"Place" in Korean is "장소". In this post, you will see different place names around the town with some reading materials. I'll also show you the room names in the house as well. Each level has a worksheet you can practice. Please read carefully and learn about various place nouns with my posting!
Table of Contents
1. Commonly used in my lessons
Firstly, I'll show you the words I often use in my lessons! They are very basic, so please try to memorize them! You can study using the chart or read more details below. You can also download the worksheet. I added Romanized pronunciation tips.
집 | home/house |
학교 | school |
회사 | company |
도서관 | library |
극장 | theater |
영화관 | cinema |
가게 | store |
식당 | restaurant |
카페 | cafe |
공원 | park |
집 house or home
When you want to refer to "my house," you have to watch out in Korean. Koreans don't use 내 집(my house). Instead, people say 우리 집(our house) to say my house. It is because of the Korean culture. People consider everyone to be in one big family! So, even though it is my house we call it 우리 집.
학교 school
You can call school 학교 in Korean. However, if you want to refer to a specific school, you can use the words like these.
유치원 kindergarten
어린이집preschool: 어린이 means a child or children. 집 is a house.
초등학교 elementary school
중학교 middle school: "중" means middle.
고등학교 high school
대학교 university or college
대학원 graduate school
회사 company
You can attach specific words to make types of companies. Here are some examples.
식품 회사 food company
무역 회사 trading company
건설 회사 construction company
극장 theater / 영화관 movie theater
극장 can mean both theater for play and movie. However, 영화관 is only a movie theater because 영화 means a movie. Usually, a small theater for a play is called 소극장 as 소 means small.
가게 store
가게 means a store. By adding a noun in front of it, you can make a more specific store!
옷 가게 clothes store: 옷 means clothes.
신발 가게 shoe store → 신발 means shoes (or a shoe).
식당 restaurant
식당 usually refers to non-western restaurants. Restaurants that sell Western food can be called 레스토랑. For example, a family restaurant is called 패밀리 레스토랑.
한식 Korean food → 한식당 Korean food restaurant
일식 Japanese food → 일식당 Japanese food restaurant
중식 Chinese food → 중식당 Chinese food restaurant
카페 cafe
A cafe is Koreanized as 카페. Some people write it as 까페 but it isn't correct. You will see lots of 카페 in Korea, small and big. It is also called 커피숍, as you can guess, means coffee shop. But 카페 is more commonly used than 커피숍.
2. Places around a house
Now I'll show you more place nouns—especially ones you can see around the house. Since there are many words, I'll show you in sections. I'll also provide you with worksheets. After you read the materials, download the free printable worksheets to practice!
Level 1
병원 | hospital |
약국 | pharmacy |
보건소 | public health center |
은행 | bank |
서점 | bookstore |
시장 | (Traditional) market |
마트 | mart |
슈퍼 | supermarket, grocery store |
백화점 | department store |
편의점 | convenience store |
병원 hospital
병원 is a clinic or a hospital. For most of 병원, you can walk in in Korea. There are different terms for each 병원. I'll show you some.
내과: Department of Internal Medicine
외과: Department of Surgery
이비인후과: otorhinolaryngology
소아과: Pediatric Hospital
안과: ophthalmic clinic
치과: dental clinic
보건소 health center
보건소 is a public health center that is run by the government. It provides a limited service compared to hospitals but usually provides cheaper check-ups and preventative shots.
시장 market
In Korea, before stores like supermarkets were built, people bought and sold goods at markets. This market still exists these days. Those are called 재래시장(traditional market) or 시장(market). Local merchants sell their products at stalls, booths, and small sections. You can get delicious Korean food in the 시장 too. Night street market is called 야시장 as 야 means night in this case.
마트mart / 슈퍼마켓 small grocery store
Supermarket terms are interesting in Korean. For those big supermarkets like Walmart or Target, you will say 마트 or 대형 마트 which means a big mart. But somehow the word "supermarket" is altered, and if you say 슈퍼마켓 people will think of small or medium-sized local grocery stores, not a huge mart. Isn't it interesting? People also called 슈퍼 short of 슈퍼마켓.
백화점 department store
백 is the Sino-Korean word for 100. It also means "a lot". So, 백화점 is where you can buy a lot of stuff. By the way, when you read this, you have to pronounce it as [배콰점]. It is because when the final consonant ㄱ meets ㅎ, it turns into ㅋ sounds.
편의점 convenience store
When you go to Korea, you will see lots of 편의점 everywhere! It is not just a small store you can see at the gas station. 편의점 usually opens for 24 hours and daily, run by big firms.
Level 2
우체국 | post office |
경찰서 | police station |
소방서 | fire station |
주민센터 | community service center |
박물관 | museum |
미술관 | art museum |
식물원 | botanical garden |
동물원 | zoo |
수영장 | pool |
주차장 | parking lot |
경찰서 police station / 소방서 fire station
A police officer is 경찰관. They work in 경찰서. A firefighter in Korea is called 소방관. They work in 소방서. Do you see the patterns here? Many Korean words have Chinese characters behind them. For the words "경찰서" and "소방서", you can guess "서" can mean the "government office" or "place". From the words "경찰관" and "소방관", you can guess 관can mean the "officers". Since there are lots of homonyms in those Chinese characters, you can not always assume 서 means this 관 means that, but they can help figure out meanings sometimes.
