Core 100 words in Korean: all 100 words
| Korean | Sounds like | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 나 | na | I, mecasual; 저 is the polite form | |
| 저 | jeo | I, me (polite)use with strangers and older people | |
| 너 | neo | youfriends and younger people only | |
| 우리 | uri | we, ouralso "my" for family and country: 우리 엄마 | |
| 사람 | saram | person | |
| 친구 | chingu | friend | |
| 남자 | namja | man | |
| 여자 | yeoja | woman | |
| 아이 | ai | child | |
| 선생님 | seonsaengnim | teacher | |
| 학생 | haksaeng | student | |
| 이름 | ireum | name | |
| 뭐 | mwo | what | |
| 누구 | nugu | who | |
| 어디 | eodi | where | |
| 언제 | eonje | when | |
| 왜 | wae | why | |
| 어떻게 | eotteoke | how | |
| 얼마 | eolma | how much | |
| 몇 | myeot | how many | |
| 이거 | igeo | this | |
| 그거 | geugeo | that | |
| 저거 | jeogeo | that (over there) | |
| 여기 | yeogi | here | |
| 거기 | geogi | there | |
| 저기 | jeogi | over there | |
| 하다 | hada | to do해요 = I do | |
| 가다 | gada | to go가요 = I go | |
| 오다 | oda | to come와요 = I come | |
| 먹다 | meokda | to eat먹어요 = I eat | |
| 마시다 | masida | to drink마셔요 = I drink | |
| 보다 | boda | to see, to watch봐요 = I see | |
| 자다 | jada | to sleep자요 = I sleep | |
| 사다 | sada | to buy사요 = I buy | |
| 주다 | juda | to give줘요 = I give | |
| 있다 | itda | to have, to be there있어요 = I have / it's there | |
| 없다 | eopda | to not have, to not be there없어요 = I don't have | |
| 알다 | alda | to know알아요 = I know | |
| 모르다 | moreuda | to not know몰라요 = I don't know | |
| 좋아하다 | joahada | to like좋아해요 = I like it | |
| 말하다 | malhada | to speak, to say말해요 = I speak | |
| 듣다 | deutda | to listen들어요 = I listen | |
| 읽다 | ikda | to read읽어요 = I read | |
| 쓰다 | sseuda | to write, to use써요 = I write | |
| 배우다 | baeuda | to learn배워요 = I learn | |
| 공부하다 | gongbuhada | to study공부해요 = I study | |
| 일하다 | ilhada | to work일해요 = I work | |
| 만나다 | mannada | to meet만나요 = I meet | |
| 기다리다 | gidarida | to wait기다려요 = I wait | |
| 놀다 | nolda | to play, to hang out놀아요 = I play | |
| 살다 | salda | to live살아요 = I live | |
| 필요하다 | piryohada | to need필요해요 = I need it | |
| 좋다 | jota | to be good좋아요 = it's good | |
| 나쁘다 | nappeuda | to be bad나빠요 = it's bad | |
| 크다 | keuda | to be big커요 = it's big | |
| 작다 | jakda | to be small작아요 = it's small | |
| 많다 | manta | to be many, a lot많아요 = there are many | |
| 비싸다 | bissada | to be expensive비싸요 = it's expensive | |
| 싸다 | ssada | to be cheap싸요 = it's cheap | |
| 예쁘다 | yeppeuda | to be pretty예뻐요 = it's pretty | |
| 바쁘다 | bappeuda | to be busy바빠요 = I'm busy | |
| 쉽다 | swipda | to be easy쉬워요 = it's easy | |
| 어렵다 | eoryeopda | to be difficult어려워요 = it's difficult | |
| 맛있다 | masitda | to be delicious맛있어요 = it's delicious | |
| 재미있다 | jaemiitda | to be fun재미있어요 = it's fun | |
| 지금 | jigeum | now | |
| 오늘 | oneul | today | |
| 내일 | naeil | tomorrow | |
| 어제 | eoje | yesterday | |
| 시간 | sigan | time, hour | |
| 날 | nal | day | |
| 아침 | achim | morning, breakfast | |
| 점심 | jeomsim | lunch, noon | |
| 저녁 | jeonyeok | evening, dinner | |
| 물 | mul | water | |
| 밥 | bap | rice, meal | |
| 돈 | don | money | |
| 집 | jip | house, home | |
| 학교 | hakgyo | school | |
| 회사 | hoesa | company, office | |
| 일 | il | work, jobalso the number one | |
| 말 | mal | words, languagealso "horse" | |
| 한국 | hanguk | Korea | |
| 한국어 | hangugeo | Korean (language) | |
| 영어 | yeongeo | English (language) | |
| 책 | chaek | book | |
| 네 | ne | yes | |
| 아니요 | aniyo | no | |
| 안 | an | not안 가요 = I'm not going | |
| 다 | da | all, everything | |
| 아주 | aju | very | |
| 조금 | jogeum | a little | |
| 같이 | gachi | together | |
| 또 | tto | again | |
| 그리고 | geurigo | and, and then | |
| 하지만 | hajiman | but | |
| 정말 | jeongmal | really | |
| 잘 | jal | well잘 먹겠습니다 = I'll eat well | |
| 빨리 | ppalli | quickly | |
| 천천히 | cheoncheonhi | slowly |
Good to know
These are the 100 words that show up again and again in beginner conversations: who, what and where, the verbs you use every day (가다, 먹다, 하다), describing words (좋다, 크다, 비싸다), and small words like 네, 안 and 같이 that hold sentences together.
Verbs and describing words are listed in their dictionary form, ending in 다, because that is how you'll find them in a dictionary. The note under each one shows the polite everyday form you actually say, like 가요 ("I go") from 가다. To make the polite form, drop 다 and add 아요 or 어요; 하다 becomes 해요.
Learn ten a day and you'll have them all in ten days. After that, the greetings and food themes are good next steps.
Want to practice typing these words? Play Hangul Rain with the core 100 words words.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common Korean words?
Beyond 네 (yes) and 아니요 (no), the most used words are pronouns like 나 and 저 (I), question words like 뭐 (what) and 어디 (where), and basic verbs like 하다 (to do), 가다 (to go), 있다 (to have, to be there) and 먹다 (to eat).
Why do Korean verbs end in 다?
다 marks the dictionary form. In speech you change the ending: 가다 becomes 가요 (polite) or 가 (casual). The flashcard notes show the polite form for each verb.
How many Korean words do I need to know?
About 800 to 1,000 words is enough for the first TOPIK level and simple daily conversation. Start with these 100, then add themed words for food, places and family.
Romanization: Revised Romanization of Korean, with sound changes. Audio: a recorded native-sounding Korean voice.
Last checked: 2026-10-20