🇰🇷 Korean vocabulary
The 300 most common Korean words
Learn these first: they make up a big share of everything you'll read. Ranked by frequency, with meanings, romanization and examples for the top 50.
| # | Korean | Romanization | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 나 나는 학생이야. — I'm a student. | na | I, me (casual) | pronoun |
| 2 | 그 그 사람은 누구예요? — Who is that person? | geu | that; he | determiner |
| 3 | 내 내 이름은 민수야. — My name is Minsu. | nae | my; I (before 가) | pronoun |
| 4 | 안 오늘은 안 가요. — I'm not going today. | an | not; inside | adverb |
| 5 | 수 할 수 있어요. — I can do it. | su | way, means (in 수 있다: can) | noun |
| 6 | 이 이 책은 재미있어요. — This book is interesting. | i | this | determiner |
| 7 | 네 네, 알겠습니다. — Yes, I understand. | ne | yes; your | interjection |
| 8 | 좀 좀 도와주세요. — Please help me a bit. | jom | a little; please (softener) | adverb |
| 9 | 그래 그래, 같이 가자. — OK, let's go together. | geurae | OK, all right; is that so | interjection |
| 10 | 있다 시간 있어요? — Do you have time? | itda | to be, to exist; to have | verb |
| 11 | 왜 왜 울어? — Why are you crying? | wae | why | adverb |
| 12 | 더 조금 더 주세요. — Please give me a little more. | deo | more | adverb |
| 13 | 그리고 밥을 먹고 그리고 잤어요. — I ate and then slept. | geurigo | and, and then | conjunction |
| 14 | 우리 우리 집에 가자. — Let's go to our house. | uri | we, us; our | pronoun |
| 15 | 다 다 먹었어요. — I ate it all. | da | all, everything | adverb |
| 16 | 무슨 무슨 일이에요? — What's the matter? | museun | what, what kind of | determiner |
| 17 | 한 한 시간 기다렸어요. — I waited one hour. | han | one; about | determiner |
| 18 | 하지만 맛있어요. 하지만 비싸요. — It's tasty. But it's expensive. | hajiman | but, however | conjunction |
| 19 | 잘 잘 지냈어요? — Have you been well? | jal | well | adverb |
| 20 | 어떻게 어떻게 지내요? — How are you doing? | eotteoke | how | adverb |
| 21 | 하다 숙제를 해요. — I'm doing homework. | hada | to do | verb |
| 22 | 그냥 그냥 집에 있을래요. — I'll just stay home. | geunyang | just, simply | adverb |
| 23 | 정말 정말 고마워요. — Thank you so much. | jeongmal | really, truly | adverb |
| 24 | 그럼 그럼 내일 봐요. — See you tomorrow, then. | geureom | then, in that case | conjunction |
| 25 | 것 이것은 제 것이에요. — This one is mine. | geot | thing, one | noun |
| 26 | 여기 여기 앉으세요. — Please sit here. | yeogi | here | pronoun |
| 27 | 너 너 어디 가? — Where are you going? | neo | you (casual) | pronoun |
| 28 | 저 저는 한국 사람이에요. — I'm Korean. | jeo | I, me (polite); that | pronoun |
| 29 | 제 제 친구예요. — This is my friend. | je | my (polite) | pronoun |
| 30 | 이제 이제 가야 돼요. — I have to go now. | ije | now (from now on) | adverb |
| 31 | 지금 지금 몇 시예요? — What time is it now? | jigeum | now, right now | adverb |
| 32 | 아니 아니, 괜찮아. — No, it's okay. | ani | no; not | interjection |
| 33 | 없다 돈이 없어요. — I don't have money. | eopda | to not exist; to not have | verb |
| 34 | 되다 들어가도 돼요? — May I come in? | doeda | to become; to be OK; to work | verb |
| 35 | 못 수영을 못 해요. — I can't swim. | mot | cannot | adverb |
| 36 | 좋다 날씨가 좋아요. — The weather is nice. | jota | to be good; to like | adjective |
| 37 | 당신 당신을 사랑해요. — I love you. | dangsin | you (formal, or spouse) | pronoun |
| 38 | 다른 다른 색 있어요? — Do you have another color? | dareun | other, different | determiner |
| 39 | 그런 그런 말 하지 마. — Don't say such things. | geureon | such, like that | determiner |
