Korean Wordbook for Beginners

A year ago when I got the chance to visit Seoul, I bought a handful of Korean books to help me learn the language fast.  I have not opened most of them except the culture  comic book.  Now that I temporarily stopped reading Continuing Korean to review my previous learnings, I took the time to open this small handbook called Korean Wordbook for Beginners.  Its a Korean-English wordbook but it doesn’t have romanization which I really don’t mind.  One language adviser once said that to be able to learn Korean, one must get rid of romanization. Instead, the focus should be on reading and writing in Hangul.

The book is relatively cheap. It only cost me 4800KRW or less than 5USD.   It contains common Korean words used.  It has synonyms and antonyms which I find really helpful in making the right choice of word.   It also has example of the word’s use written in Korean without any English translation so it will somehow challenge your proficiency.

I appreciate the appendix as well as it contains collection of words commonly used in expression like Question Pronouns, Conjunctive Adverbs (normally used to connect 2 sentences), counting units or marker, number, colors and a lot more.

Here is a collection of Question Pronouns:

• 어느 / 어떤 (eoneu/eoddeon) – which 
• 어디 (eodi) – where
• 누구 (nugu) – who
• 누가 (nuga) – who as subject
• 무엇 (mueo) – what
• 무슨 (museun) – adjective form of what
• 언제 (eonje) – when
• 얼마 (eolma) – how much
• 얼마나 (eolmana) – how much, how long, how many
• 어떻게 (eotteoke) – how, by what means
• 먗 (myeot) – how, what
• 왜 (owae) – why

Use of -과/-와

I have been reading comments about this particle that  is used to connect two noun.  It actually means ‘and’ in English usage — like books and bags, music and lyrics etc.  미안해요. It’s my bad. I really had it interchanged, the book and also a Korean friend confirmed that -과 (gwa) is used after a consonant ending word while -와 (wa) is used after a vowel.

So for the those who have been asking questions about it 과 goes with the consonant and the book was right it was my eyes that is not.

This made me review the entire lesson on this particle.  To recap, this particle is attached at the end of the noun or nouns used in a sentence like 연필과 종이와 책 (yeonpil-gwa, chongi-wa chaek).  This means pencil, paper and book.  If these nouns are used as topic in a sentence the topic marker -은/-는  will be added in the last noun, so in this case it would be 연필과 종이와 책은 (은 since 책 is ending in consonant).

Unlike the English counterpart this particle is pronounced as if part of the original word.  The pause is after the particle as illustrated below:

• Korean: 연필과 <pause> 종이와 <pause> 책
• English: pencil<pause> and paper <pause> and books (this is just an illustration as we know that it is grammatically incorrect to use and over and over again in English for series.  We use and before the last noun in the series and separate each word with just comma)

Verb Ending -네요 (-neyo)

Another learning from my Language Exchange Partner (LEP) is this topic,  the verb ending -네요 (-neyo).   This verb ending is used in declarative sentence.   I have not encountered this yet from the book so I am just relying on my previous learnings.  Two examples were given to me, analyzing each sentence:

버스가 정류장을 지나가네요. (Beosuka cheongryujangeul chinaganeyo  -The bus passes by the bus stop).   I suppose this verb ending, as most of the verb endings i have learned, is added to a verb’s base form.   

당신은 슬퍼보이네요.  (Dangshineun seulpeoboineyo – You look so sad). In this example i think it can be connected to copula 이에요 (ieyo).  I am not sure with it but looks like 네,  replaced 에 in the copula. 

My LEP mentioned that 네요 is rarely used with subject ‘I’.  Likewise he stressed that 하네요  (haneyo) is often used to say something that one saw or heard.  Here are some examples:

• 그가 아프다고 하네요.  (Keuga apeudago haneyo. ) He is sick (he or someone said)
• 제인이 말하기를 그 연극은 굉장하다고 하네요.  (Jeini malhagireul ku yeongukeun koengjanghadago haneyo) Jane said the play is awesome.
• 강원도에는 폭설이 내렸다고 하네요. (Gangwondoeneun pokseori naeryeottdago haneyo).  Heavy snowfall is reported in Gangwon Province.

From the samples that he gave me i suppose that haneyo is used with verb+고 하네요.   I will try to research more on this verb ending as it  is commonly used in a conversation.

The Verb Ending 나요 (nayo)

This post is a fruit of my curiosity.  I have not encountered this from the books that I have been reading but normally hears it in most Korean conversations I have watched.   I basically learned this from my Language Exchage Partner (LEP). 

If you have been into learing Korean, you ought to know they have this verb ending which drives the tone of a sentence.  Verb ending is normally attached to base or infinitive form of a verb of course.   Since I have been hearing -나요 (-nayo) on conversation, i had a feeling that it functions as a verb ending.  My LEP confirmed this.  He said this is used in interrogative sentences (sort of inquisitive, curious or probing). 

