My Korean Learning Adventures

SLANG 대박~ awesome! Swag! 멘붕~mental breakdown (comes from 멘탈붕괴) 심쿵~sound of a settling heart. When something is cute 헐~ wow. (sarcastically) 훈훈하다~heart warming 훈남/훈녀~a heart warming guy (rather than good looking) 미남/미녀~a physically attractive guy 엄친아~mother’s friend’s son (abr. of 엄마의 친구의 아들) 행쇼~”peace” or be happy (“peace” as in “peace out” or bye. Comes from 행복하십쇼) 갑 vs 을~superior versus subordinate 알바~part time job (comes from 아르바이트) 광광당하다~to be pwned 연관광~pwnage (lol pwned and pwnage still exist?) 개소리~ nonsense (literally: dog noise) 게거품 물다~ to be extremely angry (literally: foaming at the mouth like a crab) 까다~ to criticize

Ahhh. (°_°) so many slang words~ obviously there’s more, but let’s move on to texting.

TEXTING ㅇㅋ~ okay ㄱㄷ~ wait. (from 기다려주세요) ㅇㅇ~Informal yes (from 응) ㅎㅎ/ㅋㅋ/푸하하하~ laugh/laugh/evil laugh respectively ㄴ/ㄴㄴ~ no ㅎㅇ~ hi (from 하이) ㅇㄷ~ where? (From 어디?) ㅃ/ㅃㅃ/ㅃㅇ/ㅂㅂ/ㅂㅇetc.~ bye ㄱㅊ~ it’s okay (괜찮아) ㅈㅅ~ sorry (죄송해) ㅉㅉ~ tsk tsk ㅊㅋ~ congratulations (축하해) ㄱㅅ~ thank you (감사해) ㄷㄷ~ shivering noise ㄷㅊ~ shut up (닥쳐) ㅅㄱ~ “peace” (kind of similar to 행쇼 except more of a goodbye than a be happy) (수고해라/수고)

EMOTICONS ㅠㅠ/ㅜㅜ~ crying ^^/^-^ ~ smiling eyes ㅡㅡ ~ wth straight face. Like -_- orz/OTZ/OTL~ a dude kneeling over (I’ve known this for a very long time and I STILL read it as “orz” “O-T-Z” and “O-T-L” ㅎㅎ) ㅗ~ I hope you don’t encounter this. Can you guys guess what it is? ㅋㅋㅋ (hint: it looks like something)

I hope this helped you guys understand any native texters that are texting you these weird things that you can’t understand. I suppose it is like an American texting a person learning English “lol wats up brah. U doin gud? Lolz k me 2” ㅎㅎ Anyway~ if someone texts you some weird thing that doesn’t translate on the translator or dictionary, chances are, it’s probably slang. Just ask that person to write it out as a full word, or give you the meaning in English. If not, it’s probably online!

행쇼! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

I am going to post pictures I got from this website because I thought their charts were the easiest to understand, and then I’ll list the words below with explanations. There are some members in the charts that I didn’t include in my list, and some members in my list that aren’t in the charts, so check out both!

The terms listed first are the ~official terms~ and the terms in parenthesis are the colloquial terms (what you’d actually call them).

(BROTHERS AND SISTERS)

for a male:

자매(누나, 여동생)- sister

형제(형, 남동생)- brother 

형수- older brother’s wife

매형(자형)- older sister’s husband

제수- younger brother’s wife

매제(매부)- younger sister’s husband

생질(조카)- sister’s son or daughter (nephew/niece)

질(조카)- brother’s son or daughter (nephew/niece)

for a female:

자매(언니, 여동생)- sister

형제(오빠, 남동생)- brother

올케(새언니)- older brother’s wife

형부- older sister’s husband

올케- younger brother’s wife

제부- younger sister’s husband

생질(조카)- sister’s son or daughter (nephew/niece)

질(조카)- brother’s son or daughter (nephew/niece)

(FATHER’S SIDE OF THE FAMILY)

부(아버지)- father

고모- father’s sister (aunt)

고모부- father’s sister’s husband (uncle)

