Korean Leisure Places Vocabulary: 30 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Leisure Places Vocabulary at a Glance

Korean leisure places vocabulary is the set of words for the rooms where Koreans relax with friends: a jjimjilbang for heat and sleep, a noraebang for singing, a PC bang for games and a board-game room for table games. Most of the names end in 방 (bang), which means room. This page holds 30 words in five groups.

The list belongs to Traditional Culture, although most of these places are modern. They are traditional in the sense that a visit is a normal part of Korean social life. The next section says where to start.

Which Leisure Place Names Should You Learn First?

Learn 찜질방, 노래방 and PC방 first. They are the three places a visitor is most likely to be invited to, and they teach the -방 pattern that explains the rest. After those, learn the words you need inside each place.

1. Day one. 찜질방, 노래방, PC방, 방 and 게임.
2. Day two. The bathhouse items: 찜질복, 수건, 식혜 and 구운 계란.
3. Day three. The karaoke words: 마이크, 반주, 점수 and 리모컨.
4. Day four. The remaining cafes and rooms.

At 8 to 10 words a day, the list takes three to four days plus review. This scene puts eight of the words on one picture.

Word · 8

1. 1

   찜질방

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   jjimjilbang

   bathhouse; Korean spa with heated rooms

2. 2

   불가마

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   bulgama

   fire-kiln sauna

3. 3

   수건

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   sugeon

   towel

4. 4

   마이크

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   maikeu

   microphone

5. 5

   탬버린

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   taembeorin

   tambourine

6. 6

   컴퓨터

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   keompyuteo

   computer

7. 7

   요금

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   yogeum

   fee; charge

8. 8

   보드게임

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   bodeugeim

   board game

A third of the list is loanwords, such as 사우나, 마이크 and 컴퓨터. You can guess many of them from English, and the origin column marks them. The first place is the bathhouse.

Bathhouse (찜질방)

A 찜질방 is a Korean spa with heated rooms, cold rooms, baths and a shared lounge where many people nap and eat. Visitors pay at the desk, receive a 찜질복 and a 수건, and change before entering the shared rooms. The 불가마 is a hot dome-shaped room, and the classic snacks are 식혜 and 구운 계란.

The word 찜질 means a steam or heat treatment, and 방 is the room suffix. The plain public bath is a different word, 목욕탕 (mogyoktang). A 사우나 is a sauna and can be a room inside a 찜질방 or a business of its own.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short polite sentence. Most follow the pattern place + 에 + 가요 (go to a place) or place + 에서 + action (do something at a place). Note the difference: 찜질방에 가요 means I go to the jjimjilbang, and 찜질방에서 식혜를 마셔요 means I drink sikhye at the jjimjilbang. Swap the place to make your own sentence.

The particle 에 marks the destination, and 에서 marks where an action happens. Karaoke comes next.

How Do You Say Karaoke (노래방) in Korean?

Karaoke is 노래방 (noraebang), which literally means song room. In Korea you rent a private room by the hour, so you sing with friends and not before strangers. The machine plays a 반주, shows the words on the screen and gives a 점수 at the end.

Many noraebang words are English loanwords with Korean spellings: 마이크, 탬버린 and 리모컨. The last word is short for remote controller and is used for any remote control, including the TV remote. The word karaoke is of Japanese origin, and Koreans say 노래방 for the room and 노래방 기계 for the machine.

People also say 노래하러 가요 (let's go to sing). The PC room works in a similar way.

What Do PC and Game Room Words Mean?

A PC방 (pisibang) is a room with rows of computers, paid by the hour. People go there for online games and often order 라면 to eat at their seat. The key words are 컴퓨터, 게임, 키보드 and 요금.

The name PC방 mixes the English letters PC with the Korean 방. In Korean the letters are said as Korean versions of their English names: [피시방]. The fee is shown as 시간당 요금 (rate per hour), and you pay at the desk or at a machine. The pc cafe in Korean page has the single entry for the English term.

