무슨 grammar

Anonymous asked:

I barely have time to continue to study Korean but I really want to keep learning. It makes me kinda frustrated.

Hi! I answer some similar questions here and here – they’re tips on how to efficiently study Korean and how to study when you have limited time! I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any follow up questions if you have any! Good luck!! 화이팅!

Level 6 / Lesson 3: -(ㄴ/는)다 (Narrative Form)

Hey everyone! In this next Level 6 lesson, we’re going to learn about something in the Korean language called the narrative form. Let’s begin!

Narrative Form

Let’s start by learning when the narrative form is used when talking. One way to use it is when you’re just making a statement. You’re narrating something that’s happening right now. You may not even be talking to anyone in particular and might just be putting something out into the universe, so to speak. Note that you can only use the narrative form when talking to those younger than you!!

The narrative form is also used a lot in writing. We know that the Korean language has different forms of formality. If you’re talking to someone older than you, you speak formally. If you’re talking to someone younger than or the same age as you, you can speak informally. But what about if you’re reading a book or newspaper? Does the author write formally or informally? They use the narrative form! The narrative form doesn’t exactly have any level of formality – it’s used to just make plain statements. In other words, when using the narrative form, you’re not really talking to anyone. You’re just making a statement not directed at anyone. You’re simply narrating your action as it happens.

Use this formula:

• [verb stem] + ㄴ / 는다
• Attach -ㄴ다 to stems ending in a vowel
• Attach -는다 to stems ending in a consonant 
• [adjective stem] + 다

Let’s see some examples:

• 전화 온다. (from TTMIK) = The phone is ringing. (literally means “a phone call is coming”)
• 오다 = to come
  
• 오 + ㄴ / 는다 = 온다
  
• In this situation, you might be announcing this just to get someone to pick the phone up – you’re just stating something as it’s happening rather than actually telling anyone in particular. 
• 나 지금 간다. = I’m going now.
• 가다 = to go
  
• 가 + ㄴ / 는다 = 간다
  
• Here, perhaps you’re walking out the door and you say this to your roommate as you’re on your way out. You’re describing what’s happening.
• 이 옷이 예쁘다. = This outfit is pretty.
  
• 예쁘다 = to be pretty
• 예쁘 + 다 = 예쁘다
• Here, maybe you see an outfit on a mannequin in a store and you say this to your friend. You’re just stating an opinion.
• 스트레이키즈가 컴백을 준비한다. = Stray Kids are preparing for a comeback.
• 준비하다 = to prepare
• 준비하 + ㄴ / 는다 = 준비한다
  
• This sentence is something you might read. When reading books or newspapers, there is no level of formality. Thus, in the context of writing, -(ㄴ / 는)다 has no formality.
• 한국어를 잘하고 싶으면, 매일 공부해야 한다. (from TTMIK) = Of you want to speak Korean well, you have to study everyday.
  
• 공부해야 하다 = to have to study 
  
• 공부해야 하 + ㄴ / 는다 = 공부해야 한다
  
• This is another sentence that should be written as well. Again, there’s no real level of formality.
• 열쉬 여기 있다! = The key is here! / Here is the key!
  
• 있다 = to be there / to have
  
• 있다 and 없다 are conjugated as adjectives for the narrative form.
  
• Maybe you were looking for a key and you declare this when you finally find it – you may not be talking to anyone in particular.

If you want to use the narrative form in the past or future tense, use these formulas:

• Past tense: [verb / adjective stem] + 았/었/였다 
• Present tense: [verb / adjective stem] + ㄹ/을 것이다 

Here are some examples:

• 숙제를 했다. = I did the homework.
• 저녁을 곧 먹을 것이다. = I will eat dinner soon.

That’s about it for this lesson! Let me know if you have any questions! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 봐요! 안녕!

K-Pop Breakdown: TXT - “Cat & Dog”

안녕, 여러분! Hey, everyone! Today I want to try something new! Welcome to the first K-Pop Breakdown where we look at a K-pop song and breakdown some interesting vocab/grammatical structures! I’m sure a lot of you, like myself, listen to K-pop so hopefully this will be a fun way to learn some Korean! Let’s learn with TXT’s song “Cat & Dog”!

Originally posted by lxve4eva

1. “내 두 눈엔 너밖에 안 보여”

This line translates to “in my eyes, I only see you.” The word I want to focus on is 밖에. 밖에 means “outside.” You could say the following:

• 저는 밖에 나가요 = I go out / I go outside
• 밖에 비가 와요 = It’s raining outside
  

밖에, in this song, however, means “besides.” So let’s put the rest of the sentence together:

• 내 두 눈엔 = In my [two] eyes
• 너밖에 = Besides you
• 너 = you
• 밖에 = besides
  
• 안 보여 = [I] don’t see
• 안 = not  
• 보이다 = to be seen / to come into sight
  
• Literal translation: In my two eyes, I don’t see anything besides you / In my two eyes, I see nothing but you

Thus, you can use the word 밖에 to mean “besides,” “but,” or “except.” Just attach it to a noun! You may also hear in other K-pop songs “너밖에 없어,” meaning “I only have you” or “I have nothing but you.” Let’s move on!

