taxi
Common Usages:
택시 기사 = taxi driver
택시를 타다 = to ride/take a taxi
택시로 가다 = to go by taxi
Example:
택시는 버스보다 더 빨라요 = The taxi is quicker than the bus
지하철을 놓쳤기 때문에 택시를 타야 돼요 = I missed the subway, so I must take a taxi
열차 = train
Common Usages:
열차로 가다 = to go by train
열차를 타다 = to ride/take a train
Example:
열차는 택시보다 더 빨라요 = The train is faster than the taxi
역 = train/subway station
Common Usages:
서울역 = Seoul Station
역에서 내리다 = to get off at a station
출발역 = the first (departing) station
Example:
홍대역에서 어떻게 가요? = How do I get to Hong-dae station?
저는 서울역에서 내릴 거예요 = I will get off at Seoul station
전철역까지 걸어갈래요? = Shall we walk to the subway station?
이 기차는 서울역까지 가요 = This train goes to/until Seoul Station
버스 정류장 = bus stop
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “버스 정뉴장”
Common Usages:
버스 아저씨 = bus driver (informal way to refer to a male bus driver)
버스 기사 = bus driver
버스를 타다 = to get on/ride a bus
버스 카드 = bus/transportation card
Notes:
This refers to the bus stop for a public transportation style city bus. For inter-city buses, the word “버스 터미널” (bus
terminal) is more frequently used.
Example:
버스 정류장에서 버스를 타야 돼요 = You must get on the bus at the bus station
다음 버스는 저 정류장에서 출발할 거예요 = The next bus will leave from that stop
비행기 = airplane
 24

Common Usages:
비행기를 타다= to take/ride an airplane
Examples:
비행기가 아직 출발할 준비가 안 됐습니까? = Is the plane not yet ready to depart?
하늘에 비행기가 있어요 = There is a plane in the sky
거기에 가고 싶으면 비행기를 타야 돼요 = If you want to go there, you must take an airplane
비행기가 9 시에 출발할 예정이지만 눈이 많이 와서 못 출발할 것 같아요 = The plane is scheduled to
depart at 9:00, but it probably won’t because it is snowing a lot
자전거 = bicycle
Common Usages:
자전거를 타다 = to ride a bicycle
자전거로 가다 = to go by bicycle
Example:
저는 자전거를 타는 것이 너무 좋아요 = I like riding bicycles
무릎이 아플 때 자전거를 타지 마세요 = When your knee hurts, don’t ride a bike
아내 = wife
Notes:
The word “와이프” is commonly used these days.
Examples:
저의 아내는 너무 예뻐요 = My wife is very pretty
저는 아내한테 꽃을 줬어요 = I gave flowers to my wife
저는 저의 아내와 유럽에서 사랑에 빠졌어요 = I fell in love with my wife in Europe
저의 아내는 자기가 요리한 것을 보통 안 먹어요 = My wife usually doesn’t eat the food she cooks
제가 아내와 결혼하기 전에 우리는 2 년 동안 사귀었어요 = Before marrying my wife, we went out/dated for 2
years
아이 = child
Common Usages:
아이를 돌보다 = to look after a child
Example:
우리 아이는 아직 두 살이에요 = My child is still 2 years old
우리 셋째 아이는 야구를 좋아해요 = Our third child likes baseball
이 아이는 우리 첫째 아들이에요 = This (child) is our first son
부모님들은 아이에 영향을 준다/미친다 = Parents have an influence on their children
아이들은 나무 주위에서 놀고 있어요 = The children are playing around the tree
저는 아이를 잃어버려서 걱정이 되었어요 = I was worried because I lost the baby
그녀는 아이가 죽었다는 사실을 숨겼어요 = She hid (the fact that) her child died
아이들은 자기 부모님을 존경해야 돼요 = Children must respect their parents
저는 아이들이랑 바다에서 수영했어요 = I swam in the sea with the kids
아이들은 만화영화를 매우 좋아해요 = Children really like animated movies
아들 = son
 25

Common Usages:
아드님 = polite way to refer to somebody else’s son
큰아들 = one’s eldest son
첫째 아들 = first son
둘째 아들 = second son
Examples:
우리 아들은 대학생이에요 = Our son is a university student
할아버지는 우리 아들에게 돈을 주었어요 = Grandpa gave money to our son
저의 아들은 열이 났어요 = My son had a fever
저는 우리 아들이 자랑스러워요 = I am proud of our son
너는 나쁜 아들이야 = You are a bad son
저는 아들 세 명이 있어요 = I have three sons
그 사람은 아들 한 명만 있어요 = That person only has one son
아들은 엄마를 위해 박스를 들었어요 = The son carried the box for his mother)
우리 아들은 자기(의) 일을 항상 혼자 하고 싶어요 = Our son always wants to do his work alone
딸 = daughter
Common Usages:
따님 = polite way to refer to somebody else’s daughter
큰딸 = one’s eldest daughter
첫째 딸 = first daughter
둘째 딸 = second daughter
Example:
우리 딸은 그 고등학교를 다녀요 = Our daughter attends that high school
저는 저의 딸이 아주 자랑스러워요 = I am very proud of my daughter
우리 딸은 사랑스러운 여자예요 = Our daughter is a loving/lovely girl
딸은 어제부터 아팠어요 = The/our daughter has been sick (was sick) since yesterday
남편 = husband
Examples:
저의 남편은 선생님이에요 = my husband is a teacher
저는 남편을 공원에서 만날 거예요 = I will meet my husband at the park
그 여자의 남편이 비서랑 바람을 피운다는 소문이 있어요 = There is a rumor that that woman’s husband is
having an affair with his secretary
아버지 = father
Common Usages:
큰아버지 = the eldest brother of one’s father
Notes:
The word “아빠” is used colloquially
Example:
아버지는 지금 일하고 있어요 = Dad is working now
형하고 아버지는 영화를 봤어요 = My brother and dad saw a movie
저와 저의 아버지는 너무 비슷해요 = I am very similar to my father
 26

저의 아버지는 모자를 항상 써요 = My father always wears a hat

우리 아버지는 예전에 옷을 팔았어요 = Our dad sold clothes in the past
우리 아버지는 고모와 살고 있어요 = Our father lives with our aunt
나는 아버지랑 공원에 갈 거야 = I will go to the park with my dad
어머니 = mother
Common Usages:
큰어머니 = the wife of the eldest brother of one’s father
Notes:
The word “엄마” is used colloquially
Example:
우리 어머니는 서울대학교를 다녔어요 = Our mom attended Seoul University
저는 밥을 친구랑 저의 어머니랑 먹었어요 = I ate (rice) with my mom and my friend
저의 어머니는 언니 세 명이 있어요 = My mother has three (older) sisters
저의 어머니는 올해 한국에 올 것입니다 = My mom will come to Korea this year
편지 = letter
Common Usages:
편지를 쓰다 = to write a letter
편지를 받다 = to receive a letter
Examples:
저는 여자 친구를 위해 편지를 썼어요 = I wrote a letter for my girlfriend
저는 여자친구에게서 편지를 받았어요 = I received a letter from my girlfriend
저는 여자친구를 위해 편지를 쓰고 싶어요 = I want to write a letter for my girlfriend
우리는 서로 편지를 줬어요 = We gave letters to each other
저는 옛날 친구한테 편지를 보냈어요 = I sent a letter to an old friend
저의 여자 친구는 제가 쓴 편지를 찢었어요 = My girlfriend ripped up the letter that I wrote for her
맛 = taste
Common Usages:
맛있다 = delicious
맛없다 = not delicious
입맛 = one’s taste in food
입맛에 맞다 = to fit one’s taste in food
__ 맛에 익숙하지 않다 = to not be accustomed to the taste of something
Notes:
맛 and 있다 come together to make “delicious” but this literally means “to have taste.” Likewise, the direct translation
for “맛없다” or (맛이 없다) is “to have no taste”
Examples:
맛이 조금 이상해요 = The taste is a little bit strange
빨간 사과는 가장 맛있어요 = Red apples are the most delicious
이 떡은 쓰레기 맛 같아 = This 떡 tastes like garbage
식사 = meal
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “식싸”
 27

Common Usages:
아침식사 = breakfast
점심식사 = lunch
저녁식사 = dinner
Examples:
저는 할머니를 위해 식사를 준비했어요 = I prepared a meal for grandmother
저는 아침식사를 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat breakfast
저는 보통 점심식사로 과일만 먹어요 = I usually only eat fruit for lunch
엄마가 온 후에 저는 저녁식사를 먹을 거예요 = After mom comes home, I will eat dinner
교감선생님은 선생님들을 위해 식사를 살 거예요 = The vice principal will buy a meal for all the teachers
아침 = morning
Common Usages:
아침식사 = breakfast
아침에 일어나다 = to wake up in the morning
Notes:
This can also be used to refer to “breakfast.” For example:
저는 아침을 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat breakfast
Examples:
저는 아침에 일찍 일어났어요 = I woke up early in the morning
저는 아침부터 밤까지 공부만 했어요 = I only studied from morning to night
대부분 사람들은 아침밥을 먹지 않는다 = Most people don’t eat breakfast (rice breakfast)
저는 항상 아침에 운동해요 = I always exercise in the morning
아침으로 무엇을 먹었어요? = What did you eat for breakfast?
아침식사 = breakfast
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “아침식싸”
Examples:
저는 오늘 아침식사를 못 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat breakfast today
저는 아침식사로 밥을 먹었어요 = I ate rice for breakfast
물 = water
Common Usages:
물을 마시다 = to drink water
바닷물 = sea water
물병 = water bottle
수돗물 = tap water
얼음물 = ice water
물고기 = fish (literally, “water meat”)
Examples:
잘하려면 물을 마셔야 돼요 = If you want to do well, you must drink water
저는 물만 마셔요 = I only drink water
애기는 우유 대신에 물만 마시고 싶어요 = The baby wants to drink water instead of milk
사과 = apple
 28

Example:
저는 사과랑 바나나를 샀어요 = I bought apples and bananas
바나나는 사과보다 더 맛있어요 = Bananas are more delicious than apples
사과도 여기서 파나요? = Do you sell apples here too?
빨간 사과는 가장 맛있어요 = Red apples are the most delicious
돈 = money
Common Usages:
용돈 = pocket money/allowance)
돈을 내다 = to pay (money)
돈이 부족하다 = to not have enough money
돈을 벌다 = to earn money
돈을 주다 = to give money
Examples:
저는 돈이 없어요 = I don’t have any money
어머님은 너에게 돈을 줬어? = Did your mother give you money?
저는 돈을 받을 때 행복할 거예요 = When I receive (the) money, I will be happy
의사들은 돈이 많아 = Doctors have a lot of money
아버지는 아들에게 돈을 준다 = The father gives money to his son
저는 돈을 정부로부터 받았어요 = I received money from the government
얼마나 많은 돈을 가져갈 거야? = How much money will you bring?
Verbs:
Conjugate 오다 = to come
Common Usages:
~에서 왔다 = to come from
내려오다 = to come down
올라오다 = to come up
다녀오다 = to go, and then come back
갔다 오다 = to go, and then come back
돌아오다 = to come back
걸어오다 = to come by walking
Example:
그 사람은 미국에서 왔어요 = That person came from the United States
친구들은 언제 올 거예요? = When are the friends coming?
어디에서 왔어요? = Where are you from (from where did you come?)
저의 친구는 6 시 30 분에 올 거예요 = My friend will come at 6:30
그는 올 거라고 약속했어요 = He promised that he would come
캐나다에 언제 돌아올 거예요? = When are you coming back to Canada?
선생님 몇 분 올 거예요? = How many teachers will come?
어제 어떤 남자가 왔어요? = Which man came here yesterday?
Conjugate 끝내다 = to finish
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “끈내다”
 29

Notes: It is often more common to use the passive form (끝나다) to indicate that you finished something. For example:
일이 끝났어요 = The work is finished (which implies that you finished the work)
The grammar for this is talked about in Lesson 14.
Examples:
저는 저의 숙제를 끝냈어요 = I finished my homework
저는 숙제를 끝내고 나서 집으로 갈 거예요 = I will finish my homework then go home
저는 일을 만족스럽게 끝냈어요 = I finished the work/job satisfactorily
시험을 끝내기 전에 답을 확인하세요 = Check your answers before finishing the test
Conjugate 춤추다 = to dance
Notes:
The word “춤” is the noun “dance,” as in “a dance.” Coupled with the verb “추다” is means “to dance.”
Example:
저는 춤추는 것이 좋아요 = I like dancing
Conjugate 알다 = to know
알다 follows the ㄹ irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Common Usages:
알겠습니다 = This is a formal way to say “okay, I understand.”
알았어 = This is an informal way to say “okay, I understand”
Examples:
저는 그 사람을 알아요 = I know that person
저는 그것을 알고 있어요 = I know that
누구나 그 여자를 알아요 = Everybody knows that girl
서울에 어떻게 가는지 알아요 = I know how to get to Seoul
서울에 어떻게 가는지 알아요? = Do you know how to get to Seoul?
그 단어를 어떻게 발음하는지 알아요 = I know how to pronounce that word
그 단어를 어떻게 발음하는지 알아요? = Do you know how to pronounce that word?
그 학생이 책을 왜 버렸는지 알아요 = I know why that student threw out his book
그 학생이 책을 왜 버렸는지 알아요? = Do you know why that student threw out his book?
제가 한국어를 왜 배우고 싶은지 알아요? = Do you know why I want to learn Korean?
Conjugate 걷다 = to walk
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “걷따”
걷다 follows the ㄷ irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Common Usages:
걸어가다 = to go by walking
걸어오다 = to come by walking
Example:
우리는 집에 걸어왔어요 = We walked home
저는 10 분 동안 걸었어요 = I walked for 10 minutes
여자는 학교에 걸었어요 = The girl walked to school
그 여자는 항상 그렇게 걸어요 = That girl always walks like that
저는 너무 많이 걸어서 지금 발이 아파요 = My feet are sore because I walked so much
 30

우리는 차가 없어서 집에 걸어왔어요 = We didn’t have a car so we walked home

전철역까지 걸어갈래요? = Shall we walk to the subway station?
학생들은 교실 쪽으로 걸어요 = Students walk towards/in the direction of their class
우리가 천천히 안 걸었더라면 늦게 도착하지 않았을 거예요 = If we hadn’t walk slowly, we wouldn’t have
arrived late
Conjugate 배우다 = to learn
Common Usages:
한국어를 배우다 = to learn Korean
영어를 배우다 = to learn English
한국어를 배우고 싶다 = to want to learn Korean
Examples:
한국어를 언제부터 배웠어요? = Since when did you learn Korean?
저는 그것을 지난 시간에 배웠어요 = I learned that (thing) last time
저는 한국어를 한국에서 배웠어요 = I learned Korean in Korea
저는 한국어를 배우고 싶어요 = I want to learn Korean
우리는 다음 시간에 더 배울 거예요 = We will learn more next time
저는 5 년 이내에 외국어를 다섯 개 배우고 싶어요 = I want to learn 5 languages within five years
한국에 온 이래로 한국어를 배우고 있어요 = Since coming to Korea, I have been learning Korean
Conjugate 연습하다 = to practice
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “연스파다”
Example:
한국 사람들은 외국 사람들과 영어를 연습하고 싶어요 = Korean people want to practice their English with
foreigners
연습을 많이 해도 시합에서 질 거예요 = Regardless of how much you practice, you will lose the match
Conjugate 생각하다 = to think
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “생가카다”
The noun form of this word translates to “a thought” or “an idea.”
Common Usages:
좋은 생각이 났어요 = I have a good idea (literally, “a good thought came up”)
무슨 생각 해? = What are you thinking?
Notes:
Typically the grammatical principle ~ㄴ/다고 precedes 생각하다 as if it is a quoted sentence. For more information,
visitLesson 52.
Examples:
저도 그렇게 생각해요 = I think that way as well
나는 너에 대해 생각했어 = I thought about you
그 여자에 대해 어떻게 생각해요? = What do you think about that girl?
저는 그렇게 생각하지 않아요 = I don’t think like that
저는 저의 엄마에 대해 생각했어요 = I thought about my mother
우리 집에 대해 어떻게 생각해요? = What do you think about our house?
Conjugate 살다 = to live
 31

살다 follows the ㄹ irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.

Common Usages:
살아 있다 = to be living (the opposite of dead)
Notes: In order to say that you live in a place, it is acceptable to use “살고 있다.” For example: 저는 한국에서 살고
있어요. Note that this directly translates to “I am living in Korea”, whereas is English we would most likely say “I live in
Korea.” See Lesson 18.
Example:
저는 서울에서 살고 있어요 = I live in Seoul
어느 집에서 살아요? = Which house do you live in?
저는 학교에서 멀리 살고 있어요 = I live far from school
한국에서 언제부터 살았어요? = Since when have you lived in Korea?
저는 2 년 동안 외국에서 살았어요 = I lived in a foreign country for 2 years
저는 7 년 동안 한국에서 살았어요 = I lived in Korea for seven years
우리 아버지는 고모와 살고 있어요 = Our father lives with our aunt
저는 멀리 살고 있기 때문에 집까지 걸어가기 힘들어요 = It is difficult to walk home because I live far
Passive Verbs:
Conjugate 끝나다 = to be finished
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “끈나다”
Notes:
This is the first passive verb you have come across. For more information on passive verbs, visit Lesson 14.
Examples:
이 콘서트가 벌써 끝났어요? = Is the concert already finished?
숙제는 끝났어요 = My homework is finished
수업은 2 분 후에 끝날 거예요 = Class will finish 2 minutes from now
그 일이 다 끝나서 지금 기분이 아주 좋아요 = Now that that work is finished, I am very happy
Adjectives:
Conjugate 위험하다 = to be dangerous
The noun form of this word translates to “danger”
Common Usages:
위험성 = riskiness
위험물 = something dangerous
Examples:
그 장소가 너무 위험해서 가지 마세요 = That place is very dangerous, so don’t go
이런 일은 위험해요 = This type of work is dangerous
그 사람은 위험한 남자입니다 = That person is a dangerous man
Conjugate 잘생기다 = to be handsome
Notes: A composition of the adverb 잘 (well) and the verb 생기다 (to look like), which means it gets conjugated as a
verb. It typically conjugates to the past tense (잘생겼다) even when talking about the present tense.
Examples:
그 남자는 너무 잘생겼어요 = That man is very handsome
저는 잘생긴 남자를 만나요 = I meet a handsome man
파란 눈이 있는 남자가 가장 잘생겼어요 = Men with blue eyes are the most handsome
 32

그는 별로 잘생기지 않았다 = He’s not that handsome

그는 전혀 잘생기지 않았다 = He’s not handsome at all
Conjugate 못생기다 = to be ugly
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “몯쌩기다”
Notes: A composition of the adverb 못 (not well, poorly) and the verb 생기다. Like 잘생기다, it is conjugated as a verb
in the past tense.
Example:
그 남자는 너무 못생겼어요 = That man is very ugly
그 여자는 우리 반에서 제일 못생긴 여자예요 = That girl is the ugliest in our class
Conjugate 피곤하다 = to be tired
The noun form of this word translates to “tiredness” or “fatigue”
Example:
저는 일을 많이 해서 너무 피곤해요 = I am very tired because I worked a lot
너무 피곤해서 자고 싶어요 = I want to sleep because I am so tired
피곤한 사람은 침대에 누워서 잤어요 = The tired person lied on the bed and slept
잠을 못 자면 다음 날에 몸이 피곤해져요 = If you don’t sleep well, the next day you will be tired
Conjugate 다르다 = to be different
다르다 follows the 르 irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Common Usages:
또 따른 = another
Notes: When saying something is different “from” something, 와/과/랑/이랑 must be attached to the noun that is
being compared. See Lesson 15 for more information.
Examples:
저는 다른 영화를 보고 싶어요 = I want to see a different movie
우리는 매우 달라요 = We are so different
그 건물은 어제와 달라요 = That building is different from yesterday
고양이는 강아지와 달라요 = Cats are different than dogs
캐나다는 한국과 문화적으로 달라요 = Canada and Korea are culturally different
서양사람들은 동양사람들과 달라요 = Western people are different than Eastern people
그 여자가 오늘 화장을 하지 않아서 아주 달라 보여요 = That girl looks very different today because she didn’t
do her makeup
Conjugate 슬프다 = to be sad
슬프다 follows the ㅡ irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Common Usages:
슬퍼하지 마세요 = Don’t be sad
Example:
우리 할아버지가 죽어서 저는 너무 슬퍼요 = I am very sad because my grandfather died
저의 여자친구는 어제 너무 슬퍼 보였어요 = My girlfriend looked really sad yesterday
제가 슬프다면 친구를 만나지 않을 거예요 = If I am sad, I’m not going to meet my friend
Conjugate 맛있다 = to be delicious
 33

