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LEVEL 3 LESSON 1

Welcome to Level 3 and congratulations on making it through to the 3rd level in the Talk-

ToMeInKorean curriculum! In Level 3, we will be building upon what we’ve already introduced

through Level 1 and Level 2, as well as reviewing some grammar points that we already covered

in the previous levels.

Today, in this lesson, we are looking at a word that is very commonly used in everyday Korean

not only for its original meaning, but for its more colloquial meaning as well.

Basic meaning

- 너무 [neo-mu] = too (much), excessively

The basic meaning of 너무 [neo-mu] is “too much” or “excessively.”

For example:

너무 커요. [neo-mu keo-yo]

= It’s too big.

너무 비싸요. [neo-mu bi-ssa-yo]

= It’s too expensive.

너무 빨라요. [neo-mu ppal-la-yo]

= It’s too fast.

Colloquial usage
- 너무 = very, quite (sometimes also used in short as 넘, only in spoken language)

Although the basic meaning of the word 너무 is “too much” or “excessively,” in colloquial Ko -
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LEVEL 3 LESSON 1

rean, it also has the meaning of “very,” “quite,” or “really.”

For example:

너무 맛있어요. [neo-mu ma-si-sseo-yo]

= It’s really tasty.

너무 좋아요. [neo-mu jo-a-yo]

= It’s really good.

= I’m really happy about it.

너무 잘 했어요. [neo-mu jal dwae-sseo-yo.]

= It’s really well done.

= You did such a good job.

Sample sentences
1. 저 사람 너무 멋있어요! [ jeo sa-ram neo-mu meo-si-sseo-yo.]
meo-si-sseo-yo.]

= That guy is really cool.

2. 이거 너무 좋아요. [i-geo neo-mu jo-a-yo.]

= I really like this.

3. 여기 너무 시끄러워요. [yeo-gi neo-mu si-kkeu-reo-wo-yo.]

= It’s too noisy here.

4. 너무 좋아요. 그런데 너무 비싸요. [neo-mu jo-a-yo. geu-reon-de neo-mu bi-ssa-yo.]

= It’s really good. But it’s too expensive.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 1

The word 너무 used to be used only in negative contexts or sentences, but it gradually began

to be used in positive meanings as well. Now, most people use 너무 in both ways.

ex)

너무 더워요. [neo-mu deo-wo-yo.] = It’s too hot. / It’s very hot.

너무 졸려요. [neo-mu jol-lyeo-yo.] = I’m too sleepy. / I’m very sleepy.

너무 바빠요. [neo-mu ba-ppa-yo.] = I’m too busy. / I’m very busy.

너무 is usually combined with adjectives but it can also be used with verbs as well.

ex)

너무 보고 싶어요. [neo-mu bo-go si-peo-yo.] = I miss you/him/her/them so much.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 2

Now, everyone, it’s time to start looking at more ways to make compound sentences in Korean.

Of course there are many different ways to make compound nouns depending on what you

want to say, but in this lesson, we are looking at how to use the verb ending -고 [-go].

-고 [-go]

What does -고 do? Do you remember the conjunction, 그리고 [geu-ri-go]? Yes, 그리고 means

“and” or “and then” in Korean, and when you use -고 after a verb stem, it has the same mean -

ing as 그리고. By using the verb ending -고 instead of ending the sentence with just one verb

and then starting the next one with 그리고, you can save a lot of time and make the logic in

your sentence more clear.

이 책은 재미있어요. 그리고 이 책은 싸요.

[i chae-geun jae-mi-i-sseo-yo. geu-ri-go i chae-geun ssa-yo.]

= This book is interesting. And this book is cheap.

But since you are talking about the same subject in the second sentence, you can just omit “이

책은”.

▶ 이 책은 재미있어요. 그리고 싸요.

= This book is interesting. And (it’s) cheap.

But you can make it even shorter and combine the two sentences together by saying:

▶ 이 책은 재미있고 싸요.

[i chae-geun jae-mi-it-go ssa-yo.]

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 2

어제 친구를 만났어요. 그리고 영화를 만났어요.

▶ 어제 친구를 만났고, 영화를 봤어요.

[eo-je chin-gu-reul man-nat-go, yeong-hwa-reul bwa-sseo-yo.]

= I met a friend yesterday and saw a movie.

