Book Review: A Frequency Dictionary of Korean
An invaluable resource for Korean learners, Routledge's A Frequency Dictionary of Korean: Core Vocabulary for Learners catalogs the 5,000 most frequent Korean words with their pronunciation and an example sentence for each. This book is very useful for several reasons:
– Thematic vocabulary lists: 24 inserts throughout the book are dedicated to the most frequent words about a
single topic. Useful to quickly memorize conversational words. See the sample page below for an example.
– An alphabetical index at the end of the book helps quickly find any Korean word present in the book.
– Each word is accompanied by a sample sentence. Really useful to understand how the word fits within a
sentence and the grammatical patterns associated with them.
장어 - Eel
Eel is a popular fish in East Asian countries. Korea has a lot of dishes featuring eel, some of the most popular being 장어구이, or grilled eel; 장어강정, or eel with a sweet soy sauce glaze, and 장어덮밥, or eel over rice.
장어구이, or grilled eel.
The popular saying in Korea is that men should eat eel to improve their performance behind closed doors...
Hanging Out with Friends
If you have Korean friends, or want to make some, use this vocabulary to get together, eat out, and plan activities! Download this vocabulary and take it to go!
Adjectives and Verbs
바쁘다 | to be busy |
다른 약속이 없다 | to be free |
전화하다 | to telephone |
☯(으)러 가다 | to go do ☯ |
배(가) 부르다 | to be full |
배(가) 고프다 | to be hungry |
시키다/주문하다 | to order (e.g., food) |
멋있다 | be cool (person) |
재미있다 | be fun, interesting |
심심하다 | to be bored |
Snacks
안주 | food to go with alcohol |
소맥 | cocktail (soju + beer) |
치맥 | chicken + beer |
피자 | pizza |
생맥주 | draft beer |
냉커피 | ice coffee |
빙수 | shaved ice with syrup |
Free Time (여가 시간)
취미 | hobby, interest |
노래 | song/singing |
영화 | movie |
음악 | music |
여행 | travel |
게임 | game |
독서 | reading |
낚시 | fishing |
바둑 | baduk |
당구 | billiards |
축구 | soccer |
야구 | baseball |
농구 | basketball |
수영 | swimming |
탁구 | table tennis |
피아노 | piano |
Plans
휴대폰 | mobile phone |
전화번호 | phone number |
연락처 [열락-] | contact information |
음식 배달 | food delivery |
장소 | place, spot |
예약 | reservation |
택시 | taxi |
지하철 출구 | subway exit |
약속 | plan, promise |
콘서트 | concert |
연극 | a play |
People
형 | older brother/ male friend for men |
누나 | older sister/ female friend for men |
오빠 | older brother/ male friend for women |
언니 | older sister/ female friend for women |
친구 | friend of same age |
나이 | age |
여자친구 | girlfriend |
남자친구 | boyfriend |
Places
영화관 | cinema |
백화점 | department store |
미술관 | art museum |
노래방 | karaoke |
술집 | bar |
맛집 | delicious restaurant |
극장 | theater |
다방/찻집 | tea house |
카페 | café |
볼링장 | bowling alley |
놀이공원 | amusement park |
Plans with Friends (반말)
Personal Information (존댓말)
Food Survival
Learn some essential food vocabulary to eat out with friends! Learn new adjectives, the name of famous drinks, some food words, and several sentences to order food and show appreciation. Download the study sheet and take it to go!
