I learned English pretty "naturally" growing up. I picked up the basic grammar from basic school, but after that, most of my fluency came from playing video games and watching movies with subtitles. At some point, I realized I was understanding english without even trying, and I had fun talking to myself in English to get comfortable with conversation.

I tried to replicate this approach with Korean, since I really enjoy watching dramas and listening to music. The thing is, I've hit a MAJOR wall. I study the grammar and understand how it works, but I feel like I'm stuck in beginner mode forever. I just can't form more complex sentences, no matter how hard I try.

Unfortunately, I can't afford a private tutor or language courses right now, but I treat language learning as a hobby that was a lot of fun until now. Now that I've hit this wall, though, it's getting hard to keep going.

What do you guys think I should do from here? I also started learning French out of academic necessity, and the exact same thing happened.

There's clearly something in my process that isn't working, and I'd love some advice on how to fix it.

안녕하세요 여러분! this is so stupid but if you had a good general understanding of korean/where i am at right now, how would you go about properly learning korean? i don't mean to come off as a koreaboo or cringe at all, but i would absolutely love to one day be able to speak korean and even live in korea for some time in my life as the culture and the country is so beautiful. i've been consuming korean content for about 6 years now, but am unable to really speak it properly.

I've never formally learnt korean before as my exposure to the culture and language has been mostly listening to kpop (more specifically, seventeen haha), watching variety shows, watching dramas, as well as outside of this always loving 한국음식, so i'm quite familiar with general everyday vocabulary. I'm very confident reading hangeul, and unironically sing all sorts of 노래방 in hangeul in my free time, so id even go as far as to say i can now understand most songs sung in korean. Watching variety shows, both the mainstream ones and seventeen's going seventeen has also exposed me to a lot of vocabulary, so i've also gotten to the point where if i hear everyday korean spoken even in public i can undestand it. I can also tell apart different 사투리 as well!

But it is because of this i'm kind of stuck on where to go next. Whilst im quite familiar and am used to hearing the sentence structures etc used in korean, i have no idea how to properly talk or form these sentence structures bc i've never formally learnt... Using standard beginner textbooks is also way too slow paced for me and most of the times i get what is being taught already.

How would you go from here if you were me? any tips? i'm unable to just visit korea and immerse myself rn as im a student doing my finals, and im quite poor.... but i'd really like to get to a level where i can actually speak korean rather than only be able to only understand basic content.

Thanks!

Hey all!

I live in Jeju and have been learning Korean mostly from YouTube and Korean websites. My routine was pause, copy, paste into a dictionary, repeat. So I built a Chrome extension to fix that. I’ve been using it daily for a while now and really love it, so I wanted to share it with r/Korean!

It’s called Jupjup (줍줍), and it does a few things:

• Hover any Korean word on any website to see what it means and how it’s built (stem + endings), including what each ending or particle is doing.
• Clickable subtitles on YouTube and Netflix. It swaps the Korean captions for its own line. Hover a word and the video pauses. Press A to hear the previous line again.
• It finds sentences at your level. It underlines a word only when it’s the one thing you don’t know in that sentence, so every sentence you save is one you can actually learn from.
• Save a word with the sentence it came from (and optionally the audio clip, on YouTube), then review it with spaced repetition. Or send it to Anki.

It’s free, needs no account, and has no AI. The dictionary runs on your computer, and your words and cards stay in your browser.

You can get it on the Chrome Web Store, and there’s a quick guide if you want to see how it works.

It’s just me making this, so I’d really like to hear what’s confusing, what’s broken, or what’s missing. Especially if you’re a beginner or intermediate learner watching a lot of Korean content.

Have a great rest of your day!

Cheers,
Ian

P.S. A bit of Korean learning: 줍줍 comes from 줍다 (to pick up), doubled to sound playful. It’s what you say when you’re scooping up freebies or loot. Also, it’s just fun to say.

Are there any apps that have options to learn the alphabet/language from Russian? I tried a few that ChatGPT said you could but even ones with Russian language option have the pronunciation for the letters in Latin script.

