Korean lessons: Lesson

Hangul

1. Consonants (자음)
Consonant chart
Plain Aspirated tensed
ㄱ [k] ㅋ [k'] ㄲ [kk]
ㄴ [n]    

ㄷ [t] ㅌ[t'] ㄸ [tt]

ㄹ[ r  /  l ]    

ㅁ [m]    

ㅂ [p] ㅍ[p'] ㅃ [pp]

ㅅ [s]   ㅆ [ss]
ㅇ [zero / ng ]    

ㅈ [ch] ㅊ [ch'] ㅉ[cc]

ㅎ[h]    

dictionary order:

ㄱ (ㄲ), ㄴ, ㄷ (ㄸ), ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ (ㅃ), ㅅ (ㅆ), ㅇ, ㅈ (ㅉ
), ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ
Aspirated ones are with more puff of air than the plain ones. As for
tensed ones, you add more stricture, but without puff of air, when
letting out the sound. Tensed ones are difficult for beginners, and
many students take long time to acquire the correct pronunciation.

ㄱ  is similar to g as in god.
ㄲ is similar to k as in sky.
ㅋ is similar to k as in kill.
ㄷ is similar to d as in do.
ㄸ  is similar to t as in stop.
ㅌ is similar to t as in two.
ㄹ is similar to tt as in butter (not [t] but a flap like a Spanish [r]), in
a syllable initial position.

ㄹ  is similar to l as in filling, in a syllable final (받침) position.

ㅂ  is similar to b as in bad.
ㅃ is similar to p as in spy.
ㅍ is similar to p as in pool.
ㅅ is similar to s as in astronaut.
ㅆ is similar to s as in suit.
ㅈ is similar to j as in  jail.
ㅉ  is similar to tz as in pretzel.
ㅊ  is similar to ch as in charge.
ㅎ is similar to h as in hat.

2. Vowels (모음)

 
 Vowel Chart
Simple Palatalized labiovelarized  
ㅏ [a] ㅑ [ya]    

ㅐ [ae] ㅒ [yae]    

ㅓ [o^] ㅕ [yo^]    

ㅔ [e] ㅖ [ye]    

ㅗ [o] ㅛ [yo] ㅘ [wa]   ㅚ [oe]

ㅙ [wae] 
ㅜ [u] ㅠ [yu] ㅝ [wo^]  ㅟ [ui]
ㅞ [we] 
ㅡ [u^]     ㅢ[u^i]
ㅣ [i]      

dictionary order:

ㅏ(ㅐ, ㅒ), ㅑ, ㅓ (ㅔ, ㅖ), ㅕ, ㅗ (ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ), ㅛ, ㅜ 
(ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ), ㅠ, ㅡ (ㅢ), ㅣ
 

 
 
ㅏ is similar to "Ah".
ㅑ is similar to "yard".
ㅓ is similar to "cut".
ㅕ is similar to "just" or "Eliot".
ㅗ is similar to "order".
ㅛ is similar to " Yoda".
ㅜ is similar to " Ungaro".
ㅠ is similar to "you".
ㅡ is similar to "good" or "le chatau".
ㅣ is similar to "easy".
ㅐ is similar to "add".
ㅒ is similar to "yam".
ㅔ is similar to " editor".
ㅖ is similar to " yes".
ㅘ is similar to " Wow!" or "what".
ㅙ is similar to "wagon".
ㅚ is similar to "Koeln".
ㅝ is similar to " one".
ㅞ is similar to " weather".
ㅟ is similar to "we" or "Oui!". 
 
 

Traditional vowel classification:

       Traditionally, vowels are classified into three categories,

that is yang (bright), yin (dark), and neutral. This classification
is very important, for it will be used when we learn conjugation
of predicates and some phonological aspects of Korean. The
classification also principles the vowel-hamp3ony phenomena
that Korean has as a member of Altaic language family. The
cassification is as follows:

yang (bright) -- ㅏ and ㅗ series (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅘ)

yin (dark) -- ㅓ and ㅜ series (ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅝ)
neutral -- ㅡ and ㅣ  

3. How to make a character out of alphabet

Each character is designed to represent one syllable, the

structure of which may be described as (C)V(C), where C
stands for a consonant, and V does a vowel--(C) means that
the consonant in the position is optional.

   (C)       +      V   + (CC)

initial final consonant
vowel
consonant (coda)

Some vowels are placed on the right side of the initial consonant;
some are placed underneath the initial consonant: Vowels ㅏ, ㅓ,
ㅣ (and their derivatives, i.e. ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅒ,ㅖ) are placed on the
right; and vowels ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ are placed undersneath the initial
consonant. Final consonants are always placed at the bottom.

E.g)    
 ㄱ + ㅏ + ㅁ   =   감   [kam]
ㄱ + ㅜ + ㄱ   =   국   [kuk]
ㄲ +   ㅜ + ㅇ   =   꿍    
ㄴ + ㅏ   = 나 [na]
ㅎ + ㅘ   = 화 [hwa]
ㅇ + ㅐ       =   애   [ae]
ㅇ + ㅗ + ㅅ   =   옷   [ot]
ㄱ + ㅗ + ㄷ = 곧   [kot]
ㄲ + ㅗ + ㅊ   =   꽃   [kkot]
ㅂ +   ㅏ + ㅌ   =   밭   [pat]
ㅎ + ㅡ + ㄺ   =   흙   [hu^(r)k]
ㅇ + ㅓ + ㅄ   =   없   [o^p]
ㄸ + ㅓ + ㄼ   =   떫   [tto^(r)p]

NB) Final consonant clusters: ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄶ, ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㄽ, 

ㄾ, ㄿ, ㅀ, ㅄ
Except for ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ, ㄿ, ㅀ (ones with ㄹ placed
befre another consonant), when followed by another consonant
or nothing, the second consonant of the cluster becomes silent.
This second consonant will come alive when there is a vowel
after it.