| 40 | 너무 너무 비싸요. — It's too expensive. | neomu | too; very | adverb |
| 41 | 그래서 피곤했어요. 그래서 일찍 잤어요. — I was tired. So I went to bed early. | geuraeseo | so, therefore | conjunction |
| 42 | 그렇게 그렇게 하세요. — Do it that way. | geureoke | like that, so | adverb |
| 43 | 다시 다시 말해 주세요. — Please say it again. | dasi | again | adverb |
| 44 | 이런 이런 날씨는 처음이에요. — I've never seen weather like this. | ireon | such, like this | determiner |
| 45 | 모든 모든 사람이 왔어요. — Everyone came. | modeun | all, every | determiner |
| 46 | 아 아, 그렇구나. — Oh, I see. | a | ah, oh | interjection |
| 47 | 때 어렸을 때 서울에 살았어요. — I lived in Seoul when I was young. | ttae | time, when | noun |
| 48 | 같이 같이 먹어요. — Let's eat together. | gachi | together | adverb |
| 49 | 알다 그 사람을 알아요. — I know that person. | alda | to know | verb |
| 50 | 괜찮다 괜찮아요? — Are you OK? | gwaenchanta | to be OK, to be fine | adjective |
| 51 | 오늘 | oneul | today | noun |
| 52 | 또 | tto | again; also | adverb |
| 53 | 말 | mal | word, speech; horse | noun |
| 54 | 누가 | nuga | who (subject) | pronoun |
| 55 | 어떤 | eotteon | what kind of, which | determiner |
| 56 | 아주 | aju | very | adverb |
| 57 | 아직 | ajik | still; yet | adverb |
| 58 | 안 되다 | an doeda | to not be allowed; no way | verb |
| 59 | 진짜 | jinjja | really; real | adverb |
| 60 | 모두 | modu | all, everyone | adverb |
| 61 | 같다 | gatda | to be the same; to seem | adjective |
| 62 | 엄마 | eomma | mom | noun |
| 63 | 바로 | baro | right, directly; immediately | adverb |
| 64 | 근데 | geunde | but, by the way | conjunction |
| 65 | 이렇게 | ireoke | like this, so | adverb |
| 66 | 빨리 | ppalli | quickly, fast | adverb |
| 67 | 이거 | igeo | this (thing) | pronoun |
| 68 | 전에 | jeone | before | adverb |
| 69 | 어 | eo | uh, oh; yeah | interjection |
| 70 | 계속 | gyesok | continuously; keep (doing) | adverb |
| 71 | 얼마나 | eolmana | how much, how (very) | adverb |
| 72 | 제발 | jebal | please (pleading) | adverb |
| 73 | 어디 | eodi | where | pronoun |
| 74 | 사람 | saram | person, people | noun |
| 75 | 안녕 | annyeong | hi; bye (casual) | interjection |
| 76 | 자 | ja | well, now; here | interjection |
| 77 | 두 | du | two (before nouns) | number |
| 78 | 때문에 | ttaemune | because of | adverb |
| 79 | 대하다 | daehada | to be about; to treat | verb |
| 80 | 아빠 | appa | dad | noun |
| 81 | 몇 | myeot | how many; a few | determiner |
| 82 | 많이 | mani | a lot, much | adverb |
| 83 | 집 | jip | house, home | noun |
| 84 | 음 | eum | um, hmm | interjection |
| 85 | 함께 | hamkke | together | adverb |
| 86 | 만약 | manyak | if | adverb |
| 87 | 하나 | hana | one | number |
| 88 | 저기 | jeogi | there, over there; excuse me | pronoun |
| 89 | 고맙다 | gomapda | to be thankful | adjective |
| 90 | 항상 | hangsang | always | adverb |
| 91 | 잠깐 | jamkkan | a moment; wait | adverb |
| 92 | 가다 | gada | to go | verb |
| 93 | 가장 | gajang | most | adverb |
| 94 | 맞다 | matda | to be right, correct | verb |
| 95 | 보다 | boda | to see, to look, to watch | verb |
| 96 | 오다 | oda | to come | verb |
| 97 | 그거 | geugeo | that (thing) | pronoun |
| 98 | 아무도 | amudo | nobody | pronoun |
| 99 | 안녕하세요 | annyeonghaseyo | hello | interjection |
| 100 | 모르다 | moreuda | to not know | verb |
| 101 | 일 | il | work, job; matter; one | noun |
| 102 | 많다 | manta | to be many, a lot | adjective |