But you can also say 어제 친구를 만나고, 영화를 봤어요. with the part “만나고” in the present

tense.

Future tense example:

내일 영화를 볼 거예요.

[nae-il yeong-hwa-reul bol geo-ye-yo.]

= I will watch a movie tomorrow.

서점에 갈 거예요.

[seo-jeo-me
[seo-jeo-me gal geo-ye-yo.]

= I will go to a bookstore.

Let’ss put
Let’ pu t them together.

내일 영화를 볼 거예요. 그리고 서점에 갈 거예요.

▶ 내일 영화를 볼 거고, 서점에 갈 거예요.

[nae-il yeong-hwa-reul bol geo-go, seo-jeo-me gal geo-ye-yo.]

= I will watch a movie, and go to a bookstore.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 2

But you can also just say 내일 영화를 보고, 서점에 갈 거예요.

Remember?

Do you remember that 그리고 (or in this case, -고) has the meaning of “and after that” or “and

then”? Therefore, making compound sentences using -고 is a good way of talking about things

that happened or will happen in a sequence.

Sample sentences

1. 내일은 친구 만나고, 서점에 갈 거예요.

[nae-i-reun chin-gu man-na-go, seo-jeo-me gal geo-ye-yo.]

= As for tomorrow, I’m going to meet a friend and go to a bookstore.

2. 책 읽고, 공부하고, 운동했어요.

[chaek il-go, gong-bu-ha-go, un-dong-hae

un-dong-hae-sseo-yo.]
-sseo-yo.]

= I read a book,
book , studied, and did some exercise.

3. 9월에는 한국에 가고, 10월에는 일본에 갈 거예요.

[gu-wo-re-neun han-gu-ge ga-go, si-wo-re-neun il-bo-ne gal geo-ye-yo.]

= In September I will go to Korea, and in October I will go to Japan.

4. 커피 마시고, 도너츠 먹고, 케익 먹고, 우유 마셨어요. 배 불러요.

[keo-pi ma-si-go, do-neo-cheu meok-go, ke-ik meok-go, u-yu ma-syeo-sseo-yo. bae bul-leo-
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LEVEL 3 LESSON 2
yo.]

= I drank some coffee,

coffee, ate a donut,
donut, ate some
some cake, and drank
drank some milk. I’m full.
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LEVEL 3 LESSON 3

This is a lesson where we will be looking at how to describe relative locations of things and

people.

First of all, let’s look at how to ask where something or someone is. The word for “where” is 어

디 [eo-di] and the word for “to be” is 있다 [it-da]. So for the present tense, you can ask “어디 있

어요?” [eo-di i-sseo-yo?]. Or if you want to be more accurate, you can add the location marking

particle -에 [-e] and say 어디에 있어요? [eo-di-e i-sseo-yo?]

어디 있어요? [eo-di i-sseo-yo?]

= 어디에 있어요? [eo-di-e i-sseo-yo?]

= Where is it? / Where are you? / Where are they?

Now in order to give response to this question, you need to know these five one-syllable

words.

앞 [ap] = front

뒤 [dwi] = back

옆 [yeop] = side

위 [wi] = top

밑 [mit] = bottom

To these words, you add -에 [-e], the location marking particle to use them with other words.

앞에 [a-pe] = in front of 

뒤에 [dwi-e] = behind

옆에 [yeo-pe] = beside, next to

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 3

위에 [wi-e] = over, on top of 

밑에 [mi-te] = under, below

In English, these words come BEFORE the words that they modify, but in Korean, they come

AFTER the words.

Examples:

자동차 [ ja-dong-cha] = car, automobile

자동차 앞에 = in front of the car

자동차 뒤에 = behind the car

자동차 옆에 = beside the car, next to the car

자동차 위에 = on the car, on top of the car

자동차 밑에 = under the car

Combined with 있다:

자동차 앞에 있어요. = It’s in front of the car.

자동차 뒤에 있어요. = It’s behind the car.

자동차 옆에 있어요. = It’s next to the car.

자동차 위에 있어요. = It’s on top of the car.

자동차 밑에 있어요. = It’s under the car.

If you remember, -에 [-e] is only used with the status of a person or an object, and when you

want to express actions and behaviors that are happening, you need to use -에서 [-e-seo].

For example,
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LEVEL 3 LESSON 3

Q: 친구를 어디에서 만날 거예요?