How Do You Say Board-Game and Cat Cafes in Korean?

Board-game and cat cafes are 보드게임방 or 보드게임 카페, and 고양이 카페. These are quiet places to meet: you pay a small fee, play or pat the cats and drink something. A 만화방 is an older kind of room where you read 만화책 (comic books), and it has an old-fashioned feel.

Note that 카페 is the Korean spelling of cafe and is a loanword, while 방 is the older Sino-Korean room word. The two often sit side by side in the same area. The next group looks at the suffix itself.

What Does the Suffix -방 Mean?

The suffix 방 means room, and Korean attaches it to a word for an activity to name a place for it. 노래 (song) + 방 gives 노래방, and 찜질 + 방 gives 찜질방. The result is a business name, a room name or both.

Note that 방탈출 reverses the order, because it is a short form of 방 탈출 게임 (room escape game). The following words complete the group.

Newer room words appear all the time, such as 멀티방 and 코인 노래방. Treat them as current examples, because trends change faster than a dictionary does.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

These words are mostly pronounced as they are spelled. The table lists the places where the sound differs from the spelling or where learners usually stumble.

The rules come from the Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원. The audio is generated with text-to-speech and checked by a Korean teacher before publication.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word has a normal clip, and 5 key words also have a slow clip at 0.8 times the speed: 찜질방, 노래방, 식혜, 탬버린 and 방탈출. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 식혜 first. You should hear an aspirated k, with a puff of air, at the start of the second syllable, as if the word were spelled 시켸.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Leisure Place Names?

• Saying 노래 for the place. 노래 is the song, and the room is 노래방.
• Using 에서 for the destination. Say 노래방에 가요 (I go to a noraebang), not 노래방에서 가요.
• Saying the letters PC the English way, as pee-see. Korean says [피시방], with Korean vowels.
• Taking 찜질방 for a plain bath. A public bath is 목욕탕, and a 찜질방 has heated rooms, a lounge and snacks.
• Forgetting that 구운 계란 is two words. Say 구운 계란, and do not write 구운계란 as one word.

The first two errors change the meaning, and the others only change how natural you sound. The next section turns the list into practice.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Drill these words with the vocabulary flashcard decks. 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. Progress in the decks is saved only in your browser.

Try this five-question check, then say the 30 words aloud once more.

Other bathhouse words, such as body care items, are on the personal care list.

Where to Go Next

This list sits inside Traditional Culture. After Korean leisure places vocabulary, many learners move on to Korean Palaces and History Vocabulary for the older side of Korean culture. For the bathhouse in one entry, see jjimjilbang in Korean, and for singing, karaoke in Korean.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Bathhouse in Korean?

A Korean spa bathhouse is 찜질방 (jjimjilbang). It has heated rooms, a lounge and snacks. A plain public bath is 목욕탕 (mogyoktang). To say you are going, use 찜질방에 가요 (jjimjilbang-e gayo), which means I go to the jjimjilbang. Both words end in 방 or 탕, meaning room or bath.

How Do You Pronounce 노래방 (noraebang)?

노래방 is said no-rae-bang, in three even beats. The first syllable 노 starts with ㄴ, the second 래 has a light ㄹ made with a quick tap of the tongue, and the third 방 ends in the ng sound. Press the audio button and match the rhythm.

How Many Leisure Place Names Should I Learn First?

Learn the three place names first: 찜질방, 노래방 and PC방, plus 방 and 게임. That is five words, which takes one day. Add the items inside each place next, then the cafes. The whole list of 30 takes three to four days at 8 to 10 words a day.

Where Can I Practise Leisure Place Names with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks, which list every deck with audio. A deck for these words is planned. Progress stays in your browser. The personal care list covers bathing and grooming words that overlap with the bathhouse group, so review both lists together.

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 mark every sound change, so learn the Hangul and use the audio to hear the real sound.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Leisure Place Names?

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, copy the tables above by hand: write the Hangul, cover the English column, and check your answers against the page.

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