Business Korean Vocabulary: 50 Words with Romanization and Audio

Business Korean Vocabulary at a Glance

The list has 50 words in five groups of ten. It follows a working day and a working year: where you work and with whom, how decisions are made, the papers that go with them, pay and time off, and trips and events away from the desk. It belongs to School and Work and it is the hub of four deeper pages, which are listed at the end. Almost every word is a noun, and most are built from short Sino-Korean parts, so one word you learn here helps you guess a dozen more.

Business Korean is mostly a written and formal register, but the words below are also the ones spoken in a polite office. For the sentences you say to a colleague, such as greeting someone as they leave, see the work phrases page. This page is the vocabulary behind those phrases.

Which Office and Business Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 회사 (company), 일 (work), 회의 (meeting), 출근 (going to work) and 퇴근 (leaving work) first. They cover the shape of a working day. Add 월급 and 휴가 when you talk about pay and time off, and 출장 as soon as you travel for work.

• Words to say. 회사, 일, 회의, 출근, 퇴근, 월급.
• Words to recognise. 결재, 승인, 업무, 서류, 계약서. They appear in writing.
• Words for work culture. 회식, 야근, 휴가, 퇴직.

The scene below shows an office with twelve of the 50 words, from the desk to the business card. Play the clip on each item to hear the headword.

Word · 12

1. 1

   회사

   Play

   hoesa

   company

2. 2

   사무실

   Play

   samusil

   office

3. 3

   팀

   Play

   tim

   team

4. 4

   동료

   Play

   dongnyo

   colleague

5. 5

   회의

   Play

   hoeui

   meeting

6. 6

   보고서

   Play

   bogoseo

   report (written)

7. 7

   계약서

   Play

   gyeyakseo

   contract (document)

8. 8

   명함

   Play

   myeongham

   business card

9. 9

   월급

   Play

   wolgeup

   monthly salary

10. 10

    출근

    Play

    chulgeun

    going to work

11. 11

    출장

    Play

    chuljang

    business trip

12. 12

    워크숍

    Play

    wokeusyop

    workshop; staff retreat

Workplace

The first ten words name the place and the people. 회사 is the company, 직장 is the workplace, 사무실 is the office and 부서 and 팀 are the units inside it. People are 동료 (colleagues), 상사 (superiors), 사장 (the boss) and 직원 (employees). The last word, 일, is the most common of all: it means work, a task and a matter, depending on the sentence.

Two pairs need care. 회사 and 직장 overlap, but 직장 is the wider word: it is the place where you work and also your job as a whole, as in 직장을 구해요 (I look for a job), while 회사 is the company as an organisation. Likewise, 상사 is any person above you, while 사장 is the head of the company. The word 일 needs a verb to say what happens to it: 일해요 is "I work", and 일이 있어요 is "I have something to do". The Sino-Korean 일 meaning day is a different word with the same sound, found in 매일 (every day) and in dates such as 십 일 (the 10th). For titles of rank such as 과장 and 부장, see Korean Company Ranks and Job Titles. The single-word entries on company in Korean and office in Korean cover the headwords in more detail.

How Do You Say Meetings in Korean?

Work is organised through meetings and instructions, and this group names the steps. A 회의 is a formal meeting, a 미팅 is a looser one and a 화상 회의 is held by video. The work itself is 업무. Instructions come down as 지시, discussion goes sideways as 협의 and 검토, and approval goes up as 승인. The last two words, 공유 and 마감, are about sharing and deadlines.

The group shows how Korean offices describe decisions: not with a single verb, but with a chain of nouns plus 하다. A plan is 검토해요 (reviewed), 협의해요 (discussed), 승인받아요 (approved) and 공유해요 (shared). The nouns stay the same whatever the speaker's rank, and only the verb ending changes with politeness. For the specific words of the meeting itself, such as 안건 (agenda item) and 회의록 (minutes), see Korean Meetings Vocabulary. The word 미팅 is a loanword and is less formal than 회의, so use 회의 in an invitation to a department and 미팅 for an appointment with a person. The word 마감 is also used in shops for closing time, as in 마감 시간 (closing time).

Email and Documents

Paperwork has its own vocabulary, and many of the words end in 서, which means a written document. A 보고서 is a report, a 계약서 is a contract and a 신청서 is an application form. Others are general: 서류 for papers, 문서 for a document or file and 자료 for materials. The group closes with the objects of exchange: 명함 (a business card), 이메일 (email) and 복사 (photocopying).

The ending 서 is the key to this group. It means a document, so 보고 plus 서 makes 보고서, 계약 plus 서 makes 계약서 and 신청 plus 서 makes 신청서. The word 결재 is one to learn carefully. It means that a superior approves a document, as in 부장님께 결재를 받아요, and it is a different word from 결제 (payment), though the two are spelled almost alike and said [결째] and [결쩨]. Business cards are often given and received with both hands, and it is polite to read one before you put it away. The long-form email vocabulary, with subject lines and replies, is on the Korean Email and Letters Vocabulary page.

How Do You Say Pay and Benefits in Korean?

The pay words come in three levels: 월급 is the monthly salary, 연봉 is the annual figure quoted in an offer and 급여 is the formal word on a pay slip. A 보너스 is extra pay, and 휴가 is leave. The rest of the group describes the working day: 출근 and 퇴근 for starting and finishing, 야근 for working late, 회식 for the team dinner and 퇴직 for leaving a company. Together they form the vocabulary of Korean work culture.

