How to Type in Korean

In this week's lesson, we learn how to type in Korean. For the full details with entertaining animations, watch the lesson above!

Say hello to the Korean keyboard:

It took me awhile to create these images from scratch. Hope you like it! :)

Here's the Korean keyboard on a QWERTY keyboard:

Here's the Korean keyboard with Romanization:

Question is: how does one memorize all these characters? There is logic behind where they are placed.

First off, the 14 Korean consonants are on the left:

The five DOUBLE consonants are on the top row:

To type a double consonant, you either hold SHIFT and tap on the B, J, D, G or S consonant. You can also tap on one of these consonants twice.

The bottom row is made up of ASPIRATED consonants:

Aspirated consonants are pronounced with a burst of air coming out of your mouth. In English, the aspirated consonants are K, T, and P. If you put your hand in front of your mouth and say these letters, you’ll feel a pop of air hit your palm. K, T, and P are also aspirated consonants in the Korean language.

All the VOWELS are on the right:

All these are BASIC vowels, except for the two in the top right corner. The ㅐ and ㅔ are COMBO vowels (also known as Diphthongs):

Where are these diphthongs (combo vowels)? ㅢ, ㅚ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅟ, ㅝ, ㅞ? Each of these combo vowels are made of two basic vowels. For example:

To create ㅢ, press ㅡ (eu) first. Then hit ㅣ (ee).

How to create all the diphthongs (combo vowels):

• ㅢ = ㅡ +ㅣ
• ㅚ = ㅗ +ㅣ
• ㅘ = ㅗ + ㅓ
• ㅙ = ㅗ + ㅐ
• ㅟ = ㅜ + ㅣ
• ㅝ = ㅜ + ㅓ
• ㅞ = ㅜ + ㅔ

Let's try typing a word. What's the step-by-step process for writing 새 (sae)? 새 means "bird" in Korean.

Step 1: press the S consonant (ㅅ).

Step 2: press the AE vowel (ㅐ).

To learn how to type words with double consonants and more, be sure to check out my lesson from 3:20.

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Some questions that may arise:

1. Should you trust Auto Correct when typing in Korean? I answer that by asking another question: do you trust Auto Correct when typing in English? Auto Correct can be helpful sometimes, but other times, it has a mind of its own!
    
2. Can you just use a online keyboard that turns Romanizations into Korean? No one's stopping you, however I highly recommend learning the Korean keyboard instead of depending on technology translating Romanizations into Korean for you. It might take time to learn the Korean keyboard in the beginning, but once you master it, you'll be gaining a very useful skill! Learning how to type Korean directly will become much faster than online Romanization keyboards.

Hope you found this week's lesson fun and useful! Tune in next Wednesday on my YouTube channel for another round of KWOW :)

GIVE ME MORE in Korean

This week's Korean word is 더 (duh), which means “more, further, and another.” Here are some examples using DUH:

소금이 더 필요하다.
Sogeumi duh pilyohada.
It needs more salt.
(informal)

한가지 더 물어 봐도 될까요?
Hangaji duh mooluh bwado dwelggayo?
May I ask one more thing?
(formal)

어때요? 더 드시겠어요?
Uhddeyo? Duh deushigessuhyo?
How is it? Would you like some more?
(formal)

지금 몇시야? 더 이상 못 기다리겠어.
Jigeum myeosshiya? Duh esang mot gidarigessuh.
What time is it right now? I can’t wait anymore.
(informal)

조금만 더 기다려 주세요.
Jogeumman duh gidaryuh juseyo.
Please wait a little more.
(formal)

뭐 더 필요 하신거 있어요?
Mwo duh pilyo hashinguh issuhyo?
Is there anything else you need more of?
(formal)

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One of the common phrases using 더 (duh) is: 더 주세요 (duh juseyo), which means “give me more, please.” Let’s say you’re at a Korean restaurant and you’d like more kimchi:

김치 더 주세요.
Kimchi duh juseyo.
Please give me more kimchi.
(formal)

Anytime you are asking for something, place a noun before 더 주세요 (duh juseyo):
___________ 더 주세요.
___________ duh juseyo.
Please give me more/another ____________.
(formal)

Here are some examples:

물 더 주세요.
Mool duh juseyo.
Please give me more water.
(formal)

반찬 더 주세요.
Banchan duh juseyo.
Please give me more side dishes.
(formal)

밥 한 그릇 더 주세요.
Bap han geureut duh juseyo.
Please give me another bowl of rice.
(formal)

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If you go out to party in Korea, you’re gonna need these following phrases that use 더 (duh):

자, 한잔 더 하자!
Jah, hanjan duh haja!
Alright, have another shot!
(informal)

한잔 더 하시겠어요?
Hanjan duh hashigessuhyo?
Would you like another shot?
(formal)

많이 취했네. 더 이상 마시지마.
Mani chwihetneh. Duh esang mashijima.
You’re very drunk. Don’t drink any more.
(informal)

에이~ 조금 만 더 마시자.
Eh-ee~ Jogeum man duh mashija.
Aw, come on~ Let’s drink just a little more.
(informal)

한잔 더! 한잔 더!
Hanjan duh! Hanjan duh!
One more shot! One more shot!
(informal)

더이상 못 마시겠어요.
Duhesang mot mashigessuhyo.
I don’t think I can drink any more.
(formal)

Note: If you’re drinking with the company, be sure you’re using the formal language when talking to bosses and older colleagues!