Topics
- Adjectives and Verbs
- Beverages
- Ingredients
- Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Food
- Other Words
- Sentences to use with friends/family
- Sentences to use at the restaurant
Adjectives and Verbs
맛있다 [마싣따] | delicious |
맛없다 [마덥따] | not tasty |
맵다 | spicy |
달다 | sweet |
짜다 | salty |
고소하다 | flavorsome |
쓰다 | bitter |
시다 | sour |
느끼하다 | greasy |
요리하다 | to cook |
Beverages
차 | tea |
녹차 | green tea |
홍차 | black tea |
커피 | coffee |
주스 | juice |
우유 | milk |
맥주 | beer |
양주 | liquor |
막걸리 [막껄리] | makkeolli |
Ingredients
게 | crab |
돼지고기 | pork |
새우 | shrimp |
연어 | salmon |
닭고기 [닦고기] | chicken |
소고기 | beef |
마늘 | garlic |
무 | radish |
감자 | potato |
복숭아 | peach |
딸기 | strawberry |
배 | pear |
사과 | apple |
야채 | vegetable |
Korean, Chinese, and Japanese Food
된장찌개 | bean paste stew |
김치찌개 | kimchi stew |
떡볶이 | tteokbokki |
떡국 [떡꾹] | rice cake soup |
볶음밥 | fried rice |
미역국 | seaweed soup |
삼겹살 | pork belly |
불고기 | bulgogi |
차돌박이 | beef brisket |
장어구이 | grilled eel |
파전 | green onion pancake |
냉면 | cold noodle |
만두 | dumpling |
튀김 | fried |
초밥 | sushi (Japanese style) |
생선회 [-훼] | raw fish |
With Friends or Family
At the Restaurant
Other Words
식사 | meal |
과자 | snack |
식당 [식땅] | restaurant |
한식 | Korean food |
간장 | soy sauce |
고추 | red pepper |
솥 | Korean pot |
접시 | dish/plate |
냉장고 | fridge |
포크 | fork |
숟가락 [숟까락] | spoon |
젓가락 [저까락] | chopstick |
전자레인지 | microwave |
부엌 | kitchen (in house) |
정식 | set menu |
예약 | reservation |
무료 | free of charge |
맛집 | delicious restaurant |
Review this lesson
Review the flashcards for this lesson! Click on the buttons or use the keyboard to review the cards. Once you get a card right five times, the card is moved to the known cards stack, and a new card will be added to your working cards stack. Try to learn them all!
Privacy
Native Korean and Sino-Korean Counters
Counting things and people in Korean is slightly different with most western languages in that a "counter" word needs to be added after the number; the counter to use depends on the nature of the object or person talked about. The list below lists all the counters encountered in most situations.
There are two types of counters in Korean: counters that are used with native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋...) and counters that are used with Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼...); the associations between each counter and the corresponding numeral system need to be memorized (counters used with native Korean numbers can have a Chinese origin, and counters used with Sino-Korean numbers can have a Korean origin).
Difference between V-려고 하다 and V-기로 하다, to plan something
Wondered about the difference between V-려고 하다 and V-기로 하다 when they mean "to plan something"? Look no further!
This post focuses on the two constructs when they mean "to plan something."
- Simply put, V-(으)려고 했다 (했어요) means "to have planned something (but the plan did not go through)." The idea of "intention" is communicated with this pattern.
- Simply put, V-기로 했다 (했어요) also means "to have planned something." The idea of "decision" is communicated with this pattern.
Both expressions are most often used with 하다 conjugated in the past tense, so V-(으)려고 했다 and V-기로 했다. However, V-(으)려고 했다 means the plan has not been completed, were canceled, abandoned, etc.; because of that it is often followed by -ㄴ/는데 or -지만 (V-(으)려고 했는데 / V-(으)려고 했지만).
Book Review - Elementary Korean
Elementary Korean by Ross King and Jaehoon Yeon, and Insun Lee is a great textbook for people starting Korean up to upper-beginners. The book is composed of 13 lessons and two review chapters. The first four lessons focus on reading and writing individual characters, and learning how to pronounce Korean words. The remaining lessons consist of one to four dialogues and reading passages on conversational and practical topics, such as introducing oneself, booking a train ticket, or deciding what to eat and ordering at restaurants. Each lesson also introduces vocabulary relevant to the theme of the readings, and corresponding grammar points.