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Best Apps for Studying Korean posted at 15:20 As I have been quite hiatus recently because of the massive amount of work we have to deal with before the Easter holidays and the ever looming presence of the final year exams, I thought I would post something useful that I compiled earlier this year. In this post is a list of what I think are the best apps on the iphone (and probably ipad if there is a version) that I use for my studying but also for in my spare time. I am not sure if there is an android equivalent of each app I will list but make sure to check if there is as all are extremely useful! If there is one here that I haven't listed that you think is useful don't hesitate to leave a comment to tell me! ^^  As an iphone user I love to use different apps for studying Korean but also to further my knowledge of  One of the most useful apps I use for when on the go is the Daum Dictionary. It is really useful and can translate words from Korean into many different languages and additionally from other languages to Korean. I have found that it has the most accurate definitions of words and is very easy to use despite being completely in Korean. It also has a really handy camera app where you can take a picture of a word such as in a textbook or on a menu, and it will try to translate it for you which is really clever! I definitely recommend this one for any Korean language learner.  Another really useful app for when learning and studying Korean is Dongsa. This app allows to you insert any stem form of a verb and then it conjugates it into past, present and future verb forms. As a student who really struggles with this aspect of Korean I have found it one of the most useful tools and I really recommend it for those who still struggle with verb form rules. The only downside is that you could misspell a verb and it would not pick up on your mistake so therefore you could be confused. Additionally it doesn’t give any translation for verbs if you are unsure on the meaning. However overall it is a great app!  One app I really like but isn’t necessarily aimed for Korean learning is 키스더라디오 which is available for those who want to listen to the radio show ‘Kiss The Radio’ which is hosted by various members of the boy group Super Junior. I have used it a couple of times to listen to the show, and I am not able to understand a lot yet, but I can often pick up words and phrases so it works as great listening practice in your spare time. Unfortunately when I was taking pictures of the app I wasn’t able to get it when it is on air, but sometimes the app allows you to view videos of the show live as well.  Another great app for people who like Korean TV and radio is tving. This app is all in Korean so it is quite hard to navigate but it is really useful for watching small clips of popular Korean shows and dramas without subtitles for practice. You can get full shows on there but Korean friends have told me you have to have really good food internet and also may have to pay a small fee whilst in  For those who like Korean food this also another interesting app with many recipes in different languages for Korean food throughout the season called Korean Cuisine. It includes step by step instructions including pictures but also reviews by other users who have tried each recipe. I have tried a few and they taste all really good! It’s also good for Korean learning because you can see what the recipe looks like in both English and Korean. I have tried one recipe in Korean and when I didn’t know the full meaning of what to do the accompanying image would help me get through that part.  KBS have another great app for learning Korean called Lets Learn Korean. It has Korean lessons in many languages including English and focuses on the type of Korean you would need to use in certain situations such as going to the airport and visiting a doctor. Each scenario includes a mini dialogue, a longer dialogue, a vocabulary list and each dialogue recorded by native speakers so you can compare your tones and pronunciation. This is really useful alongside Elementary Korean II work as you can have help with improvement of dialogue tasks but also have the opportunity to see if you’re accent matches those of a fluent speaker. I have found this really useful and one of the best apps available for studying Korean.  KBS continue with the best apps for Korean learners by including their news app. It’s pretty much similar to the news website but it is of course useful on the go. It is completely in Korean but therefore it is good for reading and listening practice as it also includes videos. It updates on Korean news, international news but also gives weather reports. I really like sometimes just clicking on this app and trying to read whole articles or watching videos to help improve my reading practice.  The last app I am going to mention is another really useful app for those have struggles in Korean numbers and writing out large ones which is SpellNumbers. You can select from many languages but Korean is included. If like me you have trouble writing out long numbers in Korean you can insert it into the app and it tells you how to write it. Of course you should study and make sure you can do it yourself but this is useful for those moments where you are really confused and maybe can help as a start to completing it yourself. Labels: apps, korean help 한국어 색깔! posted at 13:07 As this week in class I have been studying colours for my weekly vocab test I thought I would make some easier ways to remember the many colour related words which I could share with you. Here is a quick post to give you a simple guide on how to express 색깔 (colour)! ^^ I have made a simple colour guide here of some colours and their Korean translation, which you can save and use to study from in the future. 
