#kblr

My friends know I'm the one who tries every new app and reports back, so when the AI companion topic came up, everyone wanted my honest take. The short version: I keep recommending SweetDream. Not because the others are bad, ourdream.ai and the rest each have something going for them, but because sweetdream.ai nails the whole experience instead of one piece of it.

What I mean is, the character you build actually feels like yours, from her personality down to her voice. The chat is warm and remembers context. The generated photos and videos look like the same companion every time. And it all stays private, which lets you actually let your guard down.

Cause it's not worth it. This blog was never for anyone but me.

So, here we are.

9/100 reasons. Tried to find some tame ones that would help y'all understand. Some of 'em make me laugh--others not so much.

Happy Learning :)

나 - i

내 - i / my

저 - i ( humble word of “나” )

𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 :

내가 봤어 - i saw it / 내 사탕 - my candy

우리 - we

저희- we ( humble word of “우리” )

𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 :

우리는 걷고 있다 - we are walking

너 - you

네 - you / your

너희 - you / your ( plural )

𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 :

네가 해 - you do it / 네 사과 - your apple

그 - he

그들 - they ( can be also used as a non gender specific pronoun )

그녀 - she

그녀들 - they

𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 :

그는 똑똑하다 - he is smart / 그들은 시끄럽다 - they are loud

Great question! First, we need to understand that 하다 is active whereas 되다 is passive! Your next question might be, “but omg, SK101, I’m not good at English grammar, too; what the hell is passive and active?”

Another great question! 

The active voice is when the speaker/subject performs the action or is described directly–they did it, caused it, performed it; you’re gonna see people commonly use these ways to explain the active voice. In English, the active voice can look something like this:

I studied Korean; (저는) 한국어를 공부했어요 

As you can see, I (the subject) am the one that studied Korean of my own volition. I caused the “Korean studying.” 

The passive voice is when the speaker/subject does not perform/cause/do the action. Instead, the subject is affected by the action/performance. I understand this may be difficult to understand, so I’ll spend more time on this. 

When can you use the passive voice?

When we have more interest in the object that experiences the action

When we don’t know (or don’t want to express) who performed the action (this is an academic loophole when we didn't do the proper research to support a claim)

When we want to emphasize the action!

The passive voice is not grammatically incorrect (take it from a linguist and someone who minored in creative writing). You will hear people say that the passive voice is not good or is ungrammatical (some bs like that). Even in Korean, the passive voice is entirely natural and used in everyday contexts. 

The passive voice in Korean may look like this:

한국어가 (저에게) 공부됐어요; Korean was studied (by me)

The prepositional phrase “by me; 저에게” shows that we know who studied Korean. This may still be confusing, so let me give you another example:

부엌을 청소했어요; I cleaned the kitchen.

부엌이 청소됐어요; The kitchen has been cleaned.

Let’s add more context to the sentence to understand the situation better. 

집에 도착했을 때 부엌을 청소했어요; When I got home, I cleaned the kitchen (meaning, I saw the dirty kitchen and cleaned it)

집에 도착했을 때 부엌이 청소됐어요; When I got home, the kitchen was cleaned (meaning, someone (unknown or otherwise) cleaned the kitchen when I was out)

*gasp!* Yes, by now, you've noticed that 이/가 goes with passive!

Now, onto your question: what's the difference between -게 하다 and -게 되다?

-게 하다: causative

The causative aspect shows that A causes B to happen. Pretend you have a younger sibling–here are some examples:

동생은 저를 늦게 했어요; My sibling made me late

저는 동생이 문제를 이해하게 했어요; I made them understand the problem

저를 귀찮게 했어요; You (the sibling) bothered me! 

(저는) 동생을 화장품으로 예쁘게 했어요; I made my sibling pretty with makeup

A (동생/저) causes B to happen. B does not mean the recipient (저/동생) of the action – B represents the action. 

-게 되다; to become (passive)

This grammar point shows that B changes A! Let’s use the examples from above. 

동생이 화장품으로 예쁘게 됐어요; my sibling became pretty with makeup

동생 때문에 제가 귀찮게 되었어요; my sibling has been bothering me

문제가 동생에게 이해하게 되었어요; my sibling came to understand the problem [more literally; the problem was understood by my sibling]

동생 때문에 제가 늦게 되었어요; I became late because of my sibling

Now, I'm sure you've noticed that there are two spellings of a conjugated '되다'. The only difference between '되었어요' and '됐어요' is that '됐어요' is a contraction of '되었어요'. You may have other Korean learners attempt to tell you that you write one [되었어요] and speak the other [됐어요]. This isn't not true; it's just not a rule written in stone. You are very much able to write the contracted '됐어요' instead of the regular '되었어요'. In fact, native Korean speakers do this all the time. It would be like saying we shouldn't write any English contractions because it's not grammatically correct--it's just wrong. The rules of '되다' are more complex than just written and spoken, but that's a blog for another day.

