Learn the top 25 nouns
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| Hi everyone, I am Jaehwi. In this video, we will be talking about Top 25 Korean Nouns. Okay let’s see what we have first? |
| 1. 것 (geot) A thing or a object. So when you are doing some shopping, you like something. That you like – that you don’t like, then you can say 저는 이것이 좋아요. but 저는 저것이 싫어요.. I don’t like this, I don’t like that. |
| 2. 수 (su) way, method, number. It has three different meanings. Method, way, numbers. For example, 사람 수가 많이 있다 In that case 수 (su) means number and if you are in a big trouble and you don’t know what to do, you can also say 수가 없다. |
| 3. 나 (na) I. So this is the informal way to say I as a pronoun. So you can say 나는 나야 I myself 나는 김치가 좋아/ 나는 한국이 좋아/ 나는 한국사람이 좋아 can be good examples but when you talk with someone older than you, you cannot say 나 (na). Instead you have to say 저 which is formal version to say I. |
| 4. 사람 (saram) Person. When you talk about a person, don’t use 것 (geot) because 것 (geot) is for a thing. So you cannot say 이것이 좋아 when you talk about someone you love. Instead you can say 이 사람이 좋아 사람 (saram) means person. |
| 5. 우리 (uri, wuri) We or our. And it literally means our or we but even if it’s only about myself talking about my country, then I will say 우리나라, meaning our country even though you are not Korean, I will just say our country 우리나라 when talking about Korea. Even with your friend, you can say 우리가족 literally meaning our family, even though you want to mean my family. The way to improve your Korean first is to use 우리 (uri, wuri) more often. |
| 6. 그 (geu) He, that. We usually don’t use 그 (geu) or he 그녀 (geunyuh)she when we make sentences because it doesn’t sound natural to use a specific pronoun about the person. So when you hear 그 (geu) you can just think that it’s about that – that person. |
| 7. 거 (geo) thing. This is a little bit casual way to say 것 (geot) which also mean thing. 그거 주세요/ 저거 주세요/ 이거 싫어요 /저거 좋아요 When you talk with your friend, you just use 거 (geo) not 것 (geot). |
| 8. 년 (nyeon) year. So when you talk about year in Korean, you have to use this noun after numbers. For example 2001년, the year of 2001. You cannot simply say 2001. So with all you can say 저는 삼년전에 서울에 왔습니다. which means I came to Seoul three years ago. |
| 9. 한 (han) One or single. So when you want to talk about one, something like one place, one person, you can use this word with the other noun. For example 한 사람 one person 한 곳 a place. |
| 10. 말 (mal) Words. When you talk about Korean, you can say 한국어 but also you can say 한국말 which literally means Korean words. So when you want to say I love Korean, you can say both 한국어를 공부합니다. and 한국말을 공부합니다. and there is another word meaning Horse with the same pronunciation. So make sure you understand it correctly. |
| 11. 일 (il) work. So when Korean people want to ask you what is your job or what do you do and they will say 무슨일 하세요? So here 일 (il) was used to mean work, and also Korean people have a lot of work. Usually they work like more than 10 hours a day. They also have a lot of work to do. So in that case, I can say 저도 일이 많이 있어요. |
| 12. 씨 (ssi) honorific suffix to mean Mr. Miss, Mrs. So let’s say you want to call someone who is not your friend but whom you know their name. In that case, you can simply say their name and put 씨 (ssi), but make sure that you don’t put family name there like you do in English. You have to put their first name. So my family name is Lee, So if you just call me Lee씨 (ssi) using my family name and that honorific suffix, it sounds rude. So don’t do that. You can just call me Jeawhi씨 (ssi) using my first name instead of family name. We have another suffix 님 which is more formal than 씨 (ssi). So you can use it when you call your teacher like saying 선생님. |
| 13. 일 (il) day. It has the same pronunciation of the word meaning “work”. Usually you can use it when you read the date. For example, you can say 칠월 이일 to mean July 2nd or you can also find this word in the word like 내일 meaning tomorrow and say 내일이 좋아요 which means tomorrow is good. |
| 14. 사회 (sahoe) Society. Korean people talk a lot about politics and in that case, we use 사회 (sahoe) a lot. So if someone is critical about the situation going around in Korean society, he might say 한국사회에는 문제가 많이 있다. or someone will say 한국 사회는 살기 좋다. |