값 = kap "price"

값 + 과 = kap kwa "price and"
값 + 이 = kapsi "price (with a subject particle)"
Final clusters with 'ㄹ+consonant' fomp3ation are pronounced with
slight irregularity. As for ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㄾ, ㄿ, the foregoing liquid
sound [ㄹ] of the cluster is ignored when followed by another
consonant or nothing. This ㄹ comes alive when the cluster is
followed by another vowel. However, Seoul speakers (and many other
regions too) tend to throw in a touch of liquid sound for the ㄹ even
when the cluster is followed by a consonant or nothing.

          삶      =  sa(l)m   "a living" 

          삶 + 이  =  sal  mi     "a living (with a subject particle)"

In clusters ㄽ and ㅀ, however, [ㄹ] is alive even when followed by

another consosnant.

끓 + 고 = kku^l k'o "boil and.."

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 3

Phonological notes

  1. Syllable-final Consonants (받침):

1) Theoretically, any consonant can be in the 받침  (syllable final)

position. In reality,  ㄸ, ㅉ, and ㅃ are not used as 받침.

2) Some of the consonants merge into one sound when they are in
the syllable-final position.  Orthographically, however, they remain
different. Summarized as follows:
consonant endings  sound  examples 
받침 
ㄱ, ㅋ  [k]  각,  부엌 
ㄴ  [n]  눈 
ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ,ㅎ  [t]  낟, 낫, 낮, 낯, 낱, 낳 all
pronounced as [ 낟]
ㄹ  [l]  쌀 
ㅁ  [m]  봄 
ㅂ, ㅍ  [p]  입, 잎  both pronounced as
[입]
ㅇ  [ng]  영 

3) These merged sounds regain their original values when they are
followed by a zero-initial syllable (i.e. vowel).

각 + 이 (topic/subject marker) = [가기 kagi]

부엌 + 에 (place marker) = [부어케 puo^k`e]
낮 + 에 (temporal marker) = [나제 naje]
낯 + 에 (place marker) = [나체 nach`e]
입 + 이 (top./sub. marker) = [이비 ibi]
잎 + 이 (top./sub. maeker) = [이피 ip`i]
　

2. Rules of Pronunciation

 
2.1. Liason (받침 carry-over)

1) A 받침 is carried over by the following syllable when the following

syllable starts with a zero-initial.

ex)

국이  → [구기]     문이  → [무니]   

 밥을   → [바블] 옷이  → [오시 ] 
잎이 → [이피] 밖에   → [바께]

2) The second part of a double 받침 is carried over by the folowing

syllable when the following syllable starts with a zero-syllable.

ex)

앉아요 → [안자요] 읽어요   → [일거요]    

밟아요   → [발바요]       핥아요 → [할타요]  
읊어요 → [을퍼요] 없어요   → [업서요]
　

2.2.  Nasalization

When a final (non-nasal) consonant is followed by a nasal initial (ㄴ,

ㅁ), the non-nasal consonant absorbs the nasality, keeping its place
of articulation. Remember, 'ㅇ' in the initial position is not a nasal
consonant but a zero.

ㄱ, ㅋ   → ㅇ
ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㅎ  → ㄴ / before ㄴ or ㅁ
ㅂ, ㅍ  → ㅁ

ex)

갑니다 → [감니다]        낱말 → [난말]         먹는다   → [멍는다]

               
 

2.3. Aspiration

         When ㅎ [h] is adjacent, a consonant is influenced and

aspirated.

ㄱ  → ㅋ
ㄷ → ㅌ   / before or after  ㅎ
 ㅂ  → ㅍ
ㅈ  → ㅊ

ex)

좋다 →  [조타] 노랗다 → [노라타]      
생각하다 → [생가카다]      입히다 →[이피다]

2.4. Palatalization

When ㄷ or ㅌ is followed by 이 [i], a paplatalization occurs.

ㄷ[t] → ㅈ [ch]
ㅌ[t`] → ㅊ [ch`]   / before 이

ex)

미닫이→[미다지] 굳이 →[구지] 같이 →[가치]

　

2.5. Liquidation

ㄴ  →  ㄹ /before another ㄹ

ex)

전라북도 → [절라북도] 신라 → [실라]

      ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 4

                Base forms and Stems
 
 

In a language, we find three basic ways of describing facts:

description of action, state, and identity. To describe an action, we use
verbs. For example, in English, we say "I eat lunch," which describes
the action ('eating') of the subject ('I'). To describe a state, we use
adjectives.  When we say, "I am tall," it describes the state ('being
tall') of the subject ('I'). Describing an identity is relating one thing to
another, characterizing the property of the subject. To say "I am a
student" is characterizing a property of the subject ('I'), by identifying
the subect as a student.  When we talk about facts that happened in the
past, or a something that will happen in the future, the story is not
simple. In English, if the your action of eating had happened in the
past, you need to use a different form of the verb, i.e., "I ate lunch." If
you used to be quite tall for your age in the past, but it is not the case
now, you have to say, "I was tall." 

    For similar reasons, we say, "I was a student."     In order to
differentiate the mode of facts, such as tense, we make variation on
the predicates--in other words, verbs, adjectives, and noun phrases,
etc. This variation is called "conjugation." Like English, Korean also
uses this conjugation of predicates. Therefore, in a verb predicate, for
example, we see a part that is constant in all kinds of sentences, and
the other part that changes according to the modes of facts. (Think of
"push, pushes, pushed, pushing..." in English. "Push" is the constant,
where "-es", "-ed", and "-ing" are alternating.) The constant part is
called the 'stems'. The conjugation in Korean is made by attaching
different suffixes to the stems. 

