Describing Animals in Korean: A Beginner Dialogue at the Aquarium 🐠

Join Minjun and Seoyeon on their very first visit to an aquarium! In this lesson, you’ll learn essential A1 Korean vocabulary and grammar for describing what you see. You’ll master how to talk about animals, their sizes (big/small), and colors, all while practicing how to express your feelings like excitement and amazement.

💬 Video Transcript

민준: 서연, 여기 아쿠아리움이에요.
(Minjun: Seoyeon, this is the aquarium.)

서연: 와! 정말 커요. 그리고 정말 좋아요.
(Seoyeon: Wow! It’s really big. And I really like it.)

민준: 네, 맞아요. 우리 들어가요.
(Minjun: Yes, that’s right. Let’s go in.)

서연: 좋아요! 빨리 물고기 보고 싶어요.
(Seoyeon: Okay! I want to see the fish quickly.)

민준: 좋아요. 같이 들어가요.
(Minjun: Okay. Let’s go in together.)

서연: 와! 민준, 저기 좀 봐요.
(Seoyeon: Wow! Minjun, look over there.)

민준: 우와! 물고기예요.
(Minjun: Whoa! It’s a fish.)

서연: 네, 물고기예요. 물고기가 정말 많아요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, it’s a fish. There are so many fish.)

민준: 정말 많아요. 그리고 정말 예뻐요.
(Minjun: So many. And they are really pretty.)

서연: 맞아요. 정말 예뻐요.
(Seoyeon: That’s right. They’re really pretty.)

민준: 이 물고기는 파란색이에요.
(Minjun: This fish is blue.)

서연: 저 물고기는 노란색이에요.
(Seoyeon: That fish is yellow.)

민준: 파란색 물고기도 있고, 노란색 물고기도 있어요.
(Minjun: There are blue fish, and there are yellow fish too.)

서연: 이 물고기들은 작아요.
(Seoyeon: These fish are small.)

민준: 네, 아주 작아요. 정말 귀여워요.
(Minjun: Yes, they’re very small. They’re really cute.)

서연: 여기 다른 물고기도 있어요. 이쪽으로 와요.
(Seoyeon: There are other fish here, too. Come this way.)

민준: 와! 서연, 이 물고기는 정말 커요.
(Minjun: Wow! Seoyeon, this fish is really big.)

서연: 네, 정말 커요. 아주 아주 커요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, it’s really big. Very, very big.)

민준: 저쪽 물고기들은 작아요.
(Minjun: Those fish over there are small.)

서연: 맞아요. 저쪽 물고기들은 작아요. 그런데 이 물고기는 정말 커요.
(Seoyeon: That’s right. Those fish over there are small. But this fish is really big.)

민준: 정말 신기해요.
(Minjun: It’s really amazing.)

서연: 네, 저도 정말 신기해요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, I also find it really amazing.)

민준: 서연, 저것은 뭐예요? 물고기 아니에요.
(Minjun: Seoyeon, what is that? It’s not a fish.)

서연: 음… 저게 뭐예요?
(Seoyeon: Um… what is that?)

민준: 아! 저것은 해파리예요.
(Minjun: Ah! That’s a jellyfish.)

서연: 해파리요? 와, 정말 예뻐요.
(Seoyeon: A jellyfish? Wow, it’s so pretty.)

민준: 네, 해파리가 정말 예뻐요. 색깔이 정말 예뻐요.
(Minjun: Yes, the jellyfish is really pretty. Its color is so pretty.)

서연: 맞아요. 정말 신기하게 생겼어요.
(Seoyeon: That’s right. It looks so fascinating.)

민준: 여기 해파리가 많아요.
(Minjun: There are a lot of jellyfish here.)

서연: 네, 작은 해파리도 있어요. 큰 해파리도 있어요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, there are small jellyfish. There are big jellyfish too.)

민준: 서연! 저기 거북이도 있어요.
(Minjun: Seoyeon! There’s a turtle over there too.)

서연: 어디요? 아! 정말 거북이가 있어요.
(Seoyeon: Where? Ah! There really is a turtle.)

민준: 거북이가 수영해요.
(Minjun: The turtle is swimming.)

서연: 와, 정말 귀여워요.
(Seoyeon: Wow, it’s so cute.)

민준: 거북이가 천천히 수영해요. 아주 천천히요.
(Minjun: The turtle swims slowly. Very slowly.)

서연: 맞아요. 정말 천천히 움직여요.
(Seoyeon: That’s right. It moves really slowly.)

