How to Learn Korean Vocabulary: Methods, Tips and a Study Plan

How to Learn Korean Vocabulary: the Short Answer

Learning a Korean word well means being able to do four things with it: recognise it in writing, hear it, say it, and use it in a sentence. A word you can only recognise on a flashcard is not yet a word you can use. The method on this page trains all four with a small daily routine.

Here is the whole plan in one table. The numbers are a starting point that you can change, and the rest of the page explains why each one is there.

On a busy day, do the reviews first and skip the new words. A day with only reviews is still a good day. A learner who reviews every day for a month will remember more than one who learns 50 words in a weekend and then stops. This guide assumes that you can already read Hangul. If you cannot, start with the Korean alphabet (Hangul) lessons first, because vocabulary study needs reading.

Which Korean Vocabulary Should You Learn First?

Start with the words that you will meet most often and that connect to a real use. A word list is only useful if its words come up in your life. That is why the site organises vocabulary by topic and by how often a word appears in everyday speech.

Use this table to choose a first list. Each row starts from a goal and points to a list on this site.

If your goal is general, the first lists should be the core words, followed by the topic that matches your next trip or job. Do not try to finish one list before you start another. Ten words from three topics are easier to hold than thirty words from one, because the topics give you more places to use them.

Step 1: Choose Words That Matter

The first step is to choose, and not to memorise. Choose words that pass at least one of three tests. The word is common, so you will hear it often. The word is useful for something you do this week. Or the word is a building block, which means it helps you understand other words. Each test removes a word from the list that you do not need yet.

For example, a beginner who plans to eat out should learn 메뉴 (menyu, menu), 주문 (jumun, order) and 계산서 (gyesanseo, bill) before learning the names of fifty fish. The first three pass every test. The fish names pass none of them yet. The At the Restaurant list takes this approach.

Here are three rules for choosing. First, prefer words that come in pairs or sets of opposites, such as 오다 (to come) and 가다 (to go), because the second word costs almost nothing once you know the first. Look-alike words are a different case, covered in step 5. Second, skip words you cannot yet use in a sentence of your own. Third, delete a card if a month has passed and you still have never needed the word. Deleting is not failing. It is how a deck stays a useful size.

Step 2: Learn Words in Context

A word learned alone is hard to remember and hard to use. Learn each word as a bundle of four parts: the spelling in Hangul, the sound, one phrase that the word often appears in, and one short sentence. The phrase is called a collocation, which means a word pair that often occurs together. The sentence gives the word a grammar frame.

The word 사과 shows the bundle. It has two meanings that are spelled the same: apple and apology. They are different words that happen to sound alike, so each one gets its own bundle.

The verb in the phrase tells you which word you have. 먹다 (to eat) goes with the fruit, and 하다 (to do) goes with the apology. In the bundle, the particle is also part of the learning: 사과가 and 사과를 are not the same as 사과 alone. A particle is a short word that follows a noun and shows its role in the sentence. Learn the noun with the particle that it takes in your sentence, so that the particles come with the words, and not as a separate task.

Words on this site come with an example sentence for exactly this reason, and the sentence follows the pattern of a noun, a particle and a verb. Say the sentence, then change one word and say it again. For example, after 사과를 먹어요 (I eat an apple), try 빵을 먹어요 (I eat bread). You have then used a particle twice and a verb twice with only one new word.

Sino-Korean Families Multiply Your Vocabulary

By common estimates, more than half of the words in the standard Korean dictionary are built from Chinese-derived syllables, which the field calls Sino-Korean. A Sino-Korean syllable has one meaning wherever it appears, so learning the syllable gives you the meaning of many words at once. This is the best return on study time in Korean vocabulary, and it works especially well for words about school, people and time.

Two cautions apply. First, one sound can come from several different Chinese characters, so the syllable 일 also means one (一) and work (事) in other words. Use the table for guessing and check each new word in a dictionary. Second, the native Korean words, such as 사람 (person) and 날 (day), do not follow the pattern. Both kinds are needed, and the Sino-Korean ones are the ones that grow quickly.

