Milkcocoah Korean

Hi there! I apologize again for the late response. That’s a good question. But, it’s hard to know without context. Some grammar change based on context.

My best guess is that it’s the grammar 는 거예요/는 거야 plus the particle 지 (assumption, agreement etc).

You might know this grammar. But, in case some people don’t. I’ll explain it again. I do have a post somewhere. I’ll put the usage here. (The conjugation can be found easily on google!^^)

ㄴ/는 거야 or the polite ㄴ/는 거예요 is a sentence ending that can be used in the present or past with both verbs and adjectives. It’s basically a more emotional way to talk instead of giving just basic information or straight facts. 

And, it’s used mostly in these situations:

–>giving new (or surprising) information

–>responding to something (with emotion)

–>telling a story to someone (this is because you’re typically telling new or surprising information haha)

–>recounting or clarifying information

Here are some examples:

그거 들었어? 소영이가 그 오빠랑 사귀는 거야! Did you hear that? Soyoung is dating that older guy!

This sounds more surprised like “I’m telling you something!” Instead of “그 오빠랑 사귀고 있어” which just conveys the information a little more dryly. So, if you don’t care, you might use 사귀고 있어. But if this is big news, 사귀는 거야 is more likely to be used. 

어제 남자친구가 갑자기 헤어지자고 한 거야. Yesterday, my boyfriend suddenly said we should break up! (let’s break up). 

이쪽으로 갈까? (Goes off in another direction.) 엥? 어디 가는 거야! 이리 와! Should we go in this direction? *goes off in another direction.* Eh? Where are you going??

*Like “Where on earth are you going” or “where exactly are you going?” or “where the hell are you going?”

So, my guess is you saw “는 거야” plus 지. They are often used together. 지 commonly conveys assumption, agreement or “checking” information with someone.

So, for example:

헤어지자고 하는 거지? You’re saying we should break up, right?

나랑 같이 가는 거지? You’re going with me, right?

This grammar is “nuance” on “nuance.” So, it takes a while to master using it. But, you can understand it this way! And once you understand it, it’ll be easy to recognize it in videos and conversation in the future!

But once again, I can’t promise this is correct. Because I’m not too sure about the context. But, regardless, this is crazy common. 

This is a post I made when I first started this blog, but I thought I’d bring it back since it’s a really great word. 부지런하다 is a word that you hear quite often in Korea. It normally translates to diligent or hard working. 

It’s used all the time as a response to hearing that you’re doing something that’s good for your mind or body.

So, if you wake up early to exercise or study instead of watching Netflix, you’re probably going to hear the phrase: 부지런하네요~

Here are two examples. 오늘 아침에 일찍 일어나서 운동했어요. I woke up early and exercised this morning. 우와 정말 부지런하네요. Wow, you really work hard./You’re really diligent.

우리 오빠는 숙제를 미리 하는 편이에요. 저보다 부지런하죠?ㅋㅋ My older brother always does his homework in advance. He works a lot harder than I do, huh? Haha

It’s basically used to praise someone for something that most people are too lazy to do or don’t like doing. It’s a great word. After learning this phrase, I realized why my Korean friends used the word “diligent” so often. 

Today I have another 속담(proverb/old saying). 산 넘어 산이다. 

This one is one of my favorites. Life is full of challenges one after another. And this proverb illustrates just that feeling.

So, let’s first break 산 넘어 산이다 down. 산 means mountain(s), 넘다 means to climb over, pass, cross, and 산이다 is 산(mountain) plus the copula 이다 (similar to “to be”). 

산 넘어 산이다. Literally means something like “there is (another) mountain after going over a mountain.”/ “Go over the mountain and there is another mountain.”

It’s used to express discontent that there is “one problem/challenge after another.” Once you finish one challenge, another one appears.

So, like the pictures, American college students are in a debt crisis. So, it’s probably pretty relatable for some of you. I just struggled to get through college! So, now I should be okay. But, the moment I finish my first challenge (getting through college), I’m immediately faced with another challenge (paying off college debt). 

With life always putting new problems, barriers and challenges in front of us, this is a great expression. Here are some examples.

산 넘어 산이라고 대학교를 졸업하자마자 학비를 갚아야 돼요. “It’s just one challenge after another.” As soon as I graduate, I have to repay my school costs.

인생은 쉽지는 않지. 산 넘어 산이라고 하잖아. Live isn’t easy. They say it’s one hardship after another you know.