| 15. 그것 (geugeot) that thing. So it has two words that we learned earlier. 그 (geu) meaning that 것 (geot) meaning thing. So for example, when you don’t know how to read something in Korean, you can just say 그것 어떻게 읽어요? |
| 16. 집 (jip) house, home. So if you are in Korea, you might hear some phrases like 우리집에 놀러와. So 집 (jip) literally means house, home. So even though you want to say my home, make sure to use the pronoun 우리 (uri, wuri) and say 우리집. |
| 17. 문제 (munje) Problem. For example like when you take a test and the questions are so difficult, you can say 문제가 너무 어려워. |
| 18. 저 (jeo) that. You can use this pronoun when you talk about something away from you. So when you do shopping and the item you want to have is far away from you, then you can say 저거(jeogeo). |
| 19. 속 (sok) Inside. So usually you can use it when you talk about something inside of something. For example 가방 속에 뭐가 있어요? meaning what’s inside your bag and there is a lot of words meaning inside which is 안 to mean the same. |
| 20. 데 (de) place. For formal situation, we use (06:40곳 but for casual like informal, we use 데 (de). For example 먹을데 place to eat. |
| 21. 경우 (gyeongu) case. To make you look more smart, you can use this word. For example 이 경우 this case 저경우 (jeo gyeongu) that case. |
| 22. 중 (jung) Center. So you can use this word when you want to say in the middle of something. For example, you can say 한국음식 중에 뭐가 가장 좋아요? which literally means in the middle of Korean food, which one do you like the most. So usually it’s used with a group of something. |
| 23. 자신 (jasin) one self. Unlike the English word oneself like we usually use it when we give the advice. For example 너 자신을 알라 which means you should know yourself. Usually we also use this word to mean confidence and say 자신 있다. |
| 24. 원 (won) Korean Won. In Korean, you have to say Won every time when you talk about money. For example, 이만원/이천원 so when you want to exchange US dollar to Won, you can just simply say 달러를 원으로 바꿔주세요. |
| 25. 사랑 (salang) love. In Korea, we usually try to be a little bit indirect when talking about love. So we usually use the phrase something like 사랑하는 사람 which means people who are in love. So with the one, you can say 사랑해 I love you or 사랑합니다 I love you formally. |
| Okay that’s all top 25 Korean nouns that we have in this video. Make sure to subscribe. I will see you next time |
Comments
HideWhich phrase do you like the most?
Hi Szilvi!
You can adjust the video speed by clicking the dark gray "1x" button next to the volume control icon. 😊 This will allow you to listen to the sentences at a slower pace and help with understanding.
Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.
감사합니다! (Gamsahamnida! "Thank you!")
Team KoreanClass101.com
Wow that was really fast. Is it possible to listen to the sentences in the video or pdf somewhere in slow motion?
Hi Anirudh,
Thanks for posting. Could you clarify your comment to let us know what you're referring to so we can provide you with an accurate answer?
Best,
Lyn
Team KoreanClass101.com
isn't that a determiner & inside a preposition
Hi Nike,
Thank you for posting!
As an absolute beginner we suggest you start with the very basics: the alphabet and how to read and write Korean:
https://www.koreanclass101.com/lesson-library/learn-hangul-hana-hana-hangul/
Another series that is worth watching really early in your Korean learning is our pronunciation-related lessons:
https://www.koreanclass101.com/lesson-library/ultimate-korean-pronunciation-guide/
You would then be ready to start with one of our main series, the Absolute Beginner series:
https://www.koreanclass101.com/lesson-library/absolute-beginner
The next step would be the Beginner series, then the Upper Beginner, the Lower Intermediate, Intermediate, and finally the Upper Intermediate series. Each lesson of these series contains a dialogue and focuses on grammar, vocabulary, vocabulary usage, sample sentences and cultural notes.
In between these series, you can of course listen or watch other series too, depending on what appeals to you and your needs. However, the core grammar is found on the aforementioned series.
