#learn Korean with bts

[learn-korean-with-yuli]

Learn Korean with BTS JIMIN!!!!

[lifeofaself-taughtlinguist]

Had bit of a Korean learning block the last few weeks, plus I went to Disneyland Paris but it's not like a good Korean book hual to get the motivation going again!

BTS comes with an electric pen (In the white box) that speaks when you put it on a word.

Great for my listening skills!

[jimpagne]

Bite-sized Korean with 이게 맞아?!

*disclaimer: I am not Korean, I am not fluent in Korean, but I have taken formal classes, so this is to the best of my knowledge. If anything is amiss, please let me know either privately or in the comments of this post.

I'm going to discuss what Jimin says in the first three seconds of the trailer!

지민: 오늘 정국이 잘 때 안 춥게 형이 옆에서 꼭 안아줄게 I'll give you a cuddle tonight so that you don't feel cold.

Let's dive into the 단어!

오늘 - Today (but in this context, it's translated as tonight bc it's encapsulating the notion of it being *later* in the same day)

정국 - Jungkook

자다 to sleep

자다 in this case is conjugated to 잘 때 when added to the ~을/ㄹ 때 form, which indicates when a verb occurs/is performed. so it's like, when you sleep.

안 - Not

춥다 Cold

춥다 is added onto the grammatical form of ~게 and becomes 춥게, which functions like "so that" or "to allow for" in English. This is used to explain what influences the speaker to perform a certain action. Usually forms like this might appear awkward to the average English speaker because the form is usually structured backwards from what we're used to.

형 - Hyung

옆 Next to (paired with a ~에서, a dynamic location particle)

꼭 - Tightly, firmly (in this particular context)

안다 to embrace, to hug, to hold within one's arms

안다 is combined with the ~아/어주다 form, which indicates that the speaker wants the listener to do something for them. I'd say this form mostly closely equates to asking for a favor from someone. Since 안다 is a verb that is commonly paired with 주다 (to give), this form can also demonstrate that you are also doing something on behalf of the listener. In more polite forms, you'd use the verb 드리다 (for humility), but Jimin is older (and close) with Jungkook, so he uses comfortable language and sticks to 주다. 안아주 is then added to ~ㄹ/을게(요) form and becomes 안아줄게, which is when the speaker states their intention to do something unless the listener refutes them.

So ig you can see this sentence like: When you sleep tonight, so that you don't get cold, hyung will be next to you and will hold you tight.

That's a little too wordy, however.

Other Notes | 때 usage

There's also a form of 때 that can be paired with nouns. ~을/ㄹ 때 is used exclusively with verb forms, but you can use 때 by itself next to nouns. ex: 방학 때 - during (school) vacation

중학교 때 제가 좋아하는 과목은 수학이었어요. When I was in/During middle school my favorite subject was math. 중학교 middle school, 제 my, 좋아하다 to like, 과목 subject, 수학 math, 이다 to be

Also another form of 때 is ~을/ㄹ 때까지, which is like, until (verb) occurs. In this case, 때 is added to ~까지, which means until/up to. In the song Spring Day (봄날), at the end they sing:

다시 봄날이 올 때까지 Until that spring day comes again 다시 again, 봄날 spring day, 오다 to come

꽃 피울 때까지 Until the flowers bloom 꽃 flower(s), 피우다 to bloom

Other notes | ~ㄹ/을까(요), ~ㄹ/을게(요), ~ㄹ/을래(요) verb attachments

~ㄹ/을게(요) is like, I'm going to do this (if that's alright) or I'm planning on doing this (if you're fine with it). It's more of a statement rather than a question/suggestion, but it carries a kind of nuance that can fish for the consent/permission of the listener.

불을 켜드릴게요. I'm going to turn on the light (for you). 불 light, 켜다 to light, ignite

~ㄹ/을래(요) is an invitational form that usually expresses the desire or want to do something. It's like forming proposals like, "will you do… (together)", "let's...", "would you like to...", or "do you want to...". It's a form that pays more attention to what the listener wants to do.

같이 밥 먹을래요? Let's eat together/Shall we eat together? 같이 together, 밥 rice/meal, 먹다 to eat

~ㄹ/을까(요) is also an invitational form, asking "should I..?", "I'm thinking of...(but give me your thoughts)", "should we…?". Honestly, when I first encountered this form, I wondered what made it different from 을/ㄹ래(요), but from my understanding this form values the opinion of the other person (about information they may not know) and also asks for an opinion or permission about things that have yet to occur. So this form can almost be used like the English statement of: "What do you think? Should we...?"

불을 꺼줄까요? Do you want me to turn off the light? 불 light, 끄다 to put out, to extinguish

That's all! Until next time ;p

[skzandkpop]

That's a fair question 😭😭

[salanaii]

Learn Korean with me - Week 6 - 2.10.25

Introducing Yourself

Korean Journal Entry Prompt - How was the 1st month of 2025?

**Sorry this week isn't better prepared. I had some family medical issues that needed a lot of extra attention this week.