A: 민경아, 취직했다면서? 축하해! Mingyeong. I heard you got a job? Congratulations!

B: ㅋㅋ 고마워..취직을 하긴 했는데 다음 주 영어 시험을 봐야 된대. 산 넘어 산이야. haha Thank you...I did get a job, but they said I have to take an English exam next week. It’s just one thing after another.

Hey guys, today I have two interesting verbs for you. 

새우다 and 피우다. The reason they are interesting is that you often don’t see them in their “correct” form while talking. Some of you might have even noticed this or wondered why you don’t see 새우다 and 피우다 often or if there is a difference. 

In textbooks you’ll learn sentences like:

어제 밤을 새워서 공부했어요. I stayed up all night studying yesterday.

But, you don’t hear that sentence too often in real life conversations with friends. Instead, you hear this:

어제 밤을 새서 공부했어요. I stayed up all night studying.

Or

밤을 샜어요. I stayed up all night./I pulled an all-nighter.

In class, newspapers, and in the dictionary, you will (or should) find the verb as 새우다. But, most people (at least in Seoul) use the verb as 새다. 우 completely disappears. 피우다 is the same. In the dictionary and in your books, you’ll see 담배(를) 피우다 and 바람(을) 피우다. But, many people say 담배(를) 피다 and 바람(을) 피다.

밤을 새다 is technically incorrect. But, you’ll hear it more often than the correct version. It’s kind of like “who and whom” in the US. Most people don’t use “whom” at all. They use “who” incorrectly even if they know it’s wrong. That’s because for some weird reason using "who” wrong sounds more natural than using “whom” correctly.

Here are a few examples of the three most common words I’ve come across.

담배를 안 폈으면 좋겠어요. (*안 피웠으면) I wish you didn’t smoke cigarettes. 

밤을 새지 마. 숙제는 내일 해. (*새우지 마) Don’t stay up all night. Do your homework tomorrow.

남자 친구가 바람을 피면 끝이야! (*바람을 피우면) If (my) boyfriend cheats, it’s over/it’s the end. 

It’s strange that language sometimes sounds better when it’s wrong, right? Just one more reason to not stress about speaking “perfect Korean.” You should use the correct form when writing papers and on tests, but when you’re talking or texting, feel free to use it “incorrectly.” 

Hi guys, today I have a little 말장난 (pun, word play) for you.

In the picture, the guy in green says “석준아, 내 말 좀 들어 줘!” and then gives 석준 a horse. This is a common 짤 (meme) that you can find in google images for Korean puns.

말 means both “words” or “horse.” And the phrase 들어 주다 can mean “to listen to someone” or “to hold something for someone.” (듣다 to listen/들다 to hold something)

So, “내 말 좀 들어 줘” could be translated two different ways. “Please listen to what I have to say” or “please hold my horse.”

But, you know...you will probably never say “please hold my horse.” (unless it’s a toy horse?) 

Either way, I recommend looking up the 짤. You can save it and send it to a Korean friend when you want to tell them something. 

Hey guys! I know it’s been a really long time since I posted anything. I thought I’d have so much time this summer to work on my blog, and things just haven’t turned out that way. While on vacation, my girlfriend and I suddenly found out we had to prepare for her visa interview 3 weeks earlier than it was scheduled. We’re actually engaged. Unfortunately, we can’t get married here, so we are preparing to go the US together. It’s been quite a process.  And therefore, I have been preparing to go home. And my room even had water pouring through the ceiling at one point. It’s been a really long month haha.

But I’m happy to say that everything turned out well. And I have a little comic of my girlfriend and me. I thought it might be some good reading practice. It’s written really naturally at the upper-intermediate level. I hope you like it! (It’s based on a true story...I hate doing dishes.) If you guys like it, I will post more. They’re fun to draw for me.

It also fits in great since it’s Pride month! Although, it’s slightly late. Happy Pride everyone!

Here is a translation of the comic.

Notes:

시키* is a much cuter and softer version of the curse word 새끼 (bastard). It’s something we use with each other, but I don't use it with anyone else. Swear words should always be used with caution. ^^

*간지러 is used instead of 간지러워 (간지럽다 to be itchy, ticklish). Sometimes words ending in “럽다” are shortened like this, especially the faster you want to get the words out. It’s technically incorrect, but you’ll hear it. For example, sometimes you hear 시끄러! instead of 시끄러워 (시끄럽다 to be loud, noisy).

