Korean Travel Vocabulary: 40 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Travel Vocabulary at a Glance

The list has 40 words in six groups, ordered as a trip is: plan, book, pack, sightsee, pay and show your papers. It is the hub of Korean Airport Vocabulary, Korean Immigration and Visa Vocabulary and Korean Tourist Attractions Vocabulary. It belongs to Places and Travel, and its words are the ones shared by all three deeper pages.

For the single entry, see travel in Korean. If you want a guided course in trip-ready Korean, Korean for travel sequences the lessons, and travel phrases gives ready-made lines.

Which Travel Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 여행 (trip), 예약 (reservation), 여권 (passport), 짐 (luggage) and 환전 (currency exchange) first. They cover the five moments when a traveller most needs to speak: booking, border, bags and money. If you also learn 원 with the Sino-Korean numbers, you can read every price.

• Words to say. 여행, 예약, 여권, 짐, 환전.
• Words to recognise. 일정, 입장권, 환불, 출입국, 서류.
• Words to ask with. 안내소 and 지도 let you ask for directions in Korean.

The scene below shows a traveller's desk with ten numbered objects that match the list.

Word · 10

1. 1

   여행

   Play

   yeohaeng

   trip; travel

2. 2

   예약

   Play

   yeyak

   reservation

3. 3

   표

   Play

   pyo

   ticket

4. 4

   짐

   Play

   jim

   luggage; load

5. 5

   캐리어

   Play

   kaerieo

   wheeled suitcase

6. 6

   지도

   Play

   jido

   map

7. 7

   사진

   Play

   sajin

   photo

8. 8

   돈

   Play

   don

   money

9. 9

   환전

   Play

   hwanjeon

   currency exchange

10. 10

    여권

    Play

    yeogwon

    passport

Planning a Trip

Many trips start on a travel app, and Korean travel apps use a small shared vocabulary: the plan, the booking, the place to stay and the money. Three words for kinds of trip matter most, because each shows why you travel. 여행 is a trip for pleasure, 출장 is a business trip, and 관광 is sightseeing, which can be the activity inside a 여행.

A common planning set on Korean travel apps is 일정, 예약, 숙소, 교통 and 예산. 교통 (transport) has its own list on Transportation, and hotel words are on hotel vocabulary. The word 예약 is for tables, rooms and tickets, while a meeting with a friend is a 약속, a point from the mistakes section. The verbs 짜다 (to put together a plan) and 깨끗하다 (be clean) make 짜요 and 깨끗해요.

How Do You Say Tickets and Reservations in Korean?

Once you have booked something, a short family of words describes what happens to the booking. You confirm it, change it, cancel it or get a refund. The same words work for a flight, a train, a show or a room, which is why they are worth learning as a set.

Notice that 취소 and 환불 are separate steps. 취소 cancels the booking, and 환불 returns your money, which may follow later or not at all, depending on the terms. The noun 날짜 (date) in the change sentence is the day of the month; the days of the week are on Time Words. For tickets to attractions, 입장권 is the word on the booth.

Luggage

Luggage vocabulary is short and physical. You bring a bag, wheel it, weigh it and lock it, and sometimes you leave it at a storage counter while you sightsee. Korean says 짐 for luggage as a whole and gives a name to each kind of bag. The airport page covers the airline terms for checked bags.

The word 짐 is the best one for talking about all your things, as in 짐이 많아요. The verbs show how Korean treats each object: you 끌어요 a wheeled case (pull), 메요 a backpack (carry on the shoulder), and 맡겨요 a bag at a counter (entrust). For the airline-side words such as checked baggage and baggage claim, see Korean Airport Vocabulary.

How Do You Say Sightseeing in Korean?

Sightseeing is where the trip pays off, and its vocabulary is mostly nouns for places and things to carry. A 관광지 is a tourist site in general, a 명소 is a famous spot that people go to on purpose, and the information centre can tell you which is which. See Korean Tourist Attractions Vocabulary.

The shared part 소 (place) in 명소 and 안내소 and the shared 지 in 관광지 make the group easy to guess. You 찍어요 a photo, where English says you take it: 찍다 means to stamp, print or snap. 설명하다 (explain) makes 설명해요. The route between sites is the topic of Transportation.

Money and Exchange

Money words are simple to learn and very useful. The currency is the 원, the exchange counter is the 환전소, and the exchange rate is the 환율. You will often see prices written with numerals and 원, and many places accept the 신용카드. An ATM is called a 현금 인출기 on the sign and an ATM in speech.