[kippeo]

Cute bunny loaf notebook available on Amazon

࣪˖ ִֶָ🐇་༘࿐

오늘의 어훠 (Words for today):

토끼 - a rabbit

장미 - rose

빵 - bread

꽃 - a flower

잎 - a leaf

[134340honsool]

🩶 My Soul Songs 🩶

— By “Soul Songs” I mean songs that when I listened to them for the first time, I connected to them or understood them in a certain way that I just haven’t with most songs.

— I currently have 39 songs and I might add explanations for why I have each song instead of just some.

— Anyways! Here’s my list ❤️‍🩹

(Tap the titles on the songs and they will send you straight to the songs on Spotify!)

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🌸 Perfume by KIM HANKYUL 🌸

“When the city goes dark”

“We coast through the park”

“You’re perfume fills my head”

“I suppose I’m in love”

“Cause I can’t help but fall”

“In to void, I can’t contemplate.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

♠️ Know me by GEMINI ♠️

“I'm dancin' alone inside my head”

“Somebody save me”

“Do you know how I'm thinkin' now?”

“I’m locked up in love”

“I'll say the words you always made me”

“Baby, you know what is goin' down”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

♥️ My Love by D.O ♥️

“너와 함께 걷는 이 밤공기”

(We walk together through this night air)

“온도와 날씨는 너와 어울려”

(The temperature and weather suits you)

“밤하늘 별빛 너의 눈빛”

(The night sky, the starlight, your eyes)

“내 눈에 담기는 모든 건”

(Everything I see with my eyes)

“That’s just my love”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🌌 Still With You by Jung Kook 🌌

“날 스치는 그대의 옅은 그 목소리”

(Your faint voice brushes past me)

“내 이름을 한 번만 더 불러주세요”

(Please call my name just one more time)

“얼어버린 노을 아래 멈춰 서있지만”

(Though I'm standing still beneath the frozen sunset)

“그대 향해 한 걸음씩 걸어갈래요”

(I'll take one step at a time toward you)

“Still with you”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🎵 People (사람) by Agust D 🎵

“나는 어떤 사람“

(What kind of person am I?)

“나는 좋은 사람?“

(Am I a good person?)

“아님 나쁜 사람?”

(Or a bad person?)

“평가는 가지각색”

(Many ways to judge)

“그냥 나도 사람”

(Just a person)

“다들 살아가겠지“

(Everyone would live on)

“다들 사랑하겠지“

(Everyone would love)

“다들 바래가겠지“

(Everyone would fade away)

“잊혀가겠지“

(And be forgotten)

“사람들은 변하지 나도 변했듯이“

(People change, just like I have changed)

“세상살이 영원한 건 없어“

(There is nothing that lasts forever in this world)

”다 지나가는 해프닝“

(Everything is just a happening that passes by)

— This is absolutely my favorite song. I relate to this song way too much and it’s constantly on repeat. It’s so well written and Yoongis shift between rap and vocals are just so good. Absolutely amazing song and if you haven’t listened to it before reading this, please click the link! (The title of the song)

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🌟 Wishing On A Star by BTS 🌟

“描く Story”

(The story that we paint)

“叶うように Wishing on a star”

(I'll be wishing on a star so that it comes true)

“思い続けよう”

(I’ll continue to hope)

“星をなぞるように”

(Like tracing the stars)

“何度も願うよ I can't wait”

(I'll wish again and again, I can't wait)

“掴みたいから”

(Because I want to catch it)

“Wishing on a star”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🌅 High Alone by Jackson Wang 🌅

“Who am I supposed to get lost with?”

“Remember, we would dream? Now I live in it”

“Drunk alone don't make sense”

“Baby, let's restart fuck the past tense”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

💔 Please don’t… by K.Will 💔

“나란히 앉은 자동차 속에선”

(In the car sitting side by side)

“음악도 흐르지 않아”

(There’s no music playing)

“늘 잡고 있던 네 왼손으로 너”

(With your left hand that I was always holding)

“입술만 뜯고 있어”

(I’m just biting my lips)

“네가 할 말 알아, 그 말만은 말아”

(I know what you’re going to say, just don’t say it.)

“Don't know why, don't know why”

“Don't know why, don't know why”

“일분 일초 더 끌고 싶은데”

(I want to drag it on for one minute, one second longer.)

— Absolutely obsessed with this song first listen. HIGHLY recommend the music video. The vocals, instrumentals and the music video are all so amazing. Cried heavily. But again, the vocals K.Will has 😫😫

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🌷 ONLY by LeeHi 🌷

“Now I believe”

“라랄라랄라라 부르는 노래”

(La-la-la-la-la, I sing a song like this)

“찾고 찾고 찾아 헤매이던 그대와”

(With the one I was desperately looking for)

“My, oh my, oh my, oh 내 사랑”

(My, oh my, oh my, oh my love)

“Be my only love (My only love)”

“걸어 걸어가는 발걸음마다”

(Every step we take)

“기분 좋아 꼭 둘이서 추는 춤 같아”

(It's like a dance we perform together)

“My, oh my, oh my, oh 내 사랑”

(My, oh my, oh my, oh my love)

“Be my only love”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🩵 Anti-Romantic by TOMORROW X TOGETHER

“I don’t know who loves me.”