Although technically a combination of the noun “맛” (taste) and “있다” (to have) 맛있다 is officially seen as one
word (literally meaning “to have taste”) and the pronunciation of ㅅ in “맛” is transferred to the next syllable. This
makes the entire word sound like “마싣따.”
Conversely, 맛없다, which means “to not be delicious,” is officially seen as two words (literally meaning “to not have
taste”). As such, the pronunciation of ㅅ in “맛” is usually not transferred to the next syllable and the entire word
sounds like “마덥따”
Common Usages:
맛있는 음식 = delicious food
Examples:
맛있는 것을 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat something delicious
빨간 사과는 가장 맛있어요 = Red apples are the most delicious
사과는 가장 맛있는 과일이에요 = Apples are the most delicious fruit
한식은 너무 맛있어요 = Korean food is very delicious
Conjugate 재미있다 = to be fun, to be funny
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “재미읻따”
Notes:
Like the word “맛있다,” 재미있다 is made up of “재미” and “있다” (to have). Therefore, even though 재미있다 is
an adjective (funny), it is conjugated like 있다.
Examples:
그 영화가 너무 재미있었어요 = That movie was very funny
그 남자는 재미있는 남자예요 = That man is a funny person
제가 보고 있는 영화는 재미있어요 = The movie I am watching is funny
친구를 만났으면 재미있었을 것이다 = If I had met my friend, it would have been fun
설사를 하는 것은 재미있어요 = Having diarrhea is fun
Conjugate 많다 = to be many of, to be a lot of
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “만타”
Notes: An adjective that means “many,” 많다 can be placed before a noun to describe it,
for example: 많은 사람은 저를 좋아해요 (many people like me). However, 많다 is more
naturally used by using the ~는 것 principle. For example: 저를 좋아하는 사람은 많아요
(literally: there are many people who like me). The ~는 것 principle is very difficult to
describe, and is talked about which is very difficult to describe, and is talked about in
detail from Lessons 26 to 33.
Examples:
그 회사에서 일하는 사람은 많아요 = There are many people who work at that company.
지난 주에 저는 계획이 많았어요 = I had a lot of plans last week
동대문시장에서 아주머니가 많아요 = There are a lot of older women in Dongdaemun market
그곳에서 구경하는 사람이 많아요 = There are a lot of people sightseeing in that place)
저는 거기에 사람이 많을 것 같아서 가고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to go there because there
will probably be too manypeople
Conjugate 행복하다 = to be happy
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “행보카다”
 34

Common Usages:
행복한 사람 = happy person
Example:
저는 매우 행복한 사람이에요 = I am a very happy person
저는 공원에 가는 날에 항상 행복해요 = I am always happy on the days I go to the park
왜 그렇게 행복해 보여요? = Why do you look so happy?
저는 행복하기 때문에 죽고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to die because I am happy
저는 돈을 받을 때 행복할 거예요 = When I receive (the) money, I will be happy
내가 행복하면 숙제를 잘 해 = When/If I am happy, I do my homework well
제가 행복하다면 일을 더 잘 할 거예요 = If I am happy, I will work harder
Adverbs and Other Words:
거기 = there
Notes:
The difference between “그” and “저” is the same as the difference between “거기” and
“저기.” “거기” is used when referring to a place that has already been mentioned, and “저
기” is used when you are referring to a place that is farther away than “여기.”
거기 and ~에세 form to make “거기서.”
Example:
거기서 언제부터 살았어요? = Since when did you live there?
거기에 간 적이 없어요 = I have never gone/been there/I haven’t been there
제가 거기에 가는 중이에요 = I am going there
밥을 거기에 두지 말아 주세요 = Don’t put the rice there, please
거기에 가고 싶으면 비행기를 타야 돼요 = If you want to go there, you must take an airplane
친구가 거기에 많을 거라서 그 파티에 가고 싶어요 = Many of my friends will be there,
so/therefore I want to go to that party
저기 = there (when farther away)
저기 and ~에서 form to make “저기서”
When trying to get the attention of somebody – for example, when you want to order
something at a restaurant – it is common to say “저기요!.” For example:
저기요! 지금 주문할게요! = Excuse me! We would like to order now!
Examples:
저기까지 걷자! = Let’s walk that far/Let’s walk as far as there
이불을 다 저기에 넣었어요 = I put the blankets there
저기까지 아주 빨리 수영하더라도 그 사람을 구하지 못할 거예요 = Even if you swim there very
fast, you won’t be able to save that person
지금 = now
Notes:
Though referring to a time, “에” is usually not attached to “지금”
 35

Common Usages:
지금부터 = from now
지금까지 = until now
Example:
저는 밥을 지금 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat now
그 여자를 지금까지 좋아했어요 = I liked that girl until now
여자들은 지금 영화를 보고 있어요 = The girls are watching a movie now
저는 밥을 다 먹어서 지금 배불러요 = I ate all the food, so/therefore, I am full now
열심히 운동하고 지금 힘이 빠졌어요 = After exercising, I now have no energy
내가 밥을 벌써 먹어서 지금 먹고 싶지 않아 = Because I already ate, I don’t want to eat now
그 학생은 어떤 여자와 지금 사귀고 있어요 = That student is going out with some girl now
하지만 = but
Notes: It would be more natural to connect sentences with a grammatical principle (like
~지만 or ~는데) than to separate them using 하지만.
Example:
거기에 가고 싶어요. 하지만 돈이 없어요 = I want to go there. But I have no money
저는 먹고 싶어요. 하지만 배고프지 않아요 = I want to eat. But, I am not hungry
Common Greeting Words
I wish I could tell you not to worry about these. Of course, I can tell you “don’t worry
about these,” but I don’t think that will do. When learning a language, everybody wants to
learn these words as soon as possible. I understand that completely, but I have purposely
waited to teach you these types of words. In fact, I still don’t want to show them to you –
but at this point I am sure you are asking yourself “I’ve gotten this far and I still don’t
even know how to say ‘goodbye’ yet!”
In Korean, it is much easier to understand these words/phrases if you also understand
why they are used the way they are. Unfortunately, we haven’t reached the point where
you can understand this. We will get to that in a few more lessons. Either way, here are
some very common phrases which I am sure you are dying to know:
안녕히 가세요 = Goodbye (said to somebody going)
안녕히 계세요 = Goodbye (said to somebody staying)
만나서 반갑습니다 = Nice to meet you
실례합니다 = Excuse me
죄송합니다/미안합니다 = Sorry
이름이 뭐예요? = What is your name?
저의 이름은 ______이에요 = My name is
어디에서 왔어요? = Where are you from?
저는 _______에서 왔어요 = I am from
If you can’t memorize them, that is okay. I still maintain the position that you should put
off memorizing these until you can understand the grammar within them.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s start studying some actual material.
 36

Using Adjectives ~ㄴ/은

Alright, this won’t help you understand those greeting words any better, but what you are
about to learn is a major step in learning Korean. You should remember these two
important facts from the previous lesson:
 All sentences must end with either a verb or adjective
 All verbs/adjectives end with the syllable ‘다’
Although both of those are true (and always will be), let’s look at them more deeply:
 All sentences must end with either a verb or adjective
Yes, but verbs and adjectives can ALSO go elsewhere in a sentence. In the previous
lesson, you learned this sentence:
저는 배를 원하다 = I want a boat
(나는 배를 원해 / 저는 배를 원해요)
But what if you want to say: “I want a big boat.” In that sentence, there is a verb and an
adjective. Where should we put the adjective? In Korean, this adjective is placed in the
same position as in English. For example:
나는 배를 원하다 = I want a boat
나는 big 배를 원하다 = I want a big boat
Simple. So we just substitute the Korean word for big (크다) into that sentence?:
나는 크다 배를 원하다 = Not correct. Not by a long shot.
Remember that second rule I taught you?:
 All verbs/adjectives end with the syllable ‘다’
– Yes, but the version of the word with ‘다’ as the last syllable is simply the dictionary
form of that word and is rarely used. Every verb/adjective in Korean has a ‘stem,’ which is
made up of everything preceding 다 in the dictionary form of the word. Let’s look at some
examples:
크다 = 크 (stem) + 다
작다 = 작 (stem) + 다
좋다 = 좋 (stem) + 다
길다 = 길 (stem) + 다
배우다 = 배우 (stem) + 다
Most of the time, when you deal with a verb/adjective, you eliminate ~다 and add
something to the stem.
When you want to make an adjective that can describe a noun, as in:
small boy big boat delicious hamburger soft hand
you must eliminate ‘~다’ and add ~ㄴ or ~은 to the stem of the adjective. Words in which
the last syllable of the stem ends in a vowel (크다/비싸다/싸다) you add ~ㄴ to the last
syllable:
 37

Word Ste Adjecti Exampl Translati

m ve that e on
can
descri
be a
noun
크다 크 큰 큰 배 Big boat
비싸다 비싸 비싼 비싼 음 Expensiv
식 e food

싸다 싸 싼 싼 것 Cheap
thing
Words in which the last syllable of the stem ends in a consonant (작다/좋다/많다) you add ~
은 to the stem:
Wor Ste Adjective Examp Translati
d m that can le on
describe a
noun
작다 작 작은 작은 남 Small
자 man
좋다 좋 좋은 좋은 아 Good
들 son
많다 많 많은 많은 돈 A lot of
money
Looking back to what we were trying to write before:
I want a big boat = 저는 크다 배를 원하다 = incorrect
I want a big boat = 저는 큰 배를 원하다 = correct
The key to understanding this is being able to understand the difference between the
following:
음식은 비싸다 = The food is expensive
비싼 음식 = expensive food
The first example is a sentence. The second example is not a sentence. The second
sentence needs more words in order for it to be a sentence. You need to add either a verb
or adjective that predicates the noun of “expensive food.” For example:
나는 비싼 음식을 먹다 = I eat expensive food
(나는 비싼 음식을 먹어 / 저는 비싼 음식을 먹어요)
The verb “to eat” predicates this sentence.
저는 비싼 음식을 좋아하다 = I like expensive food
(나는 비싼 음식을 좋아해 / 저는 비싼 음식을 좋아해요)
The verb “to like” predicates this sentence.
 38

비싼 음식은 맛있다 = Expensive food is delicious

(비싼 음식은 맛있어 / 비싼 음식은 맛있어요)
The adjective “to be delicious” predicates this sentence. Notice that there is no object in
this sentence.
(Remember, for the last time – you do not know how to conjugate verbs and adjectives at
the end of a sentence yet. This will be introduced in the next lesson. Because you do not
know how to conjugate verbs/adjectives at the ends of sentences, examples with un-
conjugated forms are presented in this lesson. Remember that these sentences are
technically incorrect, but understanding them is crucial to your understanding of the
Korean sentence structure.As with the previous three lessons, I have provided
conjugated examples below each un-conjugated example. You will probably not be able to
understand these conjugations.)
More examples of using adjectives to describe nouns within a sentence:
나는 작은 집에 가다 = I go to the small house
(나는 작은 집에 가 / 저는 작은 집에 가요)
나는 큰 차를 원하다 = I want a big car
(나는 큰 차를 원해 / 저는 큰 차를 원해요)
나는 잘생긴 남자를 만나다 = I meet a handsome man
(나는 잘생긴 남자를 만나 / 저는 잘생긴 남자를 만나요)
나는 많은 돈이 있다 = I have a lot of money
(나는 많은 돈이 있어 / 저는 많은 돈이 있어요)
나는 뚱뚱한 학생을 만나다 = I meet a fat student
(나는 뚱뚱한 학생을 만나 / 저는 뚱뚱한 학생을 만나요)

In Lessons 1 and 2, I explained that adjectives cannot “act” on objects. Many learners
look at the sentences above and say “Hey! Those sentences have an object and an
adjective!” Adjectives cannot act on an object to predicate a sentence. This means you
cannot use a sentence like this (in either language):

나는 집을 작다 = I small house

However, I didn’t say anything about adjectives and objects being used in the same
sentence. Adjectives can be used todescribe an object that is being predicated by a verb.
I will continue to talk about this in the examples below.

In all of the examples above, notice the difference in function between when an adjective
is used to describe a noun compared to when it is used to predicate a sentence. For
example:
나는 작은 집에 가다 = I go to the small house
(나는 작은 집에 가 / 저는 작은 집에 가요)
The verb “to go” predicates this sentence.
 39

그 집은 작다 = That house is small

(그 집은 작아 / 그 집은 작아요)
The adjective “to be small” predicates this sentence. Notice that there is no object in
this sentence.
저는 큰 차를 원하다 = I want a big car
(나는 큰 차를 원해 / 저는 큰 차를 원해요)
The verb “to want” predicates this sentence.
이 차는 크다 = This car is big
(이 차는 커 / 이 차는 커요)
The adjective “to be big” predicates this sentence. Notice that there is no object in this
sentence.
In each of the examples above, even though the adjective always acts as a descriptive
word, in the cases when they are placed before nouns to describe them – those nouns are
able to be placed anywhere in the sentence (for example, as the subject, object, location,
or other places). This same thing happens in English, where I can have a simple sentence
like this:
남자는 음식을 먹다 = The man eats food
(남자는 음식을 먹어 / 남자는 음식을 먹어요)
I can use adjectives to describe each noun in the sentence. For example:
행복한 여자는 작은 차 안에 있다 = The happy girl is inside the small car
(행복한 여자는 작은 차 안에 있어 / 행복한 여자는 작은 차 안에 있어요)
You will see some adjectives that end in “~있다.” The most common of these for a
beginner are:
맛있다 = delicious
재미있다 = fun, funny
When an adjective ends in “~있다” like this, instead of attaching ~ㄴ/은 to the stem, you
must attach ~는 to the stem. For example:
그 남자는 재미있는 남자이다 = that man is a funny man
(그 남자는 재미있는 남자야 / 그 남자는 재미있는 남자예요)
나는 맛있는 음식을 먹다 = I eat delicious food
(나는 맛있는 음식을 먹어 / 저는 맛있는 음식을 먹어요)
The difference here is due to what I call the “~는 것” principle. For now, you do not need
to think about why ~는 is added instead of ~ㄴ/은. It is sufficient at this point to just
memorize it as an exception. The concept behind this grammatical rule is introduced
in Lesson 26 and I continue to discuss it into other Lessons in Unit 2. This concept is
related to verbs being able to describe nouns. For example:
“The man who I met yesterday will go to the park that I want to go to”
However, this is very complex and is the whole basis to the ~는 것 principle that I
mentioned earlier. As I said, you will begin to learn about this in Lesson 26.
To be a lot of: 많다
 40

A good way to practice your understanding of how adjectives can be used to describe a
noun in a sentence or to predicate an entire sentence is to apply your knowledge to the
word “많다.” 많다 is an adjective that describes that there is “many’ or “a lot” of
something. Its translation to English usually depends on how it is used in a sentence. For
example, when used to describe nouns in a sentence, it can be used in the following way:
나는 많은 음식을 먹다 = I eat a lot of food
(나는 많은 음식을 먹어 / 저는 많은 음식을 먹어요)
나는 많은 돈이 있다 = I have a lot of money
(나는 많은 돈이 있어 / 저는 많은 돈이 있어요)
나는 많은 아내가 있다 = I have a lot of wives (ha!)
(나는 많은 아내가 있어 / 저는 많은 아내가 있어요)
Now, if we use “많다” to predicate a sentence, it can be used like this:
사람이 많다
In your Korean studies, you need to realize that it is never effective to think of a Korean
sentence as an exact translation in English. The fact is, Korean and English grammar are
completely different, and trying to force the rules/structure of English into Korean is
unnatural. If we stuck with the translation of “a lot of” for the meaning of “많다” and
forced the English translation to the sentence “사람이 많다”, we would get:
People are a lot of
… But that clearly is not accurate. Instead, what is the sentence “사람이 많다”
describing? It is describing that there is a lot of something, therefore, the translation
should be:
사람이 많다 = there is a lot of people
(사람이 많아 / 사람이 많아요)
Therefore, when 많다 predicates a sentence, its translation is usually “There is/are a lot
of…”. Here is another example:
음식이 많다 = there is a lot of food
(음식이 많아 / 음식이 많아요)
Of course, this can be applied to very complex sentences as well, but this is just the very
beginning. Eventually, you will be able to make a sentence like:
There are a lot of singers who become famous and spend all of their money too quickly
This sentence as well would also end in “많다.” The structure would basically be:
(singers who become famous and spend all of their money too quickly)가 많다
You are still very far from understanding how complex sentences like that work, but I
want to show you that the content you learned in this lesson brings you one step closer.
Also notice that the particles 이/가 are attached to the subjects in sentences ending with
“많다.” There are some words where the use of the particles ~이/가 on the subject of the
sentence is more natural than the use of ~는/은. 많다 is one of these words. We will
continue to tell you in which situations it is more natural to use ~이/가 instead of ~은/는
as we progress through our lessons.
 41

Particle ~도
~도 is another particle that is very useful in Korean. It has the meaning of “too/as well.” It
can replace the subject particles (는/은) OR the object particles (를/을), depending on
what you are saying “too” with. For example:
저도 한국어를 말하다 = I speak Korean as well (In addition to other people)
(나도 한국어를 말해 / 저도 한국어를 말해요)
which is different from:
저는 한국어도 말하다 = I speak Korean as well (in addition to other languages)
(나는 한국어도 말해 / 저는 한국어도 말해요)
Make sure you notice the difference between the previous two examples. In English these
two are written the same, but sound different when speaking. In the first example, you
are emphasizing that YOU also speak Korean, in addition to other people that you are
talking about. In the second example, you are emphasizing that (in addition to other
languages), you also speak Korean.
See the two examples below for the same issue:
저도 사과를 먹다 = I eat apples as well
(나도 사과를 먹어 / 저도 사과를 먹어요)
저는 사과도 먹다 = I eat apples as well
(나는 사과도 먹어 / 저는 사과도 먹어요)
Notice the difference in pronunciation in English. The first one has the meaning of “other
people eat some apples, but I too eat some apples.” The second example has the
meaning of “I eat some other food as well, but I also eat apples.” It is important to
recognize that whatever noun “~도” is attached to is the thing that is being expressed as
“too.” More examples:
More examples:
나도 그것을 알다 = I know that, too
(나도 그것을 알아 / 저도 그것을 알아요)
나도 피곤하다 = I am tired, too
(나도 피곤해 / 저도 피곤해요)
나의 딸도 행복하다 = My daughter is happy, too
(나의 딸도 행복해 / 저의 딸도 행복해요)
Vocabulary
The vocabulary is separated into nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs for the purpose of
simplicity.
Nouns:
동생 = younger sibling
Common Usages:
남동생 = younger brother
여동생 = younger sister
친동생 = biological younger sibling
 42

Notes:
While technically this word means “younger sibling” Korean will refer to a close friend
(who is younger than them) using this word. This often leads to dialogues like this:
Korean person: “Hey! This is my 동생!”
Me: “Really?”
Korean person: “No, not really.”
To distinguish that somebody is actually related to you by blood, they use the word “친동
생”
Examples:
저 사람은 저의 동생이에요 = That person is my younger sibling
동생은 왜 울었어요? = Why did your brother/sister cry?
남동생 = younger brother
Examples:
저는 남동생보다 키가 더 커요 = I am taller than my (younger) brother
나는 남동생보다 밥을 더 먹었어 = I ate more than my (younger) brother
너의 남동생은 몇 살이야? = How old is your (younger) brother?
저의 게으른 남동생은 하루 종일 아무것도 안 해요 = My lazy brother doesn’t do anything all
day
저는 2 주 전에 남동생을 만났어요 = I met my brother 2 weeks ago
남동생은 울었어요? = Did your brother cry?
여동생 = younger sister
Examples:
저의 여동생은 지난 주에 책 두 권을 읽었어요 = My sister read two books last week
너의 여동생은 예뻐요 = Your younger sister is pretty
형 = older brother
Notes:
This word is only used if the younger person is also a man
Common Usages:
형님 = formal version of 형
Examples:
그 사람은 저의 형입니다 = That person is my brother
형을 왜 때렸어요? = Why did you hit your brother?
저의 형은 똑똑한 남자입니다 = My brother is a smart man
오빠 = older brother
Notes:
This word is only used if the younger person is a female
Example:
저는 공을 오빠한테 던졌어요 = I threw the ball to my brother
오빠는 바닥에 앉아서 점심을 먹었어요 = My brother ate lunch sitting on the floor
 43

오빠는 밤 늦게 밥을 먹는 것을 좋아해요 = My brother likes eating food late at night

오빤 (오빠는) 강남스타일 = older brother (I am) is Gangnam style
누나 = older sister
Notes:
This word is only used if the younger person is a male
Examples:
저의 누나는 대학생이에요 = My older sister is a University student
저는 저의 누나를 불렀어요 = I called my sister
이 사람은 저의 누나예요 = This (person) is my sister
저는 저의 누나한테 돈만 줄 거예요 = To my older sister, I’ll just give money
저의 누나는 충동적인 여자예요 = My older sister is an impulsive girl
언니 = older sister
Notes:
This word is only used if the younger person is a female
Example:
저는 언니랑 밥을 먹었어요 = I ate with my sister
삼촌 = uncle
Notes: Korean people often pronounce this word as “삼춘”
Example:
저의 삼촌은 선생님이에요 = My uncle is a teacher
이모 = aunt (on mother’s side)
Notes:
This word is only used to refer to the sister(s) of one’s mother
Common Usages:
큰 이모 = the oldest sister of one’s mother
둘째 이모 = the second oldest sister of one’s mother
막내 이모 = the youngest sister of one’s mother
Example:
우리 엄마는 이모와 닮았어요 = My mom looks like our aunt
고모 = aunt (on father’s side)
Notes:
This word is only used to refer to the sister(s) of one’s father
Example:
우리 아버지는 고모와 살고 있어요 = Our father lives with our aunt
아저씨 = older man not related to you
Notes: This word is used to refer to an older man whom you don’t know. More broadly, it
can be applied to the position that men have, for example “버스 아저씨” for “bus driver” or
“택시 아저씨” for “taxi driver.”
 44

