Korean Words 701 to 800: Ranked List with Romanization and Audio

Korean Words 701 to 800 at a Glance

Korean words 701 to 800 are the third unit of the Top 1000 Korean Words list. The earlier units cover daily life, work and society. This unit moves to the things you read about on weekends and in magazines: films and festivals, weather and pollution, devices and networks, places to visit, and the feelings and attitudes behind people's actions.

Of the 100 words, 86 are Sino-Korean (built from syllables of Chinese origin), 6 are native Korean and 8 are loanwords. The origin column marks each word. The first column is a suggested study order for a B1 learner. It is an editorial judgement and not a frequency count.

The tables hold nouns, so you need to read Hangul to use them. If you cannot yet, start with reading Hangul. The environment word 환경 (hwangyeong) is already in the first 500 words, and this unit adds the words around it.

Which Words Ranked 701 to 800 Should You Learn First?

Start with the group that matches your reason for learning Korean, and add one word from each of the others every day. For most learners that means:

1. If you love Korean media. 작품, 감독, 주인공, 장르 and 공연.
2. If you read about the environment. 기후, 오염, 쓰레기, 재활용 and 에너지.
3. If you work with technology. 네트워크, 기기, 충전, 저장, 접속 and 보안.
4. If you travel. 지역, 명소, 교통, 방문, 목적지 and 구경.
5. If you want to talk about feelings. 분노, 기대, 불안, 만족, 실망 and 자신감.

The scene below numbers ten objects from the harbour town so that you can tie each word to something you can point at.

Word · 10

1. 1

   박물관

   Play

   bangmulgwan

   museum

2. 2

   극장

   Play

   geukjang

   theatre; cinema

3. 3

   식물

   Play

   singmul

   plant

4. 4

   재활용

   Play

   jaehwaryong

   recycling

5. 5

   에너지

   Play

   eneoji

   energy

6. 6

   충전

   Play

   chungjeon

   charging

7. 7

   배터리

   Play

   baeteori

   battery

8. 8

   항구

   Play

   hanggu

   port; harbour

9. 9

   해변

   Play

   haebyeon

   beach

10. 10

    섬

    Play

    seom

    island

Tap a number to hear the word. At 10 words a day the unit takes ten days, and at 5 words a day it takes twenty. Add a review day after each group.

Culture and Arts

Culture words name the things people make and the occasions where they share them. 예술 (art), 문학 (literature) and 작품 (a work) are the broad words. 소설 and 시인 name prose and poetry, 공연, 전시 and 축제 name events, and 감독, 주인공 and 관객 name the people involved. One noun here, 문화 (culture), is taught in the previous unit. It starts a word family that this unit extends, and you will see it below.

작품 is the useful all-purpose word: a painting, a film, a novel and a song can all be called a 작품. 감독 works for a film director and for a sports coach, so the context tells you which. 유산 means heritage, and it also means an inheritance, as in 유산을 받다 (to receive an inheritance). In the compound 문화유산 only the heritage meaning applies.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short polite sentence. Many follow the pattern noun + 을/를 + verb, where 을/를 is the object particle. Say a sentence aloud, then swap the noun. In 극장에서 영화를 봤어요 you can swap 영화 for 공연 and say 극장에서 공연을 봤어요 (I watched a show at the theatre). The particles are explained in the Korean particles guide.

One Noun, One Family: 문화

Korean builds new words by joining nouns, and the first noun often stays the same. The table shows five words built on 문화. Learn the family and you can guess new members.

The last syllable 재 in 문화재 means goods or property. Hanja word families like this are explained in Hanja word families.

How Do You Say Nature and Environment in Korean?

Nature words move from the big picture to events and damage. 자연 (nature), 지구 (Earth) and 우주 (space) are the largest. 기후 (climate), 태풍 (typhoon), 지진 (earthquake), 홍수 (flood) and 가뭄 (drought) are conditions and disasters. 오염, 쓰레기, 재활용 and 에너지 describe what people do to the environment and how they respond. See the environment vocabulary page for more.

날씨 (weather, from the first 500 words) is what happens today. 기후 is the pattern over many years, so you say 오늘 날씨 (today's weather) but 기후 변화 (climate change). 쓰레기 and 가뭄 are native words, unlike most of this group, so they are not built from Chinese syllables. 가뭄 is related to the verb 가물다 (to be in drought).

Technology

Technology words here describe devices, power and connections. 기기 (device), 장치 (mechanism), 장비 (equipment) and 전기 (electricity) are the physical side. 배터리, 충전 and 무선 (wireless) describe power and cables. 네트워크, 접속, 저장, 암호, 보안 and 업데이트 describe the online side, and 전자, 반도체, 디지털, 온라인, 소프트웨어, 설치 and 첨단 complete the group. The general words 기술 (technology), 개발 (development), 시스템 and 데이터 are in the previous unit, words 501 to 600. Six of the words here are loanwords from English, so you may recognise them when you read Hangul aloud. For phone and computer words see the technology vocabulary page.

기기 and 장치 both translate as device, but 기기 is a whole gadget such as a phone, and 장치 is a mechanism or a part, as in 안전 장치 (safety device). 암호 is a code or cipher, and the everyday word for a password is 비밀번호. 접속, 저장 and 충전 take 하다 to make a verb: 접속하다 (to connect), 저장하다 (to save) and 충전하다 (to charge). Loanwords are spelled the way the English sound fits Korean syllables, so 배터리 (baeteori) is written with 터 and 리.

