#klangblr

Coming out of this hiatus to say:

Take FREE classes on Coursera. This is not sponsored, not an ad, not a gimmick. If you’re really at a beginner level and you need that Academic Input of any language, please, please PLEASE take free courses where you can. If you want to take TTMIK too, please do that as well! It’s free to sign up and you don’t need the books. 

Taking free Korean classes on Coursera has some awesome benefits from a linguistics standpoint. First off, you get a structured curriculum created by language experts who know their stuff. They break down the language step by step, so you can really understand how it works. Plus, the interactive lessons and exercises on Coursera keep things interesting and help you practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing. And here's the cool part: you can learn from experienced instructors and chat with other learners from around the world. So, if you want to dive into Korean (in a class like setting), give Coursera a shot. 

You might have to self-regulate your studying -- as in, complete the course at your own pace. But if you’re diligent and motivated, then please check that out. 

TTMIK

Coursera Korean Courses (browse a little (because not all of them are about learning Korean) and choose the free option)

Hope that helps! Happy Learning :)

Parasite won 4! Oscars so I rewatched the film and wrote out some vocab! I also wrote down some lines that I liked. The best you can do is repeat after native speakers, right? ^^ This is from the first 50 minutes or so of the film.

꼽등이 - camel cricket 소독하다 - disinfect, sterilize 구체적 - detailed, concrete 불량 (질, 상태 등) - poor, faulty 지인 = 아는 사람 - acquaintance 개통 - opening 기세 - vigor, spirit 산수 - landscape 수석  (水石) - viewing stone (suiseki) 서재 - a study, library 돌맹이 - stone (informal) 일거리 - work 부잣집 - rich house ㅅ  공대 - college of engineering 진지하다 - earnest, serious 장문 (長文) - a long piece of writing 술쳐먹다 - get drunk (informal) 십새끼 - son of a bish

기우: 그건 그렇긴 하지... 근데 그 집에서 날 받겠냐 이말이지.

손재주 - dexterity, skillful hands 위조 - counterfeit, forge

김기택: 기정이 얘 수석 입학하겠다.  김기택: 넌 계획이 다 있구나. 

엉키다 - get tangled 박동 - heartbeat, pulse 기질 - disposition, temperament 엉뚱하다 - extraordinary

문광 가정부: 지금이야 뭐, 애들 사는 집이지.  사무님: 뭔 얘긴지 아시죠? 사무님: 솔직히 저나 다혜는 내년 수능 때까지 민혁 쌤하고 계속 쭉 하고 싶었어요. 기우: 이 친구 약속 잡기 되게 어렵다던데...

자화상 - self-portrait 통제 - control, regulation 독특하다 - peculiar, unusual, distinctive 설정 - set-up / settings 천재 (天才) - genius 관심이 가다 - be interested 매실주 - plum wine 미술치료 - artetherapy

박 사장: 쌤 좀 모셔다 드리지 뭐. 사무님: 이렇게 밤 늦은 시간에 이 동네 혼자 내려가시기 좀 그렇잖아. 윤 기사: 이왕 타신 김에 제가 댁 앞까지 쭉 모셔다 드려도 될까요?

직성이 풀리다 - be satisfied 정액 - sperm 하얀 가루 - white powder. 합리적 - rational 핑계거리 - excuse 언급 - mention, reference

기우: 사무님이 날리던데. 기정: 헐 갑자기 막 울더라니까. 미친년, 내가 어이없어가지고. 박 사장: 근데 지금 진짜로 이상한 게 뭔 것 같애? 아니 보통 카섹스하다가 차에 머리카락을 남긴다거나 귀거리를 떨어뜨린다거나 뭐 그런 거나 있을 수가 있지. 근데 어떻게 입던 팬티를 까먹고 갈 수가 있지?

불미스럽다 - disgraceful, shameful 의외 - surprise 푸근하다 - warm, congenial 가장 (家長) - head of household 가정부 - housekeeper 새빨갛다 - bright red 난리 - fuss, mess 활동성 - active 결핵 - tuberculosis

기우: 그러니까 다혜한테서 들은 바에 의하면 그 아줌마가 엄청 심한 복숭아 알레르기가 있다는 거야. 김기택: 제가 들으려고 들은 게 아니라 ... 

