Korean Personality Words: 34 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Personality Words at a Glance

This list has 34 words in five groups. The first group names the general ideas (personality, strengths, weaknesses), the middle three describe types of character, and the last group covers the labels people use in small talk, including MBTI. It sits inside People and Relationships, beside Emotions and Body Parts.

Words that describe a person, such as 착하다 (to be kind) or 조용하다 (to be quiet), are adjectives. They conjugate like verbs, so they are taught in the verbs section, for example on the feelings adjectives page. This page teaches the nouns around them and shows how to combine the two. For one headline word on its own, see personality in korean.

Which Personality Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 성격 (personality), 장점 (strength) and 단점 (weakness) first, then 외향적 (outgoing) and 내향적 (introverted), then 성실 (diligence). With these seven, you can ask and answer the questions that start most conversations about people: 성격이 어때요? (What is their personality like?) and 장점이 뭐예요? (What is your strength?).

• Words to use in small talk. 성격, 외향적, 내향적, MBTI, 첫인상.
• Words for interviews and writing. 장점, 단점, 책임감, 열정, 성실.
• Words to recognise when others describe someone. 고집, 낯가림, 배려, 예의.

Two Korean habits help here. Koreans often describe a person with a compound frame, noun + 이/가 + adjective, such as 성격이 급해요 (the personality is hasty). And, unlike English, they usually avoid saying a person is "bad"; they use 단점 or a softer expression. That is why the weakness word is so common.

Word · 8

1. 1

   성격

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   seonggyeok

   personality; character

2. 2

   장점

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   jangjeom

   strength; good point

3. 3

   단점

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   danjeom

   weakness; shortcoming

4. 4

   외향적

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   oehyangjeok

   extroverted; outgoing

5. 5

   내향적

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   naehyangjeok

   introverted

6. 6

   배려

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   baeryeo

   consideration; thoughtfulness

7. 7

   성실

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   seongsil

   diligence; sincerity

8. 8

   MBTI

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   embitiai

   MBTI personality type

Character and Traits

These seven nouns are the building blocks of every personality conversation. They name the idea itself, the good and bad sides, and the way a person comes across.

The pairs 장점 and 단점 are the interview pair, and both are on Korean job applications. The word for first impression, 첫인상, appears in the last group. English "personality" and "character" both map to 성격 in everyday speech, so you do not need two words.

Outgoing and Shy

Korean sorts people on a scale from lively to reserved, and the words below describe both ends. Most end in -적 (like, in the manner of), which turns a noun into a describing word that takes 이에요.

The ending -적 appears in 외향적, 내향적, 사교적, 적극적 and 소극적. All five become sentence predicates with 이에요 or 예요, so they behave like the noun-based job words on the Jobs and Occupations page. Add 인 before a noun to turn the word into a modifier: 외향적인 사람 (an outgoing person).

Kind and Strict

Politeness and warmth matter in Korean social life, so this group is large in daily talk. Seven words describe care for others, strictness and the habits that people notice first.

Notice the sentence frames: noun + 이/가 + adjective. 고집이 세요 (stubbornness is strong), 예의가 발라요 and 배려가 많아요 (consideration is plentiful) all use this pattern. In English you say "he is stubborn"; in Korean you often say "his stubbornness is strong". The phrase for good manners, 예의가 바르다, is fixed, and its polite form 예의가 발라요 is often written wrongly.

Hard-Working and Lazy

Work ethic is a major theme in Korean small talk and in job interviews. These seven words name the qualities that employers and teachers praise, and the one weakness that nobody wants.

Two points about this group. First, 성실 and 책임감 are the safe words to use for yourself, because Korean interviews value them as modest, concrete qualities. Second, the adjective 게으르다 changes in the polite form to 게을러요 (an irregular verb of the 르 type), so the dictionary form 게으르다 does not simply add -어요. The conjugation is covered in the verbs section.

Types and Labels

The last group is the vocabulary of personality as a topic of conversation. Korean small talk often reaches for a type label, so these words are as useful as the descriptive ones.

MBTI is a pronunciation case of its own, explained in the MBTI section below. 혈액형 is an everyday topic in small talk, and it is usually asked in a light, playful tone, not a scientific one. 궁합 is used for couples, but also for foods and colleagues, as in 두 음식은 궁합이 잘 맞아요 (the two foods go well together).

How Do You Describe a Person with 성격이?

The core frame for describing a person is 성격이 + adjective. It means "their personality is ...". The adjective takes the polite ending -아요 or -어요 (or -해요 for 하다 adjectives). Ten ready examples are in the table.

To ask the question, say 성격이 어때요? (What is their personality like?). To describe yourself, start with 저는 and add the same predicate: 저는 성격이 급해요. You can also link two traits with -고: 성격이 밝고 활발해요 (their personality is bright and lively). Look at the feelings adjectives page for more adjectives and their endings.