주민센터 community service center
It is a combination word of 주민(resident) and 센터(center). This place is where you have to visit if you start to live in Korea. You can notify the office of your residence and new address. If you need any official documents like a marriage certificate or immigration form, it is also a place to go.
수영장 swimming pool
수영 is a noun that means swim(swimming). 수영하다 is a verb version of swim. 수영장 is a swimming pool.
Level 3
공항 | airport |
지하철역 | subway station |
버스 정류장 | bus stop |
버스 터미널 | bus terminal, bus station |
미용실 | beauty salon, hair salon |
이발소 | barbershop |
문구점 | stationery shop |
놀이터 | playground |
운동장 | school field, (sports) field |
경기장 | stadium |
지하철역 subway station
지하철 is a subway. So, subway stations are called 지하철역. In big cities in Korea, you can easily use the subway system. Especially, if you travel to Seoul, you don't have to worry about renting a car. The public transportation system (subway and bus) is well-developed. The names of stations end with the word 역 such as 강남(Gangnam) area has 강남역.
버스 정류장 bus stop / 버스 터미널 bus terminal, bus station
버스 should be an easy word to memorize! If you read it out loud, you will be able to guess. Yes, it is a bus. Bus stops are 버스 정류장. For a big bus station or terminal to go to other cities is called 버스 터미널.
미용실 hair shop / 이발소 barber shop
미용실 used to refer to where women go to get their hair done and 이발소 is where men go. You can get a haircut, perm, or dye in 미용실 where 이발소 usually offers a haircut or shave. These days, men go to 미용실 as well. 이발소 still exists but is not that common, compared to 미용실, and it is still a place only men go.
문구점 stationary store
문구점 is also called 문방구. And this is where you can get school or office supplies.
놀이터 playground
놀다means play. So, 놀이터 is where kids can play, a playground.
운동장 schoolyard, stadium, (sports) field / 경기장 stadium
운동 is a noun meaning exercise. 운동장 has lots of meanings. Usually, it means a schoolyard where students have their P.E. lessons. But it can be also used to refer to a field where sports happen. Those sports fields are also can be called 경기장.
축구 경기장 soccer stadium/soccer field
농구 경기장 basketball stadium
야구 경기장 Baseball stadium
체조 경기장 gymnastics stadium
3. Places in a house
Here are the different room names you can see in a house!
방 room
Any type of room, including a master bedroom, small bedroom, study, or dressing room, you can refer to as 방. By adding a word in front of 방, you can make a more specific room name.
안방 / 큰방 master bedroom
안 means inside. The master bedroom is usually located at the very back of the house. So, it is called 안방. 큰 came from the adjective 크다 which means "to be big". So, 큰방 means "a big room."
작은방 small room
작은 came from 작다 which means "to be small." It is an antonym of 크다. Usually for rooms other than 큰방, people call it 작은방. It can be called in many other names as well. For example, if it is a child's room, people call it 아이방 using the word 아이(child). If it is used as a study or an office, it can be called 서재. If it is used to keep clothes, it can be called 옷방. 옷 means "clothes."
주방 / 부엌 kitchen
주방 and 부엌 both mean kitchen. 주방 is a Sino-Korean word and 부엌 is a native Korean word. You can call your house's kitchen with both words. However, it sounds more natural to use 주방 to refer to a restaurant's cooking area.
다이닝룸 dining room
Traditionally, there was no separate dining room in Korean houses. People lived, ate, studied, and slept in one area. Nowadays, people build houses in Western style and usually have LDK-style rooms. LDK means a living room, dining area, and kitchen in one open area. People put the dining table and chairs on one side of the kitchen. So, there are still no specific Korean terms for dining rooms. When you have to call a dining room, you can just use the loan word, 다이닝룸. Some people refer to it as 식당(restaurant), but it sounds not that natural.
차고 garage
차 means a car. A garage is called 차고. However, you can usually see 차고 in a single-family house. In Korea, single-family houses are not that common. Most people live in apartment complexes or multi-unit houses. People share a parking lot; in that case, it will be called 주차장. Due to a lack of space, big apartment complexes have underground parking lots. Those are called 지하주차장. 지하 means a basement. The antonym word is 지상 주차장(on-the-ground parking lots).
다락 attic
다락 is also called 다락방. Only a single-family house has an attic. It is not a common area in Korea.
베란다 balcony
One of the unique areas of Korean apartments will be this, 베란다(veranda). It is actually a balcony but people call it 베란다. This 베란다 is commonly found in an apartment. It's like a sunroom, fully covered with walls and windows. Usually, people put washing machines here and hang clothes, or grow plants.
Wrap-up & Material: Korean place nouns
You've learned the various place nouns in Korean. I also provided you with some reading materials related to those places and worksheets. If you want to organize all the words in one worksheet, please download the noun organizer as well!
I'll give you one more good source to practice. I made some flashcards using those place words. You can click the box below to go to Quizlet and study using the pre-made flashcards! Thanks for studying with us!
![[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)
