Daily Clothing Items

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TL;DR: Today's words cover everyday clothing: 옷 (clothes, general), 바지 (pants), 티셔츠 (t-shirt), 셔츠 (shirt), and 치마 (skirt). All of them pair with the verb 입다 (to wear) and its opposite 벗다 (to take off).

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Iru Helper Note: You've learned how to describe accessories — now let's cover the clothes themselves! 옷 is the umbrella word for "clothes," while 바지, 티셔츠, 셔츠, and 치마 are specific items, all worn with 입다. Once your closet is full of vocabulary, the next lesson, <mention-page url="

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Cleaning & Organizing Terms">, covers cleaning and organizing — perfect for keeping all these clothes tidy! Quick example using all five: 오늘은 티셔츠와 바지를 입고, 셔츠와 치마는 옷장에 넣어두었어요. 옷이 정말 많아요! (Today I wore a t-shirt and pants, and put the shirt and skirt away in the closet. I have so many clothes!)

🎯 Big Picture

옷, 바지, 티셔츠, 셔츠, and 치마 are core clothing words you'll use every day. 옷 is the general category — "clothes" — while the other four are specific garments, all of which use the verb 입다 (to wear) and its opposite, 벗다 (to take off).

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 옷 (Clothes)

옷 means clothes or clothing — the general term.

이 옷은 정말 예뻐요. (These clothes are really pretty.)

옷을 입어요. (I put on clothes.)

Grammar note: 옷 is a native Korean noun and the umbrella word for all garments — 바지, 티셔츠, 셔츠, and 치마 are all types of 옷.

2. 바지 (Pants)

바지 means pants or trousers.

바지가 좀 길어요. (The pants are a bit long.)

청바지를 입었어요. (I wore jeans.)

Grammar note: 바지 is native Korean and grammatically singular in Korean (unlike English "pants"). 청바지 = jeans (청 + 바지).

3. 티셔츠 (T-shirt)

티셔츠 means t-shirt.

티셔츠가 편해요. (T-shirts are comfortable.)

흰색 티셔츠를 샀어요. (I bought a white t-shirt.)

Grammar note: 티셔츠 is a loanword from English "t-shirt" — refers to a casual, collarless pullover top.

4. 셔츠 (Shirt)

셔츠 means shirt — typically a button-up, collared shirt.

셔츠를 다림질했어요. (I ironed the shirt.)

이 셔츠는 면으로 만들었어요. (This shirt is made of cotton.)

Grammar note: 셔츠 is a loanword from English "shirt," but in Korean it specifically implies a collared, button-up shirt — distinct from the casual 티셔츠.

5. 치마 (Skirt)

치마 means skirt.

치마가 짧아요. (The skirt is short.)

치마를 입고 학교에 가요. (I wear a skirt to school.)

Grammar note: 치마 is a native Korean word for skirt. Don't confuse it with 원피스 (a one-piece dress) — a skirt is just the bottom half.

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

오늘은 티셔츠와 바지를 입었어요. (Today I wore a t-shirt and pants.)

셔츠와 치마는 깨끗하게 세탁했어요. (I washed the shirt and skirt cleanly.)

이 옷들은 모두 옷장에 걸려 있어요. (All these clothes are hanging in the closet.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

All clothing items use 입다 (to wear): 옷을 입다, 바지를 입다, 티셔츠를 입다, 셔츠를 입다, 치마를 입다.

벗다 = to take off (opposite of 입다): 옷을 벗다.

Compound clothing words: 청바지 (jeans, 청+바지), 반바지 (shorts, 반+바지), 원피스 (dress, one-piece).

옷 is the umbrella category — 바지, 티셔츠, 셔츠, and 치마 are all types of 옷.

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Cross-check: Search 옷, 바지, 티셔츠, 셔츠, and 치마 on the 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 (National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Korean Dictionary) for full definitions and example sentences.

🔁 Synonym Alert

티셔츠 vs. 셔츠 — 티셔츠 is a casual, collarless pullover top; 셔츠 is a button-up, collared shirt, often more formal.

치마 vs. 스커트 — 치마 is the native Korean word for skirt and the everyday choice; 스커트 is a loanword from English that appears occasionally in fashion contexts.

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

옷 is the general category — use 바지, 티셔츠, 셔츠, or 치마 when you mean a specific item.

티셔츠 (casual t-shirt) vs. 셔츠 (collared shirt) — easy to mix up since both come from English "shirt," but they're different garments.

All clothing uses 입다/벗다 — don't use 신다 (for shoes) or 쓰다 (for hats/glasses) here.

바지 (pants) is singular in Korean, unlike English "pants" — no plural marker needed.

치마 (skirt) ≠ 원피스 (dress) — a skirt is just the bottom half, while a dress is one piece covering the whole body.

