korean reflections

Hey everyone! I'm Jamie and I've been trying to learn the Korean language for a very long time now.

Although I've had about 2 years' worth of lessons, I've learnt that really only diligence and active regular study is the only way I'll ever be able to truly master the language.

I'm hoping that through this blog, I'll be able to help myself and others learn parts of the language that matter most to them. I especially like to spice up my language-learning methods by reading webtoons, engaging with Korean media, and playing games. My hope is that my consolidated learnings will be entertaining and useful to other fellow struggling language learners out there.

Let's build a community here! I'll be posting most actively on my socials while I try to set up an actual blog so follow me to join me on my journey (: Instagram: @dalgona.korean TikTok: @dalgona.korean

There are different words you can use to express days in Korean.

일 means 'day', but as it is the counter for days, you don't really use it alone. It is either paired with a number like 3일, or with other nouns like 총선일 (Election Day).

There are special words to express up to 10 days in Korean. The most common ones are 하루, 이틀, 사흘.

날 also means 'day', but usually not used with numbers and is used when talking about a specific day by itself. (e.g., 두 번째 날, 그 날)

주 or 주일 is used to express weeks. It can be used by itself and as a counter with numbers.

Korean months are either expressed with 달 or 개월. Use pure Korean numbers with 달 and Sino-Korean numbers with 개월.

년 are used to express years. You must use Sino-Korean numbers.

*Extra Tip: You can use the particle -에 to express 'per' within that unit of time.

저는 이 약을 하루에 두 번 먹어요. (per day)

저는 그 친구를 1주일에 한 번 만나요. (per week)

저는 여기에 한 달에 세 번 와요. (per month)

Long time no post ~ It's been a while since I've worked on my Korean actively, and I think it's time to start making notes again. I never thought I'd want to make notes on something as simple as this, but I've come to realize that it's something that trips me up a lot.

How to say 'I' and 'me'

Unlike in English where we have 'I' and 'me', Koreans just use:

저: In formal situations

나: In informal situations

While these are used in their pure forms with most grammar, an important thing to remember is that they change when combined with 이/가:

저 -> 제가

나 -> 내가

*This is also the case when combined with the possessive marker 의, it becomes 제 and 내 xxx.

How to say 'You'

Interestingly, Koreans actually do not say 'you' very often. Instead, they express it in a number of ways:

Using someone's name - especially in formal settings. e.g., 지수씨

Using someone's position when referring to them. e.g., Boss (부장님), teacher (선생님), customer (고객님), guest (손님), etc.

Referring to close people like family members. e.g., 오빠, 언니, 이모, 할아버지, 할머니

Calling any older man or woman you don't know as 아저씨 or 아좀마

In informal situations, you can use 너. Similarly, it becomes 네가 when combined with 이/가, but to distinguish the sounds, we usually pronounce this as '니가' even though it should be theoretically the same as '내가'

Using the word 당신. It's either used in formal situations, or when fighting, so use it sparingly.

I find that whenever I want to state my intentions, I like to simply gravitate towards the future tense grammar -거예요, which is not only a super rookie method but also not very accurate in conveying the intended meaning. I decided to compile some of the most important grammar here with similar but differing sentences to convey their differences.

1. V - (으)러 가다/오다

Used to convey that you are going to/ arriving at a place in order to perform a certain action. Therefore the ending verbs can only be 가다/오다/다니다.

e.g., 식당에 그녀석을 헤어지러 갔어요. I went to the restaurant to break up with that guy

2. V - (으)려고

Used to convey the intention of the speaker. The 2nd clause happens 'in order to/for' the 1st clause to happen. This is the most general form that can be used with all verbs, but cannot be used with future tense.

e.g., 그녀석을 헤어지려고 저녁으로 만났어요. I met him for dinner to break up with him.

3. V - (으)려고 하다

Used to express the subject's information or plan that has yet to be acted upon. It means 'plan to' or 'intend to'. When '(으)려고 했다' is used, it means that the intended action did not materialize as expected.

e.g., 오늘 저녁 할때 그녀석이랑 헤어지려고 해요. I plan to break up with him at dinner today.

e.g., 오늘 저녁 할때 그녀석이랑 헤어지려고 했어요. I planned to break up with him at dinner today (but it failed).

4. N 을/를 위해(서); V -기 위해(서)

Used to show that the speaker will do what is in the 2nd clause, for the sake of accomplishing the 1st clause. This grammar can be used with future tense.

e.g,. 제 정신 건강을 위해서 오늘은 그녀석이랑 헤어져야돼요. For the sake of my mental health, I need to break up with him today.

