Lessons for English speakers
Learn to read Korean
A short, active path into reading Korean: take a syllable block apart, decode ten real words before the full alphabet, learn the sound changes automatic romanizers get wrong, and read a small story before opening your first book.
13 core sections · ≈ 36 min + 4 optional lookups · ≈ 57 min with everything
Words
3 sections9
Big, small, sad: describing words are verbs
≈ 2 min
What you'll learn
- A describing word is a verb: 크다keu-da means “is big” and finishes a sentence like any other verb — no is-word needed.
- To lean one on a noun, swap the 다 for ㄴ or 은: 큰 나무keun na-mu“a big tree”.
- Most colours work the same way: 노랗다no-ra-ta“is yellow” → 노란 새no-ran sae“a yellow bird”.
The bear is big.
곰은 크다.
go-meun keu-da
No is-word anywhere, because the bigness is the verb.
Eight describing words, in their sentence-ending shape
| English | Korean | English | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| is big | 크다keu-da | is old | 늙다neuk-tta |
| is small | 작다jak-tta | is pretty | 예쁘다ye-ppeu-da |
| is good | 좋다jo-ta | is happy | 행복하다haeng-bo-ka-da |
| is bad | 나쁘다na-ppeu-da | is sad | 슬프다seul-peu-da |
End of a sentence → in front of a noun
크다keu-da“is big”
큰keun
큰 나무keun na-mu“a big tree”
작다jak-tta“is small”
작은ja-geun
작은 새ja-geun sae“a small bird” — ㄴ or 은 is the same consonant-or-vowel question as the tags
노랗다no-ra-ta“is yellow”
노란no-ran
노란 새no-ran sae“a yellow bird” — most colours are describing verbs too; a few are plain nouns ending in 색saek“colour” and never change. The word-lists section has the full set
Which shape is it wearing?
- 작은 집
One of the two shapes of 작다. Which job is it doing?
Show answer +Hide answer −
작은 집ja-geun jip“a small house”. The leaning shape. - 집은 작다.
The same word at the other end — so no is-word is needed.
Show answer +Hide answer −
ji-beun jak-tta — “The house is small.” - 좋은 친구다.
A leaning shape and a glued is-word in one line.
Show answer +Hide answer −
jo-eun chin-gu-da — “(He) is a good friend.”