 2. “나는 너만 있으면 purr purr purr”

You’ll probably hear a phrase very similar to this in K-pop songs. But usually the line you’ll hear is “나는 너만 있으면 돼,” which means “I only need you.” Let’s break it down!

Let’s focus on a structure you hear a lot in Korean: -면 되다. 

• 면 is attached to verbs and adjectives to mean “if” (I have a lesson on -면 here). 
• 되다 has a few different meanings. It can mean “to become” or “to get to be.” Talk to Me in Korean states that it can also have these meanings: “to function,” “to be possible,” or “can do.” These are the meanings 되다 has in this case.
• Thus, when you attach -면 되다 to a verb, it means “if you [verb], it’s okay” or “you can [verb]” or “it’s possible to [verb]. (Kind of confusing, but I’ll have a more in-depth lesson on this structure soon!)

Let’s try putting it all together now:

• 나는 = I 
• 너만 = only you
• 너 = you
• 만 = only
  
• 있으면 돼 = If I have [noun], it 
• 있다 = to have / to be there
• Literal translation: If I only have you, I can function / It’s possible for me to only have you / It’s okay if I only have you 
• More natural translation: I only need you

3. “떨어지기 싫어 너와 can I be a pet”

The Korean in this line means “I don’t want to leave you.” It uses the -기 싫다 structure, which is what we’ll focus on! You probably know that 싫다 means “to hate” or “to not like.” But it could also mean “to not want [to do something]” depending on the context. Thus, you can add -기 싫다 to a verb stem mean “I don’t want to [verb].” For example:

• 자기 싫어요 = I don’t want to sleep
• 학교에 가기 싫어요 = I don’t want to go to school

 Let’s put it all together!

•  떨어지기 싫어 = I don’t want to leave
• 떨어지다 = to drop / to fall (honestly I’m not sure why this means “to leave” in this song. It’s important to note that K-pop songs generally have lyrics that you wouldn’t normally say in regular spoken Korean–it’s too poetic sometimes. So, you probably wouldn’t use this verb to mean “to leave.” If anyone has any explanation for this, please let me know!)
  
• On Naver Dictionary, I did see that a possible translation of this verb is “to come unstuck.” Maybe this could mean “I don’t want to come unstuck from you”??
• 너와 = you
• 와 = and / with (again, not quite sure why this conjunction is placed here. Perhaps it could emphasize that the speaker and the person being spoken to are currently together.)
  
• In many K-pop songs, the order of the parts of speech are switched around. This is why 너와 comes at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning where it normally would be. 
• Literal translation: I don’t want to leave(?) you

4. “네 옆에”

This line means “by your side.” You hear this and similar things in other K-pop songs, so let’s break it down!

• 네 = your 
• 옆에 = by the side 
• 옆 = side (I believe this can also be used to mean “next to”)
• Literal translation: By your side

You may also hear songs that say “내 앞에” or “네 앞에.” 앞 means “front.” So these would mean “in front of me” and “in front of you,” respectively. 

That’s about it for our first K-Pop Breakdown! Hope it was interesting for y’all! Sometimes it can be hard to literally translate K-pop lyrics (or Korean in general), so don’t worry about trying to formulate a literal translation for every line! It’s more important to focus on the meaning of the sentence rather than a perfect translation. Please ask me any questions you may have!! Also be sure to let me know what you think of this kind of lesson!! 안녕!

Vocabulary: Similar Words

안녕하세요!! Hey everyone! I have a fun vocab list for y’all today: it’s about Korean words that translate to the same thing in English, but are used differently! A lot of these words can be very confusing for learners (I often forget the differences between these words lol), so I thought it might be helpful to make a (pretty long but prob not exhaustive) list of these words and try to explain the differences! 

Also, Talk to Me in Korean has a TON of videos explaining the differences between some of these words on their Q&A playlist, so I strongly recommend you check those out! I’ll also link some specific videos throughout my post since I cite them as a source! They also posted a video about how to distinguish between words that translate to the same thing in your native language a day after I started working on this lesson lol so be sure to check that out too! Let’s begin!!

이미 vs. 벌써: Already

These two mean the same thing! However, 벌써 is used to mean that something happened sooner than expected. For example: 와, 벌써 가을이네요! = Wow, it’s already fall! (as if the summer passed by really quickly and you’re surprised it’s already fall)

새 vs. 새로운: New

새 is used to describe something that is simply new and is the opposite of old: 제 오래된 컴퓨터가 고장 나서 새 컴퓨터를 샀어요. = My old computer broke, so I bought a new one.

