How to Say "I Don't Know or Understand" in Korean

Whether your travel to Korea will be for business or pleasure, you may want to learn a few basic Korean phrases before you go. Being able to communicate with others can provide much needed assistance and make your experience more enjoyable. Although you may not know how to speak the language fluently, phrases such as jal-moro-gesoyo, meaning "I don't know", can prove helpful.

Before the 1980's, Korean writing was done vertically. Now it is written left to right on a horizontal line similar to English. A majority of the Korean language has been adapted from Chinese. It also possesses similarities to the Japanese language. Korean is spoken in both North and South Korea, as well as areas of Asia such as China. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm

Sunny Park explains how to pronounce two basic Korean phrases in this video tutorial produced my Mahalo.com. In addition to the phrases featured here, there are several other language tutorials available on the Mahalo.com YouTube Channel.

You will first need to learn how to pronounce words and phrases correctly. There are several methods you can use to do this. The video featured on this page will provide the correct pronunciation for the phrases jal-moro-gesoyo and jal-modala-du-gesoyo which mean "I don't know" and "I don't understand" in Korean.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN4Uh1XeabU There are other ways to learn pronunciation, such as CDs found in most language software, language websites featuring audio clips or by taking a Korean language course.http://www.ielanguages.com/suggest.html

1. Listen to the phrase being spoken correctly
2. Say the phrase aloud several times
3. Listen to the phrase again, making sure that you are pronouncing it properly
4. Continue this process until you are able to say the word or phrases accurately

After learning how to pronounce the phrase, it is helpful to place it in context and learn phrases that are generally found together in a conversation. This will also help you learn how to understand Korean and follow along while it is being spoken.

"Excuse me."

Sil-le-hahm-ni-da.http://www.transparent.com/learn-korean/phrases.html

"Can you help me?"

Chom to-wa-ju-shil ssu i-ssu-shi-na-yo?http://www.linguanaut.com/english_korean.htm

"Do you speak English?"

Yong-o/han-gu-go hal jul a-se-yo?http://www.linguanaut.com/english_korean.htm

"Can you speak slowly?"

Chon-cho-ni mal-ssu-mae ju-shi-ge-sso-yo?http://www.linguanaut.com/english_korean.htm

"What did you say?"

Mo-ra-go greo-shut-ji-yo? http://www.transparent.com/learn-korean/phrases.html

Now that you understand how to say the phrases jal-moro-gesoyo and jal-modala-du-gesoyo and have used them in a dialog, you can practice using them in a conversation. If you know someone who speaks Korean fluently, perhaps they can help you to do this. You can also learn by listening to podcasts, radio or watching television and movies that are spoken in Korean. This can help to improve your understanding of the language and your pronunciation skills. Most importantly, practice the phrases you have learned here by speaking them frequently. http://thelanguagelearningblog.com/25-tips-for-language-learning/

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