The most common Korean nouns: 100 to learn first

100 common Korean nouns

Nouns are listed bare, with no particle attached; the first section shows which particle form each one takes. Readings are Revised Romanization, written as pronounced. The Contos web app uses this pack of 100 nouns for flashcard review.

How do particles attach to Korean nouns?

Korean shows what a noun is doing in the sentence with a particle on the end of it. Most particles have two forms: one for nouns ending in a consonant, one for nouns ending in a vowel. 책 (book) ends in a consonant, so it takes 책은, 책이, 책을; 친구 (friend) ends in a vowel, so it takes 친구는, 친구가, 친구를.

No plurals, no articles: how do you count things in Korean?

A Korean noun stays the same for one or many: 고양이 is a cat or cats. The suffix 들 (deul) marks a plural when it matters, mostly with people: 친구들, friends. To give a number, put a native number and a counter word after the noun. Native numbers shorten before a counter: 하나 becomes 한, 둘 두, 셋 세, 넷 네.

Several words in the list have two meanings. 눈 is eye and also snow, 해 is year and sun, 달 is month and moon, and 일 is work, a day, and the number one. Context tells them apart, as it does with English "bank".

Which nouns change when you speak politely?

A few everyday nouns have honorific versions, used about older people, customers and anyone you want to show respect to. 집 (house) becomes 댁 (daek), 이름 (name) becomes 성함 (seongham) and 사람 (person) becomes 분 (bun). 성함이 어떻게 되세요? (seonghami eotteoke doeseyo?) is the polite way to ask someone's name.

• 어머니 and 아버지 are mother and father. To your own parents, and about them to friends, people say 엄마 (eomma) and 아빠 (appa).
• 선생님 is a teacher, but 님 makes it respectful, and it is also used to address doctors and other professionals.
• 아파트 is a flat in a block of flats, the way most people in Korean cities live. A detached house is 주택 (jutaek).
• 일주일 (iljuil), the list's word for week, is a week on its own or as a length of time: 일주일 동안, for a week. Inside phrases such as 이번 주 (this week), a week is just 주 (ju).
• 전화 is a phone call or the phone itself; a mobile is 휴대폰 (hyudaepon) or 핸드폰 (haendeupon).

Nouns need verbs to make sentences; the next step is 100 common Korean verbs. Body words such as 손, 눈 and 머리 also appear in Korean body and health vocabulary.