Step 3: Use Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition means reviewing a word just before you would forget it, and leaving longer gaps each time you remember it. It works because recalling a word from memory strengthens it more than reading it again. The method is built into most flashcard tools, and you can also do it on paper with a box.

The important rule is to test recall and not recognition. Recognition means seeing 학교 and knowing it means school. Recall means seeing the word school and producing 학교. Recall is harder and feels worse, and it is the better practice. On the vocabulary flashcard decks, set the cards to show the English first for the words you need to produce, and the Korean first for the words you only need to understand.

A daily session has three parts:

1. Review the cards that are due, which is about 20 on a normal day. Answer from memory before you reveal the card.
2. Add new cards, about 10, only after the reviews are done.
3. Mark a card as failed if you needed more than a few seconds or if you were wrong. A failed card comes back sooner.

Do not add new cards on a day when you have a large pile of reviews. The reviews are the work that makes the earlier words stay. If you skip them for three days and then add 30 new cards, the pile will be larger on the next day, and it will feel like a punishment. Keep the new cards at a number that you can sustain.

Step 4: Say It Aloud

A word that you have only read is not yet a word that you can say, and speaking uses a different skill from reading. Say every new word aloud when you learn it and again when you review it. This also fixes the pronunciation changes that spelling hides. For example, 학교 is spelled with ㄱ and ㄱ but is said [학꾜], and 입금 (deposit) is said [입끔].

Use the audio on each page in four small moves. First, press play and listen once without reading. Second, press the slow button, which plays the clip at 0.8 times the speed, and listen again. Third, say the word right after the clip, copying its rhythm. Fourth, say the whole example sentence, not only the word. This is sometimes called shadowing, which means repeating a recording right behind the speaker.

Nothing plays until you press a button. Romanization can help you in the first week, but it cannot show every sound. Revised Romanization, the official system of South Korea since 7 July 2000, follows most sound changes but does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, so it writes 학교 as hakgyo, and the real sound is [학꾜]. Read the Hangul and listen to the audio, and use the romanization only to check yourself.

Step 5: Review on a Schedule

Spaced repetition tools work out the gaps for you, but it helps to know the pattern. A common schedule for a new word is to review it on day 1, day 3, day 7, day 14 and day 30. The intervals grow because each successful recall makes the memory last longer. This is a common spaced-repetition pattern, not a rule from a research study, so treat the days as a guide and not a promise.

Some words will keep failing. That is normal, and it is a sign that the bundle is weak and not that you are weak. After the second fail, change the bundle: write a new sentence that is about your life, add a picture, or split a long word into its syllables. After the third fail, put the word into a short list of difficult words and review the list once a week. Many failing words are near twins of another word, such as 사다 (to buy) and 살다 (to live). Once both are known, the cure is to contrast them in one pair of sentences: 서울에 살아요. 시장에서 과일을 사요. (I live in Seoul. I buy fruit at the market.)

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Korean Vocabulary?

• Learning long lists from English alone. A list with only the English side teaches recognition. Always add a phrase or a sentence.
• Ignoring particles. A noun without its particle is half a word. Learn 사과를 and 학교에 together with the verb.
• Skipping the audio. A learner who reads only will pronounce 학교 as it is written. Press play once for every new word.
• Learning only romanization. Romanization is a helper and cannot replace the Hangul. A learner who relies on it will not be able to read signs and menus.
• Learning verbs only in dictionary form. The form 먹다 is not what people say. Learn the polite form 먹어요 as well. The Korean verb conjugator shows the forms.
• Adding too many words at once. Fifty new cards in one day produce a huge review pile. A steady ten is better.
• Learning two look-alike words on the same day. Twin words such as 사다 (to buy) and 살다 (to live) compete for the same space in memory. Learn one, wait a day or two, then add the other and contrast them.

How Many New Words Should You Learn Each Day?