                        가                        요 
                      stem                 mid-polite suffix
                 "to go/leave"          (present tense) 

    "가", a lexical verb stem, is attached with a mid-polite suffix "요",
making a present-tense predicate. ("-요" has more stories. We will
learn them later.) Subjects can be omitted in many simple everyday-
conversational sentences, as long as they are obvious by the context.
"가요"thus can be used in the sense of "I go," "you go," or
sometimes, "He goes," etc.  With an intonation rising at the end ( ),
it can be a question, "Do you go (Are you leaving?)" or "Shall we
go?", etc. It can even be taken as an imperative sentence, "Go
(Leave)!" 

    A stem is a part of a verb predicate, not a whole word. When we

list it in dictionaries, or refer to it as a word--just as when we say "to
go" or "to eat" as words--, we add "다" at the end of a stem. Thus, 
Stem + 다 = Base Form 

                          가 + 다 = 가다 (Base Form, "to go")

High-polite  -세요

When addressing a senior (in terms of age or social ranking), a

high-polite stle of speech is used. "-세요" is a typical suffix of this
style. A simple "How are you?" is made as the following.

  
안녕하  세요
stem   high-polite suffix 
"to be well"  (present tense)

"안녕하" is a stem, the base form of which is "안녕하다".  Apart

from the politeness of the style, "-세요" can be used you use "요", as
in "You go (Please leave)" or "Do you go (Are you leaving)?",
"He/She goes", or "Does he/she go", etc. However, you may not want
to use it when the subject is you, the subject. For the added politeness
by "-세-" is for the subject, not the addressee, whereas "-요" is for the
addressee, as it is used in the mid-polite style.

Practice

Using the given words, make different sentences as seen in the key. 

1. [verbs] --- 만나다 (to meet), 자다 (to sleep), 사다 (to buy), 

타다 (to ride), 파다 (to dig) 

<Key>

I/you go.  He/she

가요.     가세요.  
가다(to goes.
go): Do you go? Does
가요?    가세요? 
he/she go?
 
가요!    가세요!  Please go!
 

2. [adjectives] --- 비싸다 (to be expensive), 짜다 (to be salty), 

차다 (to be cold) 

<Key>

싸다 (to be cheap) : 싸요.    It's cheap.

  싸요?   Is it cheap?

3. '-하다' verbs and

(adj.)건강하다 (to be healthy) 
adjectives
(verb)공부하다 (to study),  일하다
 
(to work)

(adj.) 안녕하다 (to be 안녕하세요?  Are you well (How are

well): you)?
(verb) 하다 (to do) : 하세요? Do you do (it)?
  하세요! Do (it)!

 
     ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 5

Nominal predicates : "--이에요"
Sample Dialogues

By 'nominal predicate', we mean a predicate of a sentence that describes the

subject by identifying it with another noun: "I am a student."  For verbs and
adjectives, we learned that there are base forms and stems.  We thus get base
forms, "가다" for "to go", and "싸다" for "to be cheap", etc.  Now, we are
facing a new problem.  If there is no such thing as the English verb "to be", how
are we going to say such sentences as "I am a student"?  Many languages lack
the verb like "to be," which can be used both in nominal predicates and
adjectival predicates. ("I am a student" and "I am tall".)  In order to relate two
nouns (i.e., the subject and the nominal complement), such languages use so-
called 'copula'.  In Korean, that copula is "-이다".  "-이다" is of course the
base form, which still has to be conjugated to be used in actual sentences. 
Hence, "학생이다" ("to be a student"); "구름이다" ("to be clouds"). 

True stories of the present-tense suffix -요 and -세요 

In Lesson 4, -요 and -세요 were introduced.  It was, however, not exactly

everything that we should know about them. 

1) Mid-polite suffix -아/어요 

Verbs and adjectives that we practiced with for -요 suffix in  Lesson 4 have
something in common: they all have the stem ending in vowel ? without any
patch'im followed ('가다', '자다', '싸다', etc.)  Those whose stems end
otherwise, should take either -아요 or -어요.  The last vowel of the stem
decides which of the two to take.  Once again, the vowel harmony principle
('yang with yang; yin with yin') applies:

If the stem has a yang vowel at the last syllable, use -아요;

If the stem has a yin or neutral vowel at the last syllable,  use -어요. 
(For yang/yin/neutral vowels, see Lesson 2.)
: 작 + - → 작아요 
작다
 to be small  "It's small." or "He/She is
아요 
  small."?
: 오 + - → (오아요) → 와요 
오다  
to come      아요 "Come!" or "I come" or
"He/She comes."
괜찮다[괜찬타]   : 괜찮 + → 괜찮아요 [괜차나요] 
to be alright   "It's OK."
-아요
 
: 주 + - → (주어요) → 줘요 
주다  
to give  "Give (me, etc.)!" or "I give."
어요
 
먹다  : 먹 + - → 먹어요 
to eat  어요   "Eat!" or "I eat." or "He/She
eats."
: 읽 + - → 읽어요 [일거요] 
읽다 [익다] 
to read "Read!" or "I read." or "He/She
어요 reads."

In fact, 가다 → 가요 is a contraction  [가 + -아요 → (가아요) → 

가요], so are the others in Lesson 4. 
(NB) -하다 verbs and adjectives are rather peculiar.  For them, -여요 is
assumed instead of -아요.  This may sound quite overwhelming, but -
하다 words are in fact easier.  All the -하다 stems with no exception
appear as -해요. 
 