Duolingo has a Korean course in Russian but the Russian version doesn’t go over the alphabet at all.

I studied Korean for like 9 months, took plenty of lessons on italki and got to a SOLID a2 level. This was about 2 years ago and I was single, childfree, working a night shift job so I was up at the same time as those in Korea (I live in the USA lol) so conversation practice came EASY, and finding a GOOD tutor came E A S Y but for the past month ive wanted to learn again more and more, but now I am not single, have a 2 month old, and work day shift and I'm not up all night anymore like I used to be, and its made me realize just how easy I had it before and how much harder it feels this time around.

How do I get back into it?

I don't have flexible money like THAT anymore that im willing to spend on tutoring lessons, I don't have near the time I used to, and I can't find good conversation practice like I used to either.

I have a pretty solid base, everything is coming back to me so much faster than I thought, there's plenty of gaps in ny level of the language, but where do I go from here?

Is it over for me? 😭😭

I've been wondering about a few things about this grammar:

1) (으)려나 보다 is a shortened form of (으)려고 하나 보다, I'm wondering whether the following forms are also correct:

a) (으)려는가 보다 - a contraction of (으)려하는가 보다

• 철수는 오늘 오려는가 봐요

• 내일도 더우려는가 봐요

b) (으)려고 했나 보다 / (으)려 했는가 보다

• 철수는 오려고 했는가 봐요

2) Can (으)려고 be used with a third-person subject and 야 되다 (I've heard different opinions on this)?

• 그는 오렌지를 팔려고 했어요

• 그는 새로운 차를 사려고 해요

• 그는 한국어를 배우려고 노력하고 있어요

• 차를 사려고 돈을 모아야 돼요 (Would 으려면 be better in a sentence like this?)

• 한국어를 배우려고 해야 돼요 (This one sounds unnatural for sure)

hi! recently found out that jujutsu kaisen manga charachter Fushiguro Megumi translates to korean as 후시구로 메구미. was wondering if there's any rules translating F sound to korean? why is it ㅎ in his name but, for example, ㅍ (필릭스) in Felix?

So I was at a language school for a year and I’ve gone up to an intermediate level however my speaking was a very low level in comfortability and usage like I would say 1급-2급 and I didn’t see improvement because there was no time to review in class or speak as much.

Moving to Sogang not only do we review each chapter but we speak so much for 4 hours. I’m also taking a lower level even tho I was at an intermediate level at my other school and I’ve already learned the grammar and most vocabulary I can recognize. Also I averaged an A on all parts of the midterm this time!!! but writing was terrible lol

Regardless, I noticed when I’m speaking and listening even tho in my memory it’s familiar or I can recognize the grammar or the vocabulary it’s not as cohesive or I don’t actually remember when to use it in speech. Like while I’m speaking. Now I’m thinking has this been my problem all along?

for instance using 으니까 or 는데요 just to give an example. I revert to using 아어해 서 (this is just an example there are other grammar points that I forget to use while speaking too)

so is my problem because I don’t know how to use the grammar?

Not only that when I’m reading a passage there’s a combination of grammar which I’m like understand this but I would have not been able to say this in speech while I’m speaking because I wouldn’t have thought to say and combine the grammar.

SO MY QUESTION IS 😭 even tho I’m more comfortable in speaking because we do it a lot how can I improve on my coherency while speaking??

What methods do I have to use to already know what grammar to use? (vocabulary is okay bc you kinda just have to plug it it or conjugated the verbs and adjectives)

**Please keep in mind my ADHD is really bad and I not only have to navigate a classroom studying with others while I’m actively learning also at the same time have to regulate my emotions and not to freak out on people when I’m overstimulated (this is very common w ppl with adhd) I also make a lot of silly mistakes a common thing people with ADHD tend to do while I’m not trying to be perfect I just want to be able to converse accurately and comfortably!

so i need advice on:
-speaking methods to be coherent and when to use the grammar
-if I think too hard on what to say I lose all my thoughts (how to stop this)
-I get tired of speaking and using brain power for a long time so any suggestions to keep on going? Or just stop and give myself time to rest?

things I’ve done to improve:
-study (kinda)
-speak mainly in Korean to most people besides when it’s rest time
-think in Korean (hopefully I’m doing this)
-joined a language exchange once a week

BUT WHY DO I FEEL STUCK 😭 even tho on paper the speaking portion where we even write out 대화 im getting As

Hello world!