[chin-gu-reul eo-di-e-seo man-nal geo-ye-yo?]

= Where are you going to meet (your) friends?

**은행 [eun-haeng] = bank

A: 은행 앞에서 만날 거예요.

[eun-haeng a-pe-seo man-nal geo-ye-yo.]

= I’m going to meet (them) in front of the bank.

A: 은행 뒤에서 만날 거예요.

[eun-haeng dwi-e-seo man-nal geo-ye-yo.]

= I’m going to meet (them) behind the bank.

A: 은행 옆에서 만날 거예요.

[eun-haeng yeo-pe-seo man-nal geo-ye-yo.]

= I’m going to meet (them) beside the bank.

소파 위에서 자고 있어요.

[so-pa wi-e-seo ja-go i-sseo-yo.]

= I’m sleeping on the sofa.

나무 밑에서 책을 읽고 있어요.

[na-mu mi-te-seo chae-geul il-go i-sseo-yo.]

= I’m reading a book under the tree.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 6

Through our previous lessons, we have learned how to use the future tense. In this lesson, we

are introducing one more way of talking about a future action and looking at how the two ways

of talking about the future are different.

-(으)ㄹ 거예요 vs. -(으)ㄹ게요

If you pronounce -(으)ㄹ 거예요 [-(eu)l geo-ye-yo] very quickly, it sounds similar to -(으)ㄹ게요

[-(eu)l-ge-yo], so a lot of beginner-level and even advanced learners mix up the two ver y often,

but in fact these two sentence endings for the future are used for distinctively different pur-

poses.

Let’s look at -(으)ㄹ 거예요 first.

-(으)ㄹ 거예요 [-(eu)l geo-ye-yo] is the basic way to express a future plan or action and you at-

tach this at the end of a verb stem.

하다 [ha-da] = to do

하 + -ㄹ 거예요 = 할 거예요 [hal geo-ye-yo] = I will do ______. / I am going to do ______.

보내다 [bo-nae-da] = to send

보내 + -ㄹ 거예요 = 보낼 거예요 [bo-nael geo-ye-yo] = I will send ______. / I am going to send

______.

웃다 [ut-da] = to laugh

웃 + -을 거예요 = 웃을 거예요 [u-seul geo-ye-yo] = I will laugh.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 6

With -(으)ㄹ 거예요, you are just expressing your intention or plan for a future action, or your

expectation for a future state, and this is NOT related to or affected by the reaction or the re-

quest of the person you’re talking to.

And now let’s look at -(으)ㄹ게요.

-(ㅇ) ㄹ게요 [-(eu)l ge-yo] is also attached after a verb stem and also expresses the future, but

it focuses more on your actions or decisions AS A REACTION TO or AS A RESULT OF what the

other person says.

Let’s compare the two forms.

1.

할 거예요 vs. 할게요

공부할 거예요.

[gong-bu-hal ge-ye-yo.]

= I’m going to study.

= I will study.

(Here, regardless of what the other person is saying, you were ALREADY planning to study so

you will, and you are not changing your mind at all because of what the other person says.)

공부할게요.

[gong-bu-hal-ge-yo.]

= I will study.
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LEVEL 3 LESSON 6

= (If you say so,) I will study.

= (Since the circumstances are like this,) I will study.

= (If you don’t mind,) I will study.

(Here, the other person says something to you, and you think “Oh, in that case, I have to

study.” so you say “I will study then.” Or you could be just saying it before the other person

says anything, but after you say this, you wait for the other person’s reaction to see if they

have anything to say.)

2.

갈 거예요 vs. 갈게요

저도 갈 거예요.

[jeo-do gal geo-ye-yo.]

= I will go (there), too.

= I’m going to go, too.

= I’m coming along, as well.

저도 갈게요.

[jeo-do gal-ge-yo.]

= I will come along, too(, if you don’t mind).

= (In that case,) I will go there, too.

= (OK, since you say so,) I will go, too.

So in summary, you use -(으)ㄹ게요 (instead of -(으)ㄹ 거예요) when:

1. you are changing your plan according to what the other person said
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LEVEL 3 LESSON 6

2. you want to check what the other person thinks by saying something and seeing their reac-

tion

3. you decide to do something because of something the other person said

More sample sentences:

1. 지금 어디예요? 지금 나갈게요.

[ji-geum eo-di-ye-yo? ji-geum na-gal-ge-yo.]

