Where You're From

Korean Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 4 Β· Where You're From: Countries & Nationalities

🌍 Where You're From β€” μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”?

In this chapter you learn to say which country you come from, where you live, and which languages you speak, and to ask the same of other people. Two small particles do most of the work: μ—μ„œ ("from") and 에 ("in" or "to"), which you met in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 4. You will also meet the Korean names of countries, which are mostly written in Hangul as they sound.

eo = γ…“ (short, open "uh") eu = γ…‘ (unrounded "oo") ae = ㅐ (like the vowel in "bed") [ ] = how the word is actually said, where it differs from the spelling

β‘  Which Country? β€” μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”?

A: μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”? Eoneu nara saram-ieyo? Which country are you from?
B: μ €λŠ” 영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”. Jeoneun yeongguk saram-ieyo. I'm British.
A: 영ꡭ μ–΄λ””μ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš”? Yeongguk eodi-eseo wasseoyo? Where in Britain are you from?
B: μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš”. Seukoteullaendeu-eseo wasseoyo. I'm from Scotland.

β‘‘ A Korean Visitor β€” ν•œκ΅­μ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš”

A: ν•œκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”? Hanguk saram-ieyo? Are you Korean?
B: λ„€, ν•œκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”. μ„œμšΈμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš”. Ne, hanguk saram-ieyo. Seoul-eseo wasseoyo. Yes, I'm Korean. I'm from Seoul.
A: μ„œμšΈμ΄μš”? 정말 μ’‹μ•„μš”! Seouriyo? Jeongmal joayo! Seoul? That's great!

β‘’ A Formal Introduction β€” μ–΄λ””μ—μ„œ μ˜€μ…¨μ–΄μš”?

A: μ•ˆλ…•ν•˜μ„Έμš”. μ–΄λ””μ—μ„œ μ˜€μ…¨μ–΄μš”? Annyeonghaseyo. Eodi-eseo osyeosseoyo? Hello. Where have you come from?
B: λ…μΌμ—μ„œ μ™”μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. Dogil-eseo watseumnida. I'm from Germany.
A: μ•„, κ·Έλž˜μš”? λ§Œλ‚˜μ„œ λ°˜κ°‘μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. A, geuraeyo? Mannaseo bangapseumnida. Oh, really? Nice to meet you.

β‘£ Where Do You Live? β€” 어디에 μ‚΄μ•„μš”?

A: 어디에 μ‚΄μ•„μš”? Eodi-e sarayo? Where do you live?
B: μ—λ“ λ²„λŸ¬μ— μ‚΄μ•„μš”. μ—λ“ λ²„λŸ¬λŠ” μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œμ— μžˆμ–΄μš”. Edeunbeoreo-e sarayo. Edeunbeoreo-neun Seukoteullaendeu-e isseoyo. I live in Edinburgh. Edinburgh is in Scotland.
A: κ·Έλž˜μš”? μ˜ˆλ»μš”? Geuraeyo? Yeppeoyo? Really? Is it pretty?
B: λ„€, 정말 μ˜ˆλ»μš”. Ne, jeongmal yeppeoyo. Yes, it's really pretty.

β‘€ Two Friends (casual) β€” 친ꡬ끼리

A: λ„ˆ μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ•Ό? Neo eoneu nara saram-iya? Which country are you from?
B: λ‚˜λŠ” λ―Έκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ•Ό. λ„ˆλŠ”? Naneun miguk saram-iya. Neoneun? I'm American. And you?
A: λ‚˜λŠ” ν•œκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ•Ό. μ„œμšΈμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄. Naneun hanguk saram-iya. Seoul-eseo wasseo. I'm Korean. I'm from Seoul.

β‘₯ Languages β€” ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ ν•΄μš”?

A: ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ ν•΄μš”? Hangugeo haeyo? Do you speak Korean?
B: 쑰금 ν•΄μš”. 아직 잘 λͺ»ν•΄μš”. Jogeum haeyo. Ajik jal moshaeyo. A little. I can't speak it well yet.
A: μ•„λ‹ˆμ—μš”, ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ μž˜ν•˜μ„Έμš”! Anieyo, hangugeo jalhaseyo! No, your Korean is good!
B: κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€! Gamsahamnida! Thank you!

πŸ—οΈ Key Phrases β€” μ€‘μš”ν•œ ν‘œν˜„

Use the polite column with people you don't know well. The casual column is for friends your own age or younger, and for understanding what you hear.

