Say the essentials as soon as you arrive
Understand everyday landmarks
Get around without stress
Order and stay with ease
Connect with people
Handle the unexpected
Start Korean with the first foundations of CEFR level A1.
This free online beginner course helps you introduce yourself, ask simple questions and express everyday needs. Listen to useful phrases and practise understanding possible answers.
Learn to recognise Hangeul, understand basic word order and use polite expressions, whether you are planning a trip, preparing to move or learning for the long term.
Explore the 17 chapters, realistic study-time estimates and daily practice tips in the guide below, with visual grammar cards, tables and examples.
First contact introduces you to the first foundations of CEFR level A1: talking about yourself, asking simple questions and meeting familiar needs. At this stage, you will often still need the other person to speak slowly, repeat or help you find your words. It is a first step towards further learning, with practical uses from the beginning.
A word on a sign in Seoul, a phrase you hear in a drama, your first hello to someone: Korean starts to feel closer as soon as you can recognise and use something. With First contact, Loecsen’s online Korean course, you begin with useful expressions for greeting people, introducing yourself, ordering and asking for help.
This guide helps you understand what you see and hear. You will discover how to read Hangeul, how Korean sentences work and how to speak politely. Move at your own pace: listen to a few expressions in the course, then come back here to explore a point you are curious about.
You build connections between sounds, writing and meaning. A familiar expression becomes a starting point for understanding a rule and then forming a new sentence. Whether you are learning for culture, study or meeting people, these foundations will help you continue with more reading, listening and conversation.
Before a trip, focus on transport, accommodation, meals and unexpected situations. If you are moving, these first exchanges make arrival easier; later you can expand your vocabulary to cover paperwork, housing, work or school. Always connect a question with a few possible answers: asking a price is much more useful when you can recognise the amount you hear.
This guide focuses on standard Korean as used in South Korea. It provides a useful starting point for everyday life and for exploring the media. You will also hear regional accents. If you are moving to a particular region, gradually add recordings of local speakers to your listening.
| Chapters | Exchanges to prepare |
|---|---|
| Essentials, Conversation, Learning | Greet people, get acquainted, talk about yourself and ask someone to repeat. |
| Colours, Numbers, Time tracking | Identify an object, recognise a quantity and understand a price or a time. |
| Taxi, Transportation, Beach | Give a destination, prepare for a journey and handle some situations during your stay. |
| Restaurant, Bar, Hotel | Order, ask for something at a counter and prepare to check into your accommodation. |
| Family, Feelings, Parting | Talk about loved ones, express how you feel and say goodbye. |
| In case of trouble, Looking for someone | Explain a problem, ask for help or look for someone. |
Follow the course in order or start with the topics closest to your plans. Learning the alphabet and reading the explanations below support this work: you do not have to be able to read everything before listening to your first sentences.
From your very first session, you can learn to say hello, thank someone or ask them to repeat. For a trip, two weeks of 15–20-minute sessions give you around three and a half to four hours and forty minutes to practise selected exchanges. This is a preparation plan, not a promise of reaching A1 in two weeks.
| Suggested period | Priority |
|---|---|
| Days 1–3 | Greet people, say thank you, ask for repetition and recognise a few letters in these expressions. |
| Days 4–6 | Practise prices, numbers, times and asking for directions. |
| Days 7–10 | Prepare to order, arrive at a hotel and make a journey; listen to possible answers. |
| Days 11–14 | Recall these sentences without reading, review difficult points and prepare to ask for help. |
The indicative workload displayed for the complete Korean First contact course is 45–71 hours. Here is what that amounts to with one daily session:
| Daily study time | To total 45–71 hours |
|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 270–426 days, or roughly 9–14 months. |
| 15 minutes | 180–284 days, or roughly 6–9½ months. |
| 30 minutes | 90–142 days, or roughly 3–5 months. |
This calculation gives a sense of scale, not a guaranteed completion date. Reading Hangeul, understanding speech and responding can develop at different speeds. If your departure is soon, select the expressions you will need on arrival first.