백부(큰아버지)- father’s older brother (uncle)

숙부(작은아버지)- father’s younger brother (uncle)

백모(큰어머니)- father’s older brother’s wife (aunt)

숙모 (작은어머니)- father’s younger brother’s wife (aunt)

내종형제(사촌)- father’s sister’s son or daughter (cousin)

내종질(사촌조카)- father’s sister’s grandson or granddaughter 

종형제(사촌)-father’s brother’s son or daughter (cousin)

종질(사촌조카)- father’s brother’s grandson or granddaughter

조부(할아버지)- father’s father (grandfather)

대고모- father’s father’s sister (great aunt)

종조(큰할아버지)- father’s father’s older brother (great uncle)

증조부(증조할아버지)- father’s father’s father (great grandfather)

조모(할머니)- father’s mother (grandmother)

증조모(증조할머니)- father’s mother’s mother (great grandmother)

(MOTHER’S SIDE OF THE FAMILY)

모(어머니)- mother

이모- mother’s sister (aunt)

이모부- mother’s sister’s husband (uncle)

외숙부(외삼촌)- mother’s brother (uncle)

외숙모- mother’s brother’s wife (aunt)

이종형제(사촌)- mother’s brother or sister’s son or daughter (cousin)

이종질(사촌조카)- mother’s sister’s grandson/granddaughter

외종질(사촌조카)-mother’s brother’s grandson/granddaughter

외조부(외할아버지)- mother’s father (grandfather)

외증조부(외증조할아버지)- mother’s father’s father (great grandfather)

존이모- mother’s father’s sister (great aunt)

외종조- mother’s father’s brother (great uncle)

외조모(외할머니)- mother’s mother (grandmother)

외증조모(외증조할머니)- mother’s mother’s mother (great grandmother)

(WIFE’S FAMILY)

부인(아내)- wife

장인- wife’s father

장모- wife’s mother

손윗처남(형님)- wife’s older brother

손윗처남댁(아주머니)- wife’s older brother’s wife

처형- wife’s older sister

손윗동서(형님)- wife’s older sister’s husband

처남- wife’s younger brother

처남댁- wife’s younger brother’s wife

처제- wife’s younger sister

동서- wife’s younger sister’s husband

(HUSBAND’S FAMILY)

남편- husband

시아버지- husband’s father

시어머니- husband’s mother

시아주버니(아주버님)- husband’s older brother

손윗동서(아주머님)- husband’s older brother’s wife

시누이(형님)- husband’s older sister

시자부(아주버님)- husband’s older sister’s husband

시동생(도련님)- husband’s younger brother

동서- husband’s younger brother’s wife

시누이(아가씨)- husband’s younger sister

Yesterday I learned the grammar 휠씬 which means “much (more)” + adjective/adverb + than something. 

If you want to look it up yourself, please visit the TTMIK website (Level 4/ Lesson 24). 

휠씬 itself basically means “much” and if you add the word 더 (more) or 덜 (less) after the word 휠씬, the meanings are as followed: 

휠씬 더 = much more

휠씬 덜 = much less

However when you want to say “much more” only, you can also drop the word 더 and it will still be understood as “much more”. You CAN’T drop the word 덜 though, when you want to say “much less”.

Example:

휠씬 더 재미있어요. = 휠씬 재미있어요. (Both mean “much more interesting/fun)

휠씬 덜 더워요. = 휠씬 더워요. (The first means “much less hotter”, while the second means “much more hotter” because if 덜 is not written, it is understood as “much more”)

Note: with 휠씬 you are also always comparing “something” to “another something” (e.g. this is better than that). Therefore you use it together with the grammar point ~보다 (than). However, depending on the context of your sentence you can ommit the ~보다 part, if it is known from the context of your sentence that you are comparing something to another thing.  

Sample sentences:

1. 내가 제일 좋아하는 카페에는 그 식당보다 휠씬 맛있는 케이크가 있어요.  

= My favourite café has a much more delicious cake than this restaurant.

2. 저는 당신덕분에 이제 전보다 훨씬 덜 화가나요.

= I am much less angry now than before because of you.