5. V - 기로 하다

Used to express the making of a promise with another person, or to oneself. It is usually used in the past tense - '기로 했어요'.

Welcome to my first 'Learning with ACNH" blog post! Through this short conversation with Wisp upon returning him all 5 spirit pieces, learn lots of vocabulary and 3 grammar patterns along with me 😊

After learning Korean for more than a year now, I can't believe I'm still unfamiliar with the most important phrases and vocabulary... Those centred around SHOPPING. Here's a consolidated list for people who love shopping just like me!

Vocabulary

가격: Price

값: Cost

거스름돈: Change

계산: Calculation

고르다: To choose

다양하다: To be diverse, to be various

모자라다: To be insufficient, to be lacking

무료: Free of charge

바꾸다: To change

바뀌다: To get changed

상품: Merchandise, goods

선택: Choice, selection

세일: Sale

영수증: Receipt

점원: A clerk, store worker

줄: Line, Queue

판매: A sale, selling

팔다: To sell

팔리다: To be sold

포장: Wrapping, packaging

신용 카드: Credit card

현금: Cash

봉투: Shopping bag

환불: Refund

적립카드: Point card

체크 카드: Debit card

Phrases

깎아 주세요: Please give me a discount

영수증 주세요: Please give me a receipt

봉투에 넣어 주세요: Please put this into a shopping bag

카드 돼요?: Can I use my credit card?

교환 가능해요?: Can I exchange this?

환불 가능해요?: Can I have a refund?

세금 포함돼요?: Does this include tax?

봉투 하나 더 주세요: Can I have one more shopping bag?

좀 더 생각해볼게요: I'll think about it more.

이 할인 쿠폰을 사용할 수 있나요?: Can I use this discount coupon?

적립카드가 있어요?: Do you have a point card?

현금으로 계산하면 얼마나 싸게 해 줄 수 있어요?: If I pay with cash, how cheap could it be?

저는 이것을 입어보고 싶어요: I'd like to try this on.

탈의실이 어디에요?: Where are the changing rooms?

계산대에서 지불하세요: Please pay at the checkout counter.

그냥 보고 있어요!: I'm just looking!

Consolidating notes now on Time Expressions!

1. N + 전에, V + 기 전에 (before, ago)

This pattern means 'before a certain period of time' or 'before some action'.

*Difference between 1시 전에 and 1시간 전에 = before 1 o'clock vs 1 hour ago

2년 전에 한국에 왔어요.

식사 전에 이 약을 드세요.

싱가포르에서는 집으로 이사하기전에 결혼해야돼요.

2. N + 후에, V + (으)ㄴ 후에 (after)

This pattern means 'after a certain period of time' or 'after some action'. You can also use - (으)ㄴ 다음에 to express the same thing.

한 달후에 인턴십이 끊을 거예요.

이년 후에 대학교를 졸업할 거예요.

인턴십이 끊은후에 교환학생으로 한국에 갈거예요.

3. V + 고 나서 (and then, upon finishing)

This grammar expresses the finishing of one behaviour followed by the beginning of a subsequent behaviour. Even though technically 고 is sufficient, using 고 나서 greatly emphasises the completion of the first behaviour.

*When the subjects of the first and second clauses are the same in sentences using the motion verbs 가다, 오다, 들어가다, 들어오다, 나가다, 나오다, 올라가다, 내려가다, 일어나다, 앉다, 눕다, 만나다, - 아/어서 is used instead.

나는 학교에 가서 공부해요.

샤워하고 나서 로션을 바라요.

문제를 잘 듣고 나서 대답을 찾으세요.

4. V + 아/어서* (in order to)

Similar to the previous grammar, this is a connective ending indicating the temporal relationship between events. The two actions must be so closely related that the second action cannot occur without the first action occurring first. The subjects of both verbs must be the same!!

*Tenses are expressed only in the second verb, not the first.

*When used with verbs designating the wearing of clothes and accessories, 고 is used in place of 아/어서.

네 시간 동안 공원에 앉아서 이야기했어요.

여자 친구에게 목걸이를 사서 주었어요.

사람들이 우산을 쓰고 가요.

5. N + 때, A/V + (으)ㄹ 때 (time when something occurs)

This grammar expresses the time when an action or state occurs or its duration.

