Korean Reading & Listening Practice : Are you ready ?

Korean Stories / 6 minutes of reading

Hi Korean learners ! Today, we meet again for another Korean listening and reading practice for beginners. This Korean short story is targeted towards baby beginners. (A1) But, warning, there will be a lot of grammar and vocabulary mixed together. So it might be difficult at first !

But just take your time, and you’ll get through it πŸ™‚

In this story, Luki is waking up in Korea after arriving. (in the airport story here !) Let’s check out what happens there.

Table of Contents

Table Of Contents
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Korean Reading Practice
  3. Vocabulary
  4. Grammar points
  5. Improving the Sentences
  6. Other Texts For Beginners
  7. Study Method for Texts

Korean Reading Practice

Are you ready ?

루킀

μ–΄μ œ ν•œκ΅­μ— λ„μ°©ν–ˆμ–΄μš”. μ•„μ£Ό ν”Όκ³€ν•΄μš”.
κ·Έλž˜λ„ 기뢄이 정말 μ’‹μ•„μš”.

μ§€κΈˆ λΉ„λˆ„ μ”¨μ˜ μ§‘μ—μ„œ μ‚΄κ³  μžˆμ–΄μš”.
λΉ„λˆ„ μ”¨μ˜ 집은 μ•„μ£Ό κΉ¨λ—ν•˜κ³  μ’‹μ•„μš”.
ν•™κ΅μ—μ„œ μ•„μ£Ό κ°€κΉŒμ›Œμš”.

ν•˜μ§€λ§Œ λΉ„λˆ„ μ”¨μ˜ 집은 μž‘μ€ μ›λ£Έμ΄μ—μš”.
κ·Έλž˜μ„œ μ €λŠ” λΉ„λˆ„ 씨와 같이 μ‚΄ 수 μ—†μ–΄μš”.

κ·Έλž˜μ„œ μ €λŠ” μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ 집을 μ°Ύμ•„μ•Ό ν•΄μš”.
μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ 집은 가격이 μ‹Έμ•Όν•΄μš”. 그리고 주방이 μžˆμ–΄μ•Ό ν•΄μš”.
ν•™κ΅μ—μ„œ κ°€κΉŒμ›Œμ•Ό ν•΄μš”.

그리고 μ €λŠ” μ‘°μš©ν•œ 집이 μ’‹μ•„μš”. 창문이 큰 집이 μ’‹μ•„μš”.
책상이 μžˆλŠ” 집이 μ’‹μ•„μš”.

내일 λΉ„λˆ„ 씨와 같이 집을 찾을 κ±°μ˜ˆμš”.
μ €λŠ” ν•œκ΅­μ–΄λ₯Ό 아직 잘 λͺ» ν•΄μš”.
κ·Έλž˜μ„œ λΉ„λˆ„ 씨가 μ €λ₯Ό 도와쀄 κ±°μ˜ˆμš”.

***

λΉ„λˆ„ – 루킀 씨, μ€€λΉ„ λμ–΄μš” ?

루킀 – λ„€ ? 무슨 μ€€λΉ„μš” ?

λΉ„λˆ„ – μ œκ°€ μ–΄μ œ 말 μ•ˆ ν–ˆμ–΄μš” ? μΉœκ΅¬κ°€ 루킀 씨λ₯Ό λ§Œλ‚˜κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄ ν•΄μš”.

루킀 – 아… κ·Έλž˜μš” ? μ–Έμ œμš” ?

λΉ„λˆ„ – 10μ‹œ 30λΆ„μ—μš”.

루킀 – λ„€? μ§€κΈˆ 벌써 10μ‹œ 20λΆ„μ΄μ—μš”. λΉ„λˆ„ 씨!!? … γ… γ… 

λΉ„λˆ„ – ν•˜ν•˜, λ―Έμ•ˆν•΄μš”. μ•ˆκ°€κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš”?

루킀 – μ•„λ‹ˆμš” ! κ°€κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš”.
μ€€λΉ„ ν• κ²Œμš”.

Translation (toggle!)

