Learn Korean Language Website in PDF- Beginners

Index:
The system

page 2

Lesson 1: Hangul

page 2

Lesson 2: Hangul Irregularities

page 9

Lesson 3: Verbs

page 12

Lesson 4: Irregular Verbs

page 15

Lesson 5: Particles

page 19

Lesson 6: Household Terms

page 21

Lesson 7: Body Parts and Numbers

page 25

Lesson 8: Verb Tenses

page 29

Lesson 9: Clothing Terms

page 32

Lesson 10: Colors

page 35

Lesson 11: Modals

page 36

Lesson 12: Adjectives

page 41

Homework

page 44

Answer Sheet

page 47

The System
When learning Korean, keep these few things in mind. Everyone has to have some kind of system, and here
is mine.
1. If I have (~korean verb/word/etc) in parenthesis, like (~), that is how it is pronounced. This will
apply to any word or verb or anything in Korean that the pronunciation just isn't normal.
Every now and then you will find a word that isn't pronounced exactly as you read it. When I introduce a
word for the first few times and the proper pronunciation is hard to get just by reading the word, I will have
the pronunciation in parenthesis as given.
2. Throughout the lessons, I will provide what I will call your "homework." Truth is, you are probably doing
all of this at home. When I say homework, this is what I really want you to study and look at. There will be
a link to a second page which will contain the information. Please, if possible, print it, study it. Don't sit in
front of the computer the whole time because you will get bored. If you read what is on the website so that
you understand it, and then study the homework pages, you will learn the language the fastest way possible
and be very good at it.
3. Do not try to learn every word you come across. Memorize what is on the homework pages. The rest you
read is strictly for teaching you the grammar. If you wish to focus strongly on vocabulary, using Flashcards
is a very good way of building vocabulary.
4. Finally, just have fun with it. If you push learning, you won't learn. If you learn when you want, how you
want, at your own level, you will learn it much better. With the homework pages I will provide what I
consider a nice, yet easy amount to learn in a day. If the pace is too fast or too slow, adjust it to fit your own
needs. But don't make learning Korean a job, even if it is. If you long to learn, you will.
PS: All pictures on this site should have a brief description if you hold your mouse pointer over them for a
second or two. It should pop up. Keep this in mind for additional details!

Lesson One Learn Hangul

Learning the Korean Alphabet, Hangul, is a lot easier than trying to learn Romanization of Korean.
Throughout your studies, you will run into many resources that will only publish Romanization though. I
highly recommend you learn to read Hangul first, as it will be most useful to you. Then later, you should
learn Romanization so that you can read the Romanization in those resources and know how to spell it
properly in Hangul.
First, a few basics on Hangul (Don't worry! You will be reading in Hangul perfectly extremely soon!).
Hangul is an alphabet, just like the Roman alphabet English speakers use. The only two differences are
Hangul blocks syllables, and there are no lowercase or capitalize letters in Hangul. The letter is always
written the same, no matter when it is used.
Characters will be stacked into squares to form each syllable. For example , , and are three separate
characters. But, as they would form one syllable, they would be written instead of .

+ + =
want another example?

++=

We then combine syllables to form words, just as we do in English.

+ =
Recognize that word? That's right! It's Hangul. It consists of han () and gul (). Two syllables. Six
characters. As you begin to learn all the different characters, you will see how to construct the syllables
properly depending on which character you are using. Just keep this one thing in mind. Every Korean word,
syllable, anything...begins with a consonant. A vowel will always follow it, either positioned to the right of
it, or below it. With each vowel, I will tell you where it should be positioned. Also, there will be 2, 3, or
rarely 4 characters in a syllable. is one way of stacking, having the vowel to the right of the first
consonant, with the third character under those two. is the other main way of stacking, where the vowel
falls below the first consonant, with the third character below the second. A third character will always fall
on the bottom. You will never have three characters in a row on the top. I cannot even type an example for
you to see, it just can't be done. Below is a table of the characters you will see.

Learn Hangul -
For now, I think it's time to begin! Why not start with the characters that make up Hangul.

The first character is

It has a couple variations. Generally, it is like an "h" sound. If it is at the beginning of a word, it will sound
like an "h". There will be more on this one in Lesson 2.

This is a vowel, and it is an "a" sound, as in father. It pretty much never varies and always has the same
sound. Quite a simple character. This vowel will always be placed to the right of the first consonant. It does
not fall below the consonant.

is a character that usually sounds like an "n". It only has one irregular form, which is in Lesson 2.
So far, we have a "h" sound, an "a" sound, and a "n" sound. Or, we have , , and . Together, these
form the first half of Hangul, .

Now let's break down the second syllable.

This is a light "g" or "k" sound. Don't push the air too hard or try and make this sound too heavy, it is a light
sound. Don't emphasize the character. Especially at the end of a word, this character is very light. At the end
of a word, it is almost as if you don't say the character.

This a little harder to explain. I think the best way to say it is, it sounds like the "oo" part in "good".
Let me phrase this another way...
It is like a short 'u', said in the back of the mouth. It is almost like a grunt! Be sure you don't actually grunt
though when you say it :)
This vowel will always be placed below the first consonant. It does not fall to the right of the consonant.

This character might be the most complicated character you run into! But I'll be honest, you will have it
down along with all the other characters before the week is over! Think of it as either a light "l" sound, or a
rolling "r" sound, depending on where it is. If it falls between two vowels, it will most likely be a rolling "r"
sound. If it is at the end of a syllable, it will usually be a light "l" sound. It does not come at the beginning of
a syllable of any Korean word, but will be used at the beginning for borrowed words, like loanwords. If that
is the case, treat it as it needs to be in order to say the loanword properly.
That's it! You now have learned 6 characters. You can now write

and you can! You can write both in Hangul, and the word Hangul.
Now, do you remember what each of those characters is like? Let's provide a little practice. Read these
words to yourself, and try to not refer to the section above. You may if you need to, but try first!

See Answers.
Learn Hangul - Common Characters
So, you feel like you are beginning to see how Korean and Hangul are? Are you ready for more?

This is a common character. It will have a light "b" or "p" sound. pa bap. ban. At the end of a word,
it will have a very light, almost unheard sound.

This is a very easy character. It sounds just like an "m" sound. As simple as that. What do you think
would sound like? If you said ma, that's right!


I think you are ready for a very commonly used character. It has two sounds. One sound, is no sound! It
makes no sound at all when it is the first consonant in the syllable. It is as simple as that. It is more like a
place holder since all Korean syllables must start with a consonant. When it falls at the end of a syllable, it
sounds like a light "ng" sound in "running". It is that ng sound in the back of your throat, but do not
emphasis the "g" part of it. So the two sounds? No sound at the beginning of a syllable, "ng" sound at the
end. Simple.
Let's learn two more, and then have a little practice.

This is an "o" sound. It is hard to explain, but try this. Say the letter O. Make it really really long and say it
slow. Notice where your mouth starts to close in? This sound is the sound before that. The beginning of the
O sound.
Let's look at this in a different way...
Shape your mouth as if you were to say the 'o' in 'go'. Now make a sound like aw, as in awe, pawl, bawl, and
law.
This vowel will always be placed to the right of the first consonant, never underneath.

This is another "o" sound. They sound very similar. The best I can do is say this may be more like the other
side of saying O, as with the experiment before. The part toward the end in O is more like this.
Or, think of it this way. is like the 'o' in go, row, bow, and low.
They are very similar. Some people will be able to hear the difference if they have a good ear. Many non
native speakers have the problem hearing the difference though at first.
So, for those who cannot hear the difference, When spelling and learning Korean, try to think of these are
learning to spell. In English you can't always know how to spell a word, you must learn it properly. It is the
same way in Korean. When words with an O sound comes up, just learn how it is spelled and leave it at that
because they sound so similar.
This vowel will always appear underneath the first consonant, never to the right of it.
Let's try a few more practice words to read. So far we have covered (in order): , , , , , , , ,
, ,

See Answers.
Go back and review the characters you have learned now. Here is a list of them. If you know what has been
said about each so far, move on! , , , , , , , , , , .