Hi there! I’m glad to hear from you. This is a good question. The placement of adverbs (부사) can be difficult. You could say that 연습 많이 했다 is a little more grammatically correct. But, that is because this is a 하다 verb. 하다 is used to make nouns into verbs, right? (noun: 연습 practice, verb: 연습하다 to practice). 

So, all 하다 verbs can be written with the particles 을/를. For example, 연습하다 and 연습을 하다 are exactly the same meaning-wise. 연습하다 is like the shortened form. 

Generally, adverbs and the “negative 안/못” are right next to the verb. 안 음식을 먹었어요. would be really awkward, right? 음식을 안 먹었어요. would be more natural. The negative 안/못 and adverbs like to be close to the verb. You can think of it as adverbs love verbs and don’t want to be separated. 

하다 verbs are unique because they are a noun + a verb. Because of this, adverbs typically are put between the noun and 하다.

For example:

공부를 많이 했다. I studied a lot.

연습(을) 자주 해야 돼요. I have to practice often.

But, this is not a hard rule when speaking. You’ll see some people say 많이 연습했어요. and it is not super awkward. But, in general adverbs are right next to the verb. You’ll even see 연습했어요 많이! It’s an interesting trait that Korean has. However, the father away the adverb is from the verb the more awkward it will become.

In the case of 안 and 못, it’s more important to put them right next to the verb. It can get awkward if you don’t. (But sometimes people say 안 공부했다-- especially kids.)

However, it’s better to say it like this:

포기(를) 못 해요. / 포기(를) 안 했어요. I can’t give up./ I didn’t give up.

Hi there, I am doing pretty good now!^^ And yes, that’s actually something I tackle in a lot of posts, like the post on 기대되다 and 흥분되다. These differences normally appear in subtle differences in usage for vocabulary that don’t match their translation.

One that I might have mentioned is the difference between “뭐 what” and “왜 why.” This is a surprisingly big difference. In the US, if I am looking at someone too long they might ask “What?” (Like what are you looking at lol), but in Korea if you say “뭐야? / 뭐예요?” it would be pretty aggressive or rude. It just isn’t used in that situation. Koreans will ask “why? 왜?/왜요?” (why are you looking at me?) It’s also the reason Koreans will awkwardly ask “why” in situations where (at least)  Americans wouldn't use it.

Hi there! I apologize for this answer being much too late. The best approach to listening is definitely listening to things you like! I think your approach is great. There are all kinds of theories about what work. Like listening once with subtitles then without or vise versa. But, taking the approach that is most enjoyable is always my main advice. If you hate to do it, you won’t do it. That’s just what happens. There are amazing study tips, but if you hate the method, it’s easy to give up. It happened to me a bunch. 

I do find that if you want to take a very “school” approach, watching three times (one without subtitles, one with Korean subtitles or a script, then once without subtitles again) really does help. I had to do it in school, and while it was annoying, I did hear a lot of the script by the third time.  

I find Korean subtitles to be helpful in the beginning. You can match the word to the sound, and you know what to be listening for.

Listening is hard because if you don’t know the word, you can hear it 100 times and never understand. So, actually the best thing for listening is building your vocabulary (and of course grammar). But, listening and looking for words or phrases is always good practice whether you understand or not. It’s hard to not improve if you couple exposure to Korean with studying (especially vocab). Whenever I learn a new word, I almost immediately hear it in conversation or read it somewhere. So, vocabulary expansion is really important. 

Hi guys~ today’s post is a Korean 속담 (proverb, old saying). 

백지장도 맞들면 낫다. 

First, let’s break it down.

백지장 white paper / 도 also, too / 맞들다 to lift up something together / (으)면 “if/when” grammar / 낫다 to be better

You could literally translate it as “It’s better if you lift up even a sheet of paper together.”/ “If you lift up a white sheet of paper together, it’s better.”

It’s similar to “many hands make light work” or “two heads are better than one.” 

A piece of paper is incredibly light, but even something that light is easier to lift if two people do it together. So, this is an expression about working together to make a task easier. Here are some examples of how to use it. 

(If someone is telling you you don’t have to help) 아냐 아냐 나도 도와줄게. 백지장도 맞들면 낫잖아! No, no. I’ll help you (too). Many hands make light work, you know. 

