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-거든(요)

-줄 알다/모르다

-ㄹ/을 테니까 and -ㄹ/을 텐데

-았/었던

아니라 and 대신에

-ㄹ/을 리가 없다

편이다, 별로, and More

-지 그렇다 (Why don’t you…?)

-ㄹ/을 걸

-ㄹ/을 까 보다

-다면서요

-다니 part 1

-다니 part 2

뜻이다 & 말이다

-다가

-더라고(요)

-더니

Some colloquialisms: 아니시에이팅 and 뭐 이렇게

-(으)ㅁ Sentence Ending

-다 보니까

Great question! I'm going to make this this week's lesson and put it under the "Advanced" section of my masterlist!

I believe you're asking about the phrase 따윈 없어. Also, please keep in mind that this is a colloquialism, and since I’m not a native speaker and have never lived in Korea, I might not be the best person to explain this. However, I have heard this phrase a lot so I do have some understanding, and I’ve referred to other sources to help me out :) Let's talk about what 따위 means first!

따위

따위, according to Naver Dictionary, means "et cetera," "and  the like" -- phrases like that. Here's an example from Naver:

그것에는 낡은 인형, 책 따위가 가득하다. = It’s full of old toys, books and what not.

In other case, however, it can be used to express your negative feelings about something, according to this post on italki. It can sound angry and even be rather offensive depending on the sentence. Here are some examples:

(from italki) 나는 사랑 따위 믿지 않아. = I don't trust this love thingy.

Here, 따위 emphasizes your negativity towards love, expressing how you "don't trust love or whatever it is."

난 체육 시간 따위 싫어. = I hate gym class. / I hate this gym class thing.

Also notice how these sentences are in 반말 -- they are informal/impolite. In cases like these, I would not recommend using them around people you have to speak formally to.

그 따위 책은 읽지 안을 거야. = I’m not gonna read that kind of book.

Here, 따위 acts as a kind of adjective meaning “that kind of,” and communicates your distaste for “that kind of” thing you’re talking about.

This post notes that 따위 can also act as an "independent noun which means 'that way,'" which can also be offensive. For example:

아이한테 왜 그 따위로 혼내? = Why the hell would you yell at a child like that?

Here, 따위 means “that way,” and the speaker is condemning the way at which the listener yelled at the child.

따윈 없다

Now let’s talk about what 따윈 없다 means. 따윈 has the topic particle -ㄴ/은/는 attached, and 없다 means “to not have/to not be there/to not exist.” In general, I find that 따윈 can emphasize how you have nothing at all or nothing whatsoever -- it gives a stronger nuance to the sentence. For example:

저는 돈 따윈 없어요. = I have to money whatsoever. / I don’t have any money or anything like that.

유령 따윈 없어요. = There’s no such things as ghosts.

Both sentences have a strong nuance that you do not have something or that something does not exist at all. As with 따위 in general, this can have an angrier, more offensive nuance to it as well. Sentences with nouns in front of 없다, like 관심 or 필요, often include 따위 as well. For example:

너한테 할 말따윈 없어! = I have nothing to say to you!

학교따위 관심이 없어요. = I have no interest in school whatsoever.

약따위 필요 없어요. = I don’t need any kind of medicine.

These can all be pretty angry-sounding/strong sentences. I hope this clarifies the nuance of 따위! Thanks for the great question! Of course, if anyone has a better understanding of this colloquialism and would like to add/correct something, please let me know! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!

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안녕하세요 여러분! Today we have a lesson about -더니, which you hear in Korean a lot! Let’s start! 

-았/었더니

1. Because

The first meaning of -았/었더니 we’re going to learn about is that meaning “because.” You probably noticed that -았/었더니 looks like a combination of -더라고(요) (used to talk about your past experience) and -(으)니까 (meaning “because”). That’s basically what this meaning is all about! Let’s see a formula:

[verb / adjective] + 았/었 + 더니 + [second clause] 

When using -더니 to talk about yourself, it must be conjugated into the past tense!!

Let’s see some examples!

어젯밤에 잠자리에 늦게 들었더니 오늘은 진짜 졸려요. = I went to bed late last night, so today I’m really sleepy. / I’m really sleepy today because I went to bed late last night.

Here, you’re talking about your own personal experience – you went to bed late last night. As a result, you’re sleepy today.

아침에 커피를 많이 마셨더니 지금은 잠이 잘 수 없어요. = I drank a lot of coffee this morning, so now I can’t sleep.

한국어를 열심히 공부했더니 이제는 유창하게 구사해요. = I studied Korean really hard, and now I’m fluent.