= Where are you now? I will go out now.

(+ if you don’t mind/if you want me to/unless you don’t want me to/what do you think about

that?)

--> Here, if you say 지금 나갈 거예요, it means that regardless of where the other person is,

you were already going to go out anyway, probably to an unrelated place.

2. 저 갈게요. 안녕히 계세요.

[jeo gal-ge-yo. an-nyeong-hi gye-se-yo.]

= I’m going to go. Take care.

(+ unless you want me to stay longer/unless there’s something I have to stay longer to do)

--> Here, if you say 저 갈 거예요, it means you don’t care whether the other person wants you

to stay or not, and you will just leave any way, and in most cases, you don’t want the other

person to ask you to stay, and you won’t even if you are asked to.

3. 그래요? 다시 할게요.

[geu-rae-yo? da-si hal-ge-yo.]

= Is that so? I’ll do it again.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 11

You have learned a lot about Korean verbs so far - conjugations, rules, etc. But just like many

other languages, Korean has some irregularities as well, which people started using more and

more often so they have become a fixed rule now.

Korean has much fewer verb irregularities than some other languages do, but you will

encounter these irregularities everywhere as you learn and speak Korean. We would like to

introduce one of them in this lesson.

ㅂ irregular

This mean that if verbs have ㅂ at the end of their verb stems, and they are followed by a suffix

that starts with a vowel, the ㅂ part will change to 오 or 우.

If the vowel before ㅂ is 오, you change ㅂ to 오.

If the vowel before ㅂ is not 오, you change ㅂ to 우.

Example
돕다 [dop-da] = to help

=도+ㅂ+다

--> 도 + 오 + 아요 = 도와요

** Note that it is NO
NOT
T 돕아요

어렵다 [eo-ryeop-da] = to be difficult

= 어려 + ㅂ + 다

--> 어려 + 우 + 어요. = 어려워요.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 11

[present tense] 어려워요

[past tense] 어려웠어요

[future tense] 어려울 거예요

춥다 [chup-da] = to be cold

--> 추 + 우 + 어요 = 추워요.

[present tense] 추워요

[past tense] 추웠어요

[future tense] 추울 거예요

Some other irregular words:

눕다 [nup-da] = to lie down

굽다 [gup-da] = to bake

덥다 [deop-da] = to be hot (weather)

쉽다 [swip-da] = to be easy

맵다 [meap-da] = to be spicy

귀엽다 [gwi-yeop-da] = to be cute

밉다 [mip-da] = to hate, to be dislikeable

아름답다 [a-reum-dap-da] = to be beautiful

Remember that these verbs have irregular forms ONLY WHEN the suffix coming after them

start with a VOWEL. So if you have suffixes like -는 or -고, they still keep the ㅂ.

Irregularities in irregular verbs

Although the ㅂ irregular rule is applied to most verbs that have ㅂ in them, some verbs do
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not follow this rule.

Action verbs
- 입다 [ip-da] = to wear

- 잡다 [jap-da] = to catch

- 씹다 [ssip-da] = to bite

Descriptive verbs
- 좁다 [job-da] = to be narrow

- 넓다 [neolp-da] = to be wide

These words still keep their ㅂ in front of vowels.

Ex) 입다 --> 입어요 (Not 이워요)

Ex) 좁다 --> 좁아요 (Not 조아요)

Sample sentences
1. 이 문제는 어려워요.

[i mun-je-neun eo-ryeo-wo-yo.]

= This problem is difficult.

2. 이거 너무 귀여워요.

[i-geo neo-mu gwi-yeo-wo-yo.]

= This is so cute.

3. 서울은 겨울에 정말 추워요.

[han-gu-geun gyeo-eu-re jeong-mal chu-wo-yo.]

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 11

= In Seoul, it’s really cold in winter.

4. TTMIK에서 공부하면, 한국어 공부가 쉬워요.

[ttmik-e-seo gong-bu-ha-myeon, han-gu-geo gong-bu-ga swi-wo-yo.]

= If you study at TTMIK, studying Korean is easy.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 12

We have introduced a few different conjugations so far through our previous lessons, and today

we have one more interesting conjugation word to introduce.

The word is 그래도 [geu-rae-do].

(In Level 2 Lesson 3, we introduced 그래서 [geu-rae-seo], which means “so”, “therefore”, and 그

래도 is only different at the end.)