| 103 | 아무것도 | amugeotdo | nothing | pronoun |
| 104 | 그러니까 | geureonikka | so, that's why | conjunction |
| 105 | 크다 | keuda | to be big | adjective |
| 106 | 그만 | geuman | stop; that's enough | adverb |
| 107 | 이미 | imi | already | adverb |
| 108 | 야 | ya | hey | interjection |
| 109 | 뭔가 | mwonga | something | pronoun |
| 110 | 뭐 | mwo | what | pronoun |
| 111 | 이봐 | ibwa | hey, look here | interjection |
| 112 | 아니면 | animyeon | or, otherwise | conjunction |
| 113 | 그런데 | geureonde | but, by the way | conjunction |
| 114 | 세상 | sesang | world | noun |
| 115 | 예 | ye | yes (polite) | interjection |
| 116 | 절대 | jeoldae | never, absolutely | adverb |
| 117 | 당장 | dangjang | right now, immediately | adverb |
| 118 | 그래도 | geuraedo | still, even so | conjunction |
| 119 | 거기 | geogi | there | pronoun |
| 120 | 전부 | jeonbu | all, everything | noun |
| 121 | 둘 | dul | two | number |
| 122 | 그녀 | geunyeo | she, her | pronoun |
| 123 | 자기 | jagi | oneself; honey | pronoun |
| 124 | 가지다 | gajida | to have, to take | verb |
| 125 | 그들 | geudeul | they, them | pronoun |
| 126 | 참 | cham | really, truly | adverb |
| 127 | 미안하다 | mianhada | to be sorry | adjective |
| 128 | 감사합니다 | gamsahamnida | thank you | interjection |
| 129 | 어때 | eottae | how is it?, how about | adjective |
| 130 | 곧 | got | soon | adverb |
| 131 | 아마 | ama | maybe, probably | adverb |
| 132 | 얘기 | yaegi | talk, story | noun |
| 133 | 꼭 | kkok | surely, definitely | adverb |
| 134 | 시간 | sigan | time; hour | noun |
| 135 | 먼저 | meonjeo | first, ahead | adverb |
| 136 | 중 | jung | middle; among; during | noun |
| 137 | 방금 | banggeum | just now | adverb |
| 138 | 완전 | wanjeon | completely, totally | adverb |
| 139 | 동안 | dongan | during, for | noun |
| 140 | 싶다 | sipda | to want to (after verb + 고) | adjective |
| 141 | 친구 | chingu | friend | noun |
| 142 | 들다 | deulda | to enter; to hold; to cost | verb |
| 143 | 번 | beon | time (occurrence), number | noun |
| 144 | 사실 | sasil | fact; in fact, actually | noun |
| 145 | 한번 | hanbeon | once; (try) once | adverb |
| 146 | 대체 | daeche | on earth (in questions) | adverb |
| 147 | 생각 | saenggak | thought, idea | noun |
| 148 | 혼자 | honja | alone | adverb |
| 149 | 선생님 | seonsaengnim | teacher; sir/ma'am | noun |
| 150 | 문제 | munje | problem, question | noun |
| 151 | 다음 | daeum | next | noun |
| 152 | 물론 | mullon | of course | adverb |
| 153 | 거의 | geoui | almost | adverb |
| 154 | 내일 | naeil | tomorrow | noun |
| 155 | 싫다 | silta | to dislike | adjective |
| 156 | 중요하다 | jungyohada | to be important | adjective |
| 157 | 말하다 | malhada | to speak, to say | verb |
| 158 | 새 | sae | new | determiner |
| 159 | 전혀 | jeonhyeo | not at all | adverb |
| 160 | 여자 | yeoja | woman | noun |
| 161 | 새롭다 | saeropda | to be new | adjective |
| 162 | 너희 | neohui | you (plural) | pronoun |
| 163 | 돈 | don | money | noun |
| 164 | 필요하다 | piryohada | to need; to be necessary | adjective |
| 165 | 도움 | doum | help | noun |
| 166 | 작다 | jakda | to be small | adjective |
| 167 | 혹시 | hoksi | by any chance | adverb |
| 168 | 나쁘다 | nappeuda | to be bad | adjective |
| 169 | 죄송하다 | joesonghada | to be sorry (polite) | adjective |
| 170 | 밖 | bak | outside | noun |
| 171 | 직접 | jikjeop | directly, in person | adverb |
| 172 | 아니요 | aniyo | no (polite) | interjection |
