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.
Word lists: animals, people, weather, colours
- Open this when a noun in a book blocks you; the two readings at the end use only a handful of these, and they appear in the core sections too.
- Twelve animals, chosen because they are the ones that turn up in fables.
- Korean has no plain word for brother or sister: the word depends on who is older and on the speaker’s sex.
- 눈nun is snow and eye; 밤bam is night and chestnut. Short words carry two meanings and the sentence sorts it out.
- When a long Korean word looks impossible, try cutting it in half.
You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Open it when a noun in a book stops you, or when you want a theme in one place. Every word the two stories use is taught in the sections along the path instead.
Twelve animals that turn up in fables
| English | Korean | English | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| dog | 개gae | horse | 말mal |
| cat | 고양이go-yang-i | mouse | 쥐jwi |
| bird | 새sae | fox | 여우yeo-u |
| fish | 물고기mul-kko-gi | bear | 곰gom |
| rabbit | 토끼to-kki | owl | 부엉이bu-eong-i |
| pig | 돼지dwae-ji | wolf | 늑대neuk-ttae |
물고기mul-kko-gi“fish” is 물mul“water” plus 고기go-gi“meat”. Korean builds a great many words this way. When a long word looks impossible, try cutting it in half — and listen to the join, because the second half often goes tense.
People
| English | Korean | English | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| mother | 어머니eo-meo-ni | person | 사람sa-ram |
| father | 아버지a-beo-ji | man | 남자nam-ja |
| mum | 엄마eom-ma | woman | 여자yeo-ja |
| dad | 아빠a-ppa | boy | 소년so-nyeon |
| child | 아이a-i | girl | 소녀so-nyeo |
| friend | 친구chin-gu | younger sibling | 동생dong-saeng |
엄마eom-ma and 아빠a-ppa are mum and dad, and unlike English, grown adults keep using them.
Older siblings — four words where English has two
| Said by | older brother | older sister |
|---|---|---|
| a boy | 형hyeong | 누나nu-na |
| a girl | 오빠o-ppa | 언니eon-ni |
Anyone younger, of either sex, is 동생dong-saeng. Age matters in Korean; sex only matters upwards. And all four are used for close friends who are not relatives at all — a woman calls a slightly older male friend 오빠, so do not assume a family tree.
Weather, sky, and places
| English | Korean | English | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| sun | 해hae | tree | 나무na-mu |
| moon | 달dal | forest | 숲sup |
| day | 날nal | road | 길gil |
| night | 밤bam | house | 집jip |
| sky | 하늘ha-neul | door | 문mun |
| rain | 비bi | water | 물mul |
| wind | 바람ba-ram | snow | 눈nun |
Two of those do double duty. 눈nun is snow and also eye; 밤bam is night and also chestnut. Read the whole sentence before deciding what a short word says.
Colours, in the shape that stands in front of a noun
| English | Korean | English | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| red | 빨간ppal-gan | black | 검은geo-meun |
| blue | 파란pa-ran | white | 하얀ha-yan |
| yellow | 노란no-ran | brown | 갈색gal-ssaek |
| green | 초록색cho-rok-ssaek | grey | 회색hoe-saek |
The first six are verbs in disguise, so they also have a sentence-ending shape: 빨갛다ppal-ga-ta“is red”, 파랗다pa-ra-ta“is blue”, 검다geom-tta“is black”. The two ending in 색saek“colour” are plain nouns and keep one shape. To ask, use 무슨 색mu-seun saek“what colour”, which is worth learning whole.