Korean Words 901 to 1000: Ranked List with Romanization and Audio

Korean Words 901 to 1000 at a Glance

Korean words 901 to 1000 are the fifth and last unit of the Top 1000 Korean Words list. The earlier units give you daily life, society, culture and the connecting words of written texts. This unit finishes the list with the words of public life, abstract ideas, paperwork and services, relationships, and the short fillers that make speech sound natural.

Of the 100 words, 80 are Sino-Korean (built from syllables of Chinese origin) and 20 are native Korean. The native words are mostly in the last group, because fillers such as 어쨌든 and 글쎄 are old Korean words. 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. Politics (정치) and science (과학) are already in the Top 500, so this unit builds on them.

The tables assume you can read Hangul. If you cannot yet, start with reading Hangul.

Which Words Ranked 901 to 1000 Should You Learn First?

Learn the daily-life details and the set phrases first, because you will use them in the next week, and keep the politics and science words for reading. A learner who has 서류, 신청, 환불, 확인 and 어쨌든 can handle most office counters in Korea. Choose by goal:

1. If you live in Korea. 서류, 신분증, 신청, 접수, 택배, 수리 and 환불.
2. If you talk with Koreans. 어쨌든, 글쎄, 하긴, 그러게, 오랜만에 and 덕분에.
3. If you follow the news. 국회, 정당, 투표, 후보, 개혁 and 외교.
4. If you read essays. 철학, 개념, 분석, 통계, 윤리 and 현실.
5. If you work in a Korean team. 상사, 동기, 고민, 응원, 역할 and 영향.

At 10 words a day the unit takes ten days. Add a review day after each group.

Society and Politics

Politics words describe how a country makes decisions. The people are 의원, 후보 and 공무원. The places and bodies are 국회, 정당 and 행정. The acts are 투표 (voting), 개혁 (reform), 시위 (protest) and 외교 (diplomacy). 헌법 (constitution), 인권 (human rights) and 민주주의 (democracy) are the base ideas. Nearly all of these are Sino-Korean, and several share a syllable you can recognise: 국 in 국회, 국가 and 국제 means country.

국회 (the National Assembly) is the lawmaking body, and 의원 is one of its members. 정치 (politics) and 선거 (election) are in the Top 500, and this unit adds the words around them. For more words in this field, see the politics and government vocabulary page and the news and media vocabulary page. Words in this group are formal and are used in news and speeches more than in daily talk, so recognise them first.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short polite sentence. Many follow the pattern noun + 이/가 + verb, where 이/가 is the subject particle. Say a sentence aloud, then swap the noun. In 국회에서 새 법을 만들어요 you can replace 국회 with 정부 and say 정부에서 새 법을 만들어요. The particles are explained in the Korean particles guide.

How Do You Say Science and Ideas in Korean?

Idea words describe how people think. 관찰, 가설, 증거, 분석 and 통계 are the steps of research. 철학, 사상, 개념, 원리 and 논리 are the tools of thought. 윤리, 판단, 현실 and 진리 are the large questions. 발견 (discovery) and 창의력 (creativity) describe the results.

발견 and 발명 (invention, from words 501 to 600) are a pair. 발견 is finding something that already existed, and 발명 is making something new. The suffix -력 in 창의력 means power or ability. It turns 창의 (creative thinking) into 창의력 (creativity) and also appears in 능력 (ability) and 협력 (cooperation) from earlier units. 의식 has two meanings. It means awareness, as in 환경에 대한 의식, and it means a ceremony, as in 종교 의식 (a religious ceremony), so context decides. Word families such as these are explained in Hanja word families.

Daily-Life Details

Daily-life details are the words of forms, counters and services. You 신청 (apply) and the office gives 접수 (acceptance). You bring a 서류 (document) and 신분증 (ID). A parcel arrives by 택배 or 배달, and when something breaks you ask for 수리, 교환 or 환불. You finish with 확인 (confirmation).

택배 (parcel delivery) and 배달 (delivery of food or goods) are close but differ. 택배 is a courier service that ships a package to your home. 배달 is the general word, and it is the one used for food: 배달 음식 (delivery food). 신청 starts the process and 접수 is the other side accepting it, so 접수 is what you hear at a counter: 접수 도와 드릴까요? (Shall I help with registration?) The post office vocabulary page and the shopping vocabulary page have more service words.

How Do You Say Emotions and Relationships in Korean?

Relationship words describe people who work and live together. 상사 (boss) and 동기 (peer from the same intake) are two roles at work. 관심, 역할 and 영향 describe how people affect each other. 고민, 위로, 응원, 화해 and 고백 are what passes between people, and 짝사랑 and 첫사랑 are two kinds of love. 정 (affection) and 인연 (fate) are two Korean ideas that English handles with a phrase. Words 501 to 600 already have 동료, 선배, 후배, 신뢰 and 우정.

상사 is the person above you at work, and 동기 is someone who joined at the same time as you. 동기 has a second meaning, motive, so context decides. 위로 is comfort for someone who is sad, and 응원 is support for someone who is trying something. 화해 is making up after a quarrel. 짝사랑 is a love that is not returned, and 첫사랑 is a first love, and both are common in songs and dramas. The word 사과 means apology here and apple in the fruit list. They are different words with the same spelling and sound, written 謝過 and 沙果 in Hanja. The sentence tells you which one you hear. See also the emotion vocabulary page.

