How to Say No in Korean

Now here is a simple word that you should know in any language. You don’t want to be caught in an awkward situation where you want to tell someone no, but don’t know how to.

Like many other phrases we’ve covered, there are formal and informal ways to say no in Korean as well as other variations.

Let’s start with the ones we covered in the infographic.

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How to Say Heart in Korean

How to Say Heart in Korean
How to say heart in Korean

One of the more confusing things for a beginner learning Korean is when they come across the many meanings for the word ‘heart’. In English the same word is used to describe the physical organ and things related to love and feelings of the mind.

However in Korean, these words can be broken down into three words that have a specific meaning.

Let’s talk about the first word in the infographic.

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How to Say Flower in Korean

flower in korean
How to say flower in Korean

The pronunciation of the word flower in Korean can be a little difficult for beginners. Usually, the syllable ‘ㅊ’ sounds like a ‘ch’ sound. However, when it is in the final position of a word, it has a soft t sound. It’s a very abrupt ‘t’ sound and sounds similar to the Korean word for clothes ‘옷’.

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How to Say Cat in Korean

How to Say Cat in Korean
How to say cat in Korean

Korea is known for its animal cafes. There are plenty of dog and cat cafes around so check them out if you’re ever in Seoul.

The word cat in Korean is 고양이 (go-yang-i) and sounds very similar to another word ‘고향’  (go-gyang) which is a running joke among many Koreans. Many Korean kids who are just starting to learn Korean and form sentences often get the two confused.

Meow in Korean

If you want to describe the sound of a cat meowing, you would say 야옹 (ya-ong). It’s actually pretty interesting how Korean and all languages differ in how they describe the sound a certain animal makes.

For instance, woof woof for dogs is 멍멍 (meong-meong) in Korean which to me, sounds nothing like a dog barking. Click here for more on animal sounds in Korean.

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How to Say Star in Korean

How to Say Star in Korean
How to say star in Korean

We did a post on the solar system a while back but never got around to some of the other space vocabulary we intended to do. So today, we’re going to start off with just a simple one. The word for ‘star’ in Korean.

The word for star is 별.

It’s a very simple and easy-to-remember word.

Korean like English is great in the sense that other vocabulary words that are related to one word use the same base. So for example with 별,  you could use it to make other words like:

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How to Say Honey in Korean

How to Say Honey in Korean
How to say honey in Korean

Koreans are just like most people and when they are in romantic relationships, they like to use terms of endearment towards their sweethearts. There are many that they use (click on the previous link), but today, we’re going to focus on a specific one. Namely saying “honey” in Korean.

The terms 자기 and 여보 are used a lot in conversation between couples (you will hear it on drama a lot). For 자기, you can use this when you are dating or when you are married.

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Colors in Korean

Colors in Korean

Learning the Korean colors should be one of several things you learn once you start studying Korean. It will help you a lot when you are trying to describe certain things or hear someone else describing something. The basic colors (for instance just the ones on the rainbow) are easy to learn, but there is another level to the colors in which it can get a little confusing (we may cover those laters).

For now, let’s stick to the basics.

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How to Say Brother in Korean

How to say brother in Korean

Korean differs from English when referring to siblings. For instance, in English, someone is a brother or sister regardless of the person’s sex.

However with Korean, how you refer to your brother will depend on whether you are a man or a woman and your age. This is one of the very first things you will probably learn when you start learning Korean.

For starters:

Women referring to their older brother: 오빠 (o-ppa)

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How to Say Why in Korean

How to Say Why in Korean
How to say why in Korean

Learning how to say why in Korean will take you no more than a few minutes to learn especially since it sounds slightly similar to “why”. For starters, there are two ways to say why when you want to ask why someone is feeling a certain way or why they are doing something.

For example:

그 여자 정말 싫어 = I really dislike that girl.

왜/왜요? = Why?

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