Family

Korean Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 5 · Talking About Your Family

👨‍👩‍👧 Talking About Your Family — 가족

Family words in Korean have a twist English doesn't: the word for an older brother or sister depends on whether you are a man or a woman. This chapter teaches the main family words, how to say what family you have and don't have, how to count family members, and the little word 우리 ("our"), which Koreans use where English says "my". It builds on 있다 ("to be", "to have") from Chapter 1 and the counting from Chapter 3.

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

① How Many in Your Family? — 가족이 몇 명이에요?

A: 가족이 몇 명이에요? Gajok-i myeot myeong-ieyo? How many people are in your family?

B: 우리 가족은 네 명이에요. 어머니, 아버지, 여동생, 저예요. Uri gajog-eun ne myeong-ieyo. Eomeoni, abeoji, yeodongsaeng, jeo-yeyo. There are four of us: my mother, my father, my younger sister and me.

A: 아, 네 명이요? 좋은 가족이에요! A, ne myeong-iyo? Joeun gajog-ieyo! Oh, four? What a lovely family!

② Brothers and Sisters (a man speaking) — 형제가 있어요?

A: 형제가 있어요? Hyeongjega isseoyo? Do you have brothers or sisters?

B: 네, 형이 한 명 있어요. 누나도 한 명 있어요. Ne, hyeong-i han myeong isseoyo. Nuna-do han myeong isseoyo. Yes, I have one older brother and one older sister.

A: 와, 가족이 많아요! Wa, gajog-i manayo! Wow, a big family!

③ Brothers and Sisters (a woman speaking) — 오빠와 언니

A: 형제가 있어요? Hyeongjega isseoyo? Do you have brothers or sisters?

B: 네, 오빠가 한 명 있어요. 언니도 한 명 있어요. Ne, oppa-ga han myeong isseoyo. Eonni-do han myeong isseoyo. Yes, I have one older brother and one older sister.

A: 남동생은 없어요? Namdongsaeng-eun eopseoyo? No younger brother?

B: 네, 없어요. Ne, eopseoyo. No, I don't.

④ Parents and Grandparents — 부모님과 할머니

A: 부모님은 어디에 사세요? Bumonim-eun eodi-e saseyo? Where do your parents live?

B: 부모님은 서울에 사세요. Bumonim-eun seoul-e saseyo. My parents live in Seoul.

A: 할머니도 서울에 사세요? Halmeoni-do seoul-e saseyo? Does your grandmother live in Seoul too?

B: 아니요, 할머니는 부산에 계세요. Aniyo, halmeoni-neun busan-e gyeseyo. No, my grandmother is in Busan.

⑤ Two Friends (casual) — 친구끼리

A: 너 형제 있어? Neo hyeongje isseo? Do you have any siblings?

B: 응, 여동생이 한 명 있어. Eung, yeodongsaeng-i han myeong isseo. Yeah, I have a younger sister.

A: 몇 살이야? Myeot sal-iya? How old is she?

B: 열다섯 살이야. 너는? Yeoldaseot sal-iya. Neoneun? She's fifteen. And you?

⑥ Married? — 결혼했어요?

A: 결혼했어요? Gyeolhonhaesseoyo? Are you married?

B: 네, 결혼했어요. 남편하고 아들하고 같이 살아요. Ne, gyeolhonhaesseoyo. Nampyeon-hago adeul-hago gachi sarayo. Yes, I am. I live with my husband and my son.

A: 아들은 몇 살이에요? Adeul-eun myeot sal-ieyo? How old is your son?

B: 세 살이에요. Se sal-ieyo. He's three.

🗝️ Key Phrases — 중요한 표현

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.

Situation	Polite	Casual
How many people are in your family?	가족이 몇 명이에요? gajogi myeot myeong-ieyo?	가족이 몇 명이야? gajogi myeot myeong-iya?
There are four of us	우리 가족은 네 명이에요 uri gajog-eun ne myeong-ieyo	우리 가족은 네 명이야 uri gajog-eun ne myeong-iya
Do you have brothers or sisters?	형제가 있어요? hyeongjega isseoyo?	형제 있어? hyeongje isseo?
I have one older sister (a man says)	누나가 한 명 있어요 nunaga han myeong isseoyo	누나 한 명 있어 nuna han myeong isseo
I have one older sister (a woman says)	언니가 한 명 있어요 eonniga han myeong isseoyo	언니 한 명 있어 eonni han myeong isseo
I have a younger sister	여동생이 있어요 yeodongsaengi isseoyo	여동생 있어 yeodongsaeng isseo
I have no brothers or sisters	형제가 없어요 hyeongjega eopseoyo	형제 없어 hyeongje eopseo
Where do your parents live?	부모님은 어디에 사세요? bumonim-eun eodi-e saseyo?	부모님 어디 사셔? bumonim eodi sasyeo?
Are you married?	결혼했어요? gyeolhonhaesseoyo?	결혼했어? gyeolhonhaesseo?

🔤 Three Verbs You Can Already Use — 동사

In Korean you say you "have" a relative by saying that the relative exists (있다), or doesn't (없다): 누나가 있어요, "there is an older sister (for me)". You can also use the verb 결혼하다 (to marry).

Verb	Everyday polite (-요)	Formal (-ㅂ니다)	Casual
to be / to have (있다)	있어요 isseoyo	있습니다 itseumnida [읻씀니다]	있어 isseo
to not be / not have (없다)	없어요 eopseoyo	없습니다 eopseumnida [업씀니다]	없어 eopseo
to marry (결혼하다)	결혼해요 gyeolhonhaeyo	결혼합니다 gyeolhonhamnida	결혼해 gyeolhonhae

To say you are married use the past: 결혼했어요 (literally "I married", and it stays true as a statement of your state). To say you are single, 결혼 안 했어요 ("I haven't married").