Example:
아저씨! 앉으세요! = Sir, please sit down
아저씨! 맥주 두 잔 주세요! = Sir! Two glasses of beer, please!
아주머니 = older woman not related to you
Example:
아주머니! 소주 두 병 주세요! = Miss! Two bottles of soju please!
동대문시장에서 아주머니가 많아요 = There are a lot of older women in Dongdaemun market
할아버지 = grandfather
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “하라버지”
Common Usages:
산타할아버지 = Santa Clause (Santa Grandpa)
Notes: You can use this word to refer to anybody who looks the age of a grandfather, not
just your own grandfather.
Example:
우리 할아버지는 한국전쟁에서 싸웠어요 = Our grandfather fought in the Korean war
할아버지와 할아버지 친구는 옛날 이야기를 나눴어요 = Grandpa and his friend shared old
stories (with each other)
아들은 할아버지께 선물을 줬어요 = The son gave a present to his grandfather
그 할아버지는 주름이 하나도 없어요 = That grandfather doesn’t even have one wrinkle
할아버지께 선물을 드리고 싶어요 = I want to give my grandfather a present
할아버지가 여기에 계신지 몰랐어요 = I didn’t know you were here, grandpa
할아버지는 우리 아들에게 돈을 주었어요 = Grandpa gave money to our son
우리 할아버지가 죽어서 저는 너무 슬퍼요 = I am very sad because my grandfather died
할머니 = grandmother
Notes: You can use this word to refer to anybody who looks the age of a grandmother, not
just your own grandmother.
Example:
저의 할머니는 요리를 너무 잘해요 = My grandmother cooks very well
저의 할머니가 여기에 자주 안 오셔요 = My grandmother doesn’t come here often
저는 할머니를 위해 식사를 준비했어요 = I prepared a meal for grandmother
할머니는 어제 아파서 입원했어요 = Grandma checked into the hospital yesterday because
she was sick
친구 = friend
Common Usages:
여자 친구 = girlfriend
남자 친구 = boyfriend
친구를 만나다 = to meet a friend
Example:
저는 어제 친구를 만났어요 = I met a friend yesterday
저는 저의 친구를 자주 만나요 = I meet my friend often
 45

저는 친구랑 같이 있어요 = I’m with my friend

저는 저의 친구에게 돈을 줬어요 = I gave my friend money
저는 친구와 집에 갔어요 = I went home with my friend
저는 그것을 친구한테서 들었어요 = I heard that from my friend
저의 친구는 저 쪽으로 갔어요 = My friend went that way
저는 친구와 비슷해요 = I am similar to my friend
저의 친구는 (여기) 근처에 살아요 = My friend lives close (to here)
사진 = picture
Common Usages:
사진기 = camera
사진을 찍다 = to take a picture
Notes: The word “그림” is used to refer to a picture that somebody painted.
Example:
여행했을 때 사진을 많이 찍었어요 = When I travelled, I took a lot of pictures
이 사진 어때? = How about this picture?
이것은 나쁜 사진입니다 = This is a bad picture
저의 사진은 침대 위에 걸려 있어요 = My picture is hanging above my bed
저는 사진을 하나도 안 찍었어요 = I didn’t even take one picture
저는 사진을 벽에 걸었어요 = I hung a picture on a wall
안경 = glasses
Common Usages:
안경을 쓰다 = to wear glasses
Example:
저는 새로운 안경을 샀어요 = I bought new glasses
비밀 = secret
Common Usages:
비밀을 밝히다 = to let a secret go/tell somebody else about a secret
비밀을 지키다 = to protect a secret/not tell somebody else about a secret
Examples:
그것이 비밀이라서 말하지 마세요 = Don’t say anything because it is a secret!
그것은 큰 비밀이었어요 = That was a big secret
그의 과거는 큰 비밀이에요 = His past is a big secret
비 = rain
Common Usages:
비가 오다 = to rain
이슬비 = drizzle
산성비 = acid rain
Example:
어제 비가 많이 왔어요 = Yesterday it rained a lot
비가 아직 와요 = It is still raining
 46

비가 왔어요? = Is it raining?
내일 비가 올지 모르겠어요 = I don’t know if it will rain tomorrow
가게 = store/shop
Example:
저는 가게에서 사과를 샀어요 = I bought apples at the store
저는 이 가게에서 잠깐 구경하고 싶어요 = I want to look around for a bit in this store
이 가게는 싼 음식을 팔아요 = this store sells cheap/inexpensive food
그 가게에 18 세 미만은 못 들어가요 = Those under 18 years of age can’t enter that store
박물관 = museum
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “방물관”
Examples:
그 박물관은 특별해요 = That museum is special
저는 박물관에 다음 번에 갈 거예요 = I will go to the museum next time
병원은 박물관 뒤에 있어요 = The hospital is behind the museum
선생님은 학생들과 박물관에 갔다 = The teacher went to the museum with the students
가스 레인지 = stove (gas range)
Notes:
Literally the English pronunciation of “gas range” in Korean.
Example:
이 집은 가스 레인지가 없어요 = This house doesn’t have a stove
오리 = duck (animal)
Common Usages:
오리고기 = duck meat
Example:
우리는 급식으로 오리고기를 먹었어요 = We had duck for the school lunch
꼬리 = tail
Common Usages:
꼬리뼈 = tailbone
Example:
그 강아지의 꼬리는 아주 귀여워요 = That puppy’s tail is very cute
공 = ball
Common Usages:
공을 던지다 = to throw a ball
공을 잡다 = to catch a ball
야구공 = baseball
축구공 = soccer ball
농구공 = basketball
Example:
야구선수는 공을 세게 던졌어요 = The baseball player threw the ball hard
 47

Verbs:
Conjugate 기대하다 = to expect
The noun form of this word translates to “expectation”
Notes:
The passive version of this word (기대되다) is commonly used to say that one is excited for
something to happen. For more information on passive verbs, see Lesson 14.
Example:
선생님이 3 시에 올 것을 기대했어요 = I expected the teacher to come at 3:00
Conjugate 건너다 = to cross (a road/etc)
Common Usages:
길을 건너다 = to cross a road
Example:
빨리 건너자! = Quick! Let’s cross!
저는 거리를 안전하게 건넜어요 = I crossed the street safely
Conjugate 던지다 = to throw
Common Usages:
공을 던지다 = to throw a ball)
Example:
수업시간 동안 종이를 던지지 마세요 = During class, don’t throw paper please
야구선수는 공을 세게 던졌어요 = The baseball player threw the ball hard
Conjugate 싫어하다 = to not like
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “시러하다”
Notes: 싫다 is an adjective that means “not good.” 싫어하다 is a verb. Therefore, ~을/를
should be attached to the object in the sentence that one does not like.
Examples:
저는 그 사람을 싫어해요 = I don’t like that person
저는 과일을 싫어해요 = I dislike fruit
처음에 그 여자를 싫어했어요 = I didn’t like that girl at first
그들은 저를 처음부터 싫어했어요 = They didn’t like me from the start
저는 사람들이 지하철을 급히 타는 것을 싫어해요 = I don’t like people getting on the subway in
a rush
제가 그 여자를 싫어해도 그녀를 위해 선물을 사야 되었어요 = Regardless of how much
I dislike that girl, I still had to buy her a present
Conjugate 떠나다 = to leave somewhere
Common Usages:
세상을 떠나다 = to die (literally, “to leave the world”)
Notes:
This word is usually only used if you are leaving something forever or for a very long time.
If you want to say that you left your house (and are returning), you should use the words
“출발하다” (to depart) or “나가다” (to go out).
 48

Example:
한국은 언제 떠났어요? = When did you leave Korea?
아버지가 벌써 떠났다는 것을 몰랐어요 = I didn’t know (the fact) that dad already left
Conjugate 농담하다 = to joke
The noun form of this word translates to “a joke”
Example:
나의 남자친구는 나에게 농담을 많이 해= My boyfriend tells me a lot of jokes
Conjugate 공부하다 = to study
Common Usages:
열심히 공부하다 = to study hard
Examples:
저는 한국어를 4 년 동안 공부했어요 = I studied Korean for 4 years
저는 저녁에 공부했어요 = I studied in the evening
여름에 저는 공부하겠어요 = I will study in the summer
저는 30 분 동안 공부했어요 = I studied for 30 minutes
저는 내일부터 한국어를 공부할 거예요 = I’m going to study Korean from tomorrow
저는 아침부터 밤까지 공부만 했어요 = From morning to night I only studied
Adjectives:
Conjugate 지루하다 = to be boring
Notes: In English we use similar words to describe that one is bored, and that something
is boring. However, in Korean, these are separate words. If you are bored, you can use “심
심하다.” If something is boring (and thus, making you bored), you can use “지루하다”
Example:
수업은 매우 지루해요 = Class is so boring
Conjugate 마르다 = for a person to be too thin
마르다 follows the 르 Irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Notes: This is usually used in a negative way.
If you are telling somebody that they look (too) thin, this is usually used in the past tense.
For example: 형! 너무 말랐어! = (Brother!) You look so thin!
Example:
보통 모델들은 말라요 = Models are usually thin
Conjugate 멀다 = to be far away
멀다 follows the ㄹ Irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Example:
우리 집은 너무 멀어요 = Our home is very far
저는 먼 병원에 갔어요 = I went to a far away hospital (a hospital that is far away)
Conjugate 마르다 = to be dry
마르다 follows the 르 Irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Notes:
Most commonly used as “목 마르다” (literally: dry throat) to indicate that one is thirsty.
 49

Example:
그 강은 완전히 말랐어요 = That river has completely dried up
Conjugate 비슷하다 = to be similar
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “비스타다”
Examples:
저와 저의 아버지는 너무 비슷해요 = I am very similar to my father
저는 친구와 비슷해요 = I am similar to my friend
Conjugate 싫다 = to not be good
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “실타”
Common Usages:
가기 싫다 = to not want to go
먹기 싫다 = to not want to eat
Notes: 싫다 can be used to say “one does not like” by attaching ~이/가 to an object. For
more information, see Lesson 15.
Example:
저는 그 사람이 싫어요 = I don’t like that person
학교가 싫어요 = I don’t like school
맥주가 싫어요 = I don’t like beer
Conjugate 오래되다 = for an object to be old
Notes:
Like 낡다, 오래되다 can only be used to describe objects – but 낡다 implies that the object
in question is also damaged/rugged in some form. Using 오래되다 simply implies that it is
has been a long time since something was built/released/bought, etc…
Example:
저는 저의 오래된 핸드폰을 팔았어요 = I sold my old phone
그 식당이 오래되었다 = That restaurant is old
우리는 오래된 집에 갔다 = We went to the old house
한국문화는 오래됐고 흥미로워요 = Korean culture is long/old and interesting
오늘 새로운 복사기가 올 거라서 이 오래된 것을 버려야 돼요 = The new photocopier will come
today, so we have to throw out this old one
Conjugate 배고프다 = to be hungry
Notes: This is sometimes as “배가 고프다”
Common Usages:
배고파 죽겠다 = I’m so hungry I could die
Examples: 나는 별로 배고프지 않아 = I’m not really hungry
저는 먹고 싶지만 배고프지 않아요 = Even though I want to eat, I am not hungry
밥을 안 먹으면 배고플 거야 = If you don’t eat, you will be hungry
Adverbs and Other Words:
오늘 = today
 50

Common Usages:
오늘밤 = tonight
오늘아침 = this morning
오늘날 = the present time, these days
Notes: ~에 is typically not attached to 오늘 as it can be assumed
Examples:
저는 오늘에 시험을 봐 야 돼요 = I need to write an exam today
저는 오늘 두 번 운동할 것입니다 = I will exercise twice (two times) today
저는 오늘 아침식사를 못 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat breakfast today
오늘 날씨가 너무 더워요 = Today the weather is too hot
어제 운동을 해서 오늘 저의 팔이 아파요 = My arms are sore today because I exercised
yesterday
저는 오늘 네 개의 수업을 가르쳤어요 = I taught four classes today
이 수업은 오늘 저의 열 번째 수업입니다 = This is my tenth class today
저는 오늘 오후에 낮잠을 잤어요 = I took a nap in the afternoon today
어제 = yesterday
Common Usages:
어젯밤 = last night
Notes: ~에 is typically not attached to 어제 as it can be assumed
Examples:
저는 어제 학교에 못 갔어요 = I couldn’t go to school yesterday
저는 어제부터 아팠어요 = I have been sick since (from) yesterday
그 건물은 어제와 달라요 = That building is different from yesterday
나는 어제 친구 다섯 명을 만났어 = I met five friends yesterday
저는 어제 선생님을 처음 만났어요 = I met my teacher for the first time yesterday
저는 어제 한 시간 동안 야구를 했어요 = I played baseball for an hour yesterday
저는 어제 여자친구랑 이야기했어요 = I talked with my girlfriend yesterday
저는 어제 학교에 세 번 갔어요 = I went to school three times yesterday
내일 = tomorrow
Common Usages:
내일 봐 = informal: see you tomorrow
내일 뵙겠습니다 = formal: see you tomorrow
(내일)모레 = the day after tomorrow
내일 밤 = tomorrow night
Notes: ~에 is typically not attached to 내일 as it can be assumed.
Example:
저는 내일 공원에 갈 거예요 = I am going to the park tomorrow
내일 뭐 하고 싶어요? = What do you want to do tomorrow?
선생님은 내일 학생들을 만날 거예요 = The teacher will meet the students tomorrow
저는 내일 사람 두 명 더 만날 거예요 = I will meet two more people tomorrow
 51

내일 학교에 갈 것입니까? = Are you going to school tomorrow?

너는 내일 누구(를) 만날 거야? = Who will you meet tomorrow?
저는 내일부터 건강한 음식만 먹을 거예요 = From tomorrow, I am going to eat
only healthy food
모레 = the day after tomorrow
Notes: Often said as “내일모레”
This word is commonly misspelled as “모래” (which actually means “sand”)
Example:
학교가 모레 닫혀 있을 거예요 = The school will be closed two days from now
년 = year
Common Usages:
작년 = last year
내년 = next year
매년 = every year
학년 = grade level
Notes:
This word is more commonly used in compilation with other words rather than by itself.
Example:
저는 작년에 한국에 갔어요 = I went to Korea last year
저는 5 년 이내에 외국어를 다섯 개 배우고 싶어요 = I want to learn 5 languages within
five years
우리는 1 년 안에 결혼할 거예요 = We will get married within one year
제가 한국에서 산 지 1 년 됐어요 = I have been living in Korea for a year
그 선생님은 영어를 가르친 지 20 년 됐어요 = That teacher has been teaching English for
20 years
저는 7 년 동안 한국에서 살았어요 = I lived in Korea for seven years
저는 내년에 한국에 갈 거예요 = I will go to Korea next year
일 = day
Common Usages:
The days of the week = 일요일, 월요일, 화요일, etc…
생일 = birthday
내일 = tomorrow
매일 = every day
마감일 = deadline (day)
Notes: When talking about a day, “날” should be used. For more information, see Lesson
11.
Examples:
저는 토요일에 한교에 안 가요 = I don’t go to school on Saturday
저는 3 일 동안 학교에 안 갔어요 = I didn’t go to school for 3 days
시간 = time
 52

Common Usages:
한 시간 = one hour
두 시간 = two hours
두 시간 동안 = for two hours
영업 시간 = business hours
시간표 = timetable
Notes:
You can use this word to indicate that something was done for a certain amount of hours.
In addition, it can mean “time” as in “last time” or “this time.” For more information,
visit Lesson 11.
Examples:
저는 두 시간 동안 공부했어요 = I studied for two hours
저는 세 시간 동안 잤어요 = I slept for three hours
저는 어제 두 시간 동안 TV 를 봤어요 = I watched TV for two hours yesterday
우리는 다음 시간에 더 배울 거예요 = We will learn more next time
시간이 있으시면 술을 마시러 술집에 갑시다 = If you have time, let’s go to a bar to drink
alcohol!
저는 그것을 지난 시간에 배웠어요 = I learned that (thing) last time
수업시간 동안 종이를 던지지 마세요 = During class (time), don’t throw paper please
Days of the Week:
월요일 = Monday
화요일 = Tuesday
수요일 = Wednesday
목요일 = Thursday
금요일 = Friday
토요일 = Saturday
일요일 = Sunday
How to say “I” or “me” in Korean
First of all, I want to point out the difference between “I” and “me” in English. This is
something that I never knew/realized until I started to learn Korean as you will find that
learning a foreign language will vastly increase your understanding of your mother
tongue and languages in general. In English “I” and “me” have the same meaning, but
they differ in their usage. When the speaker is the subject of a sentence “I” is used. When
the speaker is the object (or other part) of a sentence “me” is used. For example:
I love you (“I” is the subject of the sentence)
You love me (“me” is the object of the sentence)
In Korean, the same word is used to say “I” or “me.” That is, there is no difference in the
Korean word if it used as a subject or object. However, remember that
different particles will have to be attached to these words.
 53

Although the word in Korean for “I/me” doesn’t change based on its usage in a sentence,
it does change based on the politeness of a sentence. For example:
저 means “I/me” and is used in formal situations
나 means “I/me” and is used in informal situations
~는 can be attached to 저 and 나 to indicate “I” is the subject of a sentence. For
example:
저는
나는
(I am purposely not providing example sentences because you still haven’t learned
proper conjugations. You will finally learn about conjugations in this lesson)
~를 can be attached to 저 and 나 to indicate that “me” is the object of a sentence. For
example:
저를
나를
(I am purposely not providing example sentences because you still haven’t learned
proper conjugations. You will finally learn about conjugations in this lesson)
~가 can be attached to 저 and 나 to indicate “I” is the subject of a sentence or clause. I
have already briefly distinguished the difference between ~이/가 and ~은/는 in Lesson 2.
The difference between these particles is very subtle and takes years to fully grasp. I
discuss these differences more deeply in Lesson 17 and Lesson 24, but this isn’t
immediately important to you right now. What is immediately important to you is that you
remember that when ~가 is attached 나 changes to 내, and 저 changes to 제. For example:
내가
제가
(I am purposely not providing example sentences because you still haven’t learned
proper conjugations. You will finally learn about conjugations in this lesson)
In the lesson below, all of the sentences are conjugated in an informal style. Therefore,
all of the example sentences below use the informal “나” or “내.” In this lesson, don’t
worry about formality and just focus on the information that I present. In the next lesson,
you will learn more about formal and informal speech, and you will see “저” and “제”
being used.
How to say “you”
You may have noticed that I still haven’t taught you one of those most common words in
the English language. I know this sounds weird, but the word ‘you’ is not said very often
in Korean. Korean people get around saying the word ‘you’ through a number of ways:
1. Most of the time, you use somebody’s (usually job) position when referring to them
or talking about them. For example, boss (부장님), principal (교장선생님), vice principal (교감
선생님), Mr. Name (for a teacher) (Name 선생님), customer (고객님), guest (손님), 회장님/사장님
(president/CEO of a company).
 54

2. It is very common in Korean to refer to people that you are close with as your own
family member. For example, 오빠 means “older brother” (when you are a woman). But
even if somebody is not your older brother, you can call him ‘오빠’ if you are close to him.
3. You can usually call any woman or man that looks very old “grandmother” and
“grandfather” (할머니/할아버지). But other than that, you don’t really call somebody part of
your family unless you are close with that person.
4. You can generally call any strange man or woman that you don’t know ‘아저씨’
(man) and ‘아주머니’ (woman).
5. In informal situations, you can use the word “너.” ~는 and ~를 can attach to “너”
when “you” is the subject or object of a sentence, respectively. If ~가 is added to ~너, it
changes to “네가.” In order to distinguish the pronunciation of “네가” and “내가” from each
other (which, technically should be pronounced the same), “네가” is pronounced as
“knee-ga.”
6. You can also use the word “당신” which means “you.” You may use this word when
talking to anybody, but Korean people hardly ever use it. Most people that say ‘당신’ are
foreigners and only do so because they are so used to saying “you” in a sentence.
Basic Conjugation: Past, Present, Future
As I have mentioned in every lesson so far – every sentence that you have learned thus
far has not been conjugated. All the sentences you have learned so far would never
actually be used in Korean because they are not conjugated. I felt you needed to know
basic sentence structure before you learned how to conjugate. The good news, however
is that conjugating in Korean is much easier than other languages (including English and
especially French!).
An important note before you begin
This lesson will show you how to conjugate past/present/future verbs in the most basic
way. Although all of these conjugations are grammatically correct, they are rarely used in
conversation. This form is sometimes called “diary form” because it is usually used when
writing to yourself in a diary. It is also used when writing tests, books (not in dialogue),
research papers, newspaper articles, magazine articles, and other times when one is not
speaking/writing to a specific audience. It is also sometimes called the “plain form.”
If you used this form in a sentence, you should use the informal “나,” as this conjugation
is seen as informal. As such, throughout this lesson, you will see the word “나” used for
“I.” However, as I mentioned, this conjugation form is also used in print (books,
newspapers, articles, etc…). When this is done, the sentence is neither formal or informal
– as it is just relaying facts. When used like this, no specific person is the speaker, and
nobody is getting directly spoken to. Therefore, you don’t generally see “저” or “나” in
these forms of Korean, and there is no need to see these writings as formal or informal.
It is possible to use this “diary” or “plain” form in conversation, but you are more likely to
hear one of the conjugations discussed in the next lesson. Although the plain form is not
very common in conversation, the conjugation itself isincredibly important if you want to
 55

understand more complex grammar later on or learn to read most printed forms of
Korean (books, newspaper, etc…). You will learn the most important conjugations for
conversation in the next lesson, but I highly recommend you to understand the
conjugations presented in this lesson first.
The only part of speech that gets conjugated in Korean is verbs and adjectives (and 이다).
As you already know, a sentence must end in either a verb or adjective or 이다.
Let’s look at how to conjugate verbs and adjectives into the past, present and future
tenses.
Verbs
Present Tense
When the last syllable of the stem ends in a consonant, you add ~는다 to the stem of the
word:
먹다 = 먹는다 = to eat (먹 + 는다)
닫다 = 닫는다 = to close (닫 + 는다)
Examples:
나는 문을 닫는다 = I close the door
나는 밥을 먹는다 = I eat rice
When the last syllable of the stem ends in a vowel, you add ~ㄴ to the last syllable
followed by 다
배우다 = 배운다 = to learn (배우 + ㄴ다)
이해하다 = 이해한다 = to understand (이해하 + ㄴ다)
가다 = 간다 = to go (가 + ㄴ다)
Examples:
나는 친구를 만난다 = I meet a friend
나는 그것을 이해한다 = I understand that
나는 한국어를 배운다 = I learn Korean
나는 집에 간다 = I go home