2. Showing Contrast

The second meaning of -았/었더니 is showing a contrast of some sort. It is very similar to -ㄴ/는데, and can have the meaning of “and” or “but.” It uses the same formula as the first usage. Again, you’re talking about something that you personally experienced. Let’s see some examples!

지난 학기가 돼게 힘들었더니 이번 학기는 더 쉬어요. = Last semester was really difficult, but this semester is easier.

You’re talking about your own experience with last semester and contrasting it with your experience this semester.

지난 번에 이 가게에 가 봤을 때 옷이 정말 비쌌더니 이번에는 꽤 싸네요. = The last time that I went to this store, their clothes were really expensive, but this time, they’re quite cheap.

어제는 제 컴퓨터가 안 됐더니 오늘은 괜찮은 것 같아요. = My computer wasn’t working yesterday, but it seems fine today.

-더니

Now let’s talk about just -더니. -더니 alone is added to a verb or adjective stem, NOT conjugated into the past tense (even if the event you’re talking about did happen in the past). It’s pretty much used to also mean “because,” but this present tense form can be used only when talking about other people! However, it is also used when talking about something that you personally witnessed. Let’s look at an example from howtostudykorean.com:

슬기가 체육시간에 너무 많이 달리더니 다음 수업을 들을 수 없었어요 = Seulgi ran a lot during P.E. class, so she couldn’t attend the next class.

Here, you’re describing something that Seulgi did, but you are recalling Seulgi running, something you witnessed yourself. 

howtostudykorean gives this as a more nuanced translation: “I personally saw/experienced Seulgi run a lot during P.E. class, so she couldn’t attend the next class.”

Let’s see some more examples!

백현 씨는 우버를 부르더니 지금 집에 가고 있는 것 같아요. = Baekhyun called an Uber, so I think he’s going home now. / I saw Baekhyun calling an Uber, so I think he’s going home now. 

지수 언니는 어제 소리치더니 목소리 안 나와요. = Jisoo lost her voice because she was screaming yesterday. / I experienced Jisoo screaming yesterday, and now she lost her voice.

집에서 나갔을 때 태용 형이 아직 자더니 아마도 늦게 올 거예요. = Taeyong was still sleeping when I left the house, so he’ll probably come late. / When I left the house, I saw that Taeyong was still asleep, so he’ll probably come late.

That’s about it for this lesson! Feel free to ask any questions!! 다음에 봐요!

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안녕하세요! Hey everyone! Welcome to this next Level 10 lesson – I think it’s going to help your Korean sound a little more natural and fluent! We’re going to learn about 뜻이다 and 말이다, which are both pretty similar but a little different! Let’s start!

뜻이다

The word 뜻 has a couple of different meanings, but for this lesson we’re just going to focus on one of them, which is “meaning” or “definition.” 

Now let’s look at some formulas:

[noun] + (이)라는 뜻이다 = It means that it’s [noun]

[verb] + ㄴ/는 다는 뜻이다 = It means that it’s [verb-ing]

[adjective] + 다는 뜻이다 = It means that it’s [adjective]

If you’re familiar with quoting, hopefully this sounds pretty intuitive to you! If someone asks you, 무슨 뜻이에요? (what does that mean?) You can respond with a sentence using this structure! Let’s see some examples!

“ㅈㅅ"가 죄송하다는 뜻이에요. = ㅈㅅ (text shorthand) means you’re sorry. / ㅈㅅ means “I’m sorry.”

(inspired by m.blog.naver.com) 남자는 같이 놀자고 하면 관심이 있다는 뜻이에요. = If a man suggests to hang out, it means he’s interested in you. 

(from Naver Dictionary) 배터리가 충전 중이라는 뜻이에요. = It means the battery is charging.

“비싸다"가 싸지 않다는 뜻이에요. = “Expensive” means it’s not cheap.

You’ll often hear -라는 and -다는 shortened to -란 and -단. For instance:

배터리가 충전 중이란 뜻이에요. = It means the battery is charging.

“비싸다"가 싸지 않단 뜻이에요. = “Expensive” means it’s not cheap.

말이다

말이다 can be used the same way that 뜻이다 is used in terms of adding it to nouns, verbs, and adjectives:

[noun] + (이)라는 말이다 = It means that it’s [noun]

[verb] + ㄴ/는 다는 말이다 = It means that it’s [verb-ing]

[adjective] + 다는 말이다 = It means that it’s [adjective]

말이다 isn’t totally identical to 뜻이다, though. Let’s see an example:

난 널 좋아한다는 뜻이야. = It means that I like you.

