Important Korean Words and Phrases, Revisited

Mom will be here in about two weeks.  I've been in planning mode for the past few days.  I had Gene type up a statement for mom (that I will put on a card for her) that says she's a vegetarian, but seafood is okay (no chicken, pork or beef); but I'm also going to write down some words and phrases she should know.  We won't be with her all the time, and I'd like her to be as confident and comfortable as possible. 

So, I thought I'd do some brainstorming here and post some very basic things that would come in handy for any traveler.  I've written them in the Roman alphabet because my keyboard doesn't do Korean (it takes a very long time to find the Hangeul on the net to copy).  When I give Mom her cheat sheet, it will have both the Hangeul (to point to) and the Roman pronunciation.

The Basics

Hello!:  Anyong haseyo!

Goodbye: Anyong-i kay-seyo (if you're leaving) / Anyong-i kah-seyo (if you're staying)

Yes:  Ne/ Ye

No:  Aniyo (or ani)

Please:  Chuseyo.

Thank you.:  Kamsa hamnida. (said as if it's one word without the 'h')
You're welcome.:  Chon maneyo.
United States of America:  Miguk.

Getting Places

Where: Odiro (it's important to listen for the 'odi' when it changes grammatically)
Here:  Yogi
There:  Kogi

Left:  Wentchogui

Right:  Oruntchogui
Straight: Ttokparun

Food

Rice:  Bap

Noodle:  Myun

Side dish:  Banchan

Vegetables:  Yachae (Namul is commonly used for mixed wild greens)

Water:  Mul

Salt:  Sogum

Chopsticks:  Chokkarak 

Spoon:  sukkarak
English menu: Yonga menu

Numbers/Money

1:  il

2:  i (ee)

3:  sam

4:  sa

5:  oh

Hundred:  Baek

Thousand:  Chon

Phrases

Do you speak English?:  Yonga-rul hashimnikka?

How much is it?:  Ol mayeyo?

I'm sorry.:  Choesung hamnida.

I don't understand.:  Moruget sumnida ("Malayo" is a little less formal)

Where is the toilet?:  Hwajangshil odi issoyo?  (that's asking where an American style toilet is)

A Note

"Issoyo" and "opsoyo" are the most important words to recognize in Korean.  "Issoyo" is the affirmative, meaning "It is" and "I have" and it can be used grammatically to express all sorts of things.  "Opsoyo" is the negative, "It isn't" and "I don't have."

Is there anything big that I left out?  What would you feel you needed to know if you were coming to Korea?

Good night!

Learning to Read

Ian and I have our meeting with Julia tomorrow.  We had classes video taped, so we'll see if we get into trouble for doing a Halloween unit.

We've been working on reading Hangul, so I thought I'd let you all check out the alphabet and try your hand at it.

Consonants

The asterisks denote a hard pronunciation with little air output.

Now for some easy words to practice with.  It's important to remember that each syllable is built in a box.  Boxes can't start with a vowel symbol, so if the syllable does start with a vowel, a silent place marker (the -ng consonant which looks like an o).  Two examples of this rule are found in the words for Mom and Dad:

Mom: 엄마 (uhm-mah, emphasis on the second syllable)

Dad:  아빠 (ah-pah, emphasis on the second syllable)

 Cat: 고양이 (k/go-yahng-ee)

Dog: 개 (k/gae)

Rice: 밥 (b/pap)

Water: 물 (b/mool)

Jecheon-si ('si' means city and the 's' is pronounced somewhere between a pure 's' sound and a 'sh' sound): 

제천시 (jay-chon-see)

While Ian and I were waiting for the bus this morning, we were practicing reading the Hangul on the signs.  We were quite amused when we sounded out the sign on the bakery across the street: 베이카 레.  Use the alphabet and see if it gives you a chuckle as well.

좋은밤 되시기를! (cho-uhn-bahm-duhee-s(h)ee-gee-ruhl).  In other words, have a good night!