Past Tense

Before you learn this, you need to know something important. Korean grammar is based
on adding things directly to verbs or adjectives to create a specific meaning. For
example, earlier in this lesson you saw how ~는다 or ~ㄴ다 can be added to the stem of a
verb in order to conjugate that verb to the present tense.
Hundreds of grammatical principles (not just conjugations, but grammatical principles
that have actual meanings in sentences) are created by adding certain things to the
stems of verbs and adjectives. You will learn about these in later lessons as you progress
through your studies. For example, the following is a short list of additions that can be
added to the stems of verbs and/or adjectives to create a specific meaning:
 ~기 to create a noun form of a verb or adjective (Lesson 29)
 56

 ~아/어서 to give reason (Lesson 37)

 ~(으)시 to denote an honorific acting agent (Lesson 39)
 ~(으)세요 to make a command (Lesson 40)
 ~자 to make a suggestion (Lesson 44)
 ~아/어야 하다 to indicate that one must do something (Lesson 46)
 ~ㄴ/는다고 to quote somebody (Lesson 52)
The list could go on and on forever.
Notice that some of these grammatical principles require the addition of “~아/어.” Many
grammatical principles (or conjugations, or any other thing) require the addition of “~아/
어” to the stem of a verb or adjective. Notice that the “slash” indicates that you need
to choose what actually gets added to the stem. In some cases it is “~아”, and in some
cases it is “~어”. The following is the rule that you can use to determine if you should add
“~아” or “~어”:
 If the last vowel in a stem is ㅏ or ㅗ (this includes rare cases of the last vowel
being ㅑ or ㅛ) you add ~아 followed by the remainder of the grammatical principle. (The
only exception is “하.” If the last syllable in a stem is “하“, ~여 must be added to the stem
followed by the remainder of the grammatical principle instead of ~아.
 If the last vowel in a stem is anything but ㅏ or ㅗ you add ~어 followed by the
remainder of the grammatical principle
When conjugating to the past tense, we need to add “~았/었다” to the stem of a word (or
였다 in the case of 하다). Following the rule above, ~았다 is added to words with the last
vowel being ㅗ or ㅏ and ~었다 is added to words with the last vowel being anything but
ㅏ or ㅗ. Finally, ~였다 is added to words with the last syllable being “하.” For example:
나는 밥을 먹다 = I eat rice (note that this sentence is unconjugated)
The last vowel in the stem is ㅓ. This is not ㅏ or ㅗ. So, we add 었다 to the stem:
나는 밥을 먹었다 = I ate rice (먹 + 었다)
나는 문을 닫다 = I close the door (note that this sentence is unconjugated)
The last vowel in the stem is ㅏ. So we add 았다 to the stem:
나는 문을 닫았다 = I closed the door (닫 + 았다)
나는 창문을 열다 = I open the window (note that this sentence is unconjugated)
The last vowel in the stem is ㅕ. This is not ㅏ or ㅗ. So we add 었다 to the stem:
나는 창문을 열었다 = I opened the window (열 + 었다)
나는 한국어를 공부하다 = I study Korean (note that this sentence is unconjugated)
The last syllable in the stem is “하”. Therefore, we add ~였다 to the stem:
나는 한국어를 공부하였다 = I studied Korean (공부하 + 였다)
What makes this complicated (at first) is that for verbs that have a last syllable that end
in a vowel (including 하다), the ~았다/었다 gets merged to the actual stem itself. This is
how ~아 and ~어 merge with syllables ending in a vowel:
 아 + 아 = 아 (example: 가 + 았다 = 갔다)
 오 + 아 = 와 (example: 오+ 았다 = 왔다)
 57

 우 + 어 = 워 (example: 배우+ 었다 = 배웠다)

 이 + 어 = 여 (example: 끼+ 었다 = 꼈다)
 어 + 어 = 어 (example: 나서 + 었다 = 나섰다)
 여 + 어 = 여 (example: 켜다 + 었다 = 켰다)
 하 + 여 = 해 (example: 공부하다 + 였다 = 공부했다)
Although 하 + 여 can be written as “해,” there will be some situations (usually official
documents) where you will see “하여” used instead of “해”:
 Words where the last vowel is “ㅡ” (for example: 잠그다) are complicated and will be
covered in Lesson 7.
Many people have asked me “how do I merge ~아/어 to complex vowels like ㅠ, ㅑ, ㅔ,
etc…?” You will find that the stem of almost all verbs and adjectives in Korean do not end
in these complex vowels. The most common words I can think of that have stem that
ends in one of these complex vowels are:
바래다 (to fade)
매다 (to tie up)
메다 (to put on/carry something on one’s shoulder)
With these words (and others like it), the same rule applies as above. That is, the final
vowel does not end in ㅏ or ㅗ, so we need to add “어” plus whatever we are adding. With
these complex vowels, it is irrelevant if you merge the addition to the stem. Both forms
(merged and non-merged) would be correct.
For example:
바래 + 었다 = 바랬다 or 바래었다
매다 + 었다 = 맸다 or 매었다
메다 + 었다 = 멨다 or 메었다
Here is a more detailed breakdown:
가다 = to go
The last vowel in the stem is ㅏ. So we add 았다 to the stem.
나는 박물관에 가았다
But, because the stem ends in a vowel, 았다 can merge with 가:
나는 박물관에 갔다 = I went to the museum
오다 = to come
The last vowel in the stem is ㅗ. So we add 았다 to the stem.
삼촌은 가게에 오았다
But, because the stem ends in a vowel, 았다 can merge with 오:
삼촌은 가게에 왔다 = (My) uncle came to the store
배우다 = to learn
The last vowel in the stem is ㅜ. So we add 었다 to the stem.
오빠는 영어를 배우었다
But, because the stem ends in a vowel, 었다 can merge with 우:
오빠는 영어를 배웠다 = (My) older brother learned English
 58

던지다 = to throw
The last vowel in the stem is ㅣ. So we add 었다 to the stem.
나는 공을 던지었다
But, because the stem ends in a vowel, 었다 can merge with 지:
나는 공을 던졌다 = I threw the ball
건너다 = to cross
The last vowel in the stem is ㅓ. So we add 었다 to the stem.
나는 길을 건너었다
But, because the stem ends in a vowel, 었다 can merge with 너:
나는 길을 건넜다 = I crossed the street
만나다 = to meet
The last vowel in the stem is ㅏ. So we add 았다 to the stem.
나는 친구를 만나았다
But, because the stem ends in a vowel, 았다 can merge with 나:
나는 친구를 만났다 = I met friends
공부하다 = to study
The last vowel in the stem is 하. So, we add 였다 to the stem.
나는 한국어를 공부하였다
But, 하 and 여 can be merged to formed 해:
나는 한국어를 공부했다 = I studied Korean

Future Tense

Future tense is easy, and is simply a matter of adding “~겠다” to the stem of a word.
Unlike the past and present tense conjugations, there is no difference if the stem ends in
a vowel or a consonant. For example:
나는 먹다 = I eat (unconjugated)
나는 먹겠다 = I will eat
나는 가다 = I go (unconjugated)
나는 가겠다 = I will go
나는 배우다 = I learn (unconjugated)
나는 배우겠다 = I will learn
Two verbs specifically that are often conjugated in the future tense without actually
having a meaning in the future tenses are 알다(to know) and 모르다(to not know). I don’t
want to make any example sentences (because they would be too complicated at this
point), but it would be good to remember that the words 알다 and 모르다 are often
conjugated to 알겠다 or 모르겠다. Although they are conjugated to the future tense, those
two words are typically used to express that somebody knows/doesn’t know something in
the present tense.
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Also note that the ending of the conjugation will often change as well depending on the
different honorifics that you will learn in the next lesson.
Check out the table giving a breakdown of verbs in the past, present and future forms:

Verb Stem Past Presen Future

tense t tense tense
먹다 먹 먹었다 먹는다 먹겠다
닫다 닫 닫았다 닫는다 닫겠다
배우다 배우 배웠다 배운다 배우겠다
가다 가 갔다 간다 가겠다
이해하 이해 이해했 이해한 이해하겠
다 하 다 다 다
오다 오 왔다 온다 오겠다
던지다 던지 던졌다 던진다 던지겠다

Adjectives
Present Tense
You learned previously that you need to add ~ㄴ/는다 to a verb stem in order to conjugate
it in the present tense. In order to conjugate an adjective into the present tense you don’t
need to do anything! Just leave the adjective as it is, and it is conjugated in the present
tense. Some examples:
그 선생님은 아름답다 = that teacher is beautiful
그 길은 길다 = that street is long
나의 손은 크다 = my hand is big

Past tense

In order to conjugate adjectives to the past tense, you must follow the same rule as when
you conjugate verbs to the past tense. This rule, again, is:
You must add 았다 or 었다 to the stem of a word. 았다 is added to words with the last
vowel being ㅗ or ㅏ, and 었다 is added to words with the last vowel being anything but
ㅏ or ㅗ. For example:
그 길은 길었다 = That street was long (길 + 었다)
그 음식은 맛있었다 = That food was delicious (맛있 + 었다)
그 선생님은 좋았다 = That teacher was good (좋 + 았다)
그 식당이 오래되었다 = That restaurant is old*** (오래되 + 었다)

The meaning of “오래되다” is not “old” in a bad, negative sense. Rather, it is indicating
that something has existed for a long time, and now it is “old.” A more appropriate way to
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indicate that something is “old and decrepit” is to use the word “낡다”… not to be
confused with the word “늙다”, which refers to an “old” person.

This is a little bit complicated for you now, but although ~ 었다 is attached to 되 to make
“되었다”, this can be contracted. Teaching this is not the focus of this lesson, so don’t
worry about this for now. You will learn more about 되다 in future lessons. See Lesson
9 or Lesson 14 for lessons nearby that discuss ‘되다.’

Also, while 되다 is commonly used and conjugated as a verb, in this case, 오래되다 is an
adjective. Which means that [in addition to other ways it will change when used with
other grammatical principles], ~ㄴ can be added to it to describe an upcoming noun.

For example: 우리는 오래된 집에 갔다 = We went to the old house

Just like with verbs, if the final letter of a verb/adjective stem is a vowel, ~았다/었다 can
be merged to the actual stem itself:
이것은 비쌌다 = This was expensive (비싸 + 았다)
그 남자는 잘생겼다 = That man was handsome (잘생기 + 었다)
그 사람은 뚱뚱했다 = That person was fat (뚱뚱하 + 였다)

Future tense

Conjugating adjectives into the future tense is the same as conjugating verbs into the
future tense. All you need to do is add 겠다 to the stem of the adjective:
나는 행복하겠다 = I will be happy
그것은 맛있겠다 = That thing will be delicious
나는 배고프겠다 = I will be hungry
In general, not only is this basic form rare in conversation, but Korean people do not use
adjectives in the future as often as English speakers.
Check out the table giving a breakdown of adjectives in the past, present and future
forms
Adjecti Stem Past Presen Future
ve tense t tense tense
행복하 행복 행복했 행복하 행복하겠
다 하 다 다 다
비싸다 비싸 비쌌다 비싸다 비싸겠다
길다 길 길었다 길다 길겠다
맛있다 맛있 맛있었 맛있다 맛있겠다
다
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낡다 낡 낡았다 낡다 낡겠다

Conjugating 있다 and 있다
있다 is one of the most complex and versatile words in Korean. Unfortunately, it is also
one of the most common words. It is often very difficult for learners of a language to fully
understand some of the most commonly used words in whatever language they are
studying. For example, and native English speaker might think that the word “the” is one
of the easiest words as it is used so frequently. However, try explaining the meaning and
purpose of “the” to a Korean person and you will quickly discover that its usage is very
complex.
있다 can be an adjective, or it can be a verb. Whether it is an adjective or a verb depends
on its usage.
있다 is an adjective when it is used to indicate that one “has” something. You learned
these sentences in Lesson 2:
나는 펜이 있다 = I have a pen
나는 차가 있다 = I have a car
나는 가방이 있다 = I have a bag
Because this 있다 is considered an adjective, we follow the rule for conjugating an
adjective to the present tense – which is do nothing and leave the adjective the way it is.
So, those three sentences above are perfectly conjugated and grammatically correct.
When 있다 is used to indicate that something/someone is “at/in” a location, it is also an
adjective. This is also very difficult for an English speaker to wrap their head around. You
learned these sentences in Lesson 2:
나는 은행 안에 있다 = I am inside the bank
개는 집 안에 있다 = The dog is in the house
고양이는 의자 밑에 있다 = The cat is under the chair
Again, because this usage of 있다 is considered an adjective, we follow the rule for
conjugating an adjective to the present tense – which is do nothing and leave the
adjective the way it is. So, those three sentences above are perfectly conjugated in the
plain form and grammatically correct.
However, the usage of 있다 is much more complex than just these two meanings. 있다
has many usages. In fact, there are times when 있다 is considered a verb. At this point,
your understanding of Korean is not strong enough to see example sentences of 있다 as a
verb because you haven’t learned some critical grammatical principles yet. What I want
you to take from this is that 있다 can be a verb – and thus – is conjugated as a verb
sometimes. Therefore, although the example sentences above with 있다 are properly
conjugated, there are times when the proper conjugation of 있다 in the “plain form” would
be 있는다.
있다 is considered a verb when a person (or animal) is not only “at” a location, but
“staying” at a location or in a state for a period of time. The difference between the
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adjective “있다” (to indicate something/someone is at a location) and the verb “있다” (to
indicate that someone stays at a location or in a state) is confusing.
6
Nouns:
신발 = shoe
Common Usages:
신발을 신다 = to put on a shoe
신발을 벗다 = to take off a shoe
Notes: The prefix “화” usually denotes a specific type of shoe. For example: 운동화
(exercise shoes), 실내화 (shoes for inside)
Example:
이 신발은 너무 불편해요 = These shoes are too uncomfortable
저는 신발을 신으려고 잠깐 앉았어요 = I sat down for a minute in order to put on my shoe
한국에서 집에 들어가면 신발을 벗어야 돼요 = When you go into a house in Korea, you must
take off your shoes
남방 = shirt
Notes:
The Korean pronunciation of “shirt” (셔츠) is more commonly used
Example:
그녀는 흰 남방을 입었어요 = She put on a white shirt
질문 = question
Common Usages:
질문을 물어보다 = to ask a question
질문이 있어요? = Do you have a question?
Example:
질문이 있어요 = I have a question
저는 점원한테 질문을 물어봤어요 = I asked the clerk a question
이것은 어려운 질문입니다 = This is a difficult question
문제 = question, problem
Common Usages:
문제를 풀다 = to solve a problem/question
큰 문제 = big problem
중요한 문제 = important issue/problem
기출문제 = problems/questions from previous tests (that you can use to practice for an
upcoming test)
Notes:
질문 typically means “question,” but “문제” is used more when referring to a problem that
somebody may have.
Examples:
그 회사는 문제가 많아요 = That company has a lot of problems
 63

저는 그 수학 문제를 연필과 종이로 풀었어요 = I solved that math problem using a paper and a
pencil
또 다른 문제는 그것이 비싸요 = Another problem is that it (that thing) is expensive
그들은 그 문제를 과학적으로 풀었다 = They solved that problem scientifically
나는 개인적 문제로 회사를 그만두었다 = I quit the company due to personal problems
그 문제에 대해 담임선생님과 함께 얘기했어요 = I talked about that problem with my
homeroom teacher
모든 학생들은 그 문제를 쉽게 풀었어요 = All the students easily solved that problem
나이 = age
Common Usages:
나이가 많다 = old
Example:
저의 여자 친구는 저보다 나이가 더 많아요 = My girlfriend is older than me
나이가 많은 사람들은 항상 재채기를 시끄럽게 해요 = Old people always sneeze loudly
그 사람이 나이가 많지만 여전히 똑똑해요 = Although that person is old, he is still very smart
화장실 = bathroom, restroom
Common Usages:
화장실에 가다 = to go to the bathroom
Examples:
화장실은 어디에 있어요? = Where is the bathroom?
화장실에 가도 돼요? = May I go to the bathroom?
만약 화장실에 가야 된다면 우리가 가기 전에 가세요 = If you have to go to the bathroom, go
before we leave/go
부장님 = boss
Notes: 부장 literally means “head of some department,” and ~님 is a prefix that is
attached to a position to show respect.
Examples:
그것을 하려면 먼저 부장님께 물어봐야 돼요 = In order to do that, you need to ask
the boss first
저는 부장님을 위해서 이것을 썼어요 = I wrote this for my boss
부장님을 만족시키는 것은 어려워요 = Is it is difficult to satisfy our boss
부장님은 내일까지 출장을 갔어요 = The boss went on a business trip until tomorrow
부장님이 그 일을 이미 다 한 것 같아요 = It seems like the boss already did all that work
이 사실을 부장님께 알려 줘야겠어요 = I guess I should tell the boss (about) that fact
분위기 = the atmosphere of something
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “부뉘기”
Example:
이 도시는 분위기가 좋아요 = This city has a good atmosphere
스타벅스의 내부 분위기는 매우 안락해요 = The atmosphere inside Starbucks is very
comfortable
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오늘 고객이 많고 분위기가 좋아요 = Today there are a lot of customers and

the atmosphere is good
차 = tea
Common Usages:
홍차 = black tea
녹차 = green tea
차를 마시다 = to drink tea
Example:
녹차 한 잔 주세요 = Give me one glass of green tea, please
바지 = pants
Common Usages:
바지를 입다 = to put on pants
바지를 벗다 = to take off pants
청바지 = jeans
반바지 = shorts (literally, “half pants”)
Example:
저는 새로운 바지를 사야 돼요 = I need to buy new pants
이 바지가 너무 작아서 다른 것으로 바꿀 거예요 = I’m going to change these pants to another
(a different) pair because they are too small
교실 = classroom
Examples:
학생들은 교실에 들어갔어요 = The students went into the classroom
학생은 교실에서 나왔어요 = The student came out of the classroom
선생님은 학생들과 함께 교실에 갔어요 = The teacher went to the classroom with the
students
교실이 너무 더워서 온도를 내려도 돼요? = Because the classroom is too hot, may I lower the
temperature?
교실에서 선생님들을 컴퓨터로 대체할 수 없어요 = You can’t replace teachers with computers
in the classroom
교실이 너무 어두워서 학생들은 칠판을 볼 수 없어요 = The students can’t see the board
because the classroom is too dark
급식 = food at school
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “급씩”
Notes: If you work at a school in Korea, you will hear this word every day – otherwise, it
will not be as common
Example:
우리는 급식으로 오리고기를 먹었어요 = We had duck for the school lunch
오늘 급식으로 김치찌개를 먹었어요 = We had Kimchi jigae for lunch today at school
교감선생님 = vice principal
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Example:
교감선생님은 선생님들을 위해 식사를 살 거예요 = The vice principal will buy a meal for all the
teachers
저는 교감선생님에게서 한국어를 배웠어요 = I learned Korean from my vice principal
교장선생님 = principal
Examples:
우리 교장선생님은 영어를 할 수 있습니다 = Our principal can speak English
저는 책을 교장선생님께 줬어요 = I gave the principal a book
풀 = glue
Example:
그 종이를 공책에 풀로 붙이세요! = Stick that paper to your notebook using glue!
수도 = capital city
Common Usages:
수도권 = metropolitan area around a capital city
Example:
대부분 사람들이 캐나다의 수도가 무엇인지 몰라요 = Most people don’t know what
Canada’s capital city is
병 = bottle
Common Usages:
물병 = water bottle
유리병 = glass bottle
Examples:
맥주 1 병 주세요! One bottle of beer, please!
병이 탁자에서 떨어졌어요 = The bottle fell from the table
저는 병을 탁자에 놓았어요 = I put the bottle on the table
병 = disease, sickness
Common Usages:
눈병 = eye disease
병에 걸리다 = to catch a disease
불치병 = incurable disease
전염병 = infectious disease
Example:
병은 다행히 심하지 않아요 = Thankfully, the disease isn’t serious
병이 나았어요 = I’m better (literally – the sickness/disease is better)
생선 = fish
Notes:
The word “물고기” (literally water meat) is used to refer to the animals themselves. “생선”
is used to refer to the fish that we eat.
Example:
저는 생선이 별로 안 좋아요 = I don’t really like fish
 66

