Korean

Korean is written in Hangul, an alphabet designed specifically to be learned quickly, and most people who commit to it can read the characters within a few hours of focused study. The phrases below include a romanized version alongside the native Hangul, so you can start speaking today and pick up the actual script separately at your own pace. Korean sentence order places the verb at the end, which feels backward at first if you are coming from English, but the fixed phrases here sidestep that problem entirely: you can use them as-is without building a sentence from scratch. Politeness levels shape word endings in Korean more than in most European languages, and the phrases here use the standard polite form ("-yo" ending), which works well with strangers, shopkeepers, and people older than you. If a word feels clipped or a vowel sound seems unfamiliar, say it slowly a few times before trying it at natural speed. Korean has several vowel sounds with no exact English equivalent, and your ear adjusts to them faster than you would expect.

Phrases like these are a fast way to get functional before a trip, but real fluency comes from responding in the moment, not just recalling a memorized line. PalmSpeak lets you practice these exact situations out loud with an AI conversation partner that responds in Korean, corrects you gently, and keeps the conversation going past the phrase you rehearsed. Start with the list below, then take it into a real conversation and see how it holds up when the answer back is not the one you expected.