그래도 means “but still”, “however”, or “nonetheless”.

Ex)

비가 와요. 그래도 갈 거예요?

[bi-ga wa-yo. geu-rae-do gal geo-ye-yo?]

= It’s raining. Are you still going?

Let’s break it down:

그래도 = 그래 + 도

- 그래 = 그렇게 해 (to do it in such a way, to do that)

- 도 = also, too, even

So the literal meaning of “그래 + 도” is “even if you do that” “even if that happens” or “if you

do that too” and the meaning of “still” is added to the context.

Sample sentences
1. 한국어는 어려워요. 그래도 재미있어요.

[han-gu-geo-neun eo-ryeo-wo-yo. geu-rae-do jae-mi-i-sseo-yo.]

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 12

= Korean is difficult. But still, it is interesting.

2. 어제는 비가 왔어요. 그래도 축구를 했어요.

[eo-je-neun bi-ga wa-sseo-yo. geu-rae-do chuk-gu-reul hae-sseo-yo.]

= Yesterday, it rained. But still, we played soccer.

3. 저도 돈이 없어요. 그래도 걱정하지 마세요.

[ jeo-do do-ni eop-seo-yo. geu-rae-do geok-jeong-ha-ji ma-se-yo.]

= I don’t have money, either. But still, don’t worry.

4. 노래방에 가야 돼요. 그래도 노래 안 할 거예요.

[no-rae-bang-e ga-ya dwae-yo. geu-rae-do no-rae an hal geo-ye-yo.]

= I have to go to a 노래방. But still, I’m not going to sing.

5. 요즘 바빠요. 그래도 한국어를 공부하고 있어요.

[yo-jeum ba-ppa-yo. geu-rae-do han-gu-geo-reul gong-bu-ha-go i-sseo-yo.]

= I’m busy these days. But I’m still studying Korean.

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LEVEL 3 LESSON 13

Common Mistake

A lot of people make the mistake of trying to say “to be (이에요)” + “adjective” just like in

English.

예쁜 이에요 ( x )

비싼 이에요 ( x )

This is incorrect. Since all the “adjectives” in Korea are “descriptive verbs”, you need to

conjugate them like verbs:

예쁘다 --> 예뻐요 ( o )

비싸다 --> 비싸요 ( o )

Sample sentences
1. 좋은 아이디어예요.

[jo-eun a-i-di-eo-ye-yo.]

= It’s a good idea.

2. 이상한 사람이에요.

[i-sang-han sa-ra-mi-e-yo.]

= He’s a strange person.

3. 더 작은 가방 있어요?

[deo ja-geun ga-bang i-sseo-yo?]

= Do you have a smaller bag?

TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 13

4. 시원한 커피 마시고 싶어요.

[si-won-han keo-pi ma-si-go si-peo-yo.]

= I want to drink some cold coffee.

5. 나쁜 사람이에요.

[na-ppeun sa-ram-i-e-yo]

= He is a bad person.
TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 14

In the previous lesson, we looked at how to conjugate descriptive verbs and make adjectives

in Korean. You are now familiar with the fact that Korean and English have different systems

when it comes to using adjectives. But that’s not it. In this lesson, let us look at how to make

adjectives out of verbs.

Again, “adjectives” are a part of speech that modifies nouns (usually) in front of them (i.e.

“good” in “good idea” and “awesome” in “awesome music”). And in Korean, not only descriptive

verbs but also “action verbs” can be used as adjectives, or more precisely, used in the form of

adjectives.

Example of descriptive verbs used as adjectives

Nice person (nice + person)

= descriptive verb 좋다 + 사람 = 좋은 사람

Fun game (fun + game)

= descriptive verb 어렵다 + 게임 = 어려운 게임

Examples of action verbs used as adjectives

노래하는 사람 [no-rae-ha-neun sa-ram]

= 노래하다 (to sing) + 사람 (person)

= (the/a) person who sings

좋아하는 책 [jo-a-ha-neun chaek]

= 좋아하다 (to like) + 책 (book)

= (the/a) book that I like

---> book who likes ( x )

TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 16

안녕하세요! Sometimes when you want to do things with other people, you will say things

like “Let’s go.” “Let’s do it.” or “Let’s start.” Today in this lesson, let’s look at how to say “let’s” in

Korean.

