Beginner Korean

Korean Foundation
There are a few things you should know before you begin studying Korean. These
will help jumpstart your learning experience.
First, Korean is not as difficult to read as you may think! Hangulis the Korean
alphabet. If you have not learned Hangul yet, you will soon realize it is much
easier to learn than you think, being one of the easiest alphabets in the world to
read. Not to mention that Korea has one of the highest literacy rates in the
world because of it! Korean characters are not just a bunch of random symbols
you must memorize like Chinese characters. You just put the pieces of the
alphabet together to form words.
Korean sentences are S-O-V sentences, while English uses a S-V-O sentence
structure. Don't let grammar frustrate you, it's fairly simple! In English, we
generally state the Subject (person or thing doing the action), followed by the
Verb (the action word), followed by the Object (the person or thing receiving the
action). An example would be Michael (subject) eats (verb) cake (object).
Korean uses the S-O-V sentence pattern, or Subject-Object-Verb. Our example
sentence would be something like 'Michael (subject) cake (object) eats (verb)'
in Korean. It is a different word order, but you will get used to it fairly quickly.
You should always end your Korean sentences with a verb. It is not possible to
end a Korean sentence with anything other than a verb. The verb is the
absolutely most important word in Korean. Without the verb, there can be no
sentence.
However, a verb can stand alone. What I mean by this is you can have a
grammatically correct sentence that is only one word - the verb. 'Eats.' would
not be a sentence in English. In Korean, it would be correct.
When the subject (person or thing doing the action) of the sentence is
understood from the conversation, the subject can be completely left out of the
sentence. For example, instead of saying 'I ate.' you could simply say 'ate.' as
long as the listener knows who ate. The word 'I' is often left out of Korean
sentences.
The final and one of the more important building blocks of Korean is the fact
that social status is built directly into the language itself. What I mean by this
is depending on who you are speaking with, words may change. Not all words -
and there are only a few that change drastically. Most of the change is in the
verb conjugation (more on this in Lesson Two).
For example, is the word 'to eat'. When speaking with a friend, you would
say . When you speak with someone older than you, such as a teacher or
parent, you would say . The difference is very easy to get used to
(usually it is simply adding/dropping the final on the verb).
For now, just realize that depending on who you are speaking with, words
(mainly verbs) will change (usually by picking up/dropping on the end). In
English we say 'please' and use the tone of our voice a lot when we need to be
more respectful. In Korean, it is directly built into the words itself, such as
adding on .
Once you begin learning words and sentences, this will become more clear to you.
Don't let it frustrate you for now or confuse you! Learning a new language takes
time, but can be extremely fun, not to mention beneficial and lucrative! The longer
you study it, the more clear the basic foundations will become. Soon you will be able
to fully understand these foundations. Grammar does not have to be your enemy!
With some knowledge about basic grammar, you will be able to create Korean
sentences much faster. This makes grammar a very good thing ;-)
For now, just keep these Korean foundations in mind as you begin your studies.
Enjoy learning Korean!
First Vocabulary
Whenever you begin to learn a new language, there are a few vocabulary words you
should learn first. Why? Well, for several reasons.
You will use certain vocabulary in nearly every conversation. Words like 'yes' and 'no'
are very important in every language, so they should be learned right from the
beginning.
Also, right away you will be able to start saying some words in Korean. So let's get
started.
Sidenote: Recall that words vary depending on who you are talking to (polite or
casual). We will cover this in depth as we continue through the lessons. For now,
note that casual is most used with close family and friends - polite is used in most
other cases.
Korean English
yes
no
hello
*
goodbye
*
goodbye
*
thank you
*
thank you
it's alright / your welcome
I'm sorry
excuse me
really? is that so?
what
yes (casual)
no (casual)
hi (casual)
bye (casual)
Korean English
yes
no
hello
*
goodbye
*
goodbye
*
thank you
*
thank you
it's alright / your welcome
I'm sorry
excuse me
really? is that so?
what
yes (casual)
no (casual)
hi (casual)
bye (casual)
Similar to other languages, Korean has multiple ways of saying the same thing. Let's
look at a couple of these based on our new words.
Goodbye
The first is goodbye. When you say goodbye in Korean, you have two choices for
words. and . How do you know which one to use? It all
depends on what the person you are saying goodbye to is doing, staying or leaving.
If the other person you are parting with is going - maybe they were at your house and
are leaving, or at a store and leaving - things like that - then you use . It
literally translates into 'Peacefully go'. Soon you will learn that is the verb for 'to
go'. Once you can remember that, this becomes easy to remember.
If they are staying - perhaps you were at their house, and you are the one leaving,
while they are staying where they are - you should use . This literally
means 'Peacefully stay'. So if you remember the literal translations of these two, you
should be able to know which one to use pretty easily.
When you are both leaving, such as you met and are both going off your own ways,
you would use .
Thank You
The next case is and . Here, you really don't have much to
remember other than the two words. They both mean 'thank you' and you can use
either one whenever you want to. They mean the same thing.
If you like to know everything that you can...the difference is in theorigin of the word.
is of Chinese origin, while is pure-Korean.
As you learn Korean, you will learn that there certain words that are Chinese and
others that are pure-Korean. We call the words that originated from Chinese 'sino-
Korean' words and the ones that are straight from Korea 'pure-Korean'.
Korean has a borrowed writing system known as Hanja that stems from Chinese
(Hangul, the native Korean alphabet, is now the most common, but Hanja is still used
within some writings). Because of this, there are many Korean words that also have
roots in Chinese and are very similar. While knowing the origin does not affect your
speaking and language abilities, it does make you moreknowledgeable about the
language you are speaking :-)
Click here to take the quiz! If you receive greater than an 80% on the quiz, you're
ready for the next lesson! Don't look at the lesson during the quiz as it will not provide
an accurate result of how much you understand.
Essential Vocabulary
To get started with your journey through Korean, you will need to know quite a few
verbs.
Before you learn how to conjugate verbs, you need to know a few verbs! It's time to
learn some. Afterwards, move on to the section talking about verbs. It will be much
easier to learn what to do with the verbs if you already know some, so let's just push
past this introductory vocabulary so that we can dive in and learn how to use all
these words we are learning. The following lessons will be much easier if you have
some vocabulary down though, so let's get to it.
In the table below, you can see the Korean dictionary form, followed by the English
meaning.
I recommend that you only learn the dictionary form and theEnglish meaning for
now. Come back at the end of the lesson, and go over the polite and formal columns.
Note that the casual style is not listed below. Simply drop the from the polite style
to get the casual style (Except for - this is covered in the next section).
Also, a few verbs are not written in the formal form. Those verbs are different in the
formal style, which you will learn in a future lesson.
Dictionary Meaning Polite Style Formal Style
to eat

-
to do

to be
/
to drink

to go

to meet

to see

to come

to sleep

-
to get up

to sit

to learn

to play

to exist or have

to not exist or have

to read

to write

to know or
understand

to not know or
understand

to like

to love

Dictionary Meaning Polite Style Formal Style
to eat

-
to do

to be
/
to drink

to go

to meet

to see

to come

to sleep

-
to get up

to sit

to learn

to play

to exist or have

to not exist or have

to read

to write

to know or
understand

to not know or
understand

to like

to love

Now that you know some verbs, let's move on to see what we can do with them.
Greetings Vocabulary
Conversation One - Common Phrases
Korean English
my
girl
friend
girlfriend
first

Nice to meet you

We meet, so I am pleased (similar to
above)
Conversation Two - Get A Better Feel For The Structure
Korean English
how
to spend time
?
How have you been? (past tense)
?
How are you? (present tense)
well
where
home, house
ah
I, me
also

See you later
Korean English
how
to spend time
?
How have you been? (past tense)
?
How are you? (present tense)
well
where
home, house
ah
I, me
also

See you later
Greetings Conversation
Most people are interested in learning basic conversation as quickly as possible.
Now that you have spent a little time getting to know the basic structure of the
language, let's look at some greeting conversations. However, do note that there are
a few simple expressions which you have not learned yet. They are mentioned in the
vocabulary section for this lesson. Many of the following lines are phrases used when
greeting. There is also some basic grammar which you will learn in the next section.
These are just example conversations to let you dip your feet into the waters of
Korean conversation. Do not get discouraged! I go overevery word and every
phrase after each conversation, so you will know exactly what is going on.
So let's look at a few conversations and get a feel for Korean. Let's get started.
: .
: .
: , .
: , . .
: .
Explained...
This conversation shows a few expressions commonly used when greeting someone
new, as well as how to introduce someone.
It starts off with Russell (of course!) speaking with a girl named Sami.They both say
to each other, meaning 'hello'.
Russell then introduces his girlfriend named Anna. is with the topic
particle attached. Together, this means 'What I am about to say has to do with
Anna...' or something along those lines. It sets Anna as the topic of the sentence as
you will learn in the Subject-Object-Topic lesson if you have not covered that lesson
already.
The rest of the sentence reads . After reading the vocabulary section
for this conversation, this sentence should make sense. is 'my' and is
'girlfriend'. Girlfriend is followed by the verb ending , meaning 'to be'.
simply means 'to be my girlfriend', or more similar to English, 'is my girlfriend'.
Sami says , - the equivilant of saying 'Ah, hello'. A very common phrase
follows. . This is commonly used when meeting someone new, and is
similar to 'We meet for the first time'. means 'first'.
Anna replies with another common phrase used when meeting someone.
. This literally means 'We're meeting, so I am pleased' or 'We meet,
therefore I am pleased'. If you break it down, is the verb for 'to meet', as you
learned in the first vocabulary lesson. Here it takes on an ending you haven't learned
yet - . It is similar to adding 'therefore' or 'so'. Don't worry about it for now. Instead,
just memorize this phrase.
means 'to be pleased' in the formal style of speech.
As you may have noticed, a couple of these phrases were in the formal style of
speech. Usually when meeting someone for the first time, you would be using the
formal style of speech. The common phrases associated with meeting someone new,
such as and , are almost certainly written in the
formal style of speech. The phrases themselves point out that it is the first time
meeting, thus the formal style of speech should be used.
: ! .
: ! . ?
: . ?
: .
: ! . !
: , . .
Explained...
This is a basic conversation between two people, who are both using the polite style
of speech. They introduce themselves, and then move into the conversation. While
two people who are introducing themselves rarely jump into conversation acting like
friends, Subi and Nuri have done so, simply to give you practice in Korean
conversations ;-)
The conversation begins with Nuri () saying hello and stating her name. When
you state your name, you usually say your name, followed by the verb , 'to be'.
Note that took the form here, because ends in a vowel.
Subi then responds with hello and her own name. She then asks ?
This is a common way to say 'How have you been?' is the 'how', whereas
literally means 'spent time'. Another common form of this phrase is
? This is simply the present tense, and is similar to saying 'How are you?' The
two are very similar.
Nuri responds saying . means 'well'. This is simply a way of saying 'I've
been fine,' 'Things are well', etc. It is just a usual response to the question (unless
things are NOT well, and you want to be brutally honest. In that case, you could say
or . means 'cannot', which negates the fact of being
well).
Nuri then asks ? You should have certainly learned the verb , or 'to
go', and was included in the vocabulary section for this conversation lesson. For
now, just note that the attached to is a location particle - you will learn these
very soon. You attach it onto the end of a location (or onto 'where' when the location
is unknown). You can probably guess that Nuri is asking 'Where are you going?'
Subi responds with , or 'I'm going home'. means 'home' or 'house', and it
also has the location particle attached.
Nuri then follows with 'Ah! Me too. See you later!
The final line reads 'Yes, see you later. Goodbye.'
These final couple of lines have a couple of things that can be useful in conversation.
! is not an actual word. Rather, it is a sound. In English, people say 'ah, oh, eh,
huh, agh' and many other types of sounds while communicating. This is just one in
Korean. Same idea :-)
is a way of saying 'me too'. You should know that means 'I' or 'me', and
means 'also'. For now, simply remember is 'me too'.
Finally, note that Subi said to say 'goodbye'. You have learned that
and both mean 'goodbye'. Because Nuri is also leaving
(she was also going home), the correct choice is .
This probably broke the conversation up more than was necessary, but I wanted to
be sure you understood how everything linked together and the conversation flowed,
since I want you to reallyunderstand the structure of conversations. In the future,
conversations may or may not have a long explanation, depending on the difficulty of
the conversation and words chosen.
Don't worry, you should always be able to understand the conversations. If they need
explanations, I will provide them.
Congratulations! You have just gone through the first two of many conversations for
Korean. You can take what you learned here, and apply it to your own Korean
communication as you see necessary. These greeting conversations are just
grounds to get you started with your own communication - nobody ever said you
would be sticking to these two conversations every time you greet someone!
If that was the case, the world would be a very boring place. However, you can take
the expressions, change them as necessary and introduce them into your own life.
Your next conversation lesson will focus on topics learned in the Subject, Object, and
Topics Particles lesson. Be sure to learn the lesson first and then move to the next
conversation lesson and practice.
Essential Verbs INTRO
Now let's learn what to do with the verbs we just learned...
While we may be tempted to make sentences and learn other words we can use in a
sentence besides the verb, let's hold off for just one more lesson :-) This lesson will
only cover verbs, but Lesson Three will introduce other words we can use in Korean.
It won't take long, I promise! But it will be well worth it.
When we learn new Korean verbs, they will most likely be in something known as
dictionary form. All this really means is that the verb is not ready to be used in a
sentence yet. We must do something to it to fit the sentence. For example, in English,
we use the infinitive in the dictionary. What is an infinitive you ask? 'To Run' or 'To
Eat' or 'To See' are all infinitives. They contain the word 'to' plus the verb. We cannot
use the verb as it is in English though, right? 'Michael to eat cake' is not correct. We
must make 'to eat' eats. This is called conjugation.
Let's start with the verbs you learned. Notice any similarities between all of these
verbs?
That's right! They all end in . is a sure sign it is in dictionary form. So what can
we do with a verb that is in dictionary form? Well, we can conjugate it, or change it a
little bit in order to make it fit our sentence (like changing 'to eat' to 'eats').
Try this. Drop the off of every verb. Now we are left with the verb stem.
becomes . becomes . becomes . Get the idea? If we take the
dictionary form and drop the , the result is the verb stem.
We can do a lot with the verb stem. All verb conjugation begins with the verb stem.
All verb conjugation begins with the verb stem.
How we conjugate depends on who we are speaking with. Remember in the previous
lesson on foundations the part about social status? Verb conjugation is slightly
different depending on who we are speaking with - whether it is a friend, someone
older, or the general public (such as announcements, news,etc).
There are three styles of speech - polite, casual, and formal.
Polite style of speech is the most common. It is used when we are speaking to
someone older, someone we do not know, or someone whom we should simply be
polite to. Examples are our teacher, boss, coworkers, parents, grandparents...you
get the idea.
Casual style of speech is something we use with our friends and people younger
than ourselves. We would use it when talking to little children, our own children,
friends at school, friends in general, etc. We only use it with people we are close to.
Formal style of speech is less common in every day communication. Chances are we
will not use it as often as the other ones, but we will hear it a lot. It is used on the
news, general announcements, in business meetings, things like that. Whenever the
occasion is formal, we would use it. You may not consider the news or
announcements on the subway formal - if that is the case, just remember it is used
on those as well. It is generally used when the relationship is nothing more than
business - no personal connection. It may also be used when someone wants to be
extra polite.
In the next few sections of this lesson, we will learn how to use each and every style
of speech listed above. We start off with the polite style, which is incredibly common
in Korea. Next, we will cover the casual style, which will be extremely easy once we
know the polite style. Finally, we finish with the formal style of speech.
Polite Essential Verbs
Welcome to your first real lesson on Korean grammar. Don't let the word grammar
stop you from diving in and learning Korean to the best of your ability. We will break
down grammar in such a way that anyone can understand it without being an expert
on languages.
This section may seem daunting at first, because it does contain a fair amount of
material. However, the material is generally pretty easy. We recommend learning a
couple pieces a day until you make it through this lesson.
We have provided review sections throughout this lesson on the polite style of
speech for your benefit. These make good places to take a break. Doing so will allow
you to cover this section in four short study sessions - not bad considering how
challenging and tedious verb conjugations can be in other languages.
Use the following links to jump to the different parts. Be sure to take a break in
between parts.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
In this section we will learn how to conjugate in the Polite style of speech. We will use
the verbs from the vocabulary list located at the beginning of this lesson in our
examples.
Knowing how to conjugate in the polite style of speech is one of the most useful
things to know how to do when studying Korean, and knowing how will make all
future lessons on verbs much easier.
Recall from the introduction that there are three styles of speech used in Korean.
They are: Polite, Casual, and Formal. In this lesson, we will cover the polite style of
speech.
Polite Style of Speech: We use the polite style of speech when we wish to be polite.
This can be when speaking with people we do not know well, friends, teachers, or
anyone else we wish to be polite with. It is the most common form of speech in
Korean, and it is acceptable in nearly all situations (although there may be a better
choice such as the casual or formal style of speech).
In general, we will conjugate verbs into the polite style of speech by following the
steps below:
1. Drop from the end of the dictionary form. (Ex: > )
2. Add either or depending on the verb. (Ex: > )
These are the most basic steps we will follow when conjugating verbs into the polite
style of speech. However, in some cases, we must add an additional step between
step 1 and step 2 above, or modify step 2slightly.
Verb Stem: We will refer to the result from step 1 as the verb stem. For example, in
, is the verb stem. In , is the verb stem. In , is the verb
stem.
vs. - More on Step 2
Before we learn any additional steps that might be needed, let us be sure we can
follow the above two steps correctly. Step 1 is straight forward and never changes
(we simply drop ).
In step 2, we add either or to the end of the verb. We base this on the last
vowel sound in the verb stem. If the last vowel is or , then we add . If it is
any other vowel, then we add .
has a verb stem of . The last vowel in is . Therefore we add . +
= .
= .
= .
With this in mind, you should be able to conjugate some of the verbs correctly into
the polite style of speech without any further instruction. If you look back at the verb
vocabulary for this lesson, you should find 7 verbs (out of 21 total) that were
conjugated using only what we have discussed so far.
However, our goal is to be fluent in Korean and be able to speak and use the
language well. For this reason, let's move on to find out when the above two steps
are not enough.
In Korean, there are additional steps taken not to make things more difficult, but
to make them easier. Keep this in mind as we cover the rest of this section, as it will
make the material easier.
Let's look at one simple case where we change the above steps. Consider the verb
.
has a verb stem of . The final vowel in is , so naturally we will add .
+ = .
If we say , it will probably sound more like . The in and from
will blend together into a single sound.
Because of this, we simple write . is the correct conjugation of in the
polite style of speech. It is easier to say than , especially when talking at
a normal speed.
Verb Stems Ending With
Based on our discussion above, you have already learned one special case for
conjugation.
If the verb stem ends in , then we simply add instead of . This is because
the two sounds blend together, and it is easier to simply add .
has a verb stem of . ends in , so we add . The result is.
has a verb stem of . ends in so we add . The result is
.
has a verb stem of . ends in so we add . The result is .
Dictionary Form Conjugation English

to go

to meet

to sleep

to get up

to buy
Note that the verb stem is an exception to this rule. It is unique and has it's own
special rule.
A similar case is for verbs ending with . Consider .
has a verb stem of . ends in . Following the original steps, we add ,
and the result is .
Speaking at a normal speed as we did with the situation with , the and
sounds blend together.
Recall that one of the vowel characters we introduced in the section on Hangul was
. is simple a mixture of and and sounds like the two blend together.
So for verbs ending in , we combine the and sounds and use instead. This
is because it is easier and more natural to say than it is to say .
has a verb stem of . ends in . We combine the and (from ) into
and add . The result is .
has a verb stem of . ends in . We combine the and (from ) into
and add . The result is .
has a verb stem of . ends in . We combine the and (from
) into and add . The result is .

to come

to come out

to see
This situation is nearly identical to the situation with verb stems ending in .
Consider the verb . The verb stem is . Following the basic steps, we
should add . The result is .
Again, the and sounds blend together easily to form . Therefore we will use
in the conjugation instead.
has a verb stem of . ends with , so we combine with (from
) and add . The result is .
has a verb stem of . ends with , so we combine and (from
) and add . The result is .

to learn

to smoke
Quick Review:
Verb stems that end in simple add . For example, conjugates to .
conjugates to . is an exception.
Verb stems that end in combine with the from . becomes and
becomes .
becomes .
Take a look at the original verb vocabulary list at the beginning of this lesson and see
if you understand any more verbs. So far we have learned how to conjugate 14 of the
verbs.
End Part One
This situation is the final case where we blend two sounds together. It follows similar
logic to verb stems ending with and verb stems ending with .
Consider . has a verb stem of . Since the last vowel in is ,
we add . The result .
When we say at a faster pace, the and sounds blend together to form
. It is much easier to say than in it to say . Therefore we will conjugate by
using in place of .
), add , and the result is .
has a verb stem of . ends with , so we combine and (from ),
add , and the result is .
), add , and the result is .

to drink

to teach

to strike

to attend
Consider . has a verb stem of . If we follow the original steps, the result is
. However, this is a little bit difficult to say, and often when spoken fast it simply
comes out as .
For this reason, when a verb stem ending with is followed by a vowel sound, we
simply drop the and then add the appropriate ending.
has a verb stem of . When followed by a vowel sound ( and both
begin with vowel sounds), we drop the . Since no final vowel is left, we will add
. The result is . Note that the starting in is no longer needed as a place
holder (since all syllables must start with a consonant).
has a verb stem of . When followed by a vowel sound ( and both
begin with vowel sounds), we drop the . The result is . Since the last vowel in
is , we add . The result is . Note that the starting in is no
longer needed as a place holder (since all syllables must start with a consonant).

to write

to be bad

to be busy
Note that this rule does not apply to verb stems ending in . See the next situation.
Verb stems ending with are some of the harder conjugations we will encounter.
However, these conjugations are pretty simple once you know what to do.
It is true that verb stems ending in also end in , but we must do more than drop
from the verb stem.
When followed by vowel sound, we first drop as in the previous situation. However,
we will also "double up" the at the end.
Consider . has a verb stem of . ends in , so first we drop .
The result is . Second, we "double up" the by adding another onto the end of
the second to last syllable - in this case . The result is . Note that we now have
two . Now we conjugate following the basic rules. Add . The final form is
.
has a verb stem of . First we drop the . The result is . Next we
"double up" the to obtain . Now we add to arrive at th final form. The
correct conjugation is .

to not know

to be full (stomach)

to be quick
While this conjugation is harder than any of the other conjugations we have seen so
far, it is not that bad. We really only have two additional steps rather than one. First
we drop the . Then we double up the remaining .
When thought of in this way, it is far easier to conjugate verb stems that end in
than the simplest conjugations in European languages (just think, each verb has
several conjugations depending on who the verb applies to. I am, he is, they are is a
simple example from English).
Quick Review:
Verb stems that end in combine with the from to form . We then add
to the result. For example, conjugates to .
Verb stems that end in drop the before vowel sounds (as in the case with polite
style conjugations). We then add the appropriate ending. conjugates to
.
Verb stems that end in change before vowel sounds as well. First we drop the ,
and then we double up the . conjugates to.
Plus our previous situations...
becomes .
becomes .
End Part Two
Verb Stems Ending With or
This situation is easy. Rather than adding or , we simply add . Under the
normal steps, we would add since the last vowel in the verb stem is not or .
But it is harder to say after the or sound, so we simply drop the sound.
Consider . has a verb stem of . Since the verb stem ends in , we add
and we are done. The conjugation is .
has a verb stem of . Since the verb stem ends in , we add and we are
done. The conjugation is .

