Deal With The Difficult Parts Of Korean Down The Road
When learning Korean, you can put off the difficult parts of the language for later.
One difficult aspect of Korean is that itâs a hierarchical language. This means you use different words depending on who you speak to.
While this sounds daunting, if you use the regular form of the word then nobody will be offended. Stick to the âyoâ, and youâll be good to go!
As you get better at Korean, you can start using the different levels of language. But you donât have to get worked up about it early on in your language study.
If you are wondering how honorifics and hierarchy work in Korean, basically there is a way of speaking for people who are close to you, and a way for speaking to people more distant.
The more distant version often comes up in textbooks early on.
But you will only ever use it if you are doing a job interview, giving a presentation, or speaking on the news .
So you should focus on the âyoâ system, which you will be using much more often.
If you are speaking to somebody who is younger than you and close to you, then you can drop the âyoâ. This will be handy when you begin making Korean friends and acquaintances.
These different levels of Korean often scare people, but English and other languages also have these levels. For example, âto dieâ vs. âto pass awayâ.
Once youâve learned the more approachable parts of Korean, youâll feel comfortable using Korean conversationally.
How Long Does It Take To Learn Korean
Asking how long to learn Korean? is asking an impossible question. For real. Everyones unique lives, time, and motivations mean their language learning journeys are different.
The awesome thing is just 10 minutes is enough to start learning Korean. Thats right! So whether you have a free week, a free afternoon, or even just 10 minutes especially just 10 minutes… you canstart learning Korean today. Woo!
Want to know something crazy about language learning? A lot of people get bogged down in the books and forget how to communicate to people in the real world. Thats why our apps video and audio clips of REAL native Korean speakers teaching you real language in context is super effective.
This way you can learn Korean fluently, learn Korean in one year, learn Korean language in 30 days, or even just a short afternoon session if you really want
Dont believe us? Here are two fun clips to pump you up:
We look forward to meeting you =
think positive thoughts =
See? You got this! We believe in you.
Tip #1: Dont Be Discouraged
If youve made it this far, youre obviously serious about learning Korean. Dont be discouraged if/when you make mistakes along the way and dont be afraid to step outside your comfort zone to practice speaking Korean more. Native speakers will appreciate your efforts and enjoy helping you learn!
Mastering Korean takes time and effort as the saying goes, Nothing worth having comes easy. So celebrate each time you achieve a goal, and remember what inspired you to learn Korean in the first place! It will feel incredibly rewarding when you look back and realize how much Korean youve learned to speak, read, and write.
Now that you know the best tips for how to learn Korean fast, youre ready to get started! While some sources say it can take over 2,000 hours to master Korean, the above tips are sure to speed up the process. You can do it! ! To kick off your progress, sign up for Korean lessons with us today.
Do you have more tips for how to learn Korean? Leave a comment below, we would love to hear from you
Guest Post Author: Jade B. is a Korean-Australian writer and world traveler whose love of languages and cultures hasnt shown signs of stopping. She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and currently works as a translator.
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Best Apps To Learn Korean Quickly At Home
Langoly is supported by our readers. We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions if you buy through links on this page.
Looking for apps to learn Korean? It seems like apps for learning Korean are popping up more and more . And with this increased competition, it can be difficult to know which ones are the best apps to learn Korean.
Best Overall Korean App
With that in mind, weve compiled a list of some of the best apps available today. The apps on this list will show you how to learn Korean, whether they focus on grammar and vocab or communication. They all have their own strengths, so try a few of them out to see which one is best for your needs.
Tip #: Build Your Vocabulary
Once you have Hangul down, you can start building up your vocabulary. Begin with the basics such as , days of the week, and basic , then add to your vocabulary depending on the reason youre studying Korean. If you wish to learn Korean for an upcoming trip, focus on words related to directions and transportation. Interested in Korean food? Work on your kitchen and cooking-related vocabulary.As you start learning more new words, write them down in a notebook. The simple act of writing words down will help you practice Hangul and commit the word to memory. Its even better if you can think of a fun picture or story to help you remember the word!
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How Hard Is Korean Overall: 4/5 Or Moderately Difficult
Im giving it this rating based on assessing:
- Alphabet: 2/5, Pretty easy
- Grammar: 4/5, Moderate
- Pronunciation: 3/5, Moderate
- Vocabulary: 5/5 Very hard
What does this rating of moderately difficult mean in reality? It means that if you are planning on getting very far in learning Korean in a year or so, an average learner should dedicate around two to four hours a day every day to studying it intensely, with at least a few hours of class time a week, plus homework drills.
