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How to Say “Above all, health matters most” in Korean

무엇보다 건강이 제일 중요해요

mueotboda geongangi jeil jungyohaeyo

Situation: Feelings & cheeringLevel: Advanced (TOPIK 5–6)

Meaning

Above all, health matters most.

무엇보다 means “above all.” Often said to show concern for someone’s health.

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

Syllables: 13 · Words: 4

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
무엇보다
무	ㅁ+ㅜ	mu
엇	ㅇ+ㅓ+ㅅ	[얻] eot
보	ㅂ+ㅗ	[뽀] bo
다	ㄷ+ㅏ	da
건강이
건	ㄱ+ㅓ+ㄴ	geon
강	ㄱ+ㅏ+ㅇ	gang
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	i
제일
제	ㅈ+ㅔ	je
일	ㅇ+ㅣ+ㄹ	il
중요해요
중	ㅈ+ㅜ+ㅇ	jung
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo
해	ㅎ+ㅐ	hae
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

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

Tensing: after a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). 엇보 → [얻뽀]

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 “무엇보다 건강이 제일 중요해요” mean?

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Answer: Above all, health matters most

Question 2 How do you say “Above all, health matters most” in Korean?

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Answer: 무엇보다 건강이 제일 중요해요 mueotboda geongangi jeil jungyohaeyo

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덕분에 큰 힘이 됐어요Thanks to you, I had a great source of support. It meant a lot to me
모든 일이 잘 풀리길 바랄게요I hope everything works out well for you
그동안 정말 수고 많으셨어요Thank you so much for your hard work all this time
마음이 많이 힘들었겠어요That must have been very hard on you
가슴이 먹먹해서 아무 말도 안 나와요I’m so choked up that I can’t say a word
그 소식을 듣고 눈앞이 캄캄했어요When I heard the news, everything went dark before my eyes