야채 = vegetable
Examples:
사람들은 야채와 과일을 많이 먹어야 돼요 = People need to eat lots of fruits and vegetables
저는 과일도 좋아하고 야채도 좋아해요 = I like fruit and vegetables too
저는 주로 과일과 야채를 먹어요 = I mainly eat fruits and vegetables
저는 야채를 냉장고에 넣었어요 = I put the vegetables in the fridge
언덕 = hill
Common Usages:
언덕을 올라가다 = to go up a hill
Example:
우리 집은 언덕 위에 있어요 = Our house is on top of the hill
선물 = present
Common Usages:
선물을 주다 = to give a present
선물을 받다 = to receive a present
Example:
저는 저의 여자 친구를 위해 선물을 샀어요 = I bought a present for my girlfriend
저는 저의 여자 친구에게 선물을 많이 줬어요 = I gave my girlfriend a lot of presents
저는 친구들에게 선물을 돌렸어요 = I distributed/handed out presents to my friends
아들은 할아버지께 선물을 줬어요 = The son gave a present to his grandfather
할아버지께 선물을 드리고 싶어요 = I want to give my grandfather a present
저는 그 사람이 저에게 줄 선물을 받고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to accept the gift that that
person will give me
기타 = guitar
Common Usages:
기타를 치다 = to play guitar
Example:
저의 남자친구는 기타를 잘 쳐요 = My boyfriend plays the guitar well
종이 = paper
Notes: The counter for pieces of paper, and other things like it is “장”
Common Usages:
종이 1 장 = one piece of paper
Examples:
전화번호를 종이에 써 주세요 = Write your phone number on a piece of paper please
저는 그 수학 문제를 연필과 종이로 풀었어요 = I solved that math problem using a paper and a
pencil
그 종이를 공책에 풀로 붙이세요! = Stick that paper to your notebook using glue!
수업시간 동안 종이를 던지지 마세요 = During class, don’t throw paper please
우유 = milk
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Common Usages:
우유를 마시다 = to drink milk
Example:
저는 슈퍼에서 우유를 샀어요 = I bought milk at the supermarket
저는 애기에게 우유를 마시라고 했어요 = I told the baby to drink his milk
애기는 우유 대신에 물만 마시고 싶어요 = Instead of milk, the baby wants to drink only water
저는 우유 두 잔을 샀어요 = I bought two glasses of milk
손목 = wrist
Common Usages:
손목시계 = wristwatch
Example:
저는 저의 손목을 다쳤어요 = I hurt my wrist
시계 = clock/watch
Common Usages:
손목시계 = wristwatch
Example:
시간을 몰라서 시계를 봤어요 = I didn’t know what time it was so I looked at the clock
손목시계 = wristwatch
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “손목씨꼐”
Common Usages:
손목시계를 차다 = to wear a watch
Example:
그 손목시계를 어디 샀어요? = Where did you buy that watch?
영화 = movie
Common Usages:
영화를 보다 = to watch a movie
영화를 촬영하다 = to film a movie
Notes: In English, we use the words “watch,” “see” and “looking at” in different situations
depending on what our eyes are focused on. In Korean, all of those translate to “보다.”
Therefore, to “watch” a movie in Korean is “영화를 보다”.
Examples:
저는 무서운 영화를 보고 싶어요 = I want to see a scary movie
저는 그 영화를 다섯 번 봤어요 = I saw that movie five times
저는 어제 영화를 봤어요 = I saw a movie yesterday
배우들은 그들의 영화를 보통 좋아하지 않아 = Actors usually don’t like their movies
좋은 영화를 추천해 주세요 = Recommend a good movie, please!
저는 이 영화를 더 이상 보고 싶지 않아요 = I don’t want to watch this movie anymore
아이들은 만화영화를 매우 좋아해요 = Children really like animated movies
학생들은 짧은 영화를 보고 있어요 = The students are watching a short film
어떤 영화를 보고 싶어요? = What movie do you want to see?
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Verbs:
Conjugate 노력하다 = to try
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “노려카다”
Common Usages:
~려고 노력하다 (to try to do). See Lesson 32 for more information.
Example:
저는 한국어를 배우려고 노력하고 있어요 = I am trying to learn Korean
그 친구를 매 주말 만나려고 노력해요 = I try to meet that friend every weekend
한국 정부는 교통사고를 방지하려고 노력하고 있어요 = The Korean government is trying to
prevent traffic accidents
Conjugate 앉다 = to sit
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “안따”
Common Usages: 앉으세요! = have a seat!
Notes:
To say that one was sitting while doing something, you should attach “~아/어서” to 앉다.
For example: 저는 앉아서 먹었어요 = I sat down and ate. The grammar for this is introduced
in Lesson 17.
Example:
발이 아파서 앉고 싶어요 = I want to sit down because my feet are sore
저는 신발을 신으러 잠깐 앉았어요 = I sat down for a minute in order to put on my shoe
그는 소파에 앉아 있어요 = He is sitting on the couch
여기에 앉아도 돼요? = May I sit here?
오빠는 바닥에 앉아서 점심을 먹었어요 = My brother ate lunch sitting on the floor
Conjugate 만지다 = to touch
Common Usages:
만지지 마세요! = don’t touch!
Example:
그것이 비싸서 만지지 마세요! = That is very expensive, so please don’t touch it!
저는 저의 머리를 부드럽게 만졌어요 = I touched my hair softly
Conjugate 자다 = to sleep
Common Usages:
낮잠 자다 = to take a nap
늦잠 자다 = to sleep in
Examples:
너무 피곤해서 자고 싶어요 = I want to sleep because I am so tired
저는 세 시간 동안 잤어요 = I slept for three hours
저는 지금 자고 싶어요 = I want to sleep now
애기는 침대에서 자고 있어요 = The baby is sleeping in the bed
우리는 집에 와서 바로 잤어요 = We came home and went to sleep immediately
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저는 어젯밤에 잘 잤어요 = I slept well last night

저는 오늘 오후에 낮잠을 잤어요 = I took a nap in the afternoon today
Conjugate 보다 = to see
Common Usages:
보고 싶다 = to want to see, or to “miss”
Notes:
In English, there are many different ways to say that you are looking at something (to
watch, to see, to look at). In Korean, “보다” takes on all of these meanings.
Example:
저는 어제 영화를 봤어요 = I saw a movie yesterday
저는 마지막 것을 안 봤어요 = I didn’t see the last thing (I didn’t see that last one)
저는 그 영화를 다섯 번 봤어요 = I saw that movie five times
저는 어제 두 시간 동안 TV 를 봤어요 = I watched TV for two hours yesterday
저는 방금 뭔가(를) 봤어요 = I just saw something a minute ago
원숭이가 벽을 보고 있어요 = The monkey is looking at the wall
저는 저의 친구를 병원에서 봤어요 = I saw my friend at the hospital
형하고 아버지는 영화를 봤어요 = My brother and dad saw a movie
교실이 너무 어두워서 학생들은 칠판을 볼 수 없어요 = The students can’t see the board
because the classroom is too dark
Conjugate 기다리다 = to wait
Common Usages:
버스를 기다리다 = to wait for the bus
기다리고 있다 = to be waiting
Notes:
In English, we say that one waits “for” something. In Korean, the common translation for
“for” is ~기 위해. However, in Korean the particle “~을/를” is attached to the person/thing
that one is waiting for. For example: 저는 친구를 기다리고 있어요 = I am waiting for my
friend.
Example:
저는 30 분 동안 기다렸어요 = I waited for 30 minutes
3 시까지 기다릴 거예요 = I will wait until 3:00
저는 줄에 서서 순서를 기다렸어요 = I stood in line and waited for my turn
저는 아직 기다리고 있어요 = I am still waiting
엄마는 기다리고 있을 것 같아요 = Mom is probably waiting (It seems like mom is waiting)
모든 사람들은 교수님이 말씀하기 시작하는 것을 기다렸다 = Everybody was waiting for the
professor to start talking
Conjugate 청소하다 = to clean
Common Usages:
방을 청소하다 = to clean a room
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집을 청소하다 = to clean a house

청소기 = vacuum cleaner (literally, “cleaning machine”)
Example:
밖에 나가기 전에 집을 청소해야 돼요! = Before I go out, I need to clean the house
저는 집을 청소기로 청소했어요 = I cleaned the house with a vacuum cleaner
Conjugate 약속하다 = to promise
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “약소카다”
Notes: The noun form of this verb (약속) translates to “a promise,” and is often used to
refer to plans that somebody has. For example: 저는 오늘 약속이 있어요 = I have a promise,
or “I made a promise with somebody today, which means I have plans to meet him/her.”
Example:
그는 올 거라고 약속했어요 = He promised that he would come
Conjugate 듣다 = to hear
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “듣따”
듣다 follows the ㄷ irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Common Usages:
들어보다 = to listen
수업을 듣다 = to take a class (literally, to “listen to” a class)
Examples:
그 말을 못 들었어요 = I didn’t hear that thing that you just said
저는 쥐를 들었어요 = I heard a mouse
저는 2 달 동안 한국어 수업을 들었어요 = I took a Korean class for 2 months
저는 선생님의 목소리를 못 들었어요 = I couldn’t hear the teacher’s voice
그 말을 들었더니 기분이 상했어요 = My feelings were hurt after hearing that
Conjugate 들어보다 = to listen
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “드러보다”
Notes: Although there is sometimes overlap in their usages, 듣다 is used when one hears
something. However, by adding ~아/어보다 (the grammar of this is taught in Lesson 32)
changes the verb into “to try/attempt to hear.” In English, the act of trying/attempting to
hear something is “listening.”
Example: 선생님의 말을 잘 들어보세요! = listen carefully to what the teacher says!
Conjugate 그만하다 = to stop
Notes:
This is usually used when you are stopping an action. When you are stopping a machine,
the word 멈추다 is usually used.
Example:
빨리 그만하세요! = stop quickly!
다음 달에 한국어를 배우는 것을 그만할 거예요 = I will stop learning Korean next month
Conjugate 운동하다 = to exercise
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Examples:
저는 매일 운동해요 = I exercise everyday
저는 오늘 두 번 운동할 것입니다 = I will exercise twice (two times) today
어제 운동을 해서 오늘 저의 팔이 아파요 = my arms are sore because I exercised yesterday
저는 운동을 열심히 하고 숨을 빨리 쉬었어요 = After I exercised I was breathing really fast
저는 요즘에 운동을 많이 해요 = I am exercising a lot these days
운동은 스트레스를 풀어요 = exercise relieves stress
운동할 때 알맞은 자세로 해야 돼요 = When you exercise, you need to do so with the correct
posture
Conjugate 놀라다 = to be surprised
Notes:
There are many adverbs in Korean that are used in very specific situations to add feeling
to the meaning in the sentence. The word “깜짝” is used in sentences where one is
surprised. By putting the word “깜짝” before “놀라다,” it will make your Korean sound very
good!
Example:
저는 그 사람을 보고 깜짝 놀랐어요! = I looked at that man and I was really surprised!
Adjectives:
Conjugate 빠르다 = to be fast
빠르다 follows the 르 irregular. See Lesson 7 for more information.
Notes: The adverb form of this word is 빨리
Example:
그 차는 너무 빨라요 = That car is too fast
택시는 버스보다 더 빨라요 = The taxi is quicker than the bus
Conjugate 느리다 = to be slow
Notes:
느리다 is used when “slow” has a negative meaning, usually from moving too slow. For the
positive meaning, the adverb “천천히” is used. For example: 천천히 먹어 = eat slowly
Example:
이 인터넷은 왜 이렇게 느려요? = Why is this internet so slow?
Conjugate 착하다 = to be nice
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “차카다”
Notes: Another common way to say “nice” is “친절하다”
Examples:
한국 사람들은 보통 아주 착해요 = Korean people are usually very nice
저의 첫 번째 친구는 착했어요 = My first friend was nice
Adverbs and Other Words:
곧 = soon
Example:
우리가 곧 가야 돼요 = We have to go soon
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저는 곧 선생님이 될 것입니다 = I will be a teacher soon

시험공부를 곧 할 필요가 있어요 = I need to study soon
우리는 곧 중국에 갈 거예요 = We are going to China soon
우리가 3 주 후에 미국에 갈 예정이라서 곧 준비를 해야 돼요 = We need to plan soon because
we are scheduled to go to the US in three weeks
항상 = always
Examples:
그 여자는 항상 그렇게 걸어요 = That girl always walks like that
저는 항상 아침에 운동해요 = I always exercise in the morning
우리 아버지는 차를 항상 안전하게 운전해요= Our dad always drives his car safely
저는 항상 저녁에 음식을 먹어요 = I always eat food in the evening
제가 수업을 하면 항상 영어로 해요 = When I teach, I always do so in English
저는 항상 일요일에 늦잠 자요 = I always sleep in on Sundays
저의 아버지는 모자를 항상 써요 = My father always wears a hat
주 = week
Common Usages
일주일 동안 = for one week
다음 주 = next week
이번 주 = this week
지난 주 = last week
Example:
우리는 다음 주에 캐나다에 갈 거예요 = We are going to Canada next week
저는 지난 주에 영화를 봤어요 = I saw a movie last week
저는 지난 주에 캐나다에 갔어요 = I went to Canada last week.
지난 주에 저는 계획이 많았어요 = I had a lot of plans last week
저는 이번 주에 계획이 없어요 = I have no plans this week
저의 여동생은 지난 주에 책 2 권을 읽었어요 = My sister read two books last week
저는 2 주 동안 열심히 일했어요 = I worked hard for 2 weeks
저는 4 주 동안 여자친구를 안 만났어요 = I didn’t meet my girlfriend for four weeks
아래 = bottom
Example: 여기 아래에 사인해 주세요 = Please sign below, here
For help memorizing these words, try using our Memrise tool.

Conjugating with Honorifics

In Lesson 5, you learned how to conjugate verbs and adjectives into the past, present and
future forms. You also learned that those conjugations are hardly ever used in speech
and are most often used when writing a book, test, article or diary. In this lesson, you
will learn the basic word conjugations that are more commonly used in speech.

What are Honorifics in Korean?

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To this point, you haven’t learned anything about Honorifics (from this website, at least).
In Korean, depending on who you are speaking to, you must use different conjugations of
the same word. The different conjugations imply respect and politeness to the person you
are speaking to. Depending on that person’s age and/or seniority in relation to yours, you
must speak differently to that person.
The reason this is so hard for English speakers to understand is that we have nothing like
this in English. We can make some sentences sound polite by adding ‘please’ and ‘thank
you,’ but you can only use those words in a limited amount of sentences. For example, if
somebody asked you “where did you go yesterday?” You could respond:
I went to school yesterday.
In English, regardless of whether you were speaking to your girlfriend’s grandfather or
your best friend, that sentence would look and sound exactly the same. In Korean,
you must use a higher respect form when speaking to somebody older or higher in
position. Unless you are literally just starting to learn Korean (in which case, some
Korean people would let it pass) you must always do this.
I can share a really funny experience that happened to me. I started learning Korean a
few months before I moved to Korea. I was not studying very hard or often, so my Korean
was extremely basic. When I arrived at the airport in Seoul, was driven directly to my
school and introduced to my principal immediately. My principal said “I am happy you are
working at my school,” to which I replied:
나도 (the lower respect form of saying “me too”)
Instead of being impressed that I at least knew some words in Korean, the look on his
face was as if somebody had just kidnapped his daughter.
Never, never underestimate the importance of honorific endings in Korean.
Keep in mind that all these conjugations with different honorific endings have exactly the
same meaning. You will learn how to conjugate using honorifics in the following ways:
1. Informal low respect
Used when talking to your friends, people you are close with, people younger than you
and your family.
2. Informal high respect
This can be used in most situations, even in formal situations despite the name being
“informal.” This is usually the way most people speak when they are trying to show
respect to the person they are talking to.
3. Formal high respect
This is a very high respect form that is used when addressing people who deserve a lot
of respect from you. It is hard to describe perfectly, but honestly, the difference between
‘Informal high respect’ and ‘Formal high respect’ is not very big. As long as you speak in
either of these two ways, you will not offend anyone.
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The names of each form of speech might be different in every source, but I have chosen
the words above to describe each form. In addition, you learned the “Plain form” in the
previous lesson.
Before you start! Remember the rule you learned in Lesson 5: When adding something to
a word stem, if the last vowel in the stem is ㅏ or ㅗ, you must add 아 plus whatever you
are adding. If the last vowel is anything other than ㅏ or ㅗ, you must add 어 plus
whatever you are adding. If the syllable of the stem is 하, you add 하여 which can be
shortened to 해.
Also, in the previous lesson, you learned that if a stem of a word ends in a vowel, “~았/었
다” gets merged to the actual stem itself when conjugating into the past tense.
In this lesson, two of the conjugations you will learn will require the addition of ~아/어.
When adding ~아/어 to the stem of a word, the same rule applies from previous lesson.
That is, if ~아/어 gets added to a stem that ends in a vowel, ~아/어 will be merged to the
stem itself. For example:
가다 + ~아/어 = 가 (가 + 아)
오다 + ~아/어 = 와 (오 + 아)
배우다 + ~아/어 = 배워 (배우 + 어)
끼다 + ~아/어 = 껴 (끼 + 어)
나서다 + ~아/어 = 나서 (나서 + 어)
켜다 + ~아/어 = 켜 (켜 + 어)
하다 + ~아/어 = 해 (하 + 여)
Conversely, if a stem ends in a consonant, ~아/어 is attached to the stem, but not merged
to it. For example:
먹다 + ~아/어 = 먹어 (먹 + 어)
앉다 + ~아/어 = 앉아 (앉 + 아)
There are many situations when you will have to add ~아/어 (or other vowels and
consonants) to stems. Conjugating is just one of these situations. Always keep this rule
in mind, as you will see it throughout this lesson, and throughout your studies.
Verbs
Present Tense
You learned in Lesson 5 how to conjugate verbs to the present tense by adding ㄴ/는다 to
the stem of the word. To review:
먹다 = to eat (not conjugated)
나는 먹는다 = I eat (conjugated – present tense)
배우다 = to learn (not conjugated)
나는 배운다 = I learn (conjugated – present tense)
There are three more conjugations in the present tense that you should know:
1) Informal low respect
All you need to do is add ~어/아/여 to the stem of the verb:
나는 항상 저녁에 음식을 먹어 = I always eat food in the evening (먹 + 어)
 75

나는 나의 선생님을 항상 봐 = I always see my teacher (보 + 아)

나는 항상 아침에 운동해 = I always exercise in the morning (운동하 + 여)

In Lesson 1, you were introduced to the function of ~에 as a particle which identifies a

location or a time in which something occurs in a sentence. Since then, you have seen
many cases of ~에 being used to indicate a place, but you have yet to see any examples
of it being used to indicate a time. This is just a quick reminder that ~에 is (in addition to
other things) attached to the part of sentence to indicate a time.

