How do you say "grandmother" in Korean?

할머니

halmeoni

Noun Hangul

In Korean, "grandmother" is 할머니 (halmeoni).

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Pronunciation

Halmeoni is softer than grandfather's word, hal-MEO-ni, sharing the hal opening but closing gently on ni instead of ji.

Writing and usage

할머니 is written using hangul. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

할머니가 우리를 위해 케이크를 구워주셨어요.

halmeoniga urireul wihae keikeureul guwojusyeosseoyo.

My grandmother baked a cake for us.

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How to remember 할머니

Grandmother, halmeoni, sounds almost like a lullaby hummed at bedtime, hal, meo, ni.

Related words

Browse all Korean words in the glossary.

Questions about 할머니

How do you pronounce 할머니?

Halmeoni is softer than grandfather's word, hal-MEO-ni, sharing the hal opening but closing gently on ni instead of ji.

Is 할머니 formal or casual?

할머니 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 할머니 written in Korean?

할머니 is written using hangul. Romanised, it reads as halmeoni.

Where can I practice Korean words for free?

You can play free Korean minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Korean glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Grandmother" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Korean language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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