An Unwitty Polyglot

I decided to create a master list of all my blog posts. I only included the ones I wrote myself, you won’t find any reblogged posts here :)

GETTING STARTED

# How To Start Studying Korean

# Study Technique (Ask)

# Study Notebook (Ask)

MISCELLANEOUS

# Introduction  

# The Issue With Calling People Koreaboo - A Short Essay

# Life Update (October 2019)

# 5 Things That Make Me Happy

GRAMMAR

# Important Grammar - Ending Consonants - 받침

# Beginner Grammar - To Have To Do Sth./Should Do Sth. -~아/어/여야 하다/되다

# Beginner Grammar - Nominalisation -는 것 & -기 & -(으)ㅁ

# Beginner Grammar - About Sth./Concerning Sth. -에 대해(서) & -에 관해(서)

# Beginner Grammar - If/When -(으)면 & -(으)ㄹ 때

# Intermediate Grammar - Speaker’s Assumption -(으)ㄹ 텐데

# Confusing Grammar 1 - Shall We…?/Doubts/Asking Oneself/Wondering -(으)ㄹ까(요)?

# Confusing Grammar 2 - Some-(one/time/where) -ㄴ가

# Confusing Grammar - If/When -(으)면 & - (으)ㄹ 때

# Confusing Grammar - Usage of 보다 in BTS and TXT song (Ask)

VOCABULARY

# Adverbs of Frequency

# Vocabulary - Nature

# Vocabulary - Halloween

안녕하세요! Hi everyone! This lesson is going to be a little confusing, but I think it covers an important topic – passive verbs! It’s not as straightforward as I’d like it to be, but I’ll try my best to explain it clearly! Let’s start!

What is a Passive Verb?

You’ve probably heard your teachers tell you to not use passive voice in your writing because it can often come off as vague and sounds wordier than its active counterpart. But what even is passive voice in English and how does it compare to active voice? Let’s see some examples:

I kick the ball = Active voice

The ball is kicked (by me) = Passive voice 

In the active voice sentence, the subject, I, is acting on the object, which is the ball. In the passive voice sentence, however, the ball is basically just being described; nothing is acting on the ball – it’s just kicked. It kind of sounds like “kicked” is an adjective even when it technically is not.

Something important to note in these sentences are the kinds of nouns in them – which of them are subjects and which are objects?

In the active voice sentence, “I” is the subject and “the ball” is the object. Again, I am acting on the ball by kicking it – I am doing something to it.

In the passive voice, however, “the ball” is the subject. But there isn’t an objective noun here, not even if you attach “by me” to the end of it. “Me” cannot be the object because “me” is not the thing being acted on. 

So why is “the ball” not the object in the passive voice? It’s complicated, I know.

As I said before, passive verbs kind of function like adjectives. In this case, you’re describing what is happening to the ball – it’s being kicked. The verb “to be kicked” is not an active verb, meaning such an action cannot be put upon a noun, if that makes any sense. You can kick a ball, but you can’t be kicked a ball (that doesn’t make sense), if you get what I mean.

I’m sorry for the rant about confusing English grammar, but I think once we have dissected the English language, we can better understand Korean. Like English speakers, Korean speakers don’t typically use the passive voice, but it’s still good to know. So let’s finally get to Korean!

하다 vs. 되다

Let’s start with this: 되다 is the passive version of 하다. 하다 means “to do,” while 되다 means “to be done” (this isn’t the only meaning of 되다, but it’s the one we’ll focus on for now).

Let’s see some examples:

(this is similar to an example from howtostudykorean.com) 

저는 숙제를 했어요. = I did the homework. = Active

숙제는 되었어요. (can also be 숙제는 됐어요.) = The homework was done. = Passive

Notice how in the active sentence, 저 is the subject and has 는 attached to it – it is the subject/topic of the sentence and is the one doing the action onto the object, which is 숙제. In the passive sentence, however, 숙제 is the subject of the sentence – it’s the thing that is being described. 

If you want to clarify that the homework was done by me, you can add -에게 to the person who did the action:

숙제는 저에게 되었어요. = The homework was done by me. (Like in English, this sentence doesn’t quite sound that natural in Korean. When in doubt, stick with the active voice!)

Let’s see some more examples of active verbs and their passive counterparts! 

준비하다 = to prepare (엄마는 저녁을 준비했어요. = My mom prepared dinner.) 

준비되다 = to be prepared / to be ready (저녁은 준비됐어요. = Dinner was prepared. / Dinner is ready.) 

