Korean Phrases for Travel: Hello, Thank You, Alphabet, Numbers

Words

17

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

How do you say hello in Korean? The word you will use all day is annyeonghaseyo (안녕하세요), pronounced an-nyeong-ha-se-yo. It is the polite, formal hello and it works at any hour, in shops, restaurants and hotels, so you don't need separate words for good morning or good evening. With friends the informal hello is simply annyeong (안녕).

Thank you in Korean is gamsahamnida (감사합니다), the formal thank you you can say to anyone. The informal way to say thank you in Korean is gomawoyo (고마워요), fine for people you know.

To politely say no, thank you, use gwaenchanayo (괜찮아요), literally "it's okay". Note that Korean has two different goodbyes: one for the person leaving and one for the person staying.

How do you say sorry in Korean? The Korean language has two everyday words for it. The formal joesonghamnida (죄송합니다) means "I'm sorry" or "I am sorry" and is the right word for strangers, staff and older people; mianhaeyo (미안해요) is the softer sorry in Korean you use with friends, and the most informal sorry in Korean, between close friends, is just mianhae (미안해).

To say I'm really sorry in Korean, put jeongmal (정말, really) in front: jeongmal joesonghamnida. If you are wondering how to say I'm sorry in Korean when you bump into someone on the subway, a quick joesonghamnida is enough.

How to pronounce thank you in Korean: say gam-sa-ham-ni-da in five even syllables; in fast speech it sounds closer to "kam-sam-ni-da". How to write thank you in Korean in Hangul: 감사합니다. To spell thank you in Korean letter block by letter block, it is 감 (gam) + 사 (sa) + 합 (ham) + 니 (ni) + 다 (da).

Like all the Korean phrases with pronunciation on this page, you can tap the speaker in the table below to hear it.

Letters

24

Where

Signs, menus

Level

Easy

What is the Korean alphabet called? It is called Hangul (also written Hangeul). As for who made the Korean alphabet, a short bit of Korean alphabet history: King Sejong the Great had it created in 1443 and it was proclaimed in 1446.

How many letters are in the Korean alphabet? According to Korea.net, Hangul has 14 consonants and 10 vowels, so 24 basic letters; the original alphabet had 28. Because the letters are built from simple, logical shapes, most travellers can read basic Hangul after a day or two of practice.

Letters are not written one by one in a line but grouped into syllable blocks: ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ = 한 (han). This Korean alphabet table is the full Korean alphabet for beginners: all 24 basic Korean alphabet characters in the standard order of the Korean alphabet, the 14 consonants first and then the 10 vowels.

Each row gives the letter, its Korean name and an English translation of the sound, so it doubles as a Korean alphabet to English guide. Think of it as the Korean alphabet from A to Z, a short tutorial on the Korean alphabet and pronunciation: if you want to know how to pronounce the Korean alphabet, tap the speaker next to each letter.

In other words, it is a Korean alphabet chart with English and with sound, and its first 14 rows are the Korean alphabet consonants chart.

Numbers

0 to 10,000

Where

Everywhere

Level

Medium

Korean numbers come in two systems. Sino-Korean numbers (il, i, sam) are used for prices, dates, phone numbers, floors and minutes. Native Korean numbers (hana, dul, set) are used for age, hours on the clock, people and counting things. For money you only need the Sino-Korean numbers: 10,000 won is man won (만 원).

Native Korean numbers are also called pure Korean numbers, because they come from Korean itself rather than from Chinese. As for how to write Korean numbers: prices, dates and phone numbers are written in ordinary digits (5,000원), so you mostly need to say and understand them; written out in Hangul, 5,000 won is 오천 원 (ocheon won).

The tables below give Korean numbers 1 to 10 in both systems, with pronunciation and audio. Native Korean numbers only go up to 99, so above that everyone switches to Sino-Korean. To count to 100 in Sino-Korean numbers you simply combine the tens and the units: 20 is isip (이십), 35 is samsibo (삼십오) and 99 is gusipgu (구십구).

Sino-Korean numbers (prices, dates):

Native Korean numbers (age, hours, counting):

Words

12

Where

Restaurants, cafés

Level

Easy

To call a server, say yeogiyo (여기요). Most requests follow one simple pattern: the thing you want + juseyo (주세요), meaning "please give me". Water is mul juseyo, the bill is gyesanhae juseyo.

Words

9

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

You don't need full sentences. Saying the thing you are looking for and adding eodiyeyo (어디예요, where is it) or eolmayeyo (얼마예요, how much is it) is usually enough to be understood.

Words

12

Where

Subway, street, taxi

Level

Easy

Showing the name of your destination written in Korean, or pinned on a map, works better than building a sentence. The words below help you read signs and understand a taxi driver. Subway exits in Seoul are numbered, so the exit number is often the most useful thing to ask for.

Words

14

Where

Hotels, shops

Level

Easy

Short words that help at a hotel front desk and in shops. Words for the bill and the receipt are in the restaurant section above.

Words

9

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

Words

8

Where

Everywhere

Level

Medium

What does oppa mean? Oppa meaning in English is simply "older brother". In Korean the words for older brother and older sister change with the speaker's gender. Oppa, the word you hear most in K-dramas, is what a woman calls an older man: her older brother, or a close male friend or boyfriend who is older.

A woman calls an older woman unnie, a man calls an older man hyung and an older woman noona.

Words

12

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

Basic Korean words you will hear and use every day. Together with the other sections, this page gives you more than 100 basic Korean words and short sentences: the common Korean phrases to know before a trip, chosen as beginner Korean phrases that work everywhere.

You will hear eoseo oseyo (welcome) every time you walk into a shop or restaurant, and gwaenchanayo (it's okay) works as both a question and an answer.

• Language: Korean
• Writing: Hangul
• Official sign language: yes

What language is spoken in South Korea? According to Korea.net, the main language is Korean, written with its own alphabet, Hangul. Korean is an agglutinative language: it builds words and sentences by adding endings, much like Japanese or Turkish.

The Korean Sign Language Act, passed in 2016, recognises Korean Sign Language as the official language of Deaf people in Korea, with the same status as Korean, the national language. The current version of the act was published in 2022.

• First step: Hangul
• Official institute: King Sejong Institute

Start with the alphabet. Once you know the 24 basic letters you can read signs, menus and subway stops, and learning words becomes much easier. Working through the twelve sections on this page in order gives you a solid base for a trip.

For regular classes, the Korean government's language network is the King Sejong Institute. According to Korea.net, as of 2024 it had 256 centres in 88 countries, and 216,226 students were enrolled in its Korean programmes.

These phrases come from our own trips to Seoul and Jeju; read more about us and how we travel →. If Jeju is on your route, our guide to where to stay in Jeju → compares the areas, and the Gezginbirchef home page → lists every English guide.