to tie

to send
There are three situations left, and while they are easy to use, these situations are
harder to know when to use. This is because they do not always apply, so we must
memorize which verbs follow these rules.
There are some verb stems that end in , but the changes to before a
consonant sound. For example, consider the verb stem which is one of these
special verbs. When we add to form the dictionary form, we change the to ,
or to . This is because begins with a consonant sound. Thus the dictionary
form is , although the verb stem can be thought of as .
Another example is . The verb stem is , but the dictionary form is because
begins with a consonant.
If we know a verb is one of these special cases, then we can simply take the verb
stem (the version with ) and add the appropriate ending. is conjugated as
. is conjugated as .
Unfortunately we cannot always look at the dictionary form and know if it is one of
these special verbs. For example, conjugates as , not .
When you learn verbs, you will need to learn if it is one of these special verbs as well.
Certain verb stems ending with is the only other situation where we have two
additional steps (as the case with verb stems ending in ). Unfortunately, we must
also memorize which verb stems ending in follow this rule.
When a verb stem ending with is followed by a vowel sound, we first drop , and
then we add . Lastly, we add the appropriate ending .
has a verb stem of . ends in . When conjugating into the present polite
style of speech, it will be followed by a vowel sound (). So first we drop to
obtain . Now we add to obtain . Now we conjugate by adding . The
result is (note that we use the rule about combining and as seen earlier
in this section).
has a verb stem of . ends in . When conjugating in the present polite
style of speech, it will be followed by a vowel sound (). First we drop to obtain
. Now we add to obtain . Finish conjugating by adding . The result is
(again note that we use the rule about combining and as seen earlier).

to be cold

to broil

to be near
But again, not all verb stems ending in follow this rule. For example, ends in
, but the conjugation is simply andnot . We must learn which verb
stems follow this rule as we encounter new verbs.
There are some verbs that have a verb stem ending in in some situations and
drop the in other situations.
For example, consider the verb , which is one of these special verbs. is
easy to conjugate into the polite style of speech, because it conjugates as .
The verb stem ends with (instead of being ) before the dictionary ending
and in the polite style of speech. However, there are situations, such as the formal
style of speech, where there is no in the verb stem.
is another one of these verbs. The verb base is sometimes and sometimes
. We must learn when to use each.
Luckily, all verbs that fit into this category use in the same situations as the others.
For example, any time we conjugate into the formal style of speech, verbs in this
category will drop the . Any time we conjugate into the polite style of speech, all
verbs in this category will not drop .

to play

to live

to know

to play

to live

to know
Final Review:
Verb stems that end in or will simply add to complete the polite style of
speech conjugation. conjugates as .
Some verb stems may end in before a consonant sound, or have the change to
before vowel sounds. For these verbs, the will change to and we will
conjugate following the normal steps from there. conjugates as . We must
memorize which verbs are in this category.
Some verb stems may end in before certain endings such as , but end in
before other endings. conjugates as in the polite style of speech. We
must memorize which verbs are in this category.
Some verb stems end in in some cases and drop the in other cases. In the
polite style of speech, these verb stems keep the . That is, they do not drop .
conjugates as .
Plus our previous situations...
Verb stems that end in combine with the from to form . We then add
to the result. For example, conjugates to .
Verb stems that end in drop the before vowel sounds (as in the case with polite
style conjugations). We then add the appropriate ending. conjugates to
.
Verb stems that end in change before vowel sounds as well. First we drop the ,
and then we double up the . conjugates to.
becomes .
becomes .
End Part Three
So far, we have discussed categories of verbs and certain rules that apply to
conjugations of those verbs.
Now we will briefly discuss two unique verbs that have unique conjugations that do
not follow any of the rules above. There are only two, and these verbs get used so
often that it will be difficult for you to forget how to conjugate these verbs.
To Do -
The first irregular verb is . It is very easy to conjugate.
We take the verb stem, , and change the to . Now we simply add . The
result is . That's it for in the present tense.
Just remember, instead of , we use instead. It will not take long before you
know this by heart, because appears all the time.
Also note that there are many verbs that end in . is one example. Some
Koreans consider this to be (studies, studying) + (to do). Thus is
simply a phrase with the verb . Thus the conjugation of is like usual.
We get . However, there are some situations where we cannot break a
word into two parts, such as . We cannot break this into and .
So instead, we just remember that any time we see on the end of a verb, we will
conjugate it as in the polite style of speech. This will happen regardless of
whether or not the verb is part of a phrase or part of another verb such as .
would still be conjugated as .

to do

to study (to do studies)
To Be -
The most common verb of all is , or "to be". identifiessomething.
First, is always directly attached to the noun being identified.
For example, is the word for house. would be "(it) is a house". is the
word for boy. would be "(I) am a boy". There is no space or pause between
the noun and the verb .
In the polite style of speech, we conjugate as either or . If the noun
is attached to ends in a consonant, we attach . If the noun is
attached to ends in a vowel, we attach .
Consider our examples above. ends in a consonant, so we attach . Thus
means "(it) is a house" using the polite style of speech.
ends in a vowel, so we attach . Thus means "(I) am a boy" in the
polite style of speech.
Noun Polite Verb Korean Sentence English Sentence
.
It is a car.
.
It is a bag.
.
It is a computer.
.
It is bread.
Note: Some Koreans will attach to verbs ending in vowels instead of . For
example, we could say instead of . It seems that about half of
Koreans use and the other half uses . Luckily the two are very similar and
will sound similar as well when spoken.
For this reason, we may use both and on this site. Realize that these two
mean the same thing.
End Part Four
In this section we have covered a wide range of conjugations in the polite style of
speech. This was our first lesson in Korean grammar, and while it had a lot of
material, most of the situations are used tomake speaking easier.
Knowing how to conjugate in the polite style of speech is a HUGE benefit. Korean
verbs are the most important part of a sentence, and the polite style of speech is
almost always acceptable. Furthermore, knowing how to conjugate in the polite style
of speech will let us know how to conjugate in the casual style of speech extremely
easily as seen in the next section.
Click here to take the quiz! If you receive greater than an 80% on the quiz, you're
ready for the next lesson! Don't look at the lesson during the quiz as it will not provide
an accurate result of how much you understand.
Casual Essential Verbs
In this section we will learn how to conjugate verbs using the casual style of speech.
If you know how to conjugate in the polite style of speech (see previous section), then
this section will be extremely easy. I promise.
Recall from the introduction that there are three styles of speech used in Korean.
They are: Polite, Casual, and Formal. In this lesson, we will cover the casual style of
speech.
Casual Style of Speech: We use the casual style of speech when talking with close
friends, children younger than ourselves, and in other similar situations where we
may be informal. It is becoming more common in daily speech between Koreans.
While it is not used as often as the polite style of speech, it is still commonly used
around the home and with friends.
It is difficult to know when two people are close enough to begin using the casual
style of speech. Generally, one person begins using it after they get to know
someone. This generally displays the desire to be good friends with the listener. If the
feeling is mutual, then the listener will begin using the casual style of speech with you
as well.
For example, I may be introduced to by a friend of mine. and I use the polite
style of speech for several conversations, but then I decide that I would like to be
better friends with . I may choose to start using the casual style of speech. If
feels the same, then she may begin using the casual style of speech in return. If she
does not, then I should probably return to using the polite style of speech so that I do
not appear rude. This is generally how two people begin using the casual style of
speech.
When speaking with children younger than us, we can start using the casual style of
speech right away, even if we do not know them well.
The casual style of speech is formed by taking the polite style of speech conjugation
and removing from the end. That is all there is to it! The ending is the polite
ending. When we want to be polite, we add to whatever we are saying. Thus when
speaking casually with friends, we simply do not include .
For example, conjugates to in the polite style of speech. We simply say
in the casual style of speech.
conjugates to in the polite style of speech. We say in the casual
style of speech.
conjugates as in the polite style of speech. We say in the casual
style of speech.
conjugates as in the polite style of speech. We say in the casual style of
speech.
As you can see, it is extremely easy to conjugate in the casual style of speech once
we know the polite style of speech. We do not have to learn anything new.
So there has to be one catch. is irregular in the casual style of speech, just as it
is in the polite style of speech.
In the polite style of speech, we conjugate as or depending on
whether or not it follows a vowel.
In the casual style of speech, we conjugate as or depending on whether
or not it follows a vowel.
If is attached to a noun ending in a consonant, we conjugate as . If
is attached to a noun ending in a vowel, then we conjugate as .
ends in a consonant, so we say .
ends in a vowel, so we say .
Noun Casual Verb Korean Sentence English Sentence
.
It is a car.
.
It is a bag.
.
It is a computer.
.
It is bread.
Noun Casual Verb Korean Sentence English Sentence
.
It is a car.
.
It is a bag.
.
It is a computer.
.
It is bread.
In this section we first learned when to use the casual style of speech. We then
learned how to conjugate verbs using the casual style of speech. We learned it is
extremely easy once we know the polite style of speech. Finally, we learned that
is irregular in the casual style of speech and how to conjugate it appropriately.
Formal Essential Verbs
The formal style of speech has different endings than polite and casual style of
speech. It isn't anything too difficult though.
Depending on whether the verb stem ends in a consonant or a vowel, you should
choose one of the following verb endings.
will follow verb stems that end in a vowel. You can simply attach the to the
final syllable (where the vowel is).
For example, look at the verb (to go). The verb stem is . Because this ends in
a vowel (), you should add . The final result is . Remember from the
Hangul lessons that when is followed by , the sounds like . Since in the
formal style of speech is always followed by , you should remember that it
should be pronounced , but is spelled .
will follow verb stems that end in a consonant. Let's look at . The verb
stem is . Because this ends in a consonant, you should add . is
in the formal style of speech (pronounced ).
There is a list of examples below the next section.
As you learned in the previous section on the polite and casual styles, there are nine
rules to follow when conjugating in those forms.
Only three are important here - rules 7-9.
Verb stems that end in (rule 7) is the first. In the polite and casual styles of
speech, you change the to and add the ending...
- dictionary form
- verb stem
- change to
- add (and combine with )
In the formal style of speech, you do not change to . You simply add the ending
, because the verb stem ends in a consonant.
Verb stems that end in (rule 8) are usually written with the in the polite and
casual styles of speech. Remember, rule 8 says that you should change the final
to when it is placed before a consonant (excluding ).
For example, means 'to listen' in the polite style of speech. When you write it
in dictionary form, it is , because the dictionary ending begins with a
consonant.
For formal speech, you will use the instead of the , and add the ending.
would be the correct way to write this verb in the formal style.
Verbs that either keep or lose the final (rule 9) is the final situation to
consider...
In the section on polite styles of speech, you learned that there will be some verbs
that have a final included in some forms, and does not include the in other
forms...
The is included in the dictionary form and the polite/casual conjugation forms...
For example, means 'to open'. It has an ending, and, as you can see, the
is included in dictionary form.
When conjugating into the polite style, it keeps the and reads . The casual
style would be .
The stayed in both forms.
However, the formal style drops the . When you conjugate these kinds of verbs
into the formal style of speech, you drop the completely and then add the correct
ending, which will always be (because it will always follow a vowel).
would be written as in the formal style of speech. Notice how we dropped
the , and added the ending .
Remember! Do not get the verbs that change to confused with the verbs that
either keep or lose the final .
When you look at the dictionary form, verbs that change to will appear with a
on the end ( in ), whereas verbs that keep or lose the final will have an in
dictionary form ( in ). This is one way to know which form of verb you are
dealing with. Keep this in mind so you know which rules to follow and which endings
to use.

to do

to be

to eat

to go

to see

to write

to open (rule 9)

to listen (rule 8)

to be hot (rule 7)

to be cold (rule 7)

to know (rule 9)

to do

to be

to eat

to go

to see

to write

to open (rule 9)

to listen (rule 8)

to be hot (rule 7)

to be cold (rule 7)

to know (rule 9)
The formal style is the only style of speech that requires you to change the ending
depending on what kind of sentence you are saying. Both the polite and casual styles
of speech can use the same endings you learned in the previous section ( and
), and the listener decides what kind of sentence it is (statement, question, etc)
by the tone of the speakers voice. A question usually results in a tone increase at the
end of the sentence.
In the formal style of speech, you use the or endings if you are saying
a statement. If you need to say a question instead, you would use or .
The only thing that changes is the at the end of the formal ending changes to
when the sentence becomes a question. There will usually be the same tone
increase at the end of the sentence as well.
If I were to say 'Bread .' I could be saying 'I eat bread.' If the sentence said
'Bread ?' instead, it would mean 'Do you eat bread?' Note how the only thing
that changed is the to (along with punctuation in writing and tone of voice in
speech).
In Korean, bread is . This sentence would be ' ?'
See, it isn't too difficult once you start learning it!
?
to do
?
to be
?
to eat
?
to go
?
to see
?
to write
?
to open (rule 9)
?
to listen (rule 8)
?
to be hot (rule 7)
?
to be cold (rule 7)
?
to know (rule 9)
?
to do
?
to be
?
to eat
?
to go
?
to see
?
to write
?
to open (rule 9)
?
to listen (rule 8)
?
to be hot (rule 7)
?
to be cold (rule 7)
?
to know (rule 9)
Another common form you will hear in the formal style is the / ending.
It is used when people suggest things, such as 'Let's go.' When this is done in the
formal style, the ending is used after stems ending in a vowel, and
after stems ending in consonants.
Let's use the verb , 'to go'. Like always, drop the and you are left with the verb
stem. Here, that is . For the formal style, you go directly to adding the ending.
Simply add to and you have , or 'Let's go'.
Keep in mind that in speech the will sound like a 'p' here, rather than an 'm' sound.
In both the statement and question formal endings, is followed by making it
sound like instead of .
Rules 7-9 Applied To Formal Suggestions
Formal suggestions will use the following forms for verbs matching rules 7-9.
Rule 7 Verbs, or verbs ending in , will change the to and add the appropriate
ending. The appropriate ending will always be when making formal
suggestions. would have a stem of , change the to , resulting in .
You would then follow the normal rules for making a formal suggestion, resulting in
.
Rule 8 Verbs, or verbs that change to , will use the form of the verb and the
appropriate ending, which is . would have a stem of (using the
instead of the ), which ends in a consonant. Adding the consonant ending
completes this one. .
Rule 9 Verbs, or verbs that either keep or drop the , will drop the for formal
suggestions and add . would have a stem of and drop the . All that is
left is , which takes the ending for vowels, or . is correct.
* Please note that not all words make sense in this form. Descriptive verbs (also
known as adjectives in the future adjectives lesson) will not make sense in this form.
Generally you will never hear the words marked with an * in this form, but I have
included them to continue using the same set of words to demonstrate how to write
different types of words in each form.
To say something along the lines of 'Let's be cold' (for whatever reason), you would
need to change the sentence around, which is not covered in this lesson.

to do

to eat

to go

to see

to write

to open (rule 9)

to listen (rule 8)

to be hot (rule 7)

to be cold (rule 7)

to know (rule 9)

to do

to eat

to go

to see

to write

to open (rule 9)

to listen (rule 8)

to be hot (rule 7)

to be cold (rule 7)

to know (rule 9)
When you need to ask someone to do something, you would use the ending .
Since this is in the formal style, it is the most polite and respectful way of asking
someone to do something, so it should be used when talking to someone older than
you, above you (boss, teacher), etc.
Let's continue to use . If you ask someone to go, it would be .
Let's take it one step further though. Since you would be using the formal style of
speech, chances are you want to be extra careful and show extra respect when
asking someone to do something. Asking your boss for a raise is a very delicate
thing. Asking a teacher to give you another chance on a test is very important. You
would show great respect and be extra polite in these situations...
To do this, you should not only use the formal style of speech, but you should add in
, which is called 'the honorific marker'. Basically, adding in shows more respect
and is even more polite. When combined with the formal style of speech, it packs a
bang! For this reason, nearly every time the formal style is used in asking something,
will be there as well.
When you add it in, it follows directly after the verb stem. In this case, it would be
. Basically the ending will become .
After a consonant stem, it will be . There will be a chart below with many
examples.
There will be another lesson that dives further into the use of the honorific marker,
, but for now just realize that it will almost always be included when asking
something in the formal style of speech. It adds politeness to what is being said, and
shows more respect to the listener.
Rules 7-9 Applied For Formal Commands
The three rules will take the following forms when using formal commands (the
ending).
Rule 7 Verbs, meaning verbs that end in , will change the to before adding
the appropriate ending. The appropriate ending in this case will be , because it
is following a verb ending in a vowel (these verbs will always end in ).
would be . (see * note below verb list)
Rule 8 Verbs, or verbs that change the to a before consonant endings, will use
the form and add . would drop the --> changes to --> add
appropriate ending (which is because the stem ends in a consonant) -->
.
Also, Rule 9 Verbs (that is, verbs that keep or drop the depending on the
situation) will drop the when used with this form. would be written as
when using the formal command form.
* Please note that not all words make sense in this form. Descriptive verbs (also
known as adjectives in the future adjectives lesson) will not make sense in this form.
Generally you will never hear the words marked with an * in this form, but I have
included them to continue using the same set of words to demonstrate how to write
different types of words in each form.
For example, to ask someone to be cold (for whatever reason), you would need to
change the sentence around, which is not covered in this lesson.

to do

to eat

to go

to see

to write

to open (rule 9)

to listen (rule 8)

to be hot (rule 7)

to be cold (rule 7)

to know (rule 9)
To review formal endings, use the following charts. Once you know the meanings of
each of the following, you should be able to study the chart below until you remember
them (At first I too got them all mixed up! A little bit of memorizing will fix that problem
in no time.)
After Vowel After Consonant Usage

Statements

Questions

Suggestions

Requests
Usage Rule 7 Verbs Rule 8 Verbs Rule 9 Verbs
Statements
Keeps the - no
change
Uses the ending drops the
Questions
Keeps the - no
change
Suggestions
Change to -
add
Uses the - add
drops the
Requests
changes to ,
add
Uses the , add
drops the
After Vowel After Consonant Usage

Statements

Questions

Suggestions

Requests
Usage Rule 7 Verbs Rule 8 Verbs Rule 9 Verbs
Statements
Keeps the - no
change
Questions
Keeps the - no
change
Suggestions
Change to -
add
Uses the - add
drops the
Requests
changes to ,
add
Uses the , add
drops the
SOT Vocabulary
Now that you have learned some verbs, it's time to start learning some other basic
words to put in the sentence. In this lesson, you will learn how to add these words in
as the subject, object, or topic of the sentence.
Before you begin learning what to do with these words, learn the words :-) It will
make the lesson a lot easier, and then you will already know the words so you can
get started writing sentences!
Korean English
I / me
I / me (polite)
motherI / me
mom
father
dad
parents
our
friend
person
Note: changes to before the subject particle (), and changes to before
the subject particle () - remember this when you learn about the subject particle
in the next section.
Korean English
food
meal
rice
bulgogi (beef)
galbi (ribs)
water
milk
cola
juice
coffee
Korean English
bag
clock / watch
newspaper
magazine
book
desk
chair
umbrella
television
movie
music
telephone
car
Korean English
food
meal
rice
bulgogi (beef)
galbi (ribs)
water
milk
cola
juice
coffee
Korean English
bag
clock / watch
newspaper
magazine
book
desk
chair
umbrella
television
movie
music
telephone
car
I know this list may seem random..and it is! But it will get you started with some of the
basic nouns and words that people use. You can use many of these along with the
verbs you already know to make sentences.
Remember, after we get through these grammar lessons, head towards the
vocabulary sections. There you will find much more vocabulary. The vocabulary you
are learning now as part of the grammar lessons is just to get you started. Once you
complete these lessons and arrive in the vocabulary lessons, your Korean will really
shine through!
But please wait! Don't rush over there yet. It may be tempting, but I promise you will
be much more successful if you push through these essential grammar lessons first.
It won't be long! I promise. The grammar lessons will also be building your
vocabulary as well, so don't feel lost :-)
So let's go on to the next section of this lesson. It's time to learn how to use some of
these words you just learned in a sentence or two.
SOT Conversation Vocabulary
Conversation One - What Are You Eating?
Korean English
+
and (to connect sentences)
to buy
to make
bought (past tense)

Korean English
+
and (to connect sentences)
to buy
to make
bought (past tense)

Conversation Two - Asking About Siblings
Korean English
Korea
America
China
Korean (person)
American (person)
Chinese (person)
younger sibling
younger sister
younger brother
older sister (male speaking)
older sister (female speaking)
older brother (male speaking)
older brother (female speaking)