“And I don't care 어차피 낭비”

(And I don't care, it's a waste anyway)

“설렘 따위 좀 겁이 나니까”

(I'm a little scared of this romantic feeling)

“달콤 쌉쌀한 chocolate”

(Sweet and slightly bitter chocolate)

“끝 맛은 항상 같지”

(The aftertaste of it is always the same)

“Like saddest movies”

“눈가엔 눈물만”

(There are only tears around my eyes)

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🔁 Replay (누난 너무 예뻐) by SHINee 🔁

“아-아-아름다운 그녀는 (Yo, yo)”

(Ah, ah, the beautiful girl ((Yo, yo))

“아-아-아직까지 누구와 진실 된 사랑의 맛을 본 적이”

(Ah, ah, until now hasn't had a taste of sincere love with anyone)

“없는 게 분명해”

(That is clear)

“아-아-아���게도 그녀는”

(Ah, ah, it's a shame, that girl)

“아-아-아직 어린 나에겐 (No, no, no)”

(Ah, ah, can't accept ((No, no, no))

“진실 된 사랑의 마음을 받을 수 없는지”

(My young self's heart filled with sincere love)

— Instead of the lyrics for this songs, I think the vocals are what I connected with the absolute most. I fell in love with Jonghyuns vocals because of this song. His vocals always stick out so well in every song. 💚

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

⭐️ Stars and Raindrops (내려요) by Seungmin💧

“끝까지 놓지 않았었다면”

(If I hadn't let it go in the end)

“우린 다시 행복해졌을까?”

(Will we ever be happy again?)

“소용없다 다 소용없다 소용없대도”

(It's useless, everything is useless, even if they say it's useless)

“생각이 자꾸 머릿속에서 자라나”

(Thoughts keep growing in my head)

“좀 더 잘했으면 잘됐을까?”

(Would it have been better if I did better?)

“반대로 했다면 넌 웃었을까?”

(Would you have laughed if I did the opposite?)

“부질없다 다 부질없다 다 아는데도”

(It's useless, everything is useless, even though I know everything)

“후회가 자꾸 가슴속에서 커져 가”

(Regret keeps growing in my heart)

— Love the lyrics and absolutely love Seungmin vocals. Seungmin and Lee Know have the most amazing vocals for ballads/slow songs and that’s why when I listened to this song for the first time and heard the high note near the end, I knew that this song was going to be my obsession for awhile.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🌙 moonchild by RM 🌙

“Come on, ya'll, moonchild, moonchild”

“That's how it's supposed to be”

“Yeah, all these pain and all these sorrows”

“That's our destiny, see?”

“You and my life was like this”

“We gotta dance in the rain, dance in the pain”

“Even though we crash down”

“We gon' dance in the plane”

“우리에겐 누구보다 밤의 풍경이 필요해”

(We need the night's scenery more than anyone else)

“그 어느 누구도 아닌 나만이 날 위��해”

(Only I can console myself, nobody else)

“It’s okay the shed the tears”

“But don’t you tear yourself”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

🌼 Sour by The Rose 🌼

“When the teardrops touch my mouth”

“I taste the bitterness like you”

“Got me speechless and it stung my tongue”

“I'll never get over you”

“Every day I'll wonder what you're like”

“When you touch my lips”

“I'll never know how sweet you taste”

“I let you go and slip away”

“I know it hurts but it's the truth”

“My heart's so sour without you”

— This is the song that made me fall in love with The Rose. Absolutely love the lyrics and the vocals. But the writing is my favorite part. The song is so emotional and I’m in love.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

(Adding the rest if this gets some attention {even if it doesn’t I’m still finishing it later 😭🙏} And also I don’t speak Japanese so that is the only translation I’m unsure of.)

[chloeillustrates16]

Hi, everyone. I'm writing this in my opinion that I want to get out there in the world and wonder if others believe this as well. So, please be respectful to myself and everyone in the comments.

I became a fan of K-Pop back in 2016 with BTS. As I grew more into the genre I ended up liking other groups. However, with the movie, KPOP Demon Hunters releasing on netflix, I decided that it would be fun to go back and listen to old BTS songs that I loved.

I began to notice a pattern, of course, the group isn't preforming at the moment, but I believe that this applies to most if not ALL Kpop groups.

WHY IS EVERYHING IN ENGLISH?!

This question began to baffel me around 2018-19 when, specifically BTS and BLACKPINK began to get their albums over here in the US. What I noticed was that they slowly started to intrograte more English into their songs. I find it annoying. (Correction: I find it annoying when the entire song is in English.) It's Korean Pop Music, have Korean in your songs! There is Pop music--any language sung, of course--and then there's Korean Pop music. (I would also like to add that there's a K-Pop group where none of the singers are Korean, but they sing in Korean. One of the women, I'm unsure her name, but she said, 'because we sing in Korean, it's not Korean without it.")

I know that this is for the Western audience and our tendency to skip over the song if we don't understand the lyrics, but that was the fun for me and my friends back when we were in middle school, to look up the English translations and to figure out how to say these "odd" words that we weren't accustumed to.

I believe that many groups are forgetting how inspiring it is for a teenager to find a song they really like and get to understand a another language on top of it. BTS was the reason why I wanted to learn Korean, and the fact that they and many others dropped their native tongue almost completely to fit the "western idology" is not only tragic, but also frustrating.