새로운 (from 새롭다) refers to something that is new and fresh, like something never done or heard of before. TTMIK uses the example of the computer – if you were to say 새로운 컴퓨터, that might mean that Apple released a new Macbook or something – they created something new and never seen before.

파란색 vs. 푸른색: Blue

파란색 can describe anything that’s blue.

푸른색 can mean either blue or green because it’s usually used to describe things in nature: 푸른 하늘 means “blue sky,” while 푸른 숲 means “green forest,” for example.  

기분 vs. 느낌: Feeling

기분 refers to emotions and moods: 기분이 좋아요. = I’m happy. (literally “I feel good,” but refers specifically to your emotions)

느낌 refers more to the atmosphere, or the kind of impression you get from something. Think vibes: 느낌이 이상해요. = I feel weird / It feels weird. (maybe you’re walking in an old abandoned house and you’re getting weird vibes)

걱정 vs. 고민: Worry

걱정 is closer to the English word for “worry”: 걱정하지 마! = Don’t worry!

고민 is closer to something like “concern” or “woes” or “troubles.” It refers to something a little more general, like something that weighs on your mind that you might want to talk to a friend about, while 걱정 gives a more anxious and immediate feeling: 고민을 털어놓다 = to get something off your chest

때무에 vs. 덕분에: Because of…

These two don’t really mean the exact same thing. 때문에 means “because of…”: (from Naver Dictionary) 너 때문에 내가 일에 집중이 안 돼. = I can’t focus on my work because of you.

덕분에, however, means “thanks to…” and is inherently more positive. I think 때문에 can be used positively too, but it can also be negative. 덕분에, on the other hand, is always positive: 우리 부모님 덕분에 대학교에 다니게 됐어요. = Thanks to my parents, I ended up going to college.

좋아하다  vs. 맘에 들다: To Like

좋아하다 just means “to like.” 맘에 들다 literally means “to come into one’s heart.” This is usually used when you see or experience something for the first time and you like it. For example, if you try on a dress in a store, you can say 맘에 들어요 to mean “I like it.” 좋아하다, on the other hand, can be used for stuff that you just like in general: 케이팝 좋아해요. = I like K-pop.

어렵다  vs. 힘들다: Difficult

어렵다 refers to something that is difficult, like a math problem or something: 이 수학 문제가 어려워요. = This math question is difficult.

힘들다 usually refers to a hard situation, like when you’re having a tough time doing something or going through a rough patch in your life. TTMIK’s video uses this sentence: 저 요즘 힘들어요. = I’m having a hard time these days.

힘들다 can also be used for things that are physically strenuous: 제 가방이 무거워서 들기가 힘들어요. = My bag is heavy, so it’s hard to carry.

On it’s own, the phrase 힘들어요 can also mean “I’m tired.”

추천하다  vs. 권하다: To Recommend

추천하다 is used to recommend things like books, songs, and movies. It’s a pretty general word: NCT의 신곡 추천해요. = I recommend NCT’s new song.

권하다 gives the feeling of strongly recommending something, or advising someone to do or not do something: (from Naver Dictionary) 교수는 나에게 유학을 권했다 = The professor advised[encouraged] me to study abroad.

권하다 could also be used when you’re offering something: 맥주를 권했어요. = I offered beer.

-고 싶다 vs. 원하다: To Want

-고 싶다 can be attached to verbs to mean “to want to [verb]”: 저 배고파서 먹고 싶어요. = I want to eat because I’m hungry.

갖고 싶다 can be used to mean that you want a noun – it literally means “to want to have”: 새 아이폰을 갖고 싶어요. = I want a new iPhone.

You really don’t hear 원하다 that much in regular spoken Korean. It’s more of a poetic word, hence why you hear it a lot in K-pop and stuff, such as in BTS’s “Blood Sweat and Tears”: 원해 많이 많이 = I want you a lot

밉다 vs. 미워하다 vs. 싫다 vs. 싫어하다: To Hate / To Dislike

밉다 and 미워하다 can only be used when talking about people: 그 사람 미워요. / 그 사람 미워해요. = I hate him.

싫다 and 싫어하다, however, can be used for both objects and people: 그거 싫어요. / 그거 싫어해요. = I don’t like that. / I hate that. 

The difference between the verbs ending in -하다 and the ones that don’t is a little more complicated. 밉다 and 싫다 are more passive and describe just you finding something unlikable according to TTMIK. They describe the feeling of not liking something. 

미워하다 and 싫어하다, on the other hand, are more active and stronger. They can be used to mean “hating on” someone/something, if that makes sense. Rather than describing the feeling of not liking something, they describe the action of not liking something.

