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.
How a sentence tells you who did what
- The verb ends the sentence. Read the last word first: it tells you what happened.
- Korean marks a noun’s job with a small tag glued onto it, where English uses word order. Grammar books call these particles.
- 이 / 가i / ga marks the one doing it; 을 / 를eul / reul the one it happens to; 은 / 는eun / neun what the sentence is about.
- Because the tags carry the meaning, the nouns can move; only the emphasis changes.
I 나는na-neun see 본다bon-da the dog 개를gae-reul.
나는 개를 본다.
na-neun gae-reul bon-da
Korean order: 나는 개를 본다. Follow the colours and watch the verb move to the back.
English marks a noun’s job by position. Korean marks it with a small tag stuck onto the noun — a particle. Most tags come in pairs, and one rule chooses between them: a noun ending in a consonant takes the half that starts with a vowel, so the two glue together smoothly.
The same tag, twice, on a vowel and on a consonant
The tags worth knowing now
| Tag | Job |
|---|---|
| 은 / 는eun / neun | as for — what the sentence is about |
| 이 / 가i / ga | the one doing it |
| 을 / 를eul / reul | the one it happens to |
| 에e | to a place, at a place: 숲에su-pe“to the forest” |
The first is the one English lacks: “as for the bear…” — you have been seeing it on 나는na-neun. Soon you will meet 와 / 과wa / gwa with, 에서e-seo from, 도do too.
The dog 개가gae-ga sees 본다bon-da me 나를na-reul.
개가 나를 본다.
gae-ga na-reul bon-da
The payoff: 나를 개가 본다na-reul gae-ga bon-da means the same — the dog still carries 가, only the emphasis moved. Do not ask what came first; ask what is tagged what, and find the verb at the end.
Find the verb, then the tags
- 여우가 새를 본다.
Last word is the action; then who carries 가, who carries 를?
Show answer +Hide answer −
yeo-u-ga sae-reul bon-da — “The fox sees the bird.” - 새를 여우가 본다.
The nouns swapped places, but not their tags.
Show answer +Hide answer −
sae-reul yeo-u-ga bon-da — the same meaning. Only the emphasis moved. - 곰이 숲에 있다.
One tag marks the doer, one the place, and the verb is the location one.
Show answer +Hide answer −
go-mi su-pe it-tta — “The bear is in the forest.”