난 널 좋아한다는 말이야. = I’m saying that I like you. / What I’m saying is that I like you.

뜻이다, as shown by the first sentence, is used for more literal meanings of something. 말이다, on the other hand, is used more often when you want to clarify something that you in particular are saying – you’re clarifying your own point. 

Also, if someone were to say 무슨 말이에요? that means they’re asking “what do you mean?” or “what are you saying?” Again, a little more personal than 무슨 뜻이다 – you’re asking what someone means or what their point is rather than asking what the literal definitions of the words they are saying are.

You’ll often hear 말이다 at the end of sentences when the speaker wants to clarify what they’re saying. For instance:

저는 여름 아르바이트 찾고 싶단 말이에요. = I mean that I want to find a summer job.

할 일이 너무 많아서 오늘 못 논단 말이에요. = I can’t hang out today because I have too much work to do, I mean.

오늘은 그냥 아무 날이 아니야. 내 생일이란 말이야! = Today isn’t just any ordinary day – it’s my birthday!

Here, the translation doesn’t say anything like “I mean that today is my birthday,” or “I’m saying that today is my birthday.” Rather, I think the nuance is kind of heard here anyway – you can kinda feel that the speaker is really trying to clarify that today is not just any day, but is indeed their birthday.

That’s about all for this lesson! Let me know if you have any questions! 

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안녕, 여러분! Welcome to this next Level 4 lesson! In the last lesson, we learned how to describe nouns with verbs in the present tense using -는 것 (if you haven’t checked it out yet, please do so–this lesson will be easier to understand!). But in this lesson, we’re going to learn how to do the same thing in the past and future tense. Let’s start!

-ㄴ/은 것 (Past Tense)

To say something like “the place that I went to” or “the homework that I did” or “the person that spoke,” we can use -ㄴ/은 것 the same way you’d use -는 것. Just add -ㄴ to verb stems ending with a vowel and -은 to verb stems ending in a consonant, and then add the noun you’re modifying. In other words, use this formula:

[verb stem] + ㄴ/은 것 = the thing that [past tense verb]

For example:

제가 한 것 = the thing that I did / what I did

하다 = to do

하 + ㄴ + = 것 = 한 것 = the thing [subject] did

학생이 간 곳 = the place the student went / where the student went

가다 = to go

가 + ㄴ + 곳 = 간 곳 = the place [subject] went

이야기한 사람 = the person who spoke

이야기하다 = to speak / to talk

이야기하 + ㄴ + 사람 = 이야기한 사람 = the person who spoke

제가 만든 음식 = the food that I made

만들다 = to make

만들 + 은 + 음식 = 만든 음식 = the food that [subject] made

만들다, in this case, has irregular rules applied to it. With verbs ending in ㄹ, remove ㄹ and replace it with ㄴ.

Make sense? Let’s look at some full sentences:

열심히 공부한 학생들은 시험을 잘 봤어요. = The students who studied hard did well on the test.

공부하다 = to study

공부하 + ㄴ + 학생들 = 공부한 학생들 = the students who studied

제가 들은 노래를 좋아했어요. = I liked the song that I heard.

들다 = to hear / to listen

들 + 은 + 노래 = 들은 노래 = the song [subject] heard

For some reason, the ㄹ rule doesn’t apply to 들다.

저는 산 가방을 돌려줬어요. = I returned the bag I bought.

돌려주다 = to return [something]

사다 = to buy

사 + ㄴ + 가방 = 산 가방 = the bag that [subject] bought

As usual in Korean, you don’t always have to state the subject of the sentence. Likewise, you don’t always have to state the subject who did the verb you’re modifying the noun with. In this case, you can just say 산 가방 instead of 제가 산 가방–both can mean “the bag that I bought.” Here, I put 저는 to specify the one who returned the bag. I could say 저는 제가 산 가방을 돌려줬어요, but that seems a little redundant–you can infer that it’s the bag that I bought, if that makes sense.

Ready to move onto future tense?

