1000 Words

Learn Korean – start with the 1000 most important words

Around 1000 words are enough to understand roughly 85% of everyday speech. That is exactly what 1000 Words focuses on: instead of endless grammar tables, you first learn the Korean vocabulary you will actually meet in real life – nouns, verbs, adjectives and full sentences, each with translation, example sentence and native-speaker audio.

Learn the way that fits your day: as a video to read along, as an audiobook for your commute or for falling asleep, as an ebook, or with the built-in vocabulary trainer that shows you every word again at the scientifically optimal moment (spaced repetition). Everything is available on the website and in the free app for iOS and Android.

A taste: Korean vocabulary with example sentences

EnglishKoreanExample sentence
the apple사과I eat the apple.
저는 사과를 먹어요.
the bookShe reads the book.
그녀는 책을 읽어요.
the cat고양이The cat is sleeping.
고양이가 자고 있어요.
the dogThe dog is barking.
개가 짖고 있어요.
the carHe drives the car.
그는 차를 운전해요.
the houseWe live in a house.
우리는 집에 살아요.
the chair의자She sits on the chair.
그녀는 의자에 앉아 있어요.
the table탁자Put the book on the table.
탁자 위에 책을 놓으세요.
the window창문Open the window.
창문을 여세요.
the doorClose the door.
문을 닫으세요.
the pencil연필I write with the pencil.
저는 연필로 글을 써요.
the paper종이The paper is on the table.
종이가 탁자 위에 있어요.
the school학교The school is big.
학교가 커요.
the teacher선생님The teacher teaches math.
선생님이 수학을 가르쳐요.
the student학생The student is studying.
학생이 공부하고 있어요.
the boy소년The boy is playing.
소년이 놀고 있어요.
the girl소녀The girl is singing.
소녀가 노래하고 있어요.
the adult어른The adult is working.
어른이 일하고 있어요.
the friend친구My friend is here.
내 친구가 여기 있어요.
the tree나무The tree is tall.
나무가 키가 커요.

The 100 most important Korean words →

Essential Korean verbs & adjectives

to accept받아들이다
to add추가하다
to agree동의하다
to allow허용하다
to ask요청하다
to believe믿다
to borrow빌리다
to break깨뜨리다
to bring가져오다
to build짓다

Korean sentences for beginners

I like apples저는 사과를 좋아해요.
She is my friend그녀는 제 친구예요.
It is a sunny day화창한 날이에요.
He runs fast그는 빠르게 달려요.
We are happy우리는 행복해요.
They play soccer그들은 축구를 해요.

How you learn Korean with 1000 Words

🎬 Learning videos

Every word narrated and illustrated – read along and repeat.

🎧 Audiobooks

All vocabulary as audio – including a 3x repetition version, perfect for learning while you sleep.

📖 Ebooks & PDFs

All words and sentences to look up and read offline.

🧠 Vocabulary trainer

Spaced-repetition system like flashcards – reviews exactly when you need them.

✨ AI stories

Short stories built from the words you already know, with audio and tap-to-explain.

📴 Offline mode

Download Premium content and keep learning without internet.

Frequently asked questions

How many words do I need to understand Korean?

With the 1000 most frequent words you understand about 85% of everyday spoken language. That is why 1000 Words focuses exactly on this core vocabulary – organized into nouns, verbs & adjectives and full sentences.

Does learning Korean while sleeping really work?

Research shows the brain consolidates previously learned material during sleep. Our audiobooks with triple repetition are made for this: listen in the evening, relax, and anchor what you learned. Read more in our article on learning while you sleep.

Is 1000 Words free?

Yes, getting started is free: parts of the videos and audiobooks, the vocabulary trainer, the matching game and previews of all content. Premium unlocks everything – including downloads for offline mode.

Who is 1000 Words for?

For beginners and returners (level A1–B1) who want to build a usable Korean vocabulary fast – without grammar overload, with native-speaker audio.

Start learning Korean for free

Learn in the browser Watch Korean videos

App Store · Google Play

Learn more languages

German · Spanish · French · Italian · Portuguese · Polish · Russian · Turkish · Arabic · Ukrainian · Chinese · Dutch · Swedish · Danish · Norwegian · Finnish · Czech · Slovak · Hungarian · Croatian · Bulgarian · Romanian · Greek · Japanese · Vietnamese · Indonesian · Thai · Hindi · Persian · Swahili · Afrikaans