여러분 vs. 모두: Everybody

여러분 means “everyone,” but can only be used when you’re addressing the crowd. At the beginning of all my lessons, for instance, I say 안녕 여러분 to mean “hi, everyone” because I’m talking to all of you. 

모두, by contrast, can be used otherwise. Rather than using it to address people, you would use it to talk about “everybody” in the third person: 모두가 파티에 갔어요. = Everyone went to the party. 

속 vs. 안: Inside

속 means “inside” and is typically used to describe something enclosed in something else: 제 책은 가방 속에 있어요. = My books are inside of my bag. (maybe your books are inside of your zipped-up backpack)

안, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily refer to things that are enclosed. It can be used to talk about things like rooms: 제 방 안에서 쉬고 있어요. = I’m resting in my room. 

This rule doesn’t always apply though. TTMIK mentions the example of 산속에 which means “in the mountains.” This doesn’t mean you’re literally trapped inside of the mountain; it means that you’re living in mountains or something. The rule I mentioned is generally speaking, but keep in mind there are exceptions!

전화하다 vs. 연락하다: To Call

전화하다 simply means “to call,” as in to call someone on the phone. 

연락하다 can also mean “to call,” but can also mean “to contact” more generally. If someone says to you “연락해 주세요,” they’re asking you to get in touch them somehow, be it by text, phone, email, etc.

심장 vs. 가슴 vs. 마음: Heart

I answered an ask about this a while ago, so I just stole from that lol:

• 맘 (shortened version of 마음) refers to feelings. Think of it as meaning “mind.” (ex. From Naver Dictionary: 마음이 따뜻하다 = to be warm-hearted; 마음에 들다 = to like (literally “to come into one’s heart))
• 심장 is used to refer to the organ the heart. (ex. 심장병 = heart disease)
• 가슴 means “heart,” either metaphorically as in feelings or literally as in the organ depending on the context. But it can also mean “chest” or “breast” as well. (ex. 가슴이 행복에 가득 차 있어요. = My heart is filled with happiness. 가슴이 뛰어요. = My heart is racing. 밋밋한 가슴 (from Naver Dictionary) = flat chest)

춥다 vs. 차갑다: Cold

춥다 is used only to describe the weather: 오늘은 날씨가 정말 추워요. = The weather is really cold today.

차갑다 is typically used to describe objects that are cold: 차가운 물을 마시고 싶어요. = I want to drink cold water.

지금 vs. 이제: Now

지금 just means “now”: 지금은 5시예요. = It’s 5 o’clock right now.

이제 is used to show some sort of contrast between then and now: 어렸을 때 한국에 살았지만 이제는 미국에 살아요. = I lived in Korea when I was young, but now I live in the US. 

I hope this list helps you guys out! If you want to practice writing and reading Korean with others, join my Discord chat hereand my Tumblr chat here!

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Level 7 / Lesson 1: -ㄴ/은/는데

Hey everyone! We’re going to start of Level 7 with a grammar structure you hear all the time in Korean: -ㄴ/은/는데. There are a few different ways in which -ㄴ/는데 can be used, so let’s start with the first one!

1. 그런데 / 근데 (But…)

One of the ways to use -는데 is to use the word  그런데, which is often shortened to 근데. There’s not exactly a perfect English translation for this in English, but it usually means “but” or “but then.” Usually, the first sentence before the one starting with 근데 gives some type of background information followed by a contradictory statement. I think some sample sentences can clarify how exactly it’s used:

• 눈이 많이 오고 있어요. 근데 내일은 학교에 왜 가야 돼요? = It’s snowing a lot. But then why do we have to go to school tomorrow?
• Person 1: 이런 셔츠가 정말 비싸요. = This kind of shirt is really expensive.
• Person 2: 근데 왜 이렇게 많이 샀어요? = But then why did you buy so many of them?
• 어제밤에 8시간 잤어요. 근데 왠지 아직 졸려요. = I slept for eight hours last night, but for some reason I’m still tired.
  

-ㄴ/는데

Instead of using 근데, you can combine to sentences with -ㄴ/은/는데. Use the formula below:

• Present tense: 
• [verb stem] + 는데
• [adjective stem] + (으)ㄴ데
• Attach -은데 to stems ending in a consonant
• Attach -ㄴ데 to stems ending in a vowel
• Past tense: [verb / adjective stem] + 았/었/였는데
• Future tense: [verb / adjective stem] + ㄹ/을 건데

For instance, we can combine the two sentences above from the first example:

• 눈이 많이 오고 있는데 내일은 학교에 왜 가야 돼요? = It’s snowing a lot, but then why do we have to go to school tomorrow?

2. Giving Background Information

Using -ㄴ/는데 doesn’t always necessarily mean “but.” A lot of times, it can judt be used for giving background information. Let’s look at a sentence from Talk to Me in Korean:

• 내일 일요일인데, 뭐 할 거예요? = Tomorrow is Sunday – what are you going to do?
• Here, you’re providing the info that tomorrow is Sunday and thus are asking this question – it’s kind of like you’re giving context or giving a reason for asking.