Also notice in the examples above that “항상” (always) is placed in two different places
within a sentence. Adverbs are usually able to be placed wherever the speaker desires.
The usage and placement of adverbs is discussed in Lesson 8

2) Informal high respect

This is done the exact same way as ‘Informal low respect’ but you also add ‘~요’ to the
end of the word. Adding ~요 to the end of anything in Korean makes it more respectful:
저는 항상 저녁에 음식을 먹어요 = I always eat food in the evening (먹 + 어요)
저는 저의 선생님을 항상 봐요 = I always see my teacher (보 + 아요)
저는 항상 아침에 운동해요 = I always exercise in the morning (운동하 + 여요)
3) Formal high respect
This is done very similar to the conjugation you learned in Lesson 5 – that is, adding ~ㄴ/
는다 to the stem of the word. To conjugate using the Formal high respect honorific
ending, you add ~ㅂ니다/습니다 to the end of the word stem. If a word stem ends in a
vowel, you add ~ㅂ to the last syllable and 니다 follows. If a word stem ends in a
consonant, you add ~습니다 to the word stem.
저는 항상 저녁에 음식을 먹습니다 = I always eat food in the evening (먹 + 습니다)
저는 저의 선생님을 항상 봅니다 = I always see my teacher (보 + ㅂ니다)
저는 항상 아침에 운동합니다 = I always exercise in the morning (운동하 + ㅂ니다)
Past Tense
You learned in Lesson 5 how to conjugate verbs to the past tense by adding 었다/았다/였다
to the stem of the word. To review:
먹다 = to eat (not conjugated)
나는 먹었다 = I ate (conjugated – past tense)
배우다 = to learn (not conjugated)
나는 배웠다 = I learned (conjugated – past tense)
The three new conjugations should be very simple for you now:
1) Informal low respect
Instead of adding 었다/았다/였다 to a stem, remove 다 and add 어 after 었/았/였:
 76

나는 먹었어 = I ate (먹 + 었어)

나는 들어봤어 = I listened (들어보 + 았어)
나는 운동했어 = I exercised (운동하 + 였어)
2) Informal high respect
Just add 요 to the end of the Informal low respect conjugations:
저는 먹었어요 = I ate (먹 + 었어요)
저는 들어봤어요 = I listened (들어보 + 았어요)
저는 운동했어요 = I exercised (운동하 + 였어요)
3) Formal high respect
After adding 었/았/였 instead of adding 다 add 습니다:
저는 먹었습니다 = I ate (먹 + 었습니다)
저는 들어봤습니다 = I listened (들어보 + 았습니다)
저는 운동했습니다 = I exercised (운동하 + 였습니다)
Future Tense
You learned in Lesson 5 how to conjugate verbs to the future tense by adding 겠다 to the
stem of the word. To review:
먹다 = to eat (not conjugated)
나는 먹겠다 = I will eat (conjugated – future tense)
배우다 = to learn (not conjugated)
나는 배우겠다 = I will learn (conjugated – future tense)
The three new conjugations should be very simple for you now:
1) Informal low respect
Instead of adding 겠다 to a word stem, remove 다 and add 어 after 겠:
나는 먹겠어 = I will eat (먹 + 겠어)
나는 배우겠어 = I will learn (배우 + 겠어)
2) Informal high respect
Just add 요 to the end of the Informal low respect conjugations:
저는 먹겠어요 = I will eat (먹 + 겠어요)
저는 배우겠어요 = I will learn (배우 + 겠어요)

3) Formal high respect

After 겠 instead of adding 다 add 습니다:
저는 먹겠습니다 = I will eat (먹 + 겠습니다)
저는 배우겠습니다 = I will learn (배우 + 겠습니다)
Lets try looking at all the verb conjugations you know together in one table. This table
will include the conjugation you learned in Lesson 5, often called “Formal low respect,”
“plain form,” or “diary form.”
먹다 Past Prese Future
nt
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Infor 먹었어 먹어 먹겠어

mal
low

Infor 먹었어요 먹어요 먹겠어요

mal
high

Plain 먹었다 먹는다 먹겠다

form

Forma 먹었습니 먹습니 먹겠습니

l high 다 다 다

자다 Past Present Future

Informal 잤어 자 자겠어
low

Informal 잤어요 자요 자겠어요

high

Plain 잤다 잔다 자겠다
form

Formal 잤습니다 잡니다 자겠습니다

high

이해하 Past Present Future

다
Inform 이해했어 이해해 이해하겠어
al low

Inform 이해했어요 이해해요 이해하겠어요

al high

Plain 이해했다 이해한다 이해하겠다

form

Formal 이해했습니 이해합니 이해하겠습니

high 다 다 다
Adjectives
Thankfully, adjectives are conjugated the exact same way as verbs are when doing to
with these three honorific endings. The major difference in conjugating adjectives and
verbs is when conjugating in the most basic form (which we did inLesson 5). To conjugate
adjectives with ‘Informal low respect,’ Informal high respect’ and Formal high respect,’
follow the same rules as verbs:
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비싸다 Past Prese Future

nt

Infor 비쌌어 비싸 비싸겠어

mal
low

Infor 비쌌어요 비싸요 비싸겠어요

mal
high

Plain 비쌌다 비싸다 비싸겠다

form

Forma 비쌌습니 비쌉니 비싸겠습니

l high 다 다 다

길다 Past Prese Future

nt

Infor 길었어 길어 길겠어

mal
low

Infor 길었어요 길어요 길겠어요

mal
high

Plain 길었다 길다 길겠다

form

Forma 길었습니 깁니다 길겠습니

l high 다 * 다
*Irregular conjugation. You will learn about irregulars in the next lesson.
착하다 Past Presen Future
t

Inform 착했어 착해 착하겠어

al low

Inform 착했어요 착해요 착하겠어요

al
high

Plain 착했다 착하다 착하겠다

form
 79

Forma 착했습니 착합니다 착하겠습니다

l high 다
7
Nouns:
눈썹 = eyebrow
Common Usages:
속눈썹 = eyelashes
Example: 그 사람의 눈썹은 짙어요 = That person’s eyebrows are thick
교사 = teacher
Notes: 교사 refers more to the position of a teacher. You would usually refer to a teacher by calling him/her “선생님.”
However, if you wanted to tell somebody what your position was, you could use 교사 (선생님 would also work here as
well)
Example: 저는 영어교사예요 = I am an English teacher
반 = class of students in school
Common Usages:
우리 반 = our class
2 학년 3 반 = class 2-3
반장 = class president
Example:
몇 반이에요? = What class are you in?
직장 = location of work
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “직짱”
Notes: In English, we say “work” to refer to what is being done and where it is being done. For example “I am doing work
at work.” 직장 refers to the location in which you work.
Example: 그는 직장에서 일찍 퇴근했어요 = He left work early
벽 = wall
Common Usages:
벽지 = wallpaper
절벽 = cliff
벽에 기대다 = to lean against a wall
Examples:
저는 사진을 벽에 걸었어요 = I hung a picture on a wall
그림은 벽에 걸려 있어요 = The picture is hanging on the wall
털 = hair (not on head), fur
Common Usages:
코털 = nose hair
깃털 = feathers
Notes: In English, we say “hair” for all of the hair on our body. However, in Korean, 털 is used to refer to any hair that is
not on your head. It is also used to refer to the fur of an animal.
Example:
저는 팔에 털이 많아요 = I have a lot of hair on my arms
 80

머리카락 = hair (on head)

Example:
그 여자의 머리카락은 길어요 = That girl’s hair is long
저녁 = dinner, evening
Notes:
The word “저녁” can refer to the evening time, or the meal that is eaten at that time (dinner). To distinguish between
them, 저녁식사 (dinner) and 저녁시간 (the evening) can also be used.
Examples:
저녁으로 뭐 먹었어요? = What did you eat for dinner?
엄마가 온 후에 저는 저녁식사를 먹을 거예요 = After mom comes home, I will eat dinner
요리사들은 저녁을 부엌에서 준비했어요 = The chefs prepared the dinner in the kitchen
저는 저녁에 공부했어요 = I studied in the evening
저는 일요일에 저녁을 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat dinner on Sunday
점심 = lunch, noonish
Notes:
The word “점심” can refer to the time around noon, or the meal that is eaten at that time (lunch). To distinguish
between them, 점심식사 (lunch) and 점심시간 (noonish) can also be used.
Examples:
점심으로 뭐 먹고 싶어요? = What do you want to eat for lunch?
저는 보통 점심식사로 과일만 먹어요 = I usually only eat fruit for lunch
점심은 어땠어요? = How was lunch?
점심을 먹었어? = Did you eat lunch?
오빠는 바닥에 앉아서 점심을 먹었어요 = My brother ate lunch sitting on the floor
옷 = clothes
Common Usages:
옷을 입다 = to put on clothes
옷을 벗다 = to take off clothes
옷을 벗기다 = to take clothes off of another person
옷을 갈아입다 = to change clothes
비옷 = rain clothes
겉옷 = some kind of outer clothing
Notes: One way and one form of telling somebody to put on clothes is to say “옷 입어.” This sounds like “온 이버”
Examples:
저는 저의 옷을 벗었어요 = I took off my clothes
저는 자주 옷을 충동적으로 사요 = I often buy clothes impulsively
저는 따뜻한 옷을 입고 싶어요 = I want to wear (put on) warm clothes
옷을 갈아입으러 탈의실에 갔어요 = He went to the change-room to change his clothes
여행할 때 옷을 많이 챙길 필요가 없어요 = I/you don’t need to pack a lot of clothes when you travel
우리가 똑같은 옷을 입고 있어요 = We are wearing exactly the same clothes
Verbs:
Conjugate 찾다 = to search for, find
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The pronunciation of this word is closer to “찯따”

Notes: In English, the words “looking for/searching” and “find” have a similar meaning but are used differently. We use
“find” after something is found. However, before something is found we use “look for/search.” In Korean, the 찾다 is
used for both of these usages. This confusion often leads Korean people to incorrectly say things like “I am finding my
brother.”
Examples:
저는 저의 지갑을 찾고 있어요 = I am looking for my wallet
누군가(는) 너를 찾고 있어 = Somebody is looking for you
저는 그 사실을 백과사전에 찾았어요 = I looked up that fact in an encyclopedia
우리 회사는 새로운 회사원을 찾고 있어요 = Our company is looking for new workers
Conjugate 가르치다 = to teach
Common Usages:
수업을 가르치다 = to teach a class
학생을 가르치다 = to teach a student
Examples:
저는 고등학교에서 10 년 동안 영어를 가르쳤어요 = I taught English at a high school for 10 years
저는 학생들한테 한국어를 가르쳤어요 = I taught Korean to the students
어제 학생들한테 뭐 가르쳤어요? = What did you teach the students yesterday?
저는 선생님이 그것을 언제 가르쳤는지 기억 안 나요 = I don’t remember when the teacher taught that
선생님은 우리를 너무 잘 가르치셨어 = Our teacher taught us really well
이것을 가르쳐 줘서 감사합니다 = Thanks for teaching that to me
그 선생님은 한국어를 저에게 가르쳐 줬어요 = That teacher taught me Korean
Conjugate 일하다 = to work
Notes:
The noun form of 일하다 (일) literally means “work” (as in, something you need to do). However, it is often used to
refer to a task or anything that needs to be done. For example:
저는 내일 할 일이 있어요 = I have something I need to do tomorrow
Examples:
저는 그 회사에서 일해요 = I work at/for that company
저는 지난 월요일에 일했어요 = I worked last Monday
저는 2 주 동안 열심히 일했어요 = I worked hard for 2 weeks
저는 그 회사에서 5 월까지 일할 거예요 = I will work at that company until May
저는 회사를 위해 열심히 일할 거예요 = I will work hard for the company
아버지는 지금 일하고 있어요 = Dad is working now
그 사람은 10 년 동안 열심히 일하고 부자가 되었어요 = That person worked hard for 10 years and then
became a rich person
Conjugate 짓다 = to build
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “짇따”
짓다 follows the ㅅ irregular
Common Usages:
집을 짓다 = to build a house
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Examples:
그 집을 언제 지었어요? = When did you build that house?
저는 집을 지었어요 = I built a house
저는 우리 집을 나무로 지었어요 = I built our house out of wood
Conjugate 가지다 = to own, to possess
Common Usages:
가지고 있다 = to have
Notes: When you use “있다” to indicate that you have something, you must put the particle ~이/가 on the object you
have. For example: 저는 펜이 있어요
However, you can attach ~을/을 to that object if you use ~가지고 있다.
갖다 is a shortened version of this word. See Lesson 97 for more information.
Example:
저는 펜을 가지고 있어요 = I have a pen
Conjugate 잠그다 = to lock
잠그다 follows the ㅡ irregular
Common Usages:
수도꼭지를 잠그다 = to turn the water (from a tap) off
Example:
저는 문을 잠갔어요 = I locked the door
아버지는 창문을 잠갔어요 = Dad locked the window
Conjugate 잊다 = to forget
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “읻따”
Common Usages:
잊어버리다 = to forget
Notes: ~아/어버리다 is added to some verbs to express the emotion that something was done and “thrown away” at
the same time. It is commonly attached to 잊다 to express that something was “forgotten and thrown away.”
Example:
저를 잊지 마세요! = Don’t forget me!
저는 아빠의 죽음을 잊지 않았어요 = I didn’t forget the death of my father
열쇠를 어디 둔지 잊어버렸어요 = I forget where I put my keys
Conjugate 돕다 = to help
돕다 is an irregular ㅂ irregular. ㅂ changes to 오 when ~아/어 is added. However, ㅂ changes to 우 when any
other vowel is added.
Common usages:
도와주다 = to give help
Notes: ~아/어주다 is commonly added to this word, because usually when one helps somebody, it is a form of “giving”
Example:
도와주세요! = help me please!
Conjugate 주다 = to give
When giving something to a person who deserves respect, 드리다 is used.
 83

Notes: Often conjugated in the imperative voice (for example, ~세요) to ask for something. For example:
밥을 많이 주세요 = Give me lots of rice
Often gets placed after a verb if somebody does an action for somebody. For example:
이것을 만들어 주세요 = Please, make this for me
See Lesson 41 for more information.
Examples:
그 그릇을 주세요 = Give me that bowl, please
밥을 사 주세요 = Buy me food, please
어머님은 너에게 돈을 줬어? = Did your mother give you money?
저는 저의 친구에게 돈을 줬어요 = I gave my friend money
아빠는 나에게 음식을 줬어 = Dad gave me food
그 선생님은 한국어를 저에게 가르쳐 줬어요 = That teacher taught me Korean
Conjugate 맞다 = to be correct
Common Usages:
입맛에 맞다 = to fit one’s taste in food
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “맏따”
Notes: In every way, 맞다 looks, feels and sounds like an adjective. However, in Korean 맞다 is a verb. In most cases this
is irrelevant, but keep this in mind when conjugating.
Example:
선생님! 이 거 맞아요? = Teacher! Is this correct?
고객님들은 항상 맞아요 = The customer is (customers are) always right
이 자세 맞아요? = Is this posture right/correct?
그 학설은 맞을 리가 없어요 = That theory cannot be right
Adjectives:
Conjugate 쉽다 = to be easy
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “쉽따”
쉽다 follows the ㅂ irregular
Examples:
그 일은 너무 쉬웠어요 = that task was very easy
저는 쉬운 일을 했어요 = I did easy work
누구나 그 쉬운 일을 잘 해요 = Anybody can do that easy job well
Conjugate 덥다 = to be hot
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “덥따”
덥다 follows this ㅂ irregular
Common Usages:
날씨가 덥다 = the weather is hot
Notes: 덥다 is only used to talk about the weather or one’s body, not the temperature of objects.
Examples:
오늘 날씨가 너무 더워요 = Today the weather is too hot
오늘은 어제보다 더 더워 = Today is hotter than yesterday
너무 더워서 창문을 열었어요 = I opened a window because it is too hot
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Conjugate 그립다 = to miss (a thing)

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “그립따”
그립다 follows this ㅂ irregular
Notes: “보고 싶다” can is used when one misses a person.
In English “to miss” is a verb. 그립다 is an adjective in Korean that describes the feeling that is felt when one misses
something. It is more commonly used when one misses a non-person. As an adjective, it must get treated as one.
Therefore, in order to say that one misses something, it is commonly used in the Subject – Object – Adjective form that is
taught in Lesson 15.
Example:
저는 우리 학교가 그리워요 = I miss our school
저는 한국 음식이 그리워요 = I miss Korean food
Conjugate 귀엽다 = to be cute
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “귀엽따”
귀엽다 follows this ㅂ irregular
Common Usages:
귀여운 여자 = cute girl
Examples:
저의 여자 친구는 너무 귀여워요 = My girlfriend is very cute
그 여자는 귀여워요 That girl is cute
저는 귀여운 여자를 좋아해요 = I like cute girls
그 강아지의 꼬리는 아주 귀여워요 = That puppy’s tail is very cute
Conjugate 춥다 = to be cold
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “춥따”
춥다 follows this ㅂ irregular
Common Usages:
날씨가 춥다 = the weather is cold
Notes:
춥다 is only used to talk about the weather or one’s body, not the temperature of objects.
Examples:
캐나다는 겨울이 추운 나라예요 = Canada is a cold country in the winter
날씨는 주말에 추워졌어요 = The weather got cold over the weekend
너무 추워서 저는 겨울이 싫어요 = I don’t like winter because it is too cold
현재 날씨는 평소보다 조금 추워요 = The present/recent weather is colder than normal
요즘에 날씨가 점점 추워져요 = Lately, the weather is getting gradually colder
날씨가 추워서 따뜻한 옷을 입었어요 = The weather is cold, so I put on warm clothes
Conjugate 어렵다 = to be difficult
어렵다 follows the ㅂ irregular
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “어렵따”
Common Usages:
어려운 문제 = difficult problem
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Examples:
수학은 너무 어려워요 = Math is too difficult
한국에서 대학교는 고등학교보다 덜 어려워요 = In Korea, University is not as hard as high school
저는 어려운 내용을 천천히 설명했어요 = I explained the difficult content slowly
부장님을 만족시키는 것은 어려워요 = Is it is difficult to satisfy our boss
고등학교는 한국에서 어려워요 = High school is difficult in Korea
Conjugate 더럽다 = to be dirty
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “더럽따”
더럽다 follows the ㅂ irregular
Example:
우리 집은 지금 매우 더러워요 = Our house is really dirty right now
쥐는 너무 더러워요 = Rats are very dirty
Conjugate 바쁘다 = to be busy
바쁘다 follows the ㅡ irregular
Example:
제가 너무 바빠서 내일 못 가요 = I can’t go tomorrow because I am so busy
저는 어제 너무 바빴어요 = I was very/too busy yesterday
Conjugate 같다 = to be the same
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “갇따”
Common Usages:
~ㄹ 것 같다 grammatical principle (Introduced in Lesson 35)
똑같다 (exactly the same)
Notes: See Lesson 15 for more information
Example:
저는 같은 바지가 있어요 = I have the same pants
캐나다 사람들은 한국 사람들과 같아요 = Canadian people are the same as Korean people
이 학교는 우리 학교와 같아요 = This school and our school are the same
저 식당은 이 식당과 같아요 = That restaurant is the same as this one
우리 아빠는 저것을 싫어할 것 같아요 = Dad will probably not like that
선생님이 그 수업을 하지 않을 것 같아요 = The teacher probably won’t (teach) that lesson
Conjugate 안전하다 = to be safe
Examples:
이 직업은 안전해서 좋아요 = This job is good because it is safe
저는 거리를 안전하게 건넜어요 = I crossed the street safely
우리 아버지는 차를 항상 안전하게 운전해요= Our dad always drives his car safely
Conjugate 딱딱하다 = to be hard, to be rigid
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “딱따카다”
Example:
이 빵은 너무 딱딱해요 = This bread is too hard
다이아몬드는 딱딱하다 = Diamonds are hard
Conjugate 부드럽다 = to be soft
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The pronunciation of this word is closer to “부드럽따”

부드럽다 follows the ㅂ irregular
Example:
그녀의 손은 부드러워요 = Her hands are very sof
그 여자의 피부가 너무 부드러워요 = That girl’s skin is very smooth/sof
손이 부드럽지 않아서 로션을 발랐어요 = I put lotion on my hands because they weren’t sof
Conjugate 가능하다 = to be possible
Example:
그것이 가능하다고 생각해요? = Do you think that is possible?
Conjugate 불가능하다 = to be impossible
Example:
그것을 움직이는 것이 불가능해요 = It is impossible to move that
Adverbs:
일찍 = early
Notes: 일찍 is an adverb. The opposite of “early” is typically 늦다 which is an adjective. 늦게 can be used as the
adverb to have the meaning of “late.” For example:
우리는 일찍 도착했어요 = We arrived early
우리는 늦게 도착했어요 = We arrived late (it would be awkward to say “lately” in English)
Examples:
우리는 내일 일찍 일어나야 돼요 = We need to wake up early tomorrow morning
왜 이렇게 일찍 가요? = Why are you going so early (like this)?
제가 일찍 가도 돼요? = May I go early?
저는 아침에 일찍 일어났어요 = I woke up early in the morning
그는 직장에서 일찍 퇴근했어요 = He left work early
밖에 일찍 나가려고 숙제를 빨리 했어요 = I did my homework fast in order to go out early
오전 = morning
Notes: This generally refers to any time before noon, but to refer to specifically refer to something early in the morning
“새벽” can be used. “아침” refers to the time from breakfast until around noon.
Example:
저는 내일 오전에 교회에 가야 돼요 = I have to go to church tomorrow in the morning
오후 = afternoon
Notes: To refer to a time later than 5:00 or so “밤” or “저녁” would more commonly be used
Example:
오후에 뭐 할 거예요? = What are you doing in the afernoon?
저는 오늘 오후에 낮잠을 잤어요 = I took a nap in the afernoon today
매일 = everyday
Examples:
저는 매일 운동하겠습니다 = I will exercise everyday
저는 매일 운동해요 = I exercise everyday
매일 같은 운동을 하지 말고 많이 쉬세요 = Don’t do the same exercise every day, and get lots of rest
그 남자는 매일 까만색 옷을 입어요 = That man wears black clothes everyday
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저는 공휴일을 빼고 매일 일해요 = I work every day except for public holidays

저의 엄마는 매일 운동해요 = My mother exercises every day
여름 = summer
Common Usages:
여름 방학 = summer vacation
Notes: For more information, words and sentences about seasons check out our Weather Theme Lesson.
Examples:
이번 여름은 너무 더워요 = This summer is too hot
여름에 저는 공부하겠어요 = I will study in the summer
가을 = fall
Example:
가을이 시원해서 좋아요 = Fall is nice because it is cool
가을에 잎의 색깔은 변해요 = The color of the leaves changes in the fall
Play 겨울 = winter
Common Usages:
겨울 방학 = winter vacation
겨울잠 = hibernation
Example:
너무 추워서 저는 겨울이 싫어요 = I don’t like winter because it is too cold
캐나다는 겨울이 추운 나라예요 = Canada is a country of/with cold winters

겨울에 한국 사람들이 문을 왜 안 닫는지 이해가 안 돼요

= I don’t understand why Korean people don’t close the door in the winter

피부가 너무 약해서 겨울에도 로션을 발라야 돼요

= I even need to out on lotion in the winter because my skin is weak
봄 = spring
Example:
나무는 봄에 예뻐요 = The trees are pretty in spring
한국에는 황사가 중국에서 봄마다 와요 = Yellow dust comes to Korea ever spring from China
봄에는 꽃가루 알레르기를 조심해 야 해요 = You need to be careful about pollen allergies in the spring

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 Memrise tool.