포함하다 = to include (from howtostudykorean.com: 이 값은 세금을 포함해요. = This price includes tax.) 

포함되다 = to be included (from howtostudykorean.com: 세금은 값에 포함돼요. = Tax is included in the price.)

*Notice how I attached -에 to 값. You can attach -에 to a non-person noun in these kinds of sentences. 

이해하다 = to understand (저는 이걸 이해 안 해요. = I don’t understand this.) 

이해되다 = to be understood (이건 이해 안 돼요. = This is not understood.)(this is more naturally translated as “I don’t understand this” – the same as the active voice)

반복하다 = to repeat (말을 못 들어서 반복해 주세요. = I couldn’t hear what you said so please repeat it.)

반복되다 = to be repeated (이말 반복되면 안 돼요. = This cannot be repeated.)

걱정하다 = to worry (걱정하지마. = Don’t worry. (informal))

걱정되다 = to be worried (내일은 시험을 볼 거니까 걱정돼요. = I’m worried because I’m going to take a test tomorrow.)

For the sake of keeping this lesson not too long and overwhelming, I’m going to end it here! There are many more passive verbs that don’t end in 되다, and I plan on making another lesson or maybe a vocab list all about those other verbs. But I think that this is enough for now! Feel free to ask any questions you may have!

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

"The state, it is I." - « L'état, c'est moi. »

diplomacy - diplomatie (f)

foreign policy - politique étrangère (f)

balance of power - équilibre des forces (m)

secret alliance - alliance secrète

divine right of kings - droit divins des Rois

celestial body - l'astre (m)

piety - piété

power - puissance (f)

pride - l'orgueil (m)

to grow bolder - s'enhardir

builder - bâtisseur

hunting lodge - pavillon de chasse

peasant - paysan

Basics of Korean Grammar

Korean Parts of Speech Introduction(품사)

Substantives & Independent words(체언&독립언)

Modifiers(수식언)

Verbs&Adjectives(용언) + Postposition(관계언)

Fundamental Constituents(주성분) Part 1 : Subject & Complement

Fundamental Constituents(주성분) Part 2 : Predicate & Object

Supplementary Constituents(부속 성분)

Practice Constituents of Sentence

Korean Postpositions

Postposition Introduction(조사)

Subject Marking Particle & Complement Marking Particle(주격 조사&보격 조사)

Object Marking Particle(목적격 조사)

Adnominal Marking Particle & Independent Word Marking Particle(관형격 조사&호격 조사)

Adverbial Marking Particle(부사격 조사)

Predicate Marking Particle(서술격 조사)

Assistant Postposition(보조사)

Conjunction Particle(접속 조사)

탈코 is short for 탈코르셋 which means "corset-free." It's a movement started in 2015 by Korean feminists. The corset being an object representative of female oppression, the movement is meant to call to the end of restrictive beauty standards women face in society. The "corset" is not necessarily a corset per se, it's more of a symbolism for the day-to-day beauty standards women have to "hide under" (ie. make up, pretty expensive clothes, high heels) and are restricted by. Now, the word 코르셋 is used to talk about all of the outer aspects that women use to look nice for society and that feminists deem "unecessary."

A prime example of this movement is Youtuber Lina Bae, who, surrounded by hateful comments she received on her appearance, wiped away her make up in front of the camera and posted her video under the title "I am not pretty." This would be called 탈코 (free oneself from the corset, or free oneself from the constrictive standards of beauty).

So what is a DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verb?

Dr Mrs. Vandertramp is an acronym that is often taught to French students to help them remember which verbs conjugate with “être” as an auxiliary verb when talking in the past using the passé composé.

The past participle is the past form of the word. For example; in the English sentence “I walked to school” the word walked is the ‘past participle’ of the verb to walk. In French the same sentence would read  “J’ai marché à l’école”. The word marché is the past participle of the verb marcher.

The verb avoir is the standard when using the passé composé. Its used in the example above. However, DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs use the auxiliary verb être in the past tense instead.

These DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs happen to be used much more often than most other verbs. As my French teacher said; they’re considered the ‘moving’ or ‘going’ verbs.

Devenir - to become

Revenir - to come back

Monter - to go up

Retourner - to return

Sortir - to go out

Venir - to come

Aller - to go

Naître - to be born

Descendre - to go down

Entrer - to enter

Rentrer - to go home/to return

Tomber - to fall

Rester - to remain

Arriver - to arrive

Mourir - to die

Partir - to leave

An example when using DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs is ‘Je suis sorti’ instead of saying ‘J’ai sorti’ like with most French verbs, être is used as the auxiliary verb instead.