민준: 거북이, 안녕?
(Minjun: Turtle, hello?)

서연: 하하. 민준, 거북이는 대답이 없어요.
(Seoyeon: Haha. Minjun, the turtle doesn’t answer.)

민준: 그렇네요. 그래도 정말 귀여워요.
(Minjun: I guess so. But it’s still really cute.)

서연: 민준, 오늘 정말 재미있어요.
(Seoyeon: Minjun, today is really fun.)

민준: 나도 정말 재미있어요.
(Minjun: I’m having a lot of fun too.)

서연: 아쿠아리움은 처음이에요. 정말 좋아요.
(Seoyeon: It’s my first time at an aquarium. I really like it.)

민준: 저도 처음이에요. 물고기도 보고, 해파리도 보고, 거북이도 봤어요.
(Minjun: It’s my first time too. We saw fish, jellyfish, and a turtle.)

서연: 정말 즐거웠어요.
(Seoyeon: It was so enjoyable.)

민준: 다음에 또 와요.
(Minjun: Let’s come again next time.)

서연: 네, 좋아요! 다음에 꼭 또 와요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, okay! Let’s definitely come again next time.)

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are some key words and phrases from Minjun and Seoyeon’s conversation. Practice them to build your core Korean vocabulary.

🔍 Grammar Focus

Let’s break down two important grammar points you heard in the dialogue.

1. Identifying Nouns with 이에요 / 예요 (to be)

In English, we use “is,” “am,” or “are” to say what something is. In Korean, you use 이에요 (ieyo) or 예요 (yeyo) at the end of a noun. The one you choose depends on the last letter of the noun.

• Use 이에요 if the noun ends in a consonant (받침).
• Use 예요 if the noun ends in a vowel.

Look at these examples from the video:

• 아쿠아리움이에요. (It’s an aquarium.)
  • The word 아쿠아리움 (aquarium) ends in the consonant ㅁ (m), so you add 이에요.
• 물고기예요. (It’s a fish.)
  • The word 물고기 (mulgogi) ends in the vowel ㅣ (i), so you add 예요.
• 해파리예요. (It’s a jellyfish.)
  • The word 해파리 (haepari) also ends in the vowel ㅣ (i), so it takes 예요.

2. Basic Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives) in the Polite Form (-아요/어요)

The dialogue is filled with simple descriptions like “it’s big,” “it’s cute,” and “it’s pretty.” These are descriptive verbs (often called adjectives in English) conjugated in the standard polite present tense. The ending changes based on the last vowel of the verb stem.

• If the last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, you add -아요.
• If the last vowel is anything else (like ㅓ, ㅜ, ㅣ), you add -어요.

Let’s see it in action:

• 작아요 (It’s small) comes from the verb stem 작- (jak-). The vowel is ㅏ, so you add -아요 → 작아요.
  • Example: 이 물고기들은 작아요. (These fish are small.)
• 많아요 (There are many) comes from 많- (manh-). The vowel is ㅏ, so you add -아요 → 많아요.
  • Example: 물고기가 정말 많아요. (There are really many fish.)
• 예뻐요 (It’s pretty) comes from 예쁘- (yeppeu-). The vowel is ㅡ, which is not ㅏ or ㅗ. So we add -어요. The ㅡ drops and it combines to become 예뻐요.
  • Example: 정말 예뻐요. (It’s really pretty.)
• 커요 (It’s big) comes from 크- (keu-). The vowel is ㅡ, which is not ㅏ or ㅗ. The ㅡ drops and it combines with -어요 to become 커요.
  • Example: 이 물고기는 정말 커요. (This fish is really big.)

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Test your memory with these flashcards based on the dialogue’s vocabulary.

💡 Key Takeaways

Here are the most important points to remember from this lesson:

• Key Animal Names: Memorize the words for 물고기 (fish), 해파리 (jellyfish), and 거북이 (turtle).
• Describing Size: Use 커요 for “big” and 작아요 for “small” to describe objects and animals.
• Giving Compliments: You can say something is 예뻐요 (pretty) or 귀여워요 (cute).
• Identifying Nouns: Remember to use -이에요 after a consonant and -예요 after a vowel to say “It is a…”
• Expressing Feelings: Use 정말 재미있어요 to say something is “really fun” and 정말 신기해요 to express that something is “amazing” or “fascinating.”

🎯 Practice Quiz

Check your understanding of the key vocabulary and grammar from the dialogue.

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

Let’s test your spelling and memory! Fill in the missing words below.