SituationPoliteCasual
Which country are you from?μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”?
eoneu nara saram-ieyo?		μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ•Ό?
eoneu nara saram-iya?
Where are you from? (a place)μ–΄λ””μ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš”?
eodi-eseo wasseoyo?
(respectful: μ–΄λ””μ—μ„œ μ˜€μ…¨μ–΄μš”?)		μ–΄λ””μ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄?
eodi-eseo wasseo?
I'm Britishμ €λŠ” 영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”
jeoneun yeongguk saram-ieyo		λ‚˜λŠ” 영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ•Ό
naneun yeongguk saram-iya
I'm from ScotlandμŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš”
seukoteullaendeu-eseo wasseoyo		μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄
seukoteullaendeu-eseo wasseo
Where do you live?어디에 μ‚΄μ•„μš”?
eodi-e sarayo?		어디에 μ‚΄μ•„?
eodi-e sara?
I live in Edinburghμ—λ“ λ²„λŸ¬μ— μ‚΄μ•„μš”
edeunbeoreo-e sarayo		μ—λ“ λ²„λŸ¬μ— μ‚΄μ•„
edeunbeoreo-e sara
Do you speak Korean?ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ ν•΄μš”?
hangugeo haeyo?		ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ ν•΄?
hangugeo hae?
A little / not well yet쑰금 ν•΄μš”. 아직 잘 λͺ»ν•΄μš”.
jogeum haeyo. ajik jal moshaeyo.		쑰금 ν•΄. 아직 잘 λͺ»ν•΄.
jogeum hae. ajik jal moshae.
Your Korean is good!ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ μž˜ν•˜μ„Έμš”!
hangugeo jalhaseyo!		ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ μž˜ν•΄!
hangugeo jalhae!

πŸ”€ Three Verbs You Can Already Use β€” 동사

"Where are you from?" in Korean literally asks where you came from, so the key verb is μ˜€λ‹€ (to come), together with μ‚΄λ‹€ (to live) and μž˜ν•˜λ‹€ (to be good at).

VerbEveryday polite (-μš”)Formal (-γ…‚λ‹ˆλ‹€)Casual
to come (μ˜€λ‹€) μ™€μš”
wayo		 μ˜΅λ‹ˆλ‹€
omnida		 와
wa
(past) came (μ˜€λ‹€) μ™”μ–΄μš”
wasseoyo		 μ™”μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€
watseumnida [μ™‡μ”€λ‹ˆλ‹€]		 μ™”μ–΄
wasseo
to live (μ‚΄λ‹€) μ‚΄μ•„μš”
sarayo		 μ‚½λ‹ˆλ‹€
samnida		 μ‚΄μ•„
sara
to be good at (μž˜ν•˜λ‹€) μž˜ν•΄μš”
jalhaeyo		 μž˜ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€
jalhamnida		 μž˜ν•΄
jalhae
"I'm From" Means "I Came From" μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš” is literally "I came from Scotland": μ—μ„œ ("from") plus the past tense of μ˜€λ‹€ (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 7). Use μ—μ„œ to say where you come from, and 에 for where you live or are: μ„œμšΈμ— μ‚΄μ•„μš”, μ„œμšΈμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš” (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 4).

🏳️ Countries, People and Languages β€” λ‚˜λΌ, μ‚¬λžŒ, 말

Countries

CountryKoreanSay it
South Koreaν•œκ΅­han-guk
The UK / Britain영ꡭyeong-guk
ScotlandμŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œseu-ko-teul-laen-deu
Englandμž‰κΈ€λžœλ“œing-geul-laen-deu
Irelandμ•„μΌλžœλ“œa-il-laen-deu
The USAλ―Έκ΅­mi-guk
CanadaμΊλ‚˜λ‹€kae-na-da
Australia호주ho-ju
Franceν”„λž‘μŠ€peu-rang-seu
Germany독일do-gil
Hungary헝가리heong-ga-ri
Japan일본il-bon
China쀑ꡭjung-guk

People and languages

For a person, put μ‚¬λžŒ saram ("person") after the country: ν•œκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒ, 영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒ, μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œ μ‚¬λžŒ. For a language, the country name's key syllable is joined to μ–΄ eo ("language"):

CountryPersonLanguage
Koreaν•œκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒν•œκ΅­μ–΄ hangugeo
Britain / England영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒμ˜μ–΄ yeong-eo (English)
Japan일본 μ‚¬λžŒμΌλ³Έμ–΄ ilbon-eo
China쀑ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒμ€‘κ΅­μ–΄ jungguk-eo
Germany독일 μ‚¬λžŒλ…μΌμ–΄ dogil-eo
Franceν”„λž‘μŠ€ μ‚¬λžŒν”„λž‘μŠ€μ–΄ peurangseu-eo
Hungary헝가리 μ‚¬λžŒν—κ°€λ¦¬μ–΄ heonggari-eo

Some cities

CityKoreanSay it
Seoulμ„œμšΈseo-ul
BusanλΆ€μ‚°bu-san
Jeju제주je-ju
Edinburghμ—λ“ λ²„λŸ¬e-deun-beo-reo
London런던reon-deon

πŸ“– Vocabulary β€” μ–΄νœ˜

20 key words. Read the Korean first, then check the romanization and the "Say it" column.