Korean introduces some unfamiliar patterns: the verb usually comes at the end, small particles show what words do in the sentence, and endings express politeness, among other things. Some sounds have no exact English equivalent. These differences take practice, but you can discover them one by one in short sentences.
There are helpful features too: an alphabet with a limited set of letters, no grammatical gender for nouns, and verbs that do not change according to “I”, “you” or “we”. You will not need an equivalent of the English third-person “-s”. However, Korean verbs do conjugate, especially for tense and speech level.
The Korean language was not invented from scratch. Its alphabet, Hangeul, also called Hangul, was created in the 15th century during King Sejong’s reign. Korean has borrowed many words from Chinese, but its grammar and modern writing system are different.
In 한글 (hangeul), you see two blocks. Each block corresponds to a syllable and brings together several letters called jamo. Unlike a Chinese character, a Korean block does not necessarily represent a unit of meaning: its main purpose is to write sounds.
한 = ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ → han
글 = ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ → geul
Two blocks, six letters, one word: Hangeul, the name of the Korean alphabet.
A block has an initial position, a vowel and sometimes one or two consonants written at the bottom. The vowel partly determines the layout: ㅏ goes to the right of the initial consonant, whereas ㅗ goes underneath.
| Letters | Block | Reading | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄴ + ㅏ | 나 | na | The vowel is on the right. |
| ㅁ + ㅗ | 모 | mo | The vowel is underneath. |
| ㅁ + ㅜ + ㄹ | 물 | mul — water | The final consonant is at the bottom. |
| ㅇ + ㅏ | 아 | a | Initial ㅇ is silent. |
| ㄱ + ㅏ + ㅇ | 강 | gang — river | Final ㅇ is pronounced “ng”, as in “sing”. |
Hangeul has 10 basic vowels and 14 basic consonants. Including double and compound forms, there are 19 initial consonants and 21 vowels. Here are the ten basic vowels with ㅇ in front so you can read them as blocks.
| Letter and block | Romanisation | Guide for English speakers |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ → 아 | a | Similar to the “a” in “father”, without making it long. |
| ㅑ → 야 | ya | A “y” sound as in “yes”, followed by “a”. |
| ㅓ → 어 | eo | One vowel, not “ee-oh”; it has no exact equivalent across English accents. Listen to distinguish it from ㅗ. |
| ㅕ → 여 | yeo | A “y” sound followed by ㅓ. |
| ㅗ → 오 | o | An “o” with rounded lips; avoid the glide heard in many English pronunciations of “go”. |
| ㅛ → 요 | yo | A “y” sound followed by “o”. |
| ㅜ → 우 | u | Similar to “oo” in “food”, not the “you” sound of the letter u. |
| ㅠ → 유 | yu | Similar to “you”. |
| ㅡ → 으 | eu | A vowel made with unrounded lips; neither “you” nor two separate vowels. |
| ㅣ → 이 | i | Similar to “ee” in “see”, without making it long. |
These hints help you get started, but the audio is your model. The Latin letters are romanisation, not an English pronunciation guide. For example, eo represents one sound, and eu should not be read as the English letter u.
| Basic letters | Pointers |
|---|---|
| ㄴ · ㅁ · ㅅ · ㅎ | Romanised as n, m, s, h. The h is pronounced; the sound of ㅅ changes particularly before ㅣ. |
| ㄱ · ㄷ · ㅂ · ㅈ | Often romanised as g, d, b, j before a vowel. They do not match the corresponding English consonants exactly. |
| ㅋ · ㅌ · ㅍ · ㅊ | Romanised as k, t, p, ch. At the start of a syllable, they are pronounced with a noticeable puff of air. |
| ㄹ | Romanised as r or l depending on position. Korean r is a brief tongue tap, not the usual English r. |
| ㅇ | Silent at the start of a block; “ng” in final position. |
You will also meet the double consonants ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ. They indicate a tense articulation: simply holding a single consonant longer is not enough. Listen, for example, to 달 (dal, moon), 탈 (tal, mask) and 딸 (ttal, daughter). Changing the consonant changes the word.
