Korean Post Office Vocabulary: 30 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Post Office Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 30 words in five groups of six. The groups follow a visit: choose what you are sending, write the address, ask the price, pick a delivery service and, for foreign mail, pass customs. It is a deeper page of Around the City, next to Korean Shops and Buildings Vocabulary.

The headline word 우체국 is not in the table, because it sits in the city list. For a short page on the word itself, see post office in korean, and for the other two frequent post words, parcel delivery in korean and address in korean. The next section picks what to learn first.

Which Post Office Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 소포 (package), 주소 (address), 우편번호 (postal code), 요금 (fee) and 택배 (courier delivery) first. With these five you can state what you are sending, where it goes and ask what it costs. Add 해외 발송 and 세관 only when you send abroad.

• Words to say at the counter. 소포, 편지, 등기, 택배, 해외 발송.
• Words to write on a form. 주소, 우편번호, 받는 사람, 보내는 사람, 내용물.
• Words to understand when the clerk speaks. 무게, 요금, 수수료, 도착, 추적.

In practice, much domestic sending in Korea goes through private courier firms and convenience-store pickup points, which use the word 택배. The post office handles letters, registered mail and international parcels, and it also runs its own parcel service, 우체국 택배. The words on this page are the ones you need at its counter and on its forms.

Word · 8

1. 1

   편지

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   pyeonji

   letter

2. 2

   엽서

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   yeopseo

   postcard

3. 3

   소포

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   sopo

   package; parcel

4. 4

   우표

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   upyo

   stamp

5. 5

   주소

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   juso

   address

6. 6

   우편번호

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   upyeonbeonho

   postal code

7. 7

   창구

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   changgu

   service window; counter

8. 8

   택배

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   taekbae

   courier delivery; parcel

Mail Types

These six words name what is in the envelope or the box. A clerk asks about the type first, because the type decides the price and the form.

The word for a text message is 문자, not 편지. The registered service 등기 is the one to ask for if you need proof of delivery. The word 우편 appears in the next group too, so learn it as a root.

Addresses and Postal Codes

An address is the part of a parcel that must be correct. Korean addresses run from big to small, and the postal code goes with them. These six words cover the fields on a form.

The two forms 받는 사람 and 보내는 사람 are noun phrases built from a verb plus the modifier ending -는 and the word 사람 (person). The same pattern gives 가는 사람 (the person who goes) and 먹는 사람 (the person who eats). Korean addresses and postal codes are a topic of their own, and the next section explains them.

Fees and Weights

At the counter the clerk weighs the item and gives a price. These six words cover what is measured, what is charged and what you get back.

You often hear 무게 and 요금 in one sentence: 무게는 삼 킬로그램이고 요금은 팔천 원이에요 is how a clerk might answer, but the figure changes every time. The point is the pattern: noun + 은/는 + number + 이에요. Read the numbers with Sino-Korean numerals, as covered in the numbers section.

Delivery Services

Parcel delivery is part of daily life in Korea, and these six words are everywhere in apps and on packages. Three of them are everyday words you will hear outside the post office too.

The three delivery words are close but not the same. 택배 is the parcel and the service, 배송 is the stage of moving it, and 배달 is delivery of food or an item over a short distance. Use 택배 at a counter, 배송 on an online order screen and 배달 for a restaurant order.

Customs and the Counter

International mail passes through customs, and the counter has its own words. These six words are the ones foreigners meet when they send something abroad.

The phrase 내용물이 뭐예요? is worth saying aloud, because the clerk will ask it. A short answer is 책이에요 (books), 옷이에요 (clothes) or 선물이에요 (a gift). Be exact on the customs form: describe items in plain words and list the value.

How Does a Korean Address Work at the Post Office?

A Korean address runs from the largest unit to the smallest, the reverse of English. The order is city, district, road name, building number and then the unit inside the building. The five-digit postal code, the 우편번호, goes with the address. Korea moved to five-digit postal codes in 2015, replacing a six-digit system, and to road-name addresses for official use in 2014.

