오늘의 한국어 연습: 언제 = “when”

​Use 언제 to ask when something happens:

• 언제 커피를 마셔요? — When do you drink coffee?
• 언제 도서관에 갈 거예요? — When will you go to the library?
• 언제 영화를 봤어요? — When did you watch the movie?

Answer with a time word such as 어제 (yesterday), 오늘 (today), or 내일 (tomorrow).

Your turn

Write complete Korean sentences:

1. 언제 커피를 마셔요? — Say: I drink coffee today.
2. 언제 도서관에 갈 거예요? — Say: I will go tomorrow.
3. Translate: When did you watch the drama?
4. Answer question 3 by saying: I watched it yesterday.

Send your four sentences, and I’ll correct them briefly.

1. 저는 오늘 커피를마셔요.
2. 저는 내일 도서관에 갈 거예요.
3. 언제 드라마를 봐요?
4. 저는 어제 드라마를 봤어요.

잘했어요! 두 문장에는 작은 수정이 필요해요.

1. 저는 오늘 커피를 마셔요. ✅
   커피를 마셔요 사이를 띄어 써요.
2. 저는 내일 도서관에 갈 거예요. ✅
   완벽해요.
3. 언제 드라마를 봤어요?
   “When did you watch?”는 과거이므로 봐요 → 봤어요로 바꿔요.
4. 저는 어제 드라마를 봤어요. ✅
   완벽한 과거형 문장이에요.

다시 써 보기

When did you study Korean at the library?

힌트: 언제 + 도서관에서 + 한국어를 + 공부했어요?

 언제 도서관에서 한국어를 공부했어요?

언제 도서관에서 한국어를 공부했어요? ✅

완벽해요!

• 언제 = when
• 도서관에서 = at the library (에서 marks where the action happened)
• 한국어를 = Korean (를 marks the object)
• 공부했어요 = studied (past tense)
  

오늘의 한국어 연습🇰🇷

오늘의 한국어 연습: “What are you doing?” 🇰🇷

뭐 means “what.” Put it before the verb to ask about an action:

• 오늘 뭐 해요? — What are you doing today?
• 내일 뭐 할 거예요? — What will you do tomorrow?

You already know how to answer with a short sentence: 오늘 한국어를 공부해요. (I’m studying Korean today.)

Your turn: Answer these in Korean with a complete sentence. You can start with 저는.

1. 오늘 뭐 해요? — Say that you drink coffee.
2. 내일 뭐 할 거예요? — Say that you will watch a drama at home.
3. 어제 뭐 했어요? — Write one true or imagined thing you did yesterday.

I’ll correct your answers into natural Korean when you send them.

오늘의 한국어 연습: 어디 = “where” 🇰🇷

Use 어디에 to ask about a destination:

• 어디에 가요?
  Where are you going?
• 도서관에 가요.
  I’m going to the library.

Use 어디에서 to ask where an action happens:

• 어디에서 한국어를 공부해요?
  Where do you study Korean?
• 집에서 한국어를 공부해요.
  I study Korean at home.

Remember:

• 어디에 + 가요 = go where?
• 어디에서 + action = do something where?

Your turn

Answer in complete Korean sentences:

1. 어디에 가요? — Say that you go to the café.
2. 어디에서 책을 읽어요? — Say that you read at the library.
3. 어디에서 드라마를 봐요? — Say that you watch at home.
4. Translate: Where will you study Korean tomorrow?
   Use 어디에서 and 공부할 거예요.

오늘의 한국어 연습 🇰🇷

오늘의 한국어 연습: Future plans 🇰🇷

Use -(으)ㄹ 거예요 to say what you plan to do.

내일 = tomorrow

Common forms:

• 가요 → 갈 거예요 = will go
• 먹어요 → 먹을 거예요 = will eat
• 마셔요 → 마실 거예요 = will drink
• 읽어요 → 읽을 거예요 = will read
• 봐요 → 볼 거예요 = will watch
• 공부해요 → 공부할 거예요 = will study

Examples:

• 저는 내일 도서관에 갈 거예요.
  I will go to the library tomorrow.
• 저는 집에서 드라마를 볼 거예요.
  I will watch a drama at home.

