· 5 lists · 200 words
School, university and research
The classroom, the exam, the lecture hall and the paper.
What holds these lists together
The school system has a word for every stage, and the same syllable ends them all: 초등학교, primary school, 중학교, middle school, 고등학교, high school, and 대학교, university. Taking an exam is 시험을 보다, literally “to see an exam”, and passing it is 시험에 붙다 in everyday speech. A teacher is 선생님, and the respectful 님 is part of the word: pupils say it to their teacher’s face, and a teacher never uses it about themselves. Sino-Korean words fill the later lists, and a few syllables do most of the work — 학, learning, appears in 학생, student, 학교, school, and 과학, science. Each one learnt helps with the next word that contains it.
The five lists
Spread across the levels
The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.
| Level | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | 20 % |
| 2 | 43 | 22 % |
| 3 | 78 | 39 % |
| 4 | 39 | 20 % |
Practise this category
Multiple choice and gaps, across all five lists and all 200 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.