Korean Essentials

Master essential Korean grammar patterns needed to understand real content. This path bridges foundational Korean to domain-specific content like news, TV shows, and music.

FoundationsBeginner22 lessons

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What you'll learn

This beginner Korean path covers 22 lessons, including Past Tense, Future Tense, Future Intent, Progressive Tense, And (Sequential), and more.

Lessons

1

Past Tense

~25 min

Learn to express past actions and states with 았/었어요.

Future Tense

~20 min

Learn to express future plans with -(으)ㄹ 거예요.

Vocab

Grammar

Reading

3

Future Intent

~20 min

Learn to express intent and offers with -(으)ㄹ게요 and -(으)ㄹ래요.

Vocab

Grammar

Reading

4

Progressive Tense

~25 min

Learn to express ongoing actions with -고 있다 and states with -아/어 있다.

And (Sequential)

~20 min

Learn to connect actions in sequence with -고 and 그리고.

And (With Nouns)

~20 min

Learn to connect nouns with -(이)랑, -와/과, and -하고.

But/However

~20 min

Learn to express contrast with -지만, 그런데, and 그렇지만.

Or/Choice

~20 min

Learn to express choices with -(이)나 and 아니면.

Because (Reason)

~25 min

Learn to give reasons with -아/어서.

Because (Emphasis)

~25 min

Learn to emphasize reasons with -(으)니까.

If/When

~25 min

Learn conditional expressions with -(으)면.

While/During

~20 min

Learn to express simultaneous actions with -ㄹ 때 and -(으)면서.

Want To

~20 min

Learn to express desires with -고 싶다.

Can/Able To

~25 min

Learn to express ability with -(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다.

Should/Must

~25 min

Learn to express obligation with -아/어야 하다.

Don't Have To / Must Not

~25 min

Learn to express lack of obligation and prohibition.

Question Words

~25 min

Master all Korean question words: who, what, where, when, why, how.

Comparisons

~25 min

Learn to compare things with 보다, 더, 가장, and similarity expressions.

Try/Experience

~20 min

Learn to express trying with -아/어 보다.

Have Done Before

~20 min

Learn to express past experiences with -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다.

Giving & Receiving

~25 min

Learn to express giving favors with -아/어 주다/드리다.

Quoting & Reporting

~25 min

Learn to quote and report speech with -다고 하다.

Vocab

Grammar

Reading

Korean learning guides

Is Duolingo Good for Learning Korean? (After 500+ Days)

Duolingo has 500+ million users. It has almost none of the vocabulary you need to read a Korean news article. Here's an honest assessment of what Duolingo Korean actually teaches you.

How Long Does It Take to Learn Korean? (Honest Answer)

The FSI says 2,200 hours. That number is real, but it answers the wrong question. Here's an honest breakdown of Korean learning timelines based on actual goals.

The Korean Intermediate Plateau (And How to Actually Break Through It)

You finished TTMIK. You ran Anki for months. You still can't understand K-dramas or read Korean news. Here's what's actually happening and how to fix it.