Update

Hello to you all who come to this blog to learn Korean!

This is Luke again for another short update.

In light of the poll that I've recently put up, it seems that there are still many people (up to 40% of the people who took the poll so far) who have just started learning Korean or have only gotten to know the Korean alphabet.

Therefore, it seemed appropriate that I should spend more time working on posts which would help those who have just started or are not very familiar with the Korean grammar yet.

I am, by God's grace, improving the content or quality of many of my previous posts. I may still put up new posts but I will primarily work on the posts in the past.

Although I cannot guarantee that the posts will be updated and improved everyday or very frequently, I hope to improve the whole content and quality of all the posts this year nonetheless. This is kind of my new year's resolutions but we know the failure rate, right? Nevertheless, I think it's good to have a go and plan to do it. It only gets better if we actually do them.

So far,

• Welcome
• Korean Alphabet
• Sentence Order
• Particles - 는, 가
• Particles - 도, 를, 에
• Pronouns- This, It, That
• Nouns - Present, Past  
• Nouns - Nominalizing Verbs
• Nouns - Numbers and Counting  
• Adjectives - Present, Past
• Adjectives - Polite [Present, Past]
• Adjectives - Descriptive  
• Adjectives - Connective
• Verbs - Present, Past  
• Verbs - Polite [Present, Past]
• Verbs - Future [Will]  
• Verbs - Continuous
• Verbs - Connective  
• Verbs - Can
• Verbs - Have 

have been updated and improved.

If you have any comments, questions, feedback, or suggestions, please leave them below.

Cheers,

Luke

Homonyms

Korean words: Homonyms

Homonyms are words that have the same spelling and sound but differ in meaning.
For example,

• left (opposite of right)
• left (past tense of leave)

Let's have a look at some of the most common homonyms in Korean.

• 사과 = an apple
• 사과 = an appology

• 배 = a ship
• 배 = a pear
• 배 = a stomach/tummy
• 배 = a counter for times

1.  두배 = 2 times (twice)
2.  세배 = 3 times
3.  네배 = 4 times

• 말 = a language, speech (말하다 = speak)
• 말 = a horse
• 말 = the end of (a month) [eg. 8월말 = the end of August]

• 쓰다 = write [eg. 일기를 썼다 = wrote a diary]
• 쓰다 = bitter (taste) [eg. 약이 쓰다 = the medicine is bitter]
• 쓰다 = wear (a hat) [eg. 모자 쓸거야 = I will wear a hat]

• 눈 = an eye (눈이 좋다 = has a good eyesight)
• 눈 = snow (크리스마스에 눈이 내렸어 = It snowed in Christmas)

• 거리 = a street, a road (거리에 사람들이 많다 = There are many people on the street.)
• 거리 = a distance (집에서 학교까지 거리가 꽤 멀다 = The distance between my house to school is quite far)

• 김 = steam
• 김 = a seaweed [김밥 = a Korean-style sushi]

• 절 = bow (bending a head, knee and/or body to express greeting, respect, courtesy or veneration)
• 절 = a temple

• 걸다 = to dial, ring or phone (친구한테 전화를 걸었다 = I rang my friend.)
• 걸다 = to hang (a coat or picture) (옷걸이에 옷을 걸었다 = I hung my clothes on a hanger) (벽에 그림을 걸었다 = I hung a picture on the wall)
• 걸다 = to talk (to), speak (to) (to initiate a conversation) (도로에서 외국인에게 말을 걸었다 = I spoke to a foreigner on the road.)
• 걸다 = to risk (one's life) (나는 목숨 걸고 일했다 = I risked my life to do the work.)

I know of one story where a little girl who had a fight with her brother, was told by her parents that she should apologize to him. She was told, (가서 오빠한테 사과해! = Go and apologize to your brother!) She was probably around 9 or 10 years old, and while trying to stop her sobbing, she took an apple and gave it to him. She mistook the meaning of "an apology" "사과" with that of an actual apple!

Use Google Translate for help with pronunciations.

Update

Hi all who come to my blog to learn Korean!