This is from a native speaker, I was so confused about the difference between the two and a native helped me out by giving me an in depth view! I cut some of it out, but this is it!

I hope you enjoy!

#은는이/가

1. A bit like a vs the.

Let's say you just talked about a new apple. Then, the indefinite article 'an' is in front of new apple. If you talk about a little bit more about that apple, then it is called 'the' new apple. 이/가 and 은/는 have similar relationship. 이/가 is used when something is mentioned first and 은/는 is used to indicate what you have told.

옛날 옛적에 가난한 나무꾼이 한 명 살았어요. 그 나무꾼은 가난했지만 착하고 친절했어요. 어느 날, 그는 숲 속으로 들어갔는데, 호랑이를 만나게 되었어요. 호랑이는 나무꾼을 보자, 어흥 하고 울부짖었어요.

Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter. The woodcutter was poor but he was good and kind. One day, he went into the forest and met a tiger. When the tiger saw him, it roared at him.

Let's see this fairy-tale like example. When the woodcutter appeared first, the marker 이 is used, however 는 is constantly used like after that 그 나무꾼은 or 그는. It is the same with the tiger. When the tiger saw him, it is translated as 호랑이는.

2. Contrast

이/가 is used for general statement and 은/는 is used for contrast.

영희가 왔다. 다들 준비해!

영희 came. Get ready, everyone!

영희는 왔는데, 철수는 안 왔어.

영희 came, but 철수 didn't.

The first sentence is for you if you are preparing 깜짝 파티(surprise party). In this sentence, you are not interested in other people's coming. 영희 is the main character of this party. There is no contrast, so it is 가. In the second sentence, you are comparing 철수 and 영희. That's why 는s are used in the sentence.

사람들은 많았는데, 제가 찾던 사람은 없었어요.

There were many people, but the person I wanted to find wasn't there.

사람들이 많았는데, 그렇게 혼잡하지는 않았어요.

There were many people, but it was not that crowded.

In the first sentence, the writer wanted to contrast the people (at the place) and the person he was looking for (let's call him 철수), so it was 은. This implies that because there were so many people, the writer expected 철수 to be there, but he wasn't. In the second one, he just wanted to say it was not that crowded. That's why 이 is used there. It implies that you don't care about the number of the people, they were just there.

However, if you just want to simply state that there were many people there without emphasizing the contrast between the large number of people and the person you are trying to find, then you can just use 이 instead of 는. It is grammatically correct both ways, but the meaning is slightly different.

It is true with the second sentence, too. If you want to emphasize the contrast with common idea(if there are many people, it is crowded), then you can also use 은 there. It implies that although you might think that the place must be crowded because of many people, but it was not.

Like this example, 은/는 and 이/가 is sometimes interchangeable but it changes the meaning slightly.

3. 이/가 -> Focus on Subject,

은/는 -> Focus on Description

As you all know, 이/가 is subject marker(주격 조사) and 은/는 is topic marker(주제격조사, topic is 주제 in Korean). As you can guess from the name, 주격조사 은/는 focuses on the subject and topic marker focuses on the topic, in other words, action or description of the subject.

Let's see the difference with these conversations.

A: 누가 심부름하러 갔어요?

B: 철수가 갔어요.

A: Who went for the errand?

B: 철수 did.

A: 철수는 지금 뭐해요?

B: 철수는 지금 심부름하러 갔어요.

A: What is 철수 doing now?

B: 철수 went for errand.

In the first conversation, A was curious about the person who went for the errand. So, the focus of the answer is the subject. That's why 가 is used twice like 누가 or 철수가.

In the second conversation, A was curious about what 철수 is doing now. So, the focus of the answer is the action. That's why topic marker 는 is used like 철수는.

In Korean, something trivial or redundant is just deleted, so it becomes clear what is the focus of the question if the answers by B are shortened.

A: 누가 심부름하러 갔어요?

B: 철수요.

A: 철수는 지금 뭐해요?

B: 심부름이요.

4. With other markers or at the end of a verb conjugation

은/는: to show emphasis

Do you know the auxiliary verbs in English? It is about the verbs like can, will, should, might. They are used to add meaning to the main verb. There are auxiliary markers(보조사) in Korean and 은/는 are one of them.

