Daily Life Korean — 60 Phrases for Life in Korea
60 practical Korean phrases for daily life situations while living in Korea, with romanization, English meaning and audio. Tap any phrase in the app to hear the audio and practice with quizzes.
Daily life in Korea runs on small, specific phrases. These 60 daily life expressions cover the situations residents face in practice, each with romanization and an English meaning (A1–B2). Examples include “안녕하세요” and “감사합니다”. These 60 phrases are graded A1 16 · A2 16 · B1 14 · B2 14 on the CEFR scale and run from 5 to 46 characters.
| Korean | Meaning (EN) |
|---|---|
| 안녕하세요.annyeonghaseyo | Hello. |
| 감사합니다.gamsahamnida | Thank you. |
| 죄송합니다.joesonghamnida | I'm sorry. |
| 오늘 날씨가 좋아요.oneul nalssiga joayo | The weather is nice today. |
| 이거 얼마예요?igeo eolmayeyo | How much is this? |
| 물 한 병 주세요.mul han byeong juseyo | One bottle of water, please. |
| 택배가 왔어요.taekbaega wasseoyo | A parcel arrived. |
| 쓰레기는 어디에 버려요?sseuregineun eodie beoryeoyo | Where do I throw away the trash? |
| 안녕히 가세요.annyeonghi gaseyo. | Goodbye, take care. |
| 잘 먹겠습니다.jal meokgetseumnida. | Thank you for the meal, I will start eating. |
| 지금 몇 시예요?jigeum myeot siyeyo? | What time is it now? |
| 오늘 무슨 요일이에요?oneul museun yoirieyo? | What day of the week is it today? |
| 화장실이 어디예요?hwajangsiri eodiyeyo? | Where is the restroom? |
| 잠시만 기다려 주세요.jamsiman gidaryeo juseyo. | Please wait a moment. |
| 카드로 할게요.kadeuro halgeyo. | I will pay by card. |
| 우산을 안 가져왔어요.usaneul an gajyeowasseoyo. | I did not bring an umbrella. |
| 쓰레기 분리수거는 어떻게 해요?sseuregi bullisugeoneun eotteoke haeyo | How do I do recycling/waste separation? |
| 택배 좀 경비실에 맡겨 주세요.taekbae jom gyeongbisile matgyeo juseyo | Please leave the parcel at the security office. |
| 교통카드 충전 어디서 해요?gyotongkadeu chungjeon eodiseo haeyo | Where can I top up my transit card? |
| 음식물 쓰레기는 따로 버려야 해요.eumsingmul sseuregineun ttaro beoryeoya haeyo | Food waste needs to be thrown out separately. |
| 버스가 늦게 와요.beoseuga neutge wayo | The bus is coming late. |
| 옆집 소리가 너무 커요.yeopjip soriga neomu keoyo | My neighbor's noise is too loud. |
| 동네에 카페가 많아요.dongnee kapega manayo | There are many cafes in the neighborhood. |
| 오늘 좀 춥지 않아요?oneul jom chupji anayo | Isn't it a bit cold today? |
| 저녁에 시간 있어요?jeonyeoge sigan isseoyo? | Are you free this evening? |
| 여보세요, 지금 통화 괜찮으세요?yeoboseyo, jigeum tonghwa gwaenchaneuseyo? | Hello, is this a good time to talk? |
| 오늘 미세먼지가 심해요.oneul misemeonjiga simhaeyo. | The fine dust is bad today. |
| 엘리베이터 좀 잡아 주세요.ellibeiteo jom jaba juseyo. | Could you hold the elevator, please? |
| 요즘 어떻게 지내세요?yojeum eotteoke jinaeseyo? | How have you been lately? |
| 어제 잠을 못 자서 피곤해요.eoje jameul mot jaseo pigonhaeyo. | I did not sleep well last night, so I am tired. |
| 다음에 같이 밥 한번 먹어요.daeume gachi bap hanbeon meogeoyo. | Let us have a meal together sometime. |
| 오늘은 좀 어려울 것 같아요.oneureun jom eoryeoul geot gatayo. | Today might be a little difficult for me. |
