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.
Verb lookup: have, want, can, must, and going places
- Open this when a tail on a verb blocks you; neither reading at the end uses any of it.
- Korean has no word for “have”. It reuses 있다it-tta: “as for me, three dogs exist”.
- Want, can and must are three fixed tails glued onto a verb.
- English puts to / from / in in front of a place; Korean glues it onto the back.
- Inside and on top are nouns, not prepositions: 집 안에jip a-ne is “at the house’s inside”.
You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Open it when a tail on the end of a verb stops you; neither story at the end uses one. What follows is four things English does with little helper verbs, and Korean does not: three of the four are tails you glue onto a verb you already know.
I have a house. I do not have a house.
나는 집이 있다. 나는 집이 없다.
na-neun ji-bi it-tta. na-neun ji-bi eop-tta
Notice which word carries the subject tag: the house, not me. What you have is the thing that exists — and “not have” is 없다eop-tta, the same word that meant “is not here”.
Three tails glued onto a verb
Which 요 a verb takes
| Last vowel of the stem | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ or ㅗ | 아요a-yo | 가다ga-da“to go” → 가요ga-yo; 보다bo-da“to see” → 봐요bwa-yo |
| anything else | 어요eo-yo | 먹다meok-tta“to eat” → 먹어요meo-geo-yo |
| 하다ha-da“to do” verbs | 해요hae-yo | 말하다ma-ra-da“to speak” → 말해요ma-rae-yo |
Drop 다, look at the last vowel, pick the ending. Two vowels in a row squeeze together: 보아요 is written 봐요.