How many times a day do you answer a question with "no," politely reject an invitation, or ask someone not to do something? Pretty often, right?  Depending on your personality, saying no might come as naturally as breathing to you. But what about in a foreign language? As you study Korean, one of the most important things you’ll learn is how to form negative sentences. This is a skill that will make you a more effective communicator and add depth to your day-to-day interactions with native speakers.  In this article, you’ll learn how to construct negative sentences in Korean and become familiar with the most common words of negation. Let’s dive in. Table of Contents Negate a Statement Giving a Negative Response to a... Show more

There’s no denying that K-Pop has taken over the world and played a huge role in popularizing the Korean language. According to The Korea Herald, the King Sejong Institute is busy at work opening new Korean-language learning centers around the globe. This institute currently operates 172 branches and teaches Korean to 57,000 students in 56 different countries.  Whether you’re learning the Korean language to understand the lyrics of your favorite K-Pop songs or to follow along with the subtitles for Korean films, you’ve come to the right place!  Korean tenses are an essential part of the Korean language you should become familiar with early on. In today’s article, we’ll teach you about the present, past, and future... Show more

Many aspiring Korean learners are plagued by a common question: How long does it take to learn Korean?  Unfortunately, there’s no definite answer. It really depends on a number of factors, such as your native language, education, experience with languages, exposure, and motivation. Your intended proficiency level also plays a role in determining how long it takes to learn the Korean language. Do you want to be able to...  ...read simple Korean words? ...hold a conversation with locals? ...work in South Korea?  Each of these goals requires a different skillset and time commitment, so keep this in mind before taking the leap and beginning your studies.  In this article, you’ll learn how to estimate how long it will take you to... Show more

Learning Korean proverbs is not only a great way to study the language, but also a window to the unique Korean culture. To help you get the most out of your language studies, we’ve put together this useful Korean proverbs list for you to study. Who knows—you may find that you can start applying these words of wisdom to your own life! Table of Contents 꿩 먹고 알 먹는다 (kkwong meokgo al meongneunda) 보기 좋은 떡이 먹기도 좋다 (bogi joeun tteogi meokgido jota) 로마는 하루아침에 이루어진 것이 아니다 (romaneun haruachime irueojin geosi anida) 낮말은 새가 듣고 밤말은 쥐가 듣는다 (nanmareun saega deutgo bammareun jwiga deunneunda) 세 살 버릇 여든까지 간다 (se sal beoleus yeodeunkkaji ganda) 말 한마디에 천냥 빚도 갚는다 (mal hanmadie cheonnyang bijdo gapneunda) 궁하면 통한다 (gunghamyeon... Show more

There are three main word classes in the Korean language: pure Korean words, Sino-Korean words, and foreign words. The foreign words can be broken down further into loanwords and Konglish.  Konglish refers to words taken directly from the English language and used in Korean. These words are often used with a different meaning than that of the original word, or have a Koreanized pronunciation. Examples include:  바나나 (banana) - "banana"뉴욕 (nyeuyok) - "New York"  In this article, you’ll learn more about Konglish along with other commonly used English words in the Korean language. Let’s get started!  Table of Contents Introduction to Konglish A Brief List of Konglish Words List of Loanwords English Words Derived from... Show more