Korean Negative Verb Form
Turning sentences into negatives was already mentioned when we introduced you to . Lets briefly go over some other negative verb forms in Korean grammar.
By adding in front of the verb, excluding , you are creating a negative. For example:
By adding ~ to the verb stem, you are also creating a negative. Like this:
Learning them is important when writing essays, formal letters, emails, or academic papers.
You can find more about these punctuation marks in our lesson on Korean Punctuation.
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How To Learn Korean Language
Nowadays, there are many ways to learn the Korean language. You can learn them in a traditional way using grammar books and onsite language classes in Korea.
However, learning Korean isnt limited to these methods anymore. There are a lot of courses and materials accessible on the internet now.
Most of the online courses and materials will first teach you how to read the Korean alphabet. This is because your knowledge of Hangul will make your language journey easy. Youll be able to learn more Korean words and phrases if youre able to read Hangul. On top of that, youll be able to speak words and phrases with the proper pronunciation.
You can learn Korean through the following:
Lesson:
If you know how to type in English without looking at the keyboard, then its fairly easy to learn to type in Korean as well. And if you know how to type in Korean, it will help you learn Korean faster. Learning to type in Korean is like getting two lessons at the same time!
There are also other side benefits to learning how to type, such as being able to send text messages in KakaoTalk and searching on Korean websites. Texting with Korean friends over KakaoTalk will help you practice communicating using the Korean language anytime youre online! Youll also be able to learn new words and understand more about Korean culture.
Tip #: Discover Your Learning Style
One simple but crucial tip for how to learn Korean fast is to understand your unique learning style. There are three main learning styles:
While some students are a mix of all three, knowing what your particular learning style is can help you maximize your Korean studies and learn more efficiently.
By using specific study methods that work best with your learning style, you will find that things like memorizing new vocabulary will become much easier. Take the learning styles test here to find out which method works best for you.
The one thing that all learning styles share is the need to practice. In other words, we all learn by speaking the language! Practicing your conversational skills with a tutor is one of the best ways to learn Korean online.
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Apps For Learning Korean
There are a lot of apps for learning Korean, but its best to choose the essentials first. Naver Dictionary has an app form, so thats an excellent one to start using first.
Anki is also a fantastic app for making custom flashcards to help you learn Korean. Its useful for boosting your vocabulary skills whether youre at a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level in the language. Getting a solid base of Korean words will help you learn Korean fast.
KakaoTalk is the main chat app for South Korea. If you want to make Korean friends or learn Korean as you practice typing, then this is the app to use!
Below are the apps you need for living or traveling to Korea. Knowing how to navigate Korean apps can help you learn Korean since youll get extra practice with the language.
Lesson:
If youre going to learn Korean, then you want to use the best Korean dictionary available to help you study.
Were big fans of Naver dictionary It is the most popular free online dictionary for native Koreans when they are learning other languages. They provide the pronunciation for many of the words if you click on the blue speaker near the words. They also provide sample sentences so you can see how the vocabulary word would be used in the context of a sentence.
You can also enter grammar into the search box and get a brief description of how to use it.
Other Reasons The Memrise App Is Great:
- Memrise highlights useful phrases which give you real-world language competence.
- Its created for an agile learning experience. Anytime. Anyplace.
- Our fun videos of native speakers teaching you Korean throws you onto the streets of Seoul.
- If you need to stop your lesson abruptly, our app automatically saves your progress so you wont lose anything. Plus, our daily learning goals, reminders, and competition boards hit you with that extra boost of motivation to keep learning Korean.
- Out of signal or need to save mobile data? The offline mode means you can download all the content you need to learn on your phone, so you can learn Korean without Wifi or mobile data.
Thats our complete guide to learning Korean. How excited are you!?
I want to learn Korean! Yes, we love to hear that. Download our free app tolearn Korean with Memrise now.
Congratulations on taking this step. Remember: just go for it! Mistakes are okay at this stage! Wed love to hear how youre getting on. So Tweet us @memrise or DM us on Instagram @memrise to let us know!
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Learn The Korean Alphabet With Ease
The first step to learn the Korean language is becoming familiar with the Korean alphabet.
When first seeing the Korean alphabet, many people assume that it is just a bunch of squiggles and that itâs as impenetrable as learning the thousands of Chinese characters that students of Mandarin face.
Believe it or not, this causes some learners to give up on the Korean language before they even start!