Irregulars
As with all languages, there are some irregular conjugations that you need to know. Irregulars are applied to certain
verbs or adjectives when adding something to the stem of the word. Korean grammar is based on these “additions” that
are added to stems. I mentioned this in Lesson 5, but I want to reiterate it here.
There are hundreds of additions that you can add to the stem of a verb or adjective. Some of these additions are
conjugations and some of them are grammatical principles that have meaning in a sentence.
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You have learned about some of these additions now. For example:
 ~ㄴ/는다 to conjugate to the plain form
 ~아/어 to conjugate to the informal low respect form
 ~아/어요 to conjugate to the informal high respect form
 ~ㅂ/습니다 to conjugate to the formal high respect form
 ~았/었어 to conjugate to the informal low respect form in the past tense
 ~ㄴ/은 added to an adjective to describe an upcoming noun
In future lessons, you will learn about many more of these additions. For example, some of them are:
 ~ㄴ/은 후에 to mean “after”
 ~기 전에 to mean “before”
 ~기 때문에 to mean “because”
 ~아/어서 to mean “because”
 ~(으)면 to mean “when”
 ~아/어야 하다 to mean “one must”
 ~아/어서는 안 되다 to mean “one should not”
Notice that some of these additions start with a vowel, and some of them start with a consonant. Most of the irregulars
are applied when adding a vowel to a stem. The ㄹ irregular that is introduced at the end of the lesson is the only
irregular that applies when adding a consonant to a stem.
Let’s look at one example before I introduce each irregular one by one. Let’s say we want to conjugate the word “어렵
다” into the past tense using the informal low respect form. The following would happen:
어렵다 + ~았/었어 = 어려웠어
Here, you can see that the actual stem of the word changed. This is referred to as the “ㅂ irregular” because the same
phenomenon happens with many (but not all) words whose stem ends in “ㅂ”.
As I mentioned previously, most of these irregulars are applied when adding a vowel to a stem. There are many
additions that start with a vowel, and you got a start on learning some of those conjugations in Lessons 5 and6:
 ~아/어
 ~아/어요
 ~았/었어
 ~았/었어요
 ~았/었습니다
 ~았/었다
As such, this lesson will present the Korean irregulars and how they change as a result of adding these conjugations. In
later lessons when you learn about other additions, you can apply what you learned in this lesson to those concepts. For
now, let’s get started.
ㅅ Irregular
If the last letter of a word stem ends in ㅅ (for example: 짓다 = to build), the ㅅ gets removed when adding a vowel.
For example, when conjugating:
짓다 = to make/build
짓 + 어 = 지어
나는 집을 지어 = I build a house
짓 + 었어요 = 지었어요
저는 집을 지었어요 = I built a house
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Notice that this only happens when adding a vowel. When conjugating to the plain form, for example, you only add “~는
다” to a stem and thus ㅅ does not get removed. For example:
집을 짓는다 = to build a house
The reason this irregular is done is to avoid changing the sound of a word completely after conjugating it.
Pronouncing 짓다 sounds like ‘jit-da.’
Pronouncing 지어 sounds like ‘ji-uh’
Pronouncing 짓어 sounds like ‘jis-suh’
The third one (which is incorrect) completely changes the sound of the word stem when a vowel is added (from ‘jit’ to
‘jis.’ Whereas in the second one, the sound of the word stem only changes from ‘jit’ to ‘ji,’ which is much smaller of a
difference (especially considering the ‘t’ in the pronunciation of 짓 is not aspirated – which makes it barely audible). I
know that is confusing, but if you can’t understand why it is done, that’s fine. Just know that it must be done.
Some other examples of words that follow this irregular are (these words are too difficult for you right now, but I’m just
showing you):
낫다 = better (adjective) – You will learn more about this word in Lesson 19
잇다 = to continue (verb)
Common words that this does not apply to are:
웃다 (to laugh) = 저는 웃었어요 = I laughed
벗다 (to take off clothes) = 저는 저의 옷을 벗었어요 = I took off my clothes
씻다 (to wash) = 저는 저의 손을 씻었어요 = I washed my hands
Here is a table with the word “짓다 (to build)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far.
The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어
요) is added to the verb stem.
짓다 = build Past Present Future
Informal low 지었어 지어 짓겠어
Informal high 지었어요 지어요 짓겠어요
Plain form 지었다 짓는다 짓겠다
Formal high 지었습니다 짓습니다 짓겠습니다

Note that when a word stem has ㅅ as the fourth consonant, this irregular does not apply. For example, this does not
apply to 없다, which you will learn about in the next lesson.

ㄷ irregular
If the last letter of a word stem ends in ㄷ (for example: 걷다 = to walk), the ㄷ gets changed to ㄹ when adding a
vowel. This is only done with verbs. For example:
걷다 = to walk
걷 + 어 = 걸어
저는 걸어요 = I walk
걷 + 었어요 = 걸었어요
저는 걸었어요 = I walked
I don’t mean to confuse you, but I will:
걷다 means “to walk.” When conjugating, by adding a vowel it changes to 걸어
Another meaning of 걷다 is “to tuck.” But this meaning of 걷다 does not follow the irregular rule. So, when
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conjugating, by adding a vowel is simply stays as 걷어.

걸다 means “to hang.” When conjugating, by adding a vowel it stays as 걸어
Confusing enough? Let’s look at all three:
걷다 걷다 걸다
To walk To tuck To hang
Past Formal 걸었어요 걷었어요 걸었어요
Present Formal 걸어요 걷어요 걸어요
Future Formal 걷겠어요 걷겠어요 걸겠어요
Honestly, though, the whole 걷다/걷다/걸다 thing is probably the most confusing part of this conjugation, and don’t
worry too much about it. “Walk” is a word that is used much more frequently than “tuck,” so it is not something that
comes up a lot.
The reason this conjugation is done is simply because the sounds flows off your tongue better. It is similar to pronouncing
the word “butter” in English. When pronouncing “butter” we don’t say “butt-tter,” we just say “bud-er.” Like the ㄷ
irregular, it is simply to avoid saying a hard consonant.
This is done to most stems ending in ㄷ, common words that this does not apply to (like 걷다 = to tuck) are:
받다 (to get/receive) = 돈을 받았어요 = I received money
묻다 = 묻어요 (to bury) = 저는 저의 강아지를 묻었어요 = I buried my dog
닫다 = 닫아요 (to close) = 저는 문을 닫았어요 = I closed the door
Here is a table with the word “걷다 (to walk)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far.
The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어
요) is added to the verb stem.
걷다 = walk Past Present Future
Informal low 걸었어 걸어 걷겠어
Informal high 걸었어요 걸어요 걷겠어요
Plain form 걸었다 걷는다 걷겠다
Formal high 걸었습니다 걷습니다 걷겠습니다
ㅂ Irregular
If the last letter of a word stem ends in ㅂ (쉽다 = easy), the ㅂ changes to 우 when adding a vowel. 우 then gets
added to the next syllable in the conjugated word.
This is mostly done with adjectives. Many verbs end with ㅂ but this rule is rarely applied to verbs (some of the few
verbs where this rule applies are: 줍다 (to pick up), 눕다 (to lie down)). For example:
쉽다 = to be easy
쉽 + 어 = 쉬 + 우 + 어 = 쉬워
그것은 쉬워 = That is easy
어렵다 = to be difficult
어렵 + 어요 = 어려 + 우 + 어요 = 어려워요
그것은 어려워요 = That is difficult
귀엽다 = cute
귀엽 + 어요 = 귀여 + 우 + 어요 = 귀여워요
그 여자는 귀여워요 = That girl is cute
In the words “돕다” (to help) and “곱다” (an uncommon way to say “beautiful”) ㅂ changes to 오 instead of 우. For
example:
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돕다 = to help
돕 + 았어요 = 도 + 오 + 았어요 = 도왔어요
저는 저의 어머니를 도왔어요 = I helped my mother

Note: The ㅂ in 돕다 and 곱다 changes to 오 only when ~아/어 (or any derivative like ~았/었다 or ~아/어요) is
added. When adding any other vowel, ㅂ changes to 우. As of now, you haven’t learned when you would need to add a
different vowel. For example, in future lessons you will learn about adding ~ㄹ/을 to verbs. When this gets added to 돕
다, it changes to 도울. This isn’t immediately pressing to you now, but you should make a mental note of it.

Because the ㅂ irregular is found in adjectives, you will be conjugating it not only at the end of a sentence, but also in
the middle of a sentence (before a noun). Remember the difference between these two sentences.
사과는 크다 = Apples are big
나는 큰 사과를 좋아한다 = I like big apples
In the first sentence, ‘big’ is an adjective that describes the noun (apple) at the end of the sentence.
In the second, ‘big’ describes the apple (as ‘a big apple’) and then “like” acts on the noun. In Lesson 4, you learned how
to describe a noun by placing an adjective with ~ㄴ/은 before it. Adding ~ㄴ/은 to adjectives where the stem ends in
“ㅂ” causes this irregular to come into .
When placing an adjective (who’s stem ends in “ㅂ”) before a noun to describe it, you add ~ㄴ to the newly formed 우/
오 syllable:
귀엽 + ㄴ = 귀여 + 우 + ㄴ = 귀여운
저는 귀여운 여자를 좋아해요 = I like cute girls
More examples:
쉽다 = easy
쉽 + ㄴ = 쉬 + 우 + ㄴ = 쉬운
저는 쉬운 일을 했어요 = I did easy work
부드럽다 = soft
부드럽 + ㄴ = 부드러 + 우 + ㄴ = 부드러운
나는 부드러운 손이 있어= I have soft hands
춥다 = cold
춥 + ㄴ = 추 + 우 + ㄴ = 추운
저는 추운 날씨를 좋아해요 = I like cold weather
Note that in most irregulars, the word changes differently if the last vowel in the stem is ㅗ OR ㅏ. However, in the ㅂ
irregular, except for 돕다 and 곱다, all applicable words are changed by adding 우. Therefore, even in words where the
last vowel in the stem is ㅏ (ex: 아름답다) or ㅗ (ex: 새롭다), 우 is added. For example:
아름답다 = beautiful:
아름답 + 어요 = 아름다 + 우 + 어요 = 아름다워요
그 여자는 아름다워요 = That girl is beautiful
새롭다 = new
새롭 + 어요 = 새로 + 우 + 어요 = 새로워요
그 학교는 새로워요 = That school is new
그것은 새로운 학교예요 = That (thing) is a new school
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Probably the most confusing of all irregulars, mainly because it seems strange that ㅂ can change to 우/오. The reason
this happens is similar to the ㅅ irregular. As you know already, when pronouncing a syllable with the last letter ㅂ, you
don’t really pronounce the ‘B’ sound. If you don’t know what I mean, check out the Pronunciation guide. But, if you add
a vowel after ㅂ the sound of ‘B’ would be pronounced. The purpose of the irregular is to eliminate the ‘B’ sound which
isn’t actually in the word. Confusing? Yes, I know, but again, you don’t really need to care about why it is done.
This is done to some words ending in ㅂ. Some common words in which this does not apply:
좁다 (narrow) = 이 방은 좁아요 = This room is narrow
잡다 (to catch/grab) = 저는 공을 잡았어요 = I caught the ball
넓다 (wide) 이 방은 넓어요 = This room is wide
(Korean people often describe a room/place being “big” by saying it is “wide”)
Here is a table with the word “춥다 (cold)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The
irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is
added to the verb stem.
춥다 = cold Past Present Future
Informal low 추웠어 추워 춥겠어
Informal high 추웠어요 추워요 춥겠어요
Plain form 추웠다 춥다 춥겠다
Formal high 추웠습니다 춥습니다 춥겠습니다
Adjective form 추운 날씨 = cold weather
ㅡ Irregular
If the final vowel in a stem is ㅡ (for example: 잠그다 = to lock), when adding ~아/어, you can not determine whether
you need to add ~어 or ~아 to the stem by looking at ㅡ. Instead, you must look at the vowel in the second last
syllable. For example, in the word “잠그다”, the second last syllable in the stem is “잠”, and the vowel here is ㅏ.
Therefore, as usual, we add ~아 to 잠그. For example:
잠그다 + ~아/어
= 잠그아
In cases like this where a word ends in “ㅡ” (that is, there is no final consonant after “ㅡ”) and is followed by ~아/어
(or any of its derivatives), the ~아/어~ the “ㅡ” is eliminated and the addition of ~아/어~ merges to the stem. For
example:
잠그다 = to lock
The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. The vowel in the second last syllable is ㅏ, so we add ~아.
For example: 잠그 + 아
Because there is no final consonant after “ㅡ”, ~아 replaces ㅡ.
잠그 + 아 = 잠가
This would be the same in the past tense as well, for example:
잠그 + 았어요 = 잠갔어요
저는 문을 잠갔어요 = I locked the door
Let’s look at another example:
바쁘다 = to be busy
The last vowel in stem is ㅡ. The vowel in the second last syllable is ㅏ, so we add 아.
For example: 바쁘 + 아
Because there is no final consonant after “ㅡ”, ~아 replaces ㅡ.
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바쁘 + 아요 = 바빠요
저는 바빠요 = I am busy
Let’s look at another example:
예쁘다 = pretty
The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. The vowel in the second last syllable is not ㅏ or ㅗ, so we add 어.
For example: 예쁘 + 어
Because there is no final consonant after “ㅡ”, ~어 replaces ㅡ.
예쁘 + 어요 = 예뻐
그 여자는 예뻐요 = That girl is pretty
Some stems only have one syllable. For example, the stem of 크다 is just 크. In this case, we know that we need to use
the ㅡ irregular, but there is no previous syllable to draw on to determine what should be added to the stem. In these
cases, ~어 is added to the stem. For example:
크다 = to be big
The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. 크 is the only syllable in the stem, so we add 어
For example: 크 + 어
Because there is no final consonant after “ㅡ”, ~어 replaces ㅡ
크 + 어요 = 커요
그 집은 커요 = That house is big
This same rule applies when adding ~아/어 to words where, not only is the last vowel in the stem ㅡ, but all the vowels
in the stem are ㅡ. For example, in the word “슬프다,” not only does the stem end in “ㅡ” but the vowel in the second
last syllable is also “ㅡ”. In this case as well, ~어 should merge to the stem. For example:
슬프다 = to be sad
The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. The second last vowel in the stem is also ㅡ, so we add 어
For example: 슬프 + 어
Because there is no final consonant after “ㅡ”, ~어 replaces ㅡ
슬프 + 어요 = 슬퍼요
저는 아주 슬퍼요 = I am very sad
Sometimes the last vowel of a stem is ㅡ, but the stem ends in a consonant. In these cases, all of the above rules still
apply, but the addition of ~아/어 does not merge to the stem (because it is blocked by the consonant). For example:
긁다 = to scratch
The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. 긁 is the only syllable in the stem, so we add 어
For example: 긁 + 어
Because there is a final consonant after “ㅡ”, ~어 does not merge to the stem
긁 + 어요 = 긁어요
저는 머리를 긁었어요 = I scratched my head
Another example where we find a single-syllable word with “ㅡ” as the only vowel is “듣다 (to hear)”
듣다 = to hear
Last vowel in stem is ㅡ. There is no syllable preceding 듣, so we must add 어.
듣 ends in a consonant, so 어 does not get added directly to the syllable.
듣 + 었어요 = 듣었어요
But wait! Don’t forget the ㄷ irregular. In this example, both ㅡ and ㄷ irregulars are used:
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듣 + 었다 = 들었다
저는 쥐를 들었어요 = I heard a mouse
An irregular to this already irregular rule is “만들다 (to make).” Even though the second last syllable in the stem has the
vowel “ㅏ”, ~어~ is added instead of ~아~. For example:
만들다 + ~아/어요
= 만들어요
Here is a table with the word “잠그다 (to lock – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you
have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its
derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
잠그다 = lock Past Present Future
Informal low 잠갔어 잠가 잠그겠어
Informal high 잠갔어요 잠가요 잠그겠어요
Plain form 잠갔다 잠근다 잠그겠다
Formal high 잠갔습니다 잠급니다 잠그겠습니다
And here is a table with the word “예쁘다 (pretty – which is an adjective)” being conjugated using all the honorific
forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one
of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
예쁘다 = Past Present Future
pretty
Informal 예뻤어 예뻐 예쁘겠어
low
Informal 예뻤어요 예뻐요 예쁘겠어요
high
Plain form 예뻤다 예쁘다 예쁘겠다
Formal high예뻤습니다 예쁩니다 예쁘겠습니다

Finally, here is a table with the word “만들다 (to make – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms
you have learned so far.
만들다 = to make Past Present Future
Informal low 만들었어 만들어 만들겠어
Informal high 만들었어요 만들어요 만들겠어요
Plain form 만들었다 만든다 만들겠다
Formal high 만들었습니다 만듭니다 만들겠습니다

You will learn how 만든다 and 만듭니다 are formed later in the lesson when you learn about the ㄹ irregular.

르 Irregular
If the final syllable in a stem is 르 (마르다), it is conjugated differently when adding ~아/어. This irregular only applies
when adding ~아/어(or any of its derivatives) to a stem and not when adding any other grammatical principles that
starts with a vowel or consonant. Up until now, you haven’t learned about any of these other grammatical principles,
that can start with anything other than ~아/어~, so don’t worry about this distinction too much.
When adding ~아/어 to these words, an additional ㄹ is created and placed in the syllable preceding 르 as the last
consonant. The 르 also gets changed to either 러 or 라 (depending on if you are adding 어 or 아). This is done to
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both verbs and adjectives (the only exception is 따르다 = to follow/to pour). This is difficult to explain, and much easier
to show with examples:
다르다 = different
다르 + 아요 = 다 + ㄹ + 라요 = 달라요
그것은 달라요 = That thing is different
빠르다 = to be fast
빠르 + 아요 = 빠 + ㄹ + 라요 = 빨라요
그 남자는 빨라요 = That man is fast
부르다 = to call somebody’s name
부르 + 었어요 = 부 + ㄹ + 렀어요 = 불렀어요
저는 저의 누나를 불렀어요 = I called my sister
Here is a table with the word “고르다 (to choose – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you
have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its
derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
고르다 = Past Present Future
choose
Informal 골랐어 골라 고르겠어
low
Informal 골랐어요 골라요 고르겠어요
high
Plain form 골랐다 고른다 고르겠다
Formal high 골랐습니다 고릅니다 고르겠습니다
And here is a table with the word “마르다 (thin – which is an adjective)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms
you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its
derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
마르다 = Past Present Future
thin
Informal 말랐어 말라 마르겠어
low
Informal 말랐어요 말라요 마르겠어요
high
Plain form 말랐다 마르다 마르겠다
Formal high 말랐습니다 마릅니다 마르겠습니다
Adjective 마른 여자 = thin girl
form
ㄹ Irregular
Okay, last one, I promise.
As you know, there are times when you must choose between two things to add to a stem. For example:
~아/어 means you must choose between adding ~아 or ~어
~ㄴ/은 means you must choose between adding ~ㄴ or ~은
~ㅂ/습 means you must choose between adding ~ㅂ or ~습
~ㄹ/을 means you must choose between adding ~ㄹ or ~을
As you know, you choose the correct addition based on the stem.
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If the final letter of a stem is ㄹ AND you add any of the following:
~ㄴ/은
~ㄴ/는
~ㅂ/습
~ㄹ/을
The first option (~ㄴ/ ~ㅂ / ~ㄹ ) should be used. In addition, the ㄹ is removed from the stem and the ~ㄴ / ~ㅂ / ~
ㄹ is add directly to the stem. Let’s look at each one individually.
ㄹ Irregular: Adding ~ㄴ/은 to words
You have learned about adding ~ㄴ/은 to adjective stems when describing nouns. Usually, you add ~ㄴ directly to the
stem of an adjective ending in a vowel, and ~은 to the stem of an adjective ending in a consonant, for example:
크다 = 큰 남자
작다 = 작은 남자
When adding ~ㄴ/은 to a stem which ends in ㄹ, the ㄹ is removed and ㄴ is added to the stem:
길다 = long
길 +ㄴ =긴
저는 긴 거리를 건넜어요 = I crossed the long street
멀다 = far away
멀 +ㄴ =먼
저는 먼 병원에 갔어요 = I went to a far away hospital (a hospital that is far away)
There will be times when you have to add ~ㄴ/은 to verbs stems as well, but you haven’t learned about this yet. I
introduce this concept in Lesson 26, and then talk about the irregular being applied in Lesson 28. I don’t want you to
think about this too much until those lessons, but just so you know, the concept is the same as adding ~ㄴ/은 to an
adjective. For example:
열다 = to open
열 +ㄴ =연
Although you haven’t learned about adding ~ㄴ/은 to stems, you have learned about adding ~ㄴ/는다 to verb stems.
Normally, you add ~ㄴ다 to the stem of a verb ending in a vowel, and ~는다 to the stem of a verb ending in a
consonant. For example:
나는 집에 간다 = I go home
나는 밥을 먹는다 = I eat rice
But when adding ~ㄴ/는다 to a verb stem that ends in ㄹ, you must remove ㄹ and add ~ㄴ다 to the verb stem:
나는 문을 연다 = I open the door
나는 케이크를 만든다 = I make a cake
ㄹ Irregular: Adding ~ㅂ/습 to words
You have also learned about adding ~ㅂ/습니다 to verb and adjective stems when conjugating in the Formal high
respect form: Normally, you add ~ㅂ니다 to the stem of a word ending in a vowel, and ~습니다 to the stem of a word
ending in a consonant. For example:
Verbs:
저는 집에 갑니다 = I go home
저는 밥을 먹습니다 = I eat rice
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Adjectives:
그 여자는 예쁩니다 = That girl is pretty
이 방은 넓습니다 = This room is big/wide
But when adding ~ㅂ니다 to the stem of a word that ends in ㄹ, you must remove ㄹ and add ~ㅂ directly to the
stem. For example:
Verbs:
저는 문을 엽니다 = I open the door
저는 케이크를 만듭니다 = I make a cake
Adjectives:
그 병원은 멉니다 = That hospital is far
그 여자의 머리카락은 깁니다 = That girls hair is long
머리 can mean ‘head’ or ‘hair’ depending on the context. If you want to specifically mention your hair, you can say “머
리카락” always means the hair on one’s head. 머리 or 머리카락 does not refer to the hair on an animal, or the body
hair of a human. This hair is referred to as “털” and extends to most of the hair that can be found on animals (fur, the
wool on a sheep, etc)
The addition of ~ㅂ/습니다 only affects words that end in ㄹ. There is no irregular that occurs if adding ~ㅂ/습니다 to
any other type of stem. For example, notice how only the stem of 길다 changes as a result of adding this:
Irregular Example Word + ~ㅂ/습니다
ㅅ Irregular 짓다 짓습니다
ㄷ Irregular 걷다 걷습니다
ㅂ Irregular 쉽다 쉽습니다
ㅡ Irregular 예쁘다 예쁩니다
르 Irregular 마르다 마릅니다
ㄹ Irregular 길다 깁니다
Here is a table with the word “열다 (to open – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have
learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~ㄴ or ~ㅂ is added to the verb
stem.
열다 = Past Present Future
open
Informal low 열었어 열어 열겠어
Informal 열었어요 열어요 열겠어요
high
Plain form 열었다 연다 열겠다
Formal high 열었습니다 엽니다 열겠습니다
And here is a table with the word “길다 (long – which is an adjective)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms
you have learned so far. Notice that this only occurs when ~ㄴ or ~ㅂ is added to the verb stem (it would happen when
~ㄴ is added, but you don’t add ~ㄴ/는 to an adjective when you conjugate it like this. There are times, however, when
this would happen, but you haven’t even gotten close to learning about them yet. For example, in Lesson 76, we talk
about the addition of ~ㄴ/는데 to clauses. This would make 길다 turn into 긴데. Please don’t even think about looking
ahead until Lesson 76 until you’ve finished with this lesson, and the 69 lessons in between.
길다 = long Past Present Future
Informal low 길었어 길어 길겠어
Informal high 길었어요 길어요 길겠어요
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Plain form 길었다 길다 길겠다