Luki

I arrived in Korea yesterday.
I am very tired.
But I feel really good.
I am currently staying at Binu’s house.
Binu’s house is very clean and nice.
It’s very close to the school.
However, Binu’s house is a small studio apartment.
So I can’t live with Binu.
So I have to find a new place to live.
The new place has to be cheap.
And it needs to have a kitchen.
It should be close to the school.
And I like a quiet place.
I like a place with large windows.
I like a place with a desk.
Tomorrow, Binu and I will go look at houses together.
I still can’t speak Korean well.
So Binu will help me.

– Luki, are you ready?
– What? Ready for what?
– Didn’t I tell you yesterday?
A friend wants to meet you.
– Oh… really? When?
– At 10:30.
– What? It’s already 10:20!
Binu!!? … γ… γ… γ… γ…  (crying emoticon)
– Haha, sorry.
You don’t want to go?
– No! I want to go.
I’ll get ready.

Vocabulary

ν•œκ΅­μ–΄μ˜μ–΄
λ„μ°©ν•˜λ‹€to arrive
ν”Όκ³€ν•˜λ‹€to be tired
κΈ°λΆ„feeling, mood
정말really
μ’‹λ‹€to be good
μ‚΄λ‹€to live
κΉ¨λ—ν•˜λ‹€to be clean
가깝닀to be close
원룸studio (apartment)
μƒˆλ‘­λ‹€to be new
μ°Ύλ‹€to find
가격price
μ‹Έλ‹€to be cheap
μ£Όλ°©kitchen
μ‘°μš©ν•˜λ‹€to be quiet
μ°½λ¬Έwindow
크닀to be big
도와주닀to help
μ€€λΉ„preparation
무슨what, which
말word, speech
λ§Œλ‚˜λ‹€to meet

Grammar points

-을/γ„Ή 수 μžˆμ–΄μš” / μ—†μ–΄μš”

을 수 μžˆμ–΄μš” and 을 수 μ—†μ–΄μš” are used to express the ability or inability to do something in Korean, similar to “can” and “cannot” in English.

을 수 μžˆμ–΄μš”μ„ 수 μ—†μ–΄μš”
β€œcan”, β€œable to do something”
FORMATION
Verb stem + 을 수 μžˆμ–΄μš” (if the verb stem ends in a consonant) Verb stem + γ„Ή 수 μžˆμ–΄μš” (if the verb stem ends in a vowel)		“cannot”, “unable to do something”
FORMATION
Verb stem + 을 수 μ—†μ–΄μš” (if the verb stem ends in a consonant) Verb stem + γ„Ή 수 μ—†μ–΄μš” (if the verb stem ends in a vowel)

Examples

을 수 μžˆμ–΄μš”μ„ 수 μ—†μ–΄μš”
읽을 수 μžˆμ–΄μš” : “I can read.”
ν•  수 μžˆμ–΄μš” : “I can do it.”
μˆ˜μ˜ν•  수 μžˆμ–΄μš” : “I can swim.”
갈 수 μžˆμ–΄μš” : β€œI can go”		읽을 수 μ—†μ–΄μš” : “I can’t read.”
ν•  수 μ—†μ–΄μš” : “I can’t do it.”
μˆ˜μ˜ν•  수 μ—†μ–΄μš” : “I can’t swim.”
갈 수 μ—†μ–΄μš” : β€œI can’t go”

-κ³ 

-κ³  is a connector that links verbs or adjectives, similar to “and” in English.

Formation

  • Verb/Adjective stem + -κ³ 

Example

  • κΉ¨λ—ν•˜κ³  μ’‹μ•„μš” “It is clean and nice.”
    • κΉ¨λ—ν•˜λ‹€ (to be clean) + -κ³  = κΉ¨λ—ν•˜κ³ 

μ–΄μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€ / λ˜λ‹€

μ–΄μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€ and μ–΄μ•Ό λ˜λ‹€ mean “must” or “have to” in English. It’s used to express necessity or obligation.

Formation

  • Verb stem + -μ–΄~μ•„μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€/λ˜λ‹€
  • The ending depends on the vowel in the verb stem:
    • If the last vowel in the stem is ㅏ or γ…—, use μ•„μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€/λ˜λ‹€.
    • For other vowels, use μ–΄μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€/λ˜λ‹€.