There are a few different ways to say this in Korean:

1. -아/어/여요 [polite/plain]

2. -(으)시죠 [honorific]

3. -자 [informal]

4. -(으)ㄹ래요? [polite/casual]

5. -(ㅇ)실래요? [polite/formal]

Example:
시작하다 [si-ja-ka-da] = to start, to begin

1. 시작해요. [si-ja-kae-yo] = Let’s start. (plain)

2. 시작하시죠. [si-ja-ka-si-jyo] = Let’s start. (honorific)

3. 시작하자. [si-ja-ka-ja] = Let’s start. (informal)

4. 시작할래요? [si-ja-kal-lae-yo?] = Shall we start? (polite/casual)

5. 시작하실래요? [si-ja-ka-sil-lae-yo?] = Shall we start? (polite/formal)

But the most frequently used one is number 1, -아/어/여요 [-a/eo-/yeo-yo]. The other forms will

all be covered through our future lessons.

-아/어/여요

Yes. This is the same form as the plain present tense,but don’t worry. You can tell the difference

quiet easily through context. Let’s see how the meaning can be clear through some examples.
TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 16

1. 저도 서점에 갈 거예요. 같이 가요!

[jeo-do seo-jeo-me gal geo-ye-yo. ga-chi ga-yo!]

= I’m going to the bookstore, too. Let’s go together!

2. 배 안 고파요? 우리 햄버거 먹어요.

[bae an go-pa-yo? u-ri haem-beo-geo meo-geo-yo.]

= Aren’t you hungry? Let’s eat hamburgers.

3. 지금 두 시예요. 세 시에 여기에서 만나요.

[ji-geum du si-ye-yo. se si-e yeo-gi-e-seo man-na-yo.]

= It’s two o’clock now. Let’s meet here at three o’clock.

4. 저 금요일까지 바빠요. 토요일에 시작해요. 어때요?

[jeo geu-myo-il-kka-ji ba-ppa-yo. to-yo-i-re si-ja-kae-yo. eo-ttae-yo?]

= I’ll be busy until Friday. Let’s start on Saturday. What do you think?

5. 다른 데 가요. 여기 안 좋은 것 같아요.

[da-reun de ga-yo. yeo-gi an jo-eun geot ga-ta-yo.]

= Let’s go somewhere else. I think this place is not so good.

TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 17

In this lesson, we are introducing an expression that means “in order to”, “in order
for”, or “for the sake of”. The key word in the expression is 위하다 [wi-ha-da].

위하다 [wi-ha-da] means “to make efforts for something/someone” or “to do

something to best benefit someone” , but it is rarely used as is without being changed
to another form.

위해 = 위해서 = in order to/for

위하다 is rarely used and it is changed to forms like “위해” or “위해서” to mean “in order
to”, “in order for”, or “for the sake of”.

위해 = 위하여

위해서 = 위하여서

Sometimes, you will see 위하여 instead of 위해. 위하여 is the original conjugation form but in

everybody language, 위하여 is shortened to 위해 (both in written and spoken languages) for

the ease of pronunciation.

Using 위해/위해서 with nouns

Noun + -를 위해/위해서
= in order for + noun

= for the sake of + noun

TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 27

So far, through our previous lessons, we have introduced various sentence structures and verb endings. However,

all of the sentence endings that we have introduced so far are in the 존댓말 politeness level.

There are three main levels of politeness/formality and now we think it is time for you to learn about the 반말
level (casual language).

What are the three main levels of politeness in Korean?

The politeness level is determined by the end of the verb.

Type 1. -ㅂ니다 [-nida] ending = honorific, most polite, most formal

Type 2. -(아/어/여)요 [-(a/eo/yeo)yo] ending = polite, natural, a bit formal
Type 3. -아/어/여 ending = casual, informal, intimate

Type 1 and 2 are called 존댓말 [ jon-daet-mal] and Type 3 is called 반말 [ban-mal]. And in this lesson, we are look -
ing at how to use 반말, and when NOT to use it.

When do you use 반말?

Generally, 반말 is considered to be the most intimate and casual way of speaking with others in Korean. Therefore,
it has no formality in it at all. You can only use 반말 to someone who is obviously and certainly younger than you,
someone of the same age as you, or (if the other person is older than you) someone with whom you agreed to
mutually use 반말.