Important: 거예요 is written with a space after the verb.

Your turn

Translate into Korean:

1. I will drink coffee tomorrow.
2. I will study Korean at home.
3. I will go to the cinema and watch a movie.
4. Write one sentence about something you will do tomorrow.

For number 3, use -고 to connect the actions: 갈 거고 … 볼 거예요.

오늘의 한국어 연습: -고 싶어요 = “want to” 🇰🇷

Use -고 싶어요 after an action to say what you want to do.

• 가요 → 가고 싶어요 = want to go
• 먹어요 → 먹고 싶어요 = want to eat
• 마셔요 → 마시고 싶어요 = want to drink
• 읽어요 → 읽고 싶어요 = want to read
• 봐요 → 보고 싶어요 = want to watch
• 공부해요 → 공부하고 싶어요 = want to study

Examples:

• 저는 한국어를 공부하고 싶어요.
  I want to study Korean.
• 저는 영화관에 가고 싶어요.
  I want to go to the cinema.

Remember: -고 싶어요 is different from the connecting -고. Here, the complete expression means “want to do.”

Your turn

Translate into Korean:

1. I want to drink coffee.
2. I want to read a book at the library.
3. I want to go to Korea.
   (한국 = Korea)
4. I want to watch a historical drama at home.
   (역사 드라마 = historical drama)

Write all four sentences, and I’ll correct them concisely.

오늘의 한국어 연습: 어제, 오늘, 내일 🇰🇷

Time words usually come near the beginning of a Korean sentence:

• 어제 = yesterday
• 오늘 = today
• 내일 = tomorrow

Compare the verb endings:

• 저는 어제 한국어를 공부했어요.
  I studied Korean yesterday.
• 저는 오늘 한국어를 공부해요.
  I study Korean today.
• 저는 내일 한국어를 공부할 거예요.
  I will study Korean tomorrow.

You do not need a particle after 어제, 오늘, or 내일.

Your turn

Translate into Korean:

1. I watched a drama yesterday.
2. I drink coffee today.
3. I will read a book at the library tomorrow.
4. I want to go to the cinema today.

Use 봤어요, 마셔요, 읽을 거예요, and 가고 싶어요.

오늘의 한국어 연습: Past tense 🇰🇷

Use the past tense to describe an action that already happened.

• 먹어요 → 먹었어요 = ate
• 마셔요 → 마셨어요 = drank
• 읽어요 → 읽었어요 = read
• 봐요 → 봤어요 = watched
• 공부해요 → 공부했어요 = studied
• 가요 → 갔어요 = went

어제 means “yesterday.”

Examples:

• 저는 어제 영화를 봤어요.
  I watched a movie yesterday.
• 저는 도서관에서 책을 읽었어요.
  I read a book at the library.

Your turn

Translate into Korean:

1. I drank coffee yesterday.
2. I studied Korean at home.
3. I went to the library.
4. I ate a meal and watched a drama at home.

For number 4, connect the actions with -고. Put both actions in the past: 먹었고 … 봤어요.

1. 저는 어제 커피를 마셨어요. 

2. 저는 집에서 한국어를 공부했어요. 

3. 저는 도서관에 갔어요. 

4. 저는 집에서 밥을 먹었고 드라마를 봤어요.

완벽해요! All four sentences are correct and natural. 🌟

1. 저는 어제 커피를 마셨어요. ✅
2. 저는 집에서 한국어를 공부했어요. ✅
3. 저는 도서관에 갔어요. ✅
4. 저는 집에서 밥을 먹었고 드라마를 봤어요. ✅

You correctly used:

• 에 for a destination: 도서관에 갔어요
• 에서 for the place of an action: 집에서 공부했어요
• Past-tense endings: 마셨어요, 공부했어요, 갔어요, 봤어요

A common conversational version of sentence 4 is:

저는 집에서 밥을 먹고 드라마를 봤어요.