As you can see some of the colours have two words (or can apply to other colours) so make sure to remember the difference!
For example the first blue is 하늘색 which means "sky blue" as 하늘 is the Korean word for "sky". The second blue which is both 파란색 and 푸른색 are general "blue" which can be used to describe objects such as the sea but also can mean "green". The third darker blue 남색 is "navy blue".
How to use colours is simple and I will show you how! You must put the colour before the noun you are using such as saying the "the green lawn" you say "파란색 잔디/녹색 잔디". And that's all there is to it!
Colours are a necessity in learning a language as it can help you distinguish items and helps widen your vocabulary greatly
Here is another drawing you can save to help practice; a Korean Rainbow! ^^;;
 Labels: korean help, study guide, vocabulary Different Ways of Stating "And" posted at 13:54 Well to start off these mini study guides I made during my studying for my previous exams, I thought I could stare the different ways you could say "and" in a sentence and where you would use them. I found it one of those hard things to remember as I didn't understand the differences in sequences as in English I could say "I went to the shop and bought something" or "I went to the shop and then met a friend" with no sequential difference would be needing be stated. Firstly if I start with the different ways of saying "and" when using nouns in a sentence, and then I can go into ways to connect verbs and then finally any sentence beginnings and endings which can also connect in speech and writing. Using "And" To Connect Between Nouns
Using "And" To Connect Between Verbs
Other Ways of Saying "And"
Here are some examples of words that don't connect two or more sentences or nouns but can be used as connectors at the start of new sentences.
Ways To End Sentences With "And"
There is a common way in colloquial Korean speech that is used for example when you forget to add something in a previous sentence or when you remember something at the last moment. This is called the -고요 ending which you can use at the end of an additional sentence plus the verb base to add something on.
For example you could say: "오늘 나는 커피를 마셔요. 차도 마시고요." (Today I will drink coffee. And I will also drink tea).
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Hopefully this first of my little study guides that I collected from my exam studying will be helpful to you! Remember if you have any questions don't hesitate to drop a comment and I can give you some advice ^^
Labels: grammar, korean help, korean progress 시험 학습 계획 posted at 08:07 One of the most common questions I get is how I plan out my studying before an important test to make sure that everything possible is covered in the available study time. I am not saying my method is the correct way when planning, I have to admit I am my own worse enemy when it comes to studying and numerous times I have over done it to the extent my brain instead dissolves the information than take it in. Of course as a University student I have the great resource of the library study spaces but the most important thing I suggest first is that you find a quiet area that has minimum distractions i.e. no laptop, no television, no mobile phone. When studying in my own bedroom I am always looking out the window, looking at my posters, going to get food every five minutes, so being in a place like the library really holds you back from being totally distracted from your work. Before I start to study to get the main idea of what I need to cover I make a vague plan of every point I have to review. As I have said before in my classes, every five chapters in my textbook is the point where we have to begin studying for our next review test. Mine is in just another two weeks and I have been studying bit by bit in the last week, but here I will show you how I divide the topics chapter by chapter (in this test we are covering chapters 16-20 of 'Continuing Korean' - please look at my earlier textbook post to refer to this book). Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Additional Studying
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There you have what my typical study plan looks for the review tests. I like including all the forms and meanings because I can just review this plan quickly without extensive grammar notes to check I remember their meanings. Don't be put off about how complex it seems as I am at a elementary level and beginners shouldn't be frightened by the Korean they don't recognize just yet! This can also give a little taster of how much a Korean language degree student has to learn in the span of about 2 months in classes. It doesn't seem much written down in note form but there is about 100+ pages of textbook notes I have to cover ^^;;
One of my last tips is to make sure to plan early!!! The earlier you plan and the smaller chunks of studying you can fit in means you have less to cram the few days before an exam. It takes less strain and stress on your temperament as well if you're like me and get easily distracted. My favourite method of study breaks is every time I need to fill up my water bottle I go on a little ten minute walk around my University building so I can relax a little and stretch my legs so maybe some of you could try that? ^^
Remember to comment if you have any further questions or queries!