Hangeul provides reliable clues, but spelling also preserves the structure of words. When sounds meet, a consonant may link to the next syllable or change pronunciation. This explains differences you may hear between a letter-by-letter reading and the recording.
The final consonant or consonant group is called batchim (받침). In 밥 (bap, cooked rice or a meal), the last ㅂ closes the syllable: close your lips without adding a vowel afterwards. Avoid turning the word into “ba-puh”.
| Spelling | Pronunciation shown in Hangeul | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 한국어 | [한구거] | Hangugeo — Korean language. The final ㄱ in 국 links to the following vowel. |
| 감사합니다 | [감사함니다] | Gamsahamnida — thank you. Before ㄴ, ㅂ is pronounced like ㅁ. |
| 같이 | [가치] | Gachi — together. In this combination, ㅌ followed by 이 is pronounced with a “ch” sound. |
You do not need to learn every pronunciation rule before you start. Noticing a change in a word you already know is often more useful than memorising a chart with no familiar examples.
In English, you say “I drink water”. Korean’s basic order is closer to “I — water — drink”:
저는 물을 마셔요.
Jeoneun mureul masyeoyo.
I drink water.
저: I, humble form · 는: sentence topic · 물: water · 을: object of the action · 마셔요: drink, polite present form.
Particles attach to the noun: 물 + 을 → 물을. They help you work out who does what. Word order can vary to highlight an element, but keeping the verb at the end is a useful guide for your first sentences.
When the context is clear, you do not need to repeat “I” or “you”. So 물을 마셔요 can be enough to say “I drink water” in a conversation about you. The exact subject depends on context.
These examples explain useful beginner patterns. Choose one or two, then look for them in the expressions you listen to. Focus on the highlighted elements.
These particles mark the topic: “as for…”. Use 은 after a final consonant and 는 after a vowel. They can also contrast two things.
저는 프랑스 사람이에요.
Jeoneun peurangseu saramieyo.
I am French.
이것은 제 가방이에요.
Igeoseun je gabangieyo.
This is my bag.
저 is a humble form of “I”; 제 means “my”. 프랑스 사람 means a French person and does not change with gender. This is an example nationality: substitute your own when introducing yourself.
이 follows a final consonant and 가 a vowel. These particles mark the grammatical subject. How they differ from 은 and 는 depends on context: the four forms are not interchangeable.
커피가 있어요.
Keopiga isseoyo.
There is coffee.
화장실이 어디예요?
Hwajangsiri eodiyeyo?
Where is the toilet?
Start by learning whole sentences. The distinction between topic and subject becomes clearer as you compare real exchanges.
을 follows a final consonant and 를 a vowel. These particles mark, for example, what you drink, eat or learn.
물을 마셔요.
Mureul masyeoyo.
I drink water.
한국어를 배워요.
Hangugeoreul baewoyo.
I am learning Korean.
A particle can be omitted in speech when the meaning remains clear. Learning the full form first helps you understand the pattern.
To identify someone or something, you can use 이에요 after a noun ending in a consonant, and 예요 after a noun ending in a vowel.
저는 학생이에요.
Jeoneun haksaengieyo.
I am a student.
이거 커피예요.
Igeo keopiyeyo.
This is coffee.
이거 is a common spoken form meaning “this”. These endings identify things; to say where something is, you will generally meet 있어요 instead.
For your first examples, remember 에 with a destination or a place where someone or something is, and 에서 with the place where an action happens. These particles have other uses you will discover later.
호텔에 있어요.
Hotere isseoyo.
I am at the hotel.
호텔에서 먹어요.
Hotereseo meogeoyo.
I eat at the hotel.
The place stays the same, but the relationship changes: being somewhere or doing something there.
These two forms are used to talk about presence, availability or possession. The English translation depends on the situation.
시간이 있어요.
Sigani isseoyo.
I have time.
시간이 없어요.
Sigani eopseoyo.
I do not have time.
In a restaurant, 물 있어요? (Mul isseoyo?) lets you ask “Do you have water?”. In this everyday polite style, intonation and context distinguish many questions from statements.