This one is easy. it is the "ou" part in you. Simple as that. "oo" in boot. This vowel always falls below the
first consonant, never to the right. *Notice a pattern with placement of vowels? One vowel consisting of a
horizontal line will be placed underneath the consonant, while vowels consisting of a vertical line will be
placed to the right. Don't believe me? Go back and check!*

This character is easy as well. It is the "ee" sound in meet. An example using it would be . That sounds
just like saying "me" in English. You can guess where it is placed...Go ahead and try! This vowel is placed
to the right of the first consonant, never underneath.

This vowel sounds like ea in bear. The vowels are all easy if you just memorize them, and do not ever sound
irregular (When could they?!?). This vowel always appears to the right of the first consonant, never
underneath .

This one is pretty similar to the one above. It sounds like the e in yes. The e in met. This vowel always
appears to the right of the first consonant, never underneath.
Learn Hangul - More On Vowels
You have now covered all the basic vowels. There are two more things you can learn about vowels, and then
you know all vowels and everything about them. And these next two things are simple.
You will see vowels like , ,,, , etc. Notice how instead of one short line, there are two? This
means that before the vowel sound, there is a y like sound. I will give two examples.

This sounds like saying "you" in English.

This sounds like saying Ya in English. All the teenagers should know it from the song Hey Ya! by Outkast.
It played all the time.
All other vowels follow the same pattern.
Next, you will see vowels combined to form a new vowel sound, such as , , , . You just run the
vowels together into one sound. The vowel on the left (long horizontal line) comes first. Here are a couple
examples.

This sounds like wa in water.

This sounds just like the French oui. It is more or less like wee.


I have chosen to include this one for a special reason. It works just like the others, except if it comes after a
consonant, you only hear and not the other part. It is just how it sounds when spoken. At the beginning of
a syllable, you do run the two together however.
Speaking of mixing these with consonants. Let's just take a look at a couple and it will explain itself on how
to write them.

The first consonant is written in the top left. Any consonant that comes after the vowel sound comes at the
bottom.
You are now a master at vowels. You also know a few of the consonants in Korean as well. Let's finish up
the rest of the consonants.
Learn Hangul - More Consonants

This is a consonant that sounds like an s in English. It is a very light s and isn't stressed or anything. Also,
before the Korean vowel , like , it is usually pronounced like an sh, or for this example, shee. At the end
of a word or before a syllable that begins with a vowel or consonant other than , it ends with a light d
sound. You will find many consonants sound like a light d sound if they are at the end of a word.

Speaking of light d sounds, here it is. This is a light d or t sound. sounds like mat, with a very light t
sound at the end. So does however. See what I mean by sounding like a light d sound at the end? is
not mas. It is mat.

This is a light j sound in between vowels. At the beginning of the word, it is often heard as a "ch" sound
instead. At the end of a word, it sounds just like an and a .
Are you excited? There are only four more consonants left, and you know Hangul! But first, let's make sure
we know what we have covered so far. We have covered A LOT! Better put, we have covered
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. That is actually in order of the
keyboard. ^-^

!
Also, let's try one of these on for size. Most likely you won't understand it, but you can try and pronounce it!
? !
See Answers.
Learn Hangul - Aspirated Consonants
Here are the final four! These four are aspirated sounds. If you don't know what that means, they basically
are said with more of a puff of air. Also, try to see if you can catch something in common with all of these in
relationship to their similar consonant sounds.

this is like kha. It is similar to the sound, except is said with more air. More towards a K sound.

This is a t sound, much like , except said with more air to it!

This is a cha sound. Always. It is similar to the sound, except said with more air to it. Always a cha
sound, never a j sound ( sounds like a j between vowels, sounds like a cha between vowels.)

This is the last consonant, and last character you will learn in Hangul! It has an airy P sound to it. Similar to
but with more air.
Did you catch what is in common in them all? They all look very similar to the other consonants that sound
similar! The only thing is, each contains an extra little line somewhere. The only one that doesn't fit
perfectly with this is and . Look at them and compare them.

-
-
-
-
Learn Hangul - List Of Characters
Here is a list of all the characters. Vowels are written first, followed by consonants.

One more note, you will see some consonants doubled up. You can consider these seperate characters if you
wish, or just think of them as being stronger with more voice to them. These are ,,,,.
Let's practice one more time.
?
!
?
.
?
! !
:(
.

Lesson Two Hangul Irregularities

So, you feel you've got a good grasp on the basics of the characters.
Then you're ready for Lesson 2! This lesson will cover all the Hangul irregularities. Once you know the
characters and the times they are irregular, you can read any Hangul and read it perfectly. Korean is more
simple when it comes to reading than English is. Sometimes in English you can read it 5 times and still not
know how to say the word correctly. This is not the case with Korean. So, enough talk. Let's get started.
The first irregular pattern has already been mentioned in Lesson One.

, ,
These three characters are your three main basic consonants. At the end of a word or before a consonant,
many other characters will be simplified to sound just like these. Here is what I mean:

,
Both of these characters will sound like before another consonant or at the end of a word. But for this
example, that isn't so much of a difference. How about this one though?

, , ,,
Now, all of these will sound like before another consonant or at the end of a word. That makes more of a
difference. Even though gives an s sound normally, it will sound like a d or t if it occurs before another
consonant or at the end of a word. If it occurs before a vowel, it will sound like an s.

These will sound like . See a pattern? , , and are all made by closing your lips. Notice the pattern
in the two sets above? One includes characters that are made in the back of the throat, while the other
includes characters that are made with the tongue behind the teeth on the roof of the mouth. If you remember
this pattern, you should not forget which characters end with a , , or sound. Now, how about some
real examples.
mat
mas-un
ap
ap-e (with more air on the p)
Goht
Gohch-ee
Keep in mind, if a syllable begins with the Hangul character following these rules, we treat it as if the
syllable begins with a vowel (since it is unheard). So, a better way to put it would be if the character comes
before another consonant sound or at the end of a word, then it will be reduced to one of the three basic
consonants. This is the first irregular to keep in mind. After the second irregularity, there will be some time
to practice a little bit before continuing.
The second Irregularity
The second irregularity involves changing the sound of a few characters if it comes before certain other
characters. The main thing to watch for is the second character. There are two of them and they are both
consonants. They are

,
These two characters are known as nasal sounds. Basically, the reason for this irregularity is it makes the
words flow better. If , , any of the "throat" sounds occur before one of these two consonants, it will

change to an "ng" sound, as if it was the consonant . Notice why it changes to that? That is a throat sound
as well, and let's the word flow better. In writing it will keep the original spelling, but when spoken it will
reflect the change.

, , any of the sounds made by closing your lips will change to the sound before either of these two
consonants. Notice how saying flows a lot better than saying ? It just flows better, as with the
above case. is also made by closing the lips.
The last cases are all the sounds made by placing the tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth. , , ,
, , , get the picture? These will change to the sound before an or an . is also made with
the tongue in a similar position. here are some examples.
- This is pronounced hamnida, as opposed to hapnida.
- this is pronounced hang-nyon, as opposed to hak-nyon
- This is pronounced mong-ne, as opposed to mok-ne
- This is pronounced ee-nun, as opposed to eet-nun (notice the t at the end? That would be the case
following irregularity rule number one, but because it comes before , it sounds like an ).
These two rules are the main two irregularities you will run into. Most other irregularities are much smaller,
and not as common. They tend to be specific to a single character, and not a group of characters.
The next irregularity deals with the character

This character has a few irregular forms that you will see. I personally believe if you know irregular
forms above this, you will be able to pronounce most anything reasonably well.
If is between vowel sounds, it will sound like a rolling "r" like in spanish or japanese. If this makes it
difficult for you like that, just think of it sounding like a quick d or t sound. It is not the long rolling "r"
sound you hear in spanish, just a short one click of the tongue.
At the end of a syllable before a consonant ( excluding then it will usually sound like a light "l" sound.
Both of these were mentioned in the previous lesson.
Irregularities deal with when is falls next to certain characters. It will only begin a word if it is a loanword,
in which case it will sound like the loanword. But it sometimes (rarely) will be the first consonant after
another syllable ending in a consonant, such as . When this is the case, it will sound like . is
pronounced chongno.
The second irregularity is if it is at the end/beginning of a syllable, and the other consonant it lies next to
(end/beginning, whichever the is not) is a or an . If it is an , then it will be an "l" sound, like usual.
But, if it is next to an , as in , it will still make an "l" sound. is pronounced eel-lyon, not eelnyon. Try saying it both ways, you will see that eel-lyon flows a lot better.