Examples

  • μ°Ύμ•„μ•Ό ν•΄μš”
    μ°Ύλ‹€ (to find) + -μ•„μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€ = μ°Ύμ•„μ•Ό ν•΄μš” β†’ “I have to find…”
    μ‹Έμ•Ό ν•΄μš”
    μ‹Έλ‹€ (to be inexpensive) + -μ•„μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€ = μ‹Έμ•Ό ν•΄μš” β†’ “It has to be cheap…”
    κ°€κΉŒμ›Œμ•Ό ν•΄μš”
    가깝닀 (to be close) + -μ•„μ•Ό ν•˜λ‹€ = κ°€κΉŒμ›Œμ•Ό ν•΄μš” β†’ “It has to be close…”

V-λŠ” / A-(으)γ„΄

Turns an adjective (μ˜ˆμ˜λ‹€) or a verb (λ¨Ήλ‹€) into a noun modifier, a word that will describe the noun it precedes. In the text, we see these noun modifiers in the present tense, which we will focus on.

  • FOR VERBS

V + λŠ” -> Take the verb stem and add -λŠ”

  • FOR ADJECTIVES

A + (으)γ„΄ -> Take the adjective stem and add 은 or γ„΄, depending on whether the

adjective stem ends with a consonant or a vowel.

Consonant : λ†’λ‹€ => λ†’ + 은 => 높은
Vowel : μ˜ˆμ˜λ‹€ => 예쁘 + γ„΄ => 예쁜

Some examples from the story :

  • ν•˜μ§€λ§Œ λΉ„λˆ„ μ”¨μ˜ 집은 μž‘μ€ μ›λ£Έμ΄μ—μš”. (But Binu’s place is a small studio)
    μž‘λ‹€ (small) is an adjective – A + (으)γ„΄ => μž‘μ€ => μž‘μ€ 원룸 (small studio)
  • κ·Έλž˜μ„œ μ €λŠ” μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ 집을 μ°Ύμ•„μ•Ό ν•΄μš”. (So I have to find a new house)
    μƒˆλ‘­λ‹€ (new) is an adjective (γ…‚ irregular) – A + (으)γ„΄ => μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ => μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ 집 (new house)
  • 그리고 μ €λŠ” μ‘°μš©ν•œ 집이 μ’‹μ•„μš”. (And I like quiet places)
    μ‘°μš©ν•˜λ‹€ (quiet) is an adjective – A + (으)γ„΄ => μ‘°μš©ν•œ => μ‘°μš©ν•œ 집 (quiet house)
  • 창문이 큰 집이 μ’‹μ•„μš”. (I like a house with big windows)
    크닀 (big) is an adjective – A + (으)γ„΄ => 큰 => 큰 집 (big house)

Korean Time System

Korean Time System

In Korean, telling time combines native Korean numbers for hours and Sino-Korean numbers for minutes.

You will need to know both systems to tell the time, or in many situations requiring numbers in Korean. But let’s focus on time today.

Native Korean Numbers (for hours)Sino-Korean Numbers (for minutes)
1 : ν•˜λ‚˜ β†’ ν•œ μ‹œ (1 o’clock)
2 : λ‘˜ β†’ 두 μ‹œ (2 o’clock)
3 : μ…‹ β†’ μ„Έ μ‹œ (3 o’clock)
4 : λ„· β†’ λ„€ μ‹œ (4 o’clock)
5 : λ‹€μ„― β†’ λ‹€μ„― μ‹œ (5 o’clock)		1 : 일 β†’ 일 λΆ„ (1 minute)
2 : 이 β†’ 이 λΆ„ (2 minutes)
3 : μ‚Ό β†’ μ‚Ό λΆ„ (3 minutes)
4 : 사 β†’ 사 λΆ„ (4 minutes)
5 : 였 β†’ 였 λΆ„ (5 minutes)

Improving the Sentences

In this story, as it is a story for baby beginners, the sentences are not connected. In Korean, you can connect the sentences in many ways. Let’s see some of them through the story.

You can find more of these in the YouTube video related to this reading / listening practice. πŸ™‚

Other Texts For Beginners

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.

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