[mndncrs]

i literally had to pause it bc I SAID STFU THAT IS LITERALLY DDAENG CORE BC OF YOONGI

[languagegarden]

STUDY DIARY

21/06/2025

korean:

today i did sth unplanned, not listed on my study routine.

i took BTS Suga’s post as learning material. i could understand alot and learned new vocab/expressions:

-���리를 두다

-한 발짝 떨어진 자리에 있다

-실망과 심려를 끼치다

-자신을 돌아보다

…

sometimes one has to be a bit flexible in one’s routine. this was fun!

xoxo,

A.

[thelingodingo]

Korean Second-Person Pronouns

Unlike English, Korean has multiple ways to say the word "you" depending on the context. Generally, since Korean is a pronoun avoidance and high context culture, people do not use any pronouns at all when speaking unless necessary. Instead, the subject is completely omitted or the person's name/title is used (eg. Yura-ssi, sunbae-nim, oppa, etc).

I also wanna preface that of course theres some exceptions and certain circumstances that can change the usage of these words for "you" and that this post is just a general overview.

너 nuh (used when "you" is the topic) & 네/니 ni (used when "you is the subject): the most informal and impolite way of saying "you". it is only used when talking to close people either the same age as you or younger than you. using nuh to strangers or people you don't know well in general is extremely rude and unnatural.

너희 nuh-ee is the plural form of nuh

너네 nuh-ne is also a plural form of nuh but it's not part of standard korean and is seen as more rude, it also emphasizes the plural aspect of the sentence more.

당신 dangshin: this is the most formal way of saying "you", but as I mentioned before, pronouns aren't used in general so even saying this way of "you" can still be seen as quite rude and confrontational. it would be the japanese equivalent as anata and is also used commonly by married couples to refer to each other with the meaning of "darling".

자네 ja-neh: this is usually used by elderly men and women (mostly men) when referring to younger people.

그대 geudae: this form of "you" isn't really used in real life. it's mostly used poetically in romantic songs, letters, etc.

댁 daek: this way of saying "you" literally translates to "house" (formal, informal way of saying house is jib). generally, it's a more informal version of dangshin and is usually used when you're being rude and showing attitude to someone you shouldn't be impolite to.

그쪽 geo jjok: this literally translates to "that side" and is used similarly as dangshin but is more specific for when you meet someone for the first time and you're being rude/sassy/confrontational to them. (I'm also pretty sure there's something like this in Japanese as well..?)

in conclusion: honestly, as long as you know nuh and dangshin you'll be perfectly fine!

[learn-korean-with-yuli]

Hi,😃 can you Comment funny things that happend to you as a kpop or kdrama fan , I will make a video about your stories .

[bulletproof-korean]

Jungkook - My You [lyrics+vocab]

In the honor of My You being officially released and Jungkook's birthday, let’s look at some of the vocab from the lyrics🥰

사라짉까? 혹시 꿈일까 뒤척이다 또 잠이 든다 영원할 수 있을까

⁕ 사라지다 - to disappear ⁕ 혹시 - by chance ⁕ 꿈 - dream ⁕ 뒤척이다 - to toss and turn (while sleeping) ⁕ 잠이 들다 - to fall asleep ⁕ 영원하다 - to be eternal

사무친 이 맘 달래어 보다 밤에 잠겨 감긴다

⁕ 마음에 사무치다 - to pierce one's heart ⁕ 달래다 - to console ⁕ 밤 - night ⁕ 잠기다 - to be immersed in ⁕ 감기다 - for eyes to shut

사뭇 쓸쓸했던 밤 어느새 먹구름은 흩어져가

⁕ 사뭇 - quite ⁕ 쓸쓸하다 - to be lonely ⁕ 어느새 - before one knows ⁕ 먹구름 - a dark cloud ⁕ 흩어지다 - to disperse

빛줄기 밑 새겨진 너와 남긴 온기들

⁕ 빛줄기 - a ray of light, beam ⁕ 밑 - under ⁕ 새기다 - to engrave ⁕ 남기다 - to leave (behind) ⁕ 온기 - warmth

모든 빛은 네게 물둘고 나의 시간은 완벽해져 네 번의 계절 또다시 더 짙어지게 또다시

⁕ 빛 - light but it can also mean color ⁕ 물들다 - to color, tinge ⁕ 시간 - time ⁕ 완벽하다 - to be perfect ⁕ 계절 - season ⁕ 짙어지다 - to deepen

내가 미소를 짓는 이유도 이 노랠 부를 수 있는 것도 네 곁이기에 감사해 더 빛나볼게 환하개

⁕ 미소를 짓다 - to smile, laugh ⁕ 이유 - reason ⁕ 노래를 부르다 - to sing a song ⁕ 환하다 - to be bright ⁕ 빛나다 - to shine

On a starry night Hope my you sleep tight Shinning purple light Thankful to be by your side now

On a starry night Hope my you sleep tight Shinning purple light 네 곁이기에 감사해

[jimpagne]

hello! in the past you have written and translated about some moments from Are You Sure? (which i thoroughly enjoyed, thank you) and i wanted to ask if you could make a post about how you started learning korean? as a native english speaker it is a bit intimidating to me but seeing how you were able to succeed in the language, it gives me a bit of courage. i know that is not your usual content but i wanted to send an ask anyway. hope you are having a lovely day! and thank you for your response.