I hope this helped answer your question! If you're still confused, don't hesitate to send me another ask or pm me! I'm always open to clearing up any confusion or directing you to a source that may help!

Happy Learning :)

anon asked: I see a lot of posts on Tumblr about 이/가 but they just leave me more confused. Can you help? thanks

Sentences to Showcase the Usage of 이/가 and 은/는: [+what are they?]

Please go here for more context on how/when to use them. This post will be kinda long, so I’ll put a TLDR at the top.

TLDR; if the main noun is an agent then use, 은/는 or if the main noun is an experiencer, then use 이/가

Now, what the hell is an agent or an experiencer. A good way to figure this out is to ask yourself, “is the entity doing the action or undergoing the event?” 은/는 are general particles (commonly used for the agent as they are the ones doing or causing the action), whereas 이/가 are particles used to emphasize (commonly used for the experiencer as they are in contact with the event; I will explain more later in the blog). Both are nominative—which is what makes the argument of “subject” and “topic” extremely confusing and meaningless because they don’t accurately identify the noun’s role in the sentence.

I am fortunate enough to have studied thematic roles and syntax in depth during my time in linguistics, however, I understand that a lot of my followers haven’t! So, I will give you a visual:

So again, ask yourself, “who/what is doing/causing the action?” or “who/what is undergoing the event?” Sometimes, it is also easy to look at the verb or adjective and make a judgement there considering it's common** for 이/가 to go with adjectives and common for 은/는 to go with verbs. Another way to think about it: if you need to place emphasis on the agent, then you can use 이/가.

** just because it's common, it does not mean it's a rule (however, it is a good tip)

Below is an example of why the above statement is not a rule.

이다 [to be] is special because it is a copula. A copula is a verb that joins/links the main noun and it's complement. We have many copulas in English (BE, feel, smell, look, become--to name a few). Korean has three: 이다, 아니다, and 되다.

Let’s try to place it in a sentence where both 은/는 and 이/가 occur in contrast:

매일 신발들은 신어야 하는데 오늘은 이 신발이 안 신으면 안 돼요

In the sentence above ^^, the dependent clause [매일 신발들은 신어야 하는데] gives background information for the main clause [오늘은 이 신발이 안 신으면 안 돼요]. “Generally,” the speaker says, “everyday I have to wear shoes, but I must wear these shoes [specifically] today.”

The sentence shows that there is something emphasized about the shoes; “these shoes must undergo being worn by me”. Whatever the reason may be, the speaker intentionally highlighted the shoes in the second clause as the ones that they must wear that day.

Summary so far:

1) If the main noun is doing the action, use 은/는

2) If the main noun is undergoing the action, use 이/가

3) If you want to emphasize the main noun, use 이/가

Hopefully, you’re still following me. Let’s look at other examples:

오늘은 날씨가 좋아요 - today, the weather is good 

그 이어폰은 제 게 아니에요 [게 = 것+이] - Those earphones aren’t mine

새로운 선생님이 여자예요 - the new teacher is a woman

선생님은 한국 분이 아니에요 - the teacher is not Korean

제 이름은 지연이 아니고 희주예요 - My name is Heeju, not Jiyeon

비빔밥 말고 다른 한식이 있어요? - Other than bibimbap, do you have other Korean food?

그 남자는 캐나다에 갈 때 미혼이 아닐 거 같아요 - I don’t think that man will be single if/when he travels to Canada

Here’s the worst part; sometimes, there’s no fkn difference between the meanings. Which also makes it confusing. So, try to stick to the rules in the post linked and the patterns from this post. 

1. Use 이/가 after an object when you’re describing an agent’s feelings or state of mind 

EX. 존은 책을 읽는 게 좋아요; 존은 책이 좋아요 = John likes (reading) books

2. Use 이/가 after the noun that precedes (goes before) a copula

EX. 존은 한국에 온 지 3년이 되었어요 = John has been in Korea for 3 years

3. Adjectives and Intransitive verbs (no object), can take on 이/가 if you want to emphasize the main noun

EX. 내일은 날씨가 바람이 불 거 같아요 = It seems like it’s going to be windy tomorrow

4. Transitive verbs (takes an object), usually use 이/가 for the first noun and 을/를 for the object

EX. 존이 이를 닦는 중이에요 = John is [in the middle] of brushing his teeth

Okay! I really hope this helped! If there’s still any confusion, please don’t hesitate to send me a message to ask for clarification or more examples! 이/가 and 은/는 are honestly some of the hardest for English speakers learning Korean to grasp because we don’t really have particles like this that distinguish nouns in English. Though, with this, I hope you can get better at it!

Happy Learning :) 

anon asked: what’s the difference between 먹다 and 드시겠습니다. You say they both mean eat but i am confused? Help!