일하다  → 일해요 
to work 
공부하다  → 공부해요
to study      
착하다 →  착해요
to be nice (person)

            
2) High-polite suffix -(으)세요 

Although not so complicated as -아/어요, this suffix also has its own rules:

If the stem ends without a patch'im, use -세요;

If the stem ends with a patch'im, use -으세요.
가다   : 가 + 세요 → 가세요

웃다  to : 웃 + 으세요 → 웃으세요

laugh 
안녕하다   : 안녕하 + → 안녕하세요
   세요
괜찮 +  괜찮으세요 [
괜찮다   : →
으세요 괜차느세요]  
"오영균이에요" 

Finally, we arrive the detail structure of "안녕하세요. XXX(name)이에요." 

Since personal names are the same as nouns, we use the nominal-predicate
copula, -이다.  In order to make it into a real sentence, we need to add either -
아요 or -어요 in place of the base-form making -다 after -이-.  For 이 is a
neutral vowel, -어요 is added.  -이어요 had gone through a certain
phonological change in modern Seoul speakers' speech, and ended in -이에요. 

오영균 이다 →오영균 이 + -어요 → 오영균이에요 "I am Oh Young

Kyun."       
Similarly, 
        
학생: 학생이에요 "I am / You are a student" or "He/She is a student" 

기차: 기차이에요 "It's a train." 

There are two forms to spell this -이에요: -예요 and -이에요.  As far as we are
concerned, just -이에요 suffice. 

    ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 6

Subject marker:   -이/가

As mentioned in Lesson 1, Korean is an agglutinating language.   It

means that Korean uses little grammatical devices attached to words
to specify their roles in a sentence.  English is not an agglutinating
language, employing rather a fixed word order and prepositions in
order to specify the role of each part. 
A subject of a sentence is the agent (doer) of the action described by
the sentence.  Assuming that a state of being can also be treated as an
action, a subject can take any kind of predicate, i.e., a verbal, an
adjectival, or a nominal predicate.  Think of "S goes," "S is bad," and
"S is a man."  In each case, S is the subject.  To mark this subject,
Korean attaches either 이 or 가 to it.  -이 is used when the subject
word ends without a final consonant (patch'im), whereas -가 is for
those ending without a final consonant. 
Only nouns can be subjects in Korean, such is the case in English.  In
other words, when you see a part of a sentence attached with -이 or -
가, you will know that it must be a noun.   However, you might hear
sometimes people say sentences without using subject markers -이/
가 for subjects.   It is because the sentences were simple and a
conversational reality is presumed. For these sentences, subject
markers can be replaced by a short pause. In sentences the structure of
which is complex, or in written forms, the markers should be
specified.

Finally, we get a sentence meaning, "The embassy is far."

Now, let's look at some more examples.

  predicate  
subject
이 바지  가   편안해요. These pants are comfortable.
기차 가  와요. The train is coming.
선생님 이 웃으세요. The teacher is laughing.
저것 이  학교이에요. That (over there) is a school.
이것 이 곰이예요. This is a bear.
 

연습 <practice>

Use the following pairs of words to make sentences in mid-poite

style.  Don't forget to use subject markers, and to translate each
sentence, as given in the above examples.
  subject predicate
1. 이 사람 (this person) 친구 (friend)
2. 장미 (rose) 비싸다 (to be expensive)
3. 물 (water) 차다  (to be cold)
4. 나무 (tree) 좋다 (to be good)
5. 저 사람 (that person) 건강하다 (to be healthy)
6. 돈 (money) 많다 (to be many/much)
7. 아기 (baby) 건강하다
8. 이것 (this [thing]) 모자 (hat; cap)
9. 여기 (here; this place) 학교
10. 바지  작다 (to be small)
11. 공부 (studying) 싫다 (to be dislikable)
12. 차 (car) 오다 (to come)
13. 친구 일하다 (to work)
14. 집 (home) 어디 (where)
15. 저 사람 누구 (who)
16. 책 (book) 싸다  (to be cheap)
17. 미국     (America) 멀다
18. 이 컴퓨터 (this computer) 괜찮다 (to be okay)
19. 동생 (a younger sibling) 자다 (to sleep)
20. 숙제 (homework) 많다
 

_________________________________________
Korean lessons: Lesson 6: Answer

1. 이 사람이 친구이에요.  This is a friend.

2. 장미가 비싸요. Roses are expensive.
3. 물이 차요. The water is cold.
4. 나무가 좋아요. Trees are good. (I like trees.)
5. 저 사람이 건강해요. That person is healthy.
6. 돈이 많아요. There are a lot of money.
7. 아기가 건강해요. The baby is healthy.
8. 이것이 모자이에요.     This is a hat.
9. 여기가 학교이에요. There (or, this) is a school.
10. 바지가 작아요. The pants are small.
11. 공부가 싫어요. Studying is dislikable. (I hate
studying.)
12. 차가 와요 (<오+아요). A car comes. (Here comes a/the
car.)
13. 그 친구가 일해요. That friend works.
14. 집이 어디이에요? Where is your home? (Where do
you live?)
15. 저 사람이 누구이에요? Who is that man?
16. 책이 싸요 (<싸+아요). The book is cheap/inexpensive.
17. 매디슨(Madison)이 멀어요. Madison is far (from here).
18. 이 컴퓨터가 괜찮아요. This computer is okay.
19. 동생이 자요 (<자+아요). My younger sibling is sleeping.
20. 숙제가 많아요. Homework is a lot. (I have a lot of
home work.)
        ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 7

Object marker -을 / -를

[Not many people are fond of talking about grammar. However, this is
the least bit of the Korean grammar that you should know. We will be as
plain as possible while discussing it.]  An object in a sentence is the
thing or a person that receives the action (described by the verb) from
the subject. As we know, the subject is the doer (agent) of the action that
the verb describes.

