Korean Flowers Vocabulary: 30 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Flowers Vocabulary at a Glance

Koreans talk about flowers by season, and the news treats the first blossom of the year as an event. This list follows that calendar: spring, summer, autumn and winter flowers, then the words for buying and giving them. It is a child of Plants and Flowers, which also covers trees, garden plants and plant parts. For one famous word, see cherry blossom in Korean.

Which Flower Names Should You Learn First?

Learn 꽃, 장미, 벚꽃, 개나리 and 꽃다발 first. They cover the general word, the most famous flowers and a gift word. Then fill in the season you are in: 목련 and 진달래 in spring, 수국 and 연꽃 in summer, 코스모스 and 국화 in autumn.

• Words to say. 꽃, 장미, 벚꽃, 해바라기, 꽃다발, 꽃집.
• Words to recognise. 무궁화, 진달래, 매화, 동백. They appear in news, songs and festivals.
• Words to build. 꽃 + word: 꽃집, 꽃다발, 꽃바구니, 꽃말.

A good split to know: 벚꽃 is the blossom and 벚나무 is the tree. The scene below arranges flowers as a calendar, with ten of them numbered to match the list.

Word · 10

1. 1

   꽃

   Play

   kkot

   flower

2. 2

   개나리

   Play

   gaenari

   forsythia

3. 3

   벚꽃

   Play

   beotkkot

   cherry blossom

4. 4

   장미

   Play

   jangmi

   rose

5. 5

   연꽃

   Play

   yeonkkot

   lotus flower

6. 6

   무궁화

   Play

   mugunghwa

   rose of Sharon (national flower)

7. 7

   코스모스

   Play

   koseumoseu

   cosmos

8. 8

   국화

   Play

   gukhwa

   chrysanthemum

9. 9

   매화

   Play

   maehwa

   plum blossom

10. 10

    눈꽃

    Play

    nunkkot

    snow flower; hoarfrost on branches

Spring Flowers

Spring opens with a colour sequence. 개나리 (forsythia) comes first in yellow, then 진달래 (azalea) in pink, then 벚꽃 (cherry blossom) in white and pale pink. 목련 (magnolia) and 튤립 (tulips) follow. On Jeju Island, 유채꽃 turns the fields yellow. Starting with the general word 꽃, which you pronounce [꼳] alone and [꼬치] before 이, this group gives you the words you hear when spring is on the news.

Example Sentences

The frame is flower + 이/가 + colour adverb + 피었어요, for example 개나리가 노랗게 피었어요. The ending -게 turns a colour adjective into an adverb: 노랗다 becomes 노랗게. The past form 피었어요 describes a flower that is now open. For a flower that is falling, use 떨어져요. Read each sentence aloud after the audio.

The spring list is the longest because blossom season is short and many things bloom at once.

How Do You Say Summer Flowers in Korean?

Summer flowers are bold. 장미 and 해바라기 are the most famous, 연꽃 grows in ponds and 수국 fills temple gardens with blue and pink. The national flower, 무궁화, blooms from summer into early autumn, which makes it a flower you can find for months. 나팔꽃 opens in the morning, and 봉선화 is the balsam traditionally used to dye fingernails.

Several summer names end in 꽃 or 화. The ending 꽃 is native Korean and 화 is Sino-Korean, and both mean flower.

Autumn Flowers

Autumn flowers are linked to open fields and hillsides. 코스모스 lines roadsides, 국화 is the classic flower of the season and 구절초 is its wild white cousin. 맨드라미 is a red flower shaped like a crest, 꽃무릇 is a red lily and 억새 is silver grass, which is not a true flower but a seasonal symbol. Seasonal festivals are built around these flowers.

국화 exists in two worlds. It is a cheerful autumn flower and, in white, a flower used at funerals, so choose it with care when giving a gift.

How Do You Say Winter Flowers in Korean?

Few flowers bloom in a Korean winter, which is why these five are celebrated. 동백 (camellia) opens in the south in the cold. 매화 (plum blossom) and 수선화 (daffodil) arrive in late winter. 복수초 is a small yellow flower that pushes through the snow. 눈꽃 is the odd one: snow flowers are frost formed on branches, and the word is used for the look of snow-covered trees.

The word 눈꽃 is a good example of the Korean habit of borrowing flower names for beauty in nature, as in 눈꽃 축제, a snow-flower festival.

Bouquets and Gifts

Flowers are common gifts at graduations, birthdays and openings. You buy them at a 꽃집. A 꽃다발 is a hand-held bouquet, and a 꽃바구니 is a basket. A 화환 is a large wreath on a stand, sent to a new shop or to a funeral. Korean tradition also has 꽃말, the meaning attached to each flower. The 꽃말 of 장미 is love in many sources, though meanings vary.

Because the same gift word can fit a happy event or a sad one, the ribbon and the card tell you which. Look at the ribbon before you read the flower.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Flower names have many consonant sounds that change at the end of 꽃. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which does not mark every sound change.

Remember the rule that 꽃 ends in a [ㄷ] sound when it stands alone or before a consonant, and in a ㅊ sound when a vowel follows. That one rule fixes the pronunciation of nearly every compound on this page.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The five clips below replay the hardest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Flower Names?

Five mistakes come up again and again.

1. Saying 꽃을 피어요. The verb 피다 is intransitive, so say 꽃이 피어요, the flower blooms.
2. Pronouncing 꽃다발 as [꽃다발]. The standard is [꼳따발], with a tense ㄸ.
3. Mixing 벚꽃 and 벚나무. 벚꽃 is the blossom and 벚나무 is the tree.
4. Giving white 국화 as a cheerful gift. White chrysanthemums are used at funerals. Choose another flower for a celebration.
5. Using 꽃말 to mean flower words. 꽃말 is the meaning given to a flower, such as love for a rose, not the word for it.

Verb choice and one-sound differences cause most errors. The practice section turns the list into drills.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Use three steps. Run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until the 30 words come quickly. Switch to listening mode, then take the quiz. The deck holds every word on this page with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other 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. For practice, make four columns, label them 봄, 여름, 가을 and 겨울, and write the flowers you know under each.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Trees and Plants Vocabulary, or review the seasons on Seasons. To move up a level, return to Plants and Flowers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Flower in Korean?

Flower is 꽃 (kkot). Alone it is said [꼳], and before 이 it is [꼬치], as in 꽃이 예뻐요. The word is the base of 꽃집 (flower shop), 꽃다발 (bouquet) and 꽃말 (flower meaning).

How Do You Pronounce 장미 (jangmi)?

Say jang-mi with two even syllables. The ㅈ is plain, with a soft release, and 미 is short. The word has no sound changes, so it is said as spelled. Press the audio button on this page to hear the word and the slow clip.

How Many Flower Names Should I Learn First?

Start with about six: 꽃, 장미, 벚꽃, 개나리, 해바라기 and 꽃다발. They cover the general word, the best-known flowers and the main gift word. The full list of 30 takes about six days at five new words a day, with a short review of earlier words each day.

Where Can I Practise Flower Names with Flashcards?

Use the deck on this page, which holds all 30 words with Hangul, romanization and audio, in recognition and listening modes. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the decks for other nature topics. Progress is saved only in your browser.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Flower 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, use the flashcard deck, which carries the same 30 words, or copy the tables by hand. Sorting the flowers into four season columns is a quick self-test.

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