How to Say You're Bored in Korean: Playing a Fun Memory Game 🧠

Feeling bored and not sure what to do? In this beginner Korean lesson, you’ll learn how to express boredom and suggest a fun activity with your friends. Join Minjun and Seoyeon as they play a simple but exciting memory game, and pick up essential vocabulary for everyday objects you can find on your table!

💬 Video Transcript

민준: 서연아, 뭐 해?
(Minjun: Seoyeon, what are you doing?)

서연: 민준아, 그냥 앉아 있어. 심심하다.
(Seoyeon: Minjun, I’m just sitting here. I’m bored.)

민준: 나도 심심해. 정말 정말 심심해.
(Minjun: I’m bored too. I’m really, really bored.)

서연: 우리 뭐 재미있는 거 할까?
(Seoyeon: Shall we do something fun?)

민준: 좋아! 뭐 할까?
(Minjun: Okay! What should we do?)

서연: 음… 아! 좋은 생각 있어! 우리 게임 하자.
(Seoyeon: Hmm… Ah! I have a good idea! Let’s play a game.)

민준: 게임? 무슨 게임이야?
(Minjun: A game? What kind of game?)

서연: 기억력 게임! 아주 재미있어.
(Seoyeon: A memory game! It’s very fun.)

민준: 기억력 게임? 어떻게 하는 거야?
(Minjun: A memory game? How do you play it?)

서연: 아주 쉬워. 내가 알려줄게. 자, 여기 테이블을 봐.
(Seoyeon: It’s very easy. I’ll show you. Now, look at the table here.)

민준: 응. 테이블이 있어.
(Minjun: Okay. There’s a table.)

서연: 이제 테이블 위에 물건을 놓자. 여기 책이 있어.
(Seoyeon: Now let’s put things on the table. There is a book here.)

민준: 좋아. 나는 펜이 있어. 테이블 위에 펜.
(Minjun: Okay. I have a pen. A pen on the table.)

서연: 좋아. 그리고 여기 사과. 테이블 위에 사과.
(Seoyeon: Good. And here’s an apple. An apple on the table.)

민준: 여기 컵도 있어. 테이블 위에 컵.
(Minjun: There’s a cup here too. A cup on the table.)

서연: 아주 좋아. 자, 이제 테이블 위에 뭐가 있어?
(Seoyeon: Very good. Now, what’s on the table?)

민준: 음… 책, 펜, 사과, 컵이 있어.
(Minjun: Um… There’s a book, a pen, an apple, and a cup.)

서연: 맞아. 잘 봐. 이제… 눈 감아.
(Seoyeon: That’s right. Look carefully. Now… close your eyes.)

민준: 알겠어. 눈 감았어.
(Minjun: Okay. I closed my eyes.)

서연: (서연이가 펜을 숨긴다) 자, 이제 눈 떠.
(Seoyeon: (Seoyeon hides the pen) Okay, now open your eyes.)

민준: 응. 눈 떴어. 어?
(Minjun: Okay. I opened my eyes. Huh?)

서연: 테이블을 잘 봐. 지금 뭐가 없어?
(Seoyeon: Look at the table carefully. What’s missing now?)

민준: 음… 잠깐만. 책은 있어.
(Minjun: Um… wait a minute. The book is here.)

서연: 응, 책은 있어.
(Seoyeon: Yes, the book is here.)

민준: 그리고 사과도 있어. 컵도 있어.
(Minjun: And the apple is here too. The cup is also here.)

서연: 맞아. 그럼 뭐가 없지?
(Seoyeon: That’s right. So, what’s missing?)

민준: 아! 알겠다! 펜! 펜이 없어!
(Minjun: Ah! I got it! The pen! The pen is missing!)

서연: 와! 맞았어! 민준이 대단하다!
(Seoyeon: Wow! You got it right! Minjun, you’re amazing!)

민준: 하하. 이거 정말 재미있다.
(Minjun: Haha. This is really fun.)

서연: 그렇지? 재미있지?
(Seoyeon: Right? It’s fun, isn’t it?)

민준: 응! 이제 내 차례야. 서연이, 준비됐어?
(Minjun: Yes! Now it’s my turn. Seoyeon, are you ready?)

서연: 응! 준비됐어.
(Seoyeon: Yes! I’m ready.)