I just made a website for Korean learners. Not too hard, just easy enough to do like a drill.

Who am I?

I'm a native Korean speaker. I taught Korean language and literature to middle school students in Korea for several months. I'm not a professional teacher of Korean as a foreign language, but I taught Korean to my foreign friends several times, and some of them wanted to learn in more detail.

But the same particle mistakes came up again and again, like 을 vs 를 for objects, or 에 vs 에서 for places. So I first built this for my friends.

What it is

- A free website, not an app. It works in your phone browser, no sign-up.

- You pick the answer from 2-4 choices. One round is 10 questions, and you can start a new round anytime.

- Particles: Level 1 is the right form (책을, 사과를, 서울로). Level 2 adds the particle a verb needs (사과가 좋아요 vs 사과를 좋아해요). Level 3 adds 에 vs 에서.

- Numbers: native vs Sino-Korean with counters, age, time, dates, prices and phone numbers. Level 1 starts with 1-10.

- Every answer shows the rule in English, and if you pick a wrong option, it explains that mistake. The answers follow the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules.

- If you can read Hangul, you can start from Level 1.

Price

It's totally FREE! No ads right now. I may add ads later, but the drills will stay free.

Your answers are saved anonymously to make the drills better (no cookies, no IP). You can turn this off at the bottom of the page.

I'd love your help to make this website better, so people can practice Korean easily.

https://koreanreps.com

-> So this is the website! Feel free to try and leave me comments! I'll answer questions here in the comments. Thank you :)

*If a sentence sounds unnatural or you think an answer is wrong, please tell me. I'd also love to hear what you'd want to drill next.

**After some feedback from helpful Redditors, I changed the question font so it's easier to read, and added a note about spacing in dates. And still feedback matters! Thank you for your help 😄

I've been studying for around 2 months and i think im making quick progress, i remember a lot and got a good grasp of the grammar but i'd love to test myself somehow. So far i found the mock tests for Topiks, but other than that does anyone have any other sites?

여러분, 안녕하세요!

I've been learning Korean for some months now and it's going great! But I'm stuck on trying to understand when I should use the subject 는/은 and topic 이/가 particles. To me, I'm struggling to know when I should use one or the other and why.

if anybody could help me to explain that I would really appreciate it!

감사합니다!

Hi everyone! I'm currently at Yonsei KLI in Level 1 and we just learned the different ways to give a reason to a statement/statement but i cant seem to understand in which situations i should use which of the three options. I know i cant use 아서/어서/여서 for suggestions or demands with f.e -십시오.

Whenever my classmate and i asked our teacher, she always said that it has to do with how much background/context the listener already knows, but it just confuses me and i cant get my mind around it. I even asked my situationship who is fully korean if he could explain it but he just said that "i just know it". 🥲

Im aware that in casual conversation it might not matter which one you use but i need to know the difference and be able to use them correctly for my finals. Please if someone can help i'd greatly appreciate it!

so im learning korean right now because i just randomly decided that, but i'm confused with how you say "Nice to meet you" in korean. There's like 7 different ways of saying it but im not sure which is formal and more commonly used. And i would normally use google translate or AI mode but i don't really trust AI or google translate sometimes because it can make mistakes so erm! pls help what the formal and informal is!

반갑습니다. / Bangap-seumnida.

만나서 반가워. / Mannaseo bangawo.

반가워. / Bangawo.

만나서 반가워요. / Mannaseo bangawoyo.

반가워요. / Bangawoyo.

만나서 반갑습니다. / Mannaseo bangapseumnida.

처음 뵙겠습니다. / Cheoeum boepgetseumnida.

Alsooooo pls let me know any youtube channels/ apps, tips that i could use to improve my korean and maybe what i should focus learning first?

