Lesson 01 · Jobs & Nationalities
Hello, everyone! I’m Hyeju, your Korean teacher.
Today, we’ll learn 12 useful Korean words for jobs, countries, and simple self-introductions.
학생 · 선생님 · 미국 · 사람
haksaeng · seonsaengnim · miguk · saram
student · teacher · the United States · person
TODAY’S LEARNING GOALS
What will you learn today?
- Learn 6 basic job words.
- Learn 5 country names + 사람.
- Use the words in simple self-introduction sentences.
HYEJU LANGUAGE LAB · ENGLISH EXPLANATIONS
Watch Lesson 1 with Hyeju
Learn the vocabulary and grammar with English explanations, then review the examples and try the practice below.
JOBS
Six useful job words
Let’s begin with six words you can use when talking about your job, role, or identity. Try reading the Korean word aloud before checking the English meaning.
01 · STUDENT
학생
haksaeng
student
02 · TEACHER
선생님
seonsaengnim
teacher
03 · DOCTOR
의사
uisa
doctor
04 · SINGER
가수
gasu
singer
05 · OFFICE WORKER
회사원
hoesawon
office worker / company employee
06 · COOK / CHEF
요리사
yorisa
cook / chef
Do not memorize these as isolated words only. Practice them immediately with 저는 ___이에요/예요.
COUNTRIES
Five country names
Next, learn five country names. In the next section, we’ll combine them with 사람 to talk about nationality.
07 · KOREA
한국
hanguk
Korea
08 · JAPAN
일본
ilbon
Japan
09 · CHINA
중국
jungguk
China
10 · THE UNITED STATES
미국
miguk
the United States / America
11 · CANADA
캐나다
kaenada
Canada
ONE VERY USEFUL WORD
사람: person
사람
saram
person
사람 is one of the most useful beginner words because you can put it after a country name to describe where someone is from.
USEFUL WORD PATTERN
Country + 사람
For beginners, one simple way to talk about nationality is:
나라 + 사람
country + saram
a person from that country
한국 + 사람 → 한국 사람
hanguk saram
Korean person / Korean
일본 + 사람 → 일본 사람
ilbon saram
Japanese person / Japanese
중국 + 사람 → 중국 사람
jungguk saram
Chinese person / Chinese
미국 + 사람 → 미국 사람
miguk saram
American person / American
ONE MORE
캐나다 + 사람 → 캐나다 사람
kaenada saram
Canadian person / Canadian
You do not need to memorize a completely different nationality word for every country yet. First, get comfortable with country + 사람.
USE THE WORDS
Simple self-introduction sentences
Now let’s use today’s vocabulary with the grammar from Grammar Lesson 01.
저는 학생이에요.
jeoneun haksaeng-ieyo.
I’m a student.
저는 회사원이에요.
jeoneun hoesawon-ieyo.
I’m an office worker.
민수는 가수예요.
Minsuneun gasu-yeyo.
Minsu is a singer.
수지는 의사예요.
Sujineun uisa-yeyo.
Suji is a doctor.
저는 미국 사람이에요.
jeoneun miguk saram-ieyo.
I’m American.
유키는 일본 사람이에요.
Yukineun ilbon saram-ieyo.
Yuki is Japanese.
MINI PRACTICE
Can you remember the words?
Try answering without looking back at the vocabulary list.
- How do you say “student” in Korean?
- How do you say “teacher” in Korean?
- Combine 한국 + 사람.
- Complete: 저는 ______이에요/예요.
- Complete: 저는 ______ 사람이에요.
Check the answers
- 학생
- 선생님
- 한국 사람
- Example: 저는 학생이에요. / 저는 가수예요.
- Example: 저는 미국 사람이에요. / 저는 캐나다 사람이에요.
TODAY’S 12 WORDS
Lesson 01 review
- 학생student
- 선생님teacher
- 의사doctor
- 가수singer
- 회사원office worker
- 요리사cook / chef
- 한국Korea
- 일본Japan
- 중국China
- 미국the United States
- 캐나다Canada
- 사람person
저는 ______이에요/예요.
jeoneun ______-ieyo/yeyo.
저는 ______ 사람이에요.
jeoneun ______ saram-ieyo.
Now choose one job and one country and make your own sentence!
NEXT STEP
Use these words in Grammar Lesson 01
Now that you know the vocabulary, learn how to build complete Korean sentences with N은/는 N이에요/예요 and N은/는 N입니다.
Hyeju Word Match
KOREAN VOCABULARY · BEGINNER
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