Mistakes I Still Make (Sometimes)
In 12 years in Seoul, I've met hundreds of French speakers learning Korean. We all make the same errors — errors specific to French speakers.
Mistake 1: Pronouncing ㄹ Like a French R
The Korean ㄹ is NOT the French guttural R. It's a light tap, closer to the Spanish R or American English "tt" in "butter."
Mistake 2: Confusing Politeness Levels
French has tu/vous (binary). Korean has 6 levels. When in doubt, always use the polite standard (-요).
Mistake 3: Word-for-Word Translation
French SVO ≠ Korean SOV. Stop building Korean sentences with French structure.
Mistake 4: Skipping Particles
In Korean, particles determine meaning, not word order. Don't skip them.
Mistake 5: Fear of Speaking
A very French problem. The only way to learn politeness levels and pronunciation is to practice speaking.
💡 From Seoul: Koreans are incredibly encouraging with foreigners who try to speak Korean.