민준: 자, 테이블 위에 책, 펜, 사과, 컵. 다 있어. 이제 눈 감아.
(Minjun: Okay, on the table are a book, a pen, an apple, a cup. They’re all here. Now, close your eyes.)

서연: 알겠어. 눈 감았어. 보지 않을게.
(Seoyeon: Okay. I’ve closed my eyes. I won’t look.)

민준: (민준이가 사과를 숨긴다) 서연아, 이제 눈 떠!
(Minjun: (Minjun hides the apple) Seoyeon, now open your eyes!)

서연: 응, 떴어. 어디 보자… 음…
(Seoyeon: Okay, they’re open. Let’s see… Hmm…)

민준: 하하. 알겠어?
(Minjun: Haha. Do you know?)

서연: 잠깐만… 펜은 있어.
(Seoyeon: Hold on… The pen is here.)

민준: 응, 펜은 있어.
(Minjun: Yes, the pen is here.)

서연: 책도 있고… 컵도 있어.
(Seoyeon: The book is here too… and the cup is here.)

민준: 맞아. 그럼 뭐가 없어?
(Minjun: That’s right. So what’s missing?)

서연: 아! 사과! 빨간 사과가 없어!
(Seoyeon: Ah! The apple! The red apple is missing!)

민준: 정답! 맞았어! 서연이도 정말 잘한다!
(Minjun: Correct! You got it! Seoyeon, you’re really good too!)

서연: 와! 이 게임 정말 재미있네.
(Seoyeon: Wow! This game is really fun.)

민준: 응. 이제 하나도 안 심심해.
(Minjun: Yeah. I’m not bored at all now.)

서연: 우리 한 번 더 하자!
(Seoyeon: Let’s play one more time!)

민준: 좋아! 이번에도 내가 할게. 눈 감아!
(Minjun: Okay! I’ll go this time too. Close your eyes!)

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are some of the key words and phrases from the video. Practice them to master the dialogue!

🔍 Grammar Focus

Let’s break down two important grammar patterns used by Minjun and Seoyeon.

1. Expressing Existence: 있어요 (isseoyo) / 없어요 (eopseoyo)

In Korean, you use 있어요 (to exist, to be there) and 없어요 (to not exist, to not be there) to talk about possession or the presence of an object. Notice how the noun is marked with the subject particle 이/가.

• Use 이 (i) after nouns ending in a consonant.
• Use 가 (ga) after nouns ending in a vowel.

From the dialogue:

• 여기 책이 있어. (There is a book here.) - 책 (chaek) ends in a consonant.
• 나는 펜이 있어. (I have a pen.) - 펜 (pen) ends in a consonant.
• 펜이 없어! (The pen is missing!) - 펜 (pen) ends in a consonant.
• 빨간 사과가 없어! (The red apple is missing!) - 사과 (sagwa) ends in a vowel.

2. Making Suggestions: -(으)ㄹ까?

When you want to make a suggestion or ask for someone’s opinion, you can use the -(으)ㄹ까? ending. It’s similar to saying “Shall we…?” or “What should we…?” in English.

• Use -ㄹ까? after verb stems ending in a vowel.
• Use -을까? after verb stems ending in a consonant.

From the dialogue:

• 우리 뭐 재미있는 거 할까? (Shall we do something fun?)
  • The verb is 하다 (hada, to do). The stem 하 (ha) ends in a vowel, so you add -ㄹ까? to get 할까 (halkka)?
• 뭐 할까? (What should we do?)
  • Again, this uses the verb 하다 (hada).

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Practice the key phrases from the lesson with these interactive flashcards.

💡 Key Takeaways

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

• To express boredom, you can say 심심해 (simsimhae) or 심심하다 (simsimhada).
• To suggest an activity, use the pattern 우리 … -ㄹ까/을까? (Shall we…?).
• Use -이/가 있어 (i/ga isseo) to say something is present and -이/가 없어 (i/ga eopseo) to say it’s missing.
• You can name common household objects like 책 (book), 펜 (pen), 사과 (apple), and 컵 (cup).
• A fun response to winning a game is 맞았어! (majasseo!), which means “You got it right!” or “Correct!”.

🎯 Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge of the vocabulary and grammar from this lesson!

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

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