Oh, I would love to talk about this topic! Thank you so much for sending in the ask ;p

Also fair warning... this will be a REALLY long post.

In the Beginning...

I began "learning" Korean waaaay back in 2017 (holy shit, that was EIGHT years ago??), back when I was still a high schooler and setting alarms to wake myself up for Mystic Messenger chatrooms. I grew up in a very diverse area with a considerable Korean population, and I had a lot of Korean friends who decided to share their language with me. First, they spelled out my name in Hangul, and in my free time, I decided to learn the rest of the alphabet.

The rest is history, really.

Of course, throughout this time, I felt really intimidated. I mean, where do you even start? There were so many Korean resources online, and it felt like I was entirely lost and overwhelmed by the huge responsibility of taking on a language like Korean, one that is drastically different from the ones I know.

So despite starting my journey in 2017, I really didn't start making a breakthrough in my learning until 2021, where I enrolled into a formal Korean class at my local university. I researched a few things here and there, knew some pretty basic grammar and vocabulary, but again, I was entirely scrambled in the directions in which I was acquiring the language. So finding a professor to steer me into the right direction was incredibly helpful.

But, what do you if you can't afford or have the time for private lessons or university classes?

Even though I have had the immense privilege of going to university, I still found that the burden of learning Korean mainly fell on myself. Language classes are one thing, but you need to have the drive outside of the class to learn as well. If you only become familiar with your textbook, you'll never learn. So, outside of an academic environment, I've learned many things when it comes to teaching myself the language.

Obsessions, Interests, and... Autism?

One of the main things that really propelled my Korean learning journey was integrating the language into almost every relevant facet in my life. I have autism, so I hyperfixate on things to the point of annoying my relatives and close friends. I don't really think they care about the linguistic harmony of Korean characters as much as I do, but I can't help but fall in love with the language every single day.

I made it a goal to learn as much as I could about Korean culture, and through this I picked up a lot of vocabulary. In my personal opinion, I think what really stumps a lot of learners is that they get stuck on the "pop" culture part of Korea. It's nice and all to like K-pop and K-dramas, but if your heart is not in it beyond that, you might find yourself struggling to stay motivated. If you're going to learn Korean, you're going to need to delve into the culture, history, and every day life itself, because a lot of the language will start to make more sense.

You don't need to become an expert in those things, but you'll find that Korean people appreciate this a wholeeee lot more. I speak Korean at my workplace with Korean customers, and they'll usually ask if I learned because of K-pop. However, when I tell them otherwise, I watch just how much brighter they become.

I also enjoy writing (fics and other personal projects), and a lot of my research could not be found on western websites, so I had to start googling IN KOREAN to find what I wanted. Through this, I also mastered the Korean keyboard and I don't need to look at it to type anymore.

I started documenting Instagram captions and comments from my favorite idols, made song diaries, read children's short stories, and watched Korean YouTube channels. In my opinion, I think having physical books or physical notebooks are better than virtual ones when it comes to learning a topic.

I also made plenty of personal flashcards, and if I was using a virtual set, I would make the quiz option entirely in writing. The more you practice spelling a word, the more likely you are to remember it. I would do these quizzes over and over and over again until I could spell and remember every single one of the words in the set.

Now, if you give me a set of 50+ new Korean words, I can have it memorized in less than 10 minutes.

Resources I Personally Like

Spoiler alert: It's not Duolingo. Duolingo is probably one of the worst resources that you could use. I hate that green bird.

I would also like to preface that I use an adblocker, so I'm not sure if any of the websites have ads or how invasive their ads are. So, if there's like ten billion ads on one of these websites, I didn't know! I would marry my adblocker if I could.

The reason why I put emphasis on the word personally is because at the end of the day, how people learn language is entirely a customizable process. What works for me might not work for you. People just have to find what works.

How dependent you'll be on these resources that I'll list also depends on your current Korean level. A lot of what I will provide will be more beginner friendly, but eventually you'll find yourself doing your own research or making your own resources.

Also, it is incredibly important to note that language learning is not one skill. As someone who also studies language acquisition, imagine Korean Fluency itself to be an empty box with different shaped cut outs. There's a star cut out, a circle cut out, a square cut out... etc. You need to fill the box, but in order to do that, you need to fill it with different shaped pieces.

Speaking is a separate skill. Reading is a separate skill. Listening is a separate skill. Writing is a separate skill. Your mastery in Reading won't always bleed over into your mastery of Speaking. These are muscles that must be exercised separately. Of course, they can help each other, but you need to know that just focusing on one facet, or one cut out shape of the language will not be enough to fill that box.

How To Study Korean 한국어를 공부하는 방법

First of all... this person is incredible... The person who made this website is a foreigner who learned Korean, and I think that's an incredibly valuable perspective to take on when you're also a foreigner learning Korean. Their explanations are very precise (they've saved me during so many of my Korean exams), and they also grouped many grammar concepts into digestible levels, so you can start from level 0 and progress onward in a way that makes sense.

I honestly almost feel offended that all of this is free. Thankful, but offended. It's seriously such an incredible resource. If you're looking for a clear roadmap, this is your website.