In this sentence, the doer of eating is "friend ('my' is assumed)," and the
recipient of the action ("eating") is "lunch." As you might have noticed
already, not every sentence will have both subject and object. Only
those sentences containing verbs that take objects will. Let us think
about English for a moment, in order to understand this grammatical
terminology. In English grammar, the verbs that take objects are called
'transitive verbs.' For example, "to eat" is a transitive verb, since there
must be something that is eaten (that is, receives the action). Similarly,
you have a group of verbs that are transitive and another that are
intransitive. Such verbs as "love, buy, drink, see, understand, choose,
find..." are transitive. (What these verbs have in common is that you can
say "to [verb] something / someone.") Such verbs as "go, sit, stay, die,
come..." are intransitive. You handle an object in an English sentence
simply by placing it AFTER the verb. 

A dog bites a person.

subject verb predicate object

If you switch the positions of the subject and the object, you get a
completely different meaning.

A person bites a dog.

subject verb predicate object

Now, let's go back to Korean. We know that the predicate must be

placed at the of a sentence. Thus, both subject and object should come
before the verb (predicate), and such change of meaning depending on
the word order is less likely to happen. A subject does not necessarily
come before the object in a Korean sentence. What clarifies the
meaning, therefore, is the particle, i.e., subject/object markers. (Linguists
usually call them Case markers.)

사람이 개를 물어요.

subject "a person" object "a dog" verb predicate "bite"

"A person bites a dog."

-이 and -를 are subject and object markers, respectively. Since the

subject and object are labeled with markers, there is no possibility of
confusion, as long as you keep them together.

개를 사람이 물어요.

object "a dog" subject "a person" verb predicate "bite"

"A person bites a dog."

The meaning can only change when you switch the markers.
 사람을 개가 물어요.

object "a person" subject "a dog" verb predicate "bite"

"A dog bites a person."

Oftentimes, a subject is simply not said in Korean when it is understood.

A: 개가 누구를 물어요? (Who does the dog bite?)

B: 사람을 물어요. ([It] bites a person.)

As you might have noticed, the difference between -을 and -를 is purely
phonological: when the previous syllable ends with a consonant
(patch'im), use -을; with a vowel (no patch'im), use -를.

연습 <practice>

You are given two nouns and one transitive verb in each line. Combine
them into a sentence, assuming that the first noun is the subject and the
second is the object. Be sure to conjugate the verb with -아요, -어요, -
(으)세요, when needed.

Key

보다
친구, 텔레비, 친구가 텔레비를 봐요.
→
(watch,
(friend) (television) ([My] friend watches TV.)
see)

1. 남자친구 (boy friend), 책 (book), 사다 (buy) 

2. 아버지 (father), 신문 (newspaper), 읽다 (read) 

3. 학생 (student), 책, 읽다

4. 여자친구 (girl friend), 영화 (movie), 좋아하다 (like) 

5. 할머니 (grandmother), 돈 (money), 주다 (give) 
6. 아이 (child), 점심 (lunch), 먹다 (eat) 

7. 친구, 남자친구, 만나다 (meet) 

8. 삼촌 (uncle), 영어 (English), 공부하다 (study) 

9. 여자친구, 한국어 (Korean), 공부하다

10. 어머니 (mother), 친구, 만나다

Korean lessons: Lesson 7: Answers

1. 남자친구, 책, 사다 → 남자친구가 책을 사요. [My] boyfriend buys a

book. 

2. 아버지, 신문, 읽다 → 아버지가 신문을 읽으세요. [My] father reads

the newspaper. 

3. 학생, 책, 읽다 → 학생이 책을 읽어요. A student reads a book.

4. 여자친구, 영화, 좋아하다 → 여자친구가 영화를 좋아해요. [My]
girlfriend likes movies.  

5. 할머니, 돈, 주다 → 할머니가 돈을 주세요. [My] grandmother gives

money. 

6. 아이, 점심, 먹다 → 아이가 점심을 먹어요. The child eats lunch. 

7. 친구, 남자친구, 만나다 → 친구가 남자친구를 만나요. [My] friend
meets her boyfriend. 

8. 삼촌, 영어, 공부하다 → 삼촌이 영어를 공부하세요. [My] uncle
studies English.

9. 여자친구, 한국어, 공부하다 → 여자친구가 한국어를 공부해요. [M
y] girlfriend studies Korean.

10. 어머니, 친구, 만나다 → 어머니가 친구를 만나세요. [My] mother
meets her friend.
       ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

   Korean lessons: Lesson 8

Who, What, Where? 

 

Q: 누구 세요? A: 순이이에요.

Who is it? It's Sun-i.

　 　
Q: 누구를      만나요? A: 순이를 만나요.

Whom are you meeting? I meet sun-i.

　 　
Q: 무엇이에요?  A: 사과이에요.

What is it? It is an apple.

　 　
Q: 무엇을   좋아하세요? A: 사과를 좋아해요.

What do you like? I like apples.

　 　
Q: 어디에  있어요? A: 서울에   있어요.

Where is it? It is in Seoul.

　 　
Q: 어디에   가요? A: 서울에  가요. 
Where are you going? I go to Seoul.

　 　
누구  who 
무엇 (often > 뭐 ) what 
어디 where 

   

These words are pronouns. They need particles to be specified for

their functions, such as subject, object, adverbial, etc. Although we
have not discussed it in detail, let us learn -을 and -를, object
markers. -을 is used when there is a final consonant (patch'im)
preceding; whereas 를 is for elsewhere.  Note that 어디 (where) is
also a noun (pronoun), while "where" in English is not. 

sub. obj.
what 무엇이 (= 뭐가 ) 무엇을 (=뭐를)
who 누구가 (>누가) 누구를
where 어디가 어디를
　

E.g.