Should you need extra help with grammar, check out our grammar banks:
https://www.KoreanClass101.com/Korean-grammar/
As for enriching your vocabulary, you can check out the vocabulary lists:
https://www.KoreanClass101.com/Korean-vocabulary-lists/
We’re constantly adding new content. Check out the other options under the menu “”Vocabulary”” as well.
Hope this is helpful. If you have any more questions about the website or Korean, don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Wishing you all the best!
Cristiane
Team KoreanClass101.com
Hello, i am new to this and i have no idea of Korean language and hoping to learn. However i get confused as to were to start from on the website. I try to learn from many videos but i get confused on how to make sentences, use subject making particles and such. Is there any recommendations on how to navigate through the site and start from the absolute basics?
Hello Denisse,
Thank you for posting.
We couldn't find the sentence you mentioned in this lesson.
Could you please clarify where it comes from?
Sincerely.
Lena
Team KoreanClass101.com
Hello c:
How can I say what is inside your heart? Like not literally speaking lol xD
And... I was wondering for the sentence, "한국사호는 살기 좋다" what "살기" means?
Does it come from the verb to live? If that's the case, what type of grammar it's being used to make the word 살기? Is it present continous? OMG I'm pretty confused? How was that grammartically made?
Thanks a lot before hand c: You're all the best 😇❤️️
Hi Jeff,
Many thanks go to you for pointing that out, and yes, Korean does have quite a number of homophones. The best way to distinguish the difference in the meaning is by looking at the context. ? Hope it helped!
Best,
Rebecca
Team KoreanClass101.com
I just realized that Korean has a lot of homophones. Is there a way to differentiate? It can get confusing at times.
Hi Jo,
Thanks for posting. There is no 'rule' that states that the consonant ㅈ to sound 'stronger' or 'weaker', but you will just notice that when it comes as an initial, people tend to pronounce it with a stronger sound in comparison to when it is used in the middle of a word.
Having said that, this may be due to the way the vowels are pronounced--you open your mouth wider when pronouncingㅏ and it is more 'closed' when you pronounce ㅜ, which is why you may be noticing the difference.
Hope this was of help.
Best,
Lyn
Team KoreanClass101.com
Hi, I noticed that 자신 sounds more aspirated for the first syllable but 중 does not sound aspirated. Is it only aspirated if there is more than one syllable? Thank you.
Hi Minnowonsay,
Glad to hear that you found our lessons helpful!
Hope you like the rest of our series. :)
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team KoreanClass101.com
Thanks that is very helpful. I watch a little every day.
Hi Roger,
Glad to hear the list was of help!
Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Best,
Lyn
Team KoreanClass101.com
There are some very useful colloquial phrases in the "Top 25", which are really well amplified in the written transcript. Thanks for all the nuances in that written text.
미마씨 안녕하세요,
Thank you for posting. 하루 refers to 'a day, or a specific 'day', whereas '일' is a counter used to count the number of days.
Please let us know if you have any other inquiries.
Best,
Lyn
Team KoreanClass101.com
안녕하세요.
When would you use 일 versus 하루. Is 일 only used for the date?
Hi Katie,
Thanks for commenting. '경우'(gyeong-u) is usually used when you want to refer to a specific case or incident. For example(this just an example sentence):
한국에 여행갔다가 지갑을 잃어버렸어요. 이런 경우에는 어떻게 하죠? (I lost my wallet during my visit to Korea. In a case like this what should I do?)
바로 경찰서에 가셔서 분실 신고를 하세요. (Go straight to the police station and file a missing article report.)
Here is another example:
온라인 쇼핑몰에서 옷을 샀는데 너무 작아요....(I bought some clothes online but they are too small...)
이런 경우에는 반품이 가능한지 문의하시면 되요. (In a case like this/cases like this ask whether you can send it back).
Hope these examples were of help. Please let us know if you have any other inquiries.
Best,
Lyn
Team KoreanClass101.com
Thank you for answering! That helped me a lot. I also have another question.
The way to use "gyeongu" was a little bit confusing, because there wasn't much said about it compared to the other nouns. Could you elaborate please?