SOT Conversation
This conversation lesson will give you more practice using the particles. I will include
a few short conversations and phrases that include proper particles, allowing you to
see how they can properly be used.
: ?
: . , ?
: . .
: , . ?
: . .
This is a conversation that takes place between three different people, although the
first person only has one line. The majority of the conversation is between
(Sung-ji) and (Mee-yon), while (Min-ji) simply starts the conversation
off. This is just a minor fact with little impact on the conversation, but I included
several people to try to give you more practice with names and dialogue. I always got
confused following dialogues between multiple people in foreign languages, so I am
going to introduce this to you early on.
starts off the conversation by asking ? This consists of, as well as
. You have seen in first vocabulary, but not the form . is simply + object
particle. It is a short and more common form of writing it, rather than writing or
the even longer form ( is shortened to ). and both mean
'what' with the object particle attached.
Now, the topic particle is coming back! You were briefly introduced to it in the
previous conversation lesson, but now you have learned about the topic particle, so
expect to see a lot more of it! These three particles you just learned (subject-object-
topic) are going to show up over and over again.
replies saying she is eating . She does so by attaching the topic particle
to , setting herself as the topic of the sentence. She then says
and attaches the object particle to . This is because is the
object of the verb, eating. In this case, it is what is being eaten. finished off the
sentence with the verb .
She then directs the same question towards , a third girl in the conversation.
sets herself as the topic of the new sentence using the same method used
- . She uses the same sentence structure for the rest of the sentence as well,
except saying instead of . However, she goes on to provide more detail
by saying . was a new word for this lesson and means
'and' when you are connecting two complete sentences together. The rest of the
sentence is the same structure used for eating - now it covers drinking.
simply means 'drinking water'.
Note that takes the object particle ending because ends in a consonant.
took the ending because it ended in a vowel.
All together, says 'I am eating galbi. And I am drinking water.'
then follows up by saying 'Ah, I like galbi.' Same sentence structure as before -
simply a different verb. The last thing she says is ' ?'. You learned in
the greetings conversation lesson that meant 'how'. The vocabulary section
for this lesson taught you is 'to make'. is asking 'how do you make it?'
Notice how does not need to repeat in this second sentence. This is
because it is understood she is talking about from the previous sentence. This
happens a lot in Korean. You could fully write it out if necessary, by saying '
?'
responds by saying she doesn't know (). The second sentence simply
says , or 'I bought (it)'. You have not learned past tense yet, but I wanted to
introduce it to you in case you come across it sooner than expected. The double
attached to the verb stem is a good sign the verb is in past tense.
: ! .
: . . .
: ! . ?
: . . ?
: , . .
In this conversation, Anna and Subi ( and ) both say hello and exchange
names using the same method as the previous conversations have done.
Next, says she is Korean. She sets herself as the topic of the conversation using
, followed by . is Korea and is person. As you may
have noticed from the vocabulary section of this lesson, a Korean is simply .
An American is simply . A Chinese person is simply . All you do is
state the country followed by . Be sure to include the proper verb at the end of
the sentence - in this case it was .
replies with her own nationality, 'Ah, I am American.' She then says
? is 'younger sibling', and you should know from the verbs
vocabulary. She is asking if has a younger sibling.
Note: and never go with a word and the object particle. and will
be with words that have the subject particle or the topic particle. They will not be with
words with an attached object particle, even though you may think '' or 'sibling' is
the object of the verb 'to have'.
says no, she doesn't have one. Note how did not need to repeat in the
sentence, because it was understood. She asks the same question. Note how
she called referred to Anna by her name, rather than saying 'you'. Since they just met
in this conversation, the word 'you' is too informal. 'You' is usually used between
friends and when speaking to someone younger than yourself.
then directs the question back to .
Anna replies saying that she does have a younger sibling. She also adds that she
'also' has an older sister. The word is attached to to mean 'also'. It replaces
the standard particles (subject particle, object particle). See the section below for
more information about siblings and using them in your own conversations.
For your own conversations, feel free to use the other sibling vocabulary provided
with the vocabulary lesson. Let me offer a little explanation...
Did you notice how there were two different terms for most words?Older sister can
be either or . Older brother can be either or . This is because it
varies depending on who is speaking. If the speaker is a male, then his older sister is
called . If the speaker is female, then her older sister is called . If the
speaker is male, then his older brother is called , and if the speaker is a female,
then her older brother is called .
It's just something to get used to, but it's easy. Also note that friends and
acquaintances may call each other by these terms on occasion. While I was in South
Korea, all the little boys called me , even though I am not related to them.
Also realize that Koreans generally call each other by these terms rather than by
name. In English, I rarely call my older sister 'sister' or anything similar to that. I call
her Elizabeth, because that is her name. In South Korea, they do not really use the
actual name, but instead use the term for the relationship.
On a final note, , , and are used by both females and males.
Three Important Particles
So, by now you should have a general idea on conjugating verbs in the present
tense in the polite, casual, and formal styles of speech. However, you may be
wondering where to go from there...often times a sentence will need more to it than a
verb - otherwise our language would be very boring!
In this lesson, I will cover three common particles used in Korean -Subject Particle,
Object Particle, and Topic Particle.
A particle in Korean is a word/character/syllable that you attach to the end of a word.
They identify what the purpose of that word is. They are attached directly onto the
end of the word, without a space (in writing) or pause (in speech) between the
particle and the word.
At first it is a little confusing because we do not have these types of particles in
English. We know what the purpose of the word is based on the location of the word
in the sentence.
For example, let's look at the sentence 'Humans eat chickens.' Since English has a
S-V-O sentence structure, we easily know what the purpose of all words are. Humans
are the subject (S) of the sentence. eat is the verb (V) of the sentence. Chicken is the
object (O) of the sentence. If the grammar words confuse you...
The subject is the person or thing doing the action. Humans are doing the eating.
The object is who or what is receiving the action. In this case, it is the chickens who
are being eaten. They are the object of the verb 'to eat'.
Now say we switch the order up a little. 'Chickens eat humans.' This is clearly a
different sentence with a whole new meaning! Now, chickens are the subject of this
sentence. They are the ones doing the eating, while humans are being eaten (not a
pleasant thing)!
Well, in Korean this will never happen. We will always understand who is doing the
action and who is receiving the action because ofparticles. Because of particles, you
can place the words in the sentence in whichever order you want to, as long as the
verb is at the end of the sentence. No matter what order you place the other words in
the sentence, it will be understood.
Do keep in mind, however, that the order usually is S-O-V, but it will still be
grammatically correct if you place the object before the subject.
Let's learn some particles...
One of the first and most common particles you will run into is thesubject particle. In
English, one of the most basic parts of a sentence is the subject. The subject is a
required part in English, but is not required in Korean. The subject tells us who or
what is doing the action.
Let's learn with the verb 'to eat'. In the previous lesson on verbs, you learn that 'to
eat' is .
Often, the subject is not included in the sentence, but only if the subject of the
sentence is understood. Usually when the subject is 'you' or 'I' it is commonly
understood who the subject is (based on the context of the conversation, who is
talking, etc). However, if you need to specify who the subject of the sentence is for
clarification, you can say who it is, and attach the subject particle to identify that
specific person or thing as the subject.
Remember how with many of the verb endings there was a form that came after a
word ending in a vowel and another came after words ending in a consonant? This is
the same thing.
After a word that ends in a vowel, the subject particle is used. After a word that
ends in a consonant, the subject particle is used.
You will begin to notice that the particles and endings you attach often have two
endings depending on how the previous word ends - consonant or vowel. This is
because it makes it easier to say in speech and flow better. Begin to notice how when
the word ends in a vowel, it is followed by a consonant sound first, rather than directly
placing another vowel after it. When the word ends in a consonant, it is usually
followed directly by a vowel sound, rather than placing two consonant sounds
together. Speech becomes smooth and flowsmuch better this way.
For example, let's say 'Eunji eats'. ends in a vowel, so we attach and get
as the 'word-particle' combination. means Eunji is subject of the sentence.
The is what makes the subject. Then, we can simply add the verb in the
proper present tense form, and we have our sentence. 'Eunji eats' is .in
the polite present tense.
In the casual style, the sentence would be ., although in the casual style
of speech the particles are occasionally left off - . In very casual writing
online with your friends, particles are usually left off. In speech - both polite and
casual (although less often in the polite style) - particles are often left off.
In the formal style, it would be . Which style you choose depends
solely on who you are talking to. Refer to the previous lesson for a review on verbs
and endings.
Let's look at another example. Let's say 'Anna sleeps'
Do you recall how to say 'to sleep'? If you thought , then correct! In Korean,
Anna would be written as . This sentence should be fairly simple.
- polite style
- casual style
- formal style
Not to bad? Let's try one more example...
How about 'Russell drinks'. Try and figure it out on your own before you look ahead!
Did you really try? It just takes a second ;-)
Ok, here we go. is 'Russell' in Korean. You should know is 'to drink' in
Korean and how to conjugate it correctly from the previous lesson on verbs...
- polite
- casual
- formal
Did you remember to add the ending instead of this time? Remember...
comes after a consonant sound ( in this case) and comes after vowel sounds.
Are you getting the hang of it yet? Hopefully! It isn't too difficult. All you need to do is
remember this: When you need to say something is the subject of a sentence, add
onto the end of the subject if it ends in a consonant, and if it ends in a vowel. If you
just learn the basics and build a strong foundation in order without rushing through
anything, you will soon find that you know a lot of Korean and it wasn't even that
difficult to learn!
Just go slow and steady - it will be the best way to learn Korean.
Now you may be thinking...the sentences above are dreadfully boring! 'Russell
drinks.' Drinks what? 'Eunji eats.' Eats what? We need to be able to specify these
kinds of things in order to provide details in sentences and make them slightly
interesting. You can do that with the object particle.
The object particle specifies which word in the sentence is the objectof the sentence.
The object of the sentence is the person or thing receiving the action. For example, if
the verb is 'to eat' (action is eating), then the person or thing receiving the action is
what is being eaten.
In English, the object is usually the word that follows the verb.
Now, how to do it...
The object particle has two forms. comes after a word ending in a vowel. comes
after a word ending in a consonant.
Here are a few examples...
'Anna drinks water' Well...you can start with the first part, 'Anna drinks'. We covered
this in the previous section on the subject particle. . Now, we need to
add in the object of the sentence, or water. Where should we put it?
.... Think so? Hmm...guess again! The previous audio file and Korean text was
incorrect.
Remember that Korean is S-O-V sentence structure, or subject-object-verb. The verb
always comes at the end of the sentence. Let's just cross that out.
The correct way would be . Note how we used as the object

particle because ends in a consonant. This sentence means Anna is the subject,
water is the object, and then there is the verb 'to drink'. In English, 'Anna is drinking
water' or 'Anna drinks water'.
.
.
.
Let's say 'I read the newspaper'. First, how would you say 'I read'? .
Remember from the vocabulary that when you use 'I' with the subject particle it is
and NOT . is incorrect. is correct. is the verb for 'to read'.
Next, add in the object with the correct particle attached. Since (newspaper)
ends in a consonant () you should attach for the object particle. The result is
. Now put it in the proper place.
.
.
.
Good job! Easy enough?
Breaking Up Verbs
If you remember some of the verbs from the previous lesson, you probably noticed
that many of them end in , or when conjugated.
These verbs can be broken up. Let's look at .
These verbs can split right before . This would become and . Using the
topic particle, you would write it in the polite style.
What you are doing here is making , or 'studies (a noun', the object of the verb
(to do). In the end, you are saying To do studies, with studies being the object.
This is the same thing as 'to study'.
You will see these verbs written both ways ( and ). It is useful to
know how to split them up, however, when you start adding more words to the
sentence. There are certain words that you must add directly before , so you
would have to use the version, so that you can place the word directly
before the verb .
Another example would be , or 'to shower'. You can write it as either
or .
The final particle for this lesson is the topic particle. The topic particle is actually one
of the most difficult particles to understand. New, and even intermediate, Korean
students get the topic particle mixed up with the subject particle. Why? They are very
similar.
The topic particle says what the topic of the sentence will be. The topic of the
sentence can actually be any word in the sentence other than the verb. Let me go
through a couple English examples...
'I am reading a book at home'.
Well, which part of the sentence do you want to be the topic? Any of them can work
except for the verb, 'reading'.
I am reading a book at home.
A book I read at home.
At home, I read a book.
In the first sentence, the topic is 'I'. We are talking all about me. The rest of the
sentence merely provides details. reading a book at home.
The second sentence is talking about a book. (If that is too vague, replace 'a book'
with your favorite book.) The sentence is about that specific book...the rest of the
sentence talks about what happens involving that book. I read it at home.
The final sentence talks about at home. What do I do at home? I read a book. The
sentence is about 'at home'. It isn't focused on the book. It is focused on the home.
See why the topic particle is pretty confusing?
.
.
Both of these sentences are correct.
In the first one, there is the subject, object, and verb. In the second one, instead of
using a subject particle, there is a topic particle. It says 'the topic of this sentence is
me' and then goes on to provide details - drinking water.
The truth is, everyone has trouble with this at first. So don't worry about it. I will teach
you how to use the topic particle, but only time and practice will allow you to get used
to it. You will be understood no matter which one you choose - subject or topic
particle - Koreans just generally use one instead of the other depending on certain
situations. You will learn when as you continue to learn Korean. Until then, don't
worry about it, have fun, and enjoy :-) People can understand you and both are
grammatically correct.
The Rule For Topic Particle
So here you go. The topic particle is just like the other two...it comes in two forms.
after a word ending in a vowel, and after a word ending in a consonant.
One other thing to remember is that the topic particle replaces the subject particle or
the object particle. You cannot say to mean 'the water as the object of the
verb and topic of the sentence'. It is incorrect. Instead of attaching both the object
and topic particle, you only use the topic particle. .
Also remember this...the topic particle usually comes at the beginning of the
sentence. You will get the idea and hang of it as you see and read more Korean. Like
I said, don't worry about it or get stuck on it. It will only slow you down. Keep pushing
ahead with Korean and you will understand it soon enough. I promise!
An example...
'I drink cola.'
Here we want to say 'I' is the topic of the sentence, rather than using the subject
particle. Either is grammatically correct.
.
.
.
Remember, you only change to before the subject particle, not the topic
particle. You still attach to because is not the topic of the sentence.
Adjectives Vocabulary
If You Need To Describe Something...
Use Some Of These Essential Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe things. In Korean, they are used similarly to verbs.
You will learn how to use them in this lesson. But first, let's learn some adjectives!
Note that the casual style is not written in the chart. To form the casual style, simply
drop the off the end of the polite style.
Dictionary Form English Polite Formal
to be good

to be bad

>
to be hot

to be warm

to be cold

to be busy

to be many

to be few

to be big

to be little

to be expensive

to be inexpensive

to be tasty

to not be tasty

to be fun /
interesting

to not be fun /
interesting

to be enjoyable

to be bored / boring

to be sorry

to be thankful

to be pretty

Dictionary Form English Polite Formal
to be good

to be bad

>
to be hot

to be warm

to be cold

to be busy

to be many

to be few

to be big

to be little

to be expensive

to be inexpensive

to be tasty

to not be tasty

to be fun /
interesting

to not be fun /
interesting

to be enjoyable

to be bored / boring

to be sorry

to be thankful

to be pretty

So you have learned all of these adjectives? Come on, don't lie :-) Be sure you go
back and spend a day or so learning these adjectives before you advance...what's it
worth? It really is only one more day. In the end, going at a slower, steady pace,
learning all the words properly will save you time in the end. You will know these
words from now on and won't have to go back and re-learn them. So just do it now :-)
Now that you are really finished, let's head on over to the next section of this lesson -
how to use adjectives properly.
Adjectives Conversation
This conversation deals a lot with the various adjectives. It's fairly simple without too
much extra thrown in quite yet. The first few lessons offered an in-depth analysis of
the conversations. However, you will not always get an in-depth look at every
conversation or piece of Korean text that you read.
For this reason, the rest of the conversations will give you the opportunity to find out
what is going on in the conversation. Most of the conversation has previously been
covered or will be covered in this lesson. If there are aspects that you may not know
at this point, they will be included in notes regarding the conversation. This will allow
you to see real conversations that make sense, that you understand, and that give
you a chance to practice translating Korean into English. The English translation is
also provided at the end of this page, but no peeking!
A. .
B., .
A. ?
B., .
A. ?
B.. .
A.. .
B.. .
click here to see notes
Notes:
- weather
- today
- work
- Oh, is that so, I see - a phrase along these lines
- in that case
- a phrase used to mean 'later' or 'afterwards'
click here to see translation
English:
A. The weather is good (nice) today.
B. Yes, it's warm.
A. Are you busy today?
B. Yes, I have a lot of work.
A. Is it interesting / fun?
B. No. It's not interesting / fun
A. Is that so. Well in that case, I will see you later.
B. Yes. Bye.
How to use Adjectives Properly
So far, you should know some verbs and how to use them properly, as well as some
other basic words to add to the sentence and how to use those properly.
What if you need to describe something? An adjective is a word that describes
something. Adjectives are things like 'to be fast', 'to be big', 'to be small', 'to be
green', 'to be cold', 'to be hot', 'to be...' you get the idea. They describe things.
In English, adjectives and verbs are completely separate. A verb is needed in every
sentence. If you were to describe something, you would say something like 'The bird
is blue'. Here, the adjective is 'blue' while the verb is 'is'.
In Korean, however, adjectives can be treated like verbs. If you look up an
adjective in the dictionary (big, for example) you will see something that appears to
be a verb.
'To be big' is in Korean. Wait wait wait...I thought was the dictionary ending
for verbs! That's right. And adjectives are treated like verbs in Korean. This is good
news for you...you already know how to make sentences using adjectives!
Let's say 'That person is big' as an example. You should have learned that person is
. is a word that means 'that'. Now all you have to do is finish the sentence as
you would with a verb. Here, the adjective (treated like a verb) is
, or 'to be big'. Your final sentence would be...
.
In the above sentence, we said 'that person' by saying . We made 'that
person' the topic of the sentence by adding the topic particle, (if we made it the
subject, it would have been ). Finally, we just conjugated the adjective from
by dropping the to get the adjective stem, , and from there you follow the
rules for conjugating verbs. Because it ends in a , you drop the , and add the
appropriate ending. The results is .
Another example sentence could be . A very simple, yet true
sentence ;-) It means 'Anna is pretty.'
When you break it down, you have , or Anna, set as the subject by the particle
, being described using , or 'to be pretty'.
In the Essential Verbs lesson, there was an example using the word. The
example was to show what to do if the verb stem ends in , but there was still a verb
left in the verb stem after dropping the ( in this case). Well, was actually
an adjective! Remember, it means 'to be bad'.
There were also a few other adjectives used during that lesson for teaching
purposes. However, you should be able to recognize the difference in an adjective
and a verb now, because adjectives describe things, whereas verbs denote action.
What you will find is often it is the adjectives that have this kind of ending. Many
adjectives end in , in which case you will drop the and then add the appropriate
ending. Some examples are - , - , and - .
Are Adjectives Always Treated Like Verbs?
This is a question that you will find yourself running into. As you learn more and more
grammar and learn more about verbs, you will wonder if you would always treat
adjectives the same way.
In most cases, adjectives are treated the same as verbs. When you conjugate into
the present tense, past tense, future tense, in all the different styles (polite, casual,
formal), adjectives will be treated the same as verbs.
However, there will be other things you can do with verbs and adjectives. These will
show up later in these essential grammar lessons. For some of those, adjectives are
not treated identical to verbs. This is why you need to know the difference between a
verb and an adjective in Korean. Even though they work almost identical in most
cases, they will not always be identical.
For example, Adjectives containing cannot break in the middle like verbs.
In the previous lessons, you learned you can write as either or
. You cannot do this with adjectives. must be written as in
the polite form. You cannot write it as .
Note the difference between verbs and adjectives so that when the time comes you
will not have to come back and figure it out. Verbs are action words. Adjectives are
descriptive words. In Korean, adjectives and verbs both are treated like verbs
(conjugation, etc). This means you do not need a verb in the sentence if you have an
adjective (unlike English).
Let's Go Somewhere
Well, before you suggest going somewhere, you're going to need to know a few
places you might want to go!
Korean English
school
college / university
home / house
noraebang (karaoke room)

coffee shop
tea house / coffee
department store
restaurant
United States
Korea
This is just a short list of various places you can go to help teach you how to use
locations in sentences. In the vocabulary sections you will learn many more places
you can go...but be sure to understand this locations lesson first. Once you are ready
and wish to expand your vocabulary of places to go, then visit the Places Around
Townvocabulary lesson.
Korean English
front
behind
next to
above, on top
below
below
inside
inside (tight)
outside
The above are relative locations words. You will learn how to use these in the
following lesson.
Korean English Polite Formal
to be (location)