무엇이 어려워요? What is difficult?

누가 와요? Who is coming?
lit. Where is hurting? (Which part of
어디가 아파요?
your body is hurting?)
무엇을 배워요? What do you learn?
누구를 만나요? Whom are you meeting?
어디를 때려요? Where do I hit?
　

For similar reasons, -에 is needed after 어디 in the above dialogues.

-에 is a marker that functions like the preposition ('in' or 'to') in
English, though they are placed after the noun they work with.
 <English> <Korean>
in Seoul = 서울  에  (Seoul + in)

We will discuss this in detail later.

     ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 9

This 'n that, here 'n there  이--, 그--, 저--
 

이, 그, and 저 are demonstrative modifiers for nouns.  

 

 
  +thing +person  +place
this 이 이것 이 사람 여기
that over there 저 저것 저 사람 저기
that 그 그것 그 사람 거기
Q-word 무엇(what) 누구 (who) 어디(where)
When the referent (an object or a person) is close to the speaker, it is
referred to as 이--. When it is closer to the listener than to the speaker,
it is referred to as 그--. If it is rather distant from both parties, it is
referred to 저--. The only thing that is different from the case in
English would be that what is referred to with 저-- should be in
the sight of the speaker.

이것이 무엇이에요? 그것은 한국 책이에요.
저것은 무엇이에요? 저것은 미국 신문이에요.
그것은 무엇이에요? 이것은 일본 잡지이에요.
   
이 사람은 누구이에요? 그 사람은 내 친구이에요.
저 사람은 누구이에요? 저 사람은 내 동생이에요.
그 사람은 어디 가요? 이 사람은 학교에 가요. 
   
여기는 어디이에요? 여기는 학교이에요.
저기는 어디이에요? 저기는 우리 집이에요.
거기는 어디이에요? 여기는 미국이에요.  
Using 사람 ('person') is not polite enough to refer to an older person.
You replace 사람 
with 분 in such cases. Then, the predicate will have to change
accordingly into high-polite 
(with honorific infix -시-) style.

이 분은 누구세요? 그분은 김 선생님이세요.
저 분은 누구세요? 저분은 박 선생님이세요.
그 분은 어디 가세요? 이분은 학교에 가세요.

  ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
 Korean lessons: Lesson 10
Styles of speech--a broad classification

1.  존댓말 or Polite speech

반말(non-polite style): the style of speech in which you speak to your friends
(of your age) or to people younger than you are.  
존댓말 (polite style): the style in which you speak to your superiors or seniors.  
Politeness of style can be demarcated into two criteria: 

(1) whom you talk to -- Politeness is achieved by -아요/-어요 or -ㅂ니다 

(2) whom you talk about -- Politeness is achieved by infix -시-.  

When you talk to someone, that person you are talking to could be older or

younger than you are; when you talk about a person to someone (of course, they
can either be different or identical), that person you are talking about can also
be older or younger than you are.  Chon-dae mal concerns the proper handling
of both these criteria in speech.  In addition to age, rank in various social
relations also dictates proper use of these speech styles.  

Throughout these categories applies a supervening category of formality.  This

category concerns the occasion where the conversation occurs.  For example,
the formal style will be adopted more in work place, public speech, army, etc. ;
whereas the informal would better be used among close friends, family
members, and people in private relationship.  However, in many cases, the
consistency of formal/informal speech style is not really strict.  In other words,
you may feel free switch back and forth between formal and informal style
within a conversation, as long as you keep the consistency of politeness. 

We can summarize the above:

ABOUT formal ending informal ending

TO 
TO ABOUT juniors or
-ㅂ/습니다 -아/어요
seniors  self
(polite) ABOUT seniors -(으)십니다 -(으)세요
TO ABOUT juniors or
-다  -아/어
juniors  self
(plain) ABOUT seniors -(으)시다 -(으)셔 

         

This is a simple outline of endings.  As we will learn later, there are other
grammatical details that may be needed according to tense, verb/adjective
differentiation, etc.  There are also other supplementary devices, such as self-
effacing pronoun for the first person (저 instead of plain 나 for 'I'), lexically
honorific words (말씀 instead of 말 for 'speech, words'), etc. , which will also
be discussed later.  

Now let us see how we can make variation for same sentences.  The following
is in informal style.  

(Talking to my friend) The teacher is coming to our house.  

선생님이 우리 집에 오셔.  

(Talking to my mother) The teacher is coming to our house.  

선생님이 우리 집에 오세요.  

(Talking to my younger sister) My friend is coming to our house.  

친구가 우리 집에 와.  

(Talking to my mother) My friend is coming to our house.  

친구가 우리 집에 와요.  

Extensive variety in speech style is often the most overwhelming part when a
foreigner begins to learn Korean.  It is known to be more complicated than in
Japanese.   However, as much as it is hard to foreigners, it is not an easy matter
to native speaker.  People in younger generations in Korea also experience
difficulty with proper use of speech style.  (In fact, this is somehow related to
the shifts that happened in the Korean social structure.  Speech style is a product
of layers of social/kinship relationship.  Compared to traditional families where
more than three generations lived in one house or neighborhood, modern
'nuclear' families offer very few opportunities for the children to practice
different speech styles. )

2. 문어체 or written style

문어체 literally means "written-language style," in which you write formal
documents, articles, papers in classes, and so on.  As there are polite and non-
polite styles, we have polite formal style and non-polite formal style.  They both
have -다 at the end.
  
polite formal ending -- -ㅂ니다/습니다 

non-polite formal ending -- -ㄴ다/는다 (present-tense verb) or -다 (elsewhere) 

Newspaper articles, academic papers, public announcement, and so forth, are

written in these styles.  In fact, the non-polite is preferred in most written
documents over the polite, unless the document is by nature a dialogue (i. e. ,
announcement) aiming at actual readers.  