#KoreanSay itEnglishType
1λ‚˜λΌna-racountrynoun
2μ‚¬λžŒsa-rampersonnoun
3ν•œκ΅­han-gukSouth Koreanoun
4영ꡭyeong-gukthe UK; Britainnoun
5μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œseu-ko-teul-laen-deuScotlandnoun
6λ―Έκ΅­mi-gukthe USAnoun
7ν•œκ΅­μ–΄han-gu-geothe Korean languagenoun
8μ˜μ–΄yeong-eoEnglish (language)noun
9λ„μ‹œdo-sicitynoun
10κ³ ν–₯go-hyanghometownnoun
11μ–΄λŠeo-neuwhichquestion word
12μ–΄λ””eo-diwherequestion word
13쑰금jo-geuma littleadverb
14아직a-jikstill; not yetadverb
15μ˜€λ‹€o-dato comeverb
16μ‚΄λ‹€sal-dato liveverb
17μž˜ν•˜λ‹€jal-ha-dato be good atverb
18-μ—μ„œe-seofrom; at (where an action happens)particle
19-에ein; at; to (place)particle
20κ·Έλž˜μš”?geu-rae-yoreally? is that so?phrase
μ‚¬λžŒ or 인? Both Are Correct A Korean person is a ν•œκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒ or, more formally and in writing, a ν•œκ΅­μΈ (the 인 here means "person"). Both are fine: 영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš” and μ˜κ΅­μΈμ΄μ—μš” mean the same thing. In conversation μ‚¬λžŒ is the more natural one.
Don't Say "I Am Korea" Do not answer "Where are you from?" with just the country and μ΄μ—μš”: μ €λŠ” ν•œκ΅­μ΄μ—μš” means "I am Korea". Say ν•œκ΅­ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš” ("I am a Korean person") or ν•œκ΅­μ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš” ("I came from Korea"). You can also say μ €λŠ” ν•œκ΅­ μΆœμ‹ μ΄μ—μš” jeoneun hanguk chulsin-ieyo, "I'm originally from Korea", which is useful when you now live somewhere else.
Britain, England and Scotland 영ꡭ is the word for the United Kingdom as a whole, so a British person is a 영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒ. Korean also uses μž‰κΈ€λžœλ“œ and μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œ for the individual countries, for instance in football coverage where they play as separate teams. If you want to be specific, say μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš” ("I'm from Scotland"); Koreans will understand it. (How Koreans choose between 영ꡭ, μž‰κΈ€λžœλ“œ and μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œ in everyday speech wasn't something I could confirm, so listen for it.)
Your Korean Is Good! When a foreigner says even a few words of Korean, people often respond ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ μž˜ν•˜μ„Έμš”! It is a compliment and a kindness, not a real assessment. A modest reply is μ•„λ‹ˆμ—μš”, 쑰금 ν•΄μš” ("no, only a little"), or just κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. You can also say the language name two ways: ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ (more formal) and ν•œκ΅­λ§ (everyday).
As Heard in Dramas β€” λ“œλΌλ§ˆμ—μ„œ Characters often mention their κ³ ν–₯ (hometown) and sometimes switch to a regional μ‚¬νˆ¬λ¦¬ saturi (dialect), such as the speech of Busan or Jeju, which drama subtitles often mark with a note. Casual questions like λ„ˆ μ–΄λ””μ„œ μ™”μ–΄? ("where are you from?") use the shortened μ–΄λ””μ„œ for μ–΄λ””μ—μ„œ.
Grammar Pointer The particles μ—μ„œ and 에 are explained in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 4; the past tense μ™”μ–΄μš” in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 7; and "noun + μ΄μ—μš”/μ˜ˆμš”" in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 5.

✍️ Try It Yourself β€” μ—°μŠ΅

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say "I'm British" politely.

Show answer

μ €λŠ” 영ꡭ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”. (Jeoneun yeongguk saram-ieyo.)

2. Say "I'm from Scotland."

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μŠ€μ½”ν‹€λžœλ“œμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš”. (Seukoteullaendeu-eseo wasseoyo.)

3. Say "I live in Edinburgh."

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μ—λ“ λ²„λŸ¬μ— μ‚΄μ•„μš”. (Edeunbeoreo-e sarayo.)

4. Ask "Which country are you from?" politely, and then to a close friend.

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μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ—μš”? and μ–΄λŠ λ‚˜λΌ μ‚¬λžŒμ΄μ•Ό?

5. Choose 에 or μ—μ„œ: μ„œμšΈ__ μ‚΄μ•„μš” (I live in Seoul) and μ„œμšΈ__ μ™”μ–΄μš” (I came from Seoul).

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μ„œμšΈμ— μ‚΄μ•„μš” (where you live: 에) and μ„œμšΈμ—μ„œ μ™”μ–΄μš” (where you came from: μ—μ„œ).

6. Someone says ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ μž˜ν•˜μ„Έμš”! and you only know a little. Reply modestly.

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μ•„λ‹ˆμ—μš”, 쑰금 ν•΄μš”. (Anieyo, jogeum haeyo.) or 아직 잘 λͺ»ν•΄μš”. or simply κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€.