-ㄹ/을 것

-ㄹ/을 것 shouldn’t be too hard to remember–it’s very similar to how we say future tense sentences with -ㄹ/을 거예요. As with -ㄴ/은 것, just add -ㄹ/을 것 to describe nouns in the future tense: use -ㄹ if the verb stem ends in a vowel and -을 if the verb stem ends in a consonant. Here’s a formula:

[verb stem] + ㄹ/을 것 = the thing that will [verb]

Let’s look at some examples:

제가 읽을 것 = The thing that I will read / What I will read

읽다 = to read

읽 + 을 + 것 = 읽을 것 = the thing that [subject] will read

제가 살 신발 = The shoes I will buy

  사다 = to buy

사 + ㄹ + 신발 = 살 신발 = the shoes that I will buy

언니가 볼 시험 = The test my sister will take

보다 = to see / to take [a test]

보 + ㄹ + 시험 = 볼 시험 = a test that [subject] will take

형이 운전할 자동차 = The car my brother will drive

운전하다 = to drive

운전하 + ㄹ + 자동차 = 운전할 자동차 = the car that [subject] will drive

While these are in the future tense, they may be translated like this if the subjects are omitted:

읽을 것 = something to read / a thing to read

살 신발 = shoes to buy

볼 시험 = a test to take

운전할 자동차 = a car to drive

For example, Naver Dictionary has a sentence similar to this:

읽을 것 있습니까? = Do you have anything to read?

읽을 것 would be used in the future tense as it is referring to something you will read in the future–you’re asking the other person if they have something to read for a future time. 

안녕하세요! Hey everyone! Welcome to this lesson, which is all about -김에! This is a really useful structure to use – you can use it to say, “while you’re at it, can you get some milk?” or “since you’re here, why don’t you stay for dinner?” Let’s start!

-김에 = While you’re at it

-김에 is attached to verbs to mean “while I was [verb]-ing” or “while I’m [verb]-ing.” (The subject doesn’t always have to be “I” btw!) -김에 isn’t really just used to say “while I’m doing something, I also do something else.” It’s used to say “while I’m at something, I’ll do something else since it’s convenient for me to do so.” Before we look at some examples to illustrate this, let’s see some formulas!

{Present Tense} [verb stem] + 는 김에 

{Past Tense} [verb stem] + ㄴ/ 김에

Let’s see some examples!

가게에 가는 김에 우유 더 사 줄래요? = While you’re at the store, can you buy more milk? / Since you’re going to the store, can you get some more milk while you’re there?

Here, you’re not just talking about doing two actions at the same time as you would with -(으)면서, which also translates to “while.” These two actions, going to the store and buying milk, are closely related because buying milk is convenient when one is already at the store. Think of it in English when we say “while you’re at it, why don’t you buy some more milk?” Let’s see some more examples!

(from Naver Dictionary) 오신 김에 저녁이나 같이 하시죠. = While you’re here, why don’t you have dinner with us?

Your guest has come all the way from home to visit you, so why don’t they stay for dinner while they’re here?

원피스를 사러 나간 김에 구두도 샀어요. = While I went out to buy a dress, I bought shoes too. / While I was out shopping for a dress, I bought shoes too.

Maybe you were at the mall shopping for a dress and decided you should buy a pair of shoes to go with it while you’re at it.

Notice how I attached -ㄴ 김에 here to describe something you did in the past!

대구에 지나간 김에 할머니를 방문했어요. = While I was passing through Daegu, I visited my grandmother.

Maybe your grandmother lives in Daegu, a place you might not be in often, so you decided to take the opportunity while you were there to go visit her. 

도서관에 있는 김에 생물학 과제를 시작할 거예요. = While I’m at the library, I’ll start my biology project. 

아마존에서 교과서를 찾는 김에 새 펜 찾아요. = I’m searching for new pens while I’m looking for a textbook on Amazon. 

 That’s about it for this lesson! Hope it was helpful! See you in the next lesson! 다음 또 봐요!

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Hey everyone! In this lesson, we’re going to learn about one of my favorite grammar points – causative verbs! Once you grasp causative verbs, you’ll be able to make and understand more complex sentences! Let’s begin!

What is a causative verb?

A causative verb is a verb that suggests that the subject is making something happen. Let’s see an English example:

The butter melts. -> Here, the verb “to melt” is not causative. Nothing, as far as we know, is making the butter melt. It just melts. 

I melt the butter. -> In this sentence, the verb “to melt” is causative. There is a subject, “I,” that is causing the action – I am making the butter melt. Maybe I put it in a frying pan and turned on the stove in order to make it melt.

So how do we do this in Korean? There are a couple different ways. In a previous lesson, we learned that attaching -게 하다 or -게 만들다 to a verb or adjective stem gives it the meaning of “to make [smth] [do that verb/be that adjective].” -게 하다 can also mean, depending on the context, “to let [smth] [do that verb/be that adjective].” For instance:

제가 집에 가게 해 주세요. = Please let me go home. / Please make me go home. 