For most beginners, the answer is 5 to 10 new words a day, with the reviews on top. Five words a day is a calm pace for a person with a full-time job. Ten words a day is a steady pace for a person with an hour to spare. Twenty a day is possible, but it needs a much longer review session. The right number is the number that leaves your review pile at a size that you finish every day.

A useful check is the review pile. If you finish your 20 reviews in under five minutes, add a few new cards. If you cannot finish the pile in 15 minutes, drop to five new words a day until the pile shrinks. Your daily time should stay between 5 and 15 minutes. This range is an editorial estimate for the plan on this page and not a figure from a study.

How Long Does It Take to Learn 1,000 Words?

The arithmetic is simple. At 10 new words a day, 1,000 words take 100 days. If you study six days a week and rest on the seventh, that is about 17 weeks. At 5 new words a day, it takes 200 days, which is about 33 weeks of six study days. These figures count words you have added, not words you will keep, so plan to review the earlier words as you go.

A thousand words is not the same as speaking Korean. Knowing the words is the first part, and the second part is using them in sentences, in listening and in conversation. The vocabulary pages on this site are made so that each word is already in an example sentence, which saves time on the second part. For a plan that fits your time, see the study plans.

How Do These Terms Differ from Similar Ones?

Some words used in vocabulary study sound alike. This table separates them.

A learner starts with a large passive vocabulary and a small active one. The steps above are designed to move words from the first group to the second. Reviewing with recall, saying the word aloud and writing your own sentences all push a word toward the active side.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Put the plan into action with the vocabulary flashcard decks. Start with the core words, 10 new cards a day, and answer each card from memory. Find printable sheets on the vocabulary worksheets page; for practice, write the Korean words for ten objects around you on paper, which tests recall without a screen. At the end of the week, pick the five words that failed most often and write one sentence for each.

A self-check for the end of the first week: you can say 10 new words aloud without looking, you know the phrase that goes with each of five of them, and you have written three sentences of your own. If one of those three is missing, repeat the week before you add more.

Where to Go Next

To put this way of learning Korean vocabulary into practice, open the core word lists to pick your first deck, or choose a topic from the Korean Vocabulary hub. If you are preparing for an exam, the TOPIK Vocabulary page gives a 100-word core set and points to the level lists. For words that describe things, see Shapes, Materials and Measurements in Korean. If you need a plan that covers more than vocabulary, the study plans show a week by week schedule.

FAQ

How Many New Korean Words Should I Learn Each Day?

Learn 5 to 10 new words a day, and review about 20 older cards. Five a day is a calm pace for a busy person, and ten a day is a steady pace for someone with more time. The right number is the one that leaves your review pile small enough to finish in 15 minutes.

Should I Learn Words with or without Romanization?

Learn the Hangul first and use romanization only as a helper. Revised Romanization, the official system since 7 July 2000, does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound: 학교 is hakgyo but said [학꾜]. If you rely on it, you will not be able to read signs and menus, so cover it up after the first few days.

Is It Better to Learn Words in Context or in Lists?

Use both, but put the context first. A list is good for choosing what to learn and for spotting patterns, such as the Sino-Korean syllable 학. A sentence is better for remembering a word and for knowing how to use it. A good card has the word, a short phrase and an example sentence.

How Can I Practise Korean Vocabulary?

Do four things each day: review the old cards from memory, add a few new ones, say the words aloud with the audio, and write one sentence of your own. Once a week, write the Korean words for ten objects around you without looking. The key is to test recall, not to read the words again.

Where Can I Find Flashcards for Korean Vocabulary?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. They hold decks for each topic on this site, and each card shows the Hangul, the meaning and the audio. Start with the core words and add one topic at a time. Answer each card from memory before you flip it, and keep new cards to about ten a day so the reviews stay short.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

Yes, as a learning aid. It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, the system South Korea has officially used since 7 July 2000, and the page also gives the Hangul for every word. It does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound: 학교 is written hakgyo but said [학꾜]. Treat the Hangul as the real spelling.