What Does the MBTI Craze Mean in Korean Small Talk?

MBTI is a very common conversation starter in Korea. The usual question is MBTI가 뭐예요? (What is your MBTI?). The answer is a four-letter code, and Koreans say each English letter by name: E is 이, N is 엔, F is 에프, P is 피, so ENFP is 이엔에프피. Many people use a short nickname instead, such as 엔프피 for ENFP. The code is then followed by a comment about how well it fits: 저는 ENFP예요. 외향적이고 활발해요 (I am an ENFP. I am outgoing and lively).

The two sides of the first MBTI letter match the words you have already learned: E is 외향적 and I is 내향적. The label is used as a shortcut for a character description, so you will hear 완전 내향적이라서 (because I am totally introverted) used to explain behaviour. People use it playfully, not as a serious test.

With a friend your own age you can use the casual form, 너는 MBTI가 뭐야?; with anyone else, keep to MBTI가 뭐예요?

How Do You Talk about Strengths and Weaknesses?

The pair 장점 and 단점 is the standard way to talk about strengths and weaknesses. A typical interview pattern is 제 장점은 ...이고, 단점은 ...입니다. The formal sentence ending -입니다 is used in interviews and presentations. A polite everyday version uses 이에요 or 예요: 제 장점은 책임감이에요 (My strength is a sense of responsibility). Say a weakness more gently with 편이에요 (I tend to be ...): 저는 성격이 조금 급한 편이에요 (I tend to be a bit hasty).

Two cautions. A weakness is not a flaw in Korean interviews; applicants often name a small, fixable one and say how they handle it. And praise is usually about behaviour you can see: Koreans often say 배려가 많아요 or 성실해요 about a coworker.

How Do You Pronounce Korean Personality Words?

Many of these words contain sound changes that the spelling hides. The Revised Romanization of Korean records the spelling and ignores some changes. The standard pronunciation rules published by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) decide the spoken form.

Tense sounds are the main difficulty. In 적극적 and 소극적, the middle and final syllables both tense, so the words sound almost like a short drum roll: jeok-kkeuk-jjeok. Listen to the slow clips and copy the rhythm before you speed up.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each headword and each example sentence has its own audio clip. The clips below replay the trickiest words at a slower pace. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Personality Words?

These five mistakes come up most in Korean character talk.

1. Saying 나는 외향적 without 이에요. The word 외향적 needs a verb. Say 저는 외향적이에요.
2. Using 성격 for an object. 성격 is for people (and sometimes animals). For objects, use 특징 (feature).
3. Writing 예의가 바라요. The correct polite form of 바르다 is 발라요 (예의가 발라요). 바르다 is an irregular 르 verb.
4. Treating 단점 as an insult. It is a neutral word for a weak point and the standard partner of 장점.
5. Using the topic marker by default. In 성격이 좋아요, 성격 is marked with 이/가 and the adjective is the predicate. Do not use the topic marker 은/는 for the trait unless you are contrasting it: 성격은 좋아요 means "as for personality, it is good (but something else is not)".

If you remember only one, remember the 이/가 frame, because it works with every adjective.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you know each of the 34 words. Second, switch to listening mode and answer from the audio alone. Third, take the quiz. The deck covers all 34 words 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, copy the 34 words by hand and write the meaning next to each. Write three sentences about someone you know with the 성격이 frame, then say them aloud.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Emotions, the next list in the section, or Body Parts. For the adjectives that complete these nouns, see feelings adjectives. For one headline word on its own, see personality in korean. To move up a level, return to People and Relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Personality in Korean?

Personality is 성격 (seonggyeok). Use it in the frame 성격이 좋아요 (their personality is good) or 성격이 어때요? (what is their personality like?). The word is used for people. For an object, use 특징 (feature) instead.

How Do You Say Strength in Korean?

Strength, in the sense of a good point about a person, is 장점 (jangjeom). Its partner is 단점 (danjeom), weakness. Say 제 장점은 책임감이에요 (my strength is a sense of responsibility). The word for physical strength is 힘, which is a different word.

How Do You Say Weakness in Korean?

Weakness, meaning a flaw or shortcoming, is 단점 (danjeom). It is a neutral word, not an insult, and it is used in interviews: 제 단점은 급한 성격이에요 (my weakness is a hasty personality). It is the partner of 장점.

How Do You Pronounce 성격?

Say seong-gyeok. The first syllable ends in [ㅇ]. The final ㄱ of 격 is held without a release, so it sounds like a stop at the end of the word, and the dictionary lists a tense [ㄲ] at the start of that syllable: [성껵]. Use the audio button on this page for the normal and slow versions.

How Do You Ask Someone's MBTI in Korean?

Ask MBTI가 뭐예요? (What is your MBTI?). The answer is the four-letter code, said letter by letter in Korean. With a friend, you can ask 너는 MBTI가 뭐야? Many people add a comment about how well it fits.

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.