The final past-tense verb 봤어요 can make the whole sequence understood as past.

Score: 4/4 — 정말 훌륭해요! 🎉

오늘의 한국어 연습: -고 = “and” 🇰🇷

​Use -고 to connect two actions in one sentence.

• 먹어요 → 먹고
• 마셔요 → 마시고
• 읽어요 → 읽고
• 봐요 → 보고
• 공부해요 → 공부하고

Structure:

action 1 + 고 + action 2

Examples:

• 저는 밥을 먹고 커피를 마셔요.
  I eat a meal and drink coffee.
• 저는 집에서 책을 읽고 드라마를 봐요.
  I read a book and watch a drama at home.

Only the final verb uses -요.

Your turn

Translate into Korean:

1. I drink coffee and read a book.
2. I eat a meal and watch a movie at home.
3. I study Korean and read a book at the library.
4. Write one original sentence connecting two actions with -고.

Keep -고 on the first action and -요 on the final action.

1. 저는 커피를 마시고 책을 읽어요.
2. 저는 밥을 먹고 영화를 봐요.
3. 저는 도서관에서 한국어를 공부하고 책을 읽어요.
4. 저는 밥을 먹고 드라마를 봐요. 

아주 잘했어요! Your use of -고 is perfect. Only sentence 2 is missing “at home.”

1. 저는 커피를 마시고 책을 읽어요. ✅
2. 저는 집에서 밥을 먹고 영화를 봐요.
   Your grammar was correct, but add 집에서 for “at home.”
3. 저는 도서관에서 한국어를 공부하고 책을 읽어요. ✅
4. 저는 밥을 먹고 드라마를 봐요. ✅

Remember:

• First action: 마시고 / 먹고 / 공부하고
• Final action: 읽어요 / 봐요

Score: 3.5/4 — 정말 잘했어요! 🌟

오늘의 한국어 연습: 에 가요 🇰🇷

Use 에 with 가요 to say where someone goes:

place + 에 가요 = go to a place

• 저는 학교에 가요.
  I go to school.
• 저는 카페에 가요.
  I go to a café.

Compare:

• 카페에 가요. = I go to the café.
• 카페에서 커피를 마셔요. = I drink coffee at the café.

Use 에 for the destination and 에서 for the place where an action happens.

Your turn

Translate into Korean:

1. I go to the library.
   (도서관, 가요)
2. I go to the cinema.
   (영화관, 가요)
3. I read a book at the library.
   (도서관, 책, 읽어요)
4. I go to a café and drink coffee there. Write this as two short sentences.

Use 에 or 에서 carefully. I’ll correct your sentences and explain any changes briefly.

1.저는 도서관에 가요. 

2. 저는 영화관에 가요. 

3. 저는 도서관에서 책을 읽어요. 

4. 저는 카페에 가요. 카페에서 커피를 마셔요.

완벽해요! All four answers are correct and natural. 🌟

1. 저는 도서관에 가요. ✅
   에 marks the destination.
2. 저는 영화관에 가요. ✅
3. 저는 도서관에서 책을 읽어요. ✅
   에서 marks where the reading happens.
4. 저는 카페에 가요. 카페에서 커피를 마셔요. ✅
   First 에 = to the café
   Second 에서 = at the café

Score: 4/4 — 정말 잘했어요! 🎉

오늘의 한국어 연습: Word order 🇰🇷

In Korean, the action usually comes at the end:

person + place + object + verb

• 저는 집에서 드라마를 봐요.
  I watch a drama at home.

To make it negative, place 안 directly before the verb:

• 저는 집에서 드라마를 안 봐요.
  I don’t watch a drama at home.