Remember, is used in two ways. It means 'to exist'. It is usually used to mean 'to
have' or 'to be' (when talking about location).
For example, you could say 'I have a book.' This uses in Korean. It is like 'A
book exists (and I own it)'. A little confusing, because we usually just say 'to have' in
English.
However, is also used for sentences like 'The book is at school'. In English, we
are using the verb 'to be' (is). However, 'to be' can have many different meanings in
English (the book is there, I am a teacher, etc). If you stick with the 'to exist'
translation, then you avoid the problem. 'The book exists at school.' The meaning is
the same, and you don't run into that problem.
So you can learn as simply 'to exist', or both 'to have' or 'to be (dealing with
location)' depending on the situation. It's up to you how you remember it, just
remember it ;-) It's an important verb.
Now that you know these vocabulary terms, let's head on over to see what to do with
them....
Locations Conversation
A. , ?
B. .
A. .
B. , ?
A. .
B. ? . !
A. !
Notes:
- an ending commonly attached to names
- me also, me too. means also and is attached to nouns.
- In the Suwon area. is a city about 20 miles from Seoul.
means 'vicinity' or 'that area'
? - Really? means 'really' or 'truthfully'. This is a common word, so it
would be beneficial to remember it.
- together. Irregular pronunciation is like
English:
A. Russell, where are you going?
B. I'm going to school.
A. I'm also going to school.
B. Ah, where is your school?
A. It's in the Suwon area.
B. Really? My school is also in the Suwon area. In that case, let's go together!
A. Good! (ok!)
Location Grammar
So far you have learned to say some basic sentences and how you would form
sentences. You should be able to look up some verbs and some nouns in a
dictionary and actually know what to do with them! That is an excellent beginning to
building a strong foundation in Korean.
The next step in learning Korean is locations. How would you say 'I eat at home' or 'I
want to go to the movies'? Whenever you are dealing with locations, you will deal with
one of two particles.
The location particle will be the most common particle you will use with locations.
You use it to say things like 'to the movies', 'to the store', 'at school', 'at home', and
things of that nature.
The second particle is a variation of the location particle. You use it to say where
action is currently happening. When you use this particle, it implies that the action is
ongoing there and is dynamic.
The most common form of the location particle is . You simply add onto the
place you are talking about.
Recall the list of verbs you have learned...Remember the fifth verb down on the list?
I'm sure you do! Right beneath ...Yes! The verb is . You should know what
this verb is, so let's get started.
Say you want to say 'I am going home'. Well, as you just learned, home is in
Korean. Knowing this, and what you just learned about the location particle, this
should be a fairly easy sentence to construct.
.
Fairly easy sentence. You can say it in whichever form you need to depending on
whom you are talking to...I tend to use the polite style., ...just pick your verb
ending!
Or, how about 'I am going to school'
.
? Do you understand?
You can use this with what you learned about particles.
If you need to specify who is doing the action, you may.
'Eunji is going home.' would be ' .'
'Anna is going home.' would be ' .'
When you say you are coming from somewhere, you use the particle .
'Russell is coming home from school.' would be ' .'
Just remember, the normal form is , but when you are saying from somewhere, it
becomes .
You can also use it with other particles, such as the topic particle and object particle,
such as in ' .'
The last thing to note is that the most common placement of locations (with the
attached location particle) is near the beginning of the sentence just after or shortly
after the subject. In the example sentences, the subjects (Russell, Anna, and Eunji)
were said beforethe location.
It would be grammatically correct if you placed the location first, although it would
sound unusual.
Now the situation changes a little bit. Say you want to say 'I am eating at home'. This
sentence means that the action is happening at home...the act of eating.
You know that the verb you will be using is . You simply want to use that verb
and specify that it is actually being done at home.
In this case, you use the dynamic location particle, . It is the exact same particle
as you learned above when you say you are coming from somewhere. People will
understand which meaning it is depending on the sentence and verbs you use.
.
'I am learning at school'.
.
While this is the way to specifically mention the action actually happens there
(dynamically), you will also hear used.
.
You will be understood either way. You will learn the differences better through
practice reading Korean. As you begin to read paragraph's and real Korean, you will
begin to notice and get used to these subtle differences.
You will get used to the difference in using / and /. You will get used to the
difference in using and . You will begin to use the correct one naturally.
So don't worry :-)
This is one thing I strive to teach you. No matter how much you learn in a
"classroom" type setting, you will only truly understand the difference once you "do
the real thing". And when you first begin speaking, you will be still be understood. So
don't sweat it. Learn all of the essentials. Expand your knowledge to include a lot of
Korean, and then dive deeper into the subtle differences.
You will find that you learn Korean much faster this way. Don't let things slow you
down. You are in charge! While you want to go slow and steady, you don't want to
get stuck on one aspect of the language when there are a thousand other things to
learn.
You can also use the other particles along with the dynamic location particle.
. - Hyokju learns at school
. - Sungju eats rice at home.
That last example used the subject particle, location particle, and object particle.
There are no limits. Just keep in mind that the subject particle or topic particle usually
sounds best when it is at the beginning of the sentence. The location particle usually
follows close after the subject or topic particle.
Back in the Essential Verbs lesson, you learned the verb and how it means 'to
have'.
has one other meaning. If you are talking about the location of an object,
person, place, etc. then you would use the verb . For example,
means 'The bag is at school.' is the verb for location in this sentence.
Whenever you see the particle being used with the verb nearby, the is
probably stating that something or someone is located in a place (particularly the
place the is attached to).
You will use the verb often when using relative location terms, so let's move on
to learn those, and you will get a better feel for how to use the verb for locations.
Now that you know how to use specific location terms, such as "at the store", it's time
to learn about relative location.
Sometimes you need to refer to something not by directly where it is, but by where it
is in relation to another object or place. For example:
"The department store is next to the school."
If you were giving directions, this would probably be one of the better ways to give
them - provide something that is nearby.
This is fairly simple in Korean, although the word order can be a little confusing at
first. Let's see the above example written in Korean.
.
We are talking about the department store, so we set it as the subject of the
sentence. Now this is where the word order gets tricky. means 'next to the
school'. It's tricky because the 'next to' follows 'school'. After that phrase is the verb
since that is the verb used for location.
The main thing that happens is one of the 'relative location' words is being inserted in
between the place and the particle . Let's play around with the following sentence.
.
Here, we say that the bag is at the coffee shop. It's a fairly simple sentence. The bag
is the subject of the sentence, the particle is attached to coffee shop to denote the
coffee shop as the location, and the verb is being used to mean 'is located
(there)'. Let's change it around a little bit...
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
All we have done is insert the relative locations in between the word coffee shop and
the particle . This changes it from being located atthe coffee shop to being located
somewhere relative to the coffee shop.
The first sentence uses the relative word , meaning inside. The bag is inside the
coffee shop. (more on in a minute).
The second sentence uses the relative word , meaning outside. The bag is
outside the coffee shop.
The third sentence uses the relative word , meaning next to. The bag is next to
the coffee shop.
The fourth sentence uses the relative word , meaning the bag is on or above the
coffee shop (perhaps on the roof).
The fifth sentence says uses the relative word , stating that the bag is behind the
coffee shop.
Finally, the last sentence uses the relative word , saying that the bag is in front of
the coffee shop.
As you can see, it's fairly easy to move that bag around. All that you need to change
is the relative word. The main thing to get used to is the word order. The sentence
usually has the subject, the place it's relative to, followed by the relation to that place
using the relative words and particle, followed by the verb .
Difference in and
There is a slight difference between the relative locations and . The words both
mean 'inside'.
The difference is kind of inside what? is used when the object is inside of a
spacious place, such as a room. If there is plenty of room around the object, then
would probably be used.
is usually used when the person or object is inside of a very small area. Perhaps
you're talking about your book being inside your bookbag. If so, your bookbag is
probably a small place, and everything is inside tightly. would be more appropriate
than .
It's a very small difference and you shouldn't worry too much about it. Just remember
- if the person or object is in something larger and could freely move around because
there is some extra space, then use . If it is inside a smaller area, then use .
vs
and both mean underneath or below. You should be able to use these two
words interchangeably without any trouble.
Counting Vocabulary
Korean has two number systems for counting. You will learn the use for each in this
lesson. But first, you must learn the actual numbers.
Chances are likely that you are not used to two number systems. Because of this, I
recommend that you just learn the two number systems separately. Learn to count in
each. Treat them separately, and learn them separately. You will bring them together
in the next section...
Don't worry...it's not as bad as it looks. You will notice there is a pattern for 10s, 20s,
30s, 40s, and so on. Pure Korean numbers only go as high as 99.
English #
one 1
two 2
three 3
four 4
five 5
six 6
seven 7
eight 8
nine 9
ten 10
eleven 11
twelve 12
thirteen 13
fourteen 14
fifteen 15
sixteen 16
seventeen 17
eighteen 18
nineteen 19
twenty 20
twenty-one 21
twenty-two 22
twenty-five 25
twenty-six 26
thirty 30
thirty-one 31
thirty-two 32
thirty-five 35
thirty-six 36
forty 40
forty-one 41
forty-two 42
forty-five 45
forty-six 46
fifty 50
fifty-one 51
fifty-two 52
fifty-five 55
fifty-six 56
sixty 60
sixty-one 61
sixty-two 62
sixty-five 65
sixty-six 66
seventy 70
seventy-one 71
seventy-two 72
seventy-five 75
seventy-six 76
eighty 80
eighty-one 81
eighty-two 82
eighty-five 85
eighty-six 86
ninety 90
ninety-one 91
ninety-two 92
ninety-three 93
ninety-four 94
ninety-five 95
ninety-six 96
ninety-seven 97
ninety-eight 98
ninety-nine 99
English #
one 1
two 2
three 3
four 4
five 5
six 6
seven 7
eight 8
nine 9
ten 10
eleven 11
twelve 12
thirteen 13
fourteen 14
fifteen 15
sixteen 16
seventeen 17
eighteen 18
nineteen 19
twenty 20
twenty-one 21
twenty-two 22
twenty-five 25
twenty-six 26
thirty 30
thirty-one 31
thirty-two 32
thirty-five 35
thirty-six 36
forty 40
forty-one 41
forty-two 42
forty-five 45
forty-six 46
fifty 50
fifty-one 51
fifty-two 52
fifty-five 55
fifty-six 56
sixty 60
sixty-one 61
sixty-two 62
sixty-five 65
sixty-six 66
seventy 70
seventy-one 71
seventy-two 72
seventy-five 75
seventy-six 76
eighty 80
eighty-one 81
eighty-two 82
eighty-five 85
eighty-six 86
ninety 90
ninety-one 91
ninety-two 92
ninety-three 93
ninety-four 94
ninety-five 95
ninety-six 96
ninety-seven 97
ninety-eight 98
ninety-nine 99
This is a separate number system. Just learn this one as well as the other. Learn
them separately. In the next section you will learn when to use which.
Don't worry! It may be difficult at first, but you will soon get the hang of it. This one
also has a pattern ;-)
English #
one 1
two 2
three 3
four 4
five 5
or
six 6
seven 7
eight 8
nine 9
ten 10
eleven 11
twelve 12
thirteen 13
fourteen 14
fifteen 15
sixteen 16
seventeen 17
eighteen 18
nineteen 19
twenty 20
twenty-one 21
twenty-two 22
twenty-five 25
twenty-six 26
thirty 30
thirty-one 31
thirty-two 32
thirty-five 35
thirty-six 36
forty 40
forty-one 41
forty-two 42
forty-five 45
forty-six 46
fifty 50
fifty-one 51
fifty-two 52
fifty-five 55
fifty-six 56
sixty 60
sixty-one 61
sixty-two 62
sixty-five 65
sixty-six 66
seventy 70
seventy-one 71
seventy-two 72
seventy-five 75
seventy-six 76
eighty 80
eighty-one 81
eighty-two 82
eighty-five 85
eighty-six 86
ninety 90
ninety-one 91
ninety-two 92
ninety-three 93
ninety-four 94
ninety-five 95
ninety-six 96
ninety-seven 97
ninety-eight 98
ninety-nine 99
English #
one 1
two 2
three 3
four 4
five 5
or
six 6
seven 7
eight 8
nine 9
ten 10
eleven 11
twelve 12
thirteen 13
fourteen 14
fifteen 15
sixteen 16
seventeen 17
eighteen 18
nineteen 19
twenty 20
twenty-one 21
twenty-two 22
twenty-five 25
twenty-six 26
thirty 30
thirty-one 31
thirty-two 32
thirty-five 35
thirty-six 36
forty 40
forty-one 41
forty-two 42
forty-five 45
forty-six 46
fifty 50
fifty-one 51
fifty-two 52
fifty-five 55
fifty-six 56
sixty 60
sixty-one 61
sixty-two 62
sixty-five 65
sixty-six 66
seventy 70
seventy-one 71
seventy-two 72
seventy-five 75
seventy-six 76
eighty 80
eighty-one 81
eighty-two 82
eighty-five 85
eighty-six 86
ninety 90
ninety-one 91
ninety-two 92
ninety-three 93
ninety-four 94
ninety-five 95
ninety-six 96
ninety-seven 97
ninety-eight 98
ninety-nine 99
English #
one 1
two 2
three 3
four 4
five 5
or
six 6
seven 7
eight 8
nine 9
ten 10
eleven 11
twelve 12
thirteen 13
fourteen 14
fifteen 15
sixteen 16
seventeen 17
eighteen 18
nineteen 19
twenty 20
twenty-one 21
twenty-two 22
twenty-five 25
twenty-six 26
thirty 30
thirty-one 31
thirty-two 32
thirty-five 35
thirty-six 36
forty 40
forty-one 41
forty-two 42
forty-five 45
forty-six 46
fifty 50
fifty-one 51
fifty-two 52
fifty-five 55
fifty-six 56
sixty 60
sixty-one 61
sixty-two 62
sixty-five 65
sixty-six 66
seventy 70
seventy-one 71
seventy-two 72
seventy-five 75
seventy-six 76
eighty 80
eighty-one 81
eighty-two 82
eighty-five 85
eighty-six 86
ninety 90
ninety-one 91
ninety-two 92
ninety-three 93
ninety-four 94
ninety-five 95
ninety-six 96
ninety-seven 97
ninety-eight 98
ninety-nine 99
These numbers go beyond 99. 100 is , 1000 is , and 10000 is . These three
should cover almost anything you need to say. You will learn how to form the
numbers (if you didn't catch the pattern already) in the money section up ahead.
Counters are used in addition to the numbers, depending on what you are counting.
You should memorize the following list as well, and then continue on to learning how
to put all of this together.
Since this is a new concept, it will be easiest if you quickly memorize the list to get a
general idea of what the Korean words stand for, and then come back and review the
list to learn it really well after you have learned how to use counters.
Korean English
people
animals
hour of the day
minutes
day of the month
month of the year
hours it takes to do something
months (in general)
years
bottles
glasses or cups
sheets of paper
books / volumes
won (Korean currency)

(or )
dollars
items in general
Korean English
people
animals
hour of the day
minutes
day of the month
month of the year
hours it takes to do something
months (in general)
years
bottles
glasses or cups
sheets of paper
books / volumes
won (Korean currency)

(or )
dollars
items in general
Counting Conversation
A. . .
B., .
A. .
B., .
A..
B. .
A.! .
Notes:
- commonly used referring to older ladies (strangers)
- notebook
- pencil
~ - means to give. When requesting something, it is common to use
.
- all, total
- change
- eraser
- an exlamation. Similar to the 'Oohs' and 'Ahs' in Korean. Not exactly a word, just
a sound
English:
A. Hello. Two notebooks and three pencils please.
B. Yes, It's 3200 won for all of it (total).
A. Here is 4000 won.
B. Ok, Your change is 800 won.
A. Thank you.
B. Here is one eraser for your service.
A. Ooh! Thank you a lot (I'm truly thankful).
Counting Grammar - One, Two,
Three!
Counting is actually one of the more difficult things for new students to learn. This is
because Korean makes use of two counting systems - Pure Korean and Sino Korean.
Each number system has it's own vocabulary to learn. After you learn the vocabulary,
you must learn when to properly use each number system. Sometimes you will need
to use the Pure Korean numbers, and other times you will need to use the Sino
Korean numbers. Finally, sometimes you will need to use both (very confusing at
first)!
This is what we hope to accomplish in this lesson...an understanding of the Korean
number system.
There will be a separate, more in-depth section on both counting money and time.
Counters are probably a new concept to you. In English, if you want to say you have
three books, you simply say 'I have three books' -three books being the words to
note here.
In Korean, certain types of words have certain counters you must attach to them.
Counters are similar to particles. They are words attached to the number, and
they identify what the number is counting.
Let me show you an example...
'Five books'. We will use the Pure Korean number system for this.
is the Pure Korean number for five. means books as you probably know.
However, you cannot just say . Well, you can...but it wouldn't be grammatically
correct. People would understand you nevertheless.
What you should say is . You could also say .
is a counter that you use when counting volumes or books. By saying , you
tell listeners that the number is 5, and volumes or books is what is being counted. If
you want to specify exactly what is being counted, you place it before the number
and counter, as in .
Let's look at another example. 7 cats. Cats is . We will use Pure Korean
numbers for this also.
is the number with the correct counter. This says 'seven is the
number...and we are counting animals.' This is because is the counter for
animals. If you want to be more specific about the kind of animal...
.
Remember, more specific information about what is being counted comes before the
number and counter. The counter must always be used, but the more specific
information can be left out if it is not necessary.
Shortened Number Forms
One thing to note is some pure-Korean numbers have a shortened form when you
attach a counter. These numbers are one, two, three, four, and twenty.
The normal forms are , , , , and .
Before a counter, becomes . becomes . becomes . becomes .
Finally, becomes .
Our first example above was , meaning 'five books' or 'five volumes'. If we
wanted to say 'one book', then it would be .
Our example for seven cats was , or just . Let's make that
a more reasonable number - let's try three.
or simply .
Let's get unreasonable. .
As you can see, it's fairly easy to do - it's just a matter of remembering that these
numbers are not quite regular when you attach a counter to them. Also note that this
applies to any numberending in one, two, three, or four.
24 is normally written . If it comes before a counter, it would be .
So any number ending in 1-4 automatically takes the shorter form of that final
number (1-4). Also note that with 24, is not shortened to if another number
follows. It stays unless it is directly followed by a counter and not another
number.
This brings us right back to the use of Sino Korean numbers and Pure Korean
numbers mentioned when you learned them.
Sino Korean numbers are usually used for intangible things and larger amounts of
things (Pure Korean numbers only go up to 99).
Pure Korean numbers are used for tangible things usually.
is tangible. They are people. People are 'real' and you can 'touch them' - although
you might be slapped if you do in the wrong manner.
Therefore, you should use Pure Korean numbers to count them (, , , ....)
means one person. also means one person. Remember, the word
before the number and counter is not needed, but you may use it as you please.
Months are not tangible. You cannot 'touch' a month.
We use Sino Korean numbers (, , , ....) for months.
means '3rd month', which is March.
Month

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Please note that for June and October it is slightly different than you would expect.
(6) is shortened to , and (10) is shortened to .
The days are done in the same way...
Day of Month

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

15th

25th

31st

Finally, keep in mind this generality regarding pure-Korean vs. sino-Korean numbers
will not always apply. Refer to the list below for which to use.
Counter English Sino / Pure Numbers
people Pure Korean
animals Pure Korean
hour of the day Pure Korean
minutes Sino Korean
day of the month Sino Korean
month of the year Sino Korean
hours it takes to do
something
Pure Korean
months (in general) Pure Korean
years Sino Korean
bottles Pure Korean
glasses or cups Pure Korean
sheets of paper Pure Korean
books / volumes Pure Korean
won (Korean currency) Sino Korean

(or )
dollars Sino Korean
items in general Pure Korean

Counter English Sino / Pure Numbers
people Pure Korean
animals Pure Korean
hour of the day Pure Korean
minutes Sino Korean
day of the month Sino Korean
month of the year Sino Korean
hours it takes to do
something
Pure Korean
months (in general) Pure Korean
years Sino Korean
bottles Pure Korean
glasses or cups Pure Korean
sheets of paper Pure Korean
books / volumes Pure Korean
won (Korean currency) Sino Korean

(or )
dollars Sino Korean
items in general Pure Korean

The general rule about being tangible or non-tangible applies in most cases.
Some tangible things, such as money, get to be too large for Pure Korean numbers
to handle - they only go up to 99 after all! Since this is the case, these counters
usually use the Sino Korean numbers.
Do not worry too much about the time related counters yet. You will learn these very
well soon enough. Just note them for now in case you run into them as you see
Korean. There will be a lesson on time (hours, minutes) and other lessons on the
months.
Let's move on and talk about money. The money section will thoroughly go over Sino
Korean numbers, so hold on tight!
Who wants Money?
Welcome to the lesson on money - our favorite subject as human beings. Money
drives the world, for good or for worse.
So we all spend money. Whether you use pounds, dollars, rubies, or gold...you have
some kind of currency. Koreans also have currency. There currency is the .
For this lesson, I will compare to dollars occasionally, simply because I use dollars
for my own currency. If you are ever interested in converting your own currency into
, or into your own currency, check out this converter.
Currency Converter - Find Out What Your Money Is Worth
I was recently in South Korea and got the opportunity to exchange some dollars into
. Unfortunately, the conversion rates were not doing so well then. It was 935 per
dollar. This means for every dollar I gave them, they gave me 935 . There was also
a small fee for converting the money.
To put this into perspective...how much is 935 really worth? What can you buy?
Well...not much. We have dollar stores in America, they have 1000 stores.
Basically, 1000 can buy you the same kind of goods in South Korea that 1 dollar
can buy you in America. Of course, this is a generalization and prices will vary.
Food ranges from a few thousand won to more expensive plates. A McDonald's Big
Mac combo costs approximately 5000. McDonald's is a little more expensive there
than here in America because it is American food. Speaking of American food...nice
Western restaurants like Outback Steakhouse are rather expensive! A small steak
dinner at Outback Steakhouse was about 21000, or $21.00. While it isn't terribly
expensive, it was roughly $5.00-$10.00 more there per person than in the Unites
States. The employees were really nice, however, and so were the restrooms.
Subway tickets are usually 800-900 one way. A trip to the other side of the city by
subway should cost less than $2.00 (2000 ) so public transportation is very
affordable and convenient. Short trip bus rides are around 800, which is still
affordable...I personally find the subway more convenient. For multiple people, try
getting a taxi to save money (as long as you all fit and it is a relatively short ride).
So let's learn a little about how to talk about money in Korean...
Remember all those Sino Korean numbers you learned? Great! Your going to need
them. Money always takes Sino Korean numbers in Korean...and for good reason!
Let's learn a little more about Sino Korean numbers...
Did you find the pattern with Sino Korean numbers? If you know Sino Korean
numbers 1-10, 100, 1000, and 10000...you will be good to go. It all builds off of that.
An example...11 is made up of two words. (10) and (1). is 11. is 15.
You simply say 10 and 1. 10 and 5.
How about 20s? 30s? Just build from the beginning. 33 consists of 3 tens and 3.
means 3 10s, or 3x10, correct? is three, is 10. Literally, you are saying 3-10-3.
. 60 is . It is more likely you will be dealing with larger numbers....
means 100. You still follow the same concept. All you do is replace with when
you move from talking about 'multiple tens' to 'multiple hundreds'. is 300. is
500. is approximately 50 cents. It is also the price of most ice cream bars during
those sunny days ;-)
The same concept is continuously used. Next we have 1000s. is 1000. This results
in being 7000. Are you beginning to understand?
is 5500. You simply combine the two. is 2100. Notice how for values
of 10, 100, 1000, and 10000 you say , , , and rather than , , ,
and . You do not need to say for those values, and you shouldn't say it.
is 50000, or approximately $50.00. As you continue to use these values for
money, you will get the idea and hang of it.
Honestly! When I begin studying numbers, I had the hardest time learning them
because their values for money are SO BIG! 50000 is a huge number! Yet it only
represents approximately $50.00. It took a while to get used to. But I did get used to
it, and so will you.
Just continue to dive into Korean and learn about money. Try this exercise when you
have free time...Write down a value on a piece of paper...say $20.00. Then
determine the approximate value in (or use a currency converter - I usually just
take an educated guess and say 1000 is equal to 1 dollar. It makes these tricks a
little easier). Here, it is 20000 won. Next, write that out using words rather than
numbers. .
Just do this over and over again and you will begin to get quicker and quicker at it.
Soon you will think 20000 and instantly say "! That is equal to $20.00!" Practice
first with and values, as these are most common.
Once you are at that point...you understand money :-) And do not worry if you don't
fully understand it before you need to use it. In actuality, you can probably get by
without knowing the words for money. It is just better if you do :-) But all the major
stores have machines and displays that tell you your total just like they do here. It will
say 2800, so you know to give them 2800 . Even better - tax is included in the
price. You can add it up as you shop and you will know the exact price you will pay.
So like I said, just practice and keep moving forward! Here is one final example.
.
(2 x 10000, or 20000) + (1000 - note: you say and not ) + (5 x
100, or 500) + (3 x 10, or 30) + (5).
...
the result is 21535.
Past Tense Vocabulary
You've already learned the verbs and adjectives below. Now it's time to learn them in
the past tense.
Making a verb or adjective past-tense in Korean is easy. Listen to a few of the
following and see if you can spot the difference between past and present tense.
After listening to a few, read the lesson on past tense, and then come back and use
this vocabulary list as a reference to double check your pronunciation.
Dictionary Polite Formal Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio
/
/
Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio
And some of those adjectives...

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio

Play Audio
After you've gone through this lesson on past tense and think you can handle it,
come back and take the quiz below, which over this vocabulary.
Past Tense Conversation
A. ?
B. .
A.? ?
B. .
A. ?
B.. .
A. ?
B., , ...
.
A. .
Notes:
- yesterday
- birthday party. is birthday and is party
- a form of the past tense for (slightly different )
- Verb for 'how is' or 'how are'. Conjugated into + ending
- Korean liquor
- in place of, instead of
- cider
() - to be full
- It must have been good
English:
A. Russell, what did you do yesterday?
B. Yesterday I went to a birthday party with Anna.
A. Really? How was it?
B. The party was really enjoyable.
A. Did you also drink liquor?
B. No. Instead of liquor, I (or we) drank cider.
A. What did you eat?
B. Tangsuyook, chapche, dukboki..I was really full.
A. It must have been really good.
Past Tense Grammar
This is another lesson with very little vocabulary focus. It should be a fairly simple
lesson, and afterwards you should be able to speak using both the present and past
tense.
Note: Audio is coming soon for this lesson!
Let's start with the polite and casual styles of the past tense. You know how to
conjugate the verbs and adjectives into the present tense...
Drop the , and either add or depending on the stem - and of course keep
in mind those nine rules for conjugating...
Well, the past tense is no more difficult. Instead of adding or , you simply
add or (polite) - or (casual). For example...
- to be good
becomes when you drop the . It is now in the adjective stem form.
Normally, you would just add in this case and have. That would be the
present tense. Instead, let's add . . That is the past tense. Not too
difficult, eh?
The same seven rules from conjugating in the present tense apply to the past
tense...
- to go
For the present tense, we would drop the , resulting in . Because this already
ended in , it would have been repetitive to add another sound after . In the
present tense, the final result was simply .
Do you have any guesses what it could be for the past tense? would also
be repetitive. Instead, the correct answer would be , meaning '(he, she, I, you)
went'.
- to learn
Let's look at one more example. becomes when you drop the . Based
on this verb stem, you would add the ending. That would be , but
based on one of the seven rules, we shorten it to . In the past tense, rather
than saying , we also shorten it. It becomes .
Another way to think about it is to take your present tense form of the verb (or
adjective acting like a verb)...whether it be , , , or any verb or
adjective form. Once you have that, drop the , and add . The will attach
onto the bottom of the last syllable.
Thinking of it this way... becomes when you drop the . Now, you just add
. .
becomes when you drop the . Now add . .
For the casual style, it is just as easy. The casual style already drops the . Based
on this second rule, you would simply add onto the end of the present tense
form of the verb.
+ =
+ =
Remember, the ending in the past tense will always be (polite) or
(casual). You never add or . However, you must still remember the /
rule because this rule is still usedbefore the .
I find the second method easiest because if you already know how to conjugate
properly in the present tense, then you should always get it correct in the past tense.
You no longer have to think about the rules because they have already become
natural for you.
The Few Irregular Verbs
As always, there is just a couple irregular ones. These are the same irregular verb /
adjectives that you run into with the present tense. Just look at the chart below to see
how they are conjugated...
And remember...for casual style just drop the final .
English Present Past
to be
/ /
to do