From the examples he gave to me, it appears to me that this verb ending is attached to a base form of the verb.  Here is one sample he gave: 들리나요? (Deullinayo? — Can you hear me?) where 들리 (Deulli)  is base form of verb 들리다 (Deullida) which means hear or be audible.

For descriptive verbs which turns to processive by adding 하 (ha),  the verb ending is attached to ha instead of the base form of the descriptive verb.   Here are some examples:

• 당신은 나를 사랑하나요? (Dangshineun nareul saranghanayo?) – Do you love me?
• 어머니를 행복하나요? (Eomeonireul haengbokhanayo?) – Is your mother happy?

Maybe my next question is how is this different from verb ending  -니까 (-nikka). I am yet to find out

It Has Been Ages–I am Back!

I hibernated for so long. Honestly I have not been reading my book since the last post I made.  I have so many excuses — yes they are excuses because when you are determined to do something you will make time for it.   My other activities made me escape such determination to fully learn Hangul.

I was a bit disappointed with myself.  After reading Elementary Korean which is seriously thick and started with Continuing Korean (advance book), I had this thinking that I am advance as well but I wasn’t — and I figure it out in a little painful way.  Sometimes you really have to humble yourself.   It kinda distracted me in away. 

Anyway I am back with my senses and there are two key learnings that are too basic but I almost neglected, first, it’s best to apply what you learned by communicating to someone who is native either orally or written.  Second, make sure you review what you have learned. 

In this post let me share some points I have learned from my Language Exchange Partners (LEP).   I really did not stop from learning but took the time to see other venues to learn the language.  Thanks to my LEPs

One very important thing to know is the use of words.  In any language there are synonyms and it’s quite important to know when to use one from another.  It also allows you to understand better the meaning of the statement.

From my previous post on couting days, I have learned that  day is 일 (il) in Korean, which also means one (1) in Sino Korean or the verb ‘work’.   So there is a possiblity of hearing 일일 (iril) to day one day but a month is normally used with it such that 삼월 일일 (samwol il il) means 1st of March.

Still on the word day, I also encountered 하루 (haru) which also means day but is specifically one day.  I first encountered this word when another LEP wrote to me 하루 잘 보내요 (haru jal bonaeyo – have a good day).  According to my LEP this is more used to pertain to 1 day than 일일.  So this is how 하루 하루 (Haru Haru) song of 빅뱅 (Big Bang – a popular boy group in Korea) became known as ‘Day by Day’.   Likewise he said 하루하루 could also mean everyday which is similar to 매일 (maeil).

Another word in Korean which also means day is 날  (nal).  Well, I have no idea this word means day until that song 다음 날 (Daum nal) of Seungri from the same group Big Bang.  I like that song so I tried to find for the translation of the lyrics and in the course, I have learned it means  ‘the next day’ or ‘the day after’.   I also took the chance to clear this with my LEP and he said that this word normally cannot stand on its own.  It cannot be used to with a count word to count  days,  so it’s not normal to hear 두 날 (du nal) to say 2 days such that 일날 (il nal) cannot be used in the context of Sino Korean number 일 (means 1) and word 날 as day together.  Instead 일날 would simple mean day.   This explains why my LEP mentioned that this Korean word is commonly used together with the word 일.   I remember reading about this on Elementary Korean, that it is acceptable to use 날 along with 일 when counting days, seems to be redundant but acceptable.  Likewise, 날 is used to pertain to anniversaries  like 어버이날 (Eobeoinal) which means Parent’s Day.

This learning is really something basic but it worthwhile to know so you can effectively use word in its appropriate context. 

I hope to keep up with this, thanks to my LEPs for helping me to continuously learn despite my excuses.

Upset…기분 상한

I am a bit upset that I only got to have 2 or 3 entries for the month of March in this blogsite.  I have been exaggerately busy the past weeks with so many personal and work related stuff. 

This means I have never been opening my book for 3 weeks already =(  I really hate to break the promise but reading the lessons just once is not enough with the advance lessons from Continuing Korean book. 

I wish things would slow down… It pains me to see that the last time I read the book was March 3.

Clause Modifier for Sentence with Processive Verbs

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post. As I mentioned it’s abit different when you want to transform a sentence ending in a processive verb into a noun phrase (then subsequently use it as Clause Modifier.

What makes the difference?

1. It can either be present or past
2. In Korean it comes before the noun instead of the usual English order when it comes after the noun.
3. The noun phrase from derived from a sentence with processive verb ending can have direct object.