I’m curious about when it sounds natural to use 이다/아니다 with 겠다. For example, when making a guess:

- 그건 여권이 아니겠어요 instead of 그건 여권이 아닐 거예요

- 그 사람이 의사(이)겠어요 instead of 그 사람이 의사일 거예요

I don’t see 이다 used this way, so I’m wondering in what kinds of situations this combination would actually sound natural.

I began learning Korean last year mainly with self study and some help from my wife using Korean from zero, go billy and a few other apps and anki deck.

In that year all I’ve learnt is Hangul, maybe around 20-40 vocabulary words I could say/spell and some basic grammar around topic markers, pronouns and possessions, making statements and a a few adjectives.

It’s so incredibly hard to learn such a complex language and I feel like I am taking an age getting anywhere and just circling around the same points. I feel like I should have made way more progress in a year than I have and it’s just so demoralising.

That’s it really. I just really needed to rant.

​

Hey guys!

I started learning Korean about four years ago and studied it at university for around a year, reaching A1 level. Back then, we used the Sogang Korean textbooks.

I've recently picked up Korean again and am currently attending a language school in Seoul, where I'll be finishing Sogang Korean 1A.

After that, I'd like to continue studying on my own using Sogang Korean 1B.

Do you have any tips for self-studying Korean, especially with the Sogang textbooks?

I'll probably only have around 15–30 minutes a day to study, so I'm wondering how to make the most of that time.

How would you recommend working through the textbooks?

My end goals is to read manwhas in korean.

XX(이름) 점점 더 핫해

I'm not learning korean and need a native to tell me is the above message weird rude or totally fine to use? For context, i plan to use this in concert. Kinda want to say "hey you're getting hotter (cuter) as days go by"

Looking for a free app to learn Korean, I'm learning it mainly for k pop/dance so if anyone has any good suggestions that would be great, thank you

I make flashcards on anki and tag all the cards with a grammar topic. 동사, 형용사, 부사, 명사, etc. Sometimes I face entries like this. It's not a 명사, 숙담, 관용어, but it can be a 동사, 형용사? How do I classify that?

I'm starting prepping for TOPIK writing and while I know general variations in spoken versus written korean with some grammar, spelling and not omitting particles. I was wondering if anyone knows a specific resource that highlights the different grammar. Because I don't really want to be looking up every grammar point and seeing if it's okay to use in an essay. As a very basic example of info I'm looking for - use 와/과 instead of 하고 and (이)랑 in an essay

Paid, book, online, everything is fine

자기가 쓰고 싶은거 알려주세요.
혹은 비한국어권 사람들이 써보고 싶은게 뭘까요

When 이다 is used with certain grammar points, it's often contracted after a vowel. For example:

- 친구인데 --> 친군데

- 친구이니까 --> 친구니까

But there are several structures where I haven’t seen something like that, and I’m wondering whether it's possible:

- 친구인 데다가... --> 친군 데다가...

- 친구인 편이다 --> 친군 편이다

- 친구일 때... --> 친굴 때...

- 친구일까요? --> 친굴까요...?

- 친구일 텐데... --> 친굴 텐데...

- 친구일 테니까... --> 친굴 테니까...

Question for native speakers. I'm making vocab flashcards from short picture descriptions and can't decide which form to put on the card for these. Asking in Korean so the English doesn't muddy it:

사진 설명 문장이에요:

남자 두 명이 얕은 강물에 누워서 카메라를 보며 웃고 있어요. 물은 맑고, 강바닥에는 돌이 깔려 있어요. 뒤쪽에는 누군가가 바위에 앉아 있고, 근처 물속에는 다른 두 사람이 서 있어요.

여기서 자세 단어를 카드에 넣는다면 뭐가 더 자연스러워요?

눕다 / 누워 있다

앉다 / 앉아 있다

서다 / 서 있다

둘 다 괜찮은지, 아니면 단어마다 다른지도 궁금해요.

Is there a simple way to say something like "Every time I see a dog, I am happy" or "Every time I sleep, I dream". Not just "When I see a dog I am happy" but to put emphasis on the fact that something happens every single time. Would we use 매번? What would be the proper grammar to use it?