Country in Korean is 나라 [na-la]. In this lesson, you will learn the names of countries and their capital cities, 수도 [su-do]. I will show the names by continent and the countries will be listed by population order. Nationality is 국적 [guk-jjeock] and you will see how you can say that as well. You can read them one by one or use the search function (Ctrl + F) and search specific country names.
1. Country names in Korean
1) Asia: 아시아 [ah-si-ah]
Let's take a look at some country names in Asia continent. We will start with Korea (obviously!) and then I will list countries by population order (of 2023 standard.) You can listen, repeat the names in the chart, and read the materials below the chart!
Korea | |
China | |
India | |
Indonesia | |
Pakistan | |
Bangladesh | |
Japan | |
Philippines | |
Vietnam | |
Iran | |
Türkiye | |
Thailand | |
Taiwan |
한국 [han-guk] Korea
The full name of "한국 [han-guk] Korea" is "대한민국 [dae-han-min-guk] Republic of Korea". It can also be called 남한 [nam-han] which means South Korea. North Korea is called 북한 [buk-han]. The capital city of 남한 is 서울 [seo-ul] Seoul. 서울 is the short version. The full name is 서울특별시 [seo-ul-teuk-byeol-si] which means Seoul Special City.
Quick Sino-Korean lesson: 남[nam] means south and 북 [book] means north.
중국 [joong-gook] China
On the left side of Korea, there is 중국 [joong-gook] (or [jung-guk] depending on how you want to Romanize it.) The capital city of 중국 is 베이징 [bae-ee-jing] Beijing. It is also called 북경 [book-gyeong] in Korean.
☆ Quick Sino-Korean lesson: As you may guess from 한국 and 중국, yes, 국 means "country" in Chinese characters.
인도 [in-do] India
India's capital city is 뉴델리 [nyu-dael-li] New Delhi.
인도네시아 [in-do-nae-si-ah] Republic of Indonesia
자카르타 [ja-ka-leu-ta] Jakarta
파키스탄 [pa-ki-seu-tan] Pakistan
이슬라마바드 [ee-seul-la-ma-ba-deu] Islamabad
방글라데시 [bang-geul-la-dae-si] Bangladesh
다카 [da-ka] Dacca
일본 [il-bon] Japan
On the right side of Korea, there is 일본 [il-bon]. From Korea to Japan takes almost 1~2 hours by flight. The capital city of 일본 is 도쿄 [do-kyo] Tokyo. It is also called 동경 [dong-gyeong] in Korean.
필리핀 [pil-li-pin] the Philippines
마닐라 [ma-nil-la] Manila.
베트남 [bae-teu-nam] Vietnam
하노이 [ha-no-ee] Hanoi
이란 [ee-lan] Iran
테헤란 [tae-hae-lan] Teheran
터키 [teo-ki] Turkey → 튀르키예 [tui-leu-ki-yae] Türkiye
Turkey was called 터키 [teo-ki] which came from English. But in early 2022, the president of Turkey changed their English name to their original name, 튀르키예 [tui-leu-ki-yae] Türkiye. The capital city is 앙카라 [aㅗng-ka-la] Ankara.
태국 [tae-gook] Thailand
The capital city of 태국 [tae-gook] is 방콕 [bang-kok]. The actual capital city name in Thai word is pretty long but in short, it is called 끄룽텝 마하나콘 [kkeu-loong-taep ma-ha-na-kon]. If you ever wonder about the full name, Google it!
대만 [dae-man] Taiwan
In Korean, people usually call Taiwan 대만 [dae-man], but these days, 타이완 [ta-ee-wan] is also well used. The capital city is 타이베이 [ta-ee-bae-ee].
2) America: 아메리카 [ah-mae-li-ka]
The U.S.A. | |
Mexico | |
Canada | |
Brazil | |
Columbia | |
Argentina | |
Peru | |
Venezuela | |
Chile |
a. North America: 북미 [book-mi]
미국 [mi-gook] The United States of America (The U.S.A.)
The long name is 미합중국 which means the United States of America. But people usually call the shortened version 미국. 워싱턴 D.C. (Washington D.C.) is the capital city.
멕시코 [maek-si-ko] Mexico
멕시코 시티 [maek-si-ko ssi-ti] Mexico City.
캐나다 [ca-na-da] Canada
오타와 [oh-ta-wa] Ottawa.
b. Central and South America: 중남미 [joong-nam-mi]
브라질 [beu-la-jil] Brazil
브라질리아 [beu-la-jil-li-ah] Brasilia
콜롬비아 [kol-lom-bi-ah] Colombia
보고타 [bo-go-ta] Bogotá
아르헨티나 [ah-leu-haen-ti-na] Argentina
부에노스아이레스 [bu-eh-no-seu-ah-ee-lae-seu] Buenos Aires.