The non-polite formal, from a native speaker's intuition, gives the impression of
self-addressing, which may explain why it is also used in diaries--something
that can be most informal.  The style is also used frequently by a speaker toward
others in the same or younger age, as we saw in the chart above, and therefore
we can call it 반말.

                ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 11

Numbers (I) 

Two Sets of numbers

Two sets of numbers are in use in Korean: native Korean and

Chinese-based sets. The Chinese-based set transmitted to Korea long
time ago, probably with Chinese writing system, to settle in the
language. It is also the case in Japanese, and we see certain
phonological similarity among Chinese numbers and Chinese-based
sets of Japanese and Korean numbers. 

    Japanese Korean 
one yi ichi il (일) 
two  er ni i (이) 
three  san san sam (삼) 
four  si shi sa (사) 
five  wu go o (오) 

In fact, the Japanese and Korean sounds of Chinese numbers are quite
similar to those in many modern Chinese dialects, sometimes even
more similar than modern Mandarin to them. The Chinese remnants
in Japanese and Korean, along with other Chinese dialects, reflect old
phases of Chinese language. 

For the sake of our convenience, let us call these two sets 'Korean
numbers' and 'Chinese numbers.' Here are the two sets of 1 to 10. 

  Korean numbers  Chinese numbers 

1  하나  일
2  둘  이 
3  셋  삼 
4  넷  사 
5  다섯  오 
6  여섯  육 
7  일곱  칠 
8  여덟  팔 
 9  아홉  구 
10  열  십 

There is no semantic difference between the two sets. Both '하나' and
'일' means one. They differ according to when and how they are used.
We will discuss this in the next lesson. 

First, let us learn more about the Chinese numbers. Counting more
than ten observes the arithmetic principles. Take "12" and "20" for
example. 12 is made of 10 and 2--there are other ways of making it,
but this is what the number stands for--. On the other hand, 20 stands
for two tens. Thus, the Chinese number has them: 

12 = 10 + 2 
        십 이 

20 = 2 x 10 
        이 십 
  
 

Chinese numbers under 100

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
십 십일 십이 십삼 십사 십오 십육 십칠 십팔 십구
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
이 이십 이십 이십 이십 이십 이십 이십 이십 이십
십 일 이 삼 사 오 육 칠 팔 구
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
삼 삼십 삼십 삼십 삼십 삼십 삼십 삼십 삼십 삼십
십 일 이 삼 사 오 육 칠 팔 구

 
 

Tens, hundreds, thousands . . .

0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 
영 일 이 삼 사 오 육 칠 팔 구
tens  10  20  30  40  50  60  70  80  90 
십 십 이십 삼십 사십 오십 육십 칠십 팔십 구십
hundre
100  200  300  400  500  600  700  800  900 
ds 
백 이백 삼백 사백 오백 육백 칠백 팔백 구백
백
thousa 1,000  2,000  3,000  4,000  5,000  6,000  7,000  8,000 
9,000 
nds
구천
천 천 이천 삼천 사천 오천 육천 칠천 팔천
10 10,00 20,00 30,00 40,00 50,00 60,00 70,00 80,00 90,00
thou.  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 
만 만 이만 삼만 사만 오만 육만 칠만 팔만 구만
200,0 300,0 400,0 500,0 600,0 700,0 800,0 900,0
100 100,0
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
thou. 00
이십 삼십 사십 오십 육십 칠십 팔십 구십
십만 십만
만 만 만 만 만 만 만 만
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
million 1
mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil. 
s  mil. 
이백 삼백 사백 오백 육백 칠백 팔백 구백
백만 백만
만 만 만 만 만 만 만 만
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
10 10
mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil.  mil. 
mil.  mil. 
이천 삼천 사천 오천 육천 칠천 팔천 구천
천만 천만
만 만 만 만 만 만 만 만
100 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
mil.  mil. mil. mil. mil. mil. mil. mil. mil. mil.
억 억 이억 삼억 사억 오억 육억 칠억 팔억 구억
 

Notice that 'one hundred', 'one thousand', etc. are not '일백', '일천',
etc. 

Now, let us see how these work. 

168: 백 육십 팔 

250: 이백 오십 

7,892: 칠천 팔백 구십 이 

980,768,543: 구억 팔천 칠십 육만 팔천 오백 사십 삼 

Some examples in the usage of Chinese numbers.

Money: 만 이천 원 (12,000 won), 삼천 오백 달러 (3,500 dollar) 

Phone number: 238-7834 (이삼팔에 칠팔삼사) 

Room/APT Number: Room 305 (삼백오 호)

                   ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Korean lessons: Lesson 13

Locative markers - 에서 and - 에

So far, we have used - 에 as a marker indicating a place. We now have

a new location marker: - 에서 . The meaning of - 에서 is 'in', used after a
noun, like a postposition (the opposite concept to English 'preposition').
For example:

나는 은행에서 일해요 . I work at a bank.

Now it becomes quite puzzling how - 에 and - 에서 are different.

(1) Meaning of 'in (or at/on)'

- 에 indicates the place of a state of being (있다, 없다, 계시다, etc.)

- 에서 indicates the place of an action (하다, 일하다, 공부하다, 먹다,

etc.)

NB) 살다 is rather peculiar, being used with both - 에 and - 에서 . No

apparent semantic difference is noticed, except that - 에서 with
살다 induces more vivid image of 'life' than simple 'dwelling'.

