How klang-guide Works — klang-guide

Looking for a learning path instead — where to start based on your level? That's a different page: Start Here. This page is about the site's features, not what to study first.

1. The Nuance Dictionary

klangguide.com/dictionary is a searchable grid of every Korean word and phrase we've covered — the ones that don't translate cleanly. Search by word, romanization, or meaning; filter by set using the chips at the top.

Tap any card and it flips in place to show the meaning, the full nuance note, and native-speed audio. Once a card is open, a small 🔗 Permalink link appears — that opens the word's own dedicated page (for example /dictionary/nun-chi), which is the version worth bookmarking or sharing.

Browse the Dictionary →

2. Saving words — My Deck

Tap the ☆ on any open card to save it. Sign in with Google first — that's what lets your deck follow you across visits. Every saved word shows up on My Deck.

Free accounts can save up to 15 cards. If you want more, membership removes the cap entirely (see tokens & membership below).

3. Review — spaced repetition

Review is where saved words actually get drilled. Flip a card, try to recall the nuance before you look, then rate yourself: Again if you blanked, Good if you got it, Easy if it was obvious.

Behind the scenes this uses a simple 5-box spaced-repetition system: cards you struggle with come back the next day, cards you know well get pushed out further and further (up to 16 days). You only ever see what you're actually close to forgetting — that's the entire point of spaced repetition, and it's why it works better than re-reading a list.

4. Locked cards & tokens

Some cards are marked 🔒 locked — a limited number per set are free, and the rest support the cost of writing, recording, and hosting native audio for every single entry. Nobody has to pay to use the dictionary, though:

One free unlock every day — no cost, resets daily.
Tokens — buy a small top-up (30 tokens for $3, or 80 for $7) and spend 1 token to permanently unlock any card.
Membership — a monthly subscription that includes 100 tokens a month, one download ticket for the full PDF+audio bundle, and unlimited My Deck saves. Cancel anytime.

Manage all of this — your token balance, membership status, and PDF download — from My Deck.

5. The Blog

The blog is where the actual teaching happens — long-form articles organized into tracks (Foundation, Culture & Language, K-Drama Language, Grammar Dissection, Pronunciation, TOPIK Exam Prep). Most articles link out to one or more dictionary cards for the key terms they cover, and some words get more than one article — those get linked together automatically on that word's own dictionary page.

6. Free PDF

The Free PDF button in the header is our starter guide, "50 Real Korean Expressions Textbooks Won't Teach You." It's also how you subscribe to new-article emails — one email at a time, no spam, unsubscribe whenever.

Still stuck, or something feels broken? Reach us on the Contact page — a real person reads every message.