*때 is not used together with 오전, 오후, 아침 or the days of the week.

메 방학때 인턴십을 해요.

시험 볼 때 옆 사람의 시험지를 보지 마세요.

몇 살 때 첫 데이트를 했어요?

6. V + (으)면서 (occurring simultaneously)

This grammar indicates that the actions of the first and second verbs occur simultaneously.

*The subjects of the 2 clauses must be the same. If they are different, you use 는 동안.

*Always write in the present tense before attaching the grammar.

밥을 먹으면서 TV를 봐요.

운전하면서 전화하지 마세요.

저는 공부하면서 노래를 부려요.

7. N + 중, V + 는중 (currently doing, in the midst of)

This expression is used with a noun that corresponds to 'in the process/middle of' or 'currently doing' in English.

*This grammar is similar to 고 있다, but 는 중 is simply limited to being unable to describe natural phenomena.

바람이 부는 중이에요. (X) 바람이 불고 있어요. (O)

사장님은 회의중이에요.

요즘 집을 찾는 중이에요.

8. V + 자마자 (as soon as, right after)

This grammar indicates that something occurs immediately following the end of some event or action, meaning 'as soon as' or 'right after'.

*The subjects of the 1st and 2nd clauses can be the same or different, and tense is not expressed in the verb of the 1st clause, but it is in the 2nd clause.

대학교에 졸업하자마자 취직할 거예요.

제 핸드폰을 사자마자 고장났어요.

제 남친을 첫 보자마자

9. N + 동안, V + 는 동안 (during, while)

This pattern expresses the length of time starting when a certain action or behaviour begins and lasting until it ends.

*The difference between (으)면서 and 는 동안 is that the first one is about doing something simultaneously (subjects of the 1st and 2nd clause must be the same); while the second is about things happening at a certain time period (so 1st and 2nd clause subjects can be different).

어제 4시간 동안 노래방에서 부렀어요.

4개월 반 동안 교환학생으로 서울에서 살거예요.

비행기를 기다리는 동안 면세점에서 쇼핑할까요?

10. V + (으)ㄴ 지 되다/ 넘다 (since)

This grammar indicates how much time has passed since some situation or action occurred and thus corresponds to 'since' in English. It can be expressed in the two ways mentioned above.

한국어를 공부한 지 3년이 되었어요.

우리 사귄 지 2년이 넘었어요.

Hey everyone! Back to posting actual things about grammar again because I'll be heading to Seoul for exchange real soon and I need to cement my basic Korean Grammar as best I can.

There are 4 ways to list and contrast things in Korean:

1. A/V + 고 (and/ and then)

This is the grammar for conveying 'and' or 'and then' for A/V. The grammar to convey 'and' for nouns is 과/와; (이)랑; 하고.

오늘은 학교에 갔고 친구랑 저녁을 먹었어요.

제 친구가 우리 밴드에서 드럼을 치고 기타를 쳐요.

민우씨가 미국사람이고 제이미씨가 싱가포르사람이에요. (This is not considered a noun, because it is an adjective - is American 미국사람이다)

If you'd like to convey two different A/V towards the same noun, use the form: 'N도 V고 N도 V'. It's ok to repeat the verb... I know it's weird. e.g.,형은 수영도 잘하고 농구도 잘해요.

2. V + 거나 (or)

This is used to convey choices, usually only used once, but can also be used to connect three or more options. The grammar to convey choices between nouns is (이)나.

매 아침에 초코우유 마시거나 빵을 먹어요.

주말에 영화를 보거나 쇼핑할거예요.

바쁘거나 가방이 무거울때 택시를 타요.

3. A/V + 지만 (but, although)

This is used to convey 'but' or 'although'.

한국말은 어렵지만 재미있어요.

그 남자가 잘생기지만 좀 바보같아요.

하영 씨는 많이 먹지만 날씬해요.

4. A/V + (으)ㄴ/는데 * (but, in contrast)

This is also used to convey the word 'but', but places greater emphasis on the fact that the second clause of the sentence is in contrast to, or is an unexpected result of the first clause.

(으)ㄴ 데: for present tense adjectives

는데: for present tense verbs/ 있가, 앖다

았/었는데: for past tense verbs

*Note that this grammar can also be used when talking about background information.

낮에는 사람이 없는데 밤이 사람이 많아요.

노래를 잘부르는데 춤을 못 쳐요.

제 한국어 읽기 잘하는데 쓰기가 잘 못해요.