Work-culture words carry more than their dictionary meaning. A 회식 is a team dinner after work, and attitudes to attending it vary between companies and generations, so treat it as a custom to understand and not as a rule. The pair 출근 and 퇴근 shows how the language marks direction: 출 means go out and 퇴 means retreat, so you "go out to work" and "retreat from work". Do not confuse 퇴근 (leaving work for the day) with 퇴직 (leaving a company). A related culture word is 눈치 (nunchi), the skill of reading a situation, which people use when they talk about whether to leave before the boss. Salaries and benefits differ widely and are set by each company and by labour law, so this page teaches only the words. For the words of a job offer, see Korean Job Interview Vocabulary.

Business Trips and Events

The last group is about work away from the desk. A 출장 is a business trip, often to a 거래처, a client or partner company. The trip costs 출장비. At the other end are the people and the deal: a 고객, a 계약 and 협력 between companies. Companies also hold 행사 (events), 워크숍 (staff retreats) and 접대 (entertaining guests), which are part of how business relationships are kept.

The word 출장 is the key one. 출 means going out, so a 출장 is going out of your usual office to work somewhere else. It is usually paired with 가다 (to go) or 오다 (to come), as in 출장을 가요 and 출장에서 돌아와요. A 해외 출장 is a trip overseas. The word 접대 is specific to hosting a business guest, usually with a meal, and it is different from the general verb for serving. The loanword 워크숍 is a spelling to watch: the standard form follows the loanword rules and ends in 숍, not 샵, though you will see 워크샵 online. The single-word entry on business trip in Korean covers 출장 in more depth.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Business words are mostly Sino-Korean, and they follow one clear rule: a final ㄹ makes only a following ㄷ, ㅅ or ㅈ tense, and leaves ㄱ, ㅂ and the rest plain. That is why 출장 is [출짱] but 출근 stays [출근]. Other sounds change by linking or by nasals. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules. Revised Romanization shows the nasal changes but not the tensing.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and example has its own clip, and five more replay the hardest words slowly. Play 출장 and 출근 one after the other and listen for the tense sound in the first and the plain sound in the second.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Office and Business Words?

Five slips are common in Korean workplaces.

1. Using 직장 and 회사 as exact synonyms. 회사 is the company, and 직장 is the workplace or the job. Say 회사에 다녀요 for the company you work at, and 직장을 구해요 for finding a job.
2. Mixing 결재 and 결제. 결재 is a superior approving a document, and 결제 is paying. They look alike, but they are different words.
3. Hearing 일 as the number one. The word for work, 일, and the number 일 (one) sound the same. The verb tells you which: 일해요 is work, 일 번 is number one.
4. Confusing 퇴근 and 퇴직. 퇴근 is leaving work for the day and 퇴직 is leaving the company for good.
5. Calling the boss by one word. 상사 is any superior and 사장 is the head of the company. 상사 is not used as a form of address: say 사장님 to the head of the company, and use the title plus 님 for other superiors, as in 부장님.

Say the tense sounds in 출장 and 일정 aloud and keep 출근 plain. When you are unsure of a title, use the polite 님 form, and when a word is the same as one you know, check its verb. Companies differ in how they use these words, so listen to how your own workplace speaks.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the deck in recognition mode until the 50 words feel familiar, working one group of ten at a time. Second, switch to listening mode and play the clip before you flip each card. Third, take the five-question quiz. Your deck 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. Meanwhile, describe your own working day in five Korean sentences, using 출근, 회의, 일, 퇴근 and one pay word.

Where to Go Next

After this page, choose the deeper list you need: Korean Company Ranks and Job Titles for titles, Korean Email and Letters Vocabulary for writing, Korean Job Interview Vocabulary for finding a job, or Korean Meetings Vocabulary for meetings. To move up a level, return to School and Work.

Pages in This Section

• Korean Company Ranks and Job Titles: from 사원 to 회장, with the rank ladder and how to address each title.
• Korean Email and Letters Vocabulary: email parts, greetings and closings, attachments, formal letters and chat apps.
• Korean Job Interview Vocabulary: application documents, interview stages, questions and results.
• Korean Meetings Vocabulary: agendas, presentations, decisions, minutes and deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Boss in Korean?

Boss is 사장 (sajang) for the head of a company or the owner of a business, and 상사 (sangsa) for any superior. To speak to a boss, add 님: 사장님. A shop owner is also called 사장님 by customers. The single-word page on boss in Korean gives more detail.

How Do You Pronounce 출장 (chuljang)?

Say chul-jjang in two beats, with a tense sound at the start of the second syllable. The ㄹ at the end of 출 makes the ㅈ tense, so the standard pronunciation is [출짱]. Revised Romanization writes chuljang and does not show the tense sound. Press the audio button to hear it.

How Many Office and Business Words Should I Learn First?

Five: 회사, 일, 회의, 출근 and 퇴근. They cover the shape of a working day. At five new words a day the full 50 take ten days plus review. Add 월급 and 휴가 for pay and time off.

Where Can I Practise Office and Business Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. The deck for this page holds all 50 words with Hangul, romanization and audio. Your progress stays in your browser. Study one group of ten at a time, and use listening mode on 출장, 결재 and 협력.

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. It shows nasal changes such as hyeomnyeok, but it does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, such as the [ㅉ] in 출장 [출짱], so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Office and Business 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 by hand and write one example sentence for each of the five groups.