The sentences I’ve provided so far have all been questions, but this structure can be used for regular statements as well. For instance:

• 기말고사를 위해 공부해야 하는데 제가 스트레스 많아요. = I have to study for final exams, so I’m very stressed.
• The background is that you have finals to study for, and the result of this is that you’re very stressed.
• Notice how -ㄴ/는데 can sometimes be translated as “so” rather than “but.”
• 학교에 일찍 갔는데 아무도 없었어요. = I came to school early – no one was there.
• The background is that you went to school early, which led you to noticing that no one was there at that time.

3. Ending Sentences with -ㄴ/는데(요)

Sometimes, you can end a sentence with -ㄴ/는데(요). This can also give a nuance of “but…” and is usually used to disagree with another person. Let’s see some example conversations:

• Person 1: 도서관에 걷자. (informal) = Let’s walk to the library.
• Person 2: 밖에 너무 더운데… (informal) = But it too hot out though…
• Person 1: 승민아, 숙제를 지금 해야 돼. (informal) = Seungmin, you have to do your homework now.
• Person 2: 저는 피곤한데요. = But I’m tired.
• Person 1: 슈퍼마켓에 가 주세요. = Please go to the supermarket for me.
• Person 2: 싫은데요. = But I don’t want to.
  

In these types of sentences, Person 2 is giving a reason for not doing something, or somehow contradicting what Person 1 says.

That was a long lesson! But you made it to the end! I hope this was helpful! This is a really common structure in Korean, so it’s good to know! Please ask any questions you may have!

Want to expand your Korean vocabulary and get closer to fluency? Get Drops Premium using my affiliate link! See you next time! 다음에 봐요!

Vocabulary: Colors (색깔)

안녕! Hi! This vocab lesson will be focusing on how to say colors in Korean! Before we begin, let’s learn about how colors are used in the language.

Most colors in Korean end with the syllable 색 meaning “color.” This particle may, however, be dropped when using a color to describe a noun. For example:

• 빨간색 = Red
• 빨간 셔츠 = red shirt
• 빨간색 - 색 + 셔츠 = 빨간 셔츠

*Note that dropping the 색 can only work for some colors when modifying nouns, including 빨간색, 노란색, 녹색, 녹색, 검은색, 파란색, and 하얀색. For any colors other than these, just attach it before a noun:

• 분홍색 = Pink
• 분홍색 셔츠 = pink shirt

You may also see some colors ending in 빛. You can use these colors as adjectives also by simply adding them to a noun:

• 쪽빛 = Indigo
• 쪽빛 하늘 = indigo sky

Now that we know how to use colors, let’s learn some of them!

Red = 빨간색

• Blood red = 핏빛
• Burgundy / Crimson = 진홍색
• Maroon = 고동색
• Pink = 분홍색 / 핑크색
• Baby pink = 베이비 핑크
• Magenta = 자홍색
• Salmon = 새먼핑크색
• Ruby / Scarlet = 다홍색

Orange = 주황색

• Apricot = 살구색
• Coral = 산호색
• Peach = 복숭아색

Yellow = 노란색

• Cream = 크림색
• Gold = 황금색
• Lemon = 레몬색

Green = 녹색

• Emerald = 선녹색
• Mint = 민트색

Blue =  파란색 /푸른색

• Navy =  감색
• Periwinkle =  페리윙클의 파란색
• Sapphire =  사파이어색
• Turquoise / Teal / Blueish-green =  청록색

Indigo =  쪽빛

Violet =  보라색

• Lavender / Lilac =  연보라색 
• Purple =  자주색

More Colors

• Black =  검은색
• Brown =  갈색
• Bronze = 구릿빛
• Gray = 회색
• Silver = 은색
• White = 흰색 / 하얀색

Let’s learn about some adjectives you can use to describe colors now!

Adjectives

• Bright = 밝다 
• 밝은 파란 눈 = bright blue eyes
• Dark = 짙다 
• 짙은 갈색 머리 = dark brown hair
• Deep = 깊다 
• 깊은 자주색 꽃 = deep purple flowers
• Light / Pale = 연하다 / 엷다 / 옅다 
• 연한 파란 하늘 = light blue sky
• 엷은 녹색 색조 (from Naver Dictionary) = a pale shade of green
• 분홍색 드레스 = a pale pink dress

That’s about it for this lesson! Hope it was helpful! 제일 좋아하는 색깔 뭐예요? What’s your favorite color? Comment it! See you in the next lesson! 안녕!