First of all, I hope you are having a good winter or summer(depending upon whether you're in the northern or southern hemispheres) break.

I am posting this quick announcement to get an idea about what I should write in the future posts.
I'm not sure whether I should write more grammar points or vocabulary or give you more resources on Korean.

To help myself get a better idea about what I should write next, I have just added a poll to get a general idea about your current level of Korean.
I'd like to better help those who come to my blog by knowing where they are with regard to their current level of Korean. It'd be no use to put up more difficult grammar points if less than 5% of all who come here can understand them.

I haven't been working on my blog for a long time and if I find there's still more that I can do with regard to learning Koren, I'm glad to do it as things become clearer and I have the time available to do it.
I would like to encourage you to take a poll and please let me know where you're at in Korean and give me any comments about what you'd like to know and learn, or anything that comes into your mind to help others learn Korean!

Thanks,

Luke

On the Street

What can you find in this picture?
What can you find on the street?
Can you name them in Korean?

Also, what commonly can you find on the street where you live?

Korean Words:

Answers:
자동차 = car
나무 = tree
빌딩 = building
잔디 = lawn
하늘 = sky
상점, 가게 = shop
아파트 = apartment
강 = river
꽃 = flower
사람 = person
길 = road, street (any road)
찻길 = road, street (for cars)
학교 = school
병원 = hospital

Questions and Answers
어디 가세요? = Where are you going? (Polite form)

• 집에 가요 = I'm going home.
• 집에 가고 있어요 = I'm going home. (If you want to be elaborate.)
• 학교에 가요 = I'm going to school.

어디 사세요? = Where do you live?

• 퀸 스트리트에 살아요 = I live on Queen street.
• 대전에서 살아요 = I live in Daejeon.

More colloquial form
어디 가세요? = Where are you going?

• 집이요 = Home.
• 학교요 = School.

어디 사세요? = Where do you live?

• 퀸 스트리트요 = Queen street.
• 대전이요 = Daejeon.

Note: Notice that 이요/요 is attached to a noun in a polite form.

For translation and pronunciation help, go to Google Translate.

In a Living Room

What can you find in this photo?
Can you name them in Korean?
What other things can you find in your own living room?
Can you name them in Korean, too?

Korean words:


Answers:
TV(Television) - 티비, 텔레비젼
Curtain - 커튼
Sofa - 소파
Carpet - 카펫
Windows - 창문
Floor - 바닥
Table - 테이블
Bookshelf - 책꽂이
Shelf - 선반
Lights - 전등, 불(Fire)
Lamp - 램프
Ceiling - 천장
Wall - 벽
(Picture) frame - 액자


Questions and Answers
거실에 뭐가 있어요? =What's in the living room?

• 거실에 티비가 있어요. = There's a TV in the living room.
• 거실에 소파가 있어요. = There's a sofa in the living room.
• 거실에 티비랑 소파가 있어요. = There are a TV and sofa in the living room.

Note: 랑 is equal to 와/과. 랑 is more frequently used in a casual spoken Korean.


More colloquial version
거실에 뭐 있어요? = What's in the living room?

• 티비랑 소파 있어요. = A TV and sofa.

Note: The particle, 가, is taken off in a casual conversation.

Fruit and Vegetables

These are two photos with a mix of fruit and vegetables.
What are their respective Korean names?
Can you name their names?
Also, do you know any other fruit or vegetables in Korean?

Korean Words:


Answers:
Grapes = 포도
Banana = 바나나
Cherries = 체리
Pear = 배
Apple = 사과
Cucumber = 오이
Carrot = 당근
Peach = 복숭아
Plum = 자두
Orange = 오렌지
Mandarin orange = 귤

Paprika = 파프리카
Green pepper = 피망
Pumpkin = 호박
Zucchini = 애호박
Broccoli = 브로콜리
Cabbage = 양배추
Lettuce = 양상추
(Korean) cabbage = 배추 (used to make Kimchi)
(Korean) lettuce = 상추 (usually served in Korean BBQ restaurants)
Avocado = 아보카도
Asparagus = 아스파라거스
Eggplant = 가지

* Use Google Translate to listen to their pronunciations.