After the name of what you want, 주세요 makes a polite request. Learn the whole pattern: it is not a general “please” to add to any sentence.
물 주세요.
Mul juseyo.
Water, please.
이거 주세요.
Igeo juseyo.
I would like this, please.
The second sentence becomes immediately useful when you point to an object or dish. Asking someone to do something uses a different construction: 다시 말해 주세요 means “Please say it again”.
Question words generally stay in the position of the information being requested. You do not need to copy English question word order or add an equivalent of “do”.
화장실이 어디예요?
Hwajangsiri eodiyeyo?
Where is the toilet?
이거 얼마예요?
Igeo eolmayeyo?
How much is this?
Remember 어디 for a place and 얼마 for an amount. You can then build longer sentences around these patterns.
In many simple sentences, 안 comes before the verb. Other words have their own common negative form.
커피를 안 마셔요.
Keopireul an masyeoyo.
I do not drink coffee.
잘 모르겠어요.
Jal moreugesseoyo.
I do not really know. Depending on context: I am not sure.
To express absence, keep using 없어요, introduced above. Do not turn every English negative into 안 followed by a Korean word.
Korean verbs do not change according to the person, unlike English “go/goes”, but their form can show tense. Compare these two sentences:
오늘 서울에 가요.
Oneul Seoure gayo.
Today I am going to Seoul.
어제 서울에 갔어요.
Eoje Seoure gasseoyo.
Yesterday I went to Seoul.
오늘 means “today” and 어제 means “yesterday”. Notice the change in the verb too: the word “yesterday” alone does not form the past tense.
In Korean, endings help express your relationship with the listener. For first exchanges with people you do not know, everyday polite forms ending in 요 are a useful starting point. You will also meet more formal polite expressions such as 감사합니다.
| Expression | Reading and meaning | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| 고마워 | Gomawo — thank you | Informal: in a relationship where this speech level is already established. |
| 고마워요 | Gomawoyo — thank you | Everyday polite. |
| 감사합니다 | Gamsahamnida — thank you | Formal polite, also very common in daily life. |
Being the same age as someone does not automatically make informal speech appropriate. Closeness, the situation and the habits between you matter too. Keep using the polite expressions you learn in the course until the relationship allows a change.
| Korean | Reading aid | Situation |
|---|---|---|
| 안녕하세요 | Annyeonghaseyo | Hello — a common polite greeting. |
| 감사합니다 | Gamsahamnida | Thank you. |
| 죄송합니다 | Joesonghamnida | I am sorry — to apologise. |
| 저기요 | Jeogiyo | Excuse me — to get someone’s attention, for example in a restaurant. |
| 네 / 아니요 | Ne / aniyo | Yes / no — start by using them with simple affirmative questions. |
| 다시 말해 주세요 | Dasi malhae juseyo | Please say it again. |
| 천천히 말해 주세요 | Cheoncheonhi malhae juseyo | Please speak slowly. |
| 도와주세요 | Dowajuseyo | Please help me. |
Korean distinguishes two very useful polite expressions:
When you leave a café, you can say 안녕히 계세요 to the staff who remain there. If your friend leaves and you stay, you can say 안녕히 가세요 in a polite exchange.
You will encounter Sino-Korean numbers, widely used for prices, dates and minutes, and native Korean numbers, common with certain counters and for hours. Learn them in specific situations.
| Use | Example | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| A price | 삼천 원 Samcheon won 3,000 won | 삼 is the Sino-Korean number “three”; 천 means “thousand”. |
| A quantity | 한 개 Han gae One object, one unit | 하나 becomes 한 before this counter; 개 is used to count many kinds of objects. |
| A clock time | 두 시 Du si Two o’clock | 둘 becomes 두 before 시, the word used for hours on the clock. |
| Minutes | 십 분 Sip bun Ten minutes | 십 belongs to the Sino-Korean system. |
이거 한 개 주세요.
Igeo han gae juseyo.
One of these, please.