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Let’s say you’re asking for directions. Where is this restaurant? Am I close to my destination? People may respond something along the lines of:

좀 더 가야 돼요.
Jom duh gaya dwaeyo.
You have to go a little more.
(formal)

이십 미터 더 가야 돼요.
Eship mituh duh gaya dwaeyo.
You have to go 20 more meters. (formal)

차로가면 삼십분 더 가야 돼요.
Charogamyun samshipboon duh gaya dwaeyo.
If you go by car, you’ll have to go 30 more minutes.
(formal)

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Here are some Korean drama-ish phrases using 더 (duh):

더 이상 못 참겠어!
Duh esang mot chamgessuh!
I can’t stand it anymore!
(informal)

한번만 더 안아 주세요.
Hanbunman duh ana juseyo.
Hug me once more, please.
(formal)

한번 더 물어볼게. 내 돈 어디있어?!
Hanbun duh mooluhbolggeh. Nae don uhdissuh?
I’ll ask one more time. Where is my money?!
(informal)

정보가 더 필요 해요.
Jungboga duh pilyo haeyo.
I need more information.
(formal)

더 이상 말하기 싫어.
Duh esang malhagi shiruh.
I don’t want to talk any more.
(informal)

시간이 갈수록 더 사랑해요.
Shigani galsoorok duh saranghaeyo.
As time goes by, I love you more.
(formal)

What is YOUR favorite sentence that uses 더 (duh)?

See ya next Wednesday for another Korean lesson! Subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already :)

EXCUSE ME in Korean

This week on KWOW, we learn the various ways to say EXCUSE ME in Korean. We begin with 실례합니다 (shil-lae-hap-ni-da). Let’s say you’re walking through a crowded street and you’re trying to get by: 실례합니다! Excuse me! Or maybe someone is blocking your way while you exit the subway train: 실례합니다! Excuse me!

What if you want to say something like, “Excuse me, but you look familiar.” Instead of 실례합니다, we’d use 실례지만 (shil-lae-ji-man), which translates to: "Excuse me, but…"

실례지만, __________.
Shil-lae-ji-man, __________.
Excuse me, but __________.

Fill in the blank to complete the phrase. Here are some examples:

실례지만, 낯이 익은데요.
Shillaejiman, nachi egeundeyo.
Excuse me, but you look familiar.
(formal)

실례지만, 제 자리에 앉으신 것 같은데요.
Shillaejiman, je jariae anjeushin gut gateundeyo.
Excuse me, but I think you’re sitting in my seat.
(formal)

실례지만, 제 차례 같은데요.
Shillaejiman, je charae gateundeyo.
Excuse me, but I think it’s my turn.
(formal)

실례지만, 지금 몇 시예요?
Shillaejiman, jigeum myeosshiyeyo?
Excuse me, but what time is it?
(formal)

실례지만, 우리 전에 봤죠?
Shillaejiman, oori jeonae bwatjyo?
Excuse me, but didn’t we meet before?
(formal)

실례지만, 모자 어디서 사셨어요?
Shillaejiman, moja uhdisuh sashyussuhyo?
Excuse me, but where did you get your hat?
(formal)

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Another way to say “Excuse me” in Korean is 저기요 (jugiyo). 저기요 can also mean, “hey” in a polite way. Use 저기요 when you’re trying to grab a stranger’s attention. If you’re trying to grab a friend’s attention, you’d use their name. If you’re trying to grab a family member’s attention, you’d use their title (ie: mom, dad, grandma, etc).

You can use 저기요 (jugiyo) at a restaurant to get your waiter’s attention:

저기요! 주문 하겠습니다.
Juhgiyo! Jumun hagesseubnida.
Excuse me! I’d like to order.
(formal)

저기요! 김치 주세요.
Juhgiyo! Kimchi juseyo.
Excuse me! Please give me kimchi.
(formal)

저기요! 계산해 주세요.
Juhgiyo! Gyesanhae juseyo.
Excuse me! Check, please.
(formal)

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Let’s say you’re walking on the street. Someone drops their wallet. Being the good citizen that you are, you want to let them know:

저기요! 지갑 떨어트렸어요!
Juhgiyo! Jigap dduluh teuryussuhyo!
Excuse me! You dropped your wallet!
(formal)

You’re enjoying street food in Insadong. You stand at the vendor’s stall taking a bite out of a fresh hotteok. The customer next to you left their phone on the counter! You immediately look for them. There they are walking away!

저기요! 휴대폰 놓고 갔어요!
Juhgiyo! Hyoodaepon nohko gassuhyo!
Excuse me! You left your phone!
(formal)

There’s a senior citizen who entered the subway train. You’d kindly like to give up your seat. You call for their attention:

저기요. 여기 앉으세요.
Juhgiyo. Yeogi ahnjeuseyo.
Excuse me. Please have a seat here.
(formal)

You’re in a situation where you want to ask someone something. Maybe you’re a little shy or want to be polite:

저기요, 뭐 물어봐도 돼요?
Juhgiyo, mwo muluhbwado dweyo?
Excuse me, may I ask a question?
(formal)

By asking “May I ask a question?” you’re already asking a question. But how nice of you ask anyhow!

See you next Wednesday on my YouTube channel for another fun Korean lesson! :)