It is important to know that these verbs Must agree with their subject. This means if the subject is feminine an e must be added to the end of the past participle. For example, for the sentence, she is going, the sentence would be Elle est allée.

If you take the time to memorize this acronym then you’ll have an easy resource to refer to if you are unsure if the verb you’re using requires être or avoir.

If you would like a post explaining the passé composé please let me know as I would love to help!

also me:

✎ㅋㅋ = Laughter (funny)🤣

the more ㅋ added, the more you're laughing. usually if it's just one ㅋ it's kind of laughing mockingly. (=비웃다)

✎ㅎㅎ= Laughter (politer and more formal than ㅋ)😄

this also expresses laughter, however it's more formal and politer than ㅋㅋ.

✎ㅇㅇ = 응응 👌🏻👌🏻

It means yes (응=yes) You can just say ㅇ but it's a bit ruder. ㅇㅇ

✎ㅇㅈ = 인정👍🏻

it means admitted. (When you agree with that person)

✎ㅂㅂ =바이 바이 👋🏻

it means bye.

✎ㄱㄷ = 기달 (=기달려)

It means wait

❥기다리다: To wait

✎ㅇㅋ =오키 👌🏻

It means 'Okay'

✎긍까 = 그니까/그러니까

긍까 is a shortened form of 그니까.

❥그러니까: So / I know

✎ㄱㄱ = 고고

정원: Garden

꽃: Flower

나무: Tree

씨앗: Seed

물뿌리개: Watering can

분무기: Sprayer

새싹: Sprout

잡초: Weed

태양/해: Sun

물: Water

흙: Soil

화분: Flowerpot

잔디: Grass

덩굴: Vine

햇빛: Sunlight

과일: Fruit

채소: Vegetable

논: Rice field

벌레: Bugs

수풀: Bush/Thicket

비: Rain

사랑 love

애정 affection

호감 fondness

우정 friendship

의리 loyalty

신뢰 trust

희망 hope

소망 wish / hope

의지 will

용기 courage

열정 passion

격려 encourage

자존감 self esteem

자신감 confidence

협동심 cooperation

성실 hard working

헌신 devotion

존중 respect

존경 admire

배려 consideration

화합 harmonious

평화 peace

긍정 positive

행운 good luck

꿈 dream

함께 together

친절 kindness

행복 happiness

머리 : head

- 이마 : forehead

- 관자놀이 : temple

- 턱 : jaw

- 두개골 : skull

- 뇌 : brain

- 볼/뺨 : cheek

  - 보조개 : dimple

- 머리카락 : hair

얼굴 : face

- 눈 : eye

  - 눈썹 : eyebrows

  - 속눈썹 : eyelashes

  - 동공 : pupil

- 코 : nose

  - 콧구멍 : nostrils

- 입 : mouth

  - 치아/이/이빨 : tooth

  - 잇몸 : gum

  - 입술 : lips

- 귀 : ear

목 : neck

- 목젖 : Adam’s apple

- 식도 : esophagus

- 기도 : airway

어깨 : shoulder

등 : back

- 척추 : spine

허리 : waist

Hello everyone! This is Admin Sun. Today is April 19th, the day of the April revolution that was an important event in Korea’s history and Korea’s democracy! Today I will talk about this important event in Korean History! I also prepared a vocab list related to the April Revolution at the end ☺

The April Revolution, called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement sometimes (4.19 혁명) is one of the first revolutions and protests that were against unjust political power, and helped drive Korea into becoming a democratic and free country(Other protests would be the 5.18 Gwangju democratic movement or the June democratic movement). They were mass protests against the President, Syngman Rhee (이승만) and the First Republic(제 1 공화국). It started on April 11th and lasted until April 26th, when Syngman Rhee resigned. 

Syngman Rhee had been the first President of South Korea since we gained independence from Japan. He led Korea during the Korean war in 1950. He was strongly anti-communist and pro-American. He used the threat of communism to politically repress any threat to his political power. 

He accused a political rival of the progressive party, Cho Bong-am, of being a communist and executed him. This was called the Cho Bong-am incident. (조봉암 사건)

Syngman Rhee rigged the election on March 15, 1960 to make sure Lee Ki-Bong would be elected as the vice president. He had already changed the constitution so he could run for president a third time, even though the constitution change should not have happened, as he had only 135 votes when he needed 136 votes, using the logic of rounding numbers (사사오입 사건). 