(In English, there is a clear distinction between the two translations – “make” is more forceful than “let.” But in Korean, -게 하다 is used for both ways, and it depends on the context which one it means. In this particular sentence, it likely means “please let me go home” since that just sounds more natural. And why would you want someone to force you to go home lol.)

But there’s another way to do this – Korean has its own causative verbs too!

Causative verbs: -이/히/리/기/우

Let’s look at the Korean word for “to melt”: 녹다. Here’s a sentence using 녹다:

버터가 녹아요. = The butter melts.

But there’s another verb to mean “to melt” – 녹이다. The difference is that 녹이다 is causative! It essentially means “to melt [a noun]” or “to make [a noun] melt”! Let’s read a sentence:

제가 버터를 녹여요. = I melt the butter.

I also want you to pay attention to the particles used in each sentence. In the first sentence, the non-causative one, 버터 has the subject particle -가 attached to it. But in the causative sentence, 버터 has the object particle -를 attached to it. This is because, since 녹이다 is causative, I, the subject, am acting on the object, which is the butter – I am causing it to melt. In the non-causative sentence, however, nothing is acting on the butter – the butter is just melting. Again, nothing is causing it to melt. 

So how do we make a verb causative in Korean, or recognize that a verb is causative? Generally, causative verbs will have one of the following attached to its stem: -이/히/리/기/우. Notice how 녹다 becomes causative when you add 이 to it and it becomes 녹이다. 

Is there a rule to this? If I want to make a verb causative, how do I know if I should use -이, -히, -리, -기, or -우? Unfortunately, there’s really no rule. It’s pretty random actually. But as you get more familiar with Korean, you’ll pick up more of these verbs!

Shall we look at some (and by some I mean a lot of) sample sentences?

저는 거미를 죽였어요. = I killed the spider.

죽다 = to die

죽이다 = to kill 

저는 고양이에게 밥을 먹였어요. = I fed the cat food.

먹다 = to eat

먹이다 = to feed

날 울리지마. = Don’t make me cry.

울다 = to cry

울리다 = to make [someone] cry

정답을 알려주세요. = Please let me know the right answer.

알다 = to know 

알리다 = to let [someone] know / to notify / to inform

저는 가방의 값을 높이고 싶어요. = I want to raise the price of the bag.

높다 = to be high

높이다 = to make high / to raise

물이 끓기 시작하면 온도를 낮추세요. = When the water starts to boil, lower the temperature.

낮다 = to be low

낮추다 = to make low / to lower

낮추다 uses -추 rather than one of the other added syllables listed, but it’s still causative!

애기를 깨우지 마세요. = Don’t wake the baby.

깨다 = to wake up 

깨우다 = to wake [someone] up / to make someone wake up 

인형에게 웃을 입혔어요. = I put clothes on the doll. / I dressed the doll.

입다 = to wear 

입히다 = to dress

Notice how 인형 (doll) has -에게 attached to it, while 웃 (clothes) has the object particle -을 attached. That’s because you are taking the object (the clothes) and putting them (the verb) onto the doll.

코미디언이 청중을 웃겼어요. = The comedian made the audience laugh.

웃다 = to smile / to laugh

웃기다 = to make [someone] laugh (could also mean to be funny)

That’s about all for this lesson! Of course there are a lot more causative verbs, but I think this is enough to start with. I hope you guys learned a lot! Let me know if you have any questions!

If you want to practice writing and reading Korean with others, join my Discord chat here!

안녕 여러분! Hey everyone! In this lesson, we’re going to learn a couple different ways to say something like “I am working so that I can pay for college” in Korean. Let’s learn how to say “so that” or “to the point where”! There are a few different ways to say this, so let’s start!

-게

You can add -게 to a verb stem to mean “so that [verb]” Use this formula:

[verb / adjective] + 게 = so that [verb / adjective]

제가 읽을 수 있게 보여주세요. = Show me so that I can read it.

새 컴퓨터를 사게 돈을 모아요.  = I’m saving up money so that I can buy a new computer. / I’m saving up to buy a new computer.

대학교에 들어가게 많이 공부해야 해요. = You should study a lot so that you can get into college. / You should study a lot so that you get into college.

If you add -게 하다 or -게 만들다 to a verb or adjective stem, it means to make [smth] do that adjective or be that verb. For instance:

볼륨을 더 크게 해 주세요. = Please make the volume louder.

부모님을 자랑스럽게 만들고 싶어요. = I want to make my parents proud.