Can you tell I love NewJeans' music? 🤭

위해: For you

굽다: To bake, grill, roast, broil, toast

부드럽다: To be soft

떠오르다: To occur to me, come to mind

버리다: To throw away

입맛: Appetite, taste

숨기다: To hide, conceal

목 마르다: To be parched, thirsty

원하게 되다: Going to want it

독: Poison

녹이다: To melt, thaw

마음속: Inside of one's heart

향기: Smell

모자라다: To be short of, insufficient, deficient

정신을 차리다: To regain conciousness, to come to one's senses

재료: Ingredients

아끼다: To economise, save, be frugal

망치다: To mess up

생기다: To be formed, be created

빠져버리다: To fall in love, to fall in, to be very into smth

달라다: To be different

믿다: To trust

예민하다: To be sensitive

“재미없어 어쩌지”: "It's not fun, what to do"

잊다: To forget

눈을 뜨다: To open your eyes

눈 뜨다: To wake up

원하다: To want/ wish for

전하다: To tell, convey, communicate, let someone know

드끼다: To feel something

눈을 감다: To close one's eyes

잠에 들리다: To fall asleep

Attention - NewJeans

한참: For a long time

쳐다보다: To look, gaze, stare at

가까이: Close

다가가다: To go closer

용기: Courage

생기다: To gain

고개를 돌리다: To gain courage

“너야겠어”: It's gotta be you

온통: Entirely

꿈에서 깨우다: To wake up from a dream

가끔: Sometimes

분명하다: To be clear/ distinct/ plain

분명히: Clearly

분명한 건: "One thing is clear/ plain/ for sure"

우연하다: To be an accident

우연히: Accidentally

마주치다: To run into/ bump into

척하다: To pretend

못 번척: To pretend that you did not see

지나가다: To pass by/ walk by

“나와 너와 걸어가 줘”: Please walk with me/ follow me

돌아서다: To turn around

틀키다: To get caught

심장이 튀어나다: To have one's heart pop out of their chest

Did you know that you could literally create "nouns" with any word or phrase in the Korean language? By "nouns", this doesn't mean it actually becomes a noun per se, but it becomes a noun form that can be used with any grammar principle that involves "nouns".

1. A/V + 기

+기 functions to turn verbs and adjectives into nouns and corresponds roughly to '-ing' in English. Other than that, it also turns A/V or clauses into nouns. As compared to +는 것, this is rarely used for long phrases and mainly for simple A/V.

Verbs: e.g., "먹기" - eating, "요리기" - cooking

Adjectives: e.g., "크기" - size, "밝기" - brightness

Entire phrases: "집이 멀어서 학교에 오기가 힘들어요."

e.g., "제 취미는 요리하기예요." = My hobby is cooking.

e.g., "한국말을 공부하기가 어려워요." = Studying Korean is difficult.

2. A/V + 는 것

This grammar builds on the grammar of noun modifiers! Noun modifiers involve adding +는 as a "noun modifier" for verbs, and +ㄴ/은 for adjectives. Remember that noun modifiers are awesome because they allow you to let phrases which include A/V descriptions to be placed in sentences that:

End in an adjective - "제가 만나고 있는 사람은 예뻐요."

End in a verb - "저는 제가 자주 가는 곳애 가고 있어요."

End in 이다 - "저는 예쁜 여자예요."

Without going too much into the noun modifier grammar, 는 것 basically builds on this to create singular nouns. This grammar is especially used for longer phrases.

*refer to this amazing lesson by HowtostudyKorean.com that explains this!

e.g., "저는 친구가 사과를 가져오는 것을 원해요." = I wish for my friend to bring apples.

e.g., "나는 엄마가 요리하는 것을 먹고 싶어요." = I want to eat the food that my mom cooks.

e.g., "나는 그 사람이 먹고 있는 것을 먹고 싶어요." = I want to eat what that person is eating.

3. A/V + ㅁ/음

This grammar similarly changes A/V into nouns and is more commonly used for singular words and less so for long sentences. If it is used for those purposes, it mostly shows up in books/poems and less so in speech.

*refer to this amazing lesson by HowtostudyKorean.com that explains this!

e.g., "꿈" - dream; "아품" - pain; "싸움" - a fight

e.g., "나는 형이랑 싸움에서 이겼어." = I won in a fight with my brother.

In Korean, saying 'because' is really unnecessarily complicated. And I've tried again and again to remember it in my brain - but it doesn't work. So here's my cheatsheet that hopefully, I can return to whenever I'm confused.

