TOPIK I Vocabulary for Beginners

Vocabulary is central to TOPIK I. Even when you understand a grammar pattern, you cannot answer confidently if the key words are unfamiliar. The good news is that beginner vocabulary is connected to everyday life, so you can practise it beyond test questions.

Learn by practical categories

Random lists are difficult to organise in your memory. Study related words together, but test them in different orders so that you do not remember only their position on a page.

People and family
Home and daily routine
School and work
Food and shopping
Time, dates and numbers
Weather and seasons
Transport and places
Common verbs and adjectives

Begin with words that build sentences

Nouns are easy to collect, but verbs and adjectives make your Korean useful. Start with words such as 가다, 오다, 먹다, 마시다, 보다, 좋아하다, 크다 and 작다. Combine them with familiar nouns and particles to create short sentences.

Example: 책 means book. 책을 읽어요 means I read a book. The sentence helps you remember the noun, particle and verb together.

Study both directions

Recognising 학교 as school is easier than producing 학교 when you want to say school. Practise Korean to English and English to Korean. Production is more difficult, but it prepares you for speaking and writing.

Use active recall

Look at the Korean word and try to remember the meaning before revealing it. Then reverse the direction. Mark difficult words and bring them back more often. Simply rereading a list creates familiarity, but familiarity is not the same as recall.

Read words inside sentences

TOPIK questions place vocabulary inside signs, messages, short passages and conversations. Example sentences teach you which particles, objects and situations commonly appear with a word. They also help you notice similar words that do not work in exactly the same way.

Review in small sessions

Learn a manageable set and review it after one day, a few days and one week. Mix old vocabulary with new words. A short daily review is more effective than trying to memorise hundreds of words before an exam.

12 beginner Korean words to practise today

This is a small teacher-created practice set, not an official or exhaustive TOPIK word list. The sentences show polite everyday forms; verbs are listed in their dictionary forms.

Korean words, meanings and example sentences
Korean	Meaning	Example
학교	school	학교에 가요. I go to school.
집	home; house	집에서 쉬어요. I rest at home.
책	book	책을 읽어요. I read a book.
물	water	물을 마셔요. I drink water.
친구	friend	친구를 만나요. I meet a friend.
시간	time	시간이 없어요. I do not have time.
오늘	today	오늘 공부해요. I study today.
내일	tomorrow	내일 만나요. See you tomorrow.
가다	to go	학교에 가요. I go to school.
먹다	to eat	밥을 먹어요. I eat a meal.
읽다	to read	책을 읽어요. I read a book.
좋아하다	to like	한국어를 좋아해요. I like Korean.

Try a three-question vocabulary check

What does 내일 mean?
Complete “I drink water”: 물을 _____. Choose 마셔요 or 읽어요.
Which dictionary form becomes 먹어요: 먹다 or 가다?

Check your answers

Tomorrow.
마셔요. 물을 마셔요 means “I drink water.”
먹다, meaning “to eat.”

Review missed answers tomorrow. For help combining vocabulary with reading and listening, explore TOPIK preparation classes.

Practise 1000 Korean words

Use the Hallyu Heights Vocabulary Lab for active recall, example sentences and progress tracking across 29 sections.

Explore the Vocabulary Lab →

Written by Rishita Sanya
Korean educator, interpreter and creator of Hallyu Heights. About the author →