This character has one irregular form. It is simple as well. If comes before , it is pronounced as if it
were , meaning with a "ch" sound. is pronounced ga-chee, not gat-ee.

This is the final irregular form you will learn. Whenever this falls next to (end/beginning syllable
combination) a sound such as , , , or , you will usually not hear the sound and the , , , or

 sound will sound more like ,,,or with more air. Some words in this situation are , ,
.

Lesson Three Korean Verbs

Korean verbs are extremely important. Verbs in Korean sentences are the most important part of the
sentence. In fact, it is the only part you need for the sentence to be complete. Korean, unlike English, does
not mention the subject of the sentence if it can be assumed from context. For example, in English, one
might ask "Are you hungry?" In Korean, if someone could just ask "Hungry?" and people knew who they
were referring to, then it is perfectly fine to leave off the "you." You may hear this in English as well, but it
is not considered grammatically correct. It is considered grammatically correct in Korean!
So, to sum up that paragraph, the verb is the only needed part in a Korean sentence. Everything else is extra.
Now I know you are eager to start learning verbs and looking them up in the dictionaries, but we must cover
one important piece of grammar first. Korean verbs can take many different forms, depending on who you
are talking to. Korean still has social status literally integrated into the language itself. The verb "to be"
when speaking to an older person or teacher will be slightly different than "to be" when speaking to your
best friend. Most Korean verbs have the same root, regardless of who you are talking to, but you will change
the ending of the verb depending on who you are speaking with.
is the dictionary form of the verb "to eat." The dictionary form consists of the verb root, in this
example, and the ending. You will see all forms they list end in . If you remove the ending, you will
be left with the verb root. The verb root of is . The verb root by itself has no meaning. You must
remove the ending and replace it with a different ending depending on what you want to say and who
you want to say it to.
In my mind, I see three different, very distinct endings for speaking and writing. Formal , Polite , and
Casual .
Formal Ending

Polite Ending

Casual Ending

For now, we will focus on the two most common styles of verbs you will use, polite and casual. As you can
see above, there are also two different endings for both polite and casual speech. The way you decide which
ending to choose is based on the verb root. If the last vowel in the verb root is or then you choose the
(polite) or (casual) ending. If the last vowel in the verb root is anything other than or , then
you choose the (polite) or (casual) ending. Look at the following chart of commonly used verbs and
compare the verb root to the ending to get a better understanding of this. I will refer to the Formal ending
section next.
English

Verb Root

Dictionary Form

Polite Ending

Casual Ending

Formal Ending

To Have

To Be Good

To Go

To Not Have

To Do

Let's look at a couple. means "to have." is the verb root. The last vowel in is . Since this is not or
then we know to choose the / endings depending on whether we will need to be polite or if it is casual
speech.
(~) has a verb root of . The final vowel in this root is , so we need to choose the / endings.
If you look at , this has a verb root of with a final vowel of . So, since that is or , it must take the
/ ending. Understand the general pattern?

Irregular Verb Patterns

Now, as you can see in the chart, there will be some situations that do not follow this exactly. means
"to go". If you remove the to get the verb root you are left with . Following this pattern, you would add
/ to the verb root, and get something like . The real way is just . It has been shortened
because otherwise we just say two of the same vowel in a row. Since that is a waste of time and breath, it is
simply or .
The final verb is the chart above is . This is a very common verb in any language. This one verb is
irregular all on it's own. It doesn't follow a pattern, and you just need to memorize the case. It shouldn't be
too hard because you will see this all over the place. has a root of . The polite form is and the
casual form is . Just take a few minutes right now to memorize this and then you will never have to worry
about it again.
Done? Ok, let's move on. Below is a table of irregular verbs that follow a pattern. Briefly look over the table
and then continue on.
English

Verb Root

Dictionary Form

Polite Ending

Casual Ending

To Drink

To Meet

To Come

To Be Busy

To Not Know

To Be Hot

The first one is "To Drink" or . If we remove the dictionary ending, we are left with .
Following normal patterns for the polite form, we would have . To make it easier and sound better,
the real polite form is . Any verb root that ends in will naturally take the / endings, and we
shorten + to . Other verb examples that take this pattern are - , , - .
Next we meet (get it?). This one should be easy. We already went over it with . Since the verb
root ends in , we shorten to . Also, keep in mind this pattern works with verb roots that
end in as well.
If it ends in it would naturally take the ending. This would be a double vowel sound so we just
shorten it the same way. Other verb examples that take this pattern are - , - , .
Next, we come to (ok, I will really stop now, I promise!). The verb root is . This would naturally
take the ending, making . Wouldn't it be much easier to combine the and the into ? It
sure sounds better and smoother. That is exactly what we do. Whenever a verb root ends in , it will
naturally take the ending and because all of you will know this lesson, you will naturally combine the
and the to . Other verb examples that take this pattern are - , .
Next, we have . The verb root is . Following normal verb patterns we would figure the polite
form would be . Try and say that. Now, try and say . That is the correct way. When a verb
root ends in , we drop the , look at the last vowel in the root that is left (not including the ) and add
the appropriate ending. For this example, the last vowel would be . So, when we drop the and add the
ending, we get . Other verb examples that follow this pattern are - , , - .
The next verb is . The verb root is . You might be thinking, that ends in so wouldn't it follow
the above irregular pattern, and become ? Indeed, it would, except Koreans have decided if a verb
root ends in (not just ), then we will double up the by adding a second to the end of the syllable
before the . And then we drop the . . We added a to and got . We dropped the and
got . Together, we have . Other verb examples using this pattern are - , , - .
The final verb in the verb chart above is . You should definitely be good with verb roots by now and
instantly know it is . Now, with this irregular pattern, you must remember two things. Often, when a verb
root ends in , you should drop the and add . After that, you move to the second step. If it ends in ,
when we pick a style such as polite style, it should naturally take the ending. This is another pattern
where we combine two characters to make it smoother. and combine into . We get in the
end. Other verb examples that follow this pattern are - , - .
Now you should know the verb patterns you will run into. You can take a verb out of a dictionary, find the
root, and put it in either casual language or polite language. But you may still be wondering what exactly
that means! Is polite language simply the same thing as if you were to be polite in English?
Similar, yes...but not the same. If you want to think of it as the same, then you should just remember to be
polite to everyone in Korea or when speaking Korean. Here is the thing, since Korean is still a language with
social status still built into the actual language, you must be polite with your speech or you will be
considered very rude. You should use the polite style with anyone older than you, above you, new to you. A
teacher, a parent, a stranger, pretty much everyone except your closest friends! You may use casual

language when speaking to someone younger than yourself, your close friends, and your brothers and sisters.
Any other time would be considered rude. So, based on this, choose which to use wisely. If you are talking
to an adult and they are using casual verbs, that is because you are younger. This does not mean you should
use the same verbs when speaking to them. You should be polite. This means that each of you will add
different endings to the verbs.
Now that you can take a verb from the dictionary, find the root, make it into a casual or polite verb, and
actually know whether it should be a casual or polite verb, you are ready to actually use some.
Remember how in Korean verbs can be used all alone and the sentence will be grammatically correct? Let's
see some examples. If we were to say , what exactly are we saying? We know it is a polite way, and
it means "to eat" (don't worry if you haven't memorized the verbs yet. You will be sent to the homework
page shortly to do some memorization). But do we know what we are saying when we say to
someone? Well, it depends :). You could be saying "I'm eating." Or, you could be saying "you're eating".
You could be saying "eat." If someone said "What do you want to do?" You could reply . In Korean
you can use the verbs in a much more general manner than in English. Later we will see how to add words
such as "I" or "You" if necessary to clear up the meaning of a sentence.
Another example could be . This means To Be Good. If someone asks you how is something, you can
say ! Like, "Are my new shoes ok? Do you like them? How are they?" "!". Or, if you are
having a casual conversation about something with your friend, and they say something and in English you
would just give the reply "Good!" or something, you can just say !(remember, it's a conversation with
your friend).
This whole concept about the verbs being so general is hard to learn at first. Just try your best! Casual verbs
can have even more meanings than other forms! If you say you could be saying I'm going, you're going,
someone's going, let's go, are we going?, etc. A lot of Korean is about what can be assumed. If it can be
assumed, there is no need to say it in the language. This wraps up the intro to Korean verbs! It's time for you
to memorize a few, and to go back and make sure you know the patterns covered on this page. There will
definitely be more to come on verbs later.

