Learn Korean Online - Simple Explanations in PLAIN English

Hi,

If you’ve just started to learn Korean, then here’s a question that was asked about some basic things to say in Korean. Check out the video for the answer (my apologies for this vid, it’s my first time using youtube and it doesn’t seem to load and play as quickly as the way I normally embed these vids, so if it takes a bit to buffer, or even stops buffering, just slide the cursor back a bit, and it should start buffering from that point again and be fine. And if you’re not in a real rush to watch this vid, I should have it changed back to my usual way in a couple days. Cheers…)

Well, I hope that helps. Keep the questions coming!

Cheers,

Rob…

P.S. If you’re just starting to learn Korean and would like to learn Korean online, then just to the right of this, you should see a big red sign that says ‘FREE’. Put your name and email into there and you’ll get an email sent to you right away with over 70 minutes worth of videos taken from class#1 of my in-class course teaching exactly how to read, write, and pronounce the Korean alphabet.

You’ll also get the exact hand-out we use in class so that you can follow along with everything we’re doing. (And as a tip, if you are looking to learn Korean, I fully suggest that the first thing you do is learn how to read and write. It doesn’t take long and will honestly make it SO much easier in the long run!)

Hi,

Today’s class was the first of what I like to call ‘the nuts and bolts of Korean’ – the skill that you absolutely have to have if you want to be able to move any further into more complex Korean.

More specifically, in today’s class we did what I call ‘ㅗ-verbs’ (‘oh-verbs’). The skill you’ll need to take from this is to know (and be able to change between) the base/root form of a verb, and the ‘changed’ or conjugated form of a verb, and it will become more clear as to exactly why in a few classes as we start bringing in more examples using both.

So, if you have any questions, please reply to this and ask away.

Cheers!

P.S. If you are super new to Korean, interested in trying to learn Korean online, and can’t yet read, I fully recommend you learn how to read and write first as it will make the rest of your learning journey that much less frustrating (’cause it can already be frustrating enough at times). If you look up to the right of this post, you’ll see a big RED sign saying “free”. By putting your name and email into the box just below there, you’ll get class #1 (over 70 mins of video – with hand-out – teaching exactly how to read, write, and pronounce the Korean alphabet) emailed to you right away, and that should get you started off on the right foot. Cheers

So in class today we learnt the Chinese derivative counting system (일, 이, 삼, 사…), and in one little bonus section we applied those numbers to phone numbers, more specifically, asking and answering “What’s your phone number?” (“전화 번호 뭐예요?”).

So Mark’s question was, does the first part, “전화 번호” refer to a cell phone or a landline? And the answer is neither. In the video just below I explain what I mean in more detail, and how to specify “cell phone” or “landline” if you wanted to. Check it out…

Some notes from the video:

Cell phone 1: 핸드폰 (used way more conversationally, and is just simply AWESOME Konglish!! Hand-phone. It’s brilliant. I feel like inspector gadget when I say that and signal with my hand, “Excuse me while I take this call…go-go gadget hand-phone.”

Cell phone 2: 휴대폰 (is a bit more official, and basically just translates literally to portable phone. My advice, don’t use it. Use 핸드폰. Way more common. Way more fun.)

to call: 전화하다

Cheers Mark, I hope that helps…

P.S. For anyone new to Korean (and can’t read the above Korean words) and would like to perhaps learn some Korean online, you can get over 70 minutes worth of free videos (and the accompanying hand-out) teaching exactly how to read, write, and say the Korean alphabet. Just look underneath the big red “FREE” sign on the right there for more details about the videos and instructions on how to get to them. Cheers!

Hey,

Today’s class we learned how to count specific amounts of things, and order specific amounts of things.

If you have any questions you need cleared up, just reply to this post and ask away.

Cheers!

P.S. If you’re new to Korean and might also like to learn Korean online, start by watching the totally free vids taken from the in-class course teaching exactly how to read and write Korean. To get them, just stick your name and email into the box under that big red “FREE” sign you see on the right there. Cheers, and I hope they help!

There are 3 main ways to say hi or hello in Korean, and they are based on levels of respect and formality.

The first hi in Korean is the highest form of respect and formality, which really would be more of a hello than a hi, but it goes…

안녕하십니까? (The romanization is something like…Anyoung Hashimnikka?, but I really don’t recommend you use romanization to learn how to say it – learning how to read Korean can be done in literally a few hours if you really have at it).

The next, and probably most common way of saying hello or hi in Korean is…

안녕하세요 (this one is a bit more casual than the first, but still quite formal – you would almost never greet someone older than you or in a higher “position” in anything less formal than this)

And the third and also very common way of saying hi in Korean is just the first two syllables of the two above examples…

안녕! (this is very commonly used, but only ever with someone you are familiar with and is the same age as you, or someone younger than you or in a lower “position” than you). Watch the video (coming soon) for some help with pronunciation.

And if you don’t yet know how to read but would like to, in literally an hour from now you’ll be able to if you just stick your name and email in the box on the right just under the big red ‘FREE’ sign. You’ll be able to watch some vids taken from an in-class course teaching exactly that.

Cheers!

Rob…

Hi,

Class#9 is a bit of a heavy one in terms of content, so if you have any lingering questions, just reply to this and ask.

Cheers!

Rob…

P.S. Just a reminder that we’re about 4 classes from really getting into the ‘nuts and bolts’ of Korean – the skills you’ll need to possess to really become conversational in Korean. I’m lookin’ forward to it. Hope you are, too!

You can say ‘엄마’, and if you want to hear the pronunciation, check out the video…

Cheers!

Did that help? Let me know, reply below. Thanks!

Hey,

Korean in the summer is easily the hottest and most humid place I’ve ever lived. If you’re here now, then you know the rainy season has been going on for about the last 4 weeks or so. Well, when that comes to an end, it’s going to get hot and crazy humid, and a lot of problems can arise because the moisture in your apt. Things don’t dry very well, can get moldy, and your clothes can get ruined- they don’t dry well enough and then start smelling all dingy and gross. I’ve lost many a good T-shirts to the summer here. But there is something fairly simple you can do to stop this from happening. Check out the video…

Let me know if that helps or not!

Rob…

Great question, owbEe (and sorry for the late reply^^).

Here’s the video with the answer…

Again, if that video raised any more questions, ask away. And either way, if you don’t mind, let me know what you thought that vid. Helpful? Thanks!

Rob..

Hey again,

In class #8 we moved into the verbs 있다 and 없다.  We’ll spend about 4 classes dealing with these verbs before moving into 하다-verbs which is about the time we really get into the nuts and bolts of the language.

I tried to keep today’s class fairly simple as it was just an intro to these verbs and I didn’t really want to overwhelm, rather just get your feet wet and used to the waters.  So before we do get a little deeper into it, it’s important that you have full understanding of today’s class.  So if you have a question, first scroll down and see if it has already been answered, and if it hasn’t, just reply to this and ask it.

Thanks!

Rob…