Your turn

Put the words in the correct order and write complete Korean sentences:

1. 저는 / 커피를 / 카페에서 / 마셔요
2. 집에서 / 저는 / 책을 / 읽어요
3. 저는 / 영화를 / 안 / 봐요
4. Translate: I don’t study Korean at home.
   (집에서, 한국어, 공부해요, 안)

Answers

1. 1. 저는 카페에서 커피를 마셔요.
   2. 저는 집에서 책을 읽어요.
   3. 저는 영화를 안 봐요.
   4. 저는 집에서 한국어 공부를 안 해요.

Session one Korean With AI

 Here is my first session with Chatgpt and Korean.  I told it to pretend that I am a beginner. 

Session 1: “I am…” — 저는 ___예요/이에요

1. Basic structure

저는 + noun + 예요/이에요.
= I am + noun.

• 저 = I (polite)
• 는 = marks the topic
• 예요/이에요 = am/is/are

Use:

• 예요 after a vowel
• 이에요 after a consonant

2. Examples

• 저는 의사예요.
  I am a doctor.

• 저는 학생이에요.
  I am a student.

• 저는 아비르예요.
  I am Abeer.

3. Vocabulary

• 학생 = student
• 선생님 = teacher
• 회사원 = office worker
• 작가 = writer
• 한국 사람 = Korean person
• 쿠웨이트 사람 = Kuwaiti person

4. Your turn

Write these sentences in Korean:

1. I am a student.
2. I am a writer.
3. I am Abeer.
4. I am a Kuwaiti person.
5. Write one original sentence about yourself.

Send me your five Korean sentences. I’ll correct them and explain each correction briefly.

Daily Korean Practice

오늘의 한국어 연습 🇰🇷

Focus: Object particle 을/를

Use 을/를 to mark the object receiving an action.

• Use 을 after a consonant: 책을
• Use 를 after a vowel: 커피를

Basic order:

저는 + object + 을/를 + verb.

Examples

• 저는 책을 읽어요.
  I read a book.

• 저는 커피를 마셔요.
  I drink coffee.

• 저는 한국어를 공부해요.
  I study Korean.

Vocabulary

• 밥 = meal/rice
• 먹어요 = eat
• 물 = water
• 마셔요 = drink
• 영화 = movie
• 봐요 = watch
• 한국어 = Korean
• 공부해요 = study

Your turn

Translate these into Korean:

1. I eat a meal.
2. I drink water.
3. I watch a movie.
4. I study Korean.
5. Write one original sentence using 을 or 를.

Write all five sentences yourself. I’ll then correct them into natural Korean and briefly explain any changes.

I wrote out my answers and got the corrections and ways to make them better or longer. All in all my first session was a success.

AI and Studying

 Lately I've been playing with AI as a way to study Korean alongside my book. I gave Chatgpt the following prompt:

Every day, give me a focused Korean practice session toward fluency. Use grammar and sentence-building exercises, have me produce Korean, then correct my attempts into natural Korean with concise explanations. Keep the pace manageable and gradually increase complexity, especially with sentence structures and verb forms.

Tomorrow would be my first session with the AI teacher, I'll share what I get each day so you all can study with me. 

Back to the drawing board

I've decided to go back to the drawing board where Korean is concerned. I'll finish out my sessions with the teacher and stop taking classes to sound more natural since I'm beginning to get confused. Also I won't be studying for a test. I've become disembodied and feel like nothing is entering my brain. So I've decided to go back to studying my Korean books, specifically "I love Korean" books. They are made by Seoul National University. I have the whole series so I'm reviewing book 1 so that I can get the vocabulary (I've already worked through it before as well as half of book 2) then moving on until book 6 which is the last one in the series. 

From Goodreads:

"The I Love Korean Series is designed to expedite Korean language learning with a 60-hour program. Our practical activities will help learners to speak, listen, read, and write Korean faster. I Love Korean 1 is a textbook for learners who have no knowledge of Korean at all. There is a dedicated section covering how to read and write Hangul, the Korean alphabet. Each unit of this learning book provides useful vocabulary, grammar, and key expressions used in everyday life. This book is ideal 

Having studied our I Love Korean Series , you will be able to communicate with your Korean friends! *The audio files are available at the SNU Language Education Institute or SNU Press web page*"

When and if I register for the TOPIK I'll study with the plan I put together for this purpose. Right now I need to focus on getting more vocabulary and a better reading experience as well as add to my grammar studies. I find books with themes are better for this. TOPIK practice books are not conducive to the kind of study on my mind.

