Beginner Korean Grammar Flashcards: 25 Cards with Audio and Notes

Beginner Korean Grammar Flashcards: Study the 25 Cards

A grammar card works like a vocabulary card, with one difference: the front shows a pattern, and the audio plays an example sentence that contains it. The lesson behind this deck is beginner korean grammar, so read it first if a card is new, and use the cards to make the patterns automatic.

How Do I Use These Flashcards?

Use the deck above in four steps. It works with tap, click or keyboard, and nothing plays until you press an audio button.

1. Choose a mode. Start with recognition (Hangul to meaning). Switch to recall (meaning to Hangul) or listening (audio to meaning) once recognition feels easy.
2. Show the answer. Think of the meaning and one example first, then press Show answer (or Space). Say the example sentence aloud before you reveal it. Turn on the romanization toggle only if you need it; the 25-card table below always shows it.
3. Grade yourself. Press Got it if you answered correctly without help, or Not yet if you hesitated or guessed.
4. Finish the session. A session holds up to 20 cards (you can set 10, 20 or 40). With 25 cards, a first-time learner can split the deck over 3 days, using the default limit of 10 new cards a day.

The Three Study Modes

Recognition shows the Hangul and asks for the meaning, which trains reading. Recall shows the meaning and asks for the Hangul, which trains remembering; you may type the answer with your Hangul keyboard or just recall it in your head. Listening plays a clip and hides the letters, which trains the ear. The pronunciation audio is generated with text-to-speech and a Korean teacher approves it before it is switched on. Listening mode only uses cards whose audio is approved, and cards without approved audio are skipped in that mode with a note.

Got It and Not Yet

Got it moves the card up one Leitner box, so it comes back later. Not yet sends the card back to box 1, so it returns in the same session or within 10 minutes. The grades are your own judgement; the deck does not score you or claim fluency.

Deck Scope: What Is and Is Not Covered

The deck covers about 25 core A1 patterns. They are the particles 은/는, 이/가, 을/를, 에, 에서, 도 and 의; the verb endings -아요/어요 and -ㅂ니다/-습니다; the past -았/었- and the future -(으)ㄹ 거예요; the progressive -고 있다; the negatives 안, -지 않다 and 못; and the endings for wanting, requesting, permission, obligation, ability and suggesting. A few cards, such as 이에요/예요 and 있어요/없어요, cover the words every learner meets in the first week.

What Is Left out of This Deck?

The deck does not drill every particle in depth, and it leaves out connectors beyond the basics. The Korean particles flashcards cover 26 particles one by one, and the intermediate Korean grammar flashcards start with modifiers, reasons and guesses. Irregular verbs such as 돕다 and 듣다 are not covered here; the lessons on the site explain them. The full lesson list is in beginner korean grammar.

All 25 Cards in One Table

All 25 cards appear below in deck order. The table is plain HTML, so you can use it as a drill without the deck: cover the Meaning column, say the pattern and an example aloud, then uncover it.

Reading the Table

Hangul is the pattern. Revised Romanization (RR) is a learning aid, so try to read the Hangul before you look at it. The Meaning column gives a short English gloss, and the Note column gives an example sentence with its RR and meaning and a use hint. The Lesson column links to the lesson that explains the pattern, and the last column lists the audio assetId. The clip for each grammar card says the example sentence, not the bare pattern, because a pattern such as 은/는 cannot be spoken on its own. A second ID marks a slow clip (0.8x) for the cards where the sound changes most.

Usage Notes for These Cards

Verb stems take endings, not whole words. The dictionary form 먹다 (to eat) loses 다 and takes an ending: 먹어요 (present), 먹었어요 (past), 먹을 거예요 (future). Only the ending changes, so one card teaches a pattern for thousands of verbs.

Choose -아요 or -어요 by the last vowel. After the vowels ㅏ and ㅗ use -아요, and after every other vowel use -어요. That gives 가요 and 와요 but 먹어요 and 읽어요. If the stem ends in a vowel, the two sounds often merge: 가 + 아요 becomes 가요.

Verbs ending in 하다 become 해요. 공부하다 (to study) is 공부해요 and 좋아하다 (to like) is 좋아해요. This one pattern covers a very large share of Korean verbs, so it is worth saying aloud with several verbs.

Two ways to say not. 안 goes before the verb and is usual in speech (안 먹어요). -지 않다 goes after the stem and is slightly more formal (먹지 않아요). The 안 versus -지 않다 lesson compares them.

