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100 Must-Know TOPIK I Vocabulary Words

Level
A2
Type
Vocab
Theme
Daily Life
작성자
Y
Yanghwa
작성시각
TOPIK I covers roughly 1,500 to 2,000 vocabulary words. That sounds like a lot, but there's a shortcut: a core group of about 100 words shows up over and over again.
Master these 100 words and you'll recognize the majority of what appears on the test. Not all of it, but enough to answer most questions with confidence.
I've organized them by category so you can study in chunks that make sense. Each word includes pronunciation to help you say it out loud—because hearing yourself say a word helps you recognize it when you hear it on the test.

People and Relationships (15 words)

These words appear in almost every TOPIK I conversation:
Korean
Pronunciation
Meaning
사람
saram
person
친구
chingu
friend
가족
gajok
family
부모님
bumonim
parents (honorific)
선생님
seonsaengnim
teacher
학생
haksaeng
student
아이
ai
child
남자
namja
man
여자
yeoja
woman
형/오빠
hyeong/oppa
older brother (male/female speaker)
누나/언니
nuna/eonni
older sister (male/female speaker)
동생
dongsaeng
younger sibling
아버지
abeoji
father
어머니
eomeoni
mother
회사원
hoesawon
office worker
Real moment: The word 사람 (person) appears in TOPIK I questions so often that it's almost funny. "이 사람은..." (This person...), "어떤 사람..." (What kind of person...), "몇 사람..." (How many people...). If you know 사람, you can already start making sense of a lot of questions.
Note the family terms: Korean has different words for "older brother" and "older sister" depending on whether the speaker is male or female. A woman calls her older brother 오빠 (oppa) while a man calls his older brother 형 (hyeong). This distinction comes up regularly in TOPIK I conversations about family.

Time and Days (15 words)

Time-related vocabulary is essential because many TOPIK questions ask about schedules and plans:
Korean
Pronunciation
Meaning
오늘
oneul
today
내일
naeil
tomorrow
어제
eoje
yesterday
지금
jigeum
now
아침
achim
morning/breakfast
점심
jeomsim
lunch/noon
저녁
jeonyeok
evening/dinner
밤
bam
night
주말
jumal
weekend
매일
maeil
every day
작년
jangnyeon
last year
내년
naenyeon
next year
이번 주
ibeon ju
this week
다음 주
daeum ju
next week
방학
banghak
school vacation
A common TOPIK I pattern: two people discuss plans using these time words. "이번 주말에 뭐 해요?" (What are you doing this weekend?) shows up in countless practice tests.

Places (15 words)

Location words tell you where a conversation is happening—which is literally a question type on TOPIK:
Korean
Pronunciation
Meaning
집
jip
home/house
학교
hakgyo
school
회사
hoesa
company/office
병원
byeongwon
hospital
은행
eunhaeng
bank
식당
sikdang
restaurant
카페
kape
café
공원
gongwon
park
시장
sijang
market
역
yeok
station
공항
gonghang
airport
호텔
hotel
hotel
화장실
hwajangsil
restroom
방
bang
room
가게
gage
store/shop
Tip: When a TOPIK question asks "이 대화는 어디에서 하고 있습니까?" (Where is this conversation taking place?), scan for these location words—they're usually mentioned directly or strongly implied.

Actions (25 words)

Verbs are the backbone of every sentence. These 25 cover most daily actions:
Korean
Pronunciation
Meaning
가다
gada
to go
오다
oda
to come
먹다
meokda
to eat
마시다
masida
to drink
보다
boda
to see/watch
듣다
deutda
to listen
읽다
ikda
to read
쓰다
sseuda
to write/use
말하다
malhada
to speak
공부하다
gongbuhada
to study
일하다
ilhada
to work
자다
jada
to sleep
일어나다
ireonada
to wake up/get up
앉다
anda
to sit
서다
seoda
to stand
걷다
geotda
to walk
뛰다
ttwida
to run
사다
sada
to buy
팔다
palda
to sell
만나다
mannada
to meet
좋아하다
joahada
to like
싫어하다
sireohada
to dislike
알다
alda
to know
모르다
moreuda
to not know
있다
itda
to exist/have
Real moment: I tell all my TOPIK prep students: if you can conjugate 가다, 오다, 먹다, 보다, and 하다 in past, present, and future, you can understand the core of most TOPIK I conversations. These five verbs carry an enormous amount of daily Korean.

Descriptions (15 words)

Adjectives that appear regularly in TOPIK I reading and listening:
Korean
Pronunciation
Meaning
크다
keuda
big
작다
jakda
small
많다
manta
many/a lot
적다
jeokda
few/little
좋다
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