Vocabulary: Countries

안녕, 여러분! Welcome to this next vocab list! In previous lessons, we learned how to say “I am from…” to say which country we came from. But I didn’t show you how to say many countries in Korean then, so here we go! Thankfully, a lot of country names are Konglish words, meaning they originate from its English translation and sound very similar to it. I know this list is pretty short, so if a country you want to know how to say isn’t here, please let me know and I’ll add it! Let’s begin!

North America

Canada = 케나다 🇨🇦

Mexico = 멕시코 🇲🇽

United States of America = 미국 🇺🇸

South America

Argentina = 아르헨티나 🇦🇷

Bolivia = 볼리비아 🇧🇴

Brazil = 브라질 🇧🇷

Colombia = 콜롬비아 🇨🇴

Peru = 페루 🇵🇪

Venezuela = 베네수엘라 🇻🇪

Caribbean Islands

Antigua = 안티과 🇦🇬

Barbados = 바베이도스 🇧🇧

Cuba = 쿠바 🇨🇺

Dominican Republic = 도미니카 공화국 🇩🇴

Guyana = 가이아나 🇬🇾

Haiti = 아이티 🇭🇹

Jamaica = 자메이카 🇯🇲

Puerto Rico = 푸에르토리코 🇵🇷

Europe

Belgium = 벨기에 🇧🇪

Bulgaria = 불가리아 🇧🇬

Denmark = 덴마크 🇩🇰

Britain = 영국 🇬🇧

Finland = 핀란드 🇫🇮

France = 프랑스 🇫🇷

Georgia = 조지아 🇬🇪

Germany = 독일 🇩🇪

Greece = 그리스 🇬🇷

Hungary = 헝가리 🇭🇺

Iceland = 아이슬란드 🇮🇸

Ireland = 아일랜드 🇮🇪

Italy = 이탈리아 🇮🇹

Kosovo = 코소보 🇽🇰

Lithuania = 리투아니아 🇱🇹

Luxembourg = 룩셈부르크 🇱🇺

Montenegro = 몬테네그로 🇲🇪

Netherlands = 네덜란드 🇳🇱

Norway = 노르웨이 🇳🇴

Poland = 폴란드 🇵🇱

Portugal = 포르투갈

Slovakia = 슬로바키아 🇸🇰

Spain = 스페인 🇪🇸

Sweden = 스웨덴 🇸🇪

Switzerland = 스위스 🇨🇭

Ukraine = 우크라이나 🇺🇦

Asia

Afghanistan = 아프가니스탄 🇦🇫

Armenia = 아르메니아 🇦🇲

Bangladesh = 방글라데시 🇧🇩

Cambodia = 캄보디아 🇰🇭

China = 중국 🇨🇳

India = 인도 🇮🇳

Indonesia = 인도네시아 🇮🇩

Iran = 이란 🇮🇷

Iraq = 이라크 🇮🇶

Israel = 이스라엘 🇮🇱

Japan = 일본 🇯🇵

Jordan = 요르단 🇯🇴

Kazakhstan = 카자흐스탄 🇰🇿

Kuwait = 쿠웨이트 🇰🇼

Laos = 라오스 🇱🇦

Lebanon = 레바논 🇱🇧

Malaysia = 말레이시아 🇲🇾

Mongolia = 몽골 🇲🇳

Nepal = 네팔 🇳🇵

North Korea = 북한 🇰🇵

Pakistan = 파키스탄 🇵🇰

Palestine = 팔레스타인 🇵🇸

Philippines = 필리핀 🇵🇭

Russia = 러시아 🇷🇺

Saudi Arabia = 사우디 아라비아 🇸🇦

Singapore = 싱가포르 🇸🇬

Sri Lanka = 스리랑카 🇱🇰

South Korea = 대한민국 🇰🇷

Syria = 시리아 🇸🇾

Taiwan = 타이완 🇹🇼

Thailand = 태국 🇹🇭

Turkey = 터키 🇹🇷

United Arab Emirates = 아랍 에미리트 연합국 🇦🇪

Uzbekistan = 우즈베키스탄 🇺🇿

Vietnam = 배트남 🇻🇳

Yemen = 예멘 🇾🇪

Africa

Algeria = 알제리 🇩🇿

Egypt = 이집트 🇪🇬

Ethiopia = 에티오피아 🇪🇹

Ghana = 가나 🇬🇭

Guinea = 기니 🇬🇳

Kenya = 케냐 🇰🇪

Liberia = 라이베리아 🇱🇷

Libya = 리비아 🇱🇾

Madagascar = 마다가스카르 🇲🇬

Morocco = 모로코 🇲🇦

Niger = 니제르 🇳🇪

Nigeria = 나이지리아 🇳🇬

Rwanda = 르완다 🇷🇼

Somalia = 소말리아 🇸🇴

South Africa = 남아프리카 🇿🇦

South Sudan = 남수단 🇸🇸

Sudan = 수단 🇸🇩

Uganda = 우간다 🇺🇬

Zambia = 잠비아 🇿🇲

Zimbabwe = 짐바브웨 🇿🇼

Australia / Oceania

Australia = 호주 🇦🇺

Fiji = 피지 🇫🇯

New Zealand = 뉴질랜드 🇳🇿

Samoa = 사모아 🇼🇸

Wow, that’s a lot of countries! I hope you know how to say where you’re from or where you want to go in Korean now! Again, this list was kind of just some countries off the top of my head, so let me know if you want to see another country on this list! See you in the next lesson!! 안녕! 