이제 옷, 바지, 티셔츠, 셔츠, 치마로 오늘의 옷차림을 설명해 보세요! 👕👖

Try this exercise

이 ___은 정말 예뻐요. (clothes)

___가 좀 길어요. (pants)

___가 편해요. (t-shirt)

___를 다림질했어요. (shirt)

___가 짧아요. (skirt)

청___를 입었어요. (jeans → pants)

흰색 ___를 샀어요. (t-shirt)

이 ___는 면으로 만들었어요. (shirt)

___를 입고 학교에 가요. (skirt)

모든 ___은 옷장에 걸려 있어요. (clothes)

Answer Key

바지

티셔츠

셔츠

치마

바지

티셔츠

셔츠

치마

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Vocabulary Box: 옷 (clothes) · 바지 (pants) · 티셔츠 (t-shirt) · 셔츠 (shirt) · 치마 (skirt)

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Pitfalls Recap: 옷 = general category · 티셔츠 vs 셔츠 · always 입다/벗다 for clothes · 바지 is singular · 치마 ≠ 원피스.

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Want more reps? Head down to the Practice Hub below for 10 more clothing words and 5 extra exercises!

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Bonus Round! Here are 10 more clothing words to round out your wardrobe vocabulary: 원피스 (dress) · 청바지 (jeans) · 반바지 (shorts) · 잠옷 (pajamas) · 양복 (suit) · 재킷 (jacket) · 니트 (knit sweater) · 후드티 (hoodie) · 운동복 (sportswear/tracksuit) · 코트 (coat).

Exercise 1 — Clothing Vocabulary Match 👕

친구 결혼식에 ___을 입고 갔어요. (dress)

___를 입으면 편안해요. (jeans)

여름에는 ___를 자주 입어요. (shorts)

자기 전에 ___으로 갈아입어요. (pajamas)

면접 때 ___을 입어야 해요. (suit)

추워서 ___을 입었어요. (jacket)

이 ___는 따뜻하고 부드러워요. (knit sweater)

___를 입고 운동했어요. (hoodie)

학교 ___을 입고 체육 수업에 가요. (sportswear)

겨울에는 ___를 꼭 입어요. (coat)

Answer Key

원피스

청바지

반바지

잠옷

양복

재킷

니트

후드티

운동복

코트

Exercise 2 — Sentence Building ✍️

I'm wearing a dress today.

These jeans are too tight.

I wear shorts in summer.

I changed into pajamas.

He's wearing a suit.

I'm wearing a jacket because it's cold.

This sweater is warm.

She's wearing a hoodie.

We wear sportswear in gym class.

I need to wear a coat in winter.

Answer Key

오늘은 원피스를 입었어요.

이 청바지는 너무 꼭 껴요.

여름에는 반바지를 입어요.

잠옷으로 갈아입었어요.

그는 양복을 입고 있어요.

추워서 재킷을 입었어요.

이 니트는 따뜻해요.

그녀는 후드티를 입고 있어요.

체육 수업에서 운동복을 입어요.

겨울에는 코트를 입어야 해요.

Exercise 3 — Conjugation Practice 🔁

매일 아침 옷을 ___. (입다)

집에 오면 바로 옷을 ___. (벗다)

셔츠를 ___. (다림질하다)

더러운 옷을 ___. (세탁하다)

코트를 옷걸이에 ___. (걸다)

어제 새 티셔츠를 ___. (입다, past)

신발을 ___고 들어가요. (벗다)

이 치마를 ___ 주세요. (세탁하다, request)

양복을 ___ 회사에 가요. (입다)

잠옷을 ___ 잤어요. (입다, past)

Answer Key

입어요

벗어요

다림질해요

세탁해요

걸어요

입었어요

벗고

세탁해

입고

입고

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Quick Reference: 옷=clothes · 바지=pants · 티셔츠=t-shirt · 셔츠=shirt · 치마=skirt — bonus words: 원피스=dress · 청바지=jeans · 반바지=shorts · 잠옷=pajamas · 양복=suit · 재킷=jacket · 니트=knit sweater · 후드티=hoodie · 운동복=sportswear · 코트=coat.

Exercise 4 — 캐주얼 (Casual) or 포멀 (Formal)? 🎭

티셔츠

청바지

후드티

반바지

운동복

셔츠

원피스

양복

재킷

코트

Answer Key

캐주얼 (casual)

캐주얼 (casual)

캐주얼 (casual)

캐주얼 (casual)

캐주얼 (casual)

포멀 (formal)

포멀 (formal)

포멀 (formal)

포멀 (formal) — though can also be casual depending on style

포멀 (formal) — though can also be casual depending on style

Exercise 5 — Top, Bottom, or Full Outfit? 👔

티셔츠

바지

셔츠

치마

청바지

재킷

니트

원피스

반바지

잠옷

Answer Key

상의 (top)

하의 (bottom)

상의 (top)

하의 (bottom)

하의 (bottom)

상의 (top)

상의 (top)

전체 (full outfit/one-piece)

하의 (bottom)

전체 (full outfit/one-piece)

옷 어휘를 마스터했어요! 다음 레슨에서는 청소와 정리 단어들을 배워볼게요 🧹🧺