Korean Clothing Vocabulary: 50 Words with Romanization and Audio

Key facts

• Topic: Korean clothing vocabulary.

Korean Clothing Vocabulary at a Glance

Korean clothing vocabulary leans heavily on loanwords. Of the 50 words here, 22 are English words with Korean spellings, such as 티셔츠 and 코트, so you can guess many of them. Most of the rest are native Korean words like 바지 and 치마, or Sino-Korean words like 정장. The page is a child of Daily Life.

Each section teaches the nouns first and then the verbs that go with them. The following section says what to learn first.

Which Clothing Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 옷, 신발, 바지, 셔츠, 코트 and 양말 first, then the six size and fit words for shopping. They cover a day-to-day wardrobe and let you buy something. The hanbok words can wait unless you plan to wear one.

1. Day one. 옷, 셔츠, 티셔츠, 바지, 치마, 신발 and 양말.
2. Day two. The outerwear and the rest of the footwear.
3. Day three. 사이즈, 큰 사이즈, 작은 사이즈, 헐렁하다, 꽉 끼다 and 입어 보다.
4. Day four to five. Underwear, sleepwear and the remaining tops.
5. Day six. The hanbok and uniform words.

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

Word · 8

1. 1

   옷

   Play

   ot

   clothes

2. 2

   맨투맨

   Play

   maentumaen

   crewneck sweatshirt

3. 3

   청바지

   Play

   cheongbaji

   jeans

4. 4

   외투

   Play

   oetu

   overcoat

5. 5

   신발

   Play

   sinbal

   shoes

6. 6

   양말

   Play

   yangmal

   socks

7. 7

   운동복

   Play

   undongbok

   sportswear

8. 8

   입어 보다

   Play

   ibeo boda

   to try on

The first group is tops.

Tops and Dresses

Tops are mostly loanwords: 셔츠, 티셔츠, 블라우스, 스웨터, 니트 and 후드티. The general word is 옷, and it means clothes in the plural sense: 옷이 많아요 means I have a lot of clothes. Native Korean gives you 조끼 (vest) and 민소매 (sleeveless top).

Some of these words are Konglish, which means an English word that Korean has changed. 맨투맨 sounds like man-to-man, but it means a crewneck sweatshirt, and no English speaker would guess that. 후드티 is hood + T-shirt, and it means a hoodie.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short polite sentence. Most follow the pattern item + 을/를 + 입어요 (wear) or item + 이/가 + descriptive word. Say each sentence aloud and swap the item. Replace 셔츠 in 셔츠를 입어요 with 블라우스 and you get 블라우스를 입어요. Use 를 after a vowel and 을 after a final consonant, so 스웨터를 입어요 but 옷을 입어요.

Before the next group, the verb choice deserves its own table.

Which Verb Goes with Which Piece of Clothing?

Korean uses 입다 for clothes on the body, 신다 for things on the feet, 쓰다 for things on the head or face, 끼다 for tight-fitting things on the hands and 매다 for things that you tie. The opposite verb for taking clothes off is 벗다. English uses wear for all of these. Verbs are covered in full in the common verbs lesson, so the table gives only the polite present forms.

The accessory verbs 쓰다, 끼다 and 매다 are covered with their nouns on the Korean Accessories and Jewelry Vocabulary page. Take care with 입다 and 신다: both mean wear, but you must pick the right one for each item. The next group is bottoms.

How Do You Say Bottoms in Korean?

The general word for trousers is 바지, and a skirt is 치마. Add a first element to specify the type: 청바지 (jeans, from 청 for blue and 바지) and 반바지 (shorts, from 반 for half and 바지). Loanwords cover 레깅스 and 미니스커트.

The pattern 반 + noun works for other items. A 반팔 is a short-sleeve top and a 긴팔 is a long-sleeve top. Both are useful when you shop for a shirt. The next group is clothing for the cold.

Outerwear

Outerwear words are almost all loanwords, so 코트, 재킷, 점퍼, 패딩 and 카디건 are easy to read. The Sino-Korean word 외투 also means overcoat and is more formal than 코트. A 정장 is a suit or formal wear, and Koreans wear one to interviews.

Spelling is a trap here. 재킷 is the standard spelling of jacket in the National Institute of Korean Language rules, and you will also see 자켓 on signs. The same applies to 카디건, which is often written 가디건. The standard spelling is the one in school and exams. The next group is footwear.

How Do You Say Shoes and Socks in Korean?

The general word for shoes is 신발, and the word for socks is 양말. The nouns for each type are 운동화 (sneakers), 구두 (dress shoes), 샌들, 슬리퍼 and 부츠. The verb for putting them on is 신다, and the verb for taking them off is 벗다.

