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π£οΈ Language β communicate & read β
Phrases that unlock real interactions + tools that actually work + just enough Hangul to read menus and signs.
TL;DR
Install Papago (best Korean β everything). Learn 5 phrases. Point at stuff. You'll be fine.
π± Translation tools (install before anything else) β
| Tool | Why | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Naver Papago | Best Korean translator by far. Text, voice, camera (menu OCR), conversation mode. Made in Korea for Korean. | iOS Β· Android |
| Google Lens | Real-time camera overlay β point at a sign, see English on-screen. Baked into Google app + Android. | built-in (iOS: Google app) |
| Google Translate | Second opinion. Offline Korean pack is good to download before you travel. | iOS Β· Android |
| Naver Dictionary (μ¬μ ) | Looking up a specific word/menu item; better than Papago for a single noun. | iOS Β· Android |
How we'll actually use them β
- At a restaurant β Papago camera β point at the menu β tap any word for the meaning
- Asking for something β type English into Papago β hit π play button β show the phone
- Reading a sign β Google Lens camera, instant overlay
- One weird word in a YouTube subtitle / text β Naver Dictionary (best definitions)
π The 10 phrases that do 80% of the work β
Say these out loud before landing. Even badly pronounced, Koreans will appreciate the effort.
| # | Korean | Romanization | English | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | μλ νμΈμ | an-nyeong-ha-se-yo | Hello / Hi | Entering a shop, greeting anyone |
| 2 | κ°μ¬ν©λλ€ | kam-sa-ham-ni-da | Thank you | After getting anything |
| 3 | μ£μ‘ν©λλ€ | choe-song-ham-ni-da | Sorry / Excuse me | Bumping, asking attention |
| 4 | λ€ / μλμ | ne / a-ni-yo | Yes / No | |
| 5 | μ΄κ±° μ£ΌμΈμ | i-geo ju-se-yo | This one, please | Pointing at a menu/item |
| 6 | μΌλ§μμ? | eol-ma-ye-yo? | How much? | Markets, street food |
| 7 | νμ₯μ€ μ΄λμμ? | hwa-jang-shil eo-di-ye-yo? | Where's the bathroom? | Self-explanatory |
| 8 | μμ΄ λ©λ΄ μμ΄μ? | yeong-eo me-nyu iss-eo-yo? | English menu? | Restaurants |
| 9 | κ³μ°ν΄μ£ΌμΈμ | kye-san-hae-ju-se-yo | Check please | End of meal |
| 10 | λ§μμ΄μ! | ma-shi-sseo-yo! | Delicious! | Genuine compliment, locals love it |
π’ Numbers (you'll need these for prices) β
Korean has two number systems. For money, prices, counting things like drinks β use Sino-Korean (left column). For hours / a few specific counters β Native Korean (right). Stick with Sino-Korean to survive.
| # | Sino (money, prices) | Native (hours, small counts) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | μΌ il | νλ hana |
| 2 | μ΄ i | λ dul |
| 3 | μΌ sam | μ set |
| 4 | μ¬ sa | λ· net |
| 5 | μ€ o | λ€μ― da-seot |
| 6 | μ‘ yuk | μ¬μ― yeo-seot |
| 7 | μΉ chil | μΌκ³± il-gop |
| 8 | ν pal | μ¬λ yeo-deol |
| 9 | ꡬ gu | μν a-hop |
| 10 | μ ship | μ΄ yeol |
Big numbers (for β©):
| Korean | Number |
|---|---|
| λ°± baek | 100 |
| μ² cheon | 1,000 |
| λ§ man | 10,000 |
| μλ§ shim-man | 100,000 |
So β©15,000 = man-o-cheon (λ§ μ€μ²). Honestly just look at the number on the screen.
π² Menu & food words (the ones you'll actually see) β
Recognize these 15 and you can navigate most menus.
| Hangul | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| λ°₯ | bap | rice / meal |
| κ΅ / ν | guk / tang | soup / stew |
| μ°κ° | jji-gae | stew (heartier) |
| κ³ κΈ° | gogi | meat |
| μ / λΌμ§ / λ | so / dwaeji / dak | beef / pork / chicken |
| μμ | saeng-seon | fish |
| λ©΄ | myeon | noodles |
| κΉμΉ | kimchi | kimchi |
| λΉλΉ | bibim | mixed (as in bibimbap) |
| λ³Άμ | bokk-eum | stir-fried |
| κ΅¬μ΄ | gui | grilled |
| νκΉ | twigim | fried / tempura |
| λ§€μ΄ | mae-un | spicy |
| μ λ§€μ΄ | an mae-un | not spicy |
| λ¬Ό | mul | water |
| λ§₯μ£Ό | maek-ju | beer |
| μμ£Ό | soju | soju |
Useful sentence: μ λ§€μ΄ κ±° μμ΄μ? (an mae-un geo iss-eo-yo?) β "Is there a not-spicy one?"