GO! Billy Korean

Again, if you're looking for a foreigner to explain it in a way that makes sense to your English brain, this guy has some pretty good videos. If you go to his playlist section, he has clips from his livestreams where he teaches Korean grammar and concepts in depth. Some people might not learn that well from just reading, so a video format is perfect for those craving a more personal touch from a teacher.

Talk To Me In Korean

You probably saw this coming. There's a reason why these guys are the best! I know a lot of their options have recently become paywalled, but they still have a lot of valuable lessons on YouTube and they also offer free podcasts on Spotify if you'd like to take a listen. You can also take a level test on their website to determine which course might be best for you. I have a couple of their physical books, some of my favorite being....

Easy Korean Reading For Beginners: this book really introduces you to easy concepts and basic vocabulary, but it also showcases Korean sentence grammar in a very clear way.

My First 500 Korean Words: This book is exactly what the title is. However, in addition to the 500 words, they give related vocabulary, crossword puzzles, reading exercises, and they also break up the words into a weekly manner, so you don't feel overwhelmed to learn everything in one go. Vocabulary is so, so, so important. And anyone learning Korean will tell you that usually its not the grammar that's the issue, its the sheer amount of WORDS that you have to learn...

KoreAnt

Incredibly underrated but very good, especially for beginners trying to expand their listening practice! KoreAnt has cute little visuals where they showcase real Korean scenarios, and they also explain the grammar and vocabulary used in their videos.

Integrated Korean (3rd Edition)

This is a traditional university textbook for English speakers, so you can buy it from multiple different platforms other than the one I linked. It's produced out of one the best university's in the United States for Korean language learning. The entire Integrated Korean series is very well put together and the main meat of the course is separated into four textbooks, Beginning 1 & 2, and Intermediate 1 & 2. Like I said, it's a university textbooks that many of my American friends use (and they all like it), so it might be on the more expensive side. Also, this textbook has sound files on SoundCloud where you listen to workbook or textbook conversations and narrations.

Since it is a textbook, it also has a workbook to pair with it, so if you want to quiz yourself or do additional exercises, you can consider looking into that as well.

그냥 한국어 Just Korean

Now this isn't super beginner friendly, as it is a YouTube channel that teaches Korean concepts... in Korean. It's a great listening resource, however, and she does provide English captions that you can turn on. So you can learn Korean grammar at the same time as listening to it be taught to you in Korean. I think that's pretty cool.

Korean Wiki Project

This is a big hub of archived information and they have a lot of fun wiki pages that you can go through. They also have some pretty solid yet concise explanations on the Korean language, and they also delve into some more colloquial topics (like common slang/texting forms). A little bit of a warning on this one, not everything is super detailed, so if you're looking for a full on lesson other than a quick overview, this is probably not the source for you.

Technical Resources

These are the resources that I recommend for like... typing, general help, or dictionary usage. Things like that.

Naver Korean-English Dictionary

I just really like this dictionary. There's something about it... Something that soothes my soul. They have conjugation settings in there and also you can add stuff to a personal list on this dictionary and quiz yourself over it. 10/10 gets me through school.

Papago

I like to use Papago for quick translations when I'm on the go and don't understand something immediately. It's far more accurate than Google Translate, however it does have its pitfalls. After all, you shouldn't be using Papago as a means to speak/learn Korean, it's just a quick resource -- and since it's artificial intelligence, it can definitely mess up and it will mess up. But if you need to translate something quickly for whatever reason, this is a better resource.

Hancom Taja

I discovered this after I mastered Korean typing! It's a typing website that a lot of Koreans actually use to practice English typing, but they also have Korean options for Korean learners. You can play fun games and select the length of the words/sentences. Fair warning, it sometimes hates working for whatever reason, but when I do get it up and running, I find the overall experience to be a lot of fun.

Language Reactor

This is a Google extension that allows you to have both the Korean and English subtitles running together at the same time over your favorite K-dramas. You can hover over words for instant dictionary translations, get full excerpts of television shows, and you can save/add words to your personal dictionary. I'm not a big TV fan, but I find this resource to be incredibly helpful whenever I am studying Korean off of a drama.

Korean Reddit

I know that the word Reddit might send chills down the spines of many, but in all honesty, you can find some pretty good help on this subreddit. Have a question? Just type up something and get some pretty good feedback.

How I Take Notes in Korean

Do you feel like you're back in school again? I remember I always hated sitting through those "useless" lectures about how to take notes... but in actuality, how you take notes can easily help you understand a topic much better.

I know you already got a taste of my note taking style from my 이게 맞아?! post, but I thought I might explain it a bit better here. Korean, in my opinion, has a lot of solid foundations, and once you work yourself up from those, learning other parts of the language become almost like second nature.

Let's do a quick example:

You might come across a 100 Common Phrases in Korean post, which great! We all love posts like that. However, when you're taking down the notes for what you've learned, you might not be getting the most of what you can get from the content.

Ex) 좋아해요 - I like you.

This is pretty standard, right? Well, how can we expand on this very simple phrase?

좋아해요: I like you

좋아하다 (verb: to like) conjugated in the polite present tense form (~어/아요). Both the "I" and "You" can be inferred due to the high context nature of the Korean language (aka, as long as the speaker and the listener both know what it's about, you can omit pronouns).