👪 Family Words — 가족 단어

Parents, grandparents, children, spouses

Meaning	Respectful / formal	Everyday / affectionate
father	아버지 abeoji	아빠 appa
mother	어머니 eomeoni	엄마 eomma
parents	부모님 bumonim (respectful; the usual word)
grandfather	할아버지 harabeoji [하라버지]
grandmother	할머니 halmeoni
son	아들 adeul
daughter	딸 ttal
husband	남편 nampyeon
wife	아내 anae

Brothers and sisters: it depends on who is speaking

Relative	A man says	A woman says
older brother	형 hyeong	오빠 oppa
older sister	누나 nuna	언니 eonni
younger brother	남동생 namdongsaeng (both)
younger sister	여동생 yeodongsaeng (both)
younger sibling (either)	동생 dongsaeng
brothers and sisters	형제 hyeongje

The pairs are easy to mix up, so remember them in pairs: a man says 형 / 누나, a woman says 오빠 / 언니.

🔢 Counting the Family — 가족 수

Count people with the native numbers (Chapter 3) and the counter 명 myeong. Remember the short forms 한, 두, 세, 네.

People	Korean	Say it
1	한 명	han myeong
2	두 명	du myeong
3	세 명	se myeong
4	네 명	ne myeong
5	다섯 명	da-seot myeong

Word order: the person, the number and the counter, then 있어요: 동생이 두 명 있어요. (I have two younger siblings.)

📖 Vocabulary — 어휘

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

#	Korean	Say it	English	Type
1	가족	ga-jok	family	noun
2	부모님	bu-mo-nim	parents	noun
3	아버지	a-beo-ji	father (respectful)	noun
4	어머니	eo-meo-ni	mother (respectful)	noun
5	아빠 / 엄마	a-ppa / eom-ma	dad / mum (everyday)	noun
6	형	hyeong	older brother (said by a man)	noun
7	오빠	o-ppa	older brother (said by a woman)	noun
8	누나	nu-na	older sister (said by a man)	noun
9	언니	eon-ni	older sister (said by a woman)	noun
10	동생	dong-saeng	younger brother or sister	noun
11	형제	hyeong-je	brothers and sisters	noun
12	할아버지	ha-ra-beo-ji	grandfather	noun
13	할머니	hal-meo-ni	grandmother	noun
14	아들	a-deul	son	noun
15	딸	ttal	daughter	noun
16	남편	nam-pyeon	husband	noun
17	아내	a-nae	wife	noun
18	우리	u-ri	we; our (also "my")	pronoun
19	결혼하다	gyeol-hon-ha-da	to marry	verb
20	같이	ga-chi	together; with	adverb

Two Brothers, Two Sisters: Why the Speaker Matters A younger brother or sister is the same word for everyone (남동생, 여동생). But for older siblings Korean uses a different word depending on the speaker: a man says 형 and 누나, a woman says 오빠 and 언니. So the same older brother is 형 to his brother and 오빠 to his sister. That is why the word you choose also tells people whether you are a man or a woman.

우리 Means "Our", and Often "My" Koreans often say 우리 ("our") where English says "my" for family, home and company: 우리 엄마 "my mum", 우리 가족 "my family", 우리 회사 "my company". Even a husband or wife is 우리 남편 or 우리 아내. You can use 제 (Chapter 2) too; 우리 sounds natural and warm. It does not mean you share the person with the listener.

Showing Respect to Family Elders Words for parents and grandparents often take the respectful verb forms from Chapter 1: 부모님은 서울에 사세요 ("my parents live in Seoul", with 사세요 from 살다) and 할머니는 부산에 계세요 ("my grandmother is in Busan", with 계세요, the respectful form of 있다). Use 있어요 for yourself and for friends, 계세요 for people you respect. Korean Grammar 1, chapter 10 explains the ending -세요.

As Heard in Dramas — 드라마에서 You will hear 오빠 and 언니 far outside the family. A woman may call an older male friend or a boyfriend 오빠, and an older female friend 언니; men say 형 and 누나 to older male and female friends. It signals closeness, and it can sound too familiar if the relationship is formal. At school or work you will also hear 선배 (senior), often as 선배님. Mothers are called 엄마 and fathers 아빠 by adults too, not only by children, and grandparents are 할머니 and 할아버지 (and also used for any older person).

Grammar Pointer The subject marker 이/가 in 누나가 있어요 and the topic marker 은/는 are explained in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 3; 하고 ("with, and") and 도 ("also") in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 4; the counter 명 and the numbers in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 9; and the past tense 결혼했어요 in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 7.

✍️ Try It Yourself — 연습

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

1. Say "There are four people in my family."

Show answer

우리 가족은 네 명이에요. (Uri gajog-eun ne myeong-ieyo.)

2. What does a man call his older sister? What does a woman call hers?

Show answer

A man says 누나; a woman says 언니.

3. Ask "Do you have brothers or sisters?" and answer "I have one younger sister."

Show answer

형제가 있어요? and 여동생이 한 명 있어요.

4. Say "mum" and "dad" in everyday speech, and "mother" and "father" respectfully.

Show answer

Everyday: 엄마, 아빠. Respectful: 어머니, 아버지.

5. Say "My parents live in Seoul" respectfully.

Show answer

부모님은 서울에 사세요. (Bumonim-eun seoul-e saseyo.)

6. You are a man with two older brothers. How do you say "I have two older brothers"?

Show answer

형이 두 명 있어요. (Hyeong-i du myeong isseoyo.) A man says 형 for an older brother.