The alphabets

 A question that I get a lot from my friends who see me studying languages: Is it worth it to learn how to read and write or should I just focus on speech?  My answer always comes down to it depends on why you are studying the language. If you are just studying it to go visit the country and be able to ask how much something is then learning to speak is your best option.  If you are like me and want to read the literature and learn about the culture in the original language then learning to read and write is important. 

The second question that I get is which of the languages is easier to learn reading and writing wise. I've learned Korean, Japanese some chinese and currently learning Thai. By far the Korean alphabet was the easiest to learn. It took me 2 hours to learn the whole alphabet. The second easiest was Japanese, learning the Hiragana and Katakana took one afternoon. Next comes Chinese but the problem with Chinese is the shear amount of characters there is to learn. Finally, the Thai alphabet because a lot of its characters look the same.

Japanese alphabets.

Chinese doesn’t have an alphabet it has thousands of characters.

Language Study Update (August 24, 2026)

 Korean

I have a teacher for Korean who is teaching me how to be more natural in my speech. However, I asked Chatgbt to help me get ready for TOPIK II test next year. It suggested I take a TOPIK I mock test to see if I am closer to TOPIK I Level 2 or TOPIK II Level 3. So during the weekend I took the TOPIK I mock test on Tammy Korean. I made sure to do it under the same conditions as a real TOPIK I test, i.e. in one sitting and timed. There are two sections to the test: Listening and Reading. For the listening section the time is 40 minutes, and for the reading section the time is 60 minutes. 

I have to say that I did much better in the listening section than the reading section. This is mainly because when I got to the reading section I was getting bored and finished it in 30 minutes instead of 60 minutes. I didn't take my time reading and figuring out what the passages where saying instead if I didn't understand something I just guessed. As a result I go 81/100 on my listening section and only 65/100 on my reading section. Together they make 146/200 which means I am at TOPIK I Level 2 rather than TOPIK II Level 3.

Next step is to start learning vocabulary and grammar for TOPIK I because my reading was not great. I found a vocabulary list on the same website as the TOPIK Test as well as a list for grammar. I'll be using them to study. I've already started to use Anki with the vocabulary words at 5 vocabulary words per day and I'm starting the grammar section today. I also decided to read a book in Korean (Secret Garden). 

Japanese

I had studied Japanese before with a teacher but I no longer have that option right now. So I decided to study on my own. I used Chatgbt to start relearning the Hiragana and Katakana until my book arrives. I'll be using Beginning Japanese Textbook: Revised Edition: An Integrated Approach to Language and Culture

As I said in my previous post I asked Chatgbt to make me a study plan for each of the languages above and to add that plan to my Google calendar. So now I just have to open my Google calendar each day to see what my study plan for the day is.

Reboot…

​I’m rebooting my language learning. This time though I’m going back to Korean, and Japanese. I will be doing my studies via a combination of books, free resources and AI.

The first thing I did was look at the resources I have and ordered what I was missing as well as look at online free resources. The second thing I did was ask Chatgbt to formulate a plan for each of the languages I wanted to study using the resources that I found.

Korean

The first thing that I thought about was what I wanted to do for the study of Korean as I was already taking a class online with a great teacher. I decided that next year I want to take the TOPIK II test. The first thing that Chatgbt suggested was that I take a mock TOPIK I test to see if I was at level 2 or closer to level 3. So this weekend I took the test and got 146/200 which means I am closer to level 2 than I am to level 3. Next Chatgbt suggested some sites to help me study for TOPIK I and TOPIK II. I printed out the grammar and vocabulary for both. Finally, Chatgbt made a study plan for me which included a daily study plan that incorporated vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening.