Prices use Sino-Korean numbers, followed by 원: 천 원 (1,000 won), 만 원 (10,000 won), 오만 원 (50,000 won). The word 만 means ten thousand, and Korean counts in units of ten thousand, not thousand. That is why a price like 30,000 is 삼만 원. See Sino-Korean numbers for the number words. The verb 찾다 means to look for and also to withdraw money.

How Do You Say Visas and Documents in Korean?

Documents are the last group and the least forgiving. Every border and hotel asks for the same few: your passport, your visa or an entry permit, an ID and any papers for insurance. These seven words are the ones you meet on forms and at counters.

출입국 is a compound of 출국 (leaving the country) and 입국 (entering it), so it means the border in both directions. See Korean Immigration and Visa Vocabulary. The verb 챙기다 (to pack or take care of) makes 챙겨요, and 신청하다 (to apply) makes 신청해요.

How Do You Pronounce Korean Travel Words?

Travel words show tensing and linking in Sino-Korean compounds. After a final ㄹ, ㄱ or ㅂ, the next consonant is often said tense, a ㄴ is added in some compounds, and a final consonant moves to the next syllable before a vowel. These changes follow the standard pronunciation rules of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원). Revised Romanization leaves tense sounds unmarked.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and example has its own clip, and five more replay the hardest words slowly. Play 환전 first, since the question 환전 어디서 해요? is the one most visitors need on day one.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Travel Words?

Five distinctions are worth fixing early.

1. Using 출장 for a holiday. 출장 is a business trip and needs a work reason. A holiday is a 여행. If you say 출장을 가요, the listener will assume you are travelling for work.
2. Using 예약 for meeting a friend. 예약 books a room, table or seat. A plan to meet someone is a 약속: 친구와 약속이 있어요.
3. Treating 취소 and 환불 as the same step. 취소 cancels the booking and 환불 returns the money. You can ask for both, one after the other.
4. Reading prices in thousands. Korean counts in units of ten thousand (만), so 30,000 won is 삼만 원, three ten-thousands, not thirty thousands.
5. Using 표 at an attraction. 표 works, but the booth sign says 입장권 for entry tickets, and a clerk will use it.

With these distinctions fixed, the rest of the list is mostly nouns you can recognise on signs.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the deck in recognition mode until the 40 words are familiar. Second, switch to listening mode and play the clip before you flip each card. Third, take the five-question quiz. Progress stays in your browser, and 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, write your own trip plan in six lines, one for each group.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Airport Vocabulary for check-in and arrival, or with Korean Tourist Attractions Vocabulary for places to see. For moving about once you arrive, see Transportation.

Pages in This Section

• Korean Airport Vocabulary: check-in, security, gates, baggage claim and airport services.
• Korean Immigration and Visa Vocabulary: passport, visa, entry forms and residence words.
• Korean Tourist Attractions Vocabulary: palaces, museums, viewpoints and tickets.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Airport in Korean?

Airport is 공항 (gonghang), from 공 (air) and 항 (port), and you say 공항에 가요 for I go to the airport. The full list of airport words, from check-in to baggage claim, is on the airport page. The single-word page on travel in Korean covers the topic word 여행.

How Do You Pronounce 환전 (hwanjeon)?

Say hwan-jeon in two beats. The first syllable starts with h and a rounded w glide and ends in n. The second starts with a soft j, between j and ch, and the vowel is the open eo, as in the u of sun. It means currency exchange. Press the audio button to hear it.

How Many Travel Words Should I Learn First?

Five: 여행, 예약, 여권, 짐 and 환전. At five new words a day the 40 words take eight days plus review. Add 원 and the Sino-Korean numbers before you go, so that you can read prices.

What Is the Difference between 여행, 출장 and 관광?

여행 is a trip for pleasure or personal reasons. 출장 is a trip for work. 관광 is sightseeing, the activity of visiting sites, and it can be part of a 여행. A holiday abroad is a 해외여행.

Where Can I Practise Travel Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. The deck for this page holds all 40 words with Hangul, romanization and audio. Your progress stays in your browser. Drill the money group in listening mode before you go, so that prices such as 만 원 sound familiar.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Travel 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 on this page by hand or use the deck. Another quick drill is to write your own trip plan with one word from each of the six groups.