OR

 저는 당신덕분에 이제 휠씬 덜 화가나요. 

= I am much less angry now because of you.

 –> I ommited the “전보다” because it was already known from the context that I was comparing it to a former time.

3. 이번 여름에는 우리 휠씬 더 멋있는 여행을 가자! 

= Let’s go to a much cooler trip this summer!

Countries! :D Where are you from?

HEY COOL CATS it is summer and i am back to post so imma give you a couple of my fave sarcastic expressions

as a general rule for being sarcastic in korean, the -네 ending is used often and it’s important to place emphasis on words like “잘~” “참~”

빵 터지네 that’s funny 

딱이네 awesome

여기 오길 참 잘했네 I’m so glad I came here 

돌겠네 perfect 

기똥찬 생각이네 great idea

무진장 고맙다 thanks 

거참 재미있겠네 that sounds great 

퍽이나 yeah right

GRAMMAR/QUESTIONS

Vocabulary Builders

Countries

Body Parts

Twitter

Terms of Endearment

Words of Encouragement

Colours in Korean

Common Konglish Words

Numbers in Korean

Grammar

외국인 vs. 외국 사람

책방 vs. 서점

일하다 vs. 직장

숙제 vs. 과제

학교 vs. 학원

응답하다 vs. 대답하다

심지어 vs. 게다가

가격, 값 and 비용

수다 and 수다를 떨다

감사합니다, 고마워, and 고맙다.

한국어 vs. 한국말

아마 vs. 어쩌면

아니요 vs. 아니야

지금 vs. 이제

위성 vs. 달

이거 vs. 이게

Interrogatives

Demonstratives

Locative Adverbs

Bright and Dark Vowels

Particles 은/는 and 이/가

을/를 Object Marking Particles

이다 (To be)

아니다 (To not be)

~(으)ㄹ수록 [~(으)면 ~(으)ㄹ수록] (The more… the more…)

~네요

~ㄹ/을 계획 (To have plans to…)

잘/못 하다 (to be good/bad at something)

아서/어서

Particles: 에게/함테/께 and 에게서/한테서

와/과 particles

Misc. Questions

What does 눈치 mean?

Basic Korean curriculum plan! Pt.2

Anywhere to read beginner and intermediate Korean?

Is ㄱ ‘g’ or a ‘k’?

How do you pronounce 의?

When is 의 pronounced differently?

What is the difference between ㄱ and ㅋ?

How to say ‘You are’ in Korean?

How to say “I am” in Korean?

How to say “What is…” in Korean?

How to say “Who is…” in Korean?

What does 미드 mean?

What does 특집 mean?

What are some differences between the Seoul and Busan dialect?

How to learn the Busan accent?

What is the difference between 입니다 and 이에요/예요?

When do pronounce the letters ㅅㅈ ㅊ and like ’t’ and ㅂ like ’m’? And why?

When are ㅅ/ㅆ pronounced “SH”?

How to say, “Is it interesting?”

뭐야 이거?

Which particles are dropped in speech?

Do people in Daegu and Busan speak the same dialect?

What’s the difference between ~어/아서 and ~고?

How to change verbs into nouns?

What’s the difference between 안녕히가세요 and 안녕히계세요?

What’s “anyway” in Korean?

Why do Koreans use 우리 instead of 나의?

What does “멋졍 ” mean?

Pronunciation rules for ㅎ

Speech formalities 

Nouns in Korean

How to ask questions in Korean

How to say a.k.a in Korean?

How to say ASAP in Korean?

Grammatical spacing in Korean

Accents around Korea

Difference between 함께 and 함께라면?

How would you use 이야기하다 in a sentence?

What does ‘도망치지 마 뒤돌아서서 두려움에 맞서봐’ mean?

ㅍ,ㅂ, and ㅃ

Difference between 애 and 에?

How to say “please” in Korean

Negatives in Korean

Difference between ㅊ and ㅈ?

What’s the difference between 우리, 나의, and 내(ㅔ)?

Why do Koreans sometimes put 나 at the end of a sentence?

Difference between 입니다 and 습니다?