Level 6 / Lesson 4: Quoting

안녕! Welcome to the fourth Level 6 lesson! I’m going to teach you how to quote in Korean! Let’s start!

Sometimes you may want to say “My mother told me to go to the store” or “My dad said the car is cheap” or “I said I don’t have money.” If you want to quote someone or yourself in Korean, use these formulas:

• [noun] + (이)라고 하다
• Attach -이라고 하다 to nouns ending in a consonant
• Attach -라고 하다 to nouns ending in a vowel
• *This form is also attached to verb stems if you’re quoting a command / imperative sentence!
• [verb stem] + ㄴ/는 다고 하다 
• Attach -는 다고 하다 to stems ending in a consonant
  
• Attach - ㄴ다고 하다 to stems ending in a vowel
• [adjective stem] + 다고 하다

You might be wondering why the verb 하다 (to do) is used rather than 말하다 is you’re saying “I/he/she/they/you said.” This is because if you have -(ㄴ/는) 다고 or -(이)라고 attached to a stem or noun, it’s already implied that you are quoting someone, or that someone said something. You can, however, use 말하다 if you wish. You can also use a number of other verbs including but not limited to the following:

• 듣다 = to hear
• 생각하다 = to think
• 믿다 = to believe
  

Let’s see some examples:

• 민지라고 합니다. = My name is Minji. / I am called Minji.
• 민지 + (이)라고 = 민지라고
  
• 그것 고양이의 품종이라고 해. (informal) = My teacher says that is a breed of cat.
  
• 품종 = breed / type / kind
  
• 품종 + (이)라고 = 품종이라고 
  
• 엄마는 슈퍼마켓에 가라고 했어요. = Mom said to go to the supermarket. / Mom told me to go to the supermarket. / My mom said “Go to the supermarket.” 
• 가다 = to go
  
• 가 + (이)라고 = 가라고
  
• 인터넷이 안 되으니까 로그인 못 한다고 말했어요. = I said that I can’t log in because the Internet isn’t working.
• 로그인하다 = to log in / to log on
  
• 로그인 못 하다 = to not be able to log in
  
• 로그인 못 하 + ㄴ/는 다고 = 로그인 못 한다고 
  
• 형은 케이크가 너무 비싸다고 했어. (informal) = My brother said the cake is too expensive.
• 비싸다 = to be expensive
  
• 비싸 + 다고 = 비싸다고
  
• 돈이 없다고! (informal) = I said I don’t have money! / I don’t have any money I said!
• 없다 = to not have (conjugated as a verb when quoting)
  
• 없 + 다고 = 없다고
  
• You can sometimes drop the ending verb – it’s understood that you said something. It can also give you a tone of impatience, frustration, or annoyance, as in the sentence above. For example, if your sibling is begging you for money, first you can say 나 돈이 없어. If they keep begging, then you can say 돈이 없다고! to emphasize that you’ve already told them you don’t have money and you’re becoming annoyed.
• 시험을 위해 공부하는 것을 소용없다고 생각해. (informal) = I think that studying for tests is useless.
  
• 소용없다 = to be useless / to have no use
  
• 소용없 + 다고 = 소용없다고 
  

Maybe you want to say “My sister said she went to the concert” or “My friend said he’s going to take the train.” You can quote someone else in the past or future tense using these formulas:

• Past tense: [verb / adjective stem] + 았/었/였다고 하다 
• Future tense: [verb / adjective stem] + ㄹ/을 거라고 하다

Here are some examples:

• 지갑을 훔쳤다고 자백했어요. = I confessed to stealing the wallet.
• 자백하다 = to confess (usually to something one did wrong like a crime)
• 훔치다 = to steal
• 훔치 + 았/었/였다고 = 훔쳤다고
  
• 엑소가 컴백 곧 할 거라고 들었다. = I heard that EXO will have a comeback soon.

That’s about all for this lesson! Hope it was helpful! As always, please ask any questions you may have! See you in the next lesson! 안녕!

Hangul Lesson: Stroke Order

안녕하세요! Hey everyone! I have a long-overdue Hangul lesson – all about stroke order! While Korean stroke order is good to know, it’s not quite as imperative that you get the strokes right the same way that it might be for other languages like Chinese. That said, it can help your Korean handwriting look more natural, and knowing the correct order of strokes is actually really useful for reading people’s handwriting! I recommend watching this really interesting video by Go!Billy – in a nutshell, he says that knowing the stroke order is important because you’ll be able to essentially “trace” someone’s handwriting, so you’ll be able to read it even if it’s messy! Let’s get into it!

