Korean Wedding Vocabulary: 35 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Wedding Vocabulary at a Glance

Korean wedding vocabulary is useful the first time a Korean friend hands you a 청첩장, a wedding invitation. Most weddings today are held in a 예식장, a wedding hall, in a ceremony that lasts less than an hour. Many couples also hold a traditional greeting called 폐백 in hanbok. Nearly all of the words are Sino-Korean, which is why the same syllables keep returning: 혼 means marriage, 식 means ceremony, and 신 means new. This page holds 35 words in five groups.

The list belongs to Korean Culture Words, and the next list in the sequence, Korean Funeral Vocabulary, covers the other main family ceremony. For what to say to the couple, see the celebration phrases. The next section says where to start.

Which Wedding Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 결혼, 결혼식, 청첩장, 신랑, 신부 and 축하 first. They are the words you will actually hear, because they are the words on an invitation. The guest and gift words matter most on the day itself, because the first thing a guest does is give 축의금.

1. Day one. The six starter words, plus 남편 and 아내.
2. Day two. The planning words 약혼, 청혼, 상견례, 예물, 혼수 and 예단, plus 예식장, 주례 and 사회자.
3. Day three. The rest of the ceremony and the guest words: 웨딩드레스, 부케, 하객, 축의금, 봉투, 축가, 피로연 and 식권.
4. Day four. The traditional 폐백 words, plus 신혼부부, 신혼여행, 신혼집 and 이혼.

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

Word · 8

1. 1

   결혼식

   Play

   gyeolhonsik

   wedding; wedding ceremony

2. 2

   신랑

   Play

   sillang

   groom

3. 3

   신부

   Play

   sinbu

   bride

4. 4

   웨딩드레스

   Play

   wedingdeureseu

   wedding dress

5. 5

   부케

   Play

   buke

   bouquet

6. 6

   하객

   Play

   hagaek

   wedding guest

7. 7

   축의금

   Play

   chuguigeum

   congratulatory money given at a wedding

8. 8

   폐백

   Play

   pyebaek

   pyebaek; the bride's greeting to the groom's family

By origin, the list has 28 Sino-Korean words, 4 native words, 2 loanwords and 1 mixed word. Sino-Korean words dominate because ceremony vocabulary was written in Chinese characters for centuries; the loanwords 웨딩드레스 and 부케 came with the Western-style wedding. The origin column in each table marks them.

Engagement and Preparation

Before a wedding there are steps that Koreans name individually. A couple may get engaged (약혼) after a 청혼, a proposal. The two families meet formally at a 상견례. The couple exchange 예물 (gifts such as rings), prepare the 혼수 (things for the new home), and the bride's side may send gifts called 예단. Then the 청첩장 goes out to guests.

The verb for getting married takes 와/과 (with), not 을/를. Say 그와 결혼해요 (I marry him), not 그를 결혼해요. 결혼 is a noun that becomes a verb with 하다, and in this respect it works like 헤어지다 (to break up), which also takes 와/과. In everyday speech 하고 is more common: 그 사람하고 결혼해요.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short polite sentence. Most follow the pattern subject + 이/가 + verb or noun + 이에요/예요. In the first group several sentences use the past form, such as 약혼했어요 (got engaged), because the event has happened. Say each one aloud and swap the noun. For example, 주말에 친구의 결혼식이 있어요 becomes 내일 친구의 결혼식이 있어요 when you replace 주말.

The engagement words are mostly verbs in disguise. Add 하다 to 약혼, 청혼 or 결혼 and each one becomes a verb. The ceremony comes next.

How Do You Say the Ceremony in Korean?

A wedding is a 결혼식, and the usual place is a 예식장. The groom, the 신랑, and the bride, the 신부, stand at the front, and a 주례 (officiant) or a 사회자 (master of ceremonies) leads the ceremony. The bride wears a 웨딩드레스 and carries a 부케.

Notice that 결혼식 is 결혼 (marriage) plus 식 (ceremony), so a wedding is literally a marriage ceremony. A different word spelled the same way, 신부, means a Catholic priest, and context tells you which one is meant. In a wedding sentence, 신랑 신부 together means the couple.