Here you meet three familiar elements again: 이거 to point something out, 한 개 for the quantity and 주세요 to ask politely.
Start with Essentials, then choose a situation that matters to you: meeting people, taking transport, ordering or staying at a hotel. First contact lets you practise expressions with audio and check what you remember.
Five to fifteen minutes can make a practical session for building this habit. This duration does not guarantee a level within a set time: what you retain, how often you review and your opportunities to use the language matter more than a rigid calendar.
After the exercises, Super Memory lets you return to expressions you found difficult. Try to recall the answer before revealing it, then listen and repeat the correct form. In later sessions, spaced review gives you a chance to retrieve expressions after an interval, when remembering them takes effort again.
Notice what was missing: recognising the sound, understanding the sentence or producing it without a model. If you understand the text but not the audio, return to listening without text. If you recognise the right answer but cannot recall it yourself, hide the choices and try speaking before checking.
Connect 이거 얼마예요? with several possible prices. Pair a question about a place with short directions. In a restaurant, also practise recognising a question about quantity. This develops your ability to understand an answer you have not rehearsed word for word.
Check your answers: 1. The three letters form one block, read mul. 2. 마셔요 is at the end. 3. 안녕히 계세요.
Try introducing yourself without reading, asking a price and recognising several possible amounts, or changing the object in 이거 주세요. If you can recall an expression after a few seconds and use it in a slightly different situation, you are moving beyond simply recognising answers in a quiz. Keep progressing while reviewing expressions that still feel uncertain.
If K-pop, films or dramas inspired you to learn, keep that motivation. Choose a very short clip, spot an expression you know and listen to how it is used. Song lyrics and dialogue between characters can be poetic, informal or confrontational: they are not always suitable models for speaking to a stranger.
You can continue listening with Loecsen’s Read aloud resource and find words by theme in its Korean vocabulary section. Recognising a sentence in something you enjoy can give you a good reason to come back and practise.
No. You can listen to and repeat your first expressions immediately. Learn Hangeul alongside them, connecting a few letters to words from the course. The goal is gradually to manage without romanisation.
You can understand how blocks work and learn the first letters in a few sessions. Reading smoothly, recognising words and mastering pronunciation changes take longer practice. Decoding a word and understanding its meaning are separate skills.
The standard Korean taught for South Korea does not use a lexical tone system comparable to Mandarin’s. Intonation still matters for meaning and attitude, and some Korean dialects have pitch distinctions. At first, focus on the sounds, rhythm and endings in the recordings.
Not to start reading the everyday expressions in this course. Hangeul is your priority. Hanja can later help you understand the origins of some words or particular written uses, but they are not a requirement for your first exchanges.
Lessons, recordings, quizzes and Super Memory are available free online, with usage limits. Paid options include MP3 and PDF downloads and removal of advertising. The current terms are shown in the service.
An account lets you save your progress and return to it in later sessions. You can listen and repeat without recording your voice. Speech recognition depends on your browser and microphone access; its result is not a complete assessment of your pronunciation.
The interactive course is used online. MP3 and PDF downloads from the paid option let you listen and read again offline. They do not reproduce all the interactive exercises.
First contact covers situations and skills useful at the beginning of A1: greeting people, introducing yourself, making requests and understanding familiar expressions. Knowing these phrases gives you a foundation; it does not by itself demonstrate the whole of A1, which also involves interacting in a range of situations.
Start with a very specific situation: asking for water or saying you do not know. Recall the sentence without reading it, say it, then compare it with the audio. Next, reuse a familiar pattern with another word. If this is still difficult, reduce the number of sentences and try again later.
Develop your Hangeul reading, expand sentences around situations you encounter and practise short exchanges with someone who can respond. Particles, tenses and politeness become clearer when you use them to express something you need.
Open Essentials. Choose a few expressions for greeting, thanking and asking someone to repeat. Listen, try saying them without reading, then find a block you recognise in the spelling. Start your next session by recalling these expressions before adding new ones.
The examples and study plans in this guide were written to support your first steps. These references let you explore the explanations in more depth:
