Authors: Wang. Jungwook.; Lee Hong

Korean for Dummies (16 page)

BOOK: Korean for Dummies

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deowoyo
(duh-wo-yo)

Hot

geonjohaeyo
(gun-jo-hae-yo)

Dry

heuryeoyo
(heu-ryo-yo)

Cloudy

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Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk

Korean Words and Pronunciations

English Words

joayo
(jo-a-yo)

Good

malgayo
(mal-ga-yo)

Clear

mudeowoyo
(moo-duh-wo-yo)

Hot and humid

nappayo
(na-ppa-yo)

Bad

seonseonhaeyo
(seonseon-hae-yo)

Cool and refreshing

seupaeyo
(seu-pae-yo)

Humid

siwonhaeyo
(shi-won-hae-yo)

Cool

ttatteutaeyo
(ttatteut-hae-yo)

Warm

If you want to talk about precipitation, you need to say [some word]
i
/
ga
(depending on the ending: [some word]
i
for vowel and [some word]
ga
for consonant)
wayo
(
wa-yo
: [some word] coming) or [some word]
i
/
ga
naeryeoyo
([some word]
i/ga nae-ryuh-yo;
[some word] falls).
wayo
and
naeryeoyo
are interchangeable in Korean. Either one is fine. Here, I have already added the appropriate subject markers ([some word]
i
/
ga
) to the nouns for your convenience (see Table 4-5 for more on weather and seasons).

bi
(
bee;
rain) or
biga
(
bee-ga;
rain)

nun
(
noon;
snow) or
nuni
(
noo-nee;
snow)
ubak
(
ubak;
hail) or
ubagi
(
oo-ba-gee;
hail) Using these words, you can say things like:
biga wayo
(
bee-ga wa-yo;
It’s raining) or
nuni naeryeoyo
(
noo-nee nae-ryuh-yo;
It’s snowing).

Table 4-5

Seasons and Months

Korean Words and Pronunciations

English Words

bom
(bom)

Spring

yeoreum
(yuh-rum)

Summer

gaeul
(ga-eul)

Fall

gyeoul
(gyuh-ool)

Winter

irwol
(ee-rwol)

January

iwol
(ee-wol)

February

(continued)

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Part II: Korean in Action
82

Table 4-5 (continued)

Korean Words and Pronunciations

English Words

samwol
(sam-wol)

March

sawol
(sa-wol)

April

owol
(o-wol)

May

yuwol
(yoo-wol)

June

chirwol
(chirwol)

July

parwol
(pa-rwol)

August

guwol
(goo-wol)

September

siwol
(shi-wol)

October

sibirwol
(shi-ee-rwol)

November

sibiwol
(shi-ee-wol)

December

You have probably noticed that each month consistently ends with the word
wol
(
wol;
month). The word that precedes
wol
is a Sino-Korean number, such as
il
(
il;
one),
i
(
ee;
two),
sam
(
sam;
three) and so on. You’re actually saying month one, month two, month three, and so on. Pretty easy to remember, right?

You combine Sino-Korean numbers by saying
sibil
(
shi-bil;
eleven
; Literally:
ten one),
sibi
(
shi-bee;
twelve
; Literally:
ten two), and so on. Another example is
isipgu
(
ee-ship-goo;
twenty-nine
; Literally:
two ten nine). See Chapter 2 for more information on Korean numbers.

In English, your answer to such a question would be, “The weather here is . . . .” but in Korean, you say, “
biseuthada
(
bee-seut-ha-da;
Similar to here” or “
deo deopda
(
duh duhp-da;
Hotter than here.” For example:
nalssiga yeogihago biseuthaeyo.
(
nal-sshi-ga yuh-gee-ha-go bee-seut-haeyo;
The weather is similar to here.) If you want to compare two things, use the particle
boda
(
bo-da;
than/compared to).
boda
is a peculiar fellow, because it works quite differently from the English “than.” When used at the beginning of a sentence “bo-da” means “compared to.” Check out this example:

virginiaboda hangugi deoweoyo.
(
virginiabo-da han-goo-gi duh-wo-yo;
Compared to Virginia, Korea is hotter.)

hangugi virginia boda deowoyo.
(
han-goo-gi virginiabo-da duh-wo-yo;
Korea is hotter than Virginia.)

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Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk

Talking About Jobs and Occupations

Another favorite topic of conversation is
jigeop
(
jee-guhp;
occupation). If you want to ask what someone does for a living, start off with this question:
museun ireul haseyo?
(
moo-seun ee-reul-ha-sae-yo;
What do you do?) The answer to this is very simple:
jeoneun [your occupation] eyo.
(juh-neun [your occupation] ae-yo;
I’m

[your occupation].)

All you have to do is fill in your job description using the list of words in Table 4-6.