| 173 | 주다 | juda | to give | verb |
| 174 | 어디서 | eodiseo | where (at), from where | adverb |
| 175 | 나중에 | najunge | later | adverb |
| 176 | 아버지 | abeoji | father | noun |
| 177 | 차 | cha | car; tea | noun |
| 178 | 언제 | eonje | when | adverb |
| 179 | 그저 | geujeo | just, merely | adverb |
| 180 | 마지막 | majimak | last | noun |
| 181 | 알겠다 | algetda | I see, understood | verb |
| 182 | 왜냐하면 | waenyahamyeon | because | conjunction |
| 183 | 엄청 | eomcheong | very, extremely | adverb |
| 184 | 오래 | orae | long (time) | adverb |
| 185 | 기다리다 | gidarida | to wait | verb |
| 186 | 제일 | jeil | most, best | adverb |
| 187 | 지나다 | jinada | to pass | verb |
| 188 | 죽다 | jukda | to die | verb |
| 189 | 제대로 | jedaero | properly | adverb |
| 190 | 남자 | namja | man | noun |
| 191 | 누구 | nugu | who | pronoun |
| 192 | 여러분 | yeoreobun | everyone (you all) | pronoun |
| 193 | 완전히 | wanjeonhi | completely | adverb |
| 194 | 밤 | bam | night; chestnut | noun |
| 195 | 소리 | sori | sound, noise | noun |
| 196 | 벌써 | beolsseo | already | adverb |
| 197 | 처음 | cheoeum | first time; beginning | noun |
| 198 | 멋지다 | meotjida | to be cool, wonderful | adjective |
| 199 | 이름 | ireum | name | noun |
| 200 | 여보 | yeobo | honey, dear (spouse) | noun |
| 201 | 조금 | jogeum | a little | adverb |
| 202 | 서로 | seoro | each other | adverb |
| 203 | 여보세요 | yeoboseyo | hello (on the phone) | interjection |
| 204 | 매우 | maeu | very | adverb |
| 205 | 사랑하다 | saranghada | to love | verb |
| 206 | 첫 | cheot | first | determiner |
| 207 | 단지 | danji | only, merely | adverb |
| 208 | 확실히 | hwaksilhi | certainly, surely | adverb |
| 209 | 당연히 | dangyeonhi | of course, naturally | adverb |
| 210 | 데리다 | derida | to take (someone) along | verb |
| 211 | 후 | hu | after, later | noun |
| 212 | 글쎄 | geulsse | well, let me see | interjection |
| 213 | 별로 | byeollo | not really, not particularly | adverb |
| 214 | 여전히 | yeojeonhi | still | adverb |
| 215 | 딱 | ttak | exactly, just | adverb |
| 216 | 이야기 | iyagi | story, talk | noun |
| 217 | 부인 | buin | wife; madam | noun |
| 218 | 문 | mun | door | noun |
| 219 | 훨씬 | hwolssin | much (more), by far | adverb |
| 220 | 손 | son | hand | noun |
| 221 | 듣다 | deutda | to listen, to hear | verb |
| 222 | 어쩌면 | eojjeomyeon | perhaps, maybe | adverb |
| 223 | 어느 | eoneu | which; some | determiner |
| 224 | 먹다 | meokda | to eat | verb |
| 225 | 만나다 | mannada | to meet | verb |
| 226 | 살다 | salda | to live | verb |
| 227 | 찾다 | chatda | to look for, to find | verb |
| 228 | 만들다 | mandeulda | to make | verb |
| 229 | 나가다 | nagada | to go out | verb |
| 230 | 들어가다 | deureogada | to go in | verb |
| 231 | 돌아가다 | doragada | to go back | verb |
| 232 | 일어나다 | ireonada | to get up; to happen | verb |
| 233 | 믿다 | mitda | to believe | verb |
| 234 | 놓다 | nota | to put, to place | verb |
| 235 | 타다 | tada | to ride, to take (a vehicle) | verb |
| 236 | 쓰다 | sseuda | to write; to use | verb |
| 237 | 읽다 | ikda | to read | verb |
| 238 | 마시다 | masida | to drink | verb |
| 239 | 자다 | jada | to sleep | verb |
| 240 | 웃다 | utda | to laugh, to smile | verb |
| 241 | 울다 | ulda | to cry | verb |
| 242 | 일하다 | ilhada | to work | verb |
| 243 | 돕다 | dopda | to help | verb |
| 244 | 시작하다 | sijakhada | to start | verb |
| 245 | 끝나다 | kkeunnada | to end | verb |