How to introduce yourself in Korean?

How to pronounce Hangul characters?

VOCABULARY

Follow the Instagram counterpart for all vocabulary study cards!

WEEKLY VOCAB RECAP:

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Week Nine

Week Ten

TEN WEEK VOCABULARY

Week Eleven

Week Twelve

Week Thirteen

Week Fourteen

Week Fifteen

Week Sixteen

Week Seventeen

Week Eighteen

Week Nineteen

Week Twenty

TWENTY WEEK VOCABULARY

Week Twenty-One

Week Twenty-Two

IDIOMS AND PROVERBS

Follow the Instagram counterpart!

ㄱ:

가재는 게 편이라

개미 구멍으로 둑도 무너진다

가는 말이 고와야 오는 말이 곱다

거지도 부지런하면 더운 밥 얻어 먹는다

가려운 곳을 긁어 주다

거미 새끼같이 흩어진다

가랑비에 옷 젖는 줄 모른다

개천에서 용 난다

걱정도 팔자다

귀신도 모르다

거짓말도 방편

공자 앞에서 문자 쓴다

곧은 나무 먼저 찍힌다

ㅅ:

시작이 반이다

선무당이 사람 잡는다

ㅁ:

말보다 증거

ㅊ:

천 리 길도 한 걸음부터

ㅈ:

작은 고추가 맵다

SLANG

득템

얼짱

말을 씹다 or 문자를 씹다

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:

For any information regarding how to learn Korean, travel, or resource material, please refer to my Korean Resource Masterpost. If your question is grammar related, please check out my Grammar List to see if it has been answered. If not, please feel free to ask!

Do you do translations?

No. Whilst I appreciate people asking for translations, or corrections, it is not the focus of this blog. However, if you have questions regarding grammar, advice or anything else, I am more than happy to answer! ^^

Do you have any tips for pronouncing Korean?

Check out this post!

Do you have any tips for the intonation/rhythm of Korean?

Check out this post!

Do you have any tips on learning bright and dark vowels?

Check out this post!

Do you have any tips for reading Hangul like a native?

Check out this post!

Do you know of any good Korean dictionaries?

Check out this post!

Do you have any tips for learning Hangul?

Check out this post!

Do you have any tips on staying organised while studying?

Check out this post!

Do you have any tips for self study?

I don’t have any tips as of yet, but I have narrowed down the essential things to keep in mind when self studying in this post. Check it out. But if you have anything specific left unanswered, then I’d be more than happy to answer!

What is your study plan like?

I have a post here explaining! 

Do you use any other social media?

I have an Instagram for Korean Idioms, and another Instagram for all my vocabulary study cards! I also have a Twitter for updates!

How long have you been studying Korean?

Honestly, not long! I’ve only been dabbling in the language since late October 2015.

Do you self study?

Yes. I try to dedicate at least five hours a week into learning grammar and vocabulary.

What is your native language?

My mother tongue is English!

What is your name?

I use my initials L.E. as a mash up for my name online; so most people call me Elle (pronounced Ellie)! My real name is Emmie/Emily.

Will you add audio to your study cards?

I did consider making audio for the pronunciation, however I came to the conclusion that the quantity of vocabulary I’m supplying each week is already being juggled on top of university work. So making videos or audio would only increase the work and provide difficult to keep up. Although, I’m not completely dismissing the idea, so I’ll see what happens!

Will you add romanisation to you study cards?

I personally don’t think that romanisation is necessary, and quite often, it seems that learners can find it quite restrictive. This is mainly due to the fact that it can actually inhibit proper pronunciation and hinder reading fluency. For this reason, I don’t like to include it. However, for those that like to use romanisation, personally putting in the effort and piecing together the romanisation yourself is a great way to truly learn it by heart! After all, it’s all about practice. ^^

Am I allowed to save the study card you’ve made?

Of course. That’s why I make them! ;) However, I do not allow the re-uploading of any of my flashcards without first asking permission. I put time and effort into these study cards, and it’s upsetting to see my work posted without proper credit.

Why did you start learning Korean?