Labels: korean help, korean progress, study plan, test Modifiers 연습 posted at 13:44 Last week was quite a heavy week in terms of learning grammar as we begun discussing modifying sentences. I have already conquered the same confusion when previously learning Japanese as the sentence structure is quite difficult, so luckily I didn't have much strain but there is always a need to remember the grammar rules. So in this post I will be establishing the rules for past, present and future tenses with included examples and hopefully I can explain fully how these modifying sentences differ from the original sentences so you can understand and use this post as a reference ^^ Adjective Modifiers The basic pattern for modifying adjectives is using adjective base + (으) ㄴ - . (The 은 being added if the verb ends with the constant or just ㄴ being added to the end of a vowel ending verb.) For example if you wanted to modify "많다" (to be many) it becomes "많은 개" (many dogs - dogs just being an example noun in this situation). To explain a little what difference is made by this modifier, the sentence without a modifier "개가 많아요." means "There are many dogs." whilst with a modifier you can using two verbs in one sentence and alter the subject a little, for example: "많은 개는 그 나무 앞에 앉아요." (The many dogs are sitting in front of the tree). Hopefully you won't need any further explanation in the difference and you can tell how the modifier has given the subject a description. Of course with any change of adjectives/verbs there are some rules you have to remember;
You must note that there are no past, present, future tenses used with adjectives and there is only one pattern. If you want to state a tense you must use it with the end of the sentence verb or sentence ending.
Past Tense Verb Modifiers
The basic pattern for modifying verbs in past tense is using verb base + (으) ㄴ - much like the modifying pattern for adjectives. (The 은 being added if the verb ends with the constant or just ㄴ being added to the end of a vowel ending verb.)
For example if you wanted to modify "하다" (to do) it becomes "한 숙제" (the homework that has been done - again homework being just an example noun for this explanation purpose). Even though I have explained it above with the adjective modifiers how these sentences can differ, I will again give an example here to explain it further. If you don't use a modifier a sentence can look something like "나는 숙제를 했어요." (I did homework.) but with a modifier you can make a sentence more complex and descriptive, for example it can become: "내가 한 숙제는 아주 어려워요." (The homework I did was very difficult).
With most verbs and past tense modifier you just add the verb base to the pattern given but of course there are some rules you have to remember;
Present Tense Verb Modifiers The basic pattern for modifying verbs in past tense is using verb base + 는 - . For example if you wanted to modify the verb "먹다" (to eat) it becomes "먹는 사과" (the apple I am eating - apple being just an example noun for this purpose). Hopefully now you can understand the difference in a sentence translation when using a modifier and not using a modifier but I will continue to give an example on present tense for further practice and understanding. If you don't use a modifier a sentence can look something like "그 사람은 여기에 있어요." (That person is here) but with a modifier it can be made far more complex for example, "그 자는 사람은 여기에 있어요." (That person who is sleeping is here). Here is a rule you must remember with present tense modifiers;
Future Tense Verb Modifiers
The basic pattern for modifying verbs in future tense is using verb base + (으) ㄹ - . (The 을 being added if the verb ends with the constant or just ㄹ being added to the end of a vowel ending verb.)
For example if you wanted to modify the verb "마시다" (to eat) it becomes "마실 커피" (the coffee I will drink - coffee being just an example noun). Again I will give you an example sentence to show the difference in translation between a sentence using a modifier and one that doesn't. If you don't use a modifier a sentence can look something like "나는 가게에서 이 음식을 사겠어요." (I will buy food at the shop) but with a modifier it can become far more descriptive such as "이 먹을 음식은 가게에서 샀어요." (This food I will eat I bought a the shop).
As always here are some rules you must remember for future tense modifiers;
던 Modifier for Past-Past
Another modifier that be used to establish tenses can be the pattern verb base + 던 - which shows past-past tense and past-progressive which has a meaning similar to that of the pattern -고 있었어요 which loosely translates to "did something, but didn't finish it".
For example in terms of past-past tense if you wanted to modify the verb "가다" (to go) it can become "가던 백화점" (the department store I went to (and came back from) - department store being just an example noun for this purpose).
If you want to translate this modifier for past-progressive tense, you could use the modifier in an example sentence as such: "그 먹던사과는 여기에 있어요." (That apple that I ate (and didn't finish eating) is here). This is in comparison to the future tense modifier which is "먹은 사과" (the apple I ate).