Protests against the president started in the Southeastern port city, Masan on April 11. It was started by labor groups and students. The protests started after the body of a high school student Kim Ju-Yul (김주열) was discovered in the harbor of Masan. The Authorities claimed that an autopsy confirmed that Kim Ju-Yul died due to drowning, but most of the protestors did not believe this. The protestors forced their way into the hospital and found out that Kim Ju-Yul did not die of drowning but had been killed by a tear-gas grenade which penetrated his skull. The government tried to conceal this incident but the press reported this story with a picture of Kim Ju-Yul’s body.

This incident was shocking to the nation and sparked more protests. On April 18 the protests that started in Masan spread to Seoul. On April 19, university and some high school students marched to the Blue house where the president was. The students called for the president’s resignation. The police fired on the protestors. After April 19th President Rhee proclaimed martial law in order to stop the demonstrations.

The protests did not stop and eventually on April 25, professors joined the protesting students and citizens. The outnumbered police and soldiers refused to attack the giant protestors. Syngman Rhee stepped down from president on April 26, 1960. Lee Ki-Poong was blamed for the corrupt government. Rhee was eventually exiled to Hawaii on May, and the First Republic came to an end and the Second Republic of South Korea replaced it. In order to remove the president’s power, they adopted a parliamentary system. However, the Second Republic did not last for long.

Picture of the protests

The April Revolution was an incident that was important in Korea’s history as it was the first revolution against corrupt and unjust political power, and showed the Korean people’s ideal and strong wish for democracy. Though it was triggered by the unjust election, the April revolution was a result of 20 years of corruption and various social evils. April 19th is a day to think about the heavy price of our precious democracy and freedom.

After months of political instability showed the Second Republic’s problems, General Park Chung-hee launched a coup d'état on May 16, 1961 (5.16 군사 정변), overthrowing the Second Republic of South Korea.

APRIL REVOLUTION VOCAB LIST

선거: Election

정부: Government

정치: Politics

권력: Power

혁명: Revolution

학생: Student

대학생: University Student

고등학생: High school student

교수: Professor

시민: Citizen

청와대: The blue house

시위: Demonstration, protest

부당하다: Unjust

부정부패: Corruption

민주주의: Democracy

정의: Justice

민중: The people

최루탄: tear-gas grenade

진압: Repression, suppression

대통령: President

군대: Army

군인: Soldier

경찰: Police

유혈 진압: Bloody repression

추방: Exile

하야하다: To resign (Step down)

쿠데타: coup d'état

- Written by Admin Sun

Hi! This is Admin Do. Today’s grammar lesson is on assistant postpositions. If you want more info on postpositions, click here!

보조사 (Assistant Postposition)

보조사 is one type of 조사(Postposition), and is a postposition that adds special meaning to 체언(substantive), 부사(adverb), 활용 어미(conjugated ending), and so on. There are a lot of assistant postpositions since the majority of the postpostions, except 격조사(position marking particle) and 접속 조사(conjuction postposition), are assistant postpostiton. So I picked some of the most used assistant postpositions to introduce today.

- ‘~은/는’

Used to emphasize, contrast, etc.

ex)

우유는 먹어도 치즈는 못 먹는다.(I can drink milk but I can’t eat cheese.)

아무리 졸려도 드라마는 보고 자야 한다.(No matter how sleepy I am, I have to watch the drama and sleep.)

- ‘~만’

Used to indicate solitude, selection, etc. Usually translated to “only”.

ex)

나는 딸기만 좋아한다.(I only like strawberries.)

5개 중에서 2개만 새싹이 돋았다.(Only two of the five have sprouted buds.)

- ‘~도’

Used to indicate inclusion, limitations, etc.

ex)

누구도 여기서 나갈 수 없다.(No one can get out of here.)

케이크를 먹었는데 사탕도 먹고 싶다.(Although I ate cake, I want to eat a candy too.)

- ‘~부터’

Used to indicate the start, first, etc.

ex)

이것은 철수로부터 온 편지다.(This is a letter from 철수.)

어머니부터 밥을 드셨다.(Mother ate first.)

- ‘~까지’

Used to indicate effects(how far something affected), etc.

ex)

기름이 여기까지 튀었다. (The oil spattered all the way here.)

- Written by Admin Do