As they are auxiliary markers, you can use them with other markers or at the end of a verb conjugation, too. If you listened to this podcast or read the script carefully, you could find one.

사람들이 많았는데, 그렇게 혼잡하지는 않았어요.

In 혼잡하지는, 는 is used to emphasize the meaning, it was not crowded. Therefore, you can just get rid of it, but the meaning, crowded becomes weaker.

More examples

어제 집에는 잘 들어갔어?

Did you come back home safely?

여기부터는 내가 할게.

I will do it from here.

In examples above, 집 and 여기 are emphasized.

이/가: to show subject.

Sometimes, 이/가 is used with other markers. It is just used to show the subject of the sentence.

여기까지가 내가 해 줄 수 있는 전부다.

This is the everything I can do for you.

지금부터가 진짜 시작이다.

From now is the real beginning.

5. When the sentences are combined, 이/가 must be used in the sentence in the middle.

If you make the long sentence by combining several sentences, then the sentence used in the middle(it is called 안긴 문장 in Korean) should only use 이/가.

It is really hard for you to understand what I am saying now, so let's learn with example.

영희는 철수의 말을 조용히 듣고 있었다. 철수는 영희가 집에 빨리 들어가기를 바라는 것 같았다.

영희 was listening to what 철수 was saying quietly. It seems that 철수 wanted 영희 to go back home early.

If we follow the first rule, we should change 영희가 in the second sentence to be 영희는. Because that's the second time 영희 is mentioned. But the second sentence is combined sentence. It is a combination of 철수는 --를 바라는 것 같았다 and 영희가 집에 빨리 들어가다. As 영희가 집에 빨리 들어가다 is in the middle of 철수는 --를 바라는 것 같다, 영희가 is used.

Ooo, great question. I honestly think that might be difficult to do for two reasons: I don't often read intermediate webtoons and I don't think many 만화 artists write for an intermediate audience.

I'll give you some vocab so you can navigate the Naver site easily:

웹툰 - webtoon

베스트 도전 - best challenge

도전만화 - challenge manhwa

웹소설 - web novel

에피소드 - episode

옴니버스 - omnibus (like fan works, or collaborating authors/fan creations that incorporates work from different creators)

스토리 - story

일상 - daily life

개그 - comedy

판타지 - fantasy

액션 - action

드라마 - drama

순정 - pure love

감성 - emotional

스릴러 - thriller

시대극 - period drama

스포츠 - sports

인기순 - in order of popularity (most popular)

업데이트순 - in order of update

조회순 - in order of views (most views)

별정순 - in order of stars (most stars)

인기급상승 웹툰 - webtoon's rising in popularity (up and coming webtoons)

요일별 - by day

장르별 - by genre

작품별 - by piece

작가별 - by writer

연도별 - by year

테마웹툰 - themed webtoon

완결웹툰 - completed webtoon

---

In terms of Webtoons that I recommend, I do have this post here, but I've read waaaaaaaay more since this post (obviously, that post was almost 4 years ago lol).

여신강림; True Beauty (로맨스)

나 혼자 네크로맨서; Lone Necromancer (팬터시, 액션)

혈액형에 관한 간단한 고찰; A short review of the blood types (일상)

독립일기; Independent Diary (일상)

마음의 숙제; The heart's homework (감성)

짝사랑 마들렌; Madeleine with a crush (로맨스)

먹는 인생; Life of Eating (일상)

These are just some! I think the best place to find something remotely intermediate would be the 일상 (daily life) genre. It's relatively easier to read!

Hope that answers some of your questions!

Happy Learning :)

There are a lot of grammar points in here, so I'll give you an index:

-겠다; intention, will / observation, supposition

-지(요)/죠?; right?, isn't it?

아니다; to not be

N(이/가) + 아니다 + 지요

아니다 + 겠다 + 지요

I sincerely apologize for the length of this post! There's a lot to unpack in just those two phrases, so I hope this helps.

