Study by subject
Korean
In Korean you memorise hangul, vocabulary, particles and politeness endings. Lumi asks them back until the right form comes on its own, before your trip or your exam.
How to turn this subject into cards
First make one card per hangul letter, with the sound and a simple word to anchor it. Then move on to one card per word and per particle, each with a short sentence. The classic trap is sounding out each syllable slowly without ever pulling it from memory. With Lumi you answer before seeing the solution, and retrieving fixes more than rereading (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). Politeness endings stick better when you see them in several sentences. Review a little at a time but often, because spacing makes the memory last (Cepeda et al., 2006). Add to each card an example from your own life, which makes the answer easier to find again.
What you need to know by heart
- The hangul letters, consonants and vowels, and how they combine into syllables.
- Basic vocabulary with an example sentence.
- The topic, subject and object particles, and which one to pick depending on the last letter of the noun.
- Politeness levels and the most common verb endings.
- The two number systems, native Korean and Sino-Korean, and when to use each.
It depends on the country
Korean has a well-known language test, the TOPIK, which assesses reading, listening and writing at several levels. The same cards of hangul, vocabulary and grammar that you make with Lumi help you prepare for it. You pick the level you are aiming for, then write the cards that match what the test covers.
How Lumi helps you remember it
You teach your Korean cards to Lumi, letters, words, particles, endings. It forgets over time, like you do, then quizzes you right before you would forget. As your exam or trip approaches, the Mist settles over what you know less well and Lumi asks that first. You arrive able to read and answer without translating in your head.
Example cards
Three cards the way you would write them, with the answer Lumi expects.
How do you say thank you in Korean?
감사합니다 (gamsahamnida).
What does 물 mean?
Water (mul).
What does 사랑 mean?
Love (sarang).
Example card
Try it, Lumi turns it into fill in the blank questions in your browser.
Korean · teach this card to Lumi
Hangul is written in syllable blocks that combine consonants and vowels. The vowel ㅏ is read a and the vowel ㅗ is read o. The particle 은 follows a noun that ends in a consonant and 는 follows a noun that ends in a vowel. The word 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) means hello.
Lumi’s question
Hangul is written in syllable _____ that combine consonants and vowels.
Pick the missing word
Answer right to light Lumi up
Its lamp fades when a fact slips away.
Frequently asked questions
- Is hangul hard to learn?
- It is an alphabet of letters that combine into syllables, so many learners decode it quickly. Make one card per letter and let Lumi ask it back until reading is automatic.
- How do I remember Korean particles?
- Make one card per particle with two sentences, one after a consonant and one after a vowel. Answer by completing the sentence from memory.
- What pace should I keep to study Korean?
- A little each day rather than one big block at the weekend. Spaced reviews fix vocabulary for longer (Cepeda et al., 2006).
Read next
Sources
- Roediger, Karpicke (2006). Test-enhanced learning. Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3). doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
- Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted, Rohrer (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks. A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3). doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
Teach this to Lumi
Give Lumi your korean notes, it gives them back as questions at the right moment.