Korean Short Story : Phone conversation

Hi Korean learners ! Today, we meet again for another Korean reading practice for beginners. This time, it is targeted towards baby beginners. (A0 – A1)

In this article, you will find : 

• A reading practice in Korean
• A translation of the text
• A youtube video of this reading practice
• A vocabulary list
• A short explanation of the most difficult grammar parts

Table of Contents

Korean Reading Practice

통화

Vocabulary

Grammar points

-이에요 / -예요

Meaning : is / am / are
Usage : 이에요 / 예요 are polite sentence endings used to state something or identify something in Korean. They both mean “is/am/are” in English and are used differently depending on the preceding word’s ending:

• 이에요 : Used when the preceding word ends in a consonant.
  Example: 학생이에요 (It’s a student).
• 예요 : Used when the preceding word ends in a vowel.
  Example: 친구예요 (It’s a friend).

Example in the text: 비누예요 (It’s Binu). / 오랜만이에요 (It’s been a while).

-있다

Meaning: “to have” / “to exist”
Usage: When used in the context of time, it means “to have time” or “to be available.” It can be conjugated into different forms to match the politeness level and tense.

• Example: 시간이 있어요 (I have time / There is time).
• Negative form: 없어요 (Don’t have / There isn’t).
  -> 시간이 없어요 (I don’t have time / There is no time)

The particle used with 있다 / 없다 is 이/가. However, the particles are often omitted during spoken speech when the intent is clear.

Example in the text: 시간 있어요 (I have time) 시간 있어요? (Do you have time?)

-고 싶다

Meaning: want to
Usage: 고 싶다 is used to express a desire or want to do something. It attaches to the verb stem:

Verb stem + 고 싶다: I want to (verb)

You can then remove the 다 to add the sentence ending fitting the situation (어요, 습니다, …)

Example in the text: 먹고 싶어요 (I want to eat) 같이 가고 싶어요 (I want to go together)

Other Texts For True Beginners

• Korean Reading Practice : Morning Story
• Korean Reading Practice : Self-Introduction
• Korean Reading Practice – The Market

Study Method for Texts

If you’re not familiar with text study, here’s a method I would suggest you try.

Since we’ve recently started making YouTube videos for each reading practice we post, I would suggest you watch the video to study the text.
The video is divided as follows :

1. Korean voice only, with pictures to help the understanding
2. Korean subtitles + translation
3. Additional notes

By following the video first, you’ll get a good grasp of the text. Then, you can come back here and study it from here.