1. -겠다; intention, will (1) / observation, supposition (2)

Phrases you’ll hear/know using -겠다:

(1) 잘 먹겠습니다 – I’ll eat well (aka: I intend to eat well)

(1) 뭐 드시겠습니까? – What will you eat? (높임말)

(1) 잘 하겠습니다 – I’ll do my best!

(2) 맛있겠습니다! – I suppose it is delicious

(2) 피곤하겠습니다 – I suppose you're tired

(2) 내일 비가 오겠습니다! - I suppose it's going to rain tomorrow

When to use -겠다:

Use it for yourself when you want to express first-person intent or will

If you do this, then remember that it’s more common and natural to use -겠다 with formal grammatical patterns (that’s why you see -(스)ㅂ니다 in all the examples)

This pattern also puts more emphasis on the intention than the simpler (으)ㄹ 것이다 future tense; if you use the -겠다 pattern, you mean it, essentially.

Use it when you want to make an observation towards someone or something else

Use it when inquiring about another person’s intent or will

All that said, you can use -(으)ㄹ 것이다 to express a future action in a less formal situation.

뭐 먹을 거야? (with friends) vs. 뭐 드시겠습니까? (as the server)

Note: you can use this pattern in lower formality situations (as an example, 힘들겠어; it seems difficult), it's completely okay! It's just more common to use -겠습니다 when talking about the intended future in a formal situation.

2. -지(요)/죠; right(?), isn't it?

This is used to ask for confirmation from the speaker about an observation! For us Canadians, this is the "eh?" we love so dearly. You can use this as a statement, to agree with the speaker. The difference between 지요 and 죠 is just pronunciation; they're the exact same thing. Examples:

춥죠? - it's cold, isn't it? (Canadian translation: it's cold, eh?)

외국인들은 한국에서 일하기 힘들지요? - it's hard for foreigners to work in Korea, right?

알고 있죠? - you know that, right?

당근이지 - right, of course! (informal)

3. 아니다; to not be

This is pretty self-explanatory. It's the opposite of 이다! When using this verb, make sure you use 이/가 particles! Here are some examples:

그 남자는 배우가 아니에요 - he's not an actor

학생이 아녜요! - I'm not a student

부자가 아니에요? - you're not rich?

4. N(이/가) + 아니다 + 지요

If we combine 아니다 and 지요 we can get sentences that express a negative statement to be confirmed. It's best to illustrate this with examples:

농담이 아니죠? - you're not joking, right?

부자가 아니지요? - you're not rich, are you?

한국인이 아니죠? - you're not Korean, right?

Note: when answering these questions, you have to answer the Korean way; we have to think of if we agree or disagree with the statement. Look here for examples.

5. 아니다 + 겠다 + 지요

Final grammar point! This is also pretty self-explanatory. As we know, -겠다 is used to express an observation or supposition. When we attach -지요, we are expressing that we need the listener to agree with our future observation. Examples:

-겠다 + 지요

쉽겠죠? - I suppose it's gonna be easy, right?

다음 주에 한국어 시험을 어렵겠죠? - The Korean test next week will be hard, right?

When adding 아니다 to 겠지(요)/죠, we are expressing a statement that we (the speaker) believe is a true observation.

Here are examples:

코로나 때문에 한국에 가는 게 아니겠죠? - you aren't going to Korea because of CoVid, right?

감기에 걸렸기 때문에 학교에 오는 게 아니었겠지요? - you didn't come to school because you caught a cold, right?

If you disagree with these statements, you are more than welcome to say so. The question/statement is just an observation that the speaker believes to be true. For example, you could say:

A: 코로나 때문에 한국에 가는 게 아니겠죠? B: 아니요, 돈이 없어서 한국에 못 가거든요 - No (I disagree that it's because of CoVid), I can't go because I don't have money.

BONUS:

~(으)면 좋겠다; I hope ~

You can use this when you want to express the hopefulness of something. The literal translation is "it would be good if~". Here are some examples:

한국에 가면 좋겠어요 - I hope to go to Korea

잘됐으면 좋겠어요 - I hope it goes well

상을 타면 좋겠어요 - I hope I win a prize/award

Ooof!! Finally at the end! Hope this answered your question! As always, if there's anything that you still don't understand, you're more than welcome to send me a pm and we can sort it out together!

Happy Learning :)