Daily Routine

Korean Basic Conversation 2

Chapter 1 · Your Daily Routine

⏰ Your Daily Routine — 하루 일과

Course 1 gave you phrases for situations. Now you start talking about your own life. This chapter covers three tools: time + 에 ("at six"), frequency words (usually, sometimes) and the connector -고 ("and then"), which lets you chain a whole morning into one sentence. In Chapters 1–4 every dialog line still has a Revised Romanization line beneath it; from Chapter 5 the training wheels come off.

eo = ㅓ (short, open "uh") eu = ㅡ (unrounded "oo") jj, kk, ss = tense (tight, unaspirated) consonants [ ] = how the word is actually said, where it differs from the spelling

① Getting Up — 몇 시에 일어나요?

A: 보통 몇 시에 일어나요? Botong myeot sie ireonayo? What time do you usually get up?

B: 보통 여섯 시 반에 일어나요. Botong yeoseot si bane ireonayo. I usually get up at half past six.

A: 일찍 일어나네요! Iljjik ireonaneyo! You get up early!

B: 네, 아침에 운동을 해요. Ne, achime undongeul haeyo. Yes, I exercise in the morning.

② Morning Jobs — 아침에 뭐 해요?

A: 일어나서 뭐 해요? Ireonaseo mwo haeyo? What do you do after getting up?

B: 먼저 씻고 옷을 입어요. Meonjeo ssitgo oseul ibeoyo. First I wash and get dressed.

A: 그다음에는요? Geudaeumeneunyo? And after that?

B: 아침을 먹고 커피를 마셔요. Achimeul meokgo keopireul masyeoyo. I eat breakfast and drink coffee.

③ The Commute — 어떻게 출근해요?

A: 어떻게 출근해요? Eotteoke chulgeunhaeyo? How do you get to work?

B: 보통 지하철로 출근해요. Botong jihacheollo chulgeunhaeyo. I usually go to work by subway.

A: 얼마나 걸려요? Eolmana geollyeoyo? How long does it take?

B: 사십 분쯤 걸려요. 출근 시간에는 사람이 많아요. Sasip bunjjeum geollyeoyo. Chulgeun siganeneun sarami manayo. About forty minutes. There are lots of people at rush hour.

④ After Work — 퇴근하고 뭐 해요?

A: 보통 몇 시에 퇴근해요? Botong myeot sie toegeunhaeyo? What time do you usually finish work?

B: 여섯 시에 퇴근해요. 가끔 늦게 퇴근해요. Yeoseot sie toegeunhaeyo. Gakkeum neutge toegeunhaeyo. I finish at six. Sometimes I finish late.

A: 퇴근하고 뭐 해요? Toegeunhago mwo haeyo? What do you do after work?

B: 저녁을 먹고 좀 쉬어요. Jeonyeogeul meokgo jom swieoyo. I eat dinner and relax a bit.

⑤ Weekdays vs Weekends — 주말에는요?

A: 주말에도 일찍 일어나요? Jumaredo iljjik ireonayo? Do you get up early at weekends too?

B: 아니요, 주말에는 늦게 일어나요. Aniyo, jumareneun neutge ireonayo. No, at weekends I get up late.

A: 몇 시쯤 일어나요? Myeot sijjeum ireonayo? About what time?

B: 보통 열 시쯤 일어나요. 항상 피곤해요! Botong yeol sijjeum ireonayo. Hangsang pigonhaeyo! Usually around ten. I'm always tired!

⑥ Two Friends (casual) — 너 몇 시에 자?

A: 너 보통 몇 시에 자? Neo botong myeot sie ja? What time do you usually go to bed?

B: 열두 시쯤 자. Yeoldu sijjeum ja. Around twelve.

A: 너무 늦게 자! 뭐 해? Neomu neutge ja! Mwo hae? That's too late! What do you do?

B: 드라마 보고 자. 재미있어! Deurama bogo ja. Jaemiisseo! I watch a drama, then sleep. It's fun!

🗝️ Key Phrases — 중요한 표현

Situation	Polite	Casual
What time do you get up?	몇 시에 일어나요? myeot sie ireonayo?	몇 시에 일어나? myeot sie ireona?
I usually … at six.	보통 여섯 시에 …요. botong yeoseot sie …yo.	보통 여섯 시에 …어. botong yeoseot sie …eo.
What do you do after work?	퇴근하고 뭐 해요? toegeunhago mwo haeyo?	퇴근하고 뭐 해? toegeunhago mwo hae?
How long does it take?	얼마나 걸려요? eolmana geollyeoyo?	얼마나 걸려? eolmana geollyeo?
It takes about 40 minutes.	사십 분쯤 걸려요. sasip bunjjeum geollyeoyo.	사십 분쯤 걸려. sasip bunjjeum geollyeo.
And after that?	그다음에는요? geudaeumeneunyo?	그다음엔? geudaeumen?

🔤 Three Verbs for Your Day — 동사

Verb	Everyday polite (-요)	Formal (-ㅂ니다)	Casual
to get up (일어나다)	일어나요 ireonayo	일어납니다 ireonamnida	일어나 ireona
to eat (먹다)	먹어요 meogeoyo	먹습니다 meokseumnida	먹어 meogeo
to sleep; to go to bed (자다)	자요 jayo	잡니다 jamnida	자 ja

🧱 Three Tools for Talking About Your Day

1. Time + 에 — "at"

Put 에 after a clock time or a time of day: 여섯 시에 일어나요 (I get up at six), 아침에 (in the morning), 주말에 (at the weekend). The numbers are the ones from Korean Basic Conversation 1, Chapter 7: native numbers for hours. Add 쯤 for "about": 열 시쯤.