The formal past tense is extremely easy to learn once you understand the polite /
casual past tense. Let's take a look...
- -
- -
- -
Do you notice the pattern? All you need to do is add the formal ending after
the double that forms the past tense. That's it!
So once you understand the present tense, the past tense should be a breeze.
Simply drop the from the polite present tense and add to the bottom of the last
syllable. Once you add beneath that last syllable in the present tense (remember -
we dropped first), simply:
add to form the polite tense
add to form the casual tense
add to form the formal tense
Or, to make things even easier, you might have noticed that when you drop from
the polite present tense, you have the casual present tense. So you are just adding
to the casual style and then adding the appropriate ending above.
With that in mind, you should be able to conjugate any verb into any and all of the
following...
present tense polite style
present tense casual style
present tense formal style - suggestions, questions, statements, and requests
past tense polite style
past tense casual style
past tense formal style - suggestions, questions, statements, and requests
Now let's briefly review all of the above tenses for a few verbs and make sure that
you have good control over each and every one of them.
Present - Polite
Drop the ending, look at what is left and follow those nine basic rules of
conjugating verbs. Add the appropriate or ending...
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Past - Polite
Take the present polite form, drop the , and add the past tense marker . Next,
add to mark it as the present tense.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Present - Casual
Drop the ending, follow those nine basic rules of conjugating verbs, and add the
appropriate or ending (same as polite style but without the final )
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Past - Casual
Take the casual present tense and add the past tense marker . Next, add to
mark it as the casual style. Alternatively, simply take the past tense of the polite style
and drop the .
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Present - Formal
In general, drop the ending and add either or depending on the
ending of the verb (consonant or vowel) for statements.
add / ? for questions.
add / for requests.
add / for suggestions.
Also note that uses will be limited for suggestions and requests - you wouldn't use
these with adjectives as it wouldn't make sense. If you ever do need to make a
suggestion or request involving adjectives (to be cold, to be busy, to be big), you
would use another method of doing so which you will learn in a future lesson.
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
Past - Formal
Take the casual style of the present tense and add to mark the past tense. Add
the appropriate formal ending (, , , ).
Also note that uses will be limited for suggestions and requests - you wouldn't use
these with adjectives as it wouldn't make sense, nor does it make much sense in the
past tense.
- - ?
- - ?
- - ?
- - ?
- - ?
- - ?
- - ?
Telling Time
Telling time is one of the more difficult aspects to get used to when beginning
Korean. In most other languages, they teach time earlier on, because it's usually a
fairly easy concept.
It's a little bit different in Korean. It's not that it's a hard concept to grasp or that it's
used any differently than other languages - in fact, you use it the same way as you
would in another language. However, the part that is hard to get used to is the two
number systems.
As you've already learned, Korean has both the sino-Korean and thepure-Korean
number systems. When it comes to time, you will use them both.
And that's the hard part! You have to really and truly know both number systems to
be able to tell time in Korean. The hours use the pure-Korean number system,
whereas the minutes use the sino-Korean number system. Strange huh?
After the lesson and a little practice, you will be well on your way to using time in your
conversations, so let's get started.
Let's start with hours - after all, if you get the hour right then someone will know
around what time you are talking about! Minutes won't tell you much without an hour.
Hours take the pure-Korean numbers. Just to remind you which numbers those are,
, , , are the first four numbers.
Here you will learn the 12 hours, as well as how to specify whether it is AM or PM.
Since there are twelve hours, you will need these first twelve pure-Korean numbers..
(comes from )
(comes from )
(comes from )
(comes from )
(comes from )
(comes from )
Hopefully you noticed that numbers 1-4, 11, and 12 were slightly different (if not, you
may want to go back and review the numbers. You should have learned in the
counting lesson that there are shortened forms of numbers 1-4 in the pure-Korean
number system when the number comes before a counter.
That is, if the number will be followed by a counter, such as hours, people, animals,
sheets, glasses, etc (all the ones listed in the counting vocabulary), then the following
will happen:
-->
-->
-->
-->
That also applies to any numbers ending in , , , or . 11 becomes . 22
becomes . 44 becomes .
Why are we using these forms? Well, we're going to add a counter!
When talking about the hours, you should add the hour counter .
1:00 -
2:00 -
3:00 -
4:00 -
5:00 -
6:00 -
7:00 -
8:00 -
9:00 -
10:00 -
11:00 -
12:00 -
Pretty simple so far. Just take the number (or form of it for counters) and attach the
counter for hours.
AM vs. PM
Knowing the twelve hours will be useful, but they would be even more useful if you
can specify ANY hour out of the 24 hour day. Why leave it to the listener to figure it
out?
Korean has AM and PM just as English does.
AM is
PM is
Simple! The only thing to get used to is these go before the timerather than after!
It's backwards from English.
In English, you would say it's 5:00 PM. In Korean, you would say 5:00, or
. Just remember to put and before the time as opposed to after the
time.
Now let's get into more detail. It could be 3:01, or it could be 3:59, so let's get more
specific with the time than just the hour.
And you guessed it! If we use both number systems with time and hours use pure-
Korean numbers, then we will be using sino-Korean numbers with minutes.
The sino-Korean numbers are , , , , , , etc...
You will not use any irregular forms with the minutes as you did with month (,
).
hour:01
hour:02
hour:03
hour:04
hour:05
hour:06
hour:07
hour:08
hour:09
hour:10
hour:11
hour:30
hour:55
The above chart just shows a few minutes as you would have them with any given
hour. As you can see, you simply take the sino-Korean number and attach . If you
don't remember sino-Korean numbers,review them here.
One other thing to note is can also be written as . means half, and
is the 'half hour'. Note that when using you do notattach . It is already built
into and understood when you say .
Now that you've covered hours and minutes separately, let's put them together and
make any time we wish.
= 1:01
Or, let's be more specific...
= 1:01 PM.
Remember, and go before the time. Now let's take a look at a few more...
So, you can say the time. Is that all you need to know before using it in a sentence?
Well, almost...
When using the time in a sentence, you need to add one more thing to it. You must
add the particle to the end of the time. As you learned in the locations lesson, the
particle is attached to the end of a destination or location, often equivilant to the
English word 'to'.
can also be translated as 'at'. "I am at home" can be written .
Well, it works the same way with time. "It is (at) 1:00" could be written .
These are the most common uses for the particle . is most often used with
location and time.
= = (at) 1:30
= (at) 5:50 PM
= (at) 8:00 AM
= (at) 9:45
Note how you can leave the minutes off if it is right on the hour.
One final note with time: You will see times written different ways. You will see 1:30, 1
30, , ...you get the idea. They all mean the same thing. In
English sometimes we write the number as 1-10, and other times we write one
through ten.
Now let's look at a few sample sentences before we conclude this lesson on time.
See if you can translate them, and then look at the answers.
.
.
.
.
?
.
Did you look over those? Don't cheat!
Here are the answers:
. - I eat at 1:30.
. - I get up at 8:00 AM.
. - I watch television at 9:45 PM.
. - I'm going home at 3:10.
? - What time is it?
. It's 4:05.
Note how you do not need to add the particle when attaching the verb , or 'to
be', to the end of the time.
Time Conversations
A : . ?
B : 8.
A : ?
B : 6 .
A : .
B : , 7 .
A : , 9 .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- what (time)
- class
- in that case
- quickly (early here)
- bus
- after
English:
A. Barry, what time do you have class today?
B. Today I have class at 8:00 AM.
A. In that case, what time do you get up?
B. I get up at 6:00 AM.
A. You get up early (quickly)!
B. Yes, there is a bus at 7:00.
A. I see, in that case I will meet you after class at 9:30.
A : .
B : ?
A : 3 ?
B : 3 .
A : 5 ?
B : 5 .
A : 5 .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- what (time)
? - ...shall we go?
? - how is?
- appointment
English:
A. Tomorrow come over to our house to hang out.
B. What time shall we go?
A. How about 3:00 PM?
B. At 3:00 PM I have an appointment.
A. In that case how about 5:00?
B. 5:00 is good.
A. Then I will see you tomorrow at 5:00 PM.
Various Particles
Up until now, you've dealt mainly with verbs in the present tense, the three main
particles (subject, object, and topic), and touched on a few various topics such as
time, location, and counting.
You've also been introduced to a few particles dealing with 'and', learning how to
connect all types of things.
Now it's time to move on to some more various particles. In this lesson, you will learn
many useful particles that help you construct sentences that have more to them and
are not quite so dull. You will also see these particles often, so it's useful to know and
understand what they mean.
- also, too
is a fairly common particle that you will see. It means 'also' or 'too'. For example,
'Maria likes galbi. Anna likes galbi too.' Or, 'Anna alsolikes galbi.' The second form
resembles the Korean sentence structure more than the first. This is because you
attach it onto the noun that also does it, in this case, Anna.
. .
Also notice how replaces the subject particle. It would also replace the direct
object particle ( / ) if it were to attached onto the direct object of the sentence, or
the object receiving the action of the verb.
. .
Here, Maria likes galbi. The next sentence states she also likes bulgogi. Instead of
saying , you would say .
If this were a negative sentence (which you will see in the next lesson), would
mean 'neither' or 'either'. For example...
Maria isn't listening to music. Anna isn't listening to music either.
You would use it the same - attach it onto the end of the word that is in some sort of
agreement with the first sentence. In this case, Annaalso is not listening to music.
. .
Again, was attached to and replaced the subject particle .
Regardless of whether or not the sentence is negative, positive, or anything in
between, the particle handles agreement. If two people or two things are similar
and you mention it, use to show that agreement.
- Possession
We all possess things, so knowing how to let others know what is ours and what isn't
may be of important. For example, you might ask a friend, 'Is that my book?' The
friend can respond, 'Yes, it is.' or 'No, it's mine.' - or other responses of course.
In Korean, there are a few ways to show possession. is a particle meant to do just
that. is usually pronounced when used as the posession particle - listen
carefully to the audio and you should be able to sound like a native.
- Anna's book
- Maria's house
That person's bag
is the Korean equivilant of that 's in English. Again, it is usually pronounced
when attached to a word as the possession particle.
There are a couple of words that change slightly, however. They are, , and .
They only change because it's simply easier to say.
becomes - mine (casual)
becomes - mine (formal)
becomes - yours (casual)
While it is grammatically correct to write , , and , don't be surprised if
you rarely see them. It's simply very common to write , , and so that is what
you should expect to see.
Be careful not to confuse and . While they may sound the same (and can be
sometimes difficult to understand if the speaker means 'mine' or 'yours'), they have
different spellings and different meanings.
Also note that it is common to leave out the possessive particle altogether. Instead of
, you may see and even use . While is not there, it is still
possessive and understood.
However, if you leave out , you must be sure to still use , , and . You cannot
simply say , as this is incorrect. For those words, you must use either / ,
, or / .
Another thing to note regarding the possessive particle is the following situation. In
English, you may say 'Is that your book? This book is mine.' In this case, you end the
sentence with 'mine', or the possessor of the object. You cannot do this in Korean.
Since Korean must end in a verb, you would never end the sentence with the word
'mine', 'yours', or anything else along those lines.
So you may think to do the following: or . This is simply attaching
the verb onto the end. Well, you can't do that either. This is because you need
to state what is being possessed in Korean, even if you use a general term such as
the word 'thing', or in Korean.
.
Here,'That book' is the topic of the sentence. The speaker then says 'It is Anna's
(thing)'. In English, using the word 'thing' may sound awkward, and you would much
rather say 'It is Anna's book'. In Korean, using the word isn't so awkward and is
fairly common.
Alternatively you could have said ' .' Remember, you do not
have to explicitly use , as it is implied in other cases. You could also () say
or . Both of those mean 'It is anna's book'.
The 'It' in the English sentence is the equivilant of in Korean, meaning 'that
thing'. You could also say , meaning 'this thing'.
- to, at, in
This is a particle you should be familiar with already. We've used it before in the
locations lesson and lessons dealing with time.
But since we are discussing particles, it won't hurt to do a review of this particle.
is used to mean to, at, or in. It deals with location and time. All of the following
sentences would use it:
I'm at home.
I'm going (to) home.
My bag is at home.
The movie is at 8:30.
Basically, anything dealing with time or location will use this particle. Let's look at
each use individually.
Location
When you are talking about going to somewhere or something is at a certain place,
you attach the particle onto the end of that place. For example:
I'm at home : .
Here, we attach onto the word for home, . Why? It's a location.
I'm going to the store. : .
means store, which is a location. Since we are headed to that store (), it's
our destination. Because of this, we attach .
What about coming from a place? The sentence above had us going to a place.
Well, hold that thought for just a few more moments. We will cover it in the very next
particle, .
Dealing With Time
The second use of is when dealing with time. Look at the following sentences.
It's 1:00 PM. : .
is 1:00. It's a time. What do we do if we are talking about time? We attach the
particle .
The party is Friday. : .
Here, we are specifying the time or date that something occurs. So, we attach
onto (Friday)
So when you are dealing with time, don't forget to attach . However, there are
certain time words that you wouldn't attach to. These are words like 'usually',
'normally', 'every day' - all of the general words. If it is a specific time or a specific
day, you would use . If it is a word that deals with frequency of time, you wouldn't
use .
- dynamic location, from
has two purposes, very similar to the particle .
While was used for static location, is used for dynamic location and the word
'from'.
Dynamic Location
By dynamic location, I mean a place something is happening at. For example, if
someone is eating at school, you would probably use . It implies that the action
happens at that location. is used for general location, such as 'the book is at
home'. There isn't much action happening, so you use .
.
What do you think the above sentence means? If you guessed 'Subi studies at
school', you guessed correctly! means that the action, studying, takes place
there. It is more specific than just . implies action.
From
was meant to mean 'to', as in "I am going to the store." We need a word for 'from'
then. For that, use .
.
A good sign for this use of is the word , meaning 'to come'. Since we come
from places, you will use .
- Plural Marker
Next up is . is used to mark a word specifically as plural. But first, it's necessary
to mention plurality in Korean.
As you may know, Korean words do not have a plural form. can mean both
person and persons, or people. can mean both a single pencil and multiple
pencils. In English, you must add s or esonto the end of most words to make them
plural. Otherwise, the word is singular meaning only one.
This is not the case in Korean. The word can be either plural or singular - it is usually
determined from context and the rest of the conversation.
However, if you wish to make something specifically plural, meaning there is no
chance you are referring to just one, you can add the plural marker onto the end
of the word. this will ensure that you are talking about more than one of that object.
- person or people
- people
- pencil or pencils
- pencils
- pants (one pair or more than one pair)
- multiple pairs of pants
Get the idea? Without , any given word can mean either one or more than one of
that object. With , it has to be more than one.
While there is a way to specify the object as plural, there is no market to specify it as
singular. If you wish to mean just one of that object, you would typically say it without
. You could alternatively use the counters to specify one car, one cat, etc. as you
learned in the counting lesson.
Often is left off for plural forms as well. This is because the word without can
still be plural. If it is understood that it is still plural, then you would not need to add
. simply removes any doubt that there is more than one of whatever it is you are
talking about.
. - There is a clock. (or: There are clocks)
. - There are clocks.
Notice how it may change the subject or topic particle that comes after it. Since
ends in a consonant, it will always be followed by particles for consonants. If the
original word ends in a vowel, then any new particles added to it will change to the
consonant form.
, - Limiting Particles
Here are two particles for this lesson. They are fairly easy to learn, yet allow you to
expand your Korean knowledge even more.
and are 'limiting particles' in my mind, because they limit the object it is
attached to, or define it to mean a specific number of times or frequency. To you,
they may be opposites of each other, but the important thing to get out of this
discussion is the proper use and understanding of them, no matter how you make
the connection in your mind.
means 'only', while means 'each' or 'every'.
- Only
means only, thus it limits what is being discussed to the word or phrase is
attached to. For example:
. - I only eat pizza.
. - I only bought pencils.
. - I only play baseball.
. - Only Nuri is at home.
All of these sentences limit the sentence or phrase to whatever is attached to. In
the first, eating is limited to only pizza. The second one has purchases limited to
pencils. The third limits the action to baseball. The final sentence limits the people at
home to just Nuri.
There is another word that works when speaking about 'only people' when they are
alone. The word means 'alone', so it would work in the final sentence as well.
You could actually write it any of the following ways...
.
.
.
All of these have the same meaning. You can say only Nuri is at home. You can say
Nuri is there alone. Or, you can use both!
is not the opposite of . It does not limit something to only one, or make it
specifically singular. It simply limits the action to whatever it is attached to, which
could still be singular or plural.
- Each Or Every
is used to mean 'each' or 'every'. It is commonly used when saying phrases like
'each day', 'every week', etc.
- every weekend
- every evening
- every day
Pretty simple.
, , - Approximately
is one of the last particles here, which means 'approximately'. You will see it used
often with time as well, such as in 1:00 , or approximately 1:00.
- Approximately 1:00
- Approximately 1 hour
When you use it in a sentence, you will also need to add the particle since it deals
with time. When you do this, add it before . It's possible to add it afterwards, such
as , but this tends to hint at the future (Let's meet around 1:00), whereas
can be used for most everything.
. - I had a meal at approximately 1:00 PM today.
You can also use it when counting things, such as people, sheets of paper, or
glasses of wine that you drank last night.
. - There are approximately 25 people over there.
! - There are approximately 50 pages (sheets of
paper) of exercises in my bookbag!
. - Last night I drank approximately 5 glasses of
wine.
There is another word used with approximately. The word is , but be sure not to
get it confused with the number written as before a counter. If you see
followed by a counter, then is referring to the number one. If is before a number
(the number could also be , or it could be any other number), then means
approximately.
is used when you are not sure of the amount and need to think about it for a
second. It's kind of like ... . It's like 'well..approximately 5 people' and
usually comes with a pause.
Also note how you would use afterwards. Alternatively, you can use
afterwards, although it is a little more formal. You will hear in broadcasts,
announcements, and things of that nature. Other than that, and are
approximately the same ;-)
If is used it would be placed before the number. When you use or , it is
placed after the number-counter combination.
Here are the above sentences written using instead.
.
!
.
With all those in mind, you're ready to go and start making sentences with more
volume to them. These basic particles should help you along the way until you get to
various particles - part two ;-)
Particles Conversation
A : ?
B : .
.
A : ?
B : , 3 LA .
A : ?
B : 3 .
A : .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- to buy
- Disney Land
- hat
- maybe
- dollars
- conjugation of
- it's cheap!
English:
A. Where did you buy this pen?
B. This is my boyfriend's pen. He bought it at Disney Land.
A. And what about this hat?
B. Yes, my boyfriend goes to LA every three weeks.
A. Approximately how much does the hat cost?
B. Maybe approximately 3 dollars.
A. If so, then that's cheap!
Connectivity Part 1: How to use "And"
So far, we have not learned many ways to connect sentences and bring them
together. In this lesson, we will focus on just that. In the first part of the lesson, you
will learn all different ways of saying the word 'and'. Yes, it's a bit strange, as it's only
one word. However, it's a common word, and in Korean there happens to be a few
different ways to say it. Since you will certainly run across all of these, it's important to
understand what is going on and why that specific form of the word is being used.
So let's get started, and...
The first use of the word 'and' is to connect two nouns in a single sentence. For
example, "I like pizza and coke." It doesn't bring two sentences together, but allows
you to put more into a single sentence.
There are three different ways to do this in Korean. They are , / , and /
- With, And
is the first one. It actually has two uses. One is the word 'with', and the other is
the word 'and'. Let's talk about the first use, 'with', first.
If you were to say , you would be saying 'I eat with Subi'.
was simply attached onto the end of , which is Subi. Just like many other things
in Korean, it's backwards compared to English. You would not say to mean
'with Subi'. You would say . Also notice how there is no space between the
two.
Like all particles, it is attached directly onto the end of the word, without a space.
What's the following mean? .
Well, it's simply 'I am going home with Anna.' Again, remember back to lesson two.
It's not required to include the subject or topic particle if the sentence is still clear. It is
often left out. You could just as easily say , and it would be
grammatically correct.
also means 'and', but only when it is meant to connect two nouns. You would
use it as in 'Meat and rice', 'Food and drink', 'Subiand Nuri.'
You would not use it to say something like the following: 'My name is Russell, and I
am a boy.' This is using the word 'and' to connect two sentences. There is another
word for that which you will learn later in this lesson ( for those dying to know
immediately).
only means 'and' when connecting two nouns.
.
What's it mean? Simple. I eat bulgogi and rice. Notice again how is still attached
onto the end of the first noun. If you want to think about it as 'with', then I suppose
you can. 'I eat bulgogi with rice' still makes sense for the most part, although it is not
as common and may have other meanings.
Also notice how when you connect things using , only the final one in the list is
marked with another particle, such as the direct particle . You would not say
or something complicated like that. Keep it simple :-)
You will also see them lined up: .Same meaning.
You just eat all three instead of two. There are other ways to pull this off as well, as
you will see in this lesson.
.
Subi and Nuri's homes are located in Pusan. This simply sets both Subi and Nuri as
the topic of the sentence.
/ - And
and are two particles that have the same use as to mean 'and'. You attach
onto the end of a noun ending in a vowel, and onto the end of a word ending in
a consonant. They do not mean 'with' as does, but other than that you use them
the same as you would use .
.
It means the same thing as the example using .
.
.
Again, they mean the same thing. If you attach it onto a noun ending in a consonant,
such as , you would use . If you attach it onto a word ending in a vowel such as
, then you would use .
/ - And
Another one?!? Yes, there is another one. This particle also has the same meaning
and same use, as the two above. You use after a word ending in a consonant,
and after a word ending in a vowel.
.
.
This is actually someone more colloquial, or casual in speech. Like always, you can
make a long chain if you want to.
.
Here we have paper, a pen, a bag and a book, and they are all in the classroom.
Don't get confused with 'paper'. The word paper is . The particle being attached
is simply , because ends in a vowel. You thought I was adding didn't
you ;-) That may happen if the word ends in . Of course, it will sound the same, but
if you ever take the sentence apart, or try to look up a word in a dictionary (such as
), be careful. The word may be , or it may be . Just look them both up and
find out!
Now That you've learned how to connect nouns using three different methods, let's
learn how to connect sentences. This will help bring your sentences together so that
the conversation can flow easily.
If it rings a bell, these are called conjunctions in English.
The first method is to use the word . The second is a verb ending, ~, which
has the same meaning.
- Connect Two Sentences
In English, you can say the following: "I went to school, and I did my homework."
These are two completely separate sentences, although they make some kind of
sense when put together. They are known are two independent clauses, but don't let
the grammatical terms throw you off. They are simply two full sentences on their own.
'I went to school' is a full sentence, and 'I did my homework' is another full sentence.
We combine them into one sentence using and.
To do this in Korean, you simply use the word . That's it!
. .
The same sentence as mentioned above, but in Korean. means 'I went
to school.' means 'I did my homework'. We simply connected them
using .
~ - Verb Ending For Connecting Sentences
The final way of connecting things that you will learn is ~. You can attach onto
the verb stem of the first verb, which does the same thing as .
For example, the verb has a verb stem of . If you attach , you get .
Doing so, you can write sentences like the following:
.
The above sentence is the same thing as writing ' .
. It's shorter and easier.
Notice how we simply attached to the verb stem of the first verb. If written
separately, the first sentence would have ended with . To connect it to the
second sentence, we simply used , and then wrote the next sentence.
Also note how the verb tense depends on the final verb now. You do not know
whether the action takes place in the present, past, or future by simply looking at
. When writing sentences this way, the tense is understood to be the same for all
verbs. Because is the present tense, must also be referring to the
present tense.
In past tense, you would have the following:
.
Here, the sentence means "I ate rice and I drank water." Both verbs 'to eat' and 'to
drink' are past tense, because is in the past tense.
The same holds true for styles of speech. The sentence is treated as polite if the final
verb ends with the polite style of speech. It is a casual sentence if the final verb is
casual. This simply means that does not vary depending on polite or casual.
The final verb conjugation sets the tone and style of the sentence.
Now that we have all the ways of saying 'and' covered, you should be able to start
bringing sentences together.
Of course, you can bring sentences together in more ways than using the word 'and'.
In the next section, we will take a look at some of the more commons ways to
connect sentences, so buckle up and let's head on to the next section!
Connectivity Part Two: Other
Conjunctions
Now that you are familiar with ways to connect sentences saying 'and', it's time to
learn some other ways to connect sentences. This should be a simple and short
lesson, but should provide you with several other ways to bring sentences together to
create a conversation or piece of written text.
In this section, you will learn specific words that you can use to bring sentences
together, as opposed to verb endings that you can use. These are all used in the
same way is used to connect sentences, which I will briefly mention here as
well for your reference.
- And
You've already seen a full lesson on ways of saying 'and'. is a common
method to say 'and'. You simply place at the beginning of the second
sentence, and now you have combined the sentences.
. .
Yesterday Anna went to the movie theater, and today she is going to the department
store.
- And so, Therefore
Next up is , which you use to mean 'therefore' or 'so', as in "Bulgogi tastes
good. Therefore I'm making it this evening."
. .
allows for reason or purpose of doing something.
- Nevertheless, Even so
Next we have . I think of this as the opposite of . offers a reason
for something, whereas states somethingeven though there is a lack of
reason.
For example, above we had "Bulgogi tastes good, therefore I'm making it this
evening." The reason was it tastes good, which results in making it.
Using , you could write something like "Bulgogi tastes bad. Nevertheless, I'm
making it this evening." Here, you would not expect to make it, yet you are anyways.
It's almost the opposite of reason.
. .
- Change of Topic
is used if you are changing the topic, or mentioning something that doesn't
really go with what you are saying (thus changing the topic, even if it is temporary).
For example...
. ?
I'm going to the department store today. By the way, where is Anna?
The second sentence is not really related to the first, so you would use to let
the listener know that you are changing the topic.
- But
is one way of saying 'but'. For example, "I have money, but the shirt is too
expensive."
. .
This sentence was in the casual style of speech, as if you were talking to a friend.
simply tells the listener that you have money. states
that the shirt is too expensive. simply connects the two.
Note: means 'too much' or 'too'.
/ - In that case, then
is the longer form, and is simply a shortened form of the same word.
They both mean 'Then' or 'In that case'.
A: Are you going to the department store?
B: Yes, I'm going to the department store.
A: In that case, I'm going to the department store also.
Person A asks a question and B provides the answer. Based on the answer person B
gives, A responds with another statement, using or .
A: ?
B: , .
A: .
Again, this is a casual conversation between two friends. You should be able to note
the difference in polite and casual conversations by now. If not, return to the verb
lesson and review them.
Connectivity Conversations
A : ?
B : .
A : ?
B : .
A : ?
B : .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- last week
- liquor
English:
A. What did you do last weekend?
B. I drank liquor and went to a noraebang with friends.
A. Which friends did you hang out with?
B. High school friends and college friends.
A. Was it fun?
B. If I am with friends, I am always happy.
A : ! .
B : .
A : .
B : .
A : .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- very common exclamation similar to hey! come on! used in many situations
- verb
- easy
- vocabulary, word
A : 500 . .
B : ?
A : 300 . 300.
B : 300.
A : ID .
B : . ID .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- ticket
- child, children
- free of charge
- teenagers, young people
- military personnel
English:
A. Tickets are 500 won. But children are free of charge.
B. Well what about teenagers?
A. Teenagers (tickets) are 300 won. Military personnel (tickets) are also 300 won.
B. In that case, here is 300 won.
A. Ok but I need to see some ID.
B. Yes, here it is.
Negativity - Negating Sentences
Up until now, you've been using all positive expressions. It's time to learn how to
make some sentences or verbs negative.
There are two ways to do so. There are short forms, and then there is the long form.
Sometimes it is up to you which one you use, while others it is necessary to use one
or the other.
First you are going to learn the short forms. These are easy to remember, and easy
to use. There are two short forms that you can use, depending on what you want to
say.
The first is how to take a verb like 'to eat', and make it 'to not eat'. It simply makes it
negative. The second is to take a verb like 'to eat' and turn it into 'cannot eat'. It
makes it negative as well, but does so in a way that it is impossible to do the action,
for whatever reason. In the first case, it is possible, but it is negative or not done by
choice. In the second case, it is not a choice, because there it is not able to happen.
Both forms are placed directly before the verb.
- To Not Do Something (By Choice)
The first form is . is used to make a sentence negative in general, or it illustrates
a choice. Remember, these short forms are placed directly before the verb or
adjective. Let's look at a few examples.
. - I do not eat bulgogi (by choice).
. - I am not going to school (by choice, maybe I feel like skipping
class).
. - I do not study Japanese (Perhaps I want to study Korean
instead)
.* - That tree is not big. (makes it negative in general, as choice
doesn't make much sense)
*While using with adjectives is acceptable (in most cases), it is usually better and
more natural to use the long form with them, which you will learn below.
Notice how always comes directly before the verb or adjective. Also notice how it
comes directly before in . Remember back to the verb lesson when you
learned that verbs ending in can be split into two parts - the action and , or
'to do' that action?
When dealing with verbs ending in , they can be split into two parts. When this is
the case, comes directly before , not the full word.
() - incorrect
- correct
Also remember that when you split the verb up, the first half can take the direct
particle. You could write as . It would still be correct.
Adjectives (descriptive verbs) in Korean cannot be split into two parts. You also
learned this in the adjectives lesson. When this is the case, you cannot place short
negatives directly before , because the verb cannot be split into two parts.
To make those adjectives ending in negative, you will need to use the long
forms. You would be understood if you placed the short form directly before the full
phrase, but it is grammatically incorrect. You may hear it occassionally anyways,
especially from younger children.
- incorrect (but used)
- also incorrect
using long form below ( ) - correct
From what I understand, it is incorrect with just as it is with other adjectives.
However, you will hear people say more commonly than + other
adjective + .
- to be clean

