50 Essential Korean Phrases for Beginners

The phrases you'll actually reach for as a beginner, grouped by situation instead of by grammar chapter.

Below are 50, grouped by situation. These sentences come up constantly. Don’t try to memorize all of them in one sitting. Pick a group that matches something you’ll actually run into or plan to study this week and start there.

Greetings and manners (1–10)

안녕하세요 = Hello (any time of day, standard polite)
안녕히 가세요 = Goodbye, said to someone who is leaving while you stay
안녕히 계세요 = Goodbye, said to someone who is staying while you leave
감사합니다 = Thank you
죄송합니다 = I’m sorry / excuse me (formal)
괜찮아요 = It’s okay / I’m fine / no worries
네 = Yes
아니요 = No
주세요 = Please give me (attach after a noun)
실례합니다 = Excuse me (getting attention, formal)

Basic reactions and small talk (11–20)

알겠어요 = Got it / I understand
몰라요 = I don’t know
잠깐만요 = Just a moment
진짜요? = Really?
대박 = Wow / no way (casual reaction)
맞아요 = That’s right
아니에요 = It’s not that / no, not really (also used to deflect a compliment)
좋아요 = I like it / that’s good
힘들어요 = It’s hard / I’m having a tough time
화이팅! = Good luck! / You’ve got this!

Worth noticing: 아니에요 does more work than a direct "no." Someone thanks you, and you respond 아니에요, and it functions like "don't mention it," not a denial of anything. Context tells you which job it's doing.

Asking questions and getting help (21–30)

이게 뭐예요? = What is this?
얼마예요? = How much is it?
어디예요? = Where is it?
화장실이 어디예요? = Where’s the bathroom?
한국어를 잘 못해요 = I don’t speak Korean well
천천히 말해 주세요 = Please speak slowly
다시 한번 말해 주세요 = Please say that again
영어 하세요? = Do you speak English?
도와주세요 = Please help me
이해 못했어요 = I didn’t understand

At a restaurant or cafe (31–38)

여기요 = Excuse me (getting a server’s attention)
메뉴판 주세요 = Menu, please
이거 주세요 = I’ll have this, please (while pointing at the menu)
하나 더 주세요 = One more, please
맛있어요 = It’s delicious
계산해 주세요 = Check, please
포장해 주세요 = To go, please
물 좀 주세요 = Water, please

For the full ordering-food sequence, from sitting down to paying, Korean for Travel: Ordering Food, Directions, and Hotels walks through it start to finish.

Shopping and directions (39–45)

이거 얼마예요? = How much is this?
다른 색 있어요? = Do you have a different color?
너무 비싸요 = It’s too expensive
깎아 주세요 = Please give me a discount
오른쪽으로 가세요 = Go to the right
왼쪽으로 가세요 = Go to the left
똑바로 가세요 = Go straight

Emergencies and health (46–50)

도와주세요! = Help! (urgent)
아파요 = It hurts / I’m sick
병원이 어디예요? = Where’s the hospital?
여권을 잃어버렸어요 = I lost my passport
경찰을 불러 주세요 = Please call the police

Note: A few of these overlap with each other on purpose. 도와주세요 shows up twice above because "please help me" and "help!" carry the same words but a completely different urgency when you say them out loud. The phrase doesn't change; your tone does all the work.

Phrases are a starting line, not a finish line

Memorizing this list gets you through your first week. It doesn’t get you through an actual conversation, because real exchanges don’t follow a script; the other person answers, and now you need to respond to something you didn’t plan for. That’s a different skill, and it’s the one How to Practice Korean Speaking Alone is built around: methods you can use with zero conversation partner to start generating your own Korean instead of just recalling memorized lines.

If you want a new scenario every day that puts phrases like these into an actual back-and-forth, 30 Days of Korean Speaking is built exactly for that.