If you send a parcel to an address in Korea, write it in the order above, in Hangul, and add the Revised Romanization beside it only if the carrier asks. The word 호 (ho) after a number means a room or unit number, so 405호 is room 405. For the address system across the section, see Places and Travel.

What Do You Say at the Counter?

A parcel visit follows a short script. The sentences below use only words from this page plus basic verbs, and each is built from a pattern you can reuse.

The verb in the first sentence is 보내다 (to send), with 보내고 싶어요 meaning "I want to send". The verb in the second sentence is 걸리다 (to take, of time), and 걸려요 is the polite present form. The particle 으로 after a country marks the direction: 미국으로 means to the United States, and the clerk may reply with the cost and with 알겠습니다 (understood).

How Do You Send Something Abroad?

Sending abroad adds a few steps. First, tell the clerk it is overseas with 해외 발송. Second, the clerk asks for the 내용물 (contents) and its value. Third, you fill in the 신고서 (declaration form), which customs, the 세관, uses to check the parcel. The receiver's country may charge 관세 (duty) when the parcel arrives, and the sender does not control that.

The international services have names that you see on screens. The Korean name for the international mail service is 국제우편, and the fast international option is known as EMS, shown in English letters on forms and signs. Prices depend on weight (무게), destination and speed. Keep the 영수증 and the tracking number, then use 추적 to follow the parcel.

How Do You Pronounce Korean Post Office Words?

Post office words contain several sound changes that the spelling hides. The Revised Romanization of Korean records the spelling and ignores most of these changes, and the standard pronunciation rules published by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) give the spoken form.

The tense sounds in 엽서, 택배, 접수 and 국제우편 appear after a final ㅂ or ㄱ. Say the second consonant tight, with no puff of air. The spelling does not show the change, so use the audio as your guide.

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 Post Office Words?

These five mistakes come up most at the post office.

1. Using 편지 for every kind of mail. 편지 is a letter. A box is a 소포 and a courier parcel is a 택배.
2. Writing the address in English order. Korean starts from the city and ends with the room number, so reverse the order.
3. Forgetting the postal code. The 우편번호 is part of the address. Five digits, not six.
4. Mixing 택배, 배송 and 배달. 택배 is the parcel service, 배송 is the shipping stage and 배달 is food or local delivery.
5. Using 요금 and 수수료 as the same thing. 요금 is the main fee and 수수료 is an extra service charge.

If you remember only one, remember to write the address from big to small, because a wrong order delays delivery.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you know each of the 30 words. Second, switch to listening mode and answer from the audio alone. Third, take the quiz. The deck covers all 30 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 30 words by hand and write the meaning next to each. Fill in a practice address in Korean order to rehearse the form.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Shops and Buildings Vocabulary, the other deeper page of the city list, or return to Around the City. For the sentences you say when travelling, see travel phrases. For a short page on the word itself, see post office in korean.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Post Office in Korean?

Post office is 우체국 (ucheguk). The 우 comes from 우편 (mail) and 국 means an office or bureau. You say 우체국에 가요 for I go to the post office. The headline word has its own page.

How Do You Say Letter in Korean?

Letter is 편지 (pyeonji). To say you write one, use 편지를 써요, and to say you send one, use 편지를 보내요. A postcard is 엽서 and a package is 소포. A text message is a different word, 문자, so do not use 편지 for a phone message.

How Do You Say Package in Korean?

Package is 소포 (sopo) for a parcel sent by the post office, and 택배 (taekbae) for a courier parcel. Say 소포를 보내고 싶어요 for I want to send a package. The two words overlap, and both are everyday words.

How Do You Pronounce 우체국?

Say u-che-guk, with three short syllables. The first vowel is a rounded [u], the second is [e] and the last syllable ends in a held [k]. There is no hidden sound change. The word's audio is in the city list and on the post office word page.

What Do I Write for an Overseas Parcel?

Write the receiver's name and address in the receiver's country format and fill in the 신고서 (declaration form) with the contents and the value. The clerk will tell you the rest. This page explains only the Korean words, not the rules of any particular country.

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.

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