K

1. Essential Core Vocabulary

• Pronouns and People

  • 저 (jeo) – I / me (polite)

  • 나 (na) – I / me (informal)

  • 우리 (uri) – we / our

  • 사람 (saram) – person

  • 친구 (chingu) – friend

  • 학생 (haksaeng) – student

• Everyday Verbs

  • 가다 (gada) – to go

  • 오다 (oda) – to come

  • 먹다 (meokda) – to eat

  • 마시다 (masida) – to drink

  • 보다 (boda) – to see / watch

  • 하다 (hada) – to do

  • 사다 (sada) – to buy

  • 만나다 (mannada) – to meet

• Existence and Adjectives (Descriptive Verbs)

  • 있다 (itda) – to have / to be at (exist)

  • 없다 (eopda) – to not have / to not exist

  • 좋다 (jota) – to be good

  • 크다 (keuda) – to be big

  • 작다 (jakda) – to be small

  • 많다 (manta) – to be many / much

• Core Question Words

  • 뭐 / 무엇 (mwo / mueot) – what

  • 어디 (eodi) – where

  • 언제 (eonje) – when

  • 누구 (nugu) – who

  • 왜 (wae) – why

  • 어떻게 (eotteoke) – how

2. Sentence Structure and Grammar

• Korean Word Order: Subject - Object - Verb (SOV)

  • Unlike English (Subject - Verb - Object), Korean sentences place the action or descriptive verb at the very end.

  • English: "I drink water."

  • Korean: "I (Subject) + water (Object) + drink (Verb)."

• Essential Grammar Particles (조사)

  • Particles attach directly to the ends of nouns to indicate their grammatical role.

  • Topic Marker: 은 (eun) / 는 (neun)

  • Sets the main theme or topic of the sentence ("as for…").

  • Use 은 after a consonant ending (e.g., 사람 + 은 = 사람은).

  • Use 는 after a vowel ending (e.g., 저 + 는 = 저는).

  • Subject Marker: 이 (i) / 가 (ga)

  • Marks who or what is performing the action or being described.

  • Use 이 after a consonant ending (e.g., 책 + 이 = 책이).

  • Use 가 after a vowel ending (e.g., 친구 + 가 = 친구가).

  • Object Marker: 을 (eul) / 를 (reul)

  • Marks the direct object receiving the verb's action.

  • Use 을 after a consonant ending (e.g., 밥 + 을 = 밥을).

  • Use 를 after a vowel ending (e.g., 커피 + 를 = 커피를).

• Polite Present Tense Conjugation (-아/어요)

  • To conjugate verbs into polite everyday speech, drop the dictionary suffix 다 to get the verb stem:

  • Add -아요 if the stem vowel ends in ㅏ (a) or ㅗ (o):

    • 가다 (to go) → 가 + 아요 → 가요

    • 보다 (to see) → 보 + 아요 → 봐요

  • Add -어요 if the stem vowel is anything other than ㅏ or ㅗ:

    • 먹다 (to eat) → 먹 + 어요 → 먹어요

    • 마시다 (to drink) → 마시 + 어요 → 마셔요

  • Verbs ending in 하다 convert to 해요:

    • 공부하다 (to study) → 공부해요

• Identity Sentences: 이에요 / 예요 (Am / Is / Are)

  • Attached to a noun to mean "is [noun]" or "am [noun]":

  • Use 이에요 after a consonant ending (e.g., 학생이에요 = "[I am / it is] a student").

  • Use 예요 after a vowel ending (e.g., 의사예요 = "[I am / it is] a doctor").

3. Sentence Building Examples

• 저는 물을 마셔요.

  • 저 (I) + 는 (topic) + 물 (water) + 을 (object) + 마셔요 (drink) = "I drink water."

• 친구가 사과를 사요.

  • 친구 (friend) + 가 (subject) + 사과 (apple) + 를 (object) + 사요 (buys) = "A friend buys an apple."

• 이것은 책이에요.

  • 이것 (this) + 은 (topic) + 책 (book) + 이에요 (is) = "This is a book."