| 택배 기사님께 미리 부재중이라고 메모를 남겨 뒀어요.taekbae gisanimkke miri bujaejungiraago memoreul namgyeo dwosseoyo | I left a note for the delivery driver in advance saying I'd be out. |
| 분리수거 날짜가 동마다 달라서 좀 헷갈려요.bullisugeo naljjaga dongmada dallaseo jom hetgallyeoyo | Recycling days differ by neighborhood, so it's a bit confusing. |
| 윗집에 정중하게 양해를 구해 봤어요.witjipe jeongjunghage yanghaereul guhae bwasseoyo | I politely asked the upstairs neighbor for some understanding. |
| 통신비 자동이체를 다른 카드로 바꿔야 해요.tongsinbi jadongichereul dareun kadeuro bakkwoya haeyo | I need to switch the auto-payment for my phone bill to a different card. |
| 요즘 날씨가 변덕스러워서 옷차림이 애매해요.yojeum nalssiga byeondeokseureoweoseo otcharimi aemaehaeyo | The weather is so unpredictable lately that it's hard to decide what to wear. |
| 관리비 고지서에 알 수 없는 항목이 추가돼 있어요.gwallibieo gojiseoe al su eopneun hangmogi chugadwae isseoyo | There's an unfamiliar item added to the management fee bill. |
| 택배 박스가 너무 많아져서 정리해야겠어요.taekbae bakseuga neomu manajyeoseo jeongrihaeyagesseoyo | I've got way too many delivery boxes, I should sort them out. |
| 여기서 지하철역까지 걸어서 얼마나 걸려요?yeogiseo jihacheollyeokkaji georeoseo eolmana geollyeoyo? | How long does it take to walk from here to the subway station? |
| 문자로 주소를 보내 주시면 제가 찾아갈게요.munjaro jusoreul bonae jusimyeon jega chajagalgeyo. | If you text me the address, I will find my way there. |
| 갑자기 일이 생겨서 약속을 미뤄도 될까요?gapjagi iri saenggyeoseo yaksogeul miryeodo doelkkayo? | Something came up suddenly. Could we push our appointment back? |
| 부탁 하나만 드려도 괜찮을까요?butak hanaman deuryeodo gwaenchaneulkkayo? | Would it be all right if I asked you for a favor? |
| 오랜만이에요, 그동안 별일 없으셨죠?oraenmanieyo, geudongan byeoril eopseusyeotjyo? | Long time no see. Everything has been all right, I hope? |
| 배달 앱으로 시켰는데 도착이 계속 늦어지네요.baedal aebeuro sikyeonneunde dochagi gyesok neujeojineyo. | I ordered through a delivery app, but it keeps arriving late. |
| 퇴근하고 바로 가면 일곱 시쯤 도착할 것 같아요.toegeunhago baro gamyeon ilgop sijjeum dochakal geot gatayo. | If I head over right after work, I should get there around seven. |
| 분리수거 규정이 자치구마다 조금씩 달라서 헷갈릴 때가 있어요.bullisugeo gyujeongi jachigumada jogeumssik dallaseo hetgallil ttaega isseoyo | Recycling rules differ slightly by district, so it's confusing at times. |
| 택배가 자주 오는 집은 무인 택배함을 신청해 두면 훨씬 편해요.taekbaega jaju oneun jibeun muin taekbaehameul sincheonghae dumyeon hwolssin pyeonhaeyo | Households that get frequent deliveries find unmanned parcel boxes much more convenient. |
| 도시가스 자동이체 신청서는 인터넷으로도 작성할 수 있어 정말 편리해요.dosigaseu jadongiche sincheongseoneun inteoneteurodoga jakseonghal su isseo jeongmal pyeonrihaeyo | City-gas auto-payment forms can be filled out online too, which is really convenient. |
| 아파트 관리비 명세서를 매달 꼼꼼히 확인하는 습관이 가계 관리에 도움이 돼요.apateu gwallibi myeongsesseoreul maedal kkomkkomhi hwaginhaneun seupgwani gagye gwallie doumi dwaeyo | Habitually checking the apartment maintenance bill carefully each month helps with household budgeting. |
| 음식물 쓰레기 RFID 카드를 잃어버렸는데 어디서 재발급받을 수 있나요?eumsingmul sseuregi RFID kadeureul ireobeoryeotneunde eodiseo jaebalgeupbadeul su innayo | I lost my food-waste RFID card — where can I get it reissued? |
