Learning · 18 recordsLearn Korean

Korean asks a lot of an English speaker, but it opens with the easiest win of any language: an alphabet you can read within days. This plan takes that win first, then builds the polite -요 form, the particles and the two number systems, and finds a speaking partner early so the long middle stretch stays connected to real conversation.

Install this templateSee the others

Free on any plan. You will see this list again in the app, and nothing is created until you press install.

✦ Everything it creates

The whole plan, before you install it

Goal

Read Hangul and hold a simple conversation in Korean Month 8

The alphabet in two weeks, then the polite everyday form, then speaking.

Hangul first Week 2

The alphabet is the quick win, so it comes before everything else.

  • Learn the 14 basic consonantsDo firstDay 4
  • Learn the 10 basic vowels and how letters stack into blocksDo firstDay 9
  • Read a menu or a sign, sounding out every blockWeek 2

The polite everyday form Month 5

Verbs ending in -요, the particles, and both number systems.

  • Learn the polite -요 form of 20 common verbsWeek 6
  • Learn the topic, subject and object particlesMonth 2
  • Learn both number systems: native Korean and Sino-KoreanMonth 3

Speaking Month 8

A partner found early, and a conversation to aim at.

  • Find a tutor or a language exchange partnerDo firstWeek 4
  • Introduce yourself for 2 minutes without notesMonth 3
  • Hold a 15-minute conversation in polite KoreanDo firstMonth 8

Routines

  • 15 minutes of Koreandaily
  • Read one short text in Hanguldaily
Skills
  • KoreanBeginner → Intermediate

    Log practice here. Korean is a long language for English speakers, so the running total matters more than any one week.

✦ It puts something in the calendar

Dates you will not have to remember

Korean language exchange

Week 519:0030 min
✦ It comes with a note

Korean takes longer, and that is fine

Hangul is the easy part and should take days: 24 basic letters that stack into syllable blocks.

After that, Korean asks more of an English speaker than most languages. Verbs come at the end, particles mark what each word is doing, and endings change with who you are talking to.

Start with the polite -요 form. It is right with almost anyone you do not know well, so it is the safest thing to speak from day one.

✦ Questions

Learn Korean, answered.

The US Foreign Service Institute places Korean among the hardest languages for English speakers, at around 2,200 class hours for professional working ability. Reading Hangul takes days, though, and a simple polite conversation is a realistic aim for eight months of daily practice.
Most learners can read Hangul slowly within one or two weeks. It was designed to be learned quickly: 24 basic letters combine into syllable blocks, so once the letters and the stacking rule click, you can sound out almost any word.
The polite form that ends in -요. Korean verb endings change with who you are speaking to, and the polite style suits almost anyone you do not know well, so it is the safest one to speak from the first day.
✦ More templates

Other systems you can install

Learning

Learn a language

Daily practice that is actually tracked, and a date by which you have to speak to somebody.

Learning

Learn Spanish

The sounds and core verbs first, lots of listening, and a weekly conversation booked from the first month.

Learning

Learn French

Train the ear before the grammar, learn every noun with its article, and speak weekly from the first month.

Learning

Learn German

Articles, word order and the cases one at a time, toward a confident A2 and a practice test to prove it.

Install it and start this evening

It takes one press. Everything it creates is tagged, so if it turns out not to suit you, it is easy to find and remove together.

Install this template