Some time words never take 에: 오늘, 내일, 어제, 지금, 항상, 보통, 가끔. You say 내일 일찍 일어나요, not 내일에.

2. How often? — 얼마나 자주?

Korean	Say it	Meaning
항상	hang-sang	always
보통	bo-tong	usually
자주	ja-ju	often
가끔	ga-kkeum	sometimes
거의 안 …	geo-ui an	hardly ever (with a negative)
전혀 안 …	jeon-hyeo an	never, not at all (with a negative)

The frequency word goes before the verb: 저는 가끔 늦게 퇴근해요. To make a verb negative, put 안 in front of it: 아침을 안 먹어요 (I don't eat breakfast). Chapter 9 returns to 안 and 못.

3. -고 — "and (then)"

To join two actions, drop -다 from the verb and add -고; only the last verb gets the polite ending: 씻다 → 씻고, 먹다 → 먹고. So 씻고 옷을 입어요 is "wash and get dressed", and 아침을 먹고 커피를 마셔요 is "eat breakfast and drink coffee". Also 퇴근하고 means "after finishing work". The time of the whole sentence is shown only once, at the end.

A day in verbs — 하루 일과

English	Korean	Say it
get up	일어나요	i-reo-na-yo
wash (up)	씻어요	ssi-seo-yo
brush one's teeth	이를 닦아요	i-reul da-kka-yo
get dressed	옷을 입어요	o-seul i-beo-yo
eat breakfast	아침을 먹어요	a-chi-meul meo-geo-yo
go to work	출근해요	chul-geun-hae-yo
have lunch	점심을 먹어요	jeom-si-meul meo-geo-yo
finish work	퇴근해요	toe-geun-hae-yo
have dinner	저녁을 먹어요	jeo-nyeo-geul meo-geo-yo
relax; rest	쉬어요	swi-eo-yo
go to bed; sleep	자요	ja-yo

📖 Vocabulary — 어휘

#	Korean	Say it	English	Type
1	일과	il-kkwa	daily routine; daily tasks	noun
2	아침	a-chim	morning; breakfast	noun
3	점심	jeom-sim	midday; lunch	noun
4	저녁	jeo-nyeok	evening; dinner	noun
5	밤	bam	night	noun
6	옷	ot	clothes	noun
7	운동	un-dong	exercise	noun
8	지하철	ji-ha-cheol	subway; metro	noun
9	출근	chul-geun	going to work; commute (in)	noun
10	퇴근	toe-geun	leaving work; finishing for the day	noun
11	보통	bo-tong	usually	adverb
12	항상	hang-sang	always	adverb
13	가끔	ga-kkeum	sometimes	adverb
14	일찍	il-jjik	early	adverb
15	늦게	neut-kke	late	adverb
16	먼저	meon-jeo	first; beforehand	adverb
17	씻다	ssit-tta	to wash	verb
18	입다	ip-tta	to wear; to put on (clothes)	verb
19	쉬다	swi-da	to rest; to relax	verb
20	걸리다	geol-li-da	to take (time)	verb

Three Meals, Three Times of Day 아침 means both "morning" and "breakfast", 점심 both "midday" and "lunch", and 저녁 both "evening" and "dinner". So 아침을 먹어요 is "I eat breakfast", while 아침에 is "in the morning". The particle tells you which is meant.

출근 and 퇴근: Going In, Coming Out Korean has a short word for each direction of the working day. 출근 is "going in to work" and 퇴근 is "leaving work". Both combine with 해요: 출근해요, 퇴근해요. You will hear them constantly, along with 출근 시간 (morning rush hour) and 퇴근 시간 (evening rush hour).

As Heard in Dramas — 드라마에서 Office dramas love two words: 야근 (working late, overtime) and 회식 (a company dinner with colleagues). A character who leaves right on time is doing a 칼퇴 (short for 칼퇴근, leaving "sharp as a knife"). Listen for 퇴근하고 한잔할까요? ("shall we have a drink after work?"), which you will meet properly in the next chapters.

Grammar Pointer Native hour numbers and the other counters are in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 9, and the particles 에, 을/를 and 은/는 are in Korean Grammar 1, chapters 3 and 4. The connector -고 and the negative 안 are introduced here in use; Korean Basic Conversation 2, Chapter 3 builds on them for plans and invitations.

✍️ Try It Yourself — 연습

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

1. Say "I usually get up at seven."

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보통 일곱 시에 일어나요.

2. Join the two actions with -고: "I eat breakfast and go to work."

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아침을 먹고 출근해요.

3. Ask a colleague how long the commute takes, then answer "About an hour" (한 시간).

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얼마나 걸려요? — 한 시간쯤 걸려요.

4. Say "I sometimes finish work late."

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가끔 늦게 퇴근해요.

5. One of these is wrong. Which? 내일에 일찍 일어나요 / 주말에 늦게 일어나요

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The first. 내일 (tomorrow) never takes 에: 내일 일찍 일어나요.

6. Ask a friend casually what time they go to bed, then say "I go to bed at eleven."

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몇 시에 자? — 열한 시에 자. (polite: 열한 시에 자요.)