Lesson Four Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs in Korean are actually not too bad though! In Beginners Lesson Three, you were introduced
to Korean verbs and the irregular verb patterns. The verbs on this page are different. These verbs are
commonly used verbs, but either have more than one meaning, are used weird, etc. instead of being irregular
patterns. You will see what I mean, right now!
Verb - Polite Style
The first irregular verb that I need to cover here is definitely what many books and courses will call the
copula. Basically, it is the verb of equality. Equality? What is that?!? In English, we may say "It is a book."
"It" is equal to "book". It is pretty much the verb "to be." If you look in a dictionary, you will see

The verb root is . This verb will follow it's own pattern however. It doesn't fit any pattern and just needs to
be learned. The polite form will be if it comes after a consonant, or if it comes after a vowel.
You will also see it spelled after a vowel. When spoken, it will sound more like after a vowel.
Let's practice with a sentence. We will use the same sentence as the example in English. Book in Korean is


Since ends in a consonant, we should use the polite ending . With most normal verbs, there is a
space between the verb and any other words, but the copula is a special case. There is no space in between
the two words. Also, in Korean sentence structure is different. I feel the best way for you to understand it
and get used to it is just to see it. The verb falls at the end of the sentence always. Other words fall before
the verb. So, since our verb of "to be" is , that will fall at the end. There is no space between
and the word it is describing, so, our sentence comes out to be

As you see, this is like "book-to be". The structure is different, but you will get used to it as you see more
and more of it. means "It is a book." Let's see a couple more examples. Remember, you don't need
to remember every noun you see yet. Memorize what you find on the homework page.

means pencil. It ends in which is also a consonant. If we combine this with the polite ending and
keep the correct word order, we get , meaning "It is a pencil."

means car. It ends in which is a vowel. Because it ends in a vowel, the correct spelling of would
be . The sentence would be , meaning "It is a car."
Do you understand it a little better now? If so, then let's look at this, and then there will be some practice
problems.
Verb - Casual Style
Many resources choose to teach you mostly one style first, usually polite style, and then much later return to teach
you the other commonly used style. I feel it is best to teach you them both from the start, because they both are
very important if you plan on learning Korean well. If we put off one, you will not be as strong with it. If we teach
both, you will learn at a slower pace at first, but will learn faster later on and the whole time you will be learning
more efficiently. So, here it is!
has two polite forms, depending on whether it follows a consonant or vowel, and so does the casual form.
If follows a consonant, it is spelled .
If follows a vowel, it is spelled .
Lets use the same three examples as above so that you may compare the two forms. The first one used the word ,
or book, in the example. The polite style was . Since ends in , a consonant, the casual style form
should be . If we put this with , we get . and mean the exact same thing! The only
difference is who we are speaking with. As previous lessons covered, if we speak with someone older or a teacher or

anyone who deserves more respect, we would use the polite form . If we are speaking with our close
friends, we can just use . That is the only difference! It is something you will get used to as you learn Korean.

The second example sentence was , meaning "It is a pencil." This ends in , a consonant, so we
will add to this one as well. is correct. and also mean the same thing,
and are only different because of who we may be speaking to.
was the final example sentence. ends in a vowel, so we only add instead of . When we
form the new sentence, we get . As you can guess, this is equal to .
I think you probably understand this pretty well by now and are ready to take on anything like this! Here are
a few practice problems. If you can get these, then you know the irregular verb and are one step closer
to knowing Korean!
How do you say, "It is a ____"?

This also works for people and their names, as in "It's Joe" or if you were referring to yourself. In the next lesson we
will see how to specify who we are referring to.

See Answers.
Verb -
- Root is , Polite style is , Casual style is . Meaning - To have or To be (location).
is a special verb because it has a couple of different meanings. I feel it is a verb worth mentioning
because it is an extremely common verb. Let's look at the two meanings you will see.
To Have
This is a very common verb in all languages. "I have chicken." "I have a car." "Do you have a car?" All of
these deal with possession of something. So does . We could say to mean "I have a car" or
"she has a car". Remember, in Korean the subject may be left out if it can be assumed. If it cannot be, it will
be added in, which you will learn soon. This is a fairly simple verb when looking at it from this position, and
is easy to understand with this meaning alone. could mean "I have a pencil." In written Korean,
you can turn this statement into a question asking "Do you have a pencil?" by simply adding a question
mark on the end. ? In spoken Korean, it is the tone of your voice that determines this. Nothing
else in the sentence changes.

To Be (Location)
can also mean To Be, when used for location. For example, using the same sentence, ?
could also mean "Is there a pencil?" For this sentence as it is, it pretty much means the same thing. You are
wanting a pencil and are asking if there is one or if they have one or whichever. Later, you will see the
difference easier as we learn how to make our sentences longer and more complex. If we said "(In the room)
?" then we can automatically assume it is talking about location. If we say "(Anna)
?" Then we can automatically assume we are talking about possession.
Try the following practice problems. They should not be difficult, but should help you to see more examples
of the use of .
Anna ?
At-Home ?
2 Blocks away .
See Answers.
I think this is the perfect place to stop for now. Also, if you would review and memorize this section on the
homework page, it will be of great help to you! It will contain a few basic nouns that I will use often in
examples and problems. Once the word has appeared on a homework page, I will not always include the
English word next to it. You may always go back and look at anything you need to, and may print whatever
you need :) (Homework pages especially!)
Verb -
- root is , Polite style is , casual style is . Meaning - To Do.
has an irregular spelling when used as you learned in Lesson Three. Keep in mind it is and not
. This verb is not as irregular as with and , but I would still like to briefly talk about it.
is a verb you will soon know perfectly, as you will see it forms many other verbs. What I mean by this
is, many Korean verbs are simply formed by taking a word and simply adding on the end of it. The
verb "To Make a Phone Call" is made by sticking the word for "phone" and the verb (To Do) together.
Phone is . The verb "To Make a Phone Call" is .
Shower is . "To Shower" is simply .
Homework is . "To Do Homework" is .
This is why you will see this verb a lot. Many verbs are formed using it. When you conjugate them, it is
done the same as . , , etc. You will have no problem with .

Lesson Five The Particles

Particles - Endings attached to words to specify what significance the word has in the sentence. The particle
is attached to the end of the word, without a space in between the word and the particle.
Subject Particle
One of the first and most common particles you will run into is the subject particle. In English, one of the most basic
parts of a sentence is the subject. It is a required part in English, but is not required in Korean. The subject tells us
who or what is doing the action.

As you learned in Lesson Three, means To Eat. You also learned that you could say to mean
"I'm eating." Up until now though, we haven't learned how to specify who or what is the subject if we need
to for clarification.
The subject particle has two forms. and . comes after a word ending in a consonant, and comes
after a word ending in a vowel.
For example, let's say Eunji is eating. ends in a vowel, so we attach and get . means
Eunji, as the subject of the sentence. The is what makes Eunji the subject. Then, we can simply add the
verb in the proper present tense form, and we have our sentence. in the polite form,
or simply . Eunji is eating. As you will notice, when speaking in the casual form,
particles are commonly left off.
In Lesson Four, we learned the irregular verb . can mean To Be, as in location. There is a pencil.
From Lesson Four, you should have memorized means pencil. means pencil, as the subject.
means "There is a pencil (there, as in location)." means "It is a pencil." Be sure
to keep and separate when it comes to the verb To Be.
Say "There is (a) _____" by filling in the blank with the words below, using the correct subject particle.