Formal high 길었습니다 깁니다 길겠습니다
Adjective form 긴 거리 = long road
I don’t want to confuse you too much more because I am sure you are already really confused. Just the amount of
content on this page alone is enough to make somebody cry. That being said, I think it is a very good exercise to try to
compare how the words 듣다 and 들다 differ in their conjugations. Don’t worry about the meaning of 들다 yet (it is a
very complex word that has many meanings), but just assume it is a verb in this case. For now, let’s just focus on how
they are conjugated.
Notice that when conjugating 듣다, you need to consider the following irregular patterns:
 ㄷ irregular (because it ends in ㄷ)
 ㅡ irregular (because the final vowel is ㅡ)
The following table shows how 듣다 should be conjugated across the honorifics and tenses you have learned so
far: (Irregular conjugations are in bold)
듣다 = to
Past Present Future
hear
Informal
들었어 들어 듣겠어
low
Informal
들었어요 들어요 듣겠어요
high
Plain form 들었다 듣는다 듣겠다
Formal high 들었습니다 듣습니다 듣겠습니다
Notice when conjugating 들다, you need to consider the following irregular patterns:
 ㄹ irregular (because it ends in ㄹ)
 ㅡ irregular (because the final vowel is ㅡ)
The following table shows how 들다 should be conjugated across the honorifics and tenses you have learned so
far: (Irregular conjugations are in bold)
들다 Past Present Future

Informal low 들었어 들어 들겠어

Informal high 들었어요 들어요 들겠어요

Plain form 들었다 든다 들겠다

Formal high 들었습니다 듭니다 들겠습니다

I feel that comparing these two is a very good exercise because you can see that sometimes, because of the irregular
conjugations, 듣다 might look exactly like 들다. For example, in all of the past tense conjugations, there is no way to
distinguish between the two based on sound, and the only way to distinguish them is by context in a sentence.
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There is no easy way around memorizing stuff like this. The only words of encouragement I can give you is that – as you
become more and more familiar with the language, and as you expose yourself to it more and more, itdoes become
second nature. I know you can’t believe that now, but it does.
Adding ~ㄴ/은 to Adjectives
I mentioned this in some of the sections above, but I would like to organize it all here. In Lesson 4, you learned how to
add ~ㄴ/은 to adjectives to describe an upcoming noun. Some irregulars will come into when adding doing this
because of the possibility of adding a vowel to a stem. Let’s look at the word “어렵다” as an example. 어렵다 has a
consonant as its final letter, which means that ~은 must be added (instead of ~ㄴ). Therefore, we end up with:
어렵은
Because of this, we now have the final consonant “ㅂ” followed by a vowel, which causes the ㅂ irregular to be
applied. The correct conjugation of 어렵다 + ~ㄴ/은 is therefore “어려운.”
Below is a table that shows how irregular adjectives can change because of adding ~ㄴ/은:
Example Does this
Irregular Application
Word apply?
ㅅ Irregular 낫다 (better) YES 나은
ㄷ Irregular NA NA NA
ㅂ Irregular 쉽다 (easy) YES 쉬운
바쁘다
ㅡ Irregular NO 바쁜
(busy)
빠르다
르 Irregular NO 빠른
(fast)
ㄹ Irregular 길다 (long) YES 긴
Looking Ahead to Grammatical Principles that you will Learn in Future Lessons
There are many additions that you will learn in future lessons. You will learn the meaning and usage of all of these when
they become important for your level of study. When you learn about a new addition in a future lesson, I will explain
how it causes irregular words to change.
The good thing is – if you learn how one format of addition causes irregulars to change, every addition with the same
initial letters will cause the same change. For example, adding ~아/어 causes ㅅ to be eliminated in words that follow
the ㅅ irregular. Likewise, any other addition that starts with ~아/어 causes the same change. For example, if I add ~
아/어 or ~았/었다 to 짓다, we see the same change to the word stem – that is 짓다 changes to 지어 and 지었다
respectively.
This same idea can be applied to grammatical additions that will be introduced in later lessons. For example, in Lesson 43
you will learn how ~(으)면 causes irregular words to change. The change that results from adding ~(으)면 is exactly the
same as the change that results from adding similar additions like ~(으)며 and ~(으)면서. Therefore, you don’t need to
memorize how each one affects irregulars, but rather how the general format of adding ~(으)ㅁ… will affect irregulars. I
know the road ahead to memorizing these new additions and their effects on irregulars looks daunting, but this grouping
of formats will allow your brain to compartmentalize the information.
Each time a new format/style of addition is introduced in my lessons, I will explain how irregulars adapt to it. This only
needs to be done once for each format, because each successive addition with the same format will create the same
change to irregulars. Below is a list of grammatical principles you will learn in future lessons. Each one follows a
particular style. In each of these lessons, I will explain how they cause irregular words to change. Furthermore, I will
explain the other grammatical principles that follow the same format that will create the same change:
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~ㄹ/을 (Lesson 9)
~니 (Lesson 21)
~ㅁ/음 (Lesson 29)
~(으)려고 (Lesson 32)
~(으)시다 (Lesson 39)
~(으)면 (Lesson 43)
~(으)니까 (Lesson 81)
For now, focus on the concepts that were introduced in this lesson. When you reach each of the lessons above, I will
bring up the discussion of irregulars again. At that point, we can talk about how that grammatical principle causes
irregular words to change.
8
Nouns:
기계 = machine
대학교 = college, university
트럭 = truck
검은색 = (the color) black
흰색 = (the color) white
음료수 = beverage, drink
외국 = foreign country
외국인 = foreigner
고등학교 = high school
도서관 = library
Verbs:
Conjugate 놀다 = to play
Conjugate 쓰다 = to use
Conjugate 쓰다 = to write
Conjugate 실수하다 = to make a mistake
Conjugate 수리하다 = to repair
Conjugate 잡다 = to catch, to grab, to grasp
Conjugate 읽다 = to read
Conjugate 내다 = to pay for
Conjugate 받다 = to get, to receive, to acquire
Conjugate 도착하다 = to arrive
Conjugate 여행하다 = to travel
Adjectives:
Conjugate 완벽하다 = to be perfect
Conjugate 아프다 = to be sick, to be sore
Conjugate 똑똑하다 = to be smart
Conjugate 중요하다 = to be important
Conjugate 젊다 = to be young
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Conjugate 늙다 = to be old
Conjugate 나쁘다 = to be bad
Adverbs:
바로 = immediately
즉시 = immediately
빨리 = quickly/fast
자주 = often
가끔 = sometimes
많이 = many/a lot of
방금 = a moment ago
곳 = place
동시에 = same time
밤 = night
어젯밤 = last night
갑자기 = suddenly
매년 = every year
다시 = again
혼자 = alone
낮 = daytime
동 = East
남 = South
서 = West
북 = North
Korean Adverbs
To this point, you have studied Korean verbs and adjectives in great depth, but you have
yet to learn much about Korean adverbs. First of all, what is an adverb? Adverbs are
words in sentences that tell you when, where, or to what degree something is being
done.
When: I went to work on Tuesday
Where: I am inside the house
Degree: I opened the door quickly
In this lesson, you will learn how to use adverbs in Korean sentences. Let’s get started!
When and Where
Anytime you put a word in a sentence that indicates when or where something is taking
place, you must add the particle 에 to the end of that word. Keep in mind, however, that
에 is not the only particle that can go at the end of words of position or time. There are
other particles that can go at the end of these words to indicate from when/where
something occurred, until when/where, etc. For now, though, lets just talk about 에.
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This is very important. Even though all places (park, house, hospital, school, office, room,
kitchen, etc) are also nouns, when they are being talked about as a place, the particle 에
must be attached to them. Notice the difference between the following two sentences:
저는 병원을 지었어요 = I built a hospital
저는 병원에 갔어요 = I went to the/a hospital
In the first sentence, “hospital” is the thing in which you are building – so it is an object,
which requires you to use the 을/를 particle.
In the second sentence, the hospital is the place in which you went to – so it is a place,
which requires it to have the 에 particle.
However, if you wanted to say where you built that hospital, you could say this:
저는 병원을 공원 옆에 지었어요 = I built a hospital beside the park
In addition to this, any word that indicates when something is taking place, needs have
the Korean particle 에 attached to it. For example:
저는 화요일에 가겠어요 = I will go on Tuesday
저는 저녁에 공부했어요 = I studied in the evening
저는 가을에 공원 옆에 병원을 지었어요 = I built a hospital beside the park in the fall
The best part about Korean adverbs is that they can essentially be placed at any place in
the sentence. The only place they cannot be placed is at the end of the sentence –
because a sentence must always end in an adjective or verb. They could even be placed
at the beginning of a sentence:
여름에 저는 공부하겠어요 = I will study in the summer
Korean people don’t add ~에 when using 오늘 (today), 내일 (tomorrow) and 어제
(yesterday):
저는 한국에 오늘 도착했어요 = I arrived in Korea today
저는 도서관에 어제 갔어요 = I went to the library yesterday
저는 내일 한국어를 공부하겠어요 = I will study Korean tomorrow.
To what degree/How much
In addition to “when” and “where” adverbs, many adverbs can tell us to what degree
something is being done. These adverbs usually (but not always) end in ‘ly’ in English:
I ran really quickly
I ate fast
I left immediately
I often meet my friend on Thursday
I eat too much sometimes
When adding these types of adverbs to sentences, no particle needs to be attached.
While other adverbs are generally free to be placed anywhere in a sentence, adverbs like
this that indicate a degree to which something is done are typically placed immediately
before the verb. For example:
저는 저의 친구를 자주 만나요 = I meet my friend often
저는 밥을 많이 먹었어요 = I ate a lot of food (rice)
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저는 집에 바로 갔어요 = I went home immediately

저는 숙제를 빨리 했어요 = I did my homework quickly
Also, many of these words are just transferred from their adjective forms to create an
adverb. This is done in English as well, for example:
Quick -> Quickly
Easy -> Easily
Quiet -> Quietly
A lot of adverbs in Korean are simply made by adding ‘게’ to the stem of an adjective:

Adjective Adverb

쉽다 = easy 쉽게 = easily

비슷하다 = 비슷하게 =
similar similarly

다르다 = 다르게 =
different differently
Adjectives that end in 하다 are sometimes changed into adverbs by changing 하다 to 히.
With most adjectives you can either add 게 to the stem or 히 with no difference in
meaning. The only thing I can suggest is try to listen to which one is said in a specific
situation, because even Korean people don’t know the answer to the question “what is
the difference between 조용하게 and 조용히”:

Adjective Adverb

조용하다 = 조용하게/조용히 =
quiet quietly

안전하다 = 안전하게/안전히 =
safe safely
Finally, some adjectives are changed into adverbs in a different way. When this happens,
they are usually very similar to their original adjective form:

Adjective Adverb

많다 = many 많이 = many/a lot*

빠르다 = quick/fast 빨리 = quickly

*많다/많이 essentially have the same meaning aside from the fact that one is an adverb
and one is an adjective. Most of the time, the difference between the adjective and
adverb form is very clear, but with 많이/많다, the meaning is similar. See the following:
저는 많은 밥을 먹었어요 = I ate a lot of rice
저는 밥을 많이 먹었어요 = I ate a lot of rice.
Now that you know ALL that, using adverbs in sentences is easy as pie!:
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저는 조용하게 먹었어요 = I ate quietly

저는 거리를 안전하게 건넜어요 = I crossed the street safely
저는 행복하게 살았어요 = I lived happily
You can, of course, use more than one adverb in a sentence. To look at the list I showed
you earlier:
저는 매우 빨리 달렸어요 = I ran really quickly
저는 빨리 먹었어요 = I ate fast
저는 바로 떠났어요 = I left immediately
저는 저의 친구를 목요일에 자주 만나요 = I often meet my friend on Thursday
저는 가끔 너무 많이 먹어요 = I eat too much sometimes
Though you can do that, using two adverbs that indicate the ‘degree of something’ is
generally not done in Korean. For example, this would sound awkward:
저는 거리를 쉽게 빨리 건넜어요 = I easily quickly crossed the street (It’s also awkward in
English!)
Negative Sentences
There are two ways you can make a sentence negative:
1. By adding 안, which acts as an adverb in the sentence. 안 is typically placed
immediately before the final verb or adjective. For example:
그 여자는 안 예뻐요 = That girl isn’t pretty
저는 생선을 안 좋아해요 = I don’t like fish
저는 내일 학교에 안 가겠어요 = I’m not going to school tomorrow
2. By adding ~지 않다 to the stem of the final verb or adjective. 않다 then becomes the
verb or adjective in that sentence and must be conjugated accordingly. For example:
그 여자는 예쁘지 않아요 = That girl isn’t pretty
저는 생선을 좋아하지 않아요 = I don’t like fish
저는 내일 학교에 가지 않겠어요 = I’m not going to school tomorrow
Their respective meanings are identical. It is up to the speaker to decide which one will
be used. There are times when it will be more natural to use “안” and there will be times
when it will be more natural to use “~지 않다.” At this point, you can consider them the
same. Throughout your studies you will constantly be exposed to 안 and ~지 않다, and
through this exposure you can gradually develop a preference for which one should be
used and in which circumstance.
I like to share my observations that I have made through my experiences with the Korean
language. I think this can be helpful to learners as they struggle to understand when to
use some grammatical principles over others. There are a few things I would like to talk
about regarding these negative sentences.
As you know, most verbs ending in ~하다 can be turned into a noun-form of that verb by
removing ~하다. For example.
공부하다 = to study
공부 = the noun form of “study”
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실수하다 = to make a mistake

실수 = a mistake
여행하다 = to travel
여행 = a trip
When indicating that one “does not do” a ~하다 verb, it is common to separate ~하다 from
the noun and place “안” in between them. For example:
저는 공부를 안 했어요 = I didn’t study
Instead of:
저는 안 공부했어요
저는 실수를 안 했어요 = I didn’t make (do) a mistake
Instead of:
저는 안 실수했어요
저는 여행을 안 했어요 = I didn’t travel
Instead of:
저는 안 여행했어요
It would also be appropriate to use the ~지 않다 form with these words. However, in these
cases, it doesn’t matter if the noun is separated from ~하다 or not. For example.
저는 공부하지 않았어요 = I didn’t study
저는 공부를 하지 않았어요 = I didn’t study
저는 실수하지 않았어요 = I didn’t make a mistake
저는 실수를 하지 않았어요 = I didn’t make a mistake
저는 여행하지 않았어요 = I didn’t travel
저는 여행을 하지 않았어요 = I didn’t travel
Many adjectives end in ~하다. It is unnatural to remove the ~하다 in these words and place
“안” between them. You can’t separate an adjective and “act” on it with ~하다 because
they are adjectives. For example, the following would be incorrect:
저는 행복을 안 해요 (This does not mean “I am not happy”)
However, you could use ~지 않다 on a -하다 adjective or place “안” before the verb
without separating it. For example:
저는 안 행복해요 = I am not happy
저는 행복하지 않아요 = I am not happy
I have had people ask me about the word order of sentences using an adverb and the
negative adverb “안”. One learner asked me if this sentence would be okay:
저는 빨리 안 공부했어요
While it might be understood, this sentence sounds very awkward in Korean. The reason
is probably due to the fact that there are two adverbs being used. In this sentence, both
“빨리” and “안” act as adverbs that indicate the degree to which the studying was done.
As I mentioned earlier, this usually isn’t done in Korean. Instead, if you wanted to express
that meaning, you can use the ~지않다 negative addition instead. By doing this, you
effectively remove one of the adverbs and are left with:
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저는 빨리 공부하지 않았어요 = I didn’t study quickly

Even still, though. This sentence could still be a little awkward in Korean – because when
would you ever say “I didn’t study quickly”? In most cases, it would be more natural to
simply use an adverb that has the opposite meaning. For example, this sentence:
저는 밥을 빨리 먹지 않았어요 = I didn’t eat (rice) quickly
Would be more naturally said as:
저는 밥을 천천히 먹었어요= I ate rice slowly
To not be: 아니다
아니다 (to not be) is the opposite of the word 이다 (to be), but they are used a little bit
differently. Remember that 이다 is always attached directly to a noun. For example:
나는 선생님이다 = I am a teacher
나는 대학생이다 = I am a university student
However, when using 아니다, the particle ~이/가 is attached to the noun, and 아니다 is used
as a separate word:
나는 선생님이 아니다 = I am not a teacher
나는 대학생이 아니다 = I am not a university student
Below are some examples, with possible conjugations of 아니다. You have learned how to
conjugate verbs and adjectives, but you still haven’t learned how to conjugate 이다 and 아
니다. You will learn this in the next lesson.
나는 선생님이 아니다 = I am not a teacher
(저는 선생님이 아니에요)
나는 너의 친구가 아니다 = I am not your friend
(나는 너의 친구가 아니야)
나는 대학생이 아니다 = I am not a University Student
(저는 대학생이 아니에요)
To not have: 없다
Just like how 아니다 is the opposite of 이다 – 없다 is the opposite of 있다. In Lesson 5, you
learned some ways to use 있다. 없다 can indicate that one “does not have” something or
that something “wasn’t at a particular location.” For example:
To not have:
저는 돈이 없어요 = I don’t have money
저는 시간이 없어요 = I don’t have time
우리는 차가 없어요 = We don’t have a car
To not be in a location:
저의 친구는 지금 한국에 없어요 = My friend is not in Korea now
사람이 없었어요 = There was no people
To not like: 싫어하다 and 싫다
While we are talking about negative words, I want to talk about 싫어하다 quickly. “싫어하
다” is a verb that is used to indicate that one dislikes something. 싫어하다 is the opposite
of 좋아하다 (to like). For example:
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저는 과일을 싫어해요 = I dislike fruit

저는 과일을 좋아해요 = I like fruit
In Lesson 3, you learned how 좋다 and 좋아하다 are different. I explained that 좋다 is an
adjective (meaning “to be good”), and thus cannot act on an object. For example:
그 선생님은 좋다 = That teacher is good
이 학교는 좋다 = This school is good
The adjective form of 싫어하다 is 싫다. However, contrary to what you probably expect, 싫다
is not used to mean “to not be good.” In order to indicate that something is “not good”
(i.e. “bad”), the adjective 나쁘다 is commonly used. Instead, 싫다 is often used to indicate
that one dislikes something (just like 싫어하다). For example:
저는 과일이 싫어요 = I dislike fruit
Notice that because 싫다 is an adjective, it cannot act on an object, so the particles ~이/
가 are attached to the noun. This type of sentence is a little bit too complex right now, so
I don’t want to dig too deep into it. I discuss this more deeply inLesson 15.
Be careful to not make double negative sentences. Although technically grammatically
correct, this one reads funny:
저는 과일을 싫어하지 않아요 = I don’t dislike fruit