HSC Korean Beginners (NSW) flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

명 counter

Counter for counting people in casual and polite speech: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명. Used with native Korean numbers. Not used with honorific 분 for elders.

분 honorific counter

Honorific counter for people, used with elders or respected persons: 세 분, 다섯 분. Takes native Korean numbers. Replaces 명 when the person deserves respect.

우리 vs 저희

우리 means 'our' and is standard for one's own family, school, or country (우리 어머니, 우리 학교). 저희 is the humble 'our' used when speaking formally to superiors.

에 vs 에서

에 marks existence or destination: 집에 있어요 (I am at home), 학교에 가요 (go to school). 에서 marks where an action happens: 학교에서 공부해요 (study at school).

Native Korean numbers

하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯... Used with counters for people, animals, objects, age (살), and hours (시). Numbers change form before counters: 한, 두, 세, 네.

Sino-Korean numbers

일, 이, 삼, 사, 오... Used for dates (년/월/일), money (원), minutes (분), phone numbers, and larger quantities. Also used for age with the honorific 세.

School timetable questions

몇 교시예요? asks which period it is. 무슨 요일이에요? asks the day of the week. 무슨 과목이에요? asks the subject, e.g. 국어, 수학, 영어, 과학.

Position words

Location nouns take 에: 앞 (front), 뒤 (behind), 옆 (beside), 위 (above), 아래 (below), 사이 (between), 건너편 (opposite side). Example: 은행은 역 앞에 있어요.

설날 customs

Korean Lunar New Year on day one of the first lunar month. Families perform 세배 (bows to elders), receive 세뱃돈 (money), and eat 떡국 (rice-cake soup) to gain a year of age.

추석 Chuseok

Harvest festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Families hold 차례 (ancestral rites), visit graves (성묘), and eat 송편 (pine-needle rice cakes). Travel is very heavy.

-(으)ㄹ까요? suggestion

Ending used to propose doing something together or to ask a question about possibility: 같이 갈까요? (Shall we go together?). Accept with 좋아요/그래요; decline with 미안해요, 다음에 해요.

Frequency adverbs

항상 (always), 자주 (often), 보통 (usually), 가끔 (sometimes), 전혀 (not at all, needs a negative verb). They sit before the verb: 저는 자주 영화를 봐요.

Daily routine time markers

아침에 (in the morning), 점심에 (at lunch), 저녁에 (in the evening), 밤에 (at night), 주말에 (on weekends). These come early in the sentence, before the object and verb.

Traditional culture terms

한복 traditional dress, 한옥 traditional house, 한글 the Korean alphabet, 태권도 martial art, 김치 fermented vegetables. 한국어 is the Korean language; 한국 is the country.

Leisure place + 에 가다

Going somewhere uses place + 에 가다: 영화관에 가다 (cinema), 산에 가다 (hiking), 바다에 가다 (sea), 공원에 가다 (park). Activities done there use 에서.

Birthday expressions

생일 축하해요 means happy birthday. The birthday person eats 미역국 (seaweed soup). 돌 is a first birthday; 환갑 is the 60th, both celebrated with a large party.

Question word meanings

뭐 what, 누구 who, 어디 where, 언제 when, 왜 why, 어떻게 how, 몇 how many/which number, 무슨 what kind of. Each signals the type of answer the listener must give.

합니다 pronunciation

The written ending -ㅂ니다 is pronounced [ㅁ니다], so 합니다 sounds like [함니다] and 감사합니다 like [감사함니다]. Listening tasks rely on recognising this sound change.

안 vs 못 negation

안 + verb means simple negation (안 가요, I don't go). 못 + verb means inability (못 가요, I can't go). The two are distinguished by meaning in the surrounding context.

에서 ... 까지

Means 'from ... until ...' for time or place: 아홉 시에서 열 시까지 (from nine to ten), 서울에서 부산까지 (Seoul to Busan). Listen for both halves to get the full range.

Polite request ending

-(으)세요 forms polite requests and invitations: 앉으세요 (please sit), 드세요 (please eat), 하세요 (please do). Responses use 네, 알겠습니다 or 죄송하지만... to decline.

Discourse connectors

그리고 and/and then, 그런데 but/by the way, 그래서 therefore, 먼저 first, 다음에 next, 마지막으로 finally. They show the order and logic of spoken or written events.

Particle roles in reading

은/는 topic, 이/가 subject, 을/를 object, 에/에서 place, 의 possessive, 도 also, 만 only. Identifying particles shows who does what to whom in a sentence.

Text type cues

안내문 notices use -지 마세요 and 주의; 초대장 invitations use 같이 and -(으)ㅂ시다; 광고 ads use 제일/가장 and prices; 일기 diaries use past tense -았어요/었어요.

Price reading

원 marks won and follows Sino-Korean numbers. 만 means ten thousand: 삼만 원 is 30,000 won. Look for 할인 (discount), 무료 (free), and 세일 (sale) in advertisements.

Days of the week

월요일 Monday, 화요일 Tuesday, 수요일 Wednesday, 목요일 Thursday, 금요일 Friday, 토요일 Saturday, 일요일 Sunday. The first syllable names the element: moon, fire, water, wood, metal, earth, sun.

-지 마세요

Prohibition ending meaning 'don't do it': 사진을 찍지 마세요 (don't take photos), 들어가지 마세요 (don't enter). Common on signs and in notices; the opposite is -아도 돼요 (may do).

Korean sentence order

Korean follows Subject–Object–Verb: 저는 한국어를 공부해요 (I Korean study). The verb comes last and carries tense and politeness, so it must never be left out.

Past tense -았어요/었어요

Past tense ending chosen by the verb stem vowel: 가다 → 갔어요, 먹다 → 먹었어요, 하다 → 했어요. Used in diaries and letters about completed events.

Future -(으)ㄹ 거예요

Expresses intention or plan: 주말에 친구를 만날 거예요 (I will meet a friend this weekend). Attaches to the verb stem; stems ending in a consonant take 을, vowels take ㄹ.

Clause connectors -고 -지만

-고 joins clauses as 'and/then': 밥을 먹고 학교에 가요. -지만 means 'but': 비싸지만 좋아요. Both attach to the verb stem before the final ending.