Here are some examples:

With modified noun as original subject:

• 밥을 먹은 사람 (Papeul meokeun saram) – the person who ate
• 밥을 먹는 사람 (Papeul meokneun saram) – the person who is eating

With modified noun as original object:

• 제인 씨가 사은 가방 (Jein sshiga saeun kabang) -  The bag that Jane bought
• 제인 씨가 사는 가방 (Jein sshiga saneun kabang) – The bag that Jane is buying

With the use of particles to make the meaning unambiguous:

• 나의 친구를 본 사람 (Noui chingureul bon saram)  – The person who saw my friend
• 나의 친구가 본 사람 (Naui chinguga bon saram) – The person that my friend saw.

My nose is bleeding at this point of the lesson, noun phrase  from a processive verb is really one hard thing to  digest.

Transforming Sentence into Clause Modifier

Complex sentences sometimes make you sound fluent and fluid. Although technical writers may not agree to this, joining two simple sentences that are somehow related creates an impression.

A simple Korean sentence can be tranformed into a clause modifier by using one of the modifier endings  -(으)ㄴ  or – 는 (attached to the final verb of the sentence) and then placing a noun after it.  The result of which is a noun expression and no longer a sentence.   This noun expression can then be used as a subject or object just like any other noun expression.

To give you an illustration on how this works:

• He is  —> is my friend
• Ms. Jane Reyes —> is my friend
• The lady wearing a pink dress —> is my friend
• The lady standing between Ms. Reyes and Atty. Cruz —> is my friend

For descriptive verb, it’s a bit simple just the way it works for English.  Here are some examples:

• 작은 책 (chakeun chaek/ small book) <—- 책이 작아요 (chaeki chakayo / The book is small)
• 예쁜 여자  (yeepeun yoja / beautiful lady) <—- 여자가 예뻐요. (Yojaga yeppeoyo/ She [the lady] is beautiful)

There is an exception though which is in the use of verbs 있어요 (isseoyo) and 없어요(opseoyo):

• 가방이 있는 사람 (Kabangi ittneun saram) –> the person who has bag
• 연필이 없는 사람 (Yeonpil opneun saram) –> the person who has no pencil.

For the case of processive verbs, its a bit different . There are some other things to consider when transfoming  sentence ending in processive verb into noun phrase.   This I have to read on…

More on Modifier Clauses

일 삼월이에요… Yup its 1st day of the month of March and how time flies.  I am at lesson 19 of my Continuing Korean book.  It’s very fulfilling to read on this book as it clears so many questions i used to have in mind.

For the past days I have been reading about modifiers.  As you know, sentences are made complex by clauses joined together.  So this lesson is important in expressing longer sentences in Korean.

When I just started, I have always been reminded of the order of words in a Korean sentence.  Well unlike English which is rather not so particular in the order though usually follows subject-verb-object pattern, in Korean the verb is always at the end.  Reading this lesson makes me realized who different the order of the word is as in the comparison below:

English Order	Korean Order
Red flowersFlowers that are red	Red flowers
A nice, large bed A bed that is nice and large	Large-and-nice bed
The pasta I am eating	I-am-eating-it pasta
The lady who is eating pasta	Is-eating-pasta lady

Now this solves the mystery of a usually weird on-line translation application.  With sentence order totally different from English and even on the order of words in a modifier clause, its but noraml to get an abnormal on-line translation.

Another Modifier -는

Another modifier I learned today is -는 which is similar to topic particle used for words ending in vowel.  This new modifier is almost similar to -(으)ㄴexcept that it is specially used for processive verb. 

This modifier doesn’t mind the final character of the word whether vowel or consonant it is directly added to a processive verb.  Amazingly, unlike (으) ㄴ, this modifier cannot be used to descriptive verbs or adjectives.  Here are examples of its  application in certain processive verb:

• 만나는 (manneun) from 마나 (manna) which means meet
• 쓰는 (sseuneun) from 쓰(sseu)  which means write
• 기다리는 (kidarineun) from 기다리 (kidari) which means  wait for
• 가는 (kaneun) from 가 (ka) which means go
• 먹는 (meokneun)  from 먹 (meok) which means eat
• 보는 (boneun) from 보 (bo) which means look

This modifier added in a processive verb placed before a noun has a present meaning, that someone is verbing or doing.  This should somehow make this statement clear:

• 쓰는 사람 (Sseunen saram) –> the person who is writing
• 읽는 책 (ikneun chaek) –>the book that [he] is reading
• 걸는 선생님 (keolneun seonsaengnim) –> the teacher who is walking.

So obvisouly for descriptive verbal nouns which takes auxiliary verb 해요,  one there is always the form descriptive verb+한 like this example: 깨끗한 방 (kkaekeuthan bang) would mean a room that is clean. 

However, for a processive verbal nouns with 해요, the verb 하 functions as processive so it taked the modifier 는. Such as 산보하는 사람 (sanbohaneun saram) which means a person who is taking a walk.  Comparing to the last modifier i learned -ㄴ when this is used on the example given –> 산보한 사람 (sanbohan saram) it now means a peron who took a walk. Its meaning becomes past.