페루 [pae-lu] Peru
리마 [li-ma] Lima
베네수엘라 [bae-nae-su-el-la] Venezuela
카라카스 [ka-la-ka-seu] Caracas
칠레 [chil-lae] Chile
산티아고 [san-ti-ah-go] Santiago
3) Africa: 아프리카 [ah-peu-li-ka]
Nigeria | |
Ethiopia | |
Egypt | |
Congo | |
South Africa | |
Tanzania | |
Kenya |
나이지리아 [na-ee-ji-li-ah] Nigeria
아부자 [ah-boo-ja] Abuja
에티오피아 [ae-ti-oh-pi-ah] Ethiopia
아디스아바바 [ah-di-seu-ah-ba-ba] Addis Abäba
이집트 [ee-jip-teu] Egypt
카이로 [ka-ee-lo] Cairo
콩고 [kong-go] Congo
There are actually two countries that have the name Congo. 콩고 민주 공화국 [kong-go min-ju-gong-wha-gook] is Democratic Republic of Congo and the capital city is 킨샤사 [kin-sha-sa] Kinshasa. 콩고 공화국 [kong-go gong-wha-gook] is the Republic of the Congo and the capital city is 브라자빌 [beu-la-ja-bil] Brazzaville.
남아프리카 공화국 [nam-ah-peu-li-ka gong-wha-gook] Republic of South Africa
남아프리카 공화국 is too long, so Korean people use the abbreviation 남아공 as well. There are three capital cities in 남아프리카 공화국. The executive capital is 프리토리아 [peu-li-to-li-ah] Pretoria. The legislative capital city is 케이프 타운 [kae-ee-peu ta-oon] Cape Town and the judicial capital city is 블룸폰테인 [beul-loom-pon-tae-in] Bloemfontein.
탄자니아 [tan-ja-ni-ah] Tanzania
도도마 [do-do-ma] Dodoma
케냐 [ke-nya] Kenya
나이로비 [na-ee-lo-bi] Nairobi
4) Europe: 유럽 [u-leop]
Russia | |
Germany | |
France | |
The U.K. | |
Italy | |
Spain | |
Ukraina | |
Poland | |
România |
러시아 [leo-si-ah] Russia
모스크바 [mo-seu-keu-ba] Moscow
독일 [do-gil] Germany
베를린 [bae-leul-lin] Berlin
프랑스 [peu-lang-seu] France
파리 [pa-li] Paris
영국 [young-gook] The United Kingdom (The U.K.)
런던 [leon-deon] London
이탈리아 [ee-tal-li-ah] Italy
로마 [ro-ma] Rome
스페인 [seu-pae-in] Spain
마드리드 [ma-deu-li-deu] Madrid
우크라이나 [u-keu-la-ee-na] Ukraina
키이우 [kee-ee-u] Kyiv
폴란드 [pol-lan-deu] Poland
바르샤바 [ba-leu-sha-ba] Warszawa
5) Oceania: 오세아니아 [oh-sae-ah-ni-ah]
Australia | |
New Zealand |
호주 [ho-ju] Australia
People also call 호주 as 오스트레일리아. 캔버라 [ken-beo-la] Canberra is the capital city. By the way, the biggest city is 시드니 (Sydney). So, 시드니 is the most famous Australian city among Korean people.
뉴질랜드 [nyu-jil-lan-deu] New Zealand
Originally, 오클랜드 (Auckland) was the capital city of New Zealand. In 1865, 웰링턴 [wael-ling-ton] Wellington was chosen to be the capital city.
There are so many countries and I only can show you some. If you ever wonder about other countries than those listed above in Korean search on Google "(country name) in Korean".
2. Talk About Nationality
Let's learn how we can ask and answer for nationality 국적 [guk-jjeok]! 사람 [sa-lam] means a person or people. By adding a country name and this word 사람 you can talk about the nationality!
한국 사람Korean (person/people)
미국 사람 [mi-guk-sa-lam] American
일본 사람 [il-bon-sa-lam] Japanese
사람 is a native Korean word. Another way you can say this is by using the Sino-Korean word 인 [in].
한국인 [han-gu-gin] Korean
미국인 [mi-gu-gin] American
중국인 [joong-gu-gin] Chinese
어느 [eo-neu] means which, by adding it in front of 나라 [na-la] country, 어느 나라 means which country or what country. So to ask "Where are you from?" or "What country are you from?" you can use the expression below!
Q: 어느 나라 사람이에요?
To answer you will use the Korean am/are/is - 이에요 or 예요.
A1: 한국 사람이에요. I'm Korean.
A2: 미국인이에요. I'm American.
Where are you from? Try to think of your own answer! You can try to type your own answer using the comment box! If you want to know how to type in Korean, please check out my post by clicking here.
3. Wrap-up & Worksheets
You've seen some country names in Korean. If you are a beginner, you can remember some commonly used ones below including the ones that are meaningful to you.
한국 Korea
중국 China
일본 Japan
By using the country name and adding the word 사람(person), you can talk about your nationality as well. Here are some free printable PDF worksheets too. Please download and use them to practice your Korean!
Practice writing
Noun organizer
![[Reading Material] Korean Currency Won: Korean Coins and Bills](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b68df0_bec7c0b8f2b64d5e9e13d6cd0948d54e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_54,h_54,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/b68df0_bec7c0b8f2b64d5e9e13d6cd0948d54e~mv2.jpg)