1. A/V - 아/어서

This is the default for descriptive sentences, e.g., "I went to the library because my exam is coming soon."

Note: Tense markers are not used for this grammar (no 았/었/겠)

Note: For 이다, 이어서 or 이라서 (in conversation) is used.

Can be used with common words of greeting (e.g., 만나서)

e.g., "기분이 좋아서 춤을 췄어요."; "이번 주는 바빠서 시간이 없어요."

2. A/V - (으)니까

This is used for sentences that end with a question (imperative) or end with a suggestion (propositive).

Note: Tense markers CAN be used here (았/었/겠)

Cannot be used with common words of greeting (e.g., 만나니까)

e.g., "이번 주는 바쁘니까 다음 주에 합시다."; "추우니까 창문 좀 닫아 주세요."

3. N - (이기) 때문에, A/V - 기 때문에

This more strongly emphasises the reason or cause behind the second clause. This cannot be used with imperative or propositive sentences as well, but rather only for descriptive sentences.

*Difference between N - 기 때문에 vs N - 이기 때문에: First grammar conveys that the reason is somewhat related to the first clause. The second grammar more strongly conveys that it is precisely because of the first clause that the second clause is so.

e.g., "아기 때문에 밥을 못 먹어요." means that "I can't eat because of (something related to) the baby."

VS "아기이기 때문에 밥을 못 먹어요." means that "The baby can't eat because it is still a baby."

e.g., "아이 때문에 피곤해요."; 외국인이기 때문에 한국말을 잘 못해요."

First of all, the Korean word for 'number' is 숫자. That's something I didn't know for a long time LOL. There are two types of numbers - Sino Korean numbers and Native Korean numbers. They're used in different contexts!

Sino-Korean Numbers

Sino-Korean numbers are derived from the Chinese language. These are the numbers we use to count large numbers.

0-10: 공/영, 일, 이, 삼, 사, 오, 육, 칠, 팔, 구, 십

100, 1000, 10000: 백, 천, 만

100,000; 1,000,000: 십만, 백만

*Koreans tend to read large numbers in units of 10000, therefore even 100,000 and 1 million are read in terms of 10000 (만)

*If reading out a large number, should the first number be 1, we read as e.g., thousand, instead of ONE thousand. (천 instead of 일천)

Usage of Sino-Korean Numbers

Telephone numbers (dashes are read as 의; 공 is the appropriate 0)

Measuring (Height, Weight)

Address numbers, phone numbers

Years (년), *months (개월), weeks (주), days (날)

Time: Minutes (분), Seconds (초)

Prices, money

Bus route numbers

Points, school grades, percentages, temperature

No. of times (일번)

Native Korean Numbers

Native Korean numbers can only be counted up to 99. They are typically used for units and age.

1-11: 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯, 여섯, 일곱, 여덟, 아흡, 열, 열하나

20-90: 스물, 서른, 마흔, 쉰, 예순, 일흔, 여든, 아흔

Usage of Native Korean Numbers

Time: Hours (시/시간)

Months (달)

Units (becomes 한, 두, 세, 네; 스무 20)

Age (살)

은/는 are TOPIC marking particles, while 이/가 are SUBJECT marketing particles. However, other than these uses, there are many nuances in the way Koreans truly use these particles to convey meaning.

Usage of 은/는:

Topic marking particles

Emphasis - "As for this", "unlike other things"

Comparison between the first noun and the second noun

e.g., If you were talking about coffee and water: "이거는 물이에요.", it would signify that you were emphasising the fact that THIS is WATER and not coffee.

e.g., "이거는 뭐예요?" signifies "And as for this one, what is it?"

e.g., "오늘은 날씨 좋네요" vs "오늘 날씨는 좋네요" = "The weather (hasn't been good lately, but) today it is good" vs "Today (everything else is not good, but at least) the weather is good "

*This means that the placement of 은/는 matters in showing what you want to emphasise!

Usage of 이/가:

Subject marking particles

Nuance of "none other than" or "nothing but"

e.g., "이 책이 좋아요" vs "이 책은 좋아요" = "There are no other books as good as this one" vs "The other books are not as good, but at least this book is good"

Other differences in usage:

In negative sentences, 아닙니다, 아니에요, have to use 이/가

If using 있다/없다, always use 이/가

If these 2 nouns and a descriptive verb (adjective), use 은/는 first and 이/가 second