| 이번 주말에 단지 행사로 벼룩시장이 열린다고 하더라고요.ibeon jumare danji haengsaro byeoroksijangi yeollindago hadeoragoyo | I heard there's a flea market this weekend as a complex event. |
| 이웃집 누수가 우리 집까지 영향을 줘서 관리실에 정식으로 민원을 넣으려고요.iutjib nususeoga uri jibkkaji yeonghyangeul jwoseo gwallisille jeongsigeuro minwoneul neoeuryeogoyo | The neighbor's water leak is affecting our home too, so I'll file a formal complaint with management. |
| 한국에서는 처음 만난 사람에게도 나이를 물어보는 경우가 많아요.hangugeseoneun cheoeum mannan saramegedo naireul mureoboneun gyeonguga manayo. | In Korea, people often ask your age even when meeting you for the first time. |
| 거절할 때도 돌려서 말하는 편이라 처음에는 무슨 뜻인지 알기 어려웠어요.geojeolhal ttaedo dollyeoseo malhaneun pyeonira cheoeumeneun museun tteusinji algi eoryeowosseoyo. | People here tend to say no indirectly, so at first it was hard to tell what they meant. |
| 엘리베이터에서 이웃을 만나면 가볍게 목례만 해도 충분히 예의 있는 인사예요.ellibeiteoeseo iuseul mannamyeon gabyeopge mongnyeman haedo chungbunhi yeui inneun insayeyo. | When you run into a neighbor in the elevator, a slight nod is already a polite enough greeting. |
| 식사 자리에서는 윗사람이 수저를 든 뒤에 먹기 시작하는 게 일반적이에요.siksa jarieseoneun witsarami sujeoreul deun dwie meokgi sijakaneun ge ilbanjeogieyo. | At a meal, it is customary to start eating only after the eldest person picks up their spoon. |
| 약속을 잡을 때 정확한 시간보다 저녁쯤이라고 해 두고 당일에 조율하는 경우도 흔해요.yaksogeul jabeul ttae jeonghwakan siganboda jeonyeokjjeumirago hae dugo dangire joyulhaneun gyeongudo heunhaeyo. | When making plans, it is common to just say around evening and then settle the exact time on the day itself. |
| 미세먼지가 심한 날에는 창문을 닫고 환기 시간을 짧게 가져가는 편이에요.misemeonjiga simhan nareneun changmuneul datgo hwangi siganeul jjalge gajyeoganeun pyeonieyo. | On days with heavy fine dust, I keep the windows closed and air the place out only briefly. |
| 모르는 번호로 걸려 온 전화는 광고인 경우가 많아서 검색해 보고 받는 사람도 있어요.moreuneun beonhoro geollyeo on jeonhwaneun gwanggoin gyeonguga manaseo geomsaekae bogo banneun saramdo isseoyo. | Calls from unknown numbers are often ads, so some people look the number up before answering. |
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Frequently asked questions
- How many Korean daily life phrases are on this page?
- This page lists 60 daily life phrases in Korean, each with romanization and an English meaning.
- What level are these Korean daily life phrases?
- They span A1–B2 on the CEFR scale (A1 16 · A2 16 · B1 14 · B2 14), which suits beginner to intermediate learners.
- Can I hear how these Korean phrases are pronounced?
- Yes — every phrase on this page has a play button with audio. The free WeBring Korean app adds quizzes and spaced-repetition review.
- How many of these daily life phrases are questions?
- 16 of the 60 end in a question mark; the other 44 are statements.
- What speech endings do these Korean phrases use?
- 57 end in the polite -요 form and 1 in the formal -습니다 form; the rest use other endings.