백지장도 맞들면 낫다고 제가 도와드릴게요. They say many hands make light work; I’ll help you. 

왜 혼자서 하려고 그래? 백지장도 맞들면 낫다는 말도 있잖아. 같이 하자. Why are you trying to do it yourself? They say many hands make light work. (Lit: You know there is an expression/words “many hands make light work.”) Let’s do it together.

Hi guys~ I’ve mentioned before that learning hanja is a great way to expand your vocabulary and also to understand vocabulary on a deeper level. Today, I have two different hanja that are used to represent the word “사람” or “person.” 

The first one is 사람 인 人.

인간 human / 타인 other person, stranger / 성인 (adult person) adult 

인재 talented person (재 for 소질 talent, aptitude for / 재능 talent)

한국인 Korean (person) / 외국인 foreign person / 인구 (인 person, 구 mouth - like the number of mouths to feed) population / 애인 (애 love, 인 person) lover, boy/girlfriend 

If you remember learning 힘 력 力 (power), then you can use that to understand the word 인력 人力 (manpower). It’s often seen in the work force as 인력 필요하다 to need people to work/manpower.

There is also 사람 자 者. 

부자 rich person *So in the picture with the lipstick, the person says “이 립스틱이 십만원이라고? 싸네…더 비싼 걸 보여 주세요. This lipstick is 100,000 won? (about 100 US dollars) That’s cheap…please show me a more expensive one.

환자 patient / 소비자 consumer / 피해자 victim / 노동자 (노동 labor 자 person) laborer 

희생자 victim (“희생 sacrifice 자 person”) / 기자 newspaper journalist 

약자 weak person (typically used to refer to women, children, and the elderly) 

범죄자 (crime person) criminal / (비)흡연자 (non)smoker (lit: (비 not) 흡 taking in/drinking 연 smoke 자 person)

Don’t worry about the difference between 사람 인 and 사람 자. These are just the hanja that appear in vocabulary words. There is no “difference,” but you cannot change them. It’s impossible to change 한국인 to 한국자. You have to use 한국인. 

(으)면 좋겠다 is a power grammar point. It’s at the (lower) intermediate level, but it’s used all the time. It’s a core grammar point in my opinion, and you definitely need to master it.

(으)면 좋겠다 is attached to both verbs and adjectives to express one’s wishes or hopes. Many beginner students try to say “I wish/hope” by translating the word to 소원을 빌다/희망하다/바라다 or the grammar point -기를 바라다. And while they aren’t exactly wrong, it’s really easy to use them awkwardly or incorrectly in everyday situations. 

And that’s why, I’d like to introduce (으)면 좋겠다. It uses (으)면 “if” and 좋겠다 “would be nice” to mean “I wish” or “I hope,” even though “wish” and “hope” aren’t always interchangeable in English. This grammar point can be used to express both. It literally expresses “I would be nice if...” One of the interesting parts of this grammar point is that context is super important when translating it. It can be used in a lot of situations unlike the English words “wish” or “hope” which have more distinguished differences. 

And if you already learned (으)면 “if/when,” then you already know how to conjugate it! Words ending with a consonant use -으면 좋겠다, and words ending with no consonant use -면 좋겠다.

Verbs/Adjectives

하다 —> 하면 좋겠다 vs. 먹다 —> 먹으면 좋겠다

크다 —> 크면 좋겠다 vs. 없다 —> 없으면 좋겠다

Here are some examples.

내일 시험을 잘 보면 좋겠어요. I hope I do well on the test tomorrow. (시험을 잘 보다 - to take a test well, do well on a test)

전 여자 친구가 앞으로 나랑 연락을 안 하면 좋겠어. I hope my ex-girlfriend doesn’t contact me anymore. 

둘이 항상 싸우더라고…헤어지면 좋겠어 Those two always fight…I wish they’d break up.

오늘 비가 오면 좋겠어요. I hope it rains today./It’d be nice if it rains today.

It’s also common to see this grammar used in the past tense, 았/었/였으면 좋겠다. I would actually argue that it’s more common to see it in the past tense (in my experience that is). Luckily, its core meaning doesn’t change. Textbooks are a bit hazy on the difference between the two. But some books say it’s just a little bit stronger. Think of it as a little more emphasis on your wish. (Just remember that this form is used a bit more. And the difference is really arbitrary in regards to its usage.)