Not too hard to understand, I hope! Let’s move onto another way to say these types of sentences!

-도록

-도록 has a few different usages. For any usage, use this formula:

[verb / adjective stem] + 도록

1) The first usage is pretty much exactly like how -게 is used. They’re essentially interchangeable:

제가 읽을 수 있도록 보여주세요. = Show me so that I can read it.

새 컴퓨터를 사도록 돈을 모아요.  = I’m saving up money so that I can buy a new computer. / I’m saving up to buy a new computer.

대학교에 들어가도록 많이 공부해야 해요. = You should study a lot so that you can get into college. / You should study a lot so that you get into college.

2) Another common way to use -도록 is to mean “to the point where…” or “to the extent that…”:

그 남자가 하버드 대학에 들어가도록 열심히 일을 했어요. = That man worked so hard to the point where he got into Harvard. / He worked so hard that he got into Harvard.

빠르게 뛰어가도록 넘어졌어요. = I ran so fast that I tripped. / I ran so fast to the point where I fell.

지갑 비도록 쇼핑 몰에 쇼핑했어요. = She shopped at the shopping mall to the point where her wallet was empty.

3) If you attach -도록 하다 to a stem, it gives the meaning of “to be sure to [do/be smth]. For example:

(from howtostudykorean.com): 제가 지금부터 열심히 일하도록 할게요 = I will (be sure to) work hard from now on

이 과제를 내일까지 끝내도록 할게요. = I will be sure to finish this project by tomorrow.

제가 올해는 더 건강하게 먹도록 할 거예요. = I will be sure to eat healthier this year.

That’s all for this lesson! 이해하기 쉽게 하길 바래요! I hope I made it easy to understand! Let me know if you have any questions!

If you want to practice writing and reading Korean with others, join my Discord chat here!

안녕 여러분! Hi everyone! In this quite long lesson, we’re going to learn some ways to compare things in Korean! These aren’t the only ways of making comparisons, but I’d say they’re the most common. Let’s get into it!

처럼 / 같이 (Like)

처럼 and 같이 essentially used in the same exact ways: they both mean “like.” Attach either to a noun to mean “like [noun].” For instance:

새처럼 날아가요. / 새같이 날아가요. = Fly like a bird.

바보처럼 시험에 떨어졌어요. / 바보같이 시험에 떨어졌어요. = I failed the test like an idiot.

You’ll also hear the verb 보이다 very often as well, which is usually used with 처럼 / 같이. It means “to look like” or “to be seen” or “to be visible.” For instance, you can say:

공주님처럼 보여요. = You look like a princess

보다 (more than)

보다 is attached to a noun when you’re saying that something is more than that noun. Let’s see a formula:

[noun 1] + 보다 + [noun 2] + [adjective] = [noun 2] is more [adjective] than [noun 1]

Note that 보다 means “more than.” Thus, be sure to attach it to the “lesser than” noun. In other words, attach it to the noun that comes after the “more than” in English.

[verb 1] + 는것 보다 + [verb 2] = [subject] does [verb 2] more than it does [verb 1]

Let’s read some sentences so that this makes more sense:

초콜릿보다 바닐라 좋아해요. = I like vanilla more than chocolate.

초콜릿보다 = more than chocolate

나보다 언니가 똑똑해. (informal) = My sister is smarter than me.

나보다 = more than me

(from Naver Dictionary): 난 양보다는 질이 우선인데. = I prefer quality to[rather than] quantity. / Well, I place[put] quality before[over] quantity.

양보다 = more than quantity / over quantity

양 = quantity

질 = quality

우선 = first / above all / top priority

음악을 듣는 것보다 책을 읽기 좋아해요. = I prefer reading a book to listening to music. / I like reading books more than listening to music.

음악을 듣는 것보다 = more than listening to music

Notice that you don’t need the Korean word for “more” (더), unlike in English. This is because if you have -보다, it is understood that you’re saying “more than.” You can, however, add 더 if you wanted to (for emphasis).

만큼 

만큼 is the word you use to mean “as” or “just as.” Use it when you want to equate two things. Use this formula:

[noun 1] + 만큼 + [noun 2] + [adjective] = [noun 2] is just as [adjective] as [noun 1]

[adjective stem 1] + ㄴ + 만큼 + [adjective 2] = Something is as [adjective 2] as it is [adjective 1]

[verb stem 1] + 는 + 만큼 + [verb 2] = Something does [verb 2] as much as it does [verb 1]

As with 보다, attach 만큼 to the noun/verb/adjective you’re comparing something to. The sample sentences will clarify this.