Table 4-6

Occupations

Korean Word and Pronunciation

English Word

hoegyesa
(hwae-gae-sa)

Accountant

yorisa
(yo-ree-sa)

Chef

daehaksaeng
(dae-hak-saeng)

College student

keonseolteonteu
(kuhn-ssul-tuhn-teu)

Consultant

oegyogwan
(wae-gyo-gwan)

Diplomat

uisa
(ui-sa)

Doctor

pyeounjipja
(pyun-jeep-ja)

Editor

seungmuwon
(seung-moo-won)

Flight attendant

gongmuwon
(gong-moo-won)

Government official

daehakwonsaeng
(dae-hak-wonsaeng)

Graduate school student

godeunghaksaeng
(godeung-haksaeng)

High school student

jubu
(joo-boo)

Housewife

byeonhosa
(byun-ho-sa)

Lawyer

gijang
(gee-jang)

Pilot

gyosu
(gyo-soo)

Professor

peurogeuraemeo
(peu-ro-geu-rae-muh)

Programmer

(continued)

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84

Table 4-6 (continued)

Korean Word and Pronunciation

English Word

gija
(gee-ja)

Reporter

yeonguwon
(yuhn-goo-won)

Researcher

gunin
(goo-nin)

Soldier

haksaeng
(haksaeng)

Student

seonsaeng
(sun-saeng)

Teacher

mujik
(moo-jik)

Unemployed

weiteo
(wei-tuh)

Waiter

jakga
(jak-ga)

Writer

If you want to further ask where another person works, try this question:
eodieseo ilhaseyo?
(
uh-dee-ae-suh il-ha-sae-yo;
Where do you work?) The answer to this question will look like this:

jeoneun [some word] eseo ilhaeyo
(
juh-neun [some word] ae-suh ilhaeyo;
I work at/from/for [some word]). Substitute [some word] with your work place, such as the name of your company. Please note that
eseo
(
ae-suh
) can mean “at,” “from,” and “for” when used in this context. An example of this would be something like:
jeoneun seoul daehakgyoeseo
ilhaeyo
(
juh-neun seoul dae-hak-gyo-ae-suh il-hae-yo;
I work at/for/from Seoul national university).

The previous section gives you the word for
haksaeng
(
haksaeng;
student), but if you want to be more specific and tell people about where you study, what you study, and what year you are, keep reading.

If you want to know where another person is studying, ask:

eodieseo gongbuhaseyo?
(
uh-dee-ae-suh gong-boo-ha-sae-yo;
Where are you studying?)

The answer will look like:

jeoneun [some word] eseo gongbuhaeyo
(
juh-neun [some word] ae-suh
gong-boo-hae-yo;
I study at/from [some word]). Substitute the name of your school/college for [some word].

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Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk

If you want to ask what the person is studying, ask:

museun gongbu hasaeyo?
(
moo-seun gong-boo ha-sae-yo;
What are you studying?)

The answer looks something like:

jeoneun [some word] gongbu haeyo.
(
juh-neun [some word] gong-boo-hae-yo;
I study [some word]). Substitute [some word] for your field of study/major.

Table 4-7 contains a list of things you could be studying.

Table 4-7

Areas of Study

Korean Words and Pronunciations

English Words

illyuhak
(il-lyu-hak)

Anthropology

misulhak
(mee-sool-hak)

Art History

keompyuteo gonghak
(keom-peu-tuh-gong-hak)

Computer Science

gyeongjehak
(gyoung-jae-hak)

Economics

yeongmunhak
(young-moon-hak)

English Literature

sahak
(sa-hak)

History

beopak
(buh-pak)

Law

gyeongyeonghak
(gyoung-young-hak)

Management

suhak
(soo-hak)

Mathematics

uihak
(ui-hak)

Medicine

cheolhak
(chul-hak)

Philosophy

mullihak
(mool-lee-hak)

Physics

sahoehak
(sa-hwae-hak)

Sociology

If you want to ask someone in what year of
hakgyo
(
hak-gyo;
school) he/she is, you say:

myeot hangnyeoniseyo?
(
myeot haknyeon-ee-sae-yo;
What year/grade are you?)

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Part II: Korean in Action
86

An answer to this question may be:

jeoneun [some word] hangnyeonieyo.
(
juh-neun [some word] haknyeon-ee-ae-yo;
I’m in year [some word]). Substitute your level or year of study with [some word]. Koreans use Sino-Korean numbers when they are speaking of the level of study in school. Please see Chapter 2 for more information on counting in Korean. For elementary school through

college, say the
hangnyeon
(
haknyeon;
year) you are in that institution.

Some examples follow:

jeoneun chodeunghakgyo sa hangnyeonieyo.
(
juh-neun chodeung-hakgyo sa haknyeon-ee-ae-yo;
I’m in fourth year elementary school.)
jeoneun junghakgyo i hangnyeonieyo.
(
juh-neun joong-hak-gyo ee haknyeon-ee-ae-yo;
I’m in second year middle school.)
jeoneun godeunghakgyo sam hangnyeonieyo.
(
juh-neun godeung-hakgyo sam haknyeon-ee-ae-yo;
I’m in third year high school.)

jeoneun daehakgyo il hangnyeonieyo
. (
juh-neun dae-hak-gyo il haknyeon-ee-ae-yo;
I’m in first year college.)

Note:
For college,
il hangnyeon
(
il hangnyeon
) is Freshman,
i hangnyeon
(
ee-hak-nyeon
) is Sophmore,
sam hangnyeon
(
sam haknyeon
) is Junior, and
sa hangnyeon
(
sa haknyeon
) is Senior.

In Korea, age groups are assigned to different levels of study in elementary, junior high, and high school. There are six years of
chodeunghakgyo
(
chodeunghak-gyo;
elementary school
;
grade 1 through 6), 3 years of
junghakgyo
(
joong-hak-gyo;
middle school
;
grade 7 through 9), 3 years of
godeunghakgyo
(
godeung-hak-gyo;
high school
;
grade 10 through 12) and 4 years of
daehakgyo
(
dae-hak-gyo;
college/university). So if someone tells you that they are in 2nd year middle school, that means that they are in 8th grade, if they are in 3rd grade high school, they are in 12th grade and so on. However, in the U.S., grades 1 through 5 usually fall into elementary school, grades 6 through 8 fall into middle school, and grades 9 through 12 fall into high school.