Guests and Gifts

A guest, called a 하객, arrives at the hall, hands over a 축의금 in a 봉투 at the reception desk, and receives a 식권 for the meal. Guests say 축하해요 to the couple, and a friend may sing a 축가 during the ceremony. The party afterwards is the 피로연.

Guests usually give cash in an envelope, which is the 축의금 custom. The envelope is often white, and a name is written on it. This page gives no amounts, because they vary by relationship and change over time. To congratulate the couple, say 결혼 축하해요 to friends and 결혼 축하드려요 to older people.

How Do You Say the Traditional Wedding (폐백) in Korean?

Some couples hold a full 전통혼례, a traditional wedding in hanbok, and many hold a shorter 폐백 after a hall wedding. In 폐백 the couple bow to the groom's parents and elders with a deep 큰절. The bride may offer 대추 (jujubes) and 밤 (chestnuts), which are traditionally linked with wishes for children and a long family line. The parents of the groom are the 시부모님 of the bride.

The word 밤 also means night. Context separates them: 밤을 먹어요 means I eat chestnuts, and 밤에 잠을 자요 means I sleep at night. The verb 드리다 in 폐백을 드려요 is the humble form of 주다, used when giving to elders.

Newlywed Words

After the wedding the couple are 신혼부부, newlyweds. They take a 신혼여행 (honeymoon) and set up a 신혼집 (their new home). The husband is the 남편, and the wife is the 아내. The word for divorce is 이혼, and it is a plain, neutral word in the news and in law.

Spouses also use terms of address that are not on this list, such as 여보 and 자기, and they differ by age and by couple. The words 남편 and 아내 are the standard words for husband and wife in speech and writing.

The order varies from couple to couple, but this is the usual path, and it works as a word order for revising the list.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Wedding words contain many Sino-Korean sound changes, because several syllables end in a consonant that meets a following consonant or vowel. The table lists the ones that learners most often miss.

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: 결혼식, 신랑, 축의금, 신혼여행 and 폐백. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 신랑 first. You should hear two l sounds in a row, [실랑], and not the written n-r: the sound is a long, light l, and the word has two beats.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Wedding Words?

• Saying 결혼 for the ceremony. 결혼 is marriage, and the ceremony is 결혼식.
• Using 을/를 with 결혼하다. Say 그와 결혼해요 (I marry him), because 결혼하다 takes 와/과.
• Reading 신랑 as sin-rang. The spoken form is [실랑].
• Using the plain 축하해요 to a teacher or an older relative. It is polite, but 결혼 축하드려요 is more respectful.
• Taking 신부 as always meaning bride. The same spelling is also the word for a Catholic priest, so check the context.

The first and fifth mistakes change the meaning, the second is a grammar error, and the others change the sound or the level of respect. 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 35 words aloud once more.

For one word at a time, see wedding in Korean and marriage in Korean.

Where to Go Next

This list sits inside Korean Culture Words. After Korean wedding vocabulary, many learners move on to Korean Funeral Vocabulary for the other main family ceremony, or back up to Traditional Culture for the clothes and customs behind 폐백.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Wedding in Korean?

A wedding is 결혼식 (gyeolhonsik), which joins 결혼 (marriage) and 식 (ceremony). The marriage itself is 결혼. To say you are going to a wedding, use 결혼식에 가요 (gyeolhonsige gayo). The invitation is a 청첩장 (cheongcheopjang), and the groom and bride are 신랑 and 신부.

How Do You Pronounce 신랑 (sillang)?

신랑 is said [실랑], sil-lang, in two beats. The final ㄴ of the first syllable is said as ㄹ because the next syllable starts with ㄹ. The final ㅇ of the second syllable is the ng sound, as in the English word sing. Use the slow clip to match the rhythm.

How Many Wedding Words Should I Learn First?

Learn six first: 결혼, 결혼식, 청첩장, 신랑, 신부 and 축하. That takes one day. Then add the planning words and the gift words. The whole list of 35 takes four days at 8 to 10 words a day, with review on the fifth day.

Where Can I Practise Wedding Words 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 celebration phrases page has the sentences to say to the couple, so review it together with this page before a wedding.

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 Wedding Words?

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.

Save This to Pinterest