Korean Convenience Store Phrases: What the Clerk Says at the Counter
봉투 필요하세요?, 포인트 적립하시겠어요?, 영수증 드릴까요?: the clerk's eight lines in order, 1+1, and why the best no is 버려 주세요.
Korean Compliments Native Speakers Actually Use (and How to Reply)
예쁘네요, 잘 어울려요, 센스 있으시네요, 대박: the -네요 ending that makes a compliment sincere, why it is 잘생겼어요, and how to reply.
How to Order in Korean at a Café or Restaurant
One pattern for every order: 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요. 드시고 가세요?, 진동벨, 몇 분이세요?, 여기요!, 2인분 and paying at the counter.
20 Korean Phrases You Will Hear Constantly in Korea (and What to Say Back)
What Koreans say to you all day, and the reply: shop greetings, subway announcements, 밥 먹었어요?, 다음에 밥 한번 먹어요 and 들어가세요.
Saying “Can” in Korean: -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요, 못 and -(으)ㄹ 줄 알아요
갈 수 있어요, 못 가요, 운전할 줄 알아요: ability, can't, and know-how. 못 vs 안, 못해요 vs 못 해요, and why Can I sit here? is 앉아도 돼요.
Before, After and When in Korean: -기 전에, -(으)ㄴ 후에, -(으)ㄹ 때
자기 전에, 먹은 후에, 갈 때: three endings that put events in order. Why 왔기 전에 is wrong, and how 갈 때 and 갔을 때 describe different moments.
How to Say “Wear” in Korean: 입다, 신다, 쓰다, 끼다, 차다, 매다
입다 for clothes (trousers too), 신다 for shoes, 쓰다 for hats and glasses, 끼다, 차다, 매다 for accessories, and 벗다, 빼다, 풀다 to take them off.
안 vs 못 vs -지 않아요: How to Say “Not” in Korean
안 가요 = 가지 않아요, but 공부 안 해요, 몰라요 and 아니에요 follow their own rules. Plus -지 마세요 for don't, 못 for can't, and answering 안 매워요?
가요 vs 가세요: The Honorific -시- in Korean
-시- honours whoever does the action, not the listener. 가세요, 읽으세요, 사세요, the special verbs 드시다, 주무시다, 계시다, and 안녕히 가세요 vs 계세요.
Your Name in Korean: 10 Rules + 100 Names in Hangul
Why Emily is 에밀리, Jack is 잭 and Tanaka is 다나카. The official loanword rules, official vs popular spellings, how Korean writes Japanese and Chinese names, and a searchable list.
Korean Texting Slang: ㅋㅋㅋ, ㅠㅠ, ㅇㅇ Decoded
Initial-consonant codes (ㄱㅅ, ㅊㅋ, ㅇㅈ), clipped words (갑분싸, 얼죽아, 소확행), which popular words have a rude root, and who you can - and can’t - text them to.
15 Textbook Korean Phrases That Accidentally Sound Rude
당신, 너, 민수 씨 to your manager, 몇 살이에요 to an elder, 아줌마 - correct Korean, wrong message. What listeners hear, the honorific alternatives (연세, 성함, 드시다) and the red-ink taboo.
-고 있어요 vs -아/어 있어요: Doing It vs It’s Done
먹고 있어요 is happening; 앉아 있어요 happened and stayed. Why 문을 열어 있어요 is wrong, why “wearing” is 입고 있어요, and why “are you married?” is 결혼했어요?
Days of the Week in Korean: The Five-Elements Trick
월화수목금토일 = moon, fire, water, wood, metal, earth, sun - the same seven heavenly bodies as the English week. Plus [워료일] pronunciation, the 유월 and 시월 traps, 며칠 (never 몇 일), and 어제/오늘/내일/모레.
Korean Future Tense: 거예요, 겠어요, 게요 — Which “Will”?
Five ways to talk about the future: a plan (갈 거예요), a promise to you (제가 할게요), a guess from what you see (맛있겠어요), shall we (갈까요?), and the plain present for schedules.
-고, -아서, -니까: How to Join Two Sentences in Korean
And, and then, so, because, but. The minimal pair 만나고 vs 만나서, why 비가 와서 우산을 가져가세요 is wrong, why apologies say 늦어서 죄송해요, and the no-past-tense rule.
이에요 vs 있어요: The Two Korean Verbs for “To Be”
One says what something is; the other says it exists, is somewhere or is had. The = test, the negatives 아니에요 and 없어요, why adjectives need no “is”, and why goodbye is 안녕히 계세요.
You Already Know 40 Korean Words
먹방 is eat + broadcast. 치맥 is chicken + beer. 눈치 is eye + measure. The words K-dramas already gave you, who is actually allowed to say 오빠, and how to read every one of them in Hangul within days.
How to Say What You Want in Korean
주세요, -아/어 주세요, -고 싶어요, 좋아해요, 있어요?, -(으)ㄹ래요? Six beginner patterns, fifteen ready sentences, and the 좋아요 vs 좋아해요 particle trap.