See Answers.
Object Particle
Another very common particle is the object particle. This states which word in the sentence is the object of the
sentence, or the word receiving the action. It has two forms as well. after a word ending in a consonant, and
after a word ending in a vowel.

In Lesson Three you were asked to learn the verb , To Drink. You should be able to say "I drink" or
"I'm drinking" but you haven't been able to specify what it is you are drinking. You specify this using an
object particle. means milk. If you attach the proper object particle to it, you get . You can then

say . In Lesson Four you learned means water. Now you should know that
means "I'm drinking water." or "I drink water." Now, try these sentences.
.
.
.
See Answers.
Location Particle
You know the verb from Lesson Three, so you know how to say you're going or someone is going, but knowing
how to say where it is you are going is very important! This is very simple! . It takes the same form no matter what
word it comes after. . You should know this! "I'm going home." . If I told you was school,
you would know this too :) .

One other location particle that I want to tell you about right now is . When you add the on the end,
it then turns into a place where the action is happening. doesn't mean "to school" anymore. It
means the action is happening at school. means "Anna is eating at home."
means "I am studying at school."
Topic Particle
The topic particle may be the most common particle you will run into. It also has two forms. after a vowel, and
after a consonant. Keep in mind it will replace the subject or object particle if it is attached to a word that would
otherwise have a subject or object particle attached, but it will fall after any other particle. It is also one of the most
difficult particles to learn when you begin to study Korean. I will keep it simple, and you will do just fine. It does
exactly what it is called. It sets the word or words before it as the topic of the sentence...what the sentence is all
about. You can take any part of a sentence and make it the topic, except for the verb of course. Say you have a
simple sentence saying "Joe is eating bread at his house." You can make Joe the topic, meaning the sentence is about
Joe, and we are saying what he is doing and where. If we like, we may decide bread should be the topic, in which
case the rest of the sentence will tell us who and where is eating the bread. Or, if we are talking about "at home", we
may want to make "at home" the topic. In this case, we are saying what is going on at home. Joe is eating bread.

Often when you begin to learn Korean, you will be confused about when to use the subject particle vs. the
object particle. As you learned above, means Eunji is eating. But... also
would mean Eunji is eating. In one case, Eunji is simply the subject of the sentence. In the second case,
Eunji is the topic of the sentence. Very similar. Honestly, it usually won't make much of a difference. Both
are right. Now for a few examples in Korean.
. still means "I". This sentence simply says "I am going home." But if it helps you
understand the topic particle better, think of it as "Speaking about me, going home." Another example could
be . This sentence is a little longer, but if you knew all the nouns and
verbs, you could understand it just fine :) . is math. is school. is to study. This sentence
says "Speaking about what is going on at school, Anna is studying math."
This is why my lessons are so grammar heavy at first. If you know the grammar, you can understand any
sentence with the use of a dictionary. If you do not know the grammar your chances of understanding the

sentence are much smaller, and a dictionary won't help much. I will begin to introduce larger amounts of
vocabulary words, but I just ask that you stick through the grammar until then. I promise it will be worth it.
This is a great place to take a break in this lesson. If you memorize the first section on the homework page
tonight, then I say you've learned plenty for the day. You can always come back and study some more, or go
ahead if you like! Keep your own pace, but this is simply where I will put a stopping point.

/
The particle is commonly used to mean "by means of." It will fall after a noun, and take the form after vowels
and a word that ends in the consonant , but will take the form if it falls after any other consonant.

means To go by car. You are expressing which means of transportation you will be using.
is a sentence saying Let's Go by train. It is not only used for means of transportation though.
It can be used for anything to mean "by means of." means Please write with a pencil, or
please write by means of a pencil.

is a particle you stick onto nominals of place or time. It means "All the way up to." As in, I'm going
all the way to China, . I'm going (as far as) China. You can use it to say a destination you
will go to, and meaning thats how far you will go. It is found in the question ? How far
should we go?

Lesson Six Household Terms

If you have completed lessons 1-5, you are now ready to start learning household terms. It is mainly a bunch of
vocabulary words...I know, that doesn't sound fun, but it's part of the language! One of the hardest things about
learning any language is just building a large enough vocabulary.

Luckily for you, this lesson will be full of items commonly found around the house. You will see them
frequently, so whenever you do, think of the Korean word, not the English word. This is the best way to
learn all the household terms. Plus, you will begin to build the foundation of your vocabulary with common
items and tasks. You will get used to the structure of sentences and the language, and can practice while you
walk around at home! It'll be a breeze :)
Household Term Nouns

Korean

English

House

Apartment

Dormitory

Room

Bed

Pillow

Blanket

Alarm Clock

Mirror

Bathroom

Toilet

Shower

Towel

Toothpaste

Toothbrush

Soap

Shampoo

Kitchen

Oven

Refrigerator

Dinner Table

Chair

Plate

Cup

Lamp

Window

Sofa

Television

Bookcase

Telephone

Computer

Household Term Verbs

Here is a list of common household verbs to go along with the household terms. To form the casual style,
drop the at the end.
Korean

Polite Style

English

To Do

To Get Up

To Sleep

To Have (Lesson 4)

To Not Have (Lesson 4)

To Read

To See / Watch

To Clean

To Play

To Exercise

To Write

To Eat

To Drink

To Go

To Put On Clothes

To Put On Shoes

To Take Off Clothes / Shoes

To Do Homework

To Study

Total, that will give you 19 household verbs and 31 household nouns, 50 household terms total! I
recommend memorizing the lists over the next few days. Once you have them memorized, remember to
remember the Korean household term for the object or task you are doing whenever you do it! This will help
you retain the vocabulary much faster than continuously returning to the list or a dictionary. This is a good
idea to try with any word in the language, not just household terms. Keep that in mind for future lessons!
Household Terms does not have to be the only easy lesson!
A Korean Paragraph Using Household Terms
Now this can be your real first lesson diving into real Korean and real sentences. It will be based using the
vocabulary above, and we will examine some sentences and then have some practice ones. First, read
through the following paragraph. Try your best to understand it, even if there are a couple of words you do
not know yet :) You will be amazed at what you can accomplish by now if you have done the previous
lessons and learned some household terms. It will all be in present tense since that is the only tense that has
been discussed so far. Be sure to read it outloud to yourself at least once!
7 . . . 8 . .
. 3 , . 4 ! 6
( !). . . 9 .
? I bet you did! Now that you have read it, let me cover a couple things that you may have picked up.
First off, this is a general account of what could happen in a day using the household terms, but all in the
present tense. numbers were used to help you pick up on this. As you may have noticed, means hour. 3
means 3:00. means half. It is used when you say 3:30. 3 . 3 hours and half! is used like , but
means minutes (it is not needed when you use ). 3 26 means at 3:26. if you see attached to a
noun, it will either mean "and" or it will mean "with". In these cases, it means "and". would
mean bulgogi and rice. Yet wait, you see another thing used for and when I listed the foods. When using to
attach nouns, you can also use and . comes after a word that ends in a vowel, while after a noun
that ends in a consonant. It will have the same meaning as . There were a few in there. That
means "and" as well! When connecting sentences that is. One final thing, if you see two or three things that
all seem like verbs but don't seem to have the exact same end on the word as you would've thought
( ) You would think it would be . But, this is one last way to use "and". When
listing verbs, you can add to the stem of the verb. Only the final verb in the list will be conjugated
otherwise.
Now read that paragraph again (or maybe twice!) now that you understand those couple things.
Now continue to read an English translation...
At 7:00 I get up. I exercise and shower. There is no shampoo and soap :( . At 8:00 I eat. I go to school. At
school I study. I come home at 3:00, and I do homework. At 4:00 I clean and play! At 6:30 I eat dinner (rice
and kimchi and bulgogi!). After dinner, I watch tv, and read a book. at 9:00 I sleep.
Korean Practice Using Household Terms
.
?
!
?
.
.