using long form below ( ) - correct
- Cannot Do Something
is the second short negative form. It means 'cannot', thus removing the choice in
the reason for not doing something. It shows an impossibility.
It is always pronounced like , having a 't' sound at the end. This is because it will
never be directly followed by anything that will make the sound like an s.
. - I cannot eat bulgogi (perhaps it makes me sick whenever I
eat it)
. - I cannot go to school (perhaps I do not have a ride to school or am
suspended from school)
. - I cannot study Japanese (perhaps I left my textbook at
home)
Again, comes directly before the verb, and before in 'two-part' verbs. There is
also a long form for , which you have to use if you cannot use the short form (same
reasoning as ).
can be used with adjectives as well, although it's not too common (given they do
not end in ), but you wouldn't use it with all adjectives. It really depends on the
sentence and if it makes sense. The phrase 'cannot be big' only makes sense in
certain contexts, and the same case applies in Korean. Simply make sentences that
make sense in English, and then you shouldn't have to worry about this issue.
Do you see the difference in and ? makes the verb negative by choice or in
general cases, whereas removes that choice and is used for impossibility.
You could get by simply knowing the short forms, but if you want to be able to make
any and every verb negative correctly, then you will need to know the long forms as
well.
You have now learned the two short forms. Now it's time to learn the long forms.
The long forms have the same use as the short forms, except you can use them for
all verbs and adjectives (given it makes sense). There are no restrictions on using
the long form with verbs / adjectives ending in .
They have the same meaning as well, but are slightly more formal language. You will
usually hear more of the short forms, especially with verbs as opposed to adjectives,
as they are more colloquial, meaning more common in every day language. The long
forms are common and used as well, but carry a slightly more formal tone with them.
Adjectives are commonly used with long forms.
~ - Long Form Of
Earlier we mentioned that you would need to use the long form for some adjectives,
and that it usually sounds better in general for most adjectives ( vs.
).
The long form of , or 'not (by choice)' is ~ . You attach this onto the end of
the verb or adjective stem. Notice the resemblance between and ? This will
help you remember which long form and which short form go together.
You will also need to conjugate the verb , in whatever style of speech you are
using.
- Drop the and add . . This can be written as ,
, - you get the idea.
- Drop the and add . . This can be written as ,
, ...
-
The meanings are as you would expect.
- to not do
- to not eat
- to not be big
- to not be sorry
Notice how it doesn't matter whether you are dealing with verb or adjective,
endings or not - it's all the same with the long forms.
Even for verb forms that are irregular, you can simply drop the and add the
appropriate ending.
- - - to not enjoy (play all)
Let's look at some example sentences before we wrap this section up...
.
.
.
.
Note how the original verb stem stays the same, and all the conjugation for polite,
casual, formal, past, etc. is done on .
. I am not going to the department store.
. I am not writing a letter.
. Anna did not go to bed at 11:00 yesterday.
. Today I am not exercising.
~ - Long Form Of
~ is the long form of , meaning 'cannot' do something. You attach it to the
verb stem in the same way as ~ . In fact, you will soon learn that there are
several other ways to change the meaning of the verb by attaching ~ + some
ending to the verb stem. Whenever you are attaching to the verb stem, it is always
done so in the same way, regardless of what follows (, , etc).
With that in mind, there isn't much explanation needed for how to use ~ . It's
just a matter of when to use it. You use it in the same manner as you would the short
form . If you need to make a verb negative, removing the possibility so that it
cannot happen (there is no choice), then you use either the short form before the
verb or attach the long form ~ to the verb stem.
. ( .)
. ( .)
. .
is pretty easy to use once you remember the structure, and it can make
your sentences more interesting, since you no longer have to be positive (and you
can have a reason not to be with ~ !)
. ( ) Yesterday afternoon I could not go
home. (I was put in prison.)
. ( ). I cannot eat meat. (I don't have any teeth.)
. . I am 20 years old, therefore I cannot
drink liquor.
~ - Don't Do Something
Finally, you will learn one more 'negative' form using ~. This case attaches to
the verb stem as the previous two, so you should be familiar with the structure now.
~ is used to mean 'Don't do something'. For example, !is very
commonly said in Korea, meaning "Don't do it!"
It works the same way for other verbs. means "Don't eat".
However, instead of saying for the polite form, you should say .
This uses the honorific ending which is covered in more detail in a future lesson.
When asking someone not to do something, and you wish to be polite about it, just
remember to say ~ instead of ~ .
Don't worry! There are very few. Three actually, and two go hand in hand.
- To Be
If you wish to make negative, meaning 'to not be', use the verb .
means just that - 'to not be'.
It is conjugated differently than you would expect. You wouldn't say for the
polite style. It is actually conjugated like . Here are the three common forms.
- polite
- casual
- formal
. I am not a girl.
. It is not 1:30.
. That thing is not a pencil.
Note how you can use the subject particle on the noun that goes with . With
, you do not use any particles, because you attach directly onto the word. With
, you should use the subject particle. It is not required to use the subject
particle, but it will make the sentence sound more polite instead of childish or lazy,
which may happen if you neglect to use particles.
and
So this isn't so much of an irregular form as it is a tip. You do not use the negative
forms with and , as they are opposites of each other and are always used
as so.
Some adjectives have opposites, such as and (big vs. little). However,
those can take the negative forms if you want them to.
So just keep in mind that you do not use the negative forms with and . If you
want to say 'to not have', simply use , and vice-versa.
Negation Conversations
A : ?
B : .
A : ? ?
B : .
A : ?
B : . .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- exam
- do (on an exam)
- to buy
English:
A. Did you do well on the exam yesterday?
B. No, I wasn't able to do well.
A. Why? Why weren't you able to do well?
B. My computer wasn't working.
A. Did you not study from your book?
B. I wasn't able to. I didn't buy a book.
A : ?
B : . .
A : ?
B : , .
A : ?
B : .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- to swim
- to exercise, to play sports
- to strike (hit in sports)
English:
A. Ellen, can you swim?
B. No. I cannot swim.
A. Can you not play any sports?
B. No, I can play tennis.
A. When do you play tennis?
B. I can play tennis, but I don't.
Future Tenses - Introduction
So far you have learned the present and the past tense. As you begin bringing
together all of the essentials that you will need to form a foundation in Korean, you
need to learn the future tense as well.
In Korean, there are a couple of different ways to represent the future tense. In this
lesson, you will learn some common methods of doing so.
Future tense in Korean isn't hard, but it is different. Coming from an English
background, you probably will need to open your mind to understand all the different
uses. Like I mentioned earlier, Korean has a few different ways to bring up the future
tense, and each form is slightly different from the other. This provides for much more
depth when communicating, but it's hard to say "this form is the future tense",
because none of the forms really correspond directly to the English future tense.
But it's not hard. With that in mind, here are the forms we will cover:
() - Probability
Present Tense as future
() - Near future Assurances
- Probably, must, intention
Above endings applied to the past
Examples, bringing it all together
Future Part 1: Learn the Endings
() - Common Future
The first form of the future that you will learn is one of the more common forms. It is
the () ending.
First, () is used as the common future tense - "I will arrive next month," "I
will eat pizza while there," and "I will (turn) become 35 years old in May."
() also translates into a future of probability. By this I mean things like "I
will probably go," "I will probably eat," and "I will probably attend" - things like that.
When you attach this ending to a verb, there is a probability it will happen.
The way I reason it out in my mind is I simply tell myself few things are certain,
especially in the future. There is always a small chance it may not happen. For this
reason, I accept that () can mean both will do something and probably will
do something, as they are both essentially the same thing when speaking about the
future. It usually does carry a fairly strong certainty with it, however.
To attach it, simply add to verb stems that end in a vowel, and to
verb stems that end in a consonant.

means "I will (probably) go." You could say things like
to mean "I will (probably) go to the department store tomorrow." This means you
intend to, but there is still a chance that you might not make it.
The future tenses are not that difficult - the main hurdle is to know when to use them
and which one to use.
. I will (probably) buy a new car.
.I will (probably) go swimming today.
. I will (probably) go to the beach this weekend.
Compare this form to using the present tense endings to represent future events...
. I am buying a new car.
. I am going swimming today.
. I am going to the beach this weekend.
So it's ok to use the present tense for things that will happen in the near-future, but it
also indicates that you are certain it will happen. Using () leaves a degree
of uncertainty, which also makes it more suitable for things further away, such as in a
few years.
For these reasons, () is (probably) the most commonly used as the
'standard future tense' English speakers are used to.
() For Assurances
The next future tense form is the ending (), which is used for near-future
assurances. I say assurances because when the speaker uses this ending, it usually
indicates that the action will benefit thelistener. For example, "I will get it for you" and
"I will watch your kids." Both of these should benefit the person who is listening, and
the speaker using the () tense is assuring the listener that it will be done and
that he/she will help the listener in some way or another.
. I will do your (speaking to older sister) homework.
. I will read the essay.
, . Yes, I will clean and do the laundry.
All of these are beneficial to the listener; they don't have to do their homework (some
may disagree about this being beneficial), someone will read over an essay for them,
or they won't have to clean and do the laundry.
All of these are also dealing with immediate future. It does not imply that "I will clean
and do the laundry" next year, or "I will do your homework" when you are in college,
but it will be done in the near-future.
It is almost always used in first person as well, meaning the subject will be the
speaker.
For Intention and Inference
Finally, you may often see the ending involving . While not directly referring to
something in the future, often deals with events in the future. This is because,
when used, turns the verb into one of intention or inference. "I intend to go to
California (intent)" "You must have had a good time (inference - note it's also in
past)"
is a one-shape ending added to a verb stem, and is followed by either the casual,
polite, or formal style endings /, /, and .
With that in mind, you can also have verbs like and without
any problem. You do not have to stick to one verb ending or another - you can mix
them in most cases.
On a final note, is mostly used in first-person and second-person for intention in
formal type settings - announcements, news, etc... There is a more colloquial verb
ending () that is used more often in casual and every day situations for
intention.
Some example uses of are:
. That person might be waiting (he has been there a while).
3 . Spiderman 3 may be interesting (the first two were good).
! Lately it's been really cold, so it may snow
tomorrow.
All of these examples are making inferences and assumptions based on previous
knowledge. While they do not directly have to be related to the future, they may be as
seen in the third example. They are also carry more uncertainty than the ()
ending, because they do not deal with first or second-person situations. If it were a
first or second-person situation, it usually has strong certainty, meaning intention as
opposed to inference / supposition.
With those three forms in mind, let's take a deeper look into them and how they can
even be used in combination with the past tense to make assumptions and
inferences. Again, keep an open mind - these are not all equivalent to the English
future tense - they are merely used in similar situations as the English future tense.
Future Part Two: With Past Bases
So now you've had an overview of the three common future-related tenses, ()
, (), and . What you're about to learn may be confusing in English, but
after looking at a few examples, you should understand the use and meaning.
First, remember how the future tenses that we have covered are not all necessarily
future tenses, but often hint at the future. Furthermore, they carry meanings such as
inference, assumptions, and probability. With that in mind, you can expand the use of
these endings. Let's learn what happens when you use these endings in combination
with the past tense ending ( / ).
Past + ()
First up is the past tense base plus the () ending. Past tense is simply the
past tense as we know it in English. () is often used when referring to the
future, but is also used forprobability. Put the two together, and you get the result
something probably happened already.
10:30 . 7 .
. Our parents went to the beach this morning at 10:30 AM. Right now it's 7:00 PM.
For this reason, they probably have arrived (it's been long enough to make the
drive).
. Mom probably went to and came
back from the supermarket already.
. Michael probably ate the pizza.
In these examples, or may be included or omitted. Both and
means 'maybe' and is placed before the verb.
Past +
An almost identical way to say the above sentences is with . This used to be more
common, but past + () is becoming more popular.
! ! . Wow! The house is really clean!
Grandmother must have cleaned.
. . Anna is hungry. She must not have eaten
today.
. . Michael is smart. He must have studied
hard.
Past + ()
Actually, you will never see or use this construction. () is only attached to
plain or present tense bases and usually used in the first-person.
Now that you've been introduced to the different forms, let's look at one more section
that brings them all together.
Future - Examples
Now that you've had a look at the various uses of the future tense, let's just look at
some examples. Try to understand as much as you can before looking at the
answers.
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
11. .
12. .
13. . .
14. . ( ) .
15. . .
1. . Our team will win.
2. . Maybe dad will buy a new car.
3. . Maybe I Will go to Seoul National University.
4. . I will do the cooking, so don't worry about it.
5. . I will teach the students.
6. . I will do the laundry.
7. . This exam must be really hard.
8. . Tomorrow may be really hot.
9. . My (your) girlfriend might like that flower.
10. . Russell probably went to school.
11. . The kids probably ate the galbi already.
12. . Mom is probably at church already.
13. . . Michael speaks Korean well. He
must have studied a lot.
14. . ( ) . Anna is tall. She must have
eaten a lot of rice as a child.
15. . . That person is rich. He must have
earned a lot of money.
Future Conversations
A : ?
B : .
A : .
B : .
A : .
B : .
A : .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- to clean
- maybe
- thought, idea
English:
A. What will you do tomorrow?
B. I'm probably going to clean the house tomorrow.
A. Maybe I will clean.
B. In that case perhaps I will study.
A. Probably studying will not be much fun.
B. In that case perhaps I will meet with a friend.
A. That's a good idea.
Modify and Move verbs
Up until now, whenever you use verbs or adjectives they always fall at the end of the
sentence. If you want to speak of a blue car, you must say , meaning "the
car is blue."
But what if you want to say "That blue car is nice."? You couldn't say that before this
lesson. You could say "That car is blue and it is nice" but that is rather long and
wordy.
Let's learn how to modify verbs and adjectives so that we can place them before the
noun to describe them, similar to how adjectives and adverbs are used in English.
Modifying Verbs in Present Tense
First, let's learn how to modify verbs in the present tense. This does not apply to
adjectives, as the two are different when it comes to these modifications.
To modify a verb in the present tense so that you can place it before a noun, take the
verb stem and add . For example, if we wish to modify and place it before
a noun, we would take + = . You would then need a noun to follow
it:
- the student who is studying
- the boy who is running
- the cat that is sleeping
- the girl who lives in seoul
- the book that has pictures
- the book that doesn't have pictures
Irregular verbs that drop a from the verb stem (, , ) drop the
before ( - , - , - )
When you add -, you end up creating a clause, which is usually just a portion of a
sentence as in the examples above. Keep in mind that you should not use the topic
particle / in the clause, as you can probably see the problems that might arise -
instead just use the subject particle / instead of the topic particle /
Let's look at some more examples...
! - The girl who lives in Seoul is very pretty!
. - The athlete that plays tennis is tall.
Note: again, these are all in the present tense. The girl who lives, brother watching
tv, student that is studying. This is an important note, as you are about to learn how
to say verbs in the past using avery similar method.
Using - gives you much more variety and description available for your sentences.
It also helps compact your language so that you can say more without being too
wordy.
Modifying Verbs in Past Tense
So the one shape ending - makes verbs modify a noun in thepresent tense, but
what about the past tense?
For example, you may want to say, "The girl who studied is smart", "The boy that
watched tv is fat", or "The cat that ate meow mix is healthy.
All of these use a verb in the past tense to modify the noun. However, also note that
the final verb used is the present tense. So we are speaking about how to make the
modifying verb past tense, not the sentence as a whole.
The solution? The two shape ending (). You add after a verb ending in a
consonant (), or add an onto the bottom of a verb ending in a vowel ().
Irregular verbs that drop the from the verb stem also drop it in this case as well (
, , )
It's very similar to the one shape ending above, but is still different. At first you may
get the two mixed up because they are so similar, but don't worry - after a couple of
days you should have it down fairly well.
Let's look at some more examples...
Verb (meaning) Ending Past
(eat)
(drink)
(go)
(play, hit)
(wear)
Again, / forms a past tense modifier when applied to verbs.
. - The girl who wore a skirt is very kind.
. - Our older brother that just watched tv is fat.
As you can see, this can be pretty useful. However, just knowing verbs alone won't
do. You also need to know how to modify adjectives in the same way, and the same
rules do not apply.
Compare Present and Past
Use the following chart to compare the present and past tense modifiers for verbs.
Be sure to know the difference and know it well, because things get a little bit more
confusing when we dive into adjectives in the next section.
Verb Meaning Present Past Audio
to eat

play
to drink

play
to go

play
to sleep

play

to sing

play
to dance

play
to write

play
to receive

play
*
to play

play
to cut

play
* If the verb base is irregular with regards to , meaning it drops it in some cases
and has it in others, it drops it when you modify the verb. becomes or ,
while becomes or .
You can also modify verbs in a future like tense. To do so, add the two-shape ending
(). Add after a verb stem ending in a consonant, and add to a verb stem
ending in a vowel.
This creates sentences such as "The girl who will play..." "The tree that will fall..." and
"The plane which will land."
English Korean Future Audio
to eat

play
to drink

play
to go

play
to sleep

play
to buy

play
to sell
*
play
to play
*
play
* Verb stems that already end in will not change.
. The girl who will dance has long legs.
. The person who will drive (the car) this
evening does not drink liquor.
. The music which will play at graduation is a
popular song.
Let's move on and take a look at how to handle adjectives, and then we will close out
the lesson by bringing it all together with examples and practice.
Modify and Move Adjectives
Modifying adjectives is very similar to modifying verbs - in fact, it's a bit too similar.
Adjectives + ()
Remember verbs in the past tense take the form (), meaning you add to a
verb ending in a consonant or to one ending in a vowel?
Well, you do the exact same thing for adjectives, except it is in the present tense.
English Korean Modified Audio
to be fast

play
to be good

play
to be bad

play
to be pretty

play
to be fat

play
to be boring

play
to be hot
*
play
to be cold
*
play
to be blue
**
play
to be red
**
play
English Korean Modified Audio
to be fast

