So you’ve decided you’d like to learn Korean.<\/p>\n
But with the abundance of materials available, how do you know the best place to start?<\/p>\n
This post is the ultimate guide on how to learn Korean, all the way from the beginning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
First things first: why are you learning Korean?<\/p>\n
Figure out your goals<\/strong><\/p>\n Perhaps you’re looking to conduct business with Korean partners. Maybe you’re knee-deep in the K-pop<\/a> fandom. Or maybe you just think the language is cool (it is!) and want to add it to your lingual repertoire.<\/p>\n Whatever your reasons, understanding the “why” of your studies will help to provide motivation throughout your studies. Consider your motives as the rock that will ground you even when learning can get a little tough.<\/p>\n Settle on a schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n Having a consistent agenda is half the battle when it comes to self-studying. Without a concrete plan of action, things can fall apart very quickly.<\/p>\n These tips are key to follow, no matter which study system you choose.<\/p>\n Gather your resources<\/strong><\/p>\n At this point, focus on the kinds of resources you typically prefer for studying. You don’t have to go nuts and gather everything you can, but do collect enough comprehensive ones to keep you occupied for the coming weeks.<\/p>\n You may like the traditional approach and settle for the dependable Korean textbooks<\/a> and workbooks. If you’re into digital learning, you may opt for nifty Korean learning websites<\/a> or convenient Korean language-learning apps<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud55c\uae00 or Hangul is the Korean alphabet.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been used since the Joseon Dynasty in the 15th century A.D. and was made at the behest of a Korean king, King Sejong the Great<\/a>, who wished to create a writing system that was readily accessible to commoners.<\/p>\n Before Hangul, only a few privileged folks could write in Korean society, and that was with Chinese characters! Composed of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, Hangul is said to be the most scientific alphabet in the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n Memorize the characters and sounds<\/strong><\/p>\n Learning Hangul is straightforward\u2014all you need is to memorize the characters and the sounds that are associated with them!<\/p>\n There are free mini-courses<\/a> to help you ease into it gradually. Aside from teaching you the alphabet, the lessons will help you understand how to build a Korean syllable, how to handwrite in Korean and how to pronounce Korean sounds and basic Korean words.<\/p>\n Practical immersion tips<\/strong><\/p>\n Next, practice some reading.<\/p>\n It\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t understand everything (or even anything). Remember, this is Hangul practice more than comprehension practice. Keep practicing until you\u2019re able to read the text without pausing!<\/p>\n Another important thing to focus on at this stage is getting the sounds of Korean right.\u00a0<\/p>\n For instance, take \u3131, \u314b, \u3132. The first letter, \u3131 or \uae30\uc5ed\u00a0(giyeok<\/em>)<\/em>\u00a0has a sound somewhere between g and k. Its pronunciation varies depending on where this letter is located inside a word.<\/p>\n The middle one, \u314b or\u00a0\ud0a4\uc754\u00a0(kieuk<\/em>)<\/em>\u00a0has a sound similar to k, but with stronger aspiration, like very strong k. The sound of the last letter \u3132 or \uc30d\uae30\uc5ed\u00a0(<\/em>ssanggiyeok<\/i>)<\/em>\u00a0doesn\u2019t exist in English, so you must get familiar with it.<\/p>\n Practice double consonant pronunciation<\/strong><\/p>\n There are five double consonant sets in total: \u3132, \u3138, \u3143, \u3146, and \u3149. To pronounce them correctly, you\u2019ll have to take the sound of the single consonant, but put more emphasis by tensing up your tongue.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take \u3138 as an example. Attempt to pronounce \u3137 but with more strength, almost as if you\u2019re flicking it between your teeth. The resulting sound is often transliterated as\u00a0dd<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0tt<\/em>, but in reality, it\u2019s somewhat in between the two.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t worry too much about accent<\/strong><\/p>\n At this point, don\u2019t worry about sounding like a native speaker. Knowledge and experience of\u00a0Korean accent<\/a>\u00a0matters will come over time, so don\u2019t stress about sounding completely correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n Korean isn\u2019t a tonal language, in which your tone of speech can change the meaning of what\u2019s said. It\u2019s syllable-timed and thus words can sound somewhat flat and quick.<\/p>\n It\u2019s more important that you\u2019re able to recognize and articulate (to reasonable accuracy) the phonetics of Korean. That is, when you\u2019re listening to a Korean speaker, you should be able to parse out the sounds.<\/p>\n Practical immersion tips<\/strong><\/p>\n Now we’re moving on to actual Korean words, and we’ll start first with numbers. The Korean language has two number systems<\/a>: the Sino-Korean system (based on Chinese numerals) and the Native Korean system.