Before a child strings together sentences, they need real words to hold onto — the kind that show up in daily life: family members, colors, numbers, animals, body parts. This page is a starting vocabulary list for kids and beginners, organized the same way a good early-learning curriculum would: by everyday topic, not by grammar rule.
A sample of words
Each word below pairs the Hangul spelling with a romanized guide and its English meaning — a small taste of the full topic lists linked below.
| Korean | Romanization | English | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 개 | gae | Dog | Animals |
| 빨간색 | ppalgansaek | Red | Colors |
| 하나 | hana | One | Numbers |
| 엄마 | eomma | Mom | Family |
| 눈 | nun | Eye | Body Parts |
Why pronunciation matters more than spelling, early on
Romanization is a helpful bridge for a parent who doesn't read Hangul yet, but it's an approximation — Korean has sounds that don't map cleanly onto English letters. That's why hearing a word said correctly, repeatedly, matters more at this stage than reading it. A vocabulary app for kids is only as good as its audio: every word here is worth hearing spoken by a native speaker before a child tries to say it back.
Browse by topic
Korean Animal Names for Kids
Dog, cat, horse, and more everyday animals.
Korean Colors for Kids
All 8 basic colors, from red to white.
Korean Numbers for Kids
Counting one to ten in Korean.
Korean Family Words for Kids
Mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and more.
Korean Body Parts for Kids
Head, eyes, hands, feet, and more.
Korean for Kids: Learn Hangul teaches these words and more with native Korean audio on every word, bilingual Korean/English support, and the Hangul alphabet that ties them together. See the full feature list or the FAQ for details.