Ready for a quick 5-minute Korean lesson? We hope so, because we’re going to teach you how to say ‘water’ in Korean and get you using it in the next 300 seconds!

This is one of the first words many people learn in Korean, and rightfully so as it’s part of the 500 most commonly used nouns in Korean. The best part is, it’s easy to learn.

In this quick lesson, we’ll give you ways to memorize the new vocabulary word, start recognizing it in sentences and even get you to the point where you’re able to ask for water in a restaurant.

Let’s do it!

*Can’t read Korean yet? Click here to learn for free in about 60 minutes!

‘Water’ in Korean

The word for ‘water’ in Korean is 물 (mul). Here is it written in Korean and romanized text so you can pronounce it:

Romanized Text and Vocabulary Memorization – Good or Bad?

You’ll notice we’ve written the romanized text below the Korean (mul) to aid with pronunciation for beginners, and it’s great for doing just that! But our recommendation is to skip romanization entirely and just learn to read Hangul, the Korean alphabet. It leads to fewer confusions and mistakes, there is only one system (unlike romanization) and the best part is, it only takes 90 minutes at the most!

Once you’ve learned this word, we also recommend you start to focus on learning phrases and sentences as opposed to single Korean vocabulary words. The rest of this lesson will help! A common mistake new learners make is memorizing lists of vocabulary words and feeling like they’re making progress in a language. When faced with a conversation or question, however, these learners will not be able to utter a word of Korean. The solution: learn Korean grammar or study Korean phrases and full sentences to get a feel for the rules of the language. You’ll notice much faster progress that way!

Words Related to ‘Water’ in Korean

Next, let’s learn some words related to ‘water’ in Korean! These are other words you may wish to add to your lexicon as you continue to study Korean:

Bonus – How to Say “Give Me Water” in Korean

Now that you’ve learned how to say ‘water’ in Korean, you’re ready to step things up! Let’s learn the way to ask for a cup of water, for example when you’re in a restaurant or at a friend’s house:

Give me a cup of water please:

물 한 잔 주세요 (mul han jan juseyo)

Literally: “water one cup give me please”

Sample Sentences

Next, lets take a look at some sample sentences to help you see how the word ‘water’ is used in context. Try to find the word ‘water’ in each sentence. Studying sentences and seeing the word in context can help you develop a further understanding of its usage.

Formal/Polite:

물을 많이 마셔야 합니다. You should drink lots of water.

물을 따를게요. I will pour the water.

Informal:

바다에는 많은 물이 있다. There is a lot of water in the ocean.

물 마시고 싶어. I want to drink water.

How to Remember the Word ‘Water’ in Korean

This word’s short and sweet, but like any word in a foreign language, it can be easy to forget when you’re just starting out. That is, unless you anchor it to something in your mind. We recommend making associations to help new Korean words stick in your memory. If you’re a visual learner, a wacky image in your head usually does the trick! You can use similar sounding words in your native language to help you recall the word when you need it.

As an example, have you ever heard the parable about the mule who is equal distances away from a bucket of food and a trough of water? He ends up dying because he keeps looking to either side and can’t make up his mind about which to walk to first so he ends up dying of thirst.

The mule just needed some 물 (mul)! If he just drank the water first, he would have survived and then he could have gone and eaten the food as well. What a fool! The mule was a fool because he didn’t drink the 물 (mul)!

There you go, you can’t forget this word now!

That does it for this quick lesson. Time to grab a glass of water and sit back and relax. Let us know your success stories in the comments below. Cheers~!