.
? ( = = )
. .
?
. .
?
.
?
.
?
. .
See Answers.
Where are you going?
Where (as in how far) are you going?
I am going home.
I am going as far as school.
What are you eating?
What are you drinking?
I am eating rice and kimchi.
I am drinking milk.
What are you doing?
I'm sleeping.
I'm exercising and playing.
I'm exercising. And I'm playing.
Where is the toothpaste?
I don't know. Anna knows.
Where is my house?
I don't know.
Where is my pillow.
It's (right) here.
It's over there.
See Answers.

Lesson Seven Body Parts and Numbers

Lesson Seven is a vocabulary lesson on body parts. It also includes an intro to basic Korean numbers. It will
be the second major vocabulary lesson you will learn.
This will be a shorter lesson, simply containing some common vocabulary words based on the body, and the
first 10 numbers in Korean. It is provided for you to help you increase your vocabulary with common words.
Body Parts
Korean

English

Body

Head, Hair

Face

Eye

Eyebrow

Nose

Ear

Mouth

Cheek

Lips

Chin

Neck

Shoulders

Chest

Stomach

Back

Arm

Hand

Fingers

Waist

Buttocks

Legs

Foot

Toes

That basic list of common body parts should be enough to get you more familiar with the language, building
your vocabulary. Now whenever you think of a body part, be sure to think of the Korean body part term!

Pure Korean Numbers

First, I will tell you right off there are two sets of Korean numbers you will run into. There are Pure-Korean
numbers, which come straight from the Korean language, and there are Sino-Korean numbers, which are
taken from Chinese. Both sets of numbers are commonly used, and you will learn when to use which kind.
For now, you will be introduced to the Pure-Korean numbers. Pure-Korean numbers are used to count
physical, tangible objects (excluding money) and the hour (but not minutes).
You will learn time in the future. It is more difficult as it is composed of both number systems.
Pure-Korean numbers only go through 99. Sino-Korean numbers can go as large as you like them to.
Here are the first 10 Pure-Korean numbers.
Korean

Number

()

10

To form the numbers 11-99, you will simply follow a pattern.

+ (10 + 1) = 11
+ (10 + 5) = 15
But in order to continue this pattern, you need to learn the word for 20, 30, 40, and so on.
Korean

Number

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

The pattern is the same as it was for the teens.

25 - + =
31 - + =
46 - + =
55 - + =
69 - + =
78 - + =
82 - + =
99 - + =
There are two last things to keep in mind with numbers. The first four, , , , change when they
come before a noun or something you are changing. They will change to , , , respectively.
- 1:00
- 2 bottles
- 3 animals
- 3 pieces of paper
This occurs in all cases where the number ends in one of these.
- 91 animals
- 43 people
Secondly, when or come before the sounds or , they may be pronounced and
respectively...instead of and . This may not always happen however.
Practice
Use the body part terms above and the Pure-Korean numbers for this practice.
- How Many
.
.
.

 ?
.
?
.
?
.
How many eyebrows do you have?
How many legs do you have?
How many fingers do you have?
How many hands do you have?
How many feet do you have?
See Answers.

Lesson Eight Verb Tenses

As we all know, there are three normal verb tenses; past, present, and future. Korean has them as well! So far, you
have been working using a normal present tense form of verbs. These use the / ending.

I will briefly review the present tense. Then you will learn about another form for the present tense, followed
by past and future.
Present Tense

The present tense is just as you have learned. You take the dictionary form of a verb, drop the , add the
appropriate ending.
- + =
- + - - .
This tense is used to represent what happens in the present. I eat. I drink. It is a general term for the present.
Currently Happening

There is a form you have not learned yet that is very common dealing with the present tense. Although you
can say to mean you are eating, as in ...there is a more specific way to say you are
currently eating rice. As you speak, it is happening. The pattern is:
~ .
It is quite simple. You take the verb from the dictionary form, drop the and you are left with the stem.
You add to the verb stem and that is all! This will form a present tense of the verb of something
that is currently happening. To form the casual style, you would just add .
- I'm eating rice (as we speak)
- I'm drinking milk (as we speak)
- I'm wearing shorts (as we speak).
It is commonly used :) I'm currently eating... I'm currently wearing this...I'm currently reading.

There will be practice at the end of all the tenses. Otherwise, you already know what the sentences say! :)
Past Tense

Past tense is another easy verb tense. Here is the basic pattern.
1.Take the dictionary form, drop the
2.Add the ending or , which makes it the casual form (everything but the at the end)
3. Add under the last syllable
4. Add on the end.

+ -
+ -
+ = .

+ -
+ -
+ =

+-
+-
+ =
- I ate rice.
- I watched tv.
- he went to school.
? - What did you do?
If you wish to say something you 'currently' were doing something in the past (say you were saying
something happened while you were doing something..'currently' isn't exactly the word, because it's not
current..but it was current)...
Then you can use the form from above and make past tense - .
I think a couple examples would explain better than words :)
- I was eating rice.
- I was watching tv.
Does that make a little more sense? Just another form you will see and can use when making sentences and
reading them.
Future Tense

There are a couple different forms of the future tense you will see. None match up exactly to what we see
the future tense in English as, but they are simple and easy to understand.

Probable Future

One common future tense is the probable future tense. It can be used to mean "I probably will eat." "I
probably will go to school tommorrow." This is probably the most similar (in my opinion) to our English
future tense. If you just intend to say Will go, will eat...this future tense may be your best bet.
The basic formation of this future tense is as follows:
Take the verb base, for our example using .
Attach () to the verb base. If the base ends in a consonant, you attach . If it ends in a
vowel, you attach .
- I will probably eat.
- I will probably go.
- It will probably rain.
*One thing to keep in mind. Remember back to when you learned some irregular verb cases? being
one. It appears as in the dictionary form, and when conjugated? Well, when using this for these
few special verbs, use the ending on the base and not the . Will listen.
Also, remember how some verbs pick up a and sometimes not? Example - ...well, in this case, it will
not take the , but will pick up an . Will probably be cold.*
Past Probable

You can also use this form with a past tense verb, to mean 'must have' or 'probably have'. The example with
would be . Notice the past tense ending is attached to the verb base, not the
verb part. would mean 'must have eaten.' 'Probably ate.'
Intentional Future

The other form of the future tense you will see often will use . The meaning is similar to the above future
tense, but varies slightly. This form is more of the meaning "I intend to, I'm positive it will happen, etc."
Here is how it is formed.
Take your verb base (whatever is before in the dictionary form, no exceptions. does not change to
as above. .)
Attach to that base. Then simply add your or ending you normally would use. Note the ending is
always and never , even for verbs such as . means I intend to eat.
means I'm sure it will rain. See how it is a little different from the previous future tense? This form has more
certainty.
Practice

Now that you know the three tenses, you should practice them. Try not to look above for the following!
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
?
?
?
?
?
What were you doing?
Where did you go?
Where will you probably go?
What do you intend to eat?
I intend (certainty) to eat rice.
I will probably eat kimchi.
I am eating bulgogi (now).
I was eating bulgogi.
Did you drink beer?
Do you intend to drink beer?
No. I intend to drink water.
See Answers.

Lesson Nine Clothes

Lesson Nine is the third lesson on vocabulary. The following lesson will be a grammar lesson on adjectives
and colors. You will then be able to describe your clothing in more detail.
Nouns
Korean

English

Clothes

Shirt

White Dress Shirt

Pants

Shorts

Jeans

Shoes

Dress Shoes

Sneakers

Socks

Skirt

Coat

Jacket

Hat

Glasses

Ring

Earrings

Necklace

Gloves

Dress

Suit

Necktie

Pajamas

Bra

Underwear(Male and Female)

Teeshirt

Hanbok, Traditional Clothing

You may have noticed many of these terms are taken from the English language. Just makes it easier to
remember.
Clothes Verbs

One thing you will notice is there are several verbs for wear, depending on where the object is. General
clothing (shirt, pants) will use . Shoes and socks will use . Hat, glasses, stuff on the head will use
. Stuff on the hands like rings and gloves will use . is used to mean take off, and is used for
any of the objects, no matter where it is.
Korean

Polite Style

English

To Wear (Body)

TO Wear (footwear)

To Wear (headwear)

To Wear (Hands)

To Take Off (anything)

To say you are currently wearing something, I recommend using the phrase ~ . As you learned in
Lesson Eight, this means 'currently taking place' action. would mean currently wearing clothes.
- I am wearing a skirt.
- I am wearing a shirt.
- I am wearing a ring.
If you use instead of , the sentence usually in the following way.
- I wear skirts (in general).
- I wear shirts (in general).
- I wear rings (in general).
Clothes Practice
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I am wearing a hat.
I am not wearing a hat.
I was not wearing glasses.
I intend to wear a skirt tommorrow.
I probably will wear my glasses tommorrow.
I intend to undress.
I used to wear three rings.
I did not used to wear four rings.
I'm not wearing jeans. I am wearing shorts.
I am wearing sneakers.
See Answers.