Here are some examples:

그 신발만큼 이 신발이 비싸요. = These shoes are as expensive as those shoes.

그 신발만큼 = as [much as] those shoes

그 남자가 잘생긴만큼 멍청해요. = That man is as dumb as he is handsome.

잘생긴만큼 = as much as he is handsome

(from howtostudykorean.com): 고기를 먹는 만큼 야채를 먹어야 한다. = You should eat as much vegetables as you eat meat.

고기를 먹는 만큼 = as much as you eat meat

You could also say the following and add 것, although this doesn’t change the meaning or nuance: 고기를 먹는것 만큼 야채를 먹어야 한다. 

그 이어폰만큼 이 이어폰이 질이 좋은데 이건 덜 비싸니까 사세요. = These earphones are as good quality as those headphone, but this one is cheaper, so buy it.

그 이어폰만큼 = as much as those earphones

Wow, you made it to the end! Hope you learned a lot! These structures are very common, so they’re good to know!

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안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! A long time ago I made a lesson on the form -겠다, but looking back on it, it’s not a great lesson (I’ve learned a lot about Korean since I started this blog!), so I decided to remake it! Even I’m not that familiar with all of the usages that I list, so any corrections are welcome :) I hope this is helpful!

1. -겠습니다: Expressing Intention

Let’s start with how to use -겠습니다. The first nuance this could have is expressing your intention to do something. It’s usually translated as “I will” in English, but has a stronger nuance than the plain future tense form, -ㄹ/을 거예요. These sentences tend to be more formal-sounding too. I’ve also heard that aside from set expressions like the ones below, this usage is not very common. Let’s see some examples:

잘 먹겠습니다. = I will eat well. / Thank you for the food.

You’ve probably heard this expression before – it’s said right before starting a meal when the food is served. This sentence expresses your intention/will to enjoy the food.

열심히 하겠습니다. = I will work hard.

You might say this when given a new project/task to do. This expresses your strong intention to work hard at it.

2. -겠어요: Guessing; Assumption

-겠어(요) is a way to use -겠다 less formally. It can express your guess or assumption about the way something is or might be. For example:

(from Tammy Korean – I really recommend this video!) 내일 날씨가 좋겠어요. = It looks like the weather is going to be nice tomorrow.

The actual sentence that Tammy Korean features is 내일 날씨가 좋겠네요. In my opinion, ending it with -네요 sounds more natural.

Here, you’re making a guess that the weather is going to be nice tomorrow. Maybe you watched the weather forecast and saw that it’s going to be warm and sunny.

민지 씨의 고양이는 죽었어요. 너무 속상하겠어요. = Minji’s cat died. She must be so upset.

Here, you’re making an assumption about how Minji feels based on what happened.

그 수학 수업은 어렵겠네요. = That math class must be difficult.

You’re guessing that this math class is hard. Maybe your friend tells you they’re taking a calculus class, which sounds very complicated.

3. -겠다

-겠다 is similar to the above usage. I’m not sure if there’s much of a difference in nuance, but I think that -겠다 sounds even less formal/polite than -겠어요 (someone correct me if I’m wrong though!). Let’s see some examples:

맛있겠다! = It looks delicious!

This is another phrase you’ve probably heard before. It expresses your guess that the food will taste good based on the way it looks.

남자 친구가 생겼어요? 좋겠다! = You got a boyfriend? Lucky you!

좋겠다 here literally means something like “it must be nice,” or even in this particular sentence, “you must be happy.”

4. -아/어/여야 (하)겠다

In my experience, I think I’ve heard this usage the most. It combines -겠다 with -아/어/여야 하다, which means “have to” or “should.” If I were to compare this with just the plain -아/어/여야 하다, I would say it is usually used when you’re talking to yourself, as if to tell yourself you should do something. Here are some examples:

오늘밤 일찍 자야 하겠다. = I should go to bed early tonight.

Often, this form omits the 하. This can be shortened to 오늘밤 일찍 자야겠다.

숙제를 지금 해야겠다. = I should do my homework now.

You might say this to tell yourself to do your homework.

That’s about it for this lesson! I hope it’s helpful and better than my original lesson lol. As usual, if anyone has any corrections or questions about this grammar point, please let me know! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!

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안녕! Hi! Welcome to our next Level 4 lesson! Here, we’re going to learn how to say things like “I came to speak to the teacher” or “I went to see my friend” using -러 오다 and -러 가다. 시작해볼까요? Shall we start?

