Korean Words and Basic Vocabulary That Are Used Most Often

Do you know the Korean words that will get you speaking the fastest?

Learn this basic Korean vocabulary, and you’ll be having conversations sooner than you think!

Here is a list of some of the common basic Korean words:

• Hello – 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo)
• Please – 주세요 (juseyo)
• Sorry – 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida)
• Thank you – 고맙습니다 (gomapseumnida)
• Yes – 네 (ne)
• No – 아니요 (aniyo)
• Maybe – 아마도 (amado)
• Help – 도와 주세요 (dowa juseyo)
• Excuse me – 저기요 (jeogiyo)

Below, we’ll cover more of the basic vocabulary that is commonly used in the language.

We also have a free downloadable PDF resource that contains the most common Korean words. You can download it here and use it to study the words:

After reading this, start looking out for the words in your favorite K-Pop songs, in K-Dramas, at your neighborhood Korean restaurant, from your spouse/significant other, on your next trip to Seoul, or during daily life in Korea.

In the lists below, we’ve included audio to help your Korean listening and pronunciation skills. Just click the speaker icon next to each Korean vocabulary word and repeat the word. This will help you speak the Korean language properly. There are example sentences with English translations next to the words so you can see how they are commonly used in the language.

Many of these Korean words will be used in common everyday phrases, so it pays to learn them!

We’ve written them in both Hangeul (Korean Alphabet) and in romanized English. If you can’t read Hangeul yet, grab your free language guide here and be reading before your next meal.

Ready for some fun? Let’s do this!

Korean Food Words

If you’re planning on learning the Korean language, then you’re definitely going to want to know some basic Korean food vocabulary. With lots of tasty options and a huge variety, you’ll be happy you did!

Here are a few notes related to these Korean food words:

• If you want to order or ask for any of these items, add the phrase 주세요 (ju-se-yo) to any of these Korean words. This is one of the most useful phrases in the language. It means “please give me”.
• If you need to ask for water at a restaurant, a good phrase to say is 물 좀 주세요 (mul jom ju-se-yo).
• The word 밥 (bap) means “rice”, so you can use it for that exact meaning. It’s also used to reference food in general, as in a meal.
• One of the most common phrases you’ll hear in Korea is “밥 먹었어요?” (bap meogeosseoyo | did you eat?). In this case, the 밥 (bap) means “food”, not specifically rice. This is a great phrase to use when you meet your friends and want to use your language skills to ask about food plans.
• To order a beer, you can say 맥주 한 병 주세요 (maekju han byeong ju-se-yo), which means “Please give me 1 bottle of beer” in English. This is a really useful phrase when you meet with friends and want to order some drinks.

Korean Family & Relationship Words

These are fantastic Korean words to learn to help you understand everyday conversations. For sure you’ll need these if you’re going to meet and talk to Koreans in their language!

You’ll also hear Korean say them often in K-Dramas and K-Pop lyrics. Get to recognize them in your favorite Korean shows and movies--or just listen for them in regular conversations.

They’re sure to show up, and you’ll be one step closer to understanding the Korean language!

Here are a few useful notes about Korean family and relationship words:

• You might hear the Korean phrase 우리 남편 (uri nampyeon | our husband). While the direct English language translation is “our husband”, it actually means “my husband”.
• The Korean word 우리(uri | we, our) is used quite commonly to talk about things that belong to the whole group, such as the phrases 우리 나라 (uri nara | our country), 우리 집 (uri jip | our house), and 우리 아내 (uri anae | our wife).
• Another commonly used Korean vocabulary word for “wife” is 부인 (buin). You can use the two interchangeably.
• The Korean word 친구 (chingu) means “friend”, but only same-age friends. If someone you know is a different age, then you would want to use the correct title.
• 가족 (gajok) means “family”. This Korean word will come up often in the language, so best to make sure you know how to talk about your family in Korean.
• You can use the Korean word 아빠 (appa) which is similar to the English word “dad”. You can also use the slightly more respectful/formal 아버지 (abeoji), which is similar to saying “father”.
• You can use the Korean word 엄마 (eomma) for “mom”, or 어머니 (eomeoni) for “mother”. Both are commonly used terms in the language.

Korean Basic Conversation Words

This is the most common vocabulary you’re going to hear in everyday language discussions and chats. These are great words to know along with how to write your name in Korean and how to do a simple self-introduction.

Learn these key vocabulary, and you’ll start to get the gist of the language you hear in conversations, songs, movies, and dramas right away!

Memorizing Korean words can be quite fun. If you want to know an easy way to remember 집 (jip), think of the vehicle brand Jeep. 집 (jip ) sounds just like Jeep, so you can imagine that there is a Jeep parked in front of your 집 (jip)!

Korean Time Words

Korea is an organized and fast-paced country, and we’re here to keep you on schedule! Use these Korean time words to talk about common events and when they happen.

After learning the words below, you can up your time game by learning the Korean numbers and start telling time in Korean. Having these two skills are very useful for learning the Korean language.

Korean Verbs

Did you know that you can make a sentence in Korean with just a single verb? It’s one of the great things about the simplicity of the Korean language! Learn these verbs first and be having conversations in Korean in no time.

Once you know these verbs, you can continue to make good progress in the language with Korean grammar and Korean particles.

Korean Adjectives

Here are the top adjective Korean words. You will surely hear these as you learn the Korean language, so it’s good to add them to your vocabulary stack and get some practice with them.

What are Korean words called?

Korean words are called 단어 (daneo). The word for vocabulary in Korean is 어휘 (eohwi) or 용어 (yongeo). There are special words in the Korean language for different types of vocabulary.

If you want more goodness to supercharge your Korean language and culture skills, then check out our top resources here!