안녕하세요 ! Hello Korean learners~!
Today I’m back with an article about self introduction. If you’ve started learning Korean not long ago, chances are you are now looking for things to study. And one of the first topic you should learn to talk about is… yourself !
So if you’re looking for a simple guide over how to introduce yourself in Korean, you’ve found the right spot.
자기소개 = self introduction
I will introduce you to basic sentences so you can talk about yourself easily.
Let’s get started !
Note : all the sentences you will see in this article will be written at the 아/어요 form, which is the casual polite speech. It’s polite, but not overly polite. When you first meet someone in a casual landscape, this speech is okay to use.
Greetings in Korean
Let’s start with some greetings. They’re optional but always add a nice touch to your self introduction!
안녕하세요 = Hello
처음 뵙겠습니다 / 만나서 반갑습니다 = Nice to meet you
잘 부탁드립니다 = Please take good care of me
Saying your name in Korean
The most important thing to talk about is your name ! It’s the first thing people want to know about you.
questions
Some of the questions you can expect if someone is asking your name :
이름이 뭐예요 ? = What’s your name ?
이름이 어떻게 되세요 ? = What’s your name ?
성함이 어떻게 되세요 ? = What’s your name ? (more polite)
ANSWERS
Ways to answer these questions :
– 저는 ㅇㅇㅇ이에요. / 저는 ㅇㅇㅇ예요. = I am …
제 이름은 ㅇㅇㅇ이에요 / 제 이름은 …예요. = My name is …
저는 ㅇㅇㅇ이라고 해요. / 저는 ㅇㅇㅇ라고 해요. = I am called …
DEtails:
1. 저는 can be omitted when the context is clear. In this case, you can omit it, because the subject is obvious.
2. You use 이에요/이라고 when your name ends with a consonant.
Example :
저는 성욱이에요.
The name 성욱 ends with the consonant ㄱ, so 이에요 is used.
3. And you use 예요/라고 when your name ends with a vowel.
Example :
저는 앙카예요.
The name 앙카 ends with the vowel ㅏ, so 예요 is used.
Tell your age in Korean
The next step is to tell your age. In Korea, age is an important factor that people ask very quickly to set up boundaries and know how to address you. So in most settings, you will get asked your age.
There used to be a Korean age system that was given up on not long ago, so it’s okay for you to just say your age without trying to adjust it.
To tell their age, Koreans use the native Korean number system. If you don’t know about it yet, I’d suggest you read my article about Korean number systems. It will help you build an understanding of it!
Questions
Some of the questions you can expect if someone is asking your age :
몇 살이에요 ? = How old are you?
나이가 어떻게 되세요 ? = How old are you?
연세가 어떻게 되세요? = How old are you ? (used when you speak to someone who’s older than you)
Answers
Ways to answer :
저는 ㅇㅇ살이에요. = I am … years old
살 is the counter used for age. In my article about the Korean number systems, I briefly talk and explain about counters.
To tell your age, you have to join the tens digit and the unit digit of the Korean native number system.
Tens digits
10 =열
20 =스물
Note : transformed to 스무 when followed by the counter “살“
30 = 서른
40 = 마흔
50 = 쉰
60 = 예순
70 = 일흔
80 = 여든
90 = 아흔
Units digits
1 = 하나
Note : transformed to 한 when followed by the counter “살“
2 = 둘
Note : transformed to 두 when followed by the counter “살“
3 = 셋
Note : transformed to 세 when followed by the counter “살“
4 = 넷
Note : transformed to 네 when followed by the counter “살“
5 = 다섯
6 = 여섯
7 = 일곱
8 = 여덟
9 = 아홉
As you can see, a couple of them are slightly changed. (스무, 한, 두, 세, 네).
Examples :
저는 스물한 살이에요. = I am 21 years old.
저는 서른네 살이에요. = I am 34 years old.
저는 열아홉 살이에요. = I am 19 years old.
Talk about where you come from
Another very common topic, your country! This will come very quickly in the conversation as well.
Questions
Here are some of the questions you can expect if someone is asking where you come from :
어디에서 오셨어요 ? Where are you from ?
어디에서 왔어요 ? Where are you from ?
어느 나라 사람이에요 ? From which country are you from ?
Answers
And the possible ways to answer :
저는 ㅇㅇㅇ 에서 왔어요. I come from …
저는 ㅇㅇㅇ 사람이에요. I am … / I am from …
The ㅇㅇㅇ must be replaced by your country.
In the first sentence, it would go like this :
저는 미국에서 왔어요. I come from America
저는 subject 무국 USA 에서 from 왔어요 to come, past
For the second sentence :
저는 영국사람이에요. I am English
in which 사람 means person.
SOME Countries Names in Korean
미국 = United States
캐나다 = Canada
프랑스 = France
호주 = Australia
영국 = England
Additional Information for Self Introduction in Korean
Your occupation
Questions
Some questions you can expect when someone wants to ask about your occupation :
직업이 뭐예요? = What’s your job ? What do you do for a living?
전공이 뭐에요? = What is your major ?
뭐 공부하고 있어요 ? = What do you study ?
Answers
And some ways you can answer to these questions:
저는 회사원이에요. = I am an office worker
저는 ㅇㅇㅇ회사에서 일하고 있어요 = I’m working in (company name)
저는 대학생이에요. = I am a university student.
저는 교환 학생이에요. = I am an exchange student
제 전공은 영어예요. = My major is English.
Jobs examples
선생님 / 교사 – Teacher
의사 – Doctor
회사원 – Office Worker
경찰관 – Police Officer
간호사 – Nurse
회계사 – Accountant
엔지니어 – Engineer
디자이너 – Designer
음악가 – Musician
요리사 – Chef
Your hobbies
Questions
Questions you can expect when someone wants to ask about your hobbies :
취미가 뭐예요? = What is your hobby?
뭐 하는 거 좋아해요? = What do you like doing ?
Answers
And the potential answers :
제 취미는 ㅇㅇ예요. = My hobby is …
저는 ㅇㅇ을/를 좋아해요. = I like …
Example :
제 취미는 게임하기예요. = My hobby is playing games.
저는 게임하는 거 좋아해요. = I like playing games.
Hobbies examples
자전거 타기 – Riding a bicycle
게임하기 – Gaming
춤추기 – Dancing
산책 – Walking (taking a walk)
수영 – Swimming
음악 듣기 – Listening to music
요리 – Cooking
여행 – Traveling
책 읽기 – Reading books
영화 보기 – Watching movies
등산 – Hiking
맛있는 음식 먹기 – Eating good food
친구들과 놀기 – Hanging out with friends
Wrap up
There you go! Now you can simply introduce yourself in Korean. Of course, with time, you will learn to connect the sentences, make them more complicated and more natural. But the sentences you’ve learned today are all commonly used and very useful on a daily basis.
Happy learning!