Japanese

Finally, for Japanese I asked Chatgbt to design a study plan for me using a book that I just ordered online called Beginning Japanese. However, until my books arrive I asked Chatgbt to teach me Hiragana and Katakana and quiz me on them. 

Chatgbt is amazing help so far. It has helped me put together my study calendar and tasks. It has given me a bird’s eye view of how long it might take me to get through to my goals. 

This is what my study calendar looks like.

And this is what one day of studying might look like:

A typical Japanese lesson in Chatgbt looks like this:

I’ve also asked Chatgbt to quiz me on chapters from books. It made me good test papers with answers which showed me where I was doing good and where I needed to study more.

I hope this helps others in getting an idea on how to use Chatgbt in studying languages.

Study HSK 1 With Me 1 by cuardai

How to start learning a language

           Learning a language (or 3) is very tough. When you first start out you are very motivated and feel like you can put in a thousand hours a day if you can. Soon however, you begin to get less and less motivated and it is at that time that people start to get dejected and give up. This is especially true when you are studying on your own and not in a class setting or if you don't have someone to practice with. So what can you do to stop yourself from getting to this point in your studies? I've done a bit of research and watched a lot of YouTube videos so you don't have too. 😁

*Set Goals:

1. Think about WHY you want to study this language. Write out your reasons and then summarize them onto one page and put it somewhere you can look at it when you need motivation or a reminder of why you are doing this. 
2. Have one overall goal that you want to work towards. This could be anything from taking a test like TOPIK or the HSK to writing a letter in your target language to someone you admire like an idol, actor, writer, political or even a friend.
3. Start breaking that main goal into smaller goals, and put down realistic time limits on these smaller goals. To achieve this you need to do a little research into your target language and take into account how much you can realistically spend working on your studies each day. For example, when I first started learning Korean I found out that you can learn their alphabet in two hours so I set myself the goal of learning it in one week. I could only spend half an hour per day studying uninterrupted so I paced myself: 4 days to learn the alphabet and 3 days for review/mastery. And if I for some reason couldn't study on one of the four days I had time to make it up. 

These are my goals for learning Korean.

*Be gentle with yourself: 

          It is important to realize that there will be times when life gets in the way or you'll be just not motivated enough to do anything. During those times be gentle with yourself. Realize that what was not finished this month can be finished next month and if motivation was your problem look back at your goals and why you wanted to do this in the first place. 

*Don't compare yourself to others: 

          One of the biggest mistakes we make is to compare our progress to others. Some people learn faster while others take their time neither one if better than the other. You could be better at grammar and vocabulary while they are better at speaking or vice versa. If you catch yourself comparing yourself with others just tell yourself to stop. It does no one any favors. 

I hope this helps you a little with your language learning journey.

CHINESE: HSK New Requirements

    One of my goals is to go for the HSK, which is an official, standard Chinese proficiency test. I was going to take HSK 2 this winter but then I learned that there will be a new version of the HSK going into effect in July 2021.

     The new version has a more specific classification system and it is considered more rigorous than the previous one. There are now 9 levels instead of the 6 levels in the previous system. The Elementary level (Bands 1-3), the Intermediate Level (Bands 4-6) and the Advanced Level (Bands 7-9). When all is said and done by the end of Band 9 the learner will have learned 11,092 vocabulary words, 572 grammar concepts and how to write Chinese Characters not just recognize them.

    The testing for bands 1-6 will be adjusted over the next 3-5 years but the test for bands 7-9 will be introduced in March 2022. The materials for bands 7-9 will be introduced in December 2021. For more information on the new HSK Testing System please see this website: The New HSK (2021): An Overview and What’s Changed. 

    So what does this mean for me? I don't know yet. I'm gong to talk to my Chinese teacher when I have my next class so that we can develop a plan that is more suited to what is required because I not only want to take the tests but I also want to be sure that when I take the next level tests I am prepared for the changes.

The Following is a table I have assembled from information I could find on the Internet.