play
to be good

play
to be bad

play
to be pretty

play
to be fat

play
to be boring

play
to be hot
*
play
to be cold
*
play
to be blue
**
play
to be red
**
play
* Remember, irregular adjectives that end in + = . This means all irregular
adjectives will drop the and end in when you modify them into a clause.
** Adjectives ending in will drop the when you modify them, so you will always
simply change into for these purposes.
With those in mind, it's just as easy to create new sentences using adjectives as it is
with verbs.
. That girl is pretty.
. A pretty girl is over there.
. That athlete is tall.
. The tall athlete plays tennis.
. My new car is blue.
. I bought a new, blue car.*
Note: this is just a note on the example sentence above. There is actually a verb
, which is the color deep blue. For this reason, it would have been better to
write instead of . This would help to avoid confusion between
and . It's correct both ways, but would be much easier to understand
(especially in conversation) to write .
.
If you've gone over the color vocabulary lesson, it should make much more sense to
you now. Colors have dictionary forms such as , , . You can
conjugate them like normal adjectives such as (to be blue), (to be red),
and .
However, colors are often used in the forms , , and . means
color. All we are doing then is modifying that verb and placing it before the noun .
The result leaves you with:
. The car is blue.
. The car is a blue color.
the blue car...
Adjectives Modified for Past
There actually isn't a method for doing this, although you will learn a similar way to do
this in a future lesson.
Adjectives Modified for Future
You can modify adjectives for the future just as you do with verbs. You add the two
shape ending ().
However, with adjectives you will also have the irregular forms. Remember,
irregular stem + = . This means all of those adjectives will drop the and
add .
The rule for verb stems that sometimes drop the final also applies to adjectives, as
with .
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Let's take a look at examples covering all of these with verbs and adjectives...
Modify and Move Examples
Now that you've learned how to modify and move both verbs and adjectives, let's just
go through some examples. Try to figure out the sentences before you look at the
translations.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
11. .
12. .
1. The students playing basketball
2. The friend eating rice
3. The puppy drinking water
4. The tv without a remote control
5. . That friend eating pizza has big eyes.
6. . That person playing golf is my (our) mother.
7. . My younger sibling who has no friends is
very lonely.
8. . The yellow unbrella is mine.
9. . The people that are bored are playing
computer games.
10. . I, who am hot, am going to take a shower.
11. . The red roses are truly pretty.
12. . I like the cute puppy.
Modify Conversation
A : .
B : .
A : , .
B : , .
A : .. .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- sea
- ship
- to be beautiful
- to be full of beauty, fascinating, cool
- a rock, rocks
- sand
- to be happy, blissful
- place
- to live
English:
A. Look at that blue sea.
B. There is also a red boat.
A. Yes, it's a beautiful sea.
B. Yes, there are cool rocks and clean sand that are both beautiful.
A. I want to live in a blissful place like this.
A : .
B : ?
A : . .
B : ?
A : .
B : . .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- we (polite form of )
- umbrella
- rain outfit
English:
A. We have a yellow umbrella and purple umbrella.
B. You don't have a blue umbrella?
A. No, but we have a blue rain outfit.
B. Where is it?
A. It's on top of that tall chair over there.
B. Yes, I'll take it (literally: please give me). It is a very cool color.
Modals
Up to this point you've been using verbs and adjectives in sentences, but there are
still some important and commonly used verbs that you may not know how to use
properly - the modals.
These verbs are I want, I need or must, I may, I can, I cannot - all of these are verbs,
yet using them is slightly different than other verbs. Modals is simply a fancy
grammar word but is short and makes filenaming easier for me :-)
But why wait? Let's get started and learn them now. It's not difficult, so you will be
using them in no time!
There are actually two ways in which people say 'I want' in English. One is with
nouns, and the other is with verbs. Think about it...
I want a car. I want a new computer. I want money.
I want to go out. I want to buy a new car. I want to spend my money.
Similar - yet different. Now, thinking in Korean, the first (nouns) looks like it is used
just like any other verb. The structure would be noun + / + verb, or direct object
+ verb.
The second is slightly different, because you may wonder how to do you combine two
verbs like that. Soon you will know.
- With Nouns
The first is easy. It is exactly how you would think it would be. There is a verb, ,
which means 'I want'. It is used with nouns. Simply attach the direct object particle to
the noun and add the verb in the appropriate conjugation.
. . .
. . .
. The guy who wants money is over there.
Again, it's used just as any other verb would be used, and can be conjugated like any
other verb.
Verb Stem + - With Verbs
Next is the method for saying "I want to (verb)"
With first or second-person situations (I, we, you), you attach to the other verb
stem, followed by .
- . I want to eat
- . I want to drink
- . I want to go
- . I want to learn
You can ask questions in this form as well.
? Do you want to eat an apple?
? Do you want to go to the park?
? Do you want to study Korean?
In third person situations, use the form . Other than becoming
, everything is the same.
. Maria wants to go to the department store.
.Eunji wants to eat
bulgogi, potatoes, and rice and wants to drink water also.
. Anna wants to go to sleep, but I
want to watch tv.
Another useful structure allows you to say "I need to go" "I need to eat" and other
sentences that show a need or requirement.
And, once more, there are two situations. You could have "I need a jacket," or "I need
food". Or you could have "I need to wear a jacket" or "I need to eat food", where the
need is a verb as opposed to a noun.
One verb often used for these situations is . is a noun for 'a need' or
'necessity'. This will play an important role when you work with verbs.
Necessity With Nouns
For nouns, just use as you would expect. Noun + . You should
attach the subject particle / to the noun. The sentence will literally mean
"something is a necessity."
. I need a jacket.
. I need more money.
. I need a new computer.
Necessity With Verbs
() is a structure that allows you to say things like "I need to eat..." "I
need to buy...." and "I need to earn...."
Attach onto a verb stem ending in a consonant, and attach
onto a verb stem ending in a vowel.
-
-
It's the same as the other cases where you are adding () to a verb stem, which
means verb stems that already end in will be left alone (you will still need to add
however)
. I need to wear a jacket.
. . I want a new car, so I need to earn
more money.
. I need to go to the supermarket.
You are kind of saying there is a need to (verb). That also means you can just as
easily turn it around....
. I don't need to wear a jacket.
. . I don't want a new car, so I
don't need to earn more money.
. I don't need to go to the supermarket.
You are simply adding () to say "don't need".
There are a few other commonly used methods for need, so let's take a quick look.
Casual Verb + or - With Verbs
There are actually two other ways you can create need for verbs. You can take the
casual form of a verb and add either or . The both accomplish the
same thing, so it's usually just a matter of preference when using one or the other.
This form is kind of like "I have to go" or "I have to eat" in English, while the previous
method is like "I need to go" or "I need to eat." They are often interchangeable in
English, and it is the same way in Korean.
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Now you treat this whole form as the new verb, meaning if you want the casual style
of speech, you would simply drop the from either or . If you want formal
style of speech, it would be of the form ~ or ~
. . I cannot go to the department store. I have
to do homework.
. . . I want to watch a movie, but
I'm tired. Therefore I have to sleep.
. I have to buy a present.
. Today I have to meet a friend and I have to
study.
If you are able to do something (but do not necessarily have to do it), then you can
use the form verb stem + () . Alternatively, if you are not available and
cannot do something, use the form verb stem + () .
Can - ()
Take the verb stem and attach if it ends in a consonant or just if
it ends in a vowel.
As with similar situations (attaching ), if the verb stem already ends in , then you
do not need to attach anything other than .
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. . I've finished my homework, so I can go
to the park.
. . I'm 21 years old. I can drink liquor.
. I can swim well.
Cannot - ()
As you may expect, since () is can, you may represent "cannot" by ()
. You attach it in the exact same way.
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The sentences are simply the exact opposite.
. . I'm 11 years old. I cannot drink beer.
. I cannot play tennis well.
. I cannot run fast.
Again, any conjugation from that point will be done on the part.
. . I was 11 years old. I could not drink beer.
Different styles of speech are also done in the same manner: and
are two examples.
Little kids often get "may" and "can" confused in English, but you can rest assured
that you will understand both in Korean after this lesson. (I always remember in
school that kids would always ask "Can I go to the bathroom?" The teachers
response was usually "I don't know, can you?" Eventually everyone learned to ask
"May I go to the bathroom?" - I wonder if the same happens in Korean schools or if
it's not a hard concept for kids there)
May
If you have permission to do something or are asking for permission, you will need
the ending - . You add this to the casual style of a verb.
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Of course, it only makes sense to use this with verbs and not adjectives. It's a very
simple ending and is worth learning.
, ? Mom, may I meet a friend?
, . Yes, you may meet a friend.
? May I go to the store?
? May I eat cake?
, . No, you may eat fruit.
Now let's move on and look at some more examples of all of the modals.
Modals Examples
Now that you've had a chance to learn about modals and the various uses, try to
translate the sentences below for practice. Be sure to both read them and listen to
them to ensure you are getting both reading and listening practice.
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
11. .
12. .
13. .
14. .
15. .
16. .
17. .
18. .
19. .
20. .
21. .
1. . A friend wants a new hand phone (cell phone)
2. . I want to go to the United States
3. . I can sing songs well.
4. . From now on I may not study (maybe I graduated last
week).
5. . This person needs a computer.
6. . Our mom has to go to church.
7. . My younger sibling has to study.
8. . Our mom wants a new refrigerator.
9. . Those people over there want to buy this (thing).
10. . You can drive this car.
11. . You may see this book.
12. . My husband needs a necktie.
13. . You must eat lots of rice.
14. . I want a cool car.
15. . I want to drink liquor.
16. . I can run really well.
17. . I cannot do presentations well.
18. . Our brother may sleep late.
19. . I need a little salt and sugar.
20. . You must work.
21. . I must take a nap.
Modals Conversations
A : ?
B : .
A : ?
B : .
A : . .
B : .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- fruit
- vitamins
- vegetables
English:
A. Haery, what do you want to eat?
B. I have to eat some fruit.
A. Why do you want to eat fruit?
B. I need lots of vitamins.
A. Haha, in that case you may eat vegetables (also).
B. But I want fruit.
A : .
B : .
A : .
B : .
A : , .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- to drive
- far away
- to practice
English:
A. I cannot drive.
B. You don't need to drive in this area.
A. But I want to go far.
B. Then you need to practice.
A. Yes, I need lots of practice.
Common Verb Endings
As of now you've learned a few different verb endings such as the common past,
present, and future endings in the various styles of speech (casual, polite, and
formal). You've also learned ways to modify verbs and adjectives to create more
interesting and detailed sentences.
Now it's time to learn a handful of useful verb endings. These can be used to ask for
input, suggest things, provide background information, and handle a few other
situations as well.
Use the list below to instantly jump to a specific verb ending.

()
()
()
, , ,
Verb Stem +
The first ending to be sure you know is ~ . This is a pretty common ending,
which means something is happening right now or someone is doing something right
now.
It is a one shape ending that you attach to a verb stem, so it is very easy to do.
- . eating (right now)
- . drinking (right now)
- . going (right now)
- . listening (right now)
- . playing (right now)
Simple!
. Maria is listening to music right now.
. Nuri is reading a magazine right now.
. Subi is studying Japanese right now.
Compare these to the standard present tense forms.
. Maria listens to music.
. Nuri reads magazines.
. Subi studies Japanese.
There is a slight difference. However, people will sometimes use the standard
present tense endings to represent verbs that are happening at the current time, as I
have probably done in some lessons. But now that you know this ending, you can
use it and be more specific with your speech to ensure that the sentence is
understood as it was meant to be.
You can also use this ending in the past tense. If you do this, the result is "Someone
was doing something (at the time)."
. Michael was reading the newspaper.
. Hyun was speaking in Korean.
. Russell was playing video games.
Again, you could compare this to the common past tense, which would translate into
something like "Michael read the newspaper" or "Hyun spoke Korean". They can
have the same meaning and sometimes be used interchangeably, but
indicates that it was a continuous or progressive action that was happening as
opposed to that happened.
It's a very useful verb ending, so be sure to keep it in mind as you use Korean!
() - Shall We?
Next is the verb ending (). This creates sentences like "Shall we eat?" "Shall
we go?" and "Shall we play?". It's a two shape ending, so you attach to verb
stems ending in a consonant and to verb stems ending in a vowel.
Consonant Vowel
? ?
? ?
?* ?*
? ?*
Note:Verbs that change to ( to ...) will use instead of . Verbs
that sometimes drop (, ) will technically drop , but then what's left ends
in a vowel, so you add again. The result is you just add . Verbs that have
change to (, , ) will change in this case (, , etc).
, ? Shall we eat bulgogi or galbi? (literally shall we
eat bulgogi, [or] shall we eat galbi)
, ? Shall we drink water or beer? (lit: Shall we drink
water, [or] shall we drink beer)
? Shall we go to the library?
? Shall I look for it?
? Shall we listen to BoA?
You can also use the () ending for third-person situations, such as "do you
suppose it is hard?" and "Do you suppose it will be cold?". In third-person situations,
you can use () with both verbs and adjectives. You wouldn't use it with
adjectives in first person situations.
? Do you suppose it will be cold tomorrow?
? Do you suppose the Korean exam will be difficult?
? Do you suppose the swimming pool will be crowded?
? Do you suppose the pretty girl has already arrived?*
Note: you can also use it with the past tense as well when speaking in third-person
(given it makes sense).
Now let's look at a very similar verb ending, ()
() - I'm Thinking Of....
This is a very similar construction and is attached to verbs in a very similar way. The
only difference is you drop the and add the verb instead.
() is a two shape ending, so you add to verbs ending in a
consonant and to verbs ending in a vowel. The same rules for irregular
verbs that apply to apply to .
Here are some examples:
. I'm thinking of eating...
. I'm thinking of playing...
. I'm thinking of watching...
. I'm thinking of living...
. I'm thinking of living in Pusan.*
. I'm thinking of going (doing) shopping.
. I'm thinking of watching a movie.
. I'm thinking about going swimming.
. I'm thinking about buying ice scream.*
Note: Although both (to buy) and (to live) look the same when conjugated
in this form, they are still different verbs. Don't let this confuse you.
Now by learning () and () , you can say what you are thinking
about doing as well as ask others for their thoughts and opinions.
() - Let's...
The () ending is similar to (). While () is used to ask
someone what they want to do as in "Shall we go to the park?", () is used to
suggest something to do as in "Let's go to the park".
() is a two shape ending, so you attach to verbs ending in a
consonant and to verbs ending in a vowel. The same rules for () will
apply - notice how the rules really apply to attaching () to a verb. The parts after
() simply give more meaning. Just keep in mind the following rules whenever
attaching () + something to a verb or adjective.
Irregular verbs that drop from dictionary form will drop it, but then simply
attach + ending. ( becomes , , )
Irregular verbs that change to will do so in this case. ( becomes
, , , etc)
Irregular verbs that change change to for the dictionary form will use
( becomes , , )
After a while, you begin to catch on to these without worrying too much about what
irregular verbs do. For example, anytime you have irregular + , it always
becomes . Once you realize that, the explanations such as the one above are not
necessary. You will catch on if you haven't already, don't worry!
Back to (). Let's look at examples.
. Let's eat galbi this evening.
! Let's go to Everland!
. Let's sing at the noraebang.
. let's meet tomorrow.
() is colloquial, which means it is somewhat casual and simply used on a
daily basis. Remember back to the future lesson and . It is used for intention in first
person situations, but is more formal. With that usage, and () are related,
but you will probably find yourself using () in daily conversation to state
intentions and suggestions.
- Surprise, Unexpected
The sentence ending - hints at surprise or something that wasn't expected. It
shows more emotion such as surprise, sympathy, expectations, and the like. The
standard present tense / is simply a statement - there really isn't much
emotion (other than tone changes).
is a one shape ending that you add to a verb or adjective stem.
Verb
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Note: although you do not need to worry about irregular verbs or adjectives with -
as you simply drop and add the ending, you will need to keep a close watch on
pronunciation. Because begins with , it will often cause a consonant before it
to sound differently.
is pronounced
is pronounced
is pronounced
Just keep an eye on that. for a review of this irregular pronunciation, visit this
irregular pronunciation guide. Do not spell it how it is pronounced, however, as that
would be incorrect. The correct spelling should be used.
! It's cold! (surprised, unexpected)
! The galbi is really tasty!
. Mom already went to church.*
Note: notice how you can use this with past tense as well. Simply take the past tense
base instead of the present tense base.
? How much is this watermelon?
. It's 10,000 won (approximately $10.00)
! ! Ah! It's too expensive!
Finally, you will only use in statements, not in questions.
/ - Right? Isn't It?
The / ending is another easy ending to use once you know when to use it. If
you attach to a verb or adjective, it is similar to adding right? or isn't it? to the
end of a sentence in English. (Ex: The movie is good, isn't it?) It's a way of seeking
agreement. In spoken Korean, you will often here instead of .
You attach it to the stems just like you attach to stems, and you won't have to
worry about any irregular verbs or adjectives.
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And of course, you can use past tense bases as well, such as ?
. This watermelon was tasty, wasn't it?
. That girl is pretty, isn't she?
3 ? Spiderman 3 was interesting, wasn't it?
? The weather is really nice today, isn't it?
You will find sentences that use a period at the end and others that use a question
mark. Regardless of the punctuation, the meaning is the same. You are seeking
agreement with the statement, but you aren't really posing a "question" I guess, as
you usually expect the answer will be yes or I agree.
- Rhetorical Questions
Somewhat along the same lines as / is . is actually a contracted
form of the long negative ~ form, but it carries a slightly different meaning.
When someone says something like !, they are saying "It's too
expensive, can't you see?" Literally, it would be something like "Is this not too
expensive". It's a rhetorical question, meaning you are not expecting an answer. If
you ask a dumb question:
Is it raining? (if you are standing outside...) - Yes it's raining! Can you not tell?!?
? - ! ?!?
You think it's so obvious that the listener should already know and assume
agreement. If you were to use ~ instead, you do not assume agreement
and are unsure and actually seeking an answer.
So that's the use of it. The mechanics are very simple. You simply attach it to the
base just as you do for and . Drop the and attach the ending.
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/ / ~ - Background Information
One final verb ending that we will take a look at is () / ). There are two
ways you will use this ending - One in the middle of a sentence as a way of providing
background information, and another at the end of a sentence. It will become more
clear as we dive into it.
With Verbs
With verbs, you will be using and endings.
:
If you want to provide background information, additional information that helps
explain the rest of your sentence, or anything like that, you may look into using the
ending. You attach it to the end of the first verb like a conjunction (similar to
attaching to mean and or to mean but). The second verb would use any of
the other endings you have learned.
Always attach to the verb stem. Simply drop and attach . An exception is
irregular verbs that sometimes drop the (, ). Drop the as well (
, )
, ! I'm watching a movie, come over!
, . I'm doing homework, I cannot play.
, ? It's raining, do you have an umbrella?
, . I like bulgogi, I'm making it.
You will see more examples shortly.
:
If you are closing off a sentence with this type of verb ending, you use. Usually
this provides information to the listener, but isn't as direct as / ending. It
can be used to 'tone down' a response so it isn't as strong or direct, or it can be used
to provide information to the listener and let's the listener decide what to do with it.
For example, someone makes a call to a friend:
A: ? Is Eunji home?
B: , . No, she's not at home...
Person B could have said , , but that is a more direct statement. By
saying , it leaves the conversation open and allows the listener to decide
what to do (call back, leave a message, etc).
It also allows for a polite way to decline things...
A: ! Let's meet tomorrow!
B: ...I'm seeing a movie tomorrow with my sister (so I can't)
In this example, person B didn't want to just say 'No', but instead used as a
polite way to decline the offer, by providing some background information (already
going to see a movie with sister).
With Adjectives
The meaning is the same when used with adjectives, although the ending is slightly
different. Instead of saying / , use () / (). To help you
remember, this is the same difference used when you modify a verb or adjectives in
order to place it before a noun ( - adjective, - verb).
, . The weather is good, let's go to the park.
, ? It's cold, do you have a jacket?*
, . It's warm today, let's go to the swimming pool.
Note: Just as with modifying adjectives, irregular + () =
A: ... The weather is bad today...
B: . Let's play video games.
With Past Tense
You can also attach this ending to past tense bases. When you do so, you will use
/ regardless of whether or not you are dealing with a verb or an adjective.
, . I studied hard yesterday,
I don't want to study today.
, . It rained, I wasn't able to go to the park.
2 , 3 . Spiderman 2 was interesting, let's
see Spiderman 3
And with that you now know many of the common verb endings that you will come
across in Korean. Keep an eye out for them in reading as you will surely come across
them. In the next section, you will see examples of all of these various verb endings,
so let's get some more practice with them.
Verb Endings Examples
Now let's look at some example sentences dealing with the various verb endings. Try
to translate them before looking at the answers. Also be sure to listen to the audio as
well for listening practice.
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. ...
6. .
7. .
8. ?
9. .
10. .
11. ?
12. .
13. .
14. .
15. ?
16. .
17. .
18. ?
19. ..
20. ..
21. .
22. .
23. ?
24. !
25. ..
26. ?
1. . I'm listening to music right now.
2. . We are cleaning our house right now.
3. . Barry is sleeping in bed now.
4. . Me, I am not Korean.
5. ... I did not eat this banana...
6. . I'm not going to do this homework (intention).
7. . This summer I'm thinking of going to the sea
(beach) in order to play.
8. ? Do you suppose this lottery ticket will be the lucky number /
win the prize?
9. . It's really raining a lot, can't you tell?
10. . It's really hot.
11. ? I may eat this, right?
12. . I looked at that photo.
13. . I will eat all of that galbi.
14. . I'm thinking of buying that store.
15. ? Shall we go to (our) the park to play?
16. . This fan (electric fan) is too expensive. (can't you
see?)
17. . It's winter now.
18. ? You're hungry, right?
19. .. It's really tasty...
20. .. I'm doing an experiment...
21. . I will go to that church.
22. . I'm thinking of meeting with the teacher.
23. ? Shall we dance?
24. ! It's not interesting or fun, can't you see!
25. ..I have also grown old.
26. ? This house is really spacious, right?
Verb Endings Conversations
A : .
B : ?
A : .
B : ?
A : , .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- to be cloudy
- rain
- polite form of
English:
A. It's cloudy today (surprised).
B. It is raining isn't it (similar to ? here)?
A. It's raining, I'm thinking of staying at home.
B. Why don't we watch a movie at home?
A. No, I just want to be at home.
A : .
B : .
A : !
B : .
A : !
B : : )
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- puppy, doggy, little dog
- park
- if we go together ( ending means 'if' here)
English:
A. Tomorrow I'm thinking of going to the park with my puppy
B. I also want to go to the park.
A. If we go together, it will be fun, right!
B. But, I don't have a car..
A. Lets go together in my car!
B. Thank you! :-)
Generalize Vocabulary
Before we dive into the lesson, let's take at a few vocabulary words you may come
across. You may already know some of these and some may have shown up in
previous lessons, but it's always good to be sure you know them.
Do focus on the vocabulary words such as what, when, where, who, place, time,
thing and the like as they play a big role and are used throughout most of the
upcoming lesson.
Korean English
take an exam
to be correct
to be incorrect
to make, prepare
seem to be this way

to ask, commonly used with questions
to feel sleepy
to hurt
rest
to appear, to be visible
to end, finish, bring to a close
open, set up
any
place
place
time
thing
who
who (as subject)
when
what
movie
exam
color
beverage
theater
a play, drama
food
church
perfect score, full marks
work, labor
sleep, a nap ()
foot
family
cooking, cuisine
just, as it is
to ( - to anyone)

good tasting
this kind of
always
all
next
week
weekend
maybe
maybe
sometimes
for the most part
every day
often
a little
same as - shortened
Korean English
take an exam
to be correct
to be incorrect
to make, prepare
seem to be this way

to feel sleepy
to hurt
rest
open, set up
any
place
place
time
thing
who
who (as subject)
when
what
movie
exam
color
beverage
theater
a play, drama
food
church
work, labor
sleep, a nap ()
foot
family
cooking, cuisine
just, as it is
to ( - to anyone)

good tasting
this kind of
always
all
next
week
weekend
maybe
maybe
sometimes
for the most part
every day
often
a little
same as - shortened
Korean English
take an exam
to be correct
to be incorrect
to make, prepare
seem to be this way

to feel sleepy
to hurt
rest
open, set up
any
place
place
time
thing
who
who (as subject)
when
what
movie
exam
color
beverage
theater
a play, drama
food
church
work, labor
sleep, a nap ()
foot
family
cooking, cuisine
just, as it is
to ( - to anyone)

good tasting
this kind of
always
all
next
week
weekend
maybe
maybe
sometimes
for the most part
every day
often
a little
same as - shortened
Generalize Nouns
So far you've been communicating without many options. Let's learn how to leave
room for different choices, generalize words, and leave room to make a final decision
at a later time.
In english we often say "Let's do something" or "Let's gosomewhere." We may not
know exactly what the plans will be, but we would like to make them. By saying words
such as something orsomewhere, we are simply leaving room to figure it out later but
are still interested in making plans.
You can do the same thing in Korean, and there are a couple of useful methods of
doing so. However, the most common is a combination of two ( and ). First,
let's look at the word and how we can use it to generalize statements.
- any
means anybody by itself, but when placed before another noun, it generalizes
that noun and can be translated into any...(noun). Below are some common uses.
Korean English