| 246 | 잊다 | itda | to forget | verb |
| 247 | 기억하다 | gieokhada | to remember | verb |
| 248 | 부르다 | bureuda | to call; to sing | verb |
| 249 | 걱정하다 | geokjeonghada | to worry | verb |
| 250 | 원하다 | wonhada | to want | verb |
| 251 | 보내다 | bonaeda | to send; to spend (time) | verb |
| 252 | 받다 | batda | to receive | verb |
| 253 | 묻다 | mutda | to ask | verb |
| 254 | 배우다 | baeuda | to learn | verb |
| 255 | 멈추다 | meomchuda | to stop | verb |
| 256 | 나오다 | naoda | to come out | verb |
| 257 | 좋아하다 | joahada | to like | verb |
| 258 | 예쁘다 | yeppeuda | to be pretty | adjective |
| 259 | 행복하다 | haengbokhada | to be happy | adjective |
| 260 | 무섭다 | museopda | to be scary; to be afraid | adjective |
| 261 | 어렵다 | eoryeopda | to be difficult | adjective |
| 262 | 쉽다 | swipda | to be easy | adjective |
| 263 | 힘들다 | himdeulda | to be hard, tiring | adjective |
| 264 | 아프다 | apeuda | to be sick, to hurt | adjective |
| 265 | 바쁘다 | bappeuda | to be busy | adjective |
| 266 | 재미있다 | jaemiitda | to be fun, interesting | adjective |
| 267 | 맛있다 | masitda | to be delicious | adjective |
| 268 | 이상하다 | isanghada | to be strange | adjective |
| 269 | 늦다 | neutda | to be late | adjective |
| 270 | 빠르다 | ppareuda | to be fast | adjective |
| 271 | 길다 | gilda | to be long | adjective |
| 272 | 아이 | ai | child | noun |
| 273 | 가족 | gajok | family | noun |
| 274 | 아들 | adeul | son | noun |
| 275 | 딸 | ttal | daughter | noun |
| 276 | 형 | hyeong | older brother (of a male) | noun |
| 277 | 언니 | eonni | older sister (of a female) | noun |
| 278 | 학교 | hakgyo | school | noun |
| 279 | 회사 | hoesa | company | noun |
| 280 | 경찰 | gyeongchal | police | noun |
| 281 | 의사 | uisa | doctor | noun |
| 282 | 전화 | jeonhwa | telephone, phone call | noun |
| 283 | 물 | mul | water | noun |
| 284 | 밥 | bap | rice, meal | noun |
| 285 | 방 | bang | room | noun |
| 286 | 길 | gil | road, way | noun |
| 287 | 눈 | nun | eye; snow | noun |
| 288 | 마음 | maeum | heart, mind | noun |
| 289 | 사랑 | sarang | love | noun |
| 290 | 인생 | insaeng | life | noun |
| 291 | 아침 | achim | morning; breakfast | noun |
| 292 | 어제 | eoje | yesterday | noun |
| 293 | 날 | nal | day | noun |
| 294 | 년 | nyeon | year | noun |
| 295 | 셋 | set | three | number |
| 296 | 오빠 | oppa | older brother (of a female) | noun |
| 297 | 누나 | nuna | older sister (of a male) | noun |
| 298 | 넷 | net | four | number |
| 299 | 다섯 | daseot | five | number |
| 300 | 열 | yeol | ten | number |
Frequency ranking based on OpenSubtitles 2018 subtitles (hermitdave/FrequencyWords).
Questions
What are the most common Korean words?
The top ten are 나 (I), 그 (that; he), 내 (my; I (before 가)), 안 (not; inside), 수 (way), 이 (this), 네 (yes; your), 좀 (a little; please (softener)), 그래 (OK), 있다 (to be).
How many Korean words do I need to know?
The few hundred most frequent words make up a large share of any everyday text, which is why they're the best place to start. To read graded stories comfortably you need roughly 1,000–2,000; for unadapted books, several thousand. Test yourself with the Korean vocabulary size test.
Where does this list come from?
The ranking is based on OpenSubtitles 2018 subtitles (hermitdave/FrequencyWords), cleaned by hand to remove names, fragments and noise, with meanings added for learners.