If you don’t know the other person’s age or social status, you should not use 반말 in any case. Once you know the
other person’s age and find out the he or she is younger than you, you can use 반말 but it is a nice gesture and
also safe to ask the person first whether you can use 반말 to him or her.

Here are some common cases in which you can use 반말

1. You are much older than the other person and you know for sure that the other person won’t get offended if
you use 반말.
2. You are older than the other person and you got his or her permission to use 반말.
TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 27

3. You are of the same age as the other person and you got his or her permission to use 반말.
4. You are in elementary school, middle school or high school and you know that all your classmates are of the
same age as you.
5. You are talking to yourself or writing in your diary.

Here are some common cases in which you SHOULD NOT use 반말
1. You know the other person only through work, and not personally.
2. You are older than the other person but he or she is your business client or customer.
3. You are older than the other person but you are talking to the person in an official environment such as semi -
nars, lessons, etc.
4. You don’t know the other person. You just met him/her.
5. You are younger than the other person. You never got permission from him/her that you can use 반말 to him/ 
her.
6. You are the same age as the other person. But you are both adults now and you don’t know him/her that well.
7. You are older than the other person but he or she is your boss or the spouse of your older sibling.
8. You are talking to a large group of people or in a video blog.

How do you ask for and give permission to speak in 반말?

There are certain expressions that people say in order to get permission from the other person.

If you are the older one:

1. 말 놔도 돼요?
[mal nwa-do dwae-yo?]
= Can I speak in 반말 with you?
** 말을 놓다 [ma-reul no-ta] literally means to “put down the language” or “lower the language”.

2. 말 편하게 해도 돼요?
[mal pyeon-ha-ge hae-do dwae-yo?]
= Can I speak comfortably with you?

If you are the younger one:

TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 28

In the previous lesson, we introduced how to use 반말 (casual language) as well as the cases and situations in
which you can safely speak in 반말. Now, in this lesson, we are taking a look at how to make “let’s” sentences in

반말.

For sentences in the plain present tense and the past tense, you can just drop the suffix “-요” at the end to change
a sentence from 존댓말 to 반말. But, if you want to say “let’s” do something when speaking in 반말, you need to
use a different ending.

Structure

Verb stem + -자 [-ja]

Examples
하다 [ha-da] = to do
하 + 자 = 하자 [ha-ja] = Let’s do it.

하지 말다 [ha-ji mal-da] = to not do it

하지 말 + 자 = 하지 말자 [ha-ji mal-ja] = Let’s not do it.

먹다 [meok-da] = to eat
먹 + 자 = 먹자 [meok-ja] = Let’s eat.

Sample sentences
1. 내일 보자.
[nae-il bo-ja]
= Let’s meet tomorrow. / See you tomorrow.

2. 이거 사자.
[i-geo sa-ja]
= Let’s buy this.
TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 28

3. 우리 내일은 쉬자.
[u-ri nae-i-reun swi-ja]
= Let’s take a day off tomorrow.

4. 같이 가자.
[ga-chi ga-ja]
= Let’s go together.

5. 조금만 더 기다리자.
[jo-geum-man deo gi-da-ri-ja]
= Let’s wait a little longer.

More Phrases in 반말
1. 안녕하세요 [an-nyeong-ha-se-yo] -> 안녕 [an-nyeong]
2. 안녕히 가세요 [an-nyeong-hi ga-se-yo] -> 안녕 [an-nyeong] / 잘 가 [jal ga]
3. 안녕히 계세요. [an-nyeong-hi ge-se-yo] -> 안녕 [an-nyeong] / 잘 있어. [jal i-sseo]
4. 저 [ jeo] -> 나 [na]
5. ~ 씨 [ssi] / You -> 너 [neo]
6. 네 [ne] / 예 [ye] -> 응 [eung] / 어 [eo]
7. 아니요 [a-ni-yo] -> 아니 [a-ni] / 아니야 [a-ni-ya]
TalkToMeInKorean.com - Free Korean Lesson Notes

LEVEL 3 LESSON 29

In this lesson, we are looking at one more irregularity in the Korean language. The irregularity that we are intro-

ducing in this lesson is the “ㅅ” irregular.

When a verb stem ends with the consonant “ㅅ” and it is followed by a vow-
el, the consonant “ㅅ” is dropped.

Example:
낫다 [nat-da] = to heal, to recover, to be better (in comparison)

낫 + 아요 (present tense) --> 나아요 [na-a-yo]

= It’s better. / Please feel better.