any place, anywhere

any place, anywhere

anything
anybody
..(noun)..*
any (noun)
*For example, you can say to mean any movie. would mean any
color. While this is correct, it sounds weird. You should almost always include the
next particle, () as well.
() - Generalizer
() is a particle you can attach to nouns to make them more general. It has some
other uses as well which we will see in a few minutes, but for now let's see how it is
used for the same results you can get with .
As you may have expected, add to words ending in a consonant and to
words ending in a vowel.
Base English
()
English Audio
what

anything play
where

anywhere play
who

anyone play
when

whenever, any
time
play
Notice that the particle () is often used by itself with the question words "who,
what, when, where..." to change them to "anyone, anything, any time, wherever"
You can also use () in conjunction with (noun), and in fact this combination
is probably what you should use as it is very commonly used. Thus you will see
, , , , etc. which are very similar to the forms in the
chart above.
Let's see some examples....
: ? Where shall we go?
: .Let's go anywhere.
listen
: ? When would you like to meet?
: . Let's meet at any time.
listen
? What would you like to drink?
. Let's drink anything.
listen
You can also turn the phrase around and make it negative meaningnobody,
nowhere, no time. All you need to do is add after the noun in the phrase instead of
(). If you want to say nowhere (no place), you can say or . If
you want to saynobody, then you can just say .
: ? Where shall we go?
: . Let's not go anywhere.
listen
: ? When would you like to meet?
: . Let's not meet at all.
listen
? What would you like to drink?
. Let's not drink anything.
listen
Note: When using the negative form, it's common to use a negative verb but still use
words such as anywhere, any time, anybody. In Korean, you should use a negative
verb and the negative words nobody, nowhere, not at all, etc. This would be
considered a double negative in English, but it's what you should use in Korean.
Other than that it's quite simple. (anyone) can do it! (nobody) should
have trouble with it! ;-)
? Who is coming now?
. Everyone is coming now.
listen
? Where shall we eat dinner?
. Let's eat anywhere.
listen
Other Common Uses of ()
() has a few other common uses other than to generalize words such as "who,
what, when, and where." For example, you can use it to generalize what you want to
do as in the following situation.
? What do you want to do?
. Let's see a play or something.
listen
In this case, the speakers may not necessarily see a play, but they may do
something similar or along those lines. We do this in English by saying or something
after whatever the noun was. "Let's go swimming or something." Maybe not
swimming, but it's a possibility (but then again, it's still open for other ideas). ()
can do this exact same thing. .
While we are mentioning a couple ways to generalize and make expressions more
"vague", don't forget a few of these you've already learned...
- Approximately
Remember, you can attach onto the end of a time and turn the statement into
approximately the given time. For example, would mean approximately two
hours. would beapproximately 4:30.
() - Thinking of...
You learned the verb ending () recently as one of the various verb
endings. This verb ending leaves some room for adjustment as well. It means "I'm
thinking of (going swimming, eating cake, going to a movie). It's just a thought and
nothing is set in stone.
Combining all of these together, you can create some sentences that certainly leave
plenty of room for changes.
. I'm thinking of going to the theater (or
something like that) at approximately 8:00 PM.
With that, you can now make some statements more general. It's a pretty simple
concept but brings you one step closer to mastering Korean.
Generalize Examples
Now that you've learned how to make things generalized, go through these
sentences and translate them. Be sure to look at the answersafter you've read all of
the sentences and honestly tried to answer them. If there is any grammar that you do
not understand yet, don't worry and do the best you can. There will be times you run
across something new, so it's good practice to work around it. If there is vocabulary
that you are not familiar with, look it up in a dictionary (online or offline) and see what
you can figure out. If you cannot find it, you should be able to find the meaning in the
answers section.
Finally, I recommend that you try some simply by clicking on the sentence and
listening to the audio. Don't even read the sentence until you've tried to translate
using the audio only. It's good listening practice.
Good luck translating!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
. The teacher will ask anyone questions.
. My dad can eat anything well (not a picky
eater).
. Anybody can come to this church.
. Anyone can do this work.
. Anna can cook tasty food anytime.
. There are houses like this everywhere.
. You can ask me anything.
. I feel sleepy...let's take a nap or something.
. There is an exam tomorrow...let's study or
something.
. My feet hurt. Let's go rest a little or something.
. This food looks tasty, let's go eat it or
something.
. There is a play at approximately 5:30 today.
. I will probably be at school at
approximately this time next week.
I'm thinking of going shopping with some
friends tomorrow around 3:00.
. I'm thinking of having a party at our house.
. I'm thinking of eating with all of my family
next week or so.
Generalize Conversations
A : ?
B : .
A : ?
B : .
A : ?
B : , .
A : ;;
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- this (current)
- truly, really
- because, the reason being
English:
A. Approximately what time shall we have this party?
B. Anytime is good.
A. Then where shall we have it?
B. Any place is alright.
A. Really any place is ok?
B. Yes, because I'm not going to go wherever it is.
A. ;; This is an angry face many Koreans (and other asians in general) use
online. It is two eyes () and two drops of sweat (;;)
A : . ? .
B : .
A : .
B : . .
A : .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- exclamation used very frequently
- an answer
- to ask a question
- to send (letter, email, etc)
English:
A. So, what's the answer? Anyone please respond.
B. I don't know anything (technically I don't know nothing)*
A. Then ask anything.
B. No. I'm thinking of studying at home.
A. Then please send an email to me anytime.
*Double negatives are not grammatically correct in English, but they are used in
Korean. In this case, the literal translation is I don't know nothing, since is
'nothing', or the negative form of something, and is to not know.
State Your Purpose? = Vocabulary
Before we dive into the lesson, let's make sure we understand some of the
vocabulary that will be used. The lesson will be much smoother if you know this
vocabulary, so be sure and study it. If you don't memorize it all beforehand, at least
come back and memorize the vocabulary afterwards as it's all useful.
Korean English

to get a haircut (usually males)

to get a haircut (males)

to get a haircut (females)
to wash hair

to shave

to gain weight

to lose weight
to go out
to come out
to go back
to come back
to go down
to come down
to go up
to come up

to go and hang out

to come and hang out

play video games
to earn
to save
to buy
to sell
barbershop
barber
razor
electric razor
day
each day
now (same as )
by oneself
alone, by oneself
a lot, many (adverb)
quickly
State Your Purpose
Why do we do the things we do? What drives us to go out somewhere or to do
something? These questions are easy to answer once you know a few verb endings.
These endings provide the purpose for doing something. Let's dive right into
these verb endings and bring some purpose to our actions.
() - Purpose For Motion
() is probably an ending you have seen once or twice, and I'm sure you will see it
again in the future.
() gives purpose for motion or movement. Or, put simply, you will see it used in
conjunction with the verbs and (and any other verbs related to and
as you will see). () provides the reason for going or the reason for coming.
It's a two shape ending, and as you're probably well aware by now, follows
verbs that end in a consonant and follows verbs that end in a vowel. As with other
two shape ending verbs that start with (well, not counting the inserted ), if it
follows the consonant then you will not use . That's just a mouth full and too
much work to say. Simply use (Example: would be written , not .
It's much smoother that way.)
.. I'm going to the department store in order to meet with
a friend.
Note: it's that in order to part that is the reason for going. We are going so that we
can meet a friend. means to meet a friend, and then the rest of the
sentence is as you would expect. Of course, the sentence is essentially backwards
from English as usual with Korean, so the purpose comes first, followed by the action.
. I want to go to the barber shop to get a haircut.
. My friend is coming to our house
to play video games.
Now, you don't have to stick to the verbs and when using (). You can
use any verb that deals with movement. For example, (to go out), (to
come out), (to go up), (to come up), and so on. As long as it deals
with movement and direction, you can use () to describe the reason for that
movement.
! ! It is snowing! Come outside to play!
! Come downstairs for dinner!
() - Purpose
A common mistake is to use () in any situation where there is a purpose that
needs mentioning. Someone may ask ? "Why are you working
now?" You may respond . "I'm working in order to earn
money." However, this isincorrect. Remember, you can only use () when the
final verb in the sentence deals with movement such as or . (to
work) does not deal with going or coming, so you cannot use (). We still need an
ending to use, however, seeing as the response in English is a perfectly natural one.
Instead, use (). You can use this with any verbs. Let's clean up that response
above. . That's better. You can attach this two shape
ending in the same way that you attach (). Attach to verb bases ending in a
vowel or and to all the others ending in consonants.
. I bought a television in order to play video
games.
. I exercise in order to lose weight.
. I am studying every day so I can
become a smart person.*
. I am learning Korean now so
that I can talk with grandmother.
. I'm taking many, many
courses this semester so that I can graduate early.
Note: You cannot specifically use adjectives in this form. For example, you couldn't
say I put on make-up to be pretty. Instead, you could need to use the verb
meaning 'to become'. You could become pretty, but needs to be used with
actions (verbs), not descriptions (adjectives). So, just turn the description into an
action using the verb .
() can make your sentences much more interesting by providing more details
about some action, so luckily it's a pretty easy concept to learn well with a little
practice.
Other Uses For ()
While you can use () to form a phrase describing the purpose of some action,
it doesn't have to be used as a phrase. You can also use () for intention in
general. It's not too far off from how you've been using it (intend to be healthy, intend
to be smart, intend to graduate early, etc). You basically won't be providing the action
to reach that intention for these other forms, but the idea of () is still the same.
If you want to use () for intention specifically and not really to form a phrase for
purpose, just use either () or () .
. I intend to buy a good tv tomorrow.
. I intend to graduate early.
There are also a couple of shortened forms. One form drops the from ().
The next shortened form further drops the / verb at the end.
. I intend to do piano exercises every day. Original
. Shortened.
. Further shortened (and now informal - use with friends).
All of these have the same meaning, but have simply been shortened and contracted
even more from the previous form. You will often hear the contracted forms in every
day speech, so you should be acquainted with them.
Using - For Purpose
In the connectivity lesson, you learned meant therefore. The - ending is a
verb ending that accomplishes the same task (similar to how the - ending is related
to the word ). While we will not go too deeply into - in this lesson (you will
see more on this in the next lesson), I will mention it and show some examples
because it is used to show purpose.
You attach - to the present tense casual form of the verb. For example,
becomes , becomes , becomes , and becomes
. Do note that this is different from the way - is attached, even though - can be
thought of as the verb ending meaning '' and - can be thought of as the verb
ending form of ''. When using , you attach it directly onto the verb stem (
, , , ). When using -, you attach it onto the present tense casual
form of the verb.
- can carry a meaning of therefore or can be used to connect a sequence of
events. We will briefly look at the sequence of events form. Again, we will cover - in
detail in the next lesson.
. Every day I go to the dining hall and eat.
. I went to the library and did homework.
There are a couple of things to note here. First, note that while it's not necessarily
stating the purpose of the action, it somewhat implies a purpose. You could say
Every day I go to the dining hall in order to eat or I went to the library in order to do
homework and the meaning will usually be the same. The only difference is that
using - puts more emphasis on performing the actions (eating, doing homework),
while something like () will put more of an emphasis on the going or coming (in
order to do some action).
The second thing to note is that we only use the present tense casual form for -.
Even if it all happened in the past such as in the second example, you still use
present tense for -. It is implied that it all happened in the past because the final
verb in the sentence is past tense.
More on - in the next lesson.
So you have a few different options to state a purpose or let someone know what is
going on and why. Practice, swing by the forums and post in the Beginner's Practice
section to show off your new grammar, and stay tuned for the next lesson!
Purpose Example
Now it's time to see how well you learned how to state your purpose. Be sure to look
at the answers after you've read all of the sentences and honestly tried to answer
them. If there is any grammar that you do not understand yet, don't worry and do the
best you can. There will be times you run across something new, so it's good practice
to work around it. If there is vocabulary that you are not familiar with, look it up in a
dictionary (online or offline) and see what you can figure out. If you cannot find it, you
should be able to find the meaning in the answers section.
Finally, I recommend that you try some simply by clicking on the sentence and
listening to the audio. Don't even read the sentence until you've tried to translate
using the audio only. It's good listening practice.
Good luck translating!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. I'm thinking of going to the
library in order to study for a test tomorrow.
. I'm going to Incheon in order to hang out with a
friend.
. I'm going to a restaurant in order to eat.
. I'm going to the bathroom to wash my face.
. I'm going to the recital hall to perform (on the
piano).
. I'm going out on a date in order to get a girlfriend.
. I'm going out to the construction site in order to earn
money.
. Come over to our house to hang out and eat.
. I'm going to fix the computer by myself in
order to save money.
. I eat lots of rice (food) in order to gain weight.
. I'm not going to class so that I can meet a
friend early.
. I drink lots of milk in order to grow tall.
. I intend to study three hours per day.
. I intend to go to the park tomorrow.
. I don't intend to watch tv now.
. Mom intends to go to the store.
. Dad intends to eat ramen.
. I got up early today so I am very sleepy.
Purpose Conversations
A : ?
B : .
A : ?
B : . .
A : ?
B : . .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- a shop
- next time
- absolutely
English:
A. Why did you go to that shop?
B. I went in order to eat a meal (literally: rice).*
A. You went in order to eat what?
B. I went for pibimbap. But I ate kimbap.
A. Was it tasty?
B. No. Next time I absolutely will not go to eat a meal.
* Remember, the phrase is often used to mean 'eat a meal' even though
specifically means rice, perhaps because rice is almost always present at meals.
Ways to say BECAUSE
Up until now, you've learned many verb common verb endings and some
conjunctions to connect sentences. In this lesson, we will learn another common verb
ending for 'because' or 'therefore' type situations. You have most likely seen it
before, and we have used it in some conversations and examples throughout the
course, but now let's take a formal look at this grammar point.
~ - Because
In Lesson 9 you learned various conjunctions to connect sentences. One of the
conjunctions is , which means 'therefore' or 'so'. The verb ending ~ is very
similar to this conjunction, just as the verb ending ~ is very similar to the
conjunction . However, the implementations of the two endings are different.
With ~, you simply take the dictionary form of the verb and replace the with
( - , - , - ). With ~, you take the polite style of the
verb and replace the with (- , - , - ). That is,
you take the casual conjugation and simply add .
. .
We can rewrite this as one sentence now using this new verb ending.
.
The meaning is unchanged. It creates a cause and effect situation, where in this case
the cause is being hungry, so the effect is wanting to eat.
Let's look at some other examples.
. I am late, therefore I am sorry.
. I do not have any money, so I cannot buy a
new video game.
.Tomorrow is my
girlfriends birthday, so I need to do shopping today.*
The third example sentence brings up another good point - if you attach to ,
then you will find an irregular case. You do notsimply swap the with in
to get . This is incorrect. Instead, you can either use () as the
conjugation, or you can use as the conjugation. However, () is much
more common. You use if you attach it to a word ending in a consonant (like
adding ), and you use when attaching to a word that ends in a vowel (like
adding ).
When your sentence is dealing with the past or future, you do notuse the past or
future conjugation in addition to on the first verb in the sentence (the one with ).
Instead, you attach to the present tense form just as we have been doing, and it
will be recognized as past tense or future tense when the final verb in the sentence is
past or future tense. In other words, When you add , you add it to the present
tense form, and the past / future tense will be understood from the rest of the
sentence.
. Today I had a hard exam,
so yesterday I studied diligently.
. My head hurt, so I went to the doctor's office.
() - Because, So (Reason)
Another ending that can be translated to 'so' or 'therefore' is (). We attach
to verb stems ending in a consonant and to verb stems ending in a vowel.
Note that while is always attached to a present tense form of the verb and simply
carries the tense from the other verb, () requires the tense to be present in
both parts.
However, there are a couple key differences between () and . seems to
be a bit more general, whereas () is used specifically for providing a reason for
whatever statement follows, often reasoning for a command, excuse, or request. A
lot of resources also like to say () is used for 'discovery' type situations. When
one thing happens, you 'discover' something else.
A difference that is easier to understand though, is simply where the emphasis is put.
If you use (), the emphasis is put on the first part of the sentence (the part with
). If you use , then the emphasis is put on the second part of the sentence
(whatever happens as a result).
. It is raining, so I need an umbrella.
Above, the emphasis is on the fact that it is raining.
. It is raining, so I need an umbrella.
In this second case, the emphasis is on the need for an umbrella.
Finally, another way to think about it, () does have a somewhat friendly tone to
it whereas is more neutral. This is why () is commonly used when providing
a reason for a command or an excuse - it lightens it a little bit while providing the
reason for the following statement.
! It's snowing, so let's wear our boots!
. My head was hurting, so I didn't do my homework.
. You didn't do your homework, so you cannot
watch tv.
Perhaps because the emphasis is placed on the first reason and not the command it
makes it more justifiable and thus takes the emphasis off the result (not being able to
watch tv). That may be one way to think about it.
Because Conversations
. .
. ?
. .
. . ?
. .
. .
. ! !
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- restaurant
- surely, certainly, without fail
English:
A. Tommorrow we are going to have a birthday party because it is Ellen's birthday.
B. Where is the birthday party going to be?
A. Since restaurants are too expensive, the party will be at Ellen's house.
B. Ok, so what will we do at the party?
A. Since there will be many people there, we are going to play games.
B. It sounds really fun.
A. Of course! You must come to the party!
. !
. .
. , DJ .
. ?
. .
. .
. , .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- new, fresh, recent
- to drive
- to be young
English:
A. We are going to a club today.
B. Since today is Friday there will be so many people (there).
A. Yeah, and because a new DJ is coming, it will be so fun.
B. Then, who is going to drive?
A. Haery cannot drink because she is too young.
B. Heary, please drive this time.
A. Ok, that's fine.
Conditionals
Now it's time to learn about conditional statements. Right now you can say things
happened or will happen using all sorts of verb endings, but you do not have a way to
say 'if this, then that'. Let's learn how to take care of this issue so you can add
conditions to your conversations.
- if
In a nutshell, if you see a verb ending that involves , chances are high that it is
conditional, and you can think of the as 'if' where the condition is the sentence
before (not after - just like everything else is reversed in Korean). With that
knowledge, you will probably be well on your way to understanding a lot more
sentences, but just to be sure, let's cover the specifics ;-)
The most basic form is (). You attach to verb stems ending in a consonant
and to verb stems ending in a vowel. After looking at some example sentences,
the meaning and usage should become a lot more clear.
. If I have enough money, I will buy a
new video game.
. If I do not study, I will not do well.
. If the weather is good, I'm thinking of going
to the park with my doggy.
Now, using just the () ending, a lot of expressions that we can use arise. For
example, you can make requests...
. If you clean, I will be thankful.
Or you can say something would be good...
. If I win the lottery, that would be good.
You will see it used in expressions such as
. If you don't study, it's not becoming of you. (meaning You
have to study.)
. If you smoke cigarettes, it's not becoming of you. (meaning
You are not allowed to smoke).
And you will see it in contrasting situations, like
. If you exercise you will lose
weight, and if you don't exercise you will gain weight.
. If it's summer, then it is hot, and if it is winter, then it
is cold.
Finally, you can combine it with the () ending you learned inLesson 16 to form
() ending, which still translates to 'in order to' but is also a conditional type
statement. (If you want to make good grades, you need to study --> In order to make
good grades, you need to study).
. You have to study in order to be a great person.
So as you can see, there are many types of situations that occur, and even more that
are not listed here. However, if you recognize as a conditional and just translate
the rest of the sentence, you should be able to get the meaning as it's usually pretty
straightforward. You can then translate that into an English expression you are
familiar with if you like, as long as you understand the Korean.
There are a couple ways to say 'while' something was happening, so let's take a look.
() - While
Since this is not really a conditional sentence where shows up, it's important to
mention another useful verb ending involving - (). This verb ending means
'while doing something...'. You attach it in the exact same way you attach () - the
only difference is the addition of . Attach to verb stems ending in a vowel and
to verb stems ending in a consonant.
Let's look at a few examples to get a better understanding.
. While I study, I listen to music.
. While I clean the house, I watch tv.
Taking this one step deeper, you can add onto () to get (). If you
remember from the Various Particles lesson, means 'too' or 'also'. When in
combination with (), we can translate this as 'also while' or 'even while'.
. I talk even while I sleep.
There is one key point to remember when using to mean while: The subject
must be the same in both clauses. That is, the subject in the sentence before
must be the same as the subject in the sentence after . You cannot say things
like While I was studying, my brother was watching tv. because the subject is not the
same (I vs. my brother). For this reason, we will introduce two other ways to say
'while' that allows you to have two different subjects.
() and - - While
While allows you to say 'while' when the subject is the same in both portions,
() is one way to say 'while' when you have two different subjects.() is
another way to say 'while' when you have two different subjects.
() - We add to verb stems ending in a vowel, and we add to verb
stems ending in a consonant. We use ~ when the time period is short.
- - We add - to all action verbs. Essentially, you modify the verb to
make it in the -ing form as we learned in Lesson Twelve - Modify and Move Verbs
and simply stick after it. We use when the time period is longer.
and are almost identical in use, and there is just a slight difference in them
regarding the time period. is usually used when the time period of the 'while'
part is longer (studying, living, etc) and is often used when the time period is
shorter (opening something, entering a room, even eating a meal). Of course, this is
not set in stone but is just a good general rule to follow.
Let's see some examples.
. While I was eating, a bug bit me.
! While I was studying, (older) brother was
watching tv!
. While younger sister practices
piano, mom cooks.
So as you can see, there are lots of situations and expressions that can come from
using (or ). While we have learned some of them here, the easiest way to
learn them and see all the various uses is to simply read Korean in books or online
as much as you can. Whenever you run across - try to see if you can figure out
the meaning by looking at the context it is used in and looking up unknown words in a
dictionary.
Also keep in mind the difference between using (same subject), (any
subjects, longer period of time), and (any subjects, shorter period of time) to mean
'while'.
Conditional Conversations
. .
. .
. . .
. ?
. .
. . .
Play It Slowly
Notes:
- grade on an assignment, grade in a class
- to receive
- to help a person
- worries, concern
English:
A. I always watch tv while I study.
B. In order to get a good exam grade, you should not watch tv.
A. Right. I have to get a good grade. (Lit: If I do not get a good grade, then that's not
becoming of me).
B. How can I help you?
A. If you turn off the tv when I study, I will be grateful.
B. Alright. Don't worry about it.

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Beginner Korean

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Korean Foundation

it's alright / your welcome

really? is that so?

it's alright / your welcome

really? is that so?

to not exist or have

to not exist or have

and (to connect sentences)

bought (past tense)

and (to connect sentences)

bought (past tense)

older sister (male speaking)

older sister (female speaking)

older brother (male speaking)

older brother (female speaking)

The correct way would be . Note how we used as the object

noraebang (karaoke room)

tea house / coffee

hour of the day

day of the month

month of the year

hours it takes to do something

months (in general)

won (Korean currency)

hour of the day

day of the month

month of the year

hours it takes to do something

months (in general)

won (Korean currency)

people Pure Korean

animals Pure Korean

hour of the day Pure Korean

minutes Sino Korean

day of the month Sino Korean

month of the year Sino Korean

months (in general) Pure Korean

years Sino Korean

bottles Pure Korean

glasses or cups Pure Korean

sheets of paper Pure Korean

books / volumes Pure Korean

won (Korean currency) Sino Korean

items in general Pure Korean

people Pure Korean

animals Pure Korean

hour of the day Pure Korean

minutes Sino Korean

day of the month Sino Korean

month of the year Sino Korean

months (in general) Pure Korean

years Sino Korean

bottles Pure Korean

glasses or cups Pure Korean

sheets of paper Pure Korean

books / volumes Pure Korean

won (Korean currency) Sino Korean

items in general Pure Korean

English Present Past

seem to be this way

to end, finish, bring to a close

who (as subject)

perfect score, full marks

for the most part