NCEA L1 Korean cheat sheet

Formal polite speech (해요체/합니다체) and informal 반말 are distinguished mainly by verb endings; the final syllable carries the cue (e.g. -아요/-어요 vs -아/-어).

Korean has three-way stop contrast (plain ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ, tense ㄲ/ㄸ/ㅃ, aspirated ㅋ/ㅌ/ㅍ); tense consonants are unaspirated with tense vocal folds, aspirated ones release a strong puff of air.

Final consonants (받침) are unreleased; when the next syllable begins with a vowel the final consonant resyllabifies into the onset (한국어 → 한구거).

Nasalisation rule: final ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ before ㄴ/ㅁ become ㅇ/ㄴ/ㅁ (국물 → 궁물, 합니다 → 함니다).

Liquidisation: ㄴ + ㄹ or ㄹ + ㄴ → ㄹㄹ (연락 → 열락, 신라 → 실라).

Numbers: native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋 …) pair with counters (명, 개, 시, 살); Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼 …) pair with money, dates, minutes and phone numbers.

Key listening cues for tasks: time/place markers (에, 에서), contrast markers (그런데, 하지만), and request forms (-(으)세요, -아/어 주세요) signal the action to record.

Sentence order is Subject–Object–Verb; the verb is always final and carries tense, politeness and mood, so the ending must be planned before speaking.

Particles mark grammatical role: 은/는 topic, 이/가 subject, 을/를 object, 에 location/time, 에서 location of action, (으)로 direction/means.

Polite ending -아요/-어요 attaches to the stem with vowel harmony: stem ㅏ/ㅗ takes -아요, other vowels take -어요; 하다 verbs become 해요.

Consonant-final stems take -습니다 in formal style; vowel-final stems take -ㅂ니다 (가다 → 갑니다, 먹다 → 먹습니다).

Past tense: -았/었어요 (vowel harmony), with 하다 → 했어요; future/intention uses -(으)ㄹ 거예요.

Negation: short form 안 + verb or -지 않다; inability uses 못 + verb or -(으)ㄹ 수 없다.

Pronunciation for speech: linking across word boundaries, nasalisation, and unreleased finals must be applied so the listener hears intended words, not spelling.

Honorific -시- is inserted before the ending when the subject is a person deserving respect (선생님께서 가세요).

Hangul syllable blocks are read left-to-right, top-to-bottom: initial consonant + vowel, with an optional final consonant (받침) underneath.

Double finals (겹받침) are pronounced as one of the pair depending on position: 값 → 갑, 읽다 → 익따, but 읽어 → 일거 (resyllabification).

Tense and aspirated consonants change meaning: 달 (moon) vs 딸 (daughter) vs 탈 (mask); 불 (fire) vs 뿔 (horn) vs 풀 (grass).

Pronouns and reference: 저/나 (I), 우리 (we/our), 이것/그것/저것 (this/that/that over there) reflect distance from speaker and listener.

Connectors to track argument: 그리고 (and), 그러나/하지만 (however), 그래서 (so), 왜냐하면 (because).

Tense markers in written text: -았/었- past, -겠- or -(으)ㄹ 것이다 future/assumption, -고 있다 progressive.

Counter and number agreement in text: native numbers with 개/명/시/살, Sino-Korean with 원/년/월/일/분; mixing them is an error to spot.

Hangul spelling is phonemic but subject to sound-change rules, so written forms must follow standard orthography, not pronunciation (감사합니다, not 감삼니다).

Sentence-final punctuation: 마침표 (.) for statements, 물음표 (?) for questions, 느낌표 (!) for exclamations; Korean uses no capital letters.

Spacing (띄어쓰기) separates particles from the noun but attaches them to it: 학교에 갑니다 (학교에 is one unit).

Polite written register for letters/emails uses -습니다/ㅂ니다 and -아/어요; 반말 is restricted to diaries or close friends.

Past tense spelling: stem + 았/었 + ending, with contraction in 하다 verbs (하다 → 하였 → 했).

Connectives at sentence start are followed by a comma in longer text: 그러나, 그래서, 또한.

Irregular verbs to spell correctly: ㄷ irregular (듣다 → 들어요), ㅂ irregular (춥다 → 추워요), ㅅ irregular (낫다 → 나아요), 르 irregular (모르다 → 몰라요).

Formal writing conventions: 날짜 (2024년 5월 3일), time (오후 3시 30분), and addresses place larger units before smaller ones.