네요, 죠, 잖아요: The Endings That Make You Sound Human
Korean keeps its warmth at the very end of the sentence. What 요, 네요, 죠, 거든요, 잖아요, 더라고요, 는데요 and 구나 each signal - and why 잖아요 can sound like scolding.
How to Read a Korean Menu
Dish names are ingredient + cooking method. 찌개 vs 국 vs 탕, 볶음, 구이, 조림, 무침 - plus the 1인분 two-portion rule, free 반찬 refills, and how to ask for it less spicy.
The 55 Korean Signs You Meet Every Single Day
당기시오 pull, 미시오 push, 준비중, 관계자 외 출입금지, 계산대, 셀프, 무한리필, 환승, 막차, 1+1. The closed set of words that runs public space in Korea - all readable the week you learn Hangul.
Free Hangul Quiz: Letters and Syllable Blocks
Most Hangul charts stop at the letters. This drills the 24 letters and whole blocks like 한, 글 and 옷 - the step where reading actually starts. Both directions, full charts, no signup.
Korean Onomatopoeia: 25 Sound and Mimetic Words
반짝반짝, 두근두근, 살금살금 - plus the vowel rule that turns a small sparkle (반짝) into a big flash (번쩍).
20 Most Beautiful Korean Words and Their Deep Meanings
윤슬 light glittering on water, 그루잠 the sleep you fall back into, 나비잠 butterfly sleep - twenty native Korean words with no English equivalent, each checked against the Standard Korean Dictionary.
Korean Sentence Structure: The 5 Rules
Verb always last, particles tag each noun so the rest can move, modifiers go in front, obvious words get dropped, and the final ending picks your politeness level.
Korean Question Words: 누구, 뭐, 어디, 언제, 왜, 어떻게
Nothing moves in a Korean question - the question word sits where the answer would go. Plus the intonation trap that turns “who came?” into “did somebody come?”
How to Type Korean on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows
No candidate lists and no conversion - Hangul is a real alphabet. The 2-set layout logic, Shift for tense consonants, and why blocks reshape themselves as you type.
Korean Pronunciation Rules: Why 좋아요 Sounds Like 조아요
Korean spelling records the underlying form, not the sound. Seven rules bridge the gap - liaison, ㅎ deletion, tensification, nasalisation (this is why 감사합니다 is gam-sa-ham-ni-da), ㄴ/ㄹ assimilation, palatalisation and the seven-sound batchim limit.
The 100 Most Common Korean Words
Grouped by function rather than alphabetically: pronouns, connectors, the 25 unavoidable verbs, adjectives, everyday nouns, time words and day-one phrases. With romanisation, the sound changes that matter, and why 당신 is not on the list.
Free Korean Level Test: What TOPIK Level Am I?
24 questions, four per band mapped to TOPIK levels 1 to 6. Particles, conjugation, speech levels, pronunciation and idiom, with an instant result and an explanation after every answer.
Korean Past Tense Conjugation
One rule, one vowel check, every contraction, the past of 이다, all seven irregular families, 안 versus 못, and the double past 었었. The complete past tense in one page.
How to Say I Love You in Korean
사랑해, 사랑해요, 사랑합니다 by politeness level, plus why 좋아해 is the word Koreans actually confess with first, 보고 싶어 for missing someone, and what couples call each other.
How to Say Thank You in Korean
감사합니다, 고맙습니다, 고마워요, 고마워, and the one social rule that picks between them. Plus what to say back, and why 천만에요 sounds dated.
Korean Verb Conjugation: The 해요 Form
One rule for the present tense: drop 다, check the last vowel, add 아요 or 어요 (or 해요 for 하다). With contractions and irregulars.
존댓말 vs 반말: Korean Speech Levels
Formal 합니다, polite 해요, casual 반말 해 - which to use with whom, how to switch, and the mistakes that sound rude.
Korean Batchim (받침): Final Consonant Rules
Why 부엌 sounds like 부억 and 한국어 becomes 한구거 - the 7 final sounds and the liaison rule, with romanization.
Korean Particles Explained: 은/는 vs 이/가
The spotlight rule that finally makes the topic/subject choice click.
Korean Numbers: Native vs Sino-Korean
하나둘셋 vs 일이삼 - exactly when to use each system.
How to Say Hello in Korean
안녕하세요 and 12 more greetings, by politeness level.
Konglish: 30+ English Loanwords in Korean
The free vocabulary - and the false friends like 서비스 and 커닝.
TOPIK Levels Explained: 1 to 6 Complete Guide
Pass marks, exam structure, vocabulary per level and which level you actually need.
Learn Hangul: The Korean Alphabet Complete Guide
All 40 letters, the syllable-block system, and a weekend plan to start reading.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Korean?
Honest timelines - Hangul in a weekend, conversation in months, fluency in years.