(2) With directional predicates (가다, 오다, 다니다, etc.) 

- 에 means 'to'.

- 에서 means 'from'.

NB) 넣다 (to put) and 앉다 (to sit) also use - 에 because these verbs are
recognized to be directional.

김 선생님은 한국에서 오셨어요 . Mr. Kim came from Korea.

We may understand that - 에서 still keeps the meaning of 'in' and that it
is the directionality implied by the predicate that produces the sense of
'from'. In the above example, although Mr. Kim may not be in Korea at
the time that the sentence is spoken, his action of 'coming' must have
started in Korea.

The following table summarizes what we have discussed above.

  - 에 - 에서
state in ( at )
x
( 있다 , 없다 , 계시다 ) 집에 있어요
directional to from
 ( 가다 , 오다 , 다니다 ) 학교에 가요 한국에서 왔어요
action in ( at )
x
( 먹다 , 보다 , 일하다 , etc.) 은행에서 일해요

x indicates that the respective marker is not used with the predicates. 
Sample Practice

Korean lessons: Lesson 13: Practice

Locative Markers - Practice

Practice the following. Fill in the blanks with either - 에 or - 에서 ,
and translate the sentences. (Answers are given below.)

1. 어느학교 ______ 공부하세요?

2. 어디 ______ 사세요 ?

3. 여자친구가 도서관______ 있어요. (도서관 : library)

4. 나도 지금 도서관______ 가요.  (지금 : now)

5. 친구가 일본______ 와요.  (일본 : Japan)

6. 내일 극장______ 영화를봐요 .  (내일 : tomorrow)

7. 극장이 어디______ 있어요 ? 

8. 오빠는방 ______ 책 읽어요. (방 : room)

9. 선생님이 교실______ 안 계세요.  (교실 : class room)

10. 그 책은 이 방______ 없어요 .
11. 우리 고양이는 침대______ 자요. (우리: we/our, 고양이: cat, 
침대 :bed)

12. I work at a bank.

13. 영희 goes to the bathroom.  (bathroom: 화장실 )   

14. 정수 goes to a college this year. (this year: 올해 )

15. I eat dinner at a Korean restaurant. (restaurant: 식당 )

16. 혜선 buys a radio at Best Buy.  (radio: 라디오 )

---------------------------------------------------------------------

<Answers>

1. 에서 [In which school do you study?] 

  ---- "To study" is an action.

2. 에 or 에서   [Where do you live?]

  ---- "To live" can be understood either as action or as state. This is
an unusual case due to the two different, but subtle, modes of
"living."  Combined with 에서, it sounds to be asking the place
where the action of living--eat, sleep, go to work, pay bills, etc.--
takes place, whereas with 에, simply asking the place of residence.

3. 에 [My girl friend is at the library.]  

  ---- "Being" is a state.

4. 에 [I am going to the library now.]

  ---- "To go" is directional.

5. 에서 [A friend is coming from Japan.]

  ---- 에서 gives the origin of "coming".

6. 에서 [I am watching a movie at a theater tomorrow.]

  ---- "Watching a movie", though it may not be very 'active', is an
action.

7. 에 [Where is the theater?]

  ---- Again, "being" is a state.     
8. 에서 [My older brother is reading a book in the room.]
  ---- "Reading" is an action.

9. 에 [The teacher is not in the class room.]

  ---- " 계시다", same as " 있다 ", is a state.

10. 에   [The book is not in this room.]

  ---- " 없다 (not existing)" is also a state.

11. 에서   [Our cat sleeps in the bed.]

   ---- "To sleep" may not be an active thing to do, but counts as an
action.

12. 나는 은행에서 일해요 .

13. 영희가 화장실에 가요 .

14. 정수가 올해 대학에 가요 .

15. 나는 한국 식당에서 저녁을먹어요 .

16. 혜선이가 베스트바이에서 라디오를사요 .

Korean lessons: Lesson 12

 

Numbers (II)

Native Korean Numbers

Another set of numbers are of native Korean numbers.  They are

indigenous in Korean, possibly stemmed through a different route from
that of the Chinese-based set.  Although they used to have a complete
system of native numbers that can go up to three digits (or more), they
now only use the numbers up to two digits (99).  The formation of
numbers is quite similar to that of English numbers in the sense that you
have a set of numbers for single digits (1-10) and another set for tens
(10-90).  

Numbers and formation

Single digits

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Native
하나 둘 셋 넷 다섯 여섯 일곱 여덟 아홉 열
numbers

Ten, twenty, thirty....

  10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Native numbers 열 스물 서른 마흔 쉰 예순 일흔 여든 아흔 백

The formation is quite simple:

15 = 10+5 열 다섯

21 = 20+1 스물 하나

87 = 80+7 여든 일곱

Using with counters and measure words

Such formation as "five birds," however, is not directly applicable in

Korean.  When you speak of a thing with its amount, the proper
formation should be the following:

**Noun + number + counter**

noun + number + counter

새 다섯 마리
   
(bird) (five) (counter for animals)

Thus, an expression like "다섯 새" is not used in Korean.  It may remind

you of such expressions as "two bottles of wine" in English.  It is
necessary in English to specify the measure unit when it comes to
uncountable nouns, such as 'water,' 'coffee,' etc.  In Korean, this is
applied to all nouns.  Does this mean that they have different counters
for all nouns and that you have to memorize all of them?  Probably.  Do
not panic, though, for there are a certain number of counters that are
more frequent and common than the others, and you could strat by
learning them and then move on to the rest.  

There is yet another issue of when to use Chinese numbers and when to
use native Korean numbers.  This will be discussed in the next lesson.