How Do You Say Travel and Places in Korean?

Place words in this unit are general. 지역 (region) and 주변 (surroundings) describe areas, 수도, 항구, 광장, 해변, 섬 and 시내 name types of place, and 고향 and 외국 name places from your own life. 관광지, 명소, 교통, 방문, 이동, 목적지 and 구경 are the words of a trip. The travel and airport vocabulary page covers the tickets and the airport.

해외 and 국내 are a pair. 해외 means overseas and 국내 means within the country, and both appear in news, ads and company names, as in 해외 출장 (an overseas business trip). 외국 is a place, a foreign country, and it builds 외국인 (foreigner) and 외국어 (foreign language). 주변 and 환경 are near-synonyms in English but differ in Korean. 주변 is the area around a place you can see, as in 집 주변 (around my house). 환경 is the set of conditions you live or work in, as in 자연환경 (the natural environment) and 근무 환경 (the working environment).

Emotions and Attitudes

The last group names the inner side of events. Feelings arrive with 감동, 기대, 불안, 긴장, 분노 and 외로움. Judgements arrive with 만족, 실망, 의심 and 후회. Attitudes are 태도, 용기, 열정, 존중 and 믿음. Three of these, 외로움, 믿음 and 부끄러움, are native Korean nouns made from a verb or adjective by adding -(으)ㅁ. For related words see the emotion vocabulary page.

Many of these words combine with 하다 to make a verb: 기대하다 (to expect), 실망하다 (to be disappointed), 만족하다 (to be satisfied) and 존중하다 (to respect). Others use a different verb, so learn the pair: 용기를 내다 (to summon courage), 자신감이 생기다 (confidence arises) and 감동을 주다 (to move someone). 감사 is the noun, and 감사합니다 is the polite sentence you already know.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Most words in this unit are said as they are spelled. The table shows eight that learners often get wrong.

The rules come from the Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원. Revised Romanization does not write tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, so it writes 극장 as geukjang and 열정 as yeoljeong even though they are said [극짱] and [열쩡]. It does write the changes in 박물관 (bangmulgwan) and 식물 (singmul).

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word has a normal clip, and five harder words also have a slow clip at 0.8 times the speed: 박물관, 식물, 극장, 열정 and 재활용. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 박물관 first. The first syllable ends in the ng sound, so the word sounds like bang-mul-gwan, not bak-mul-gwan. Then listen to 극장, where the second syllable has a tense jj sound.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Words Ranked 701 to 800?

• Using 환경 and 주변 as if they were the same. Say 집 주변에 공원이 많아요 (there are many parks around my house). 환경 would sound odd there, because it means conditions and not the area you see.
• Writing 해외인 for "foreigner". The word is 외국인. 해외 is used for trips and business, as in 해외여행, but not for people.
• Reading 박물관 as bak-mul-gwan. It is said [방물관].
• Treating 발명 and 발견 as the same. 발명 (from words 501 to 600) is an invention, a thing made for the first time. 발견 (from words 901 to 1000) is a discovery, a thing found that already existed.
• Writing 외롭음 or 부끄럽음 for the noun. These adjectives end in ㅂ, which changes to 우 before the noun ending -음, so the nouns are 외로움 and 부끄러움.
• Using 장치 for a phone. A phone is a 기기. 장치 is a mechanism or a part, such as 안전 장치.

The 환경 and 주변 pair is the one that most often gives away an English speaker, so practise it in both directions. The next sections turn the list into drills.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the deck in recognition mode until the 100 words feel familiar. Second, switch to listening mode and press the clip before the card turns. Third, take the quiz below. The deck stores your progress only in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks, and the vocabulary worksheets page lists printable sheets. A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page.

The deck holds the same 100 cards as the tables above: Hangul, Revised Romanization and meaning.

Try this eight-question check.

Where to Go Next

Go back to Korean words 601 to 700 if you need to review, or continue with Korean words 801 to 900, which collects formal words, time words and reasoning words. The parent page is Top 1000 Korean Words.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Environment in Korean?

Environment is 환경 (hwangyeong). It is already in the first 500 words, and this unit adds the words around it: 자연 (nature), 생태 (ecology), 기후 (climate) and 오염 (pollution). Use 환경 for the conditions you live or work in, and 주변 (jubyeon) for the area you can see around a place.

How Do You Pronounce 기술 (gisul)?

기술, the general word for technology, is in the previous unit. It is said gi-sul, with two short syllables. The first has the vowel i, as in see but shorter. The second begins with s and ends with an l sound made by touching the tongue behind the upper teeth. There is no sound change between the syllables, so say them evenly and compare with the audio.

How Many Words Ranked 701 to 800 Should I Learn First?

Learn about 30 first. Choose 10 words from the group that matches your interest, such as 작품, 감독 and 공연 for media or 네트워크, 기기 and 보안 for technology. Add 5 words each from the emotions group and the travel group, then the rest over two weeks.

Where Can I Practise Words Ranked 701 to 800 with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks, which list every deck with audio. This page also carries a deck with all 100 words in recognition mode. Your progress stays in your browser, so it is not shared with other devices.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea officially adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid that does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, so learn the Hangul and use the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Words Ranked 701 to 800?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, write the Hangul from memory, cover the English column and check your answers against the tables.

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