Useful Set Phrases

The last group holds short words that you use to start, link and soften sentences. Some agree or doubt (그러게, 글쎄, 하긴, 어쩐지). Some turn a topic (어쨌든, 아무튼, 그나저나). Some show a view (아무래도, 어쩌면, 이왕이면). And some describe a manner (제대로, 마음껏, 저절로, 되도록). They are mostly native adverbs and discourse markers, and you hear them often in everyday talk and in Korean dramas.

Three of these need a note. 그러게 agrees with what someone just said, as in 그러게요, 정말 덥네요 (Right? It is really hot). Add 요 to make it polite. 하마터면 always goes with -ㄹ 뻔했다 (nearly did), as in 하마터면 넘어질 뻔했어요 (I nearly fell). 차마 goes with a negative or an impossible verb, as in 차마 거절할 수 없었어요 (I could not bring myself to refuse). You should also know how 덕분에 works. It gives credit for a good result, and for a bad result Korean uses 탓에 (because of). Compare 선생님 덕분에 합격했어요 (thanks to my teacher, I passed) with 비 탓에 늦었어요 (because of the rain, I was late).

Which Words Are Safe in Speech?

Some words in this unit are used in news and writing, and some are used in conversation. This guide helps you decide where to use them.

A written word is not wrong in speech, but it sounds formal or like a news reader. If you want to sound natural in a chat, use the left column first.

What Can You Read with 1000 Words?

After 1000 words you can usually read short notices, simple news headlines and graded stories with some help from a dictionary. This is an editorial estimate and not a research finding, and it depends on the topic. A text on a familiar topic is much easier than the same length on an unfamiliar one.

For reading practice, try the reading hub and the graded stories, and for listening try the dialogues with audio.

Where Should You Go after 1000 Words?

Choose the next step by goal. For exams, study the TOPIK vocabulary page and the TOPIK II guide, and check the official exam information on topik.go.kr, because dates and rules can change. For reading, work through graded stories and short news articles. For speaking, learn the common verbs and adjectives with their conjugations, since these 1000-word lists hold nouns, adverbs and connectors and not verbs. For K-drama listening, start with short scenes and read the subtitles in Korean.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Most words in this unit are said as they are spelled, but many Sino-Korean words have sound changes. 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 인권 as ingwon and 헌법 as heonbeop even though they are said [인꿘] and [헌뻡]. It does write the ㄴ and ㄹ changes: 권력 (gwollyeok), 원리 (wolli), 논리 (nolli) and 진리 (jilli). In 국회 the ㅎ is kept in the romanization of a noun: gukhoe.

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: 국회, 인권, 헌법, 권력 and 짝사랑. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 권력 first. You should hear a long l sound in the middle, so the word sounds like gwol-lyeok. Then listen to 국회, where the middle sound is a single k.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Words Ranked 901 to 1000?

• Reading 권력 as gwon-ryeok. The ㄴ becomes ㄹ, so it is [궐력]. The same is true of 원리, 논리 and 진리.
• Reading 국회 as guk-hoe. The ㄱ and ㅎ join, so it is [구쾨].
• Using 덕분에 for a bad result. 덕분에 credits a good result. For a bad result use 탓에 or 때문에.
• Using 하마터면 without -ㄹ 뻔했다. Say 하마터면 넘어질 뻔했어요. 하마터면 넘어졌어요 does not work.
• Mixing 택배 and 배달. 택배 ships a package, and 배달 brings food or goods from a shop.
• Writing 어쨌든 as 어쨋든. The spelling has 쨌 with a double ㅆ, then 든: 어쨌든.

The 덕분에 rule is the one that most often changes the feeling of a sentence, because a wrong choice makes thanks sound like blame. The next sections turn the list into drills.

Practice: Flashcards, Worksheet and Final Review

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 review quiz at the end. 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.

This review quiz has 10 questions. It samples the Top 500 and the units from 601 to 1000, so it also shows which earlier unit to revisit.

Where to Go Next

Go back to Korean words 801 to 900 if you need to review. You have now finished the list. Return to the Top 1000 Korean Words page for the full map, or continue with the TOPIK vocabulary page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Politics in Korean?

Politics is 정치 (jeongchi). It is already in the Top 500, in words 401 to 500, and it is also used in 정치인 (politician). This unit adds the words around it: 국회 (National Assembly), 정당 (political party), 투표 (vote), 후보 (candidate) and 개혁 (reform).

How Do You Pronounce 과학 (gwahak)?

과학 is said gwa-hak. The first syllable, gwa, glides from a w sound into a. The second syllable begins with h and ends in a k that is not released, so your tongue stops without a puff of air. The Revised Romanization writes it gwahak. Say it in two beats and compare with the audio.

How Many Words Ranked 901 to 1000 Should I Learn First?

Learn about 30 first. Take 10 daily-life words (서류, 신분증, 신청, 접수, 택배, 수리, 교환, 환불, 확인, 일정), 10 relationship words (상사, 동기, 고민, 위로, 응원, 관심, 역할, 영향, 칭찬, 분위기) and 10 set phrases (어쨌든, 아무튼, 글쎄, 하긴, 그러게, 어쩐지, 아무래도, 오랜만에, 덕분에, 제대로). Keep the politics and science words for reading.

Where Can I Practise Words Ranked 901 to 1000 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 901 to 1000?

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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