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Hopefully this guide into modifiers has been extensive and helpful. It is in those are more elementary learners rather than beginners, but when learning sentence structure for longer compositions these modifiers are useful in making your sentences more descriptive and interesting. If you have any questions on further uses or if you don't understand everything do not hesitate to leave a comment here. Also if you really want, I can make this revision guide into a downloadable document file so you can print it out and use it in your work ^^
Labels: korean help, korean progress, review 신체 부위 연습 posted at 15:57 In class the other day we learnt the different 신체 부위 (body parts) quickly for our extra vocab for when describing how we are ill and for pharmacy situations. So as part of my portfolio work, as my class notes were very messy, I decided to create a body and face diagram with the correct Korean words attached to them. I made a print out figure and wrote it out by hand to practice for my portfolio itself, but I also made a copy on the computer that you can see in this post ^^ which can you either save or download! So I hope it helps you for your practice like it had done for mine. If you have any questions about how to discuss illnesses and to express symptoms don't hesitate to request it and I will make a post!  Labels: download, korean help 일월 시험이 끝났습니다! posted at 08:41 I haven't be able to update this blog for the past week mostly because I started to call the 대학교 도서관 (University Library) my new home! After spending a consecutive four days in the library studying non-stop, yesterday I finished my review tests for this half term. I had a presentation last week, as well as a portfolio deadline and then this week was my listening and review test in all one go! I was really pleased with my last result for my previous listening and review test so I wanted to keep up my good results in these tests as well. In the last five chapters of my textbook (as I explained in my previous post about books my class gets tested after every five chapters covered) there was a lot of new verb forms and grammar which was hard to master and understand. One of the main focuses I had was to remember all the future and probable forms, and in what context I should use them in translate. I became especially confused at first by -(으) ㄹ 거에요 and -겠 forms in regards to when I should use them. For those who don't know -(으) ㄹ 거에요 is a probable future term with quite high intention, for example 이번 주말에 시내에서 살 거에요 (next week I am probably going to shop downtown). The other form is -겠 is another future form that has very high intention similar to that of making new years resolutions. It also has the meaning of "I bet..." so for example 내일 날씨가 아주 좋겠습니다 (I bet tomorrow's weather will be really good.) The same can be done with -(으) ㄹ 거에요 and even the form -(으)ㄹ까요 (shall we? or do you suppose?) but these forms are for more half informed guesses about information whilst -겠 form is for statements with evidence i.e commenting on the weather after watching a weather report on the television. However the problem I faced with these forms is that in some questions it is very explicit whether the speaker has got firm evidence or not (or even whether their intention is firm or not). For example in my studying I came across a question that said "He won't receive money from his father this week, I bet." which instantly made me think it would be -겠 form but in fact it was -(으) ㄹ 거에요 in the answers. Thus I asked 선생님 (teacher) what I should do about this, and she said it was fine which ever form I use, but just to make sure in colloquial speech I am aware of the context. After reviewing these forms over and over again they began to make sense and I felt more confident about using them in my tasks. The actual tests themselves were okay but not brilliant. I am always overly self critical after exams but the listening especially wasn't my best test. I found it hard to catch everything even though I had studied the majority of the vocabulary included. Therefore in the future I must give more time to practicing my listening with audio files and by having more colloquial dialogues with 한국 친구 (Korean friends). I found the review tests was good despite all my worrying before the test. With this I just have to make sure next time I have fully memorized the dialogues in the past chapters we have learnt because a lot of the translations used the same sentence patterns which would have helped me greatly if I knew them word for word rather than vaguely. Additionally I shouldn't rely on what I was given in previous tests as this one was very different to before. This means that when studying I have to try and cover everything even if it seems a lot. I am happy with the amount of time I spent studying this time but I could have planned it better and maybe made use of it. After my tests I then went to celebrate with friends at a Japanese restaurant who also had finished exams that day. 일본 식당에서 라면을 많이 먹었습니다. 그리고 거기에 아주 재미있서 기분이 좋았습니다. (At the Japanese restaurant I ate a lot of Ramen. Also as it was really interesting there, I was in a really good mood.) ^^   Labels: diary, korean help, korean progress 제일 한국어 책 - Best Korean Language Books posted at 10:14 One of the most frequent questions I get about studying Korean is what books to use. There isn't a lot of material available and for cheap (well mostly in Europe) so for some it is hard to find the right material to use, which of course is the starting block for learning any language. Before I came to University I usually used a lot of online materials, or went on amazon.co.uk and searched for Korean workbooks but none of these seemed to be very helpful or were mostly in romanised Korean. When learning Korean I recommend (actually I insist) that you begin with learning hangul, therefore you need a textbook or workbook that forces you to use and practice this writing system. The textbooks I have used at University so far are 'Elementary Korean' and 'Continuing Korean' written by Ross King and Jae-Hoon Yeon. 