Lesson Ten Colors

Korean Colors

These are a little more complicated than color words in English, but you should be able to handle them!
There are a few ways to deal with color words in Korean, and I will teach you the most basic, common way.
First off, colors can come in a couple forms. There is the word that means just the color. There are color
verbs. For now, you will learn the most basic uses of color words and these should let you use colors just
fine in an easy to understand way.

means color. Knowing this will allow you to make more sense and understand the rest of this color
lesson easily.

Color

Adjective / Noun Modifier

Blue

Black

White

Red

Yellow

Green

Orange

Purple

Pink

Silver

Gold

Light Brown

Brown

Gray

Let's look at the color blue. . You can think of this as "blue color". is the part that lets us know
it is blue instead of orange, and tells us it is a color we are talking about (you will see when should be
included and when it shouldn't be in a minute).
If you are naming colors, then you should put at the end of the color word. From the table above, when
naming colors use the actual color name form (the words on the left).
If you are using them as an adjective, such as "The blue car is big." ( - To Be Big).
Here...we are just saying that the car is blue, but that isn't the topic of our sentence or anything like that. It is
just an adjective or noun modifier describing the car. If that is the case, then you should use the form that is
on the right side of the table. Some of the words will have a shortened form, without the . Other colors
you can't really shorten like that, however. So you would just say .
If you do wish to make a sentence stating that something is a certain color, you should use the verb To Be. This way it is very easy. You can just take the word for the color, , ..whatever the
word is...and attach the verb, . means the car is blue. It is very simple
this way.
However, you may see other versions of the word. For example, you may see it written as a verb itself, such
as , stating something is yellow. would be white.
What do you think is? If you said...color #2 in the chart above, then that's right! They are fairly easy
to recognize when you read them, but it may be harder to use them this way yourself because they aren't
written exactly the same way when they are combined with or . A few other examples are
and .
For now, just be aware that these forms do exist. If you see a version of one of the colors similar to these,
chances are the sentence states something is that color.

Lesson Eleven Modals

Modals is a grammatical term that is pretty much unknown to everyone except grammar teachers.
You know what they are though.
Have you ever wanted to say 'I can go,' 'I should go,' 'I want to go,' 'I need to go,' or 'I may go' ?
If so, you've wanted to know how to use modals! Modals are simply combining verbs such as may, want,
need, can and should with another verb.
That is all there is to it! See, modals are not so bad, but everyone uses them in conversation.
Now you can go out, speak Korean, use modals, and communicate well!

Oh, right. You still want to know how to use them in Korean. Well, here we go!
To Want
There are two things to consider when thinking about the verb 'to want'.

To want a noun.
To want to do something (verb).

Since we are talking about modals, or conditions of verbs, we are going to cover the second one in depth.
To want a noun
Alright. I will mention the first as well! The verb is:
- To want (a noun).
You use when you say something like 'I want an apple.' . 'I want a car' .
'I want a house' .
To want (to do)
What if you want to say 'I want to go'? Would you say ? At first, you may think so.
Unfortunately, we cannot simply take the infinitive for 'to go', , and stick it before 'to want'.
There is another pattern you must use. The verb 'to want' becomes ~ .
Now, take that infinitive, , and drop the . This gives you the verb base, or simply in this case.
Now all you have to do is add the new verb! .
When you say it in a sentence, will change just like any other verbs. It becomes .
Simple enough? Let's just add one more thing...
~ is only used when talking in first person (about yourself). This simply means you use ~ if
you are talking about something you (yourself) want.
If you are talking about something someone else wants to do, the verb is ~ .
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Practice
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See Answers
Have to, Need to
I have to do homework. Many of you may need to say this statement, even if sometimes you pass up
homework for a good time. ;-)
I have to work. This statement may fit you better.
Whether we want to do something or not, sometimes we just do not have a choice! If this is the case....
~ will come in handy.
Let's stick with the example 'to go' to illustrate this.
-
You simply drop the from the polite form of the verb and add the ending. Note how becomes .
+ = . However, you will still see it written both ways.
A couple more examples should make this pattern clear.
. - I have to do homework.
. - I have to work.
Notice how all we did was take the verb to do, , drop the , and add the ending? .
You just need to remember which part of the verb to use. In 'to want' we drop the from the dictionary
form and use that (the verb stem). In this case, we drop the from polite form and attach the ending to that
(the casual form of the verb).
Practice
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See Answers

Can, Be Able To
Moving right along.
If you need to say you can do something, you can go, you can eat, you use the following pattern.
Take the verb stem (drop the from the dictionary form) and add ~() .
Let me explain that a little better.
First, get the verb stem. - . - . Now, add the appropriate ending.
If the verb stem ends in a vowel, like , all you do is add .
- I can go.
However, if it ends in a consonant, you cannot add another consonant to the verb stem because there is
already one there! If this is the case, you add .
. - I can eat.
That's really all there is to it! Just remember the ending is ~() .
Note: Oh, and one more thing! If the verb ends in the consonant , you don't have to add either or .
Simply jump to the . Otherwise, the becomes redundant.
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Conditions:

Verb ends in vowel - add

Verb ends in - add
Verb ends in any other consonant - add

Practice
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See Answers
May, Have Permission
If you have permission to do something, you would use the verb 'may'.

I may go. (I have permission to go).

I may play. (I have permission to play).
This is pretty simple in Korean.
The ending is ~
You attach the ending to the casual form of the verb (drop the from the polite form).
- I may go.
- I may play.
Nothing fancy here.
Use the following practice to get used to this pattern.
Practice

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Some Real Practice
So, you understand them when separated. Do you think you can recognize what they all mean when
random?
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See Answers

Lesson Twelve Adjectives - How To Modify A Noun

Have you ever noticed a word in a sentence that you almost recognized? Perhaps it looked very similar to a
verb you had seen before.
Making The Distinction Between Verb And Adjective
What is an adjective? As of now, I have been calling all 'verb style' words verbs.
However, it is now time to make the distinction between true verbs and adjectives.
Both come at the end of a sentence. Both may take the normal endings you have learned.
An adjective is a word that describes something. Words such as 'to be cold' 'to be clean', and 'to be busy' are
all adjectives, because they describe something. Adjectives usually begin with 'to be' in English.
Other words, such as 'to run', 'to swim', and 'to write', are all true verbs. They are actions.
Yet, they both take the same / / endings. We use them almost exactly alike.
There will be many cases when you will need to know whether or not the 'word' you are dealing with is an
adjective or a verb. I am going to introduce you to one right now, so hold on!
How To Use An Adjective To Modify A Noun
What exactly do I mean by that?
Well, you can say 'The car is blue' and you can also say 'It is a blue car'. These two sentences mean the exact
same thing, except the word 'blue' is used two different ways.
In the first sentence, the whole sentence is based on describing the car, the color in particular.
In the second sentence, the writer may not necessarily be putting the emphasis on the color. The color could
just be there to provide additional information. What if I were to say 'A blue car just drove across the street.'
Am I focusing on the fact that a blue car just drove across the street, or is the color of the car simply extra
details?
As of now, you have been using the first form of the sentence. Let's look at the following sentence.
The weather is good.
You would probably say , correct?
What if you wanted to say 'Warm weather is good.'
This gets you into a situation in which you need to use another form of the adjective. You need to modify
the noun - weather. It is not enough to say . . which means 'The
weather is good, and the weather is warm.'
It doesn't quite mean the same thing.
Instead, you would say . This means 'Warm weather is good.'