While there are ways of learning Chinese and Japanese characters quickly, the Korean alphabet is nothing like Chinese characters.
It is far easier to learn than even the Japanese âscriptâ alphabets of Katakana or Hiragana, and maybe even Cyrillic.
The reason for this goes back centuries.
Unlike other alphabets that grew organically, Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was invented.
Not only was it invented, but Hangul was made with the specific purpose of being easy to learn and use. Basically, itâs almost impossible to design a simpler writing system than Hangul that would still work with the Korean language.
The truth is that using modern learning techniques, anybody can learn Hangul in just ninety minutes.
Think about that for a second â the Korean language was constructed with language learners in mind!
Hangul exists not to confuse and intimidate learners, but rather to give them the quickest access to Korean culture possible.
Learn To Count In Korean
Knowing how to count is a basic skill in any language. Counting numbers in Korean can be really tricky as they have 2 different number systems depending on situations Native Korean system and Sino-Korean, which originates from Chinese.
The Native Korean numbers are used for item numbers and age. E.g. 2 children, 5 cookies, 23 years old. Sino-Korean is used for dates, money, addresses, phone numbers and numbers above 100.
Heres how to count to ten in the Native Korean numbers:
One = pronounced hanaTwo = pronounced dulThree = pronounced seFour = pronounced ne
Nine = pronounced gu Ten = pronounced sib
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Is Korean Hard To Learn Not With These 12 Expert Tips
One of the first questions that aspiring Korean speakers ask is, How hard is Korean to learn?
There are plenty of reasons for wanting to know how to study Korean in the most efficient way possible. For starters, South Korea has the 11th largest economy in the world. In addition, Korean is the 12th highest spoken language with more than 77 million speakers.
The possibilities that stem from learning Korean are endless! Not only does understanding Korean allow you to communicate with more people, but it can also open up business endeavors and travel opportunities. Whats more, many studies say learning a new language is good for your brain!
As exciting as taking on a second language can be, it does take time and effortits not something you will fully comprehend in just a few days. But if youre wondering how to learn Korean fast, we can help. Our guide on how to start learning Korean provides you with the tips and tricks you need to start your learning journey. Follow our 16 tips for learning Korean, and you will be reading, writing, and speaking in this language in no time. Haeng-un-eul bibnida! Or, as we say in English, good luck!
How Are Korean Sentences Structured
Basic Korean grammar, on the other hand, uses the order:
SUBJECT + OBJECT + VERB .
For native speakers of languages that use the SVO grammar structure, such as English, this may sound confusing and incorrect.
Korean, Japanese, and to some extent German, all use SOV in their grammar. Youll understand why this kind of grammar makes sense when forming a Korean sentence later in the lesson. For now, here are some examples of the sentence structure of Korean to help you get acquainted with the grammar:
Example 1:I ate an orange.
.
Korean nouns are used as subjects and objects in sentences. The particles and are used when Korean nouns are used as a subject. On the other hand, the topic markers and are used when a Korean noun is used as an object in a sentence.
Example 1: Hyerim is eating an apple.
.
Example 2: The students read a Science book.
.
To know more about Korean nouns, we have lessons on Body Parts in Korean, Animals in Korean, Fruits, Nuts, and Vegetables in Korean, Fish in Korean, and Jobs in Korean to help you get started.
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Make Friends With Korean Speakers
Having Korean native speakers as friends is such a huge advantage. Having someone to have a conversation in Korean with can significantly improve your Korean. Not only will you be gaining more vocabulary, but you will also have someone who can tell you your mistakes and help you correct them.
You and your Korean friends can also help each other with the language exchange. While they help you in their own language, you can also assist them in learning English. They can also guide better while understanding Korean culture.
It is also important to make friends with other Korean language learners. Those language learners would be sharing the same goals as you do. Having a language partner will definitely make your language learning journey better. You can even join a club for Korean learning and study Korean effectively.
Tip #1: Start Writing In A Korean Journal
If youre stumped on how to learn Korean quickly, you need to start thinking in Korean! Once you have mastered the Korean alphabet, begin by keeping a daily journal and only writing in Korean. This is not only a good way to work on vocabulary, but its a great way to write about the past, present, and future. If youre at the beginner level, start by jotting down what you did that day in the present tense and then slowly start working in past and future tenses. What did you do yesterday? And what do you plan to do tomorrow?
As you sit down to do this exercise, keep a Korean dictionary on hand so you can look up any words you are not familiar with yet. Maybe you forgot the word for school or need to know how to say tomorrow . Doing so will help you commit them to memory.
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