Some General Rules

Stroke order can seem a little overwhelming and even kind of random or arbitrary, so let’s talk about some general rules that influence stroke order!

I used sayjack.com as my source for this section, and that website has little gif-type things that show how each consonant is written, so check that out as well!

1. Left to Right: ex. When writing ㄱ, start from its left edge and make your way right.
2. Top to Bottom: ex. When writing ㅎ, start with the little stroke on the very top, then the longer stroke right below, and then the circle on the bottom.
3. Outside In: ex. When writing ㅋ, write a ㄱ to “frame” the stroke in the middle.

Here are some drawings of my own showing the strokes! 

I hope these help y’all out! Again, stroke order isn’t the most important thing when learning Korean, so don’t worry if you find it too overwhelming! It’s just something that’s nice to know – I don’t really think any native speakers would come at you if you don’t get it perfect lol :)

If you want to practice writing and reading Korean with others, join my Discord chat hereand my Tumblr chat here! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram too!

Want to expand your Korean vocabulary and get closer to fluency? Get Drops Premium using my affiliate link!

If you would like to donate and support this blog and my studies, check out my Ko-Fi! Thank you for your generosity! See you next time! 다음에 봐요!

Level 2 / Lesson 1: -고 싶다 (I want to…)

안녕! Hey y’all and welcome to our first Level 2 lesson! I want to teach a pretty simple sentence ending that you hear all the time in Korean. You might already recognize this from K-pop songs and K-dramas. We are going to learn how to say “I want to [verb]” using -고 싶다. 시작해 볼까요? Shall we start?

Verb stem + 고 싶다 = I want to [verb]

The word 싶다 is generally translated as “to want.” 싶다, however, is an auxiliary adjective and cannot be used on its own. Rather, it needs to be used to modify a verb. This verb is what you’re saying you want to do. By adding -고 싶다 to a given verb stem, you are expressing that you want to do that verb.

싶다 is conjugated as 싶어요 in the formal present-tense. 싶어 is the informal present-tense conjugation.

Essentially all you have to do is add -고 싶다 to a verb stem in order to say that you want to do something. Let’s look at some examples:

1. 집에 가고 싶어요. = I want to go home.

• 가다 = to go
• 가 + 고 싶어요 = 가고 싶어요 = I want to go
• 집에 가고 싶어요 = I want to go home

2. 내년에 유학하고 싶어요. = I want to study abroad next year.

• 유학하다 = to study abroad
• 유학하 + 고 싶어요 = 유학하고 싶어요 = I want to study abroad
• 내년에 유학하고 싶어요 = I want to study abroad next year

3. 그 셔츠를 사고 싶어요. = I want to buy that shirt.

• 사다 = to buy
• 사 + 고 싶어요 = 사고 싶어요 = I want to buy it
• 그 셔츠를 사고 싶어요 = I want to buy that shirt

4. 지금은 진짜 피곤해요. 쉬고 싶어요. = I am really tired now. I want to rest.

• 지금 = now
• 진짜 = really
• 피곤하다 =  to be tired
• 쉬다 = to rest
• 쉬 + 고 싶어요 = 쉬고 싶어요  = I want to rest

You hear this one all the time in Korean:

5. 보고 싶어요. = I miss you.

• 보다 = to see / to watch / to look
• 보 + 고 싶어요 = 보고 싶어요 = I want to see [noun]
• This can literally mean “I want to see you,” but it is usually translated as “I miss you.” When you miss someone, you want to see them!

[noun] 갖고 싶다 = I want [noun]

Now that we know how to say we want to do an action, let’s learn how to say we want something. You may hear the verb 원하다 to mean “to want” when talking about wanting a noun. In a lot of k-pop songs, for instance, you may hear:

난 널 원해 = I want you

There’s nothing really wrong with this sentence, but there’s a more natural/common way to say that you want a noun. 원하다 isn’t used so much in regular conversation. Rather, you hear [noun] 갖고 싶다 more often. 

The verb 갖다 is a shortened version of the verb 가지다, which means “to have.” Thus, you can say [noun] 갖고 싶다 to literally mean “I want to have [noun].” For example:

1. 물 갖고 싶어요 = I want water

2. 더 큰 집 갖고 싶어요 = I want a bigger house

*Notice how these sentences can simply be translated as “I want…” rather than “I want to have…” 

That seems like it’s about it for this lesson! Not incredibly complicated, I hope? You hear this all the time in Korean conversation, so it’s good to know! 질문를 답하고 싶어요! I want to answer your questions! So if you have any, please ask them! See you next time! 안녕!