<\/p>\n Start with the Native Korean number system<\/strong><\/p>\n I recommend you start with these numbers first, since they’re pretty easy and used for general counting.<\/p>\n You’d use them when you want to note how many there are of something. For example, to say things such as “three apples,” “65 students,” “32 absences” and so forth.<\/p>\n Other instances in which you’d use native Korean numbers would be with describing age and the hour (but not the minutes) of the time.<\/p>\n Important to note is that the native Korean numbers don’t include zero and don’t go above 99. At the 100 mark and beyond, you move on to the Sino-Korean system.<\/p>\n Here are numbers one through 10:<\/p>\n Native Korean numbers follow a pattern that’s easy to learn once you know numbers one through 10. After that, you’ll have some more numbers to learn.<\/p>\n Spend a bit more time learning the Sino-Korean number system<\/strong><\/p>\n The use of Chinese numerals stems from the extended history of Chinese influence on the peninsula.<\/a><\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, the Sino-Korean numbers are automatically used for zero and numbers 100 and up. However, they’re also used for dates, phone numbers, money, and the minutes of time.<\/p>\n Here are numbers zero through 10 in Sino-Korean:<\/p>\n In general, Sino-Korean numbers are used more frequently than native Korean numbers. So if you were to really focus on either of the two number systems, I’d suggest you spend a bit more time with the Sino-Korean one.<\/p>\n Practical immersion tips<\/strong><\/p>\n \ub354\ud558\uae30<\/strong> (duh-ha-gi)<\/em> \u2014 plus An actual Korean math phrase is structured similarly to one in English. So if you want to say “two plus two” you would say “\uc774 \ub354\ud558\uae30 \uc774\ub294 \uc0ac.”<\/p>\n Now that you’re relatively comfortable with numbers, it’s time to move on to the meat of things: actual Korean words! Vocabulary, called \uc5b4\ud718 (uh-hwee)<\/em> in Korean, will be your next step.<\/p>\n There are also tons of loanwords in the Korean language<\/a> which come from English. This can give you a boost in your vocabulary collection and can show you that you already know many of these words<\/a>!<\/p>\n Hone in on the most common Korean words<\/strong><\/p>\n There is, in fact, a “right order” to the words you learn in a language. Focus on the most essential vocabulary, such as everyday objects, basic verbs and adjectives.<\/p>\n Think of the matters and themes that you’d likely speak about daily\u2014these are what you should learn the Korean words for. That way you can begin using them right away!\u00a0<\/p>\n To help you with this, you can utilize Korean word lists<\/a> that you can easily find online. Look for the word lists that are named something like “top 100” or “most common.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Remember to speak words out loud while learning them<\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t forget that you shouldn’t just let your eyes and hands do all the work when reading and writing Korean words. You should be actively working out your jowls and practicing your pronunciation non-stop.<\/p>\n It’s common to neglect this, especially for self-learners. But remember, you’re aiming to actually speak<\/em> Korean. The occasional mutter under your breath and mental verbalizing won’t be enough for pronunciation practice.<\/p>\n Practical immersion tips<\/strong><\/p>\n If you need some help with remembering all that vocabulary, this next step can help with that. Flashcards stimulate your memory through visual association.<\/p>\n How to use flashcards for learning<\/strong><\/p>\n Practical immersion tips<\/strong><\/p>\n If you’ve decided to make your own flashcards, we recommend keeping it simple.<\/p>\n Next, it’s a good idea to focus on actual Korean phrases and sentences. Hopefully, you’ll be utilizing the core vocabulary you’ve learned earlier, but let\u2019s first start with the essential greetings.<\/p>\n This is the time to learn your hello\u2019s, how are you\u2019s, goodbye\u2019s and \u201cMy name is.\u201d Even if you don\u2019t know much Korean, native speakers can still appreciate a quick basic greeting when you first meet them.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a basic list of just a few Korean greetings to get you started:<\/p>\n\n
2. Master the Korean Alphabet<\/h2>\n
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3. Train Your Ear and Mouth to Korean Sounds<\/h2>\n
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4. Learn Your Korean 1-2-3s<\/h2>\n
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\n\ube7c\uae30<\/strong> (bbae-gi)<\/em> \u2014 minus
\n\uacf1\ud558\uae30<\/strong> (go-pah-gi)<\/em> \u2014 times
\n\ub098\ub204\uae30<\/strong> (na-nu-gi)<\/em> \u2014 divided by
\n\ub294<\/strong> (neun) <\/em>\/ \uc740<\/strong> (eun)<\/em> \u2014 equals, use \uc740 if last syllable is a consonant<\/p>\n5. Stockpile Core Korean Vocabulary<\/h2>\n
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6. Use Flashcards<\/h2>\n
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7. Learn Korean Greetings and Introductions<\/h2>\n
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