Korean vocabulary · 22 words
Korean hobbies and activities vocabulary
Most activities in Korean are a noun plus 하다 (to do): 수영 is swimming and 수영해요 is I swim. That makes the noun the thing to learn, because it also goes with 좋아해요 (like), 잘해요 (be good at) and 못해요 (be bad at). 취미가 뭐예요? asks what someone's hobby is.
Examples are written in Hangul. New to it? Start with the hangul chart.
Good to know
- Noun + 하다: 요리해요 (I cook), 운동해요 (I exercise), 운전해요 (I drive). 춤추다 (to dance) is its own verb.
- Skill takes 을/를: 수영을 잘해요 (I'm good at swimming), 요리를 못해요 (I'm bad at cooking).
- Some hobbies have their own verb: 그림을 그려요 (I draw), 사진을 찍어요 (I take photos), 음악을 들어요 (I listen to music), 노래를 불러요 (I sing).
- How often: 일주일에 두 번 (twice a week), 가끔 (sometimes), 자주 (often).
Activities
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 취미 | chwimi | hobby | |
| 수영 | suyeong | swimming | |
| 운전 | unjeon | driving | |
| 노래 | norae | a song / singing | |
| 요리 | yori | cooking | |
| 운동 | undong | exercise / working out | |
| 공부 | gongbu | study / studying | |
| 춤추다 | chumchuda | to dance | |
| 야구 | yagu | baseball |
Things you enjoy
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 그림 | geurim | drawing / picture | |
| 사진 | sajin | photo | |
| 음악 | eumak | music | |
| 게임 | geim | game | |
| 영화 | yeonghwa | movie | |
| 여행 | yeohaeng | travel / trip | |
| 책 | chaek | book |
Good at, bad at, how often
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 잘해요 | jalhaeyo | is good at / does well | |
| 못해요 | mothaeyo | is bad at / can't do well | |
| 좋아해요 | joahaeyo | like(s) (polite) | |
| 싫어해요 | sireohaeyo | dislike(s) (polite) | |
| 번 | beon | counter: times / occurrences | |
| 일주일 | iljuil | one week |
Test yourself
Five of the 22 words on this page, meaning to word. Pick an answer to check it; nothing is saved.
1.Which Korean word means "hobby"?
2.Which Korean word means "cooking"?
3.Which Korean word means "baseball"?
4.Which Korean word means "movie"?
5.Which Korean word means "is bad at / can't do well"?
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Keep going
- Grammar guideCan and can't in KoreanHow to say can and can't in Korean: (으)ㄹ 수 있어요 and 수 없어요, how they differ from 못, 잘해요 / 못해요 for skill, and (으)ㄹ 줄 알아요 for know how.
- Grammar guideThe object particle 을/를 and Korean word orderHow the Korean object particle 을/를 works, how Korean word order puts the verb last, and why 좋아하다 takes 을/를.
- Grammar guideLet's and shall we in KoreanHow to suggest things in Korean: (으)ㄹ까요? for shall we, (으)ㅂ시다 for let's, which stems take 을까요 / 읍시다, and when (으)ㅂ시다 sounds too pushy.
- ChartHangul chartEvery Korean consonant and vowel with romanization, stroke order and example words, how syllable blocks work, and a syllable chart with audio.