You don't need to take it exactly like that, but we've now classified the root verb, how it's being conjugated, and how the cultural behavior/structure of the language impacts its usage. These small changes can really make a difference when you're taking notes.

Also, like I did in the post I mentioned above, I went outside of the material and connected it to other forms that I might've known about. So if you were looking at 좋아하다, you might think of 좋다 (adjective; to be good), or 사랑하다 (verb; to love). Maybe you'd think of Korean pet names and you might want to do more research on Korean couple practices and vocabulary. Make connections. Build your web. It's very important to keep practicing concepts you might already know.

When you are taking notes in Korean, I think it's VITAL that you classify something as a verb or an adjective. Multiple Korean forms change based on this factor, so it's important to label it accordingly. Actually, I'll tell you a quick hack as to how you can master every single Korean grammar point (even if you don't know it yet). I'm not kidding.

To master Korean grammar, all you have to do is ask yourself these four questions.

Is it an adjective, verb, or noun? for particle usage & forms that might use ideas of continuity (adj. do not have continuous states)

Does it end with a vowel or a batchim (final consonant)? for forms that might connect with ~(으) or ~아/어 conjugations, general connectors like ~(이)라...etc

Does it end with a bright or dark vowel? for forms that might connect with ~아/어 or have irregular forms like 으 & 르 verbs.

(if writing) What tense is it going to be in? for general forms that follow the basic ~았/었 & ~(ㄴ/는/ㄹ) rules

If you know the answer to all four of these questions and you know the behavior of these forms, boom, you've mastered the general science behind several Korean grammar points!

Most Importantly...

Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

I know this is a common phrase you've probably heard a million times, but it is incredibly true. Actually, the reason why adults struggle so much in learning foreign languages in comparison to children is because of this concept of shame. Children (other than having advantages in cognitive freshness and free time) often lack this idea of having to be perfect. They make spelling errors, they jumble up their words. But they still communicate. They still try.

Adults often have this feeling that they need to be perfect, so they often shy away from the idea of potentially messing up. You are learning something new, you are meant to mess up.

And that's okay.

(Most) Koreans don't really care how GOOD you are at their language (unless you're trying to work at some formal company in Korea... sorry guys, the concept of Emily in Paris is just not realistic...), they mostly care about the effort that you're putting into learning it.

So don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions. I mean A LOT of questions. After my class time, I would go up to my Korean professor with a whole new list of words/cultural contexts/grammar points that I wanted to ask her about. She never saw it as a burden, and she was more than delighted to educate me about her home country and tongue.

But before I go, I just wanted to say that I was thinking about doing more Korean posts, but I'm not exactly sure what to focus on. I was thinking about doing a fun Linguistic-centered post about Korean, but that might not be super beginner friendly. If you have any topics you might be interested in or you might want me to cover, I'll look into it and see if I can make a proper post about it.

That's all I have for now... if you have more questions, just shoot me an ask!

[armynoonas]

Pdogg on Instagram (story)

[240719]

[salanaii]

Learn Korean with me - Week 20 - 5.19.25

Weather

Korean Journal Entry Prompt - What is your favorite season?

Let’s Speak Korean

Ch 15 – Weather

날씨가어때요?

Nar ssi ga eo ddae yo

How’s the weather?

날씨가정말좋네요!

Nar ssi ga Jeong mar juh ne yo

Literal – The weather is really nice!

= What beautiful weather!

매일 날씨가 이랬으면 좋겠어요.

Mae ir nar ssi ga I raess eu myeon joh jess eo yo

I wish the weather were like this every day.

날씨가 왜이렇죠?

Nar sii ga wae I reoh jyo

Literal – Why is the weather like this?

= What’s wrong with the weather?

비가 오려나?

Bi ga o ryeo na

Literal – Will rain come?

= Is it going to rain?

하늘이맑아요.

Ha neur I marg a yo

The sky is clear.

햇살이따갑습니다.

Haes sar I dda gab seub ni da

Literal – The sunlight stings.

= The sun is hot.

구름이많이꼈네요.

Gu reum I manh I ggyess ne yo

Literal – Lots of clouds hang over.

= It’s overcast.

눈이 내린다!

Nun I nae rin da

Literal – Snow’s falling down!

= It’s snowing!

첫눈이다!

Cheios nun I da

It’s the first snow!

비가쏟아지네요!

Bi ga ssod a ji ne yo

Literal – Rain is pouring down!

= It’s tipping down!

일기 예보가틀렸어요.

Ir gi ye bo ga teut ryeoss eo yo

The weather forecast is wrong.

우산을 가져올 걸!

U san eur ga jyeo or geor

I should have brought an umbrella!

너무 덥네요/춥네요.

Neo mu deob ne yo/chub ne yo

It’s too hot/cold.

굉장히습하네요/건조하네요.

Gwing jang hi seub ha ne yo/geon jo ha ne yo

It’s very humid/dry.

비가/눈이그쳤나요?

Biga/nun I geu chyeoss na yo

Literal – Did rain/snow stop?

= Did it stop raining/snowing?

이제안오네요.

I je an I ne yo

Literal – It’s not coming now.

= It stopped raining/snowing.

