Absolute Beginner > Practice 1
Practice 1. Korean Words Reading Practice + Vocab Tips
Reading Practice
- 모음 – Vowel
- 자음 – Consonant
- Vocabulary Tips
[Vowels]
- “ㅡ” and “ㅣ” + Other Basic Vowels
ㅡ is pronounced as “eu” and ㅣas “ee”.
*to memorize it easily, imagine that ㅡ is “beD (bedeu)” and ㅣlooks like a “trEE”.
이름 – name
지금 – now
With this in mind, let’s look at the basic vowels divided into two groups.
ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ – are always placed next to a consonant > 아 [ah] / 야 [yah] / 어 [uh] / 여 [yuh]
ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ – are always placed below a consonant > 오 [o] / 요 [yo] / 우 [oo] / 유 [yoo]
우유 – milk
아저씨 – middle aged man
오빠 – an older brother (for female)
형 – older brother (for male)
여자 – female (woman / girl)
남자 – male (man / boy)
언니 – older sister (for female) > 저는 언니가 있어요 – I have an older sister.
누나 – older sister (for male) > 저는 누나가 있어요.
휴가 – vacation
- ㅐ / ㅒ / ㅔ /ㅖ
ㅐ and ㅔ sound exactly the same* and are pronounced as “eh”.
ㅒand ㅖalso have the same* pronunciation “yeh”.
*Actually, they do have a very, very, very subtle difference in the location of the tongue. However, this doesn’t tremendously affect how it’s pronounced, and you can just remember them as same.
애 > 아이 – child / person (very informal)
이 애 / 얘 – this child / person
그 애 / 걔 – that child / person
저 애 / 쟤 – that child / person
저 + 가 > 제가 – I (formal)
나 + 가 > 내가 – (informal)
제 / 내 – my
얘가 내 동생이야. – This person is my sibling.
얘가 내 남동생 / 여동생이야. – This is my brother/sister.
걔는 내 친구야. – That person is my friend.
세계 – world > 전 세계 – the whole world
시계 – clock / watch
얘기 (이야기) – story / talk
애기 = 아기 – child
- ㅘ [wa] / ㅙ [wae] / ㅚ [wae] / ㅞ [wae]
치와와 – Jiwawa
와우 – Wow
과일 – fruit
사과 – apple / apology
왜 – why
외국인 – foreigner
스웨덴 – Sweden
스웨터 – sweater
- ㅝ [wo] / ㅟ [wee] / 의
뭐 – what
뭐 해? – What are you doing?
줘 (present tense of 주다) – to give
위 아래 – Up and down
귀여워 – It’s cute!
휘파람 – whistle
의사 – doctor
의자 – chair
나의 = 내 – my > 나의 의자 – my chair
한국의 수도는 서울이에요. – Korea’s capital is Seoul.
[Consonants]
ㄱ >
그래요 / 그래 – okay / really?
왜 그래? – Why are you like that?
ㄲ >
꼬리 – tail
ㄴ >
냉장고 – refrigerator
ㄷ >
닫다 – to close
문 닫아 – Close the door!
ㄹ / ㅁ >
미래 – future
섬 –
설날 – Korean New Year
ㅂ >
바보 – dummy / stupid
밥 – meal / rice
발리 – Bali
ㅃ >
빨리 – fast / hurry
ㅅ >
사랑 – love
옷 [pronounced as 옫] – clothes
ㅆ >
쓰레기 – trash
ㅇ >
오이 – cucumber
ㅈ / ㅉ >
진짜 – really
ㅊ >
채소 / 야채 – vegetables
ㅋ >
코 – nose
키 – key / height
키가 커요 – I’m tall.
ㅌ >
토요일 – Saturday
똑같아 – It’s the same
ㅍ >
편지 – letter
ㅎ >
하늘 – sky
좋다 – to like
좋아 [pronounced as 조아] – I like it / Okay
[Tips on how to learn & memorize vocabularies!]
- Learn Chinese characters
You don’t necessarily have to learn the exact character itself. Knowing the root and origin of each sino-Korean word will be a big help in memorizing the words more effectively and easily.
For example,
수족관 means “aquarium.” 수 comes from a Chinese character “ 水” which means “water”.
And “관” is used for buildings/organizations. So, knowing these two roots, why 수족관 means aquarium would make more sense, and you’ll remember the word more easily.
수영 – to swim
수영장 – swimming pool
장 is used for wide areas.
공연 : performance
공: public / 연: perform
공연장 – concert hall
When you start using this method for memorizing vocabularies, you will notice some of the common patterns found in Korean vocabs, which will expedite your vocab learning, understanding, and memorizing process.
- Write – Speak – Listen – See
When you’re writing a word – you can see it. When you’re pronouncing it – you can hear it. When you activate as many of your senses as you could while learning, what you learn stays in your memory a lot longer than otherwise.
In addition, actively using the vocabs you learned will also help the words stay in your memory.