I love language, and have dabbled in many! I decided to learn a language completely different to anything I’ve learnt before, so I picked Korean randomly. I fell in love with it, and from there I’ve found a secret passion for Korean drama!

What other languages have you studied/know?

기온이 높다/ 낮다 = (temperature) to be high/ low

기온이 올라가다/ 떨어지다 = (temperature) to go up/ down

습도가 높다/ 낮다 = (humidity) to be high/ low

건조하다 = to be dry

최고기온 = the highest temperature

최저기온 = the lowest temperature

영상 = above zero (degrees)

Vocabulary Focus

올라가다 = to go up

내려가다 = to go down

구경가다 = to go sightseeing

도망가다 = to flee

질러가다 = to take a shortcut

간밤 = past night

오래가다 = to last long

손가락 = finger

발가락 = toe

Grammar Highlights

~보다

Attaches to the object being compared to the main topic to mean “than”

Used with 평소 often to mean “than usual”

~ㅂ/슴니까?

Ending for asking questions with high respect

~니?

Ending for informal feminine-sounding questions

~ㄴ/은가(요)?

Attaches to present tense adjectives to make questions sound “softer”

~나(요)?

Attaches to verbs, 있다, and 없다 to make questions sound “softer”

Can be used in past tense and future ~겠다 tense

Sentences

우리는 평소보다 영화 구경을 더 갔어요.

오늘 인천으로 올라갑니까?

한국어 성적이 올라서 우리 부모님은 평소보다 더 행복해하셨어요.

오늘 경주로 내려갑니까?

저는 친구랑 학교로 길을 가로 질러가다 길을 잃었어요.

간밤에는 오늘 밤보다 더 무서워서 잠을 잘 수 없었어요.

유행은 오래가지 않아요 새로운 스타일을 따르세요.

손가락은 아팠니?

이 환자는 발가락이 다 있나요?

오다: to come

마시다: to drink

먹다: to eat

주다:  to give

가다: to go

듣다:  to hear

배우다: to learn

만들다: to make

앉다: to sit

자다: to sleep

씻다: to wash

쓰다: to write

울다: to cry

갖다: to have

웃다: to laugh

보다: to see

일어나다: to get up

걷다: to walk

춤추다: to dance

만나다: to meet

공부하다: to study

운전하다: to drive

사다: to buy

읽다: to read

주문하다: to order

입다: to wear

찍다: to take (picture)

쓰다: to wear (hat, eyewear)

신다:  to wear (shoes, socks, footwear)

빌리다: to borrow, lend

전화하다: to telephone

말하다: to talk, speak

가르치다: to teach

기다리다: to wait

걸다: to call, dial

청소하다: to clean

타다: to ride

나가다: to exit

들어오다: to enter

물어보다: to ask

필요하다: to need

도와주다: to help

열다: to open

닫다: to close

일하다: to work

쉬다: to rest

운동하다: to exercise

생각하다: to think

알다: to know

모르다: to not know

요리하다: to cook

끓이다: to boil

썰다:  to chop, slice

튀기다: to deep fry

재다: to measure, weigh

섞다: to mix, blend

굽다: to roast, grill, bake

볶다: to fry

찌다: to steam

휘젓다: to stir

하다: to do

있다: to have

없다: to not have

이야기하다:  to talk, chat (story)

연습하다: to practice

묻다: to ask

내다: to pay

살다: to live

죽다: to die

태어나다: to be born

사랑하다: to love

좋아하다: to like

싫어하다: to hate, dislike

결혼하다: to marry

축하하다: to congratulate

걱정하다: to worry

약속하다: to promise

거짓말하다: to lie

고백하다: to confess

죄송하다: to be sorry

찾다: to find, to look for

준비하다; to prepare

가지다: to have

기억하다: to remember

꿈꾸다: to dream

시작하다: to start

끝나다: to finish

보내다: to send

사용하다: to use

팔다: to sell

싸우다: to fight

대답하다: to answer

소개하다: to introduce

출발하다: to depart

도착하다: to arrive

벗다: to undress, take off clothes

이기다: to win, defeat

지다: to lose, be defeated

서두르다: to hurry, rush