Here is an image of the two books, the one on the right being the first book I started with 'Elementary Korean' and the second is 'Continuing Korean' (though I am sure you can find it available with a much more fancy cover much like the 1st book). I am not going to lie to you, both books are very expensive, the first being £30-£40 depending where you find it online and the second is so far £40-£60 (these are second hand prices I am talking about, new copies add around £20 to those amounts). One tip I do have if you want to find these books cheaper is to look on abebooks.com or to look online at the times when students at University will not be buying these books. At University we have to buy the first book around September/October whilst the second in December/January. Friends of mine bought both textbooks for much cheaper outside these times due to no other students hunting for them so that is something I definitely recommend.
Despite me already telling you about how expensive they are, I have to say both books are worth the money. I have yet to find a book in English that covers the Korean Language so in depth and well. It gives you dialogues, vocabulary lists and a large amount of grammar information per chapter. In class we cover about one chapter every 2/3 lessons, and the grammar can be a lot to take in, but if you study by yourself of course you can take your own time trying to understand everything. It is all well set out, and has a good index. There is also every 5 chapters a review chapter that sums up everything you have left so far, which is amazing for revision. In class we use every 5 chapters for the point to have a review test just to see how well we are doing and I find these extra chapters really handy in preparing for these tests. Another good inclusion is that you get a useful audio CD with different examples and dialogues, but also you have the rights to access the website connected to the textbook which has more activities and tasks which can aid in your studying progress.
I may sound bias because Jae-Hoon Yeon is my 선생님 (teacher) at University but I am being honest in saying you will not find any better textbook with English commentary that are for beginners. I haven't been able to find one so comprehensive and useful, mostly relying before on Japanese books that teach Korean instead.
Another positive thing is 'Elementary Korean' has its own workbook which is entirely affordable It's really handy in that it has a lot of tasks and extra work that can aid your studying because practice and repeat is the best way to remember and understand.
Overall for a beginner, these two textbooks are the best you can get, and I would struggle to find one that matches so well! I have other books I use but I will include them in later posts due to them being suited for so many different aspects of learning Korean. Remember if you have any questions, do not hesitate to drop me a comment on this post!
Labels: book, korean help, korean progress, review, textbook 소개! posted at 14:42 안녕하세요! 저는 루시입니다!Hello! My name is Lucy and this is my introduction to my blog! I am currently studying BA Korean at SOAS University in London and have only been learning the Korean language full-time for four months but have been part time studying it for a few years before now. My interest in Korean culture spans more than a decade and now I am finally realising my dream by being able to study the language at University at an intense level.As part of my unit called Elementary Korean II I have to show in a portfolio form how my studying is progressing to my 선생님 (teacher). During the development of my portfolio I have found some really useful ways for studying Korean on your own and with friends that I thought were too good not to share! Therefore by creating this blog I can now document my studying as I have done in my physical portfolio by diary form but also include posts that others can view online of the useful tips and tricks I have found to becoming better at Korean! I often get questions online and by friends who want to know how to go about studying Korean, such as how and where, but also I have many people who study different languages/subjects what my best study methods are. So here you can always ask me any questions and I will be happy to reply to them all. As my own practice I will try to make posts in Korean, but I promise to always include English translations for those who cannot yet understand. Furthermore I hope that every post I will make in the future is informative and useful. I am only a beginner in the language so if any of my Korean is wrong and you do spot mistakes, do not hesitate to comment to correct me as positive criticism is a good way for to improve! Labels: about me, introduction, korean help, korean progress |
안녕하세요
My name is 루시 (Lucy) and I am a 2nd year student of BA Korean in London, but currently I am studying at Korea University in Seoul.
This blog will include helpful tips and hints on how to learn the Korean language but will also show my own progress in studying. I will also aim to post reviews on Korean products and will post videos of my adventures. |