πΆ Directions / getting around β
| Korean | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| μ¬κΈ° / κ±°κΈ° / μ κΈ° | yeo-gi / geo-gi / jeo-gi | here / there / over there |
| μΌμͺ½ / μ€λ₯Έμͺ½ | wen-jjok / o-reun-jjok | left / right |
| μ§μ§ | jik-jin | straight ahead |
| κ°κΉμμ? | ga-kka-wo-yo? | Is it near? |
| μ μ΄λμμ? | yeok eo-di-ye-yo? | Where's the station? |
| μ§νμ² | ji-ha-cheol | subway |
| λ²μ€ | beo-seu | bus |
| νμ | taek-shi | taxi |
π Emergencies β
| Korean | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| λμμ£ΌμΈμ! | do-wa-ju-se-yo! | Help, please! |
| κ²½μ°° | gyeong-chal | police |
| λ³μ | byeong-won | hospital |
| ꡬκΈμ°¨ | gu-geup-cha | ambulance |
| μνμ | a-pa-yo | I'm in pain / sick |
| μλ λ₯΄κΈ° μμ΄μ | al-le-reu-gi iss-eo-yo | I have an allergy |
Emergency number: 119 (ambulance/fire) Β· 112 (police). Operators speak English.
π Basic Hangul β enough to read signs β
Hangul looks like symbols but it's a phonetic alphabet β you can realistically learn to sound out words in ~1 hour. Worth it because shop names, subway stops, food labels become decodable.
Vowels (10 main) β
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| γ | a (father) | λ° = ba |
| γ | eo (up) | λ² = beo |
| γ | o (go) | 보 = bo |
| γ | u (food) | λΆ = bu |
| γ ‘ | eu (uh, shorter) | λΈ = beu |
| γ £ | i (ski) | λΉ = bi |
| γ | ae (cat) | λ°° = bae |
| γ | e (bed) | λ² = be |
| γ | ya | λ± = bya |
| γ | yo | λ΅€ = byo |
Consonants (the 10 to recognize first) β
| Letter | Sound |
|---|---|
| γ± | g / k |
| γ΄ | n |
| γ· | d / t |
| γΉ | r / l |
| γ | m |
| γ | b / p |
| γ | s |
| γ | silent at start, ng at end |
| γ | j |
| γ | h |
How blocks work β
Hangul stacks into syllable blocks: consonant + vowel (+ optional ending consonant).
- ν = γ (h) + γ (a) + γ΄ (n) = han
- κ΅ = γ± (g) + γ (u) + γ± (k) = guk
- νκ΅ = Hanguk = Korea π°π·
- μμΈ = Seoul
- λΆμ° = Busan
- κΉμΉ = kimchi
- λΉλΉλ°₯ = bibimbap
Once you can sound out blocks, you can read most menu items phonetically β and from there Papago or your food-word list will tell you what it is.
Practice on real signs today β
Things you'll see around Myeongdong/Jongno. Sound them out:
- λͺ λ β myeong-dong (our neighborhood)
- μ’ λ‘ β jong-ro (the avenue)
- μλΉ β shik-dang (restaurant)
- μΉ΄ν β ka-pe (cafΓ©)
- νΈμμ β pyeon-ui-jeom (convenience store)
- μ½κ΅ β yak-guk (pharmacy)
- μν β eun-haeng (bank)
π― In the moment β cheat sheet β
Pull this up on your phone when you need it.
- Ordering at a food stall β point + "igeo juseyo" (this please) + "eolmayeyo?" (how much?)
- Paying β "kyesanhaejuseyo" (check please). They'll point to the card reader.
- Lost / confused β "joesong-hamnida, yeongeo halsu isseo-yo?" (Sorry, do you speak English?). Then switch to Papago voice mode.
- Thank-you exit β "kamsahamnida" + slight head-nod.
- Taxi destination β pre-type the address into Papago and Kakao T; show both screens to the driver.
π Also β
- Papago also does sign translation mode (whole-image camera OCR, not real-time overlay) β better for dense menus than Google Lens.
- Naver Dictionary pro tip: long-press any Hangul word to jump to its dictionary entry; shows synonyms + example sentences.
- Offline pack: in Google Translate, download the Korean language pack before you head out of wifi.
- Korea uses Korean won β© but you'll often see β© omitted β prices like "5,000" mean 5,000 won (~$3.70, β¬3.40, CHF 3).
For more etiquette (shoes off, chopsticks rules, etc.) see Essentials β Phrases & etiquette.