Commonly confused Korean spellings

돼 (dwae) is a contraction of 되어 (doeeo). If you can replace it with 되어, write 돼; if not, write 되. So 안 돼요 (an dwaeyo, "No, you can't") is right because 안 되어요 also works, while 되고 and 되니까 use 되. A handy trick: swap in 하 and 해, and if 해 fits, the answer is 돼.

안 (an) is short for 아니, and 않 (an) is short for 아니하. Before a verb, use 안 with a space: 안 가요 (an gayo), "I'm not going." After a verb ending in -지, use 않: 가지 않아요 (gaji anayo). A simple rule: if it comes right before the verb, it is 안; if it follows -지, it is 않.

왠지 (waenji, "somehow") is short for 왜인지, so it uses 왠 from 왜 (why). Almost everywhere else, use 웬 (wen), meaning "what sort of" or "how come," as in 웬일이야? (wenniriya?), "What brings you here?" and 웬만하면 (wenmanhamyeon), "if possible." Remember: only 왠지 takes 왠, and the rest take 웬.

낫다 (natda) means to recover from illness or to be better, while 낳다 (nata) means to give birth or to produce a result. Write 감기가 빨리 낫길 바라요, "I hope your cold gets better soon," and 이게 더 나아요, "This one is better," but 좋은 결과를 낳았다, "It produced a good result." The correct get-well wish is 빨리 나으세요.

Getting a correct answer is 맞히다 (machida): 문제를 맞혔다, "I got the question right," or 정답을 맞혀 보세요, "Try to guess the answer." 맞추다 (matchuda) means comparing or fitting things together, as in 답을 친구와 맞춰 보다, "check answers with a friend," or 시간을 맞추다, "set or match the time." Even quiz show captions mix these up.

로서 (roseo) marks a role or status, while 로써 (rosseo) marks a means or tool. 팬으로서 응원해요 (paeneuroseo eungwonhaeyo), "I support you as a fan," uses 로서. 대화로써 문제를 풀었다, "We solved it through conversation," uses 로써. If you can rephrase it as "in the position of," choose 로서.

For "right away" or "in no time," the correct spelling is 금세 (geumse). It is a contraction of 금시에 (geumsie), which explains the 세. For example, 콘서트 티켓이 금세 매진됐어요 (konseoteu tikesi geumse maejindwaesseoyo), "The concert tickets sold out in no time." Because they sound alike, 금새 is a very common mistake.

Yes. Whether asking the date or meaning "a few days," always write 며칠 (myeochil). For example, 오늘이 며칠이에요? (oneuri myeochirieyo?), "What's the date today?" and 며칠 동안 쉬었어요, "I rested for a few days." Writing 몇일 or 몇 일 is incorrect, and the Standard Korean Language Dictionary lists only 며칠.

어떻게 (eotteoke) asks "how," about a method or state, while 어떡해 (eotteokae) is short for 어떻게 해, "what do I do?" So 어떻게 가요? asks "How do I get there?" and 이제 어떡해? (ije eotteokae?) is a worried "What do we do now?" If it ends the sentence as a cry of worry, it is usually 어떡해.

-대 (-dae) reports something you heard from others, while -데 (-de) recalls something you experienced yourself. 그 드라마 재밌대 (geu deurama jaemitdae) means "I heard that drama is fun," and 그 드라마 재밌데 means "I found that drama fun," from your own viewing. For passing along rumors or news, use -대.

든지 (deunji) means "whichever" or "no matter what," while 던지 (deonji) recalls something in the past. 언제든지 연락하세요 (eonjedeunji yeollakaseyo), "Contact me anytime," uses 든지. 얼마나 떨렸던지 말이 안 나왔어요, "I was so nervous I couldn't speak," looks back on the past with 던지. Link 던 with past memories.

Yes. Write 할게 (halge, "I'll do it"), 갈게 (galge, "I'll go") and 먹을게 (meogeulge, "I'll eat"). It is pronounced with a tense sound, like [할께], but the spelling keeps a plain ㄱ. Korean spelling rules say these endings are written with the plain consonant even when the sound is tense. It is one of the most common mistakes in chats.

After a vowel or a final ㄴ, write 율 (yul); after any other final consonant, write 률 (ryul). So 비율 (biyul, ratio) and 할인율 (harinyul, discount rate) take 율, while 확률 (hwangnyul, probability), 시청률 (sicheongnyul, TV ratings) and 합격률 (hapgyeongnyul, pass rate) take 률. Drama ratings news is great practice.

Yes. The verb for hoping is 바라다 (barada), so the standard forms are 바라요 (barayo) and 바랐어요. The noun is 바람 (baram), not 바램. 바래다 means to fade in color, as in 옷 색이 바랬어요, "The color of my clothes faded." Many people say 바래요 in speech, but in writing use 바라요.

Paying to complete a transaction is 결제 (gyeolje): 카드로 결제할게요 (kadeuro gyeoljehalgeyo), "I'll pay by card." 결재 (gyeoljae) means a superior reviewing and approving a document at work, as in 부장님께 결재를 받다, "get the manager's sign-off." Shopping is 결제; office paperwork is 결재.

The correct form is 오랜만 (oraenman), because it is short for 오래간만 (oraeganman), so no ㅅ is added. Write 오랜만이에요 (oraenmanieyo), "Long time no see," and 오랜만에 만났다, "We met after a long time." By contrast, 오랫동안 (oraetdongan), "for a long time," does take the ㅅ, so learn the pair together.

The correct spelling is 설렘 (seollem). The base verb is 설레다 (seolleda), so its noun form is 설렘. 설레이다 is not standard either, so write 설레요 and 설렜어요. Likewise, the noun from 헤매다 is 헤맴, not 헤매임. In a fan letter you might write 무대 볼 생각에 설레요, "I'm thrilled to see your stage."

Yes. The word meaning "on purpose" is 일부러 (ilbureo): 일부러 늦게 간 건 아니에요, "I didn't arrive late on purpose." Writing 일부로 turns it into 일부 + 로, "as a part," which means something completely different. Because the sounds are close, it is a frequent slip in chats and comments.

Yes. The correct spelling is 역할 (yeokal, role), from the characters 役割. Because it is pronounced [여칼], many people mistakenly write 역활, but the second character is 할 (割, to divide), so it is spelled 할. For example, 주인공 역할을 맡았어요, "I played the lead role." You will see it constantly in actor interviews and casting news.

Search the National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Korean Language Dictionary to confirm a word's correct spelling and meaning. For questions the dictionary cannot answer, the institute's website has an online Q&A service called 온라인 가나다 (onrain ganada). Spell checkers help with whole sentences, but double-check their suggestions in the dictionary.