너는…그런 말을 안 했으면 좋겠어. 너는 예쁘잖아. I wish you wouldn’t say that (words like that). You’re pretty…

A 아이돌이 나랑 사랑에 빠졌으면 좋겠다~ I wish idol A would fall in love with me.

내 생일 파티에 왔으면 좋겠어요. I hope you come to my birthday party./I wish you would come to my birthday party./It’d be great if you came to my birthday party.

좋은 대학교에 합격했으면 좋겠어. I hope I get accepted into a good school.

걔가 좀 조용했으면 좋겠어. I wish he would be quiet. (*note: this is not a nice thing to say~^^)

It can also be used with the copula 이다 and 아니다.

올해 우리 선생님이 남자였으면(남자면) 좋겠어. I hope our teacher is a man this year.

올해 우리 선생님이 남자가 아니었으면(아니면) 좋겠어. I hope our teacher isn’t a man this year.

You can also use (으)면 하다 instead of (으)면 좋겠다. (으)면 하다 tends to be used more often in formal speech. But the meaning remains the same. 

*Note: (으)면 하다 can be used in casual speech, but (으)면 좋겠다 isn’t really used in formal speech. 

여러분, 이 발표를 재미있게 보셨으면 합니다. Everyone, I hope you all enjoy this powerpoint.

주연 씨는 좀 더 일찍 수업에 오셨으면 해요. Miss Juyeon, I wish you would come to class a little bit earlier.

(이웃에게) 죄송한데요. 저희 아들이 강아지 털 알레르기가 있거든요. 그래서 강아지랑 놀지 않았으면 해요. (To a neighbor) I’m sorry. You see, our son has a dog fur allergy. So, I hope he doesn’t play with the dog. (And in context, that would equal~ I hope you don’t let him play with the dog.)

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for that question. It actually has a rather personal meaning. When I first made this blog, I didn’t have any real good ideas. But around this time, my girlfriend had come up with a new nickname for me. 

I don’t talk much about myself on this blog obviously, but I’m actually engaged to an amazing person. And she has me saved in her phone as 밀크코코아. (Which is occasionally shortened to 밀코.) She chose the name because she says my hair is the color of milk cocoa. 

But when I put Milkcocoah Korean together, I kind of liked the “K” sound repetition. And I do love milk chocolate. So, I was hoping my blog would also be as enjoyable. At one point I did wonder if I should change it or if it sounded too childish? But, as you can see, I have not changed it. 

She is saved in my phone as 슬로스 (sloth). And that’s also why there is a sloth on the Milkcocoah Korean banner (which she drew for me) haha. I call her sloth because she called herself that. She said she moves slowly at work like a sloth in order to conserve energy haha. 

Hi! You very well might be haha To me “He’s described as someone” sounds quite formal. So, I’m not sure if you want a formal way to say this or an informal one.

So, I’ll give you two options.

noun(으)로 묘사되다 is the literal “to be described as.” It’s often found in writing.

도널드 트럼프 대통령은 종종 뉴스에서 인종차별주의자로 묘사된다. President Donald Trump is often described as a racist in the news. (because he is...)

Informally, you could say “많은 사람이 person은/는 ———-다고 해요/하더라고요.” A lot of people say that “person” is ————.

많은 사람들이 도널드 트럼프 대통령이 인종차별주의자라고 하더라고요. Many people say that President Donald Trump is a racist. 

This is great while just informally talking.

Hello there, I imagine you meant 끼쟁이. I’m actually preparing a lesson on 쟁이 right now~ so I’ll get into the grammar there. 끼쟁이 is often used positively when referring to idols. It basically means the person has lot of 끼 which means talent (재능). It could be used if they are really talented or that they have a lot of talents. 

 끼가/재능이 많은 사람: 끼쟁이

우와 너 진짜 끼쟁이야. Wow…you’re so talented.

Hi there~ thank you for the question. I’ve actually never heard of a 평소 친구. I couldn’t find it in a dictionary or in search results in Naver either. There are phrases like 평소에 만나는 친구 (a friend you usually meet). 

Did  you maybe mean 평생(의) 친구 (lifetime friend)? 평생 친구 can be used for someone you’re confident you’ll be friends with forever: a lifetime friend. 

And then 친한 친구 would be a close friend. You can add 가장 or 제일 to mean best friend: 제일 친한 친구 (the friend I’m closest with/best friend).