내일은날씨가어떨까요?

Nae ire un nar ssi ga eo ddeor gga yo

What will the weather be like tomorrow?

날씨가 정말 이상하네요.

Nar ssi ga Jeong mar I sang ha ne yo

The weather is really weird.

서울날씨는 어때요?

Seo or nar ssi neu neo ddae yo

How’s the weather (in) Seoul?

비가/눈이올것같아요.

Bi ga/neun I or geos gat a yo

Literal – It seems like rain/snow will come.

일기 예보 들으셨나요?

Ir gi ye bo deur eu syeoss na yo

Have you heard the weather forecast?

일기예보에따르면화창할예정입니다.

Ir gi ye bo e dda reu myeon hwa chang har ye Jeong ib ni da

Literal – According to the weather forecast, it’s planned to be sunny.

태풍이오고있어요.

Tae pung I o go iss eo yo

The storm is coming.

소풍가기에날씨가어때요?

So pung ga gi e nar ssi ga eo ddae yo

How’s the weather to go on a picnic?

오늘몇도예요?

O neur myeoch do ye yo

Literal – What is the degree today?

= What’s the temperature today?

최고기온은/최거기온은30도입니다.

Choe go gi on eun/choe geo gi eon eun 30 do ib ni da

Literal -The highest/lowest degree is 30 degrees.

날씨가차차좋아지고있어요.

Nar ssi ga cha cha joh a ji go iss eo yo

The weather is gradually getting better.

아침 내내 흐렸어요.

A chim nae nae heu ryeoss eo yo

It’s been cloudy during the whole morning.

날씨를 예측할 수 없네요.

Nar ssi reur ye jeug su eobs ne yo

I can’t predict the weather.

해가점점짧아지고/길어지고있어요.

Hae ga jeom jeom jjarb a ji go/gir eo ji go iss eo yo

The sun is gradually getting shorter/longer.

= The days are drawing in/out.

오후에비가/눈이올거예요.

O hu e bi ga/neun I or geo ye yo

Literal – Rain/Snow will come in the afternoon.

날씨가오락가락하네요.

Nar ssi ga o rag ga rag ha ne yo

Literal – The weather is going back and forth.

= The weather keeps changing.

곧좋아질거예요.

God joh a jir geo ye yo

It will get better soon.

하루종일비가/눈이오네요.

Ha ru jong ir bi ga/nun I o ne yo

Literal – Rain/Snow is coming all day long.

= It’s raining/snowing all day long.

기온이 많이 떨어졌어요.

Gi on I manh I ddeor eo jyeoss eo yo

The temperature dropped a lot.

날씨가따뜻하네요.

Nar ssi ga dda ddeus ha ne yo

Literal – The weather is warm.

= It’s warm.

날씨가 맑겠습니다.

Nar ssi ga marg gess seub ni da

The weather will be clear.

일기 예보는 믿을 수 없습니다.

Ir gi ye bo neun mid eur su eobs seub ni da

You can’t trust weather forecast.

한국나씨어때요?

Han gug na ssi eo ddae yo

How’s the weather (in) Korea?

어떤계절이가장좋아요?

Eo ddeon gye geor I ga jang joh a yo

Which season do you like the most?

봄이/여름이/가을이/겨울이가장좋아요.

Bom I / yeo reum i/ga eur i/gyeo ur I ga jang joh a yo

I like Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter the most.

곧 봄이 올거예요.

God bom I or geo ye yo

Spring will come soon.

잎이붉게물드네요.

Ip I burg ge mur deu ne yo

The leaves are turning red.

황사가옵니다.

Hwang sa ga ob ni da

The sandstorm is coming.

황사때문에눈이따가워요.

Hwang sa ddae mun e neun I dda ga wo yo

Eyes sting because of the sandstorm.

비가 오면 좋겠어요.

Bi ga o myeon joh gess eo yo

It’d be nice if rain comes.

지금은 장마철이에요.

Ji geum eun jang ma cheor I e yo

It’s rainy season now.

이번 주부터 장마가 시작됩니다.

I beon ju bu teo jang ma ga si jag doeb ni da

The rainy season starts from this week.

쾌적한날씨네요!

Kwae jeog han nar ssi ne yo

Literal – It’s pleasant weather!

= What pleasant/ideal weather!

날씨정말좋네요!

Nar ssi Jeong mar joh ne yo

The weather is really good!

구름하나없어요.

Gu reum ha na eobs eo yo

There isn’t a single cloud.

땀이나네요.

Ddam I na ne yo

Literal – Sweat is coming out.

= I’m sweating.

안개가자욱하네요.

An gae ga ja og ha ne yo

Literal – It’s filled with fog.

= It’s really foggy.

바람이 많이부네요.

Ba ram I manh I bu nye yo

Literal -Wind blows a lot.

= It’s very windy.

공기가안좋아요.

Gong I manh I ssah yeoss eo yo

The air (quality) is not good.

눈이많이쌓였어요.

Nun I manh I ssah yeoss eo yo

Snow has accumulated a lot.

= Lots of snow have piled up.

길이얼었어요.

Gir I eor eoss eo yo

The road is frozen.

길이미끄러워요.

Gir I mi ggeu reo wo yo

The road is slippery.