-러 가다

Let’s start with -러 가다. This is used when you want to say that you went to a different location in order to do something. Look at this formula:

[verb stem] + 러 가다 = to go to [verb]

-러 is put on the end of a verb stem to mean “in order to”

Let’s look at some examples!

친구들을 만나러 가요. = I go to meet my friends.

만나다 = to meet

만나 + 러 가다 = 만나러 가다 = to go to meet

어머니에게 선물을 주러 갔어요. = I went to give a gift to my mother

에게 is a particle meaning “to, at, for, by (a person)” according to Naver Dictionary 

주다 = to give

주 + 러 가다 = 주러 가다 = to go to give

나중에 식료품을 사러 갈 거예요. = I will go buy groceries later.

식료품 = groceries

사다 = to buy

사 + 러 가다 = 사러 가다 = to go to buy

You’re not limited to just using the verb 가다 with this structure. You can also use compound verbs and make sentences like these:

쇼핑하러 나갔어요. = I went out to go shopping

나가다 = to go out

쇼핑하다 = to shop 

쇼핑하 + 러 나가다 = 쇼핑하러 나가다 = to go out to shop

형이 숙제를 끝내러 도서관에 돌아가요. = My brother is going back to the library to finish the homework.

돌아가다 = to return [to somewhere] / to go back

끝내다 = to finish

끝내 + 러 돌아가다 = 끝내러 돌아가다 = to return to finish [something]

Notice how you can insert a location between the verb you’re adding -러 가다 to and the last verb of the sentence. It could be literally translated as “in order to finish the homework, my brother went back to the library.” 

Hope this makes sense so far! Let’s move on to -러 오다!

-러 오다

-러 오다 is very similar to -러 가다, but instead it’s used to mean “to come to [verb]” Use this formula:

[verb stem] + 러 오다 = to come to [verb]

Let’s read some examples:

선생님한테 말하러 왔어요. = I came to speak to the teacher

한테 = particle meaning “to, at, for, by (a person)” according to Naver Dictionary

말하다 = to speak

말하 + 러 오다 = 말하러 오다 = to come to speak

화장품을 사러 와요. = I’m coming to buy cosmetics.

화장품 = cosmetics / makeup

사다 = to buy

사 + 러 오다 = 사러 오다 = to come to buy

학생들에게 피아노를 가르치러 학교에 올 거예요. = I will come to school to teach the students piano.

피아노 = piano

가르치다 = to teach

가르치 + 러 오다 = 가르치러 오다 = to come to teach

There are also plenty of compound verbs to use with -러 오다, such as the ones used in these sentences:

누나가 남자친구를 만나러 집에서 나왔어요. = My older sister came out of the house to meet her boyfriend. 

나오다 = to come out

만나다 = to meet

만나 + 러 나오다 = 만나러 나오다 = to come out to meet

잃어버린 지갑을 찾으러 가게로 돌아와요. = I’m coming back to the store to find my lost wallet.

돌아오다 = to return / to come back

찾다 = to find / to look for

찾 + 러  돌아오다 = 찾러  돌아오다 = to return to find / to come back to find

I love reading webtoons and I wanna share some interesting webtoons which I have read since my beginners day

Beginner (High) ~ Lower intermediate

Penguin loves Mev

오빠 왔다 ♥

낢이사는이야기 ♥

웅이는 배고파

노곤하개

Intermediate ~ Higher intermediate

2015 사이 ♥

간질간질

윈터우즈 2017

사이다 부탁해 ♥

패미리 사이즈

대학일기 ♥

내 ID는 강남미인! ♥

외모지상주의 ♥

노블레스

하이브 ♥

공복의 저녁식사

걸어서 30분  ♥

우리 오빠는 아이돌

오직 나의 주인님

니편내편 

연놈  ♥

랜던채팅의 그녀!

Advanced

마음의소리

오늘도 사랑스럽개  ♥

미스터리 호러 지하철  ♥

간 떨어지는 동거 ♥

Read: Learn Korean through Youtube  

Its probably been seen before. But it is strange, these unwritten rules in languages.

Like how in English it is meant to go I A O, as in Ding Dong, King Kong, Big Bad Wolf.

I wonder how many unwritten rules there are in Spanish. Rules that with out knowing them highlight how much a novice you are, that are so obvious and strange to the ear as Bad Big Wolf (if you are like me you will even read Bad Big Wolf as Big Bad Wolf)

@ice-light-red you still around? @burntcopper credit where credit is due :P

In order to say “I hope” or “I wish,” you can use ~(으)면 좋겠다. It literally translates to “it’d be nice if…”