How To Move An Adjective Before The Noun

So now you understand exactly what we want to accomplish. Let's learn how to do it.
The structure for this is based off adding or to a verb stem.
To know the verb stem, simply drop the from the dictionary form. is the verb for 'to be warm'.
After you drop , you are left with . Because it ends in a vowel (), you should add the ending.

Let's look at an example in which we will add the ending.

Good cars are expensive.
While this may not necessarily be entirely true in every case, it provides a good example to demonstrate this
point ;-)
We want to modify the noun 'cars' to specify only 'good cars'. We don't care about 'bad cars' or 'yellow cars',
because we are talking about 'good cars'.
- to be good
If we drop the , we are left with . Since ends in a consonant (), you should add the ending. You
get .
.
means 'good cars'.
Be careful, don't confuse adding the topic particle / to the end of a noun with this new ending we
attach to the word modifying the noun. They are two separate things.
How To Do This With Irregular Adjectives
As you have learned by now, there are usually some kind of irregular verb / adjective.
Irregular Ending
For example, the adjective is conjugated as in the present tense. Somewhere, we lost the
and gained a , right?
In these adjectives that drop the , you will do the same when moving the adjective before the noun. You
will also include the .

Instead of adding the ending to as you would in the present tense ( contracts to ),
you simply add the vowel ending form, . This results in .

Irregular Endings
Another irregular ending is when an adjective ends in . Often, the is dropped in some forms. An
example is . In the present tense, you cannot notice any change. It stays . However, before ,
, and , the is usually omitted.
It can be a little confusing to think of it like that, because you might think is the base, and so we would
add , rather than . However, try your best to realize that we are truly adding , and the only reason
the part is usually added is simply because we need the extra vowel if it follows a consonant.
Or, if this is easier, simply remember that when moving an adjective before the noun, adjectives that end in
will drop the :-)
- to be far
In this case, we have . Let's drop the and get . Now, simply add the proper ending . You could say
, meaning 'the house that is far away'.

and
You will occasionally run into a time where and will be used. One common adjective would be
- to be interesting
is an adjective, because it describes something as interesting. However, it ends in , which
usually comes with special endings.
With and endings, you will add instead of /.
The interesting car would be

Remember, this is pronounced , because when is followed by , it sounds like .
Practice Moving Adjectives
Now that you know how to move them, try practicing some!

See Answers

Homework
Lesson Three
Memorize these common verb patterns
Normal or

Takes /

,,

Normal not or

Takes /

, ,

Ends in

Combine to ~/~

, ,

Ends in

Combine to /

Ends in

Drop add appropriate ending

- , -

Ends in

Double the , drop add appropriate ending

- , -

Ends in or

Simply add or leave as is (casual)

- , -

Ends in

Combine to /

, ,

Memorize These first 10 common verbs and forms. To form casual style, simply drop the from the polite
style.

To Do

To Have

(~)

(~)

To Not Have

To Go

To Eat

To Drink

To Get Up

To Sleep

To See

To Be Good

Lesson Four
Memorize The Verb in the present tense for both polite and casual styles.
Verb

Meaning

Style

After Vowel

After Consonant

Copula, To Be

Polite

Copula, To Be

Casual

Memorize the verb and its two meanings.

Verb

Meaning 1

Meaning 2

Polite

Casual

Possession

Location

Memorize these 10 common words. If it has a (p) next to it, it means polite. A (c) means casual.
English

Korean

Hangul

Car

Pencil

House

Water

Bread

Friend

Yes

(p), (c)

No

(p), (c)

Hello

(p), (c)

Lesson Five
Below are the basics of the particles and a few vocabulary words that are commonly used with those
particles.
Keep in mind that words listed under subject particle will very well be used along with the topic particle,
and vice versa.

Particle

Use

Subject

Korean

English

Teacher

I (polite)

Mom

Dad

Below, words falling under a verb will be commonly used with that verb.
Particle

Use

Object

To Eat

Rice

Kimchi

Meat

Soup

To Drink

Water

Milk

Cola

Korean Liquor

Beer

Particle

Use

Topic

Location, To

Location, At

Answer Sheet
Lesson 1
- na
- ga (or ka..remember, light g/k sound)
- nak (light k sound at end, very light)
- ha
- gun or kun (g/k sound)
- nun
- nam
- man
- bap
- ban
- bon
- mon
- an
- bang
- eung
- naman
- manbang
- han
- jwuo yo
- ja ta
- shik dang
- pab-eul
- neh
- bulgogi
- na moo
? - o di?
- mog-go-yo
? - o di ga?
- ha na
- kong-wuon
! - an-nyong-ha-se-yo
? - hangug-mal-eul ara yo (see Lesson 2) ! - hangug-mal-eul sa-rang-he
(see Lesson 2)
o di ee-sso-yo?
gogi ee-sso-yo!
muo mog-go-yo?
pabeul mog-go-yo
hangug-mal-eul che-mee-ee-sso-yo?
neh! hangug-mal-eul cham che-mee-ee-sso-yo!

sul-pho-yo :(
pe-ga go-pha-yo!
Lesson 4
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
Does Anna have a (car)?
Is there a (chair) at home?
It is two blocks away.
Lesson 5
/ /
There is a book.
/ /
There is a pencil.
/ / .
There is a desk.
/ /
There is a dog.
/ /
There is a cat.
/ /
There is a television.
/ /
There is milk.

Anna is drinking water.

Nam is eating bread.

A friend is going.
Lesson 6
I'm reading a Korean language book.
Where is my book? ( = my)
It's here! ( = here)
What are you doing?
Watching television.
Cleaning the house.
Doing homework.

What are you eating?

I'm eating rice and kimchi and bulgogi. And I'm drinking water.
Where is the shampoo and soap?
The shampoo is (right) here. The soap is over there. ( = over there)
Where (as to how far) are you going?
I'm going (as far as) school.
Where do you study?
I study at school.
Do you go by car?
No. I go by train.
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. - + )
. .
?
. .
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Lesson 7
I have two ears. (There are two ears)
I have two eyes. (There are two eyes)
I have ten fingers. (There are ten fingers)
How many toes do you have? (How many toes are there?)
I have ten toes. (There are ten toes.)
How many noses do you have (How many noses are there?)
I have one nose. (There is one nose).
How many arms do you have? (How many arms are there?)
I have two arms. (There are two arms.)
?
?
?
?
?
Lesson 8

I intend to eat.
I ate.
I will probably go to school.
Anna must have studied Korean.
I intend to sleep.
Yesterday I wore a hat.
Tommorrow I intend to buy a hat.
Where is it?
Where was it?
What are you doing? (Also can use ?
What did you do? ( ?)
What will you probably do?
?
?
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?
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?
?
. .
Lesson 9
I'm wearing a skirt.
I'm wearing jeans and a shirt.
I'm wearing two rings.
I used to wear three rings.
I was wearing four rings.
I'm not wearing rings.
I'm wearing shoes.
I'm wearing shorts. And I'm wearing sneakers.
I'm wearing glasses.
I'm not wearing gloves.
Yesterday I was wearing a skirt.
Today I'm not wearing jeans. I'm wearing a skirt.
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Lesson 11

 . - I want to go.
. - You/He/She wants to go.
. - I want an apple.
. - I want a book.
. - You/He/She wants to read a book.
. - I want to sleep.
. - I want to eat.
. - Anna wants to drink water.
. - Anna wants to eat.
. - I want rice.
. - I have to go.
. - I have to go to school.
. - I have to eat.
. - I have to eat rice.
. - I have to drink.
. - I have to drink water.
. - I can work.
. - I can do my homework.
. - I can drink wine.
. - I can drink Korean liquor.
. - I can learn.
. - I have permission to sleep.
. - I have permission to eat.
. - I have permission to drink.
. - I have permission to drink wine.
. - I have permission to play.
. - I have to go to school.
. - I want to play.
. - I want a new computer.
. - Anna wants to exercise.
. = I am able to swim.
. - I have permission to drink liquor.
. - I can read.
. - I have to write an essay.
. - I want to watch a movie.
Lesson 12
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