@femaletype asked: next do (으)시 vs -세요 vs -ㅂ/습니다 Bc honorific vs deferential is the bane of my existence

First, I will give a list of honorific verbs and nouns, then explain the honorific ending! It’s important to note an “elevation” of formality; who is being elevated! In this case, there are three types:

verbs that elevate* the subject

verbs that elevate the object

verbs that elevate the recipient of the action (usually used with the honorific particle 께)

*elevate = who are talking about in an honorific way?

높임말 동사; Honorific Verbs

(2) 만나다 / 보다; 뵙다 [to see, to meet]

(1) 먹다; 드시다 / 식사하다 / 잡수시다 [to eat]

(1) 마시다; 드시다 [to drink]

(3) 주다;드리다 [to give]

(1) 있다; 계시다 [to stay]

(1) 죽다; 들어가시다 [to die]

(1) 아프다; 편찮으시다 [to be hurt/in pain]

(1) 말하다; 말씁하시다 [to speak]

(1) 자다; 주무시다 [to sleep]

(3) 묻다; 여쭈다 [to ask]

(1) 배고프다; 시장하시다 [to be hungry]

(2) 데리다; 모시다 [to accompany]^

^ the plain form 데리다 is more commonly used as a compound verb with 오다 or 가다, but that can be it’s own separate post if people are interested.

높임말 명사; Honorific Nouns

이름; 성함 [name]

나이; 연세 [age]

집; 댁 [house]

생일; 생신 [birthday]

밥; 진지 / 식사 [food, meal]

병; 병환 [disease, illness]

술; 약주 [alcohol]

아이; 자제분 [child]

이; 치아 [tooth]

말; 말씀 [word]

It’s important to note, that outside of these specific verbs, you can realistically elevate any verb in Korean using (으)시. 

-(으)시 vs. (스)ㅂ니다; Deferential Honorific

At this point, you should be familiar with plain style conjugation patterns (-어/아요). The deferential style is the infamous -(스)ㅂ니다 that gives the statements their formal ending. Of course, as we know, -(스)ㅂ니다 is more formal than -어/아요. If at any point, you are unsure as to which formality to use, always use the deferential style. 

Honorifics can attach to both the deferential and polite styles, but are used in different contexts illustrated below:

[polite] 집에 가요 - I’m going home

[deferential] 집에 갑니다 - I go home

[polite + (으)시] 집에 가세요 - Go home, (hon. subject)

[deferential + (으)시] 집에 가십니다 - (hon. subject) goes home

Remember, you cannot, ever, at any point, ever, use (으)시 for yourself.

-(으)세요

When (으)시 is attached to the polite style conjugation, there are two usages; (1) to show respect, (2) to create an imperative. 

The use of -(으)시 elevates the subject, object, or any recipient of the action who is older, in a higher position, or placed above you in respect. Of course, you will hear some Koreans complain about this politeness hierarchy, however, that is not an excuse to speak in an intimate way to a doctor, professor, or an elder--this is not about being close, this is about being respectful. 

The biggest difference between the deferential -(스)ㅂ니다 and the honorific  -(으)시 is that one acknowledges the elevation of the subject/object/recipient of action [-(으)시] while the other acknowledges the formality of the environment around them [-(스)ㅂ니다].

When talking to someone closer to your age (seemingly), you are able to use [polite + (으)시] to express politeness without being overtly formal. This is why, in restaurants, you will use phrases like:

순두부찌개 하나 좀* 주세요 - please give me tofu stew

물 좀 주세요 - please give me water

아아 한잔 좀 주세요 - please give me an iced americano

*좀 softens the request

Where the server will use an honorific term:

[드시다] 뭐 드시겠습니까? - what will you eat/drink?

[드리다] 영수증을 드릴까요? - do you want me to give you a receipt?

Note that the -까 creates an interrogative phrase.

All that said...

You can add (으)시 to any verb in order to create it’s honorific counterpart. This goes for literally any verb. If you are truly lost and cannot remember how to use the honorific form of 먹다 then you can use some form of 먹으시다. Examples:

[to answer/reply] 대답하다 + (으)시 = 대답하시다

[to sing] 노래부르다 + (으)시 = 노래부르시다

[to listen] 듣다 + (으)시 = 들으시다

Hope this helps! Honorifics are honestly difficult. So difficult, that even switching formality without honorifics is still considered rude (from intimate to plain to deferential). You’ll hear people say it’s okay to not use the proper formality because you’re a foreigner, but I think that’s a lazy solution to learning. If you want to learn properly, do it properly. 

Example Sentences:

무슨 책을 읽으세요? - what book are you reading?

한국 분이세요? - are you Korean?

한국어를 가르칠 사람은 김 선생님이세요 - Mx. Kim will teach Korean

엄마가 전화하셨어요 - My mom called

부모님께서 은행에 가셨어요 - My parents went to the bank

That being said, it’s okay to mess up formalities so long as you catch the mistake and correct yourself. The listener (older Korean or friend) will greatly appreciate the self-assessment. 

If there’s still some confusion, let me know!! Happy Learning :)

~ SK101