More examples
1. 젓다 [ jeot-da] = to stir (liquid)
젓 + 어요 = 저어요 [ ji-eo-yo]

2. 잇다 [it-da] = to connect, to link

잇 + 으면 = 이으면 [i-eu-myeon]

3. 짓다 [ jit-da] = to build, to compose

짓 + 었어요 = 지었어요 [ji-eo-sseo-yo]

Sample sentences
1. 잘 저으세요.
[jal jeo-eu-se-yo.]
= Stir it well.

2. 두 개를 이었어요.
[du gae-reul i-eo-sseo-yo.]
= I connected the two (objects).
: ...  .
: ?   . .
:  , ?     ?
:  .

 runs away from .

 A couples of hours later, in a windy field,  and  are staring at each other,
getting ready to engage in a fist fight.

: ,   .  !

:    .

:    .   ,  .

:     !

Translation
Did you enjoy listening to the story?
Check how much you understood by reading the translation below.

:    .

= The weather is so good these days.

: ,     .

= Yes, I think the weather is really good.

:  ?      ,  .

= Are you busy tomorrow? I’m playing badminton with Jimin tomorrow. Join us.

: ? ?

= Tomorrow? Where?
:     .
= There is a park in front of my o#ce.

:  ?
= At what time?

:  10 ?

= Is 10 in the morning okay?

: ...     .    .

= Oh… I have to go to school for a little while in the morning. I will call you after I
finish school.

: .   !

= Good. Then I will see you tomorrow!

: ?
= Hello?

:  ,  .    ?

= Minho, this is Su-ah. Are you playing badminton now?

: ,     ,    ?

= Yes, I’m playing badminton with Jimin now. When you are coming, Su-ah?

:    . 11 .

= I just finished school. I will be there around 11.

: . 11 .

= Good. I will see you around 11.

: ?
= Who is that?
:  .   .
= It’s Su-ah. She’ll come here.

:  ?   ?

= Su-ah? Why will she come here?

: ...  .

= Oh… I invited her.

: ?   . .

= What? Then, I’m leaving. It was fun.

:  , ?     ?

= Jimin, why? Did something happen that I don’t know about?

:  .

= Don’t ask me.

: ,   .  !

= Su-ah Lee. Min-ho Kim is mine. Don’t touch him!

:    .

= I will decide that myself!

:    .   ,  .

= Give up before you get hurt even more. If you give up now, I will forgive you.

:     !
= I’m not giving up!
Level 3 Curriculum
Didn’t understand any certain grammar point or sentence structure in the dialogue? You
can find the related lesson below and study it! (Links are active. Just click on the title.)

Lesson 1 – Too much or very / 

Lesson 2 – Linking verbs with - / Verb and Verb / 
Lesson 3 – In front of, Behind, On top of, Under, Next to / , , , , 
Lesson 4 – Shall we … ?, I wonder… / -(  )?
Lesson 5 – Approximately, About / , , 
Lesson 6 – Future tense / -(  )  vs -(  )
Lesson 7 – Linking verbs / - /  / 
Lesson 8 – To look like, To seem like / – 
Lesson 9 – To seem like, To look like (used with verbs) / -   
Lesson 10 – Before -ing / - 
Lesson 11 –  irregular /  
Lesson 12 – But still, Nevertheless / 
Lesson 13 – Making adjectives / descriptive verbs + - 
Lesson 14 – Making adjectives / action verbs + -  /(  ) /(  ) + 
Lesson 15 – Well then, In that case, If so / , 
Lesson 16 – Let’s / - /  /  (  )
Lesson 17 – In order to, For the sake of / , , 
Lesson 18 – Nothing but, Only /  + 
Lesson 19 – After -ing / 
Lesson 20 – Even if, Even though / -  /  / 
Lesson 21 – Linking verbs / - ,  + -,  + -
Lesson 22 – Maybe I might… / -(  )  
Lesson 23 – Word builder 1 / (  )
Lesson 24 –  irregular /  
Lesson 25 – Verb ending / -
Lesson 26 –  irregular /  
Lesson 27 – Politeness Levels /  and 
Lesson 28 – “Let’s” in casual language / 
Lesson 29 –  irregular /  
Lesson 30 – Word builder 2 / (  )
More books from Talk To Me In Korean

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