How to Say “I’m thirsty” in Korean: 목말라요 (mongmallayo)

목말라요

mongmallayo

Situation: Café & daily lifeLevel: Starter (just learning Hangul)

Meaning

I’m thirsty.

목 is “throat” and 마르다 means “to be dry.” The natural way to say you are thirsty.

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 4 · Words: 1

Said aloud, it sounds like [몽말라요].

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
목	ㅁ+ㅗ+ㄱ	[몽] mong
말	ㅁ+ㅏ+ㄹ	mal
라	ㄹ+ㅏ	la
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Nasalization: a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ becomes ㅇ, ㄴ or ㅁ before ㄴ or ㅁ (and a ㄹ after ㅁ or ㅇ becomes ㄴ). 목말라 → [몽말라]

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “목말라요” mean?

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Answer: I’m thirsty

Question 2 How do you say “I’m thirsty” in Korean?

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Answer: 목말라요 mongmallayo

Question 3 How is “목말라요” pronounced?

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Answer: [몽말라요]

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