Korean homes have a rule that shoes come off at the entrance, the 현관, and slippers or socks go on. That is why 슬리퍼 is a common word and why 신발을 벗어요 is one of the first sentences a visitor hears. The next group covers what is under your outer clothes.

Underwear and Sleepwear

속옷 is underwear and 잠옷 is pajamas. Both are native Korean words that end in 옷 (clothes). 수영복 and 운동복 are Sino-Korean words that end in the suffix 복 (clothes), the same suffix as in 한복 and 교복.

Notice that 옷 is a stand-alone word and 복 is a suffix. You can say 옷 alone, but you cannot say 복 alone for clothes. The suffix 복 forms the names of special clothes. The next group is for shopping.

How Do You Say Sizes and Fit in Korean?

Ask for a size with 사이즈 and a descriptive word: 큰 사이즈 (larger size) and 작은 사이즈 (smaller size). The full sentence in a shop is 이거 작은 사이즈 있어요?, which means do you have this in a smaller size. To try something on, say 입어 봐도 돼요?

The two fit verbs are 헐렁하다 (loose) and 꽉 끼다 (tight). They end in 해요 and 껴요 when you speak: 바지가 헐렁해요 and 셔츠가 꽉 껴요. If you want a word for just right, use 맞아요, as in 사이즈가 잘 맞아요 (the size fits well). The phrases for shopping are on the shopping phrases page. The last group is traditional dress.

Hanbok and Uniforms

한복 is the traditional Korean dress. A woman's set is the 치마저고리, a skirt (치마) with a jacket (저고리), and a man's set has a 저고리 with 바지. A 두루마기 overcoat goes on top for going out, and 버선 are the cloth socks worn with hanbok. 교복 is a school uniform, and 유니폼 is a work or team uniform.

Koreans wear hanbok on 명절 (traditional holidays) such as Seollal and Chuseok, at weddings and when visiting palaces. The word 한복 can also be used for the modern, simplified style. See the hanbok vocabulary page for the full list of parts. The difference between 교복 (uniform for school) and 제복 (uniform for officials) is a fine point: 교복 means school uniform only.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Most clothing words follow the spelling, but the final ㅅ in 옷 and the way syllables link together change the sound. The table shows six cases.

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: 옷, 티셔츠, 운동화, 잠옷 and 한복. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 옷 first. You should hear a short [옫] with the tongue stopping on the ridge behind the teeth.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Clothing Words?

• Using 입다 for everything. Say 모자를 써요, 신발을 신어요 and 장갑을 껴요. 입다 only fits clothes on the body.
• Pronouncing 옷 with the final ㅅ as s. The spoken form is [옫], and the ㅅ returns only when a vowel follows: 옷이 [오시].
• Trusting English meanings of Konglish words. 맨투맨 is a sweatshirt, and 원피스 is a dress, not a one-piece swimsuit.
• Writing 자켓. The standard spelling is 재킷.
• Mixing up 교복 and 제복. 교복 is a school uniform, and 제복 is an official's uniform.

The first mistake is the one that changes the meaning most, because English has no such division. 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 50 words aloud once more.

Where to Go Next

After the Korean clothing vocabulary, open Korean Accessories and Jewelry Vocabulary to add rings, bags, hats and glasses. If you shop in Korea, the shopping phrases page puts the size words into whole questions. The House and Home and Daily Routines lists are the next daily-life topics.

Pages in This Section

One page sits below Clothing.

• Korean Accessories and Jewelry Vocabulary: 30 words in five groups for jewelry, bags, hats, glasses, watches and hair accessories. It has a table of the verbs that go with each item (끼다, 쓰다, 차다, 매다) and a note on 목도리 versus 스카프. Level A2.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Clothes in Korean?

Clothes is 옷 (ot). It is said [옫], with a short stop at the end, and it becomes [오시] when a vowel follows, as in 옷이 예뻐요. To say you wear clothes, use 옷을 입어요 (oseul ibeoyo). For a particular item, name it and keep 입어요: 코트를 입어요 means I wear a coat.

How Do You Pronounce 코트 (koteu)?

코트 is said ko-teu, in two beats. The first syllable 코 starts with an aspirated ㅋ, a k with a puff of air. The second syllable 트 starts with an aspirated ㅌ and ends in the vowel ㅡ, which is said with the lips spread and not rounded. Press the audio button and repeat.

How Many Clothing Words Should I Learn First?

Learn about 20 first: 옷, the main tops and bottoms, 코트, 신발, 양말, 운동화 and the six sizes and fit words. That is two to three days at 8 to 10 words a day. Add underwear, sleepwear and hanbok afterwards, and then review all 50 with the flashcards.

Where Can I Practise Clothing 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 accessories page has a second list that overlaps with this one, so review the two lists together for the best result.

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 Clothing 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.