-(으)세요 does two jobs. When a respected person is the subject, it is the honorific present (선생님이 오세요, the teacher is coming). When you say it to the listener about their own action, it is a polite request (앉으세요, please sit). Context tells you which one you hear.

Which Sounds Do Not Match the Spelling?

합니다 is said [함니다]. The final ㅂ turns into ㅁ before ㄴ. This is nasalization, and it applies to every -ㅂ니다 ending: 공부합니다 is [공부함니다]. Revised Romanization writes the sound, so the RR is gongbuhamnida.

먹어요 is said [머거요]. The final ㄱ of 먹 moves onto the empty ㅇ of 어, so you hear a ㄱ at the start of the next syllable. This is liaison, and it is why 먹었어요 is [머거써요] with a tense ㅆ.

않아요 is said [아나요]. The ㅎ of ㄶ is silent before a vowel, and the ㄴ links to the next syllable. So 먹지 않아요 ends in [아나요], not [안하요].

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Beginner Korean Grammar?

• Using 은/는 for a brand-new subject in a question, such as 누구는 왔어요?. Ask 누가 왔어요?, because question words take 이/가.
• Putting the verb before the object like English. Korean verbs come last: 커피를 마셔요, not 마셔요 커피를.
• Using 에 for an action place. Say 도서관에서 공부해요, not 도서관에 공부해요. 에 is for where something is or where you go.
• Saying 저는 in every sentence. Korean drops the subject when it is clear from context.

The topic and subject particles cause the most slips, so give cards 1 and 2 extra passes in recall mode.

How Does the Review Schedule Work?

The deck uses a simplified Leitner system with five boxes. A new card starts in box 1. Each Got it moves it up one box, and each Not yet returns it to box 1. The box sets how long the card waits before it is due again.

Each session shows due cards first, oldest due first, and then up to 10 new cards a day by default. A deck of 25 cards is introduced over 3 days at the default of 10 new cards a day, and the later boxes bring each card back at longer gaps. Progress is saved only in this browser, so clearing site data deletes it. Use the export button to save a small JSON file with card IDs, boxes and due dates, and import it on another device. No account is needed.

Cultural and Practical Context

Beginner Korean is built on polite endings that sound friendly but respectful, and the -아요/어요 level is the safe default with strangers. The more formal -ㅂ니다 level is the norm in news, announcements and business, and learners hear it in shops, on public transport and at the airport. Casual endings without 요 are for close friends and younger people, so learn the polite forms first.

Limits of This Deck

The deck holds 25 cards and one example per pattern, so it shows the main use of each pattern, not every nuance. Patterns with several uses, such as 에 and -(으)세요, are simplified; the lessons explain the rest. The card 에 (장소·시간) joins two uses of one particle, place and time, on a single card. All Korean text is generated and was reviewed and signed off by Min-ji Park on 15 October 2026, and each audio clip is checked by a Korean teacher before publication.

Next Steps after This Deck

After these beginner korean grammar flashcards, move on to the intermediate korean grammar flashcards to keep the same routine. Write the patterns by hand with the beginner korean grammar worksheet, check what you recalled with the korean conjugation quiz, and build sentences with the korean sentence builder. The Korean grammar flashcards page lists every grammar deck, and the Korean flashcards hub lists all topics.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Do I Use 은/는 and When 이/가?

Use 은/는 for the topic, the thing you are talking about or contrasting, and use 이/가 for new information or the answer to a question word. So 저는 학생이에요 says who you are, while 누가 왔어요? is answered with 친구가 왔어요. In a first mention, 이/가 is the safer choice.

How Do I Choose between -아요 and -어요?

Look at the last vowel of the verb stem. If it is ㅏ or ㅗ, use -아요, as in 가요 and 와요. For every other vowel use -어요, as in 먹어요 and 읽어요. Verbs ending in 하다 take 해요 instead, so 공부하다 becomes 공부해요.

What Is the Difference between 안 and -지 않다?

Both make a verb negative and mean the same thing. 안 goes before the verb and is usual in speech: 안 먹어요. -지 않다 goes after the stem and is a little more formal: 먹지 않아요. With 하다 verbs, 안 goes before 하다, as in 공부 안 해요.

Do I Need to Say 'I' in Every Sentence?

No. Korean drops the subject when the listener can guess it, so 학교에 가요 can mean I go, you go or she goes to school. Say 저는 when you introduce yourself or when you need to contrast yourself with someone else.

Is My Progress Saved If I Close the Page?

Yes, in the same browser on the same device. Card boxes and due dates are stored locally and nothing is sent to a server. Clearing site data, using a private window or switching browsers removes them, so use the export button to keep a backup file. No account is needed.