Korean for Dummies (27 page)

If you don’t have access to a phone at the moment, look over these phrases to ask where a public phone is (please look at Chapter 12 if you need help with directions), or ask your host if you can use their phone.

geuncheoae ssuelssuinneun jeonhwagiga eodi iseoyo?
(
geun-chuh-ae
sseul-soo-in-neun juhn-hwa-gee-ga uh-dee ee-ssuh-yo?;
Is there a phone I can use around here?)

geuncheoae goongjung jeonhwagiga eodi iseoyo?
(
geun-chuh-ae gong-joong-juhn-hwa-gee-ga uh-dee ee-ssuh-yo;
Where is there a pay phone around here?)

jeonhwa hantong jom sseodo doelkkayo?
(
juhn-hwa hantong jom
ssuh-do dwel-kka-yo;
Can I please make a phone call?)

This expression can be used when you have to make a call on your own

phone, but it can also be used to ask if you can use someone else’s phone.

Asking someone if you can make a phone call using your own phone might seem really weird, but if you are with someone and you need to make a call, it’s better to ask them for permission. This is the polite thing to do in Korea.

Similar situations in U.S. might be something like this. You are in a middle of a conversation with someone, and you just remembered that you needed to

make a really important phone call. Then you’ll ask the person sitting next to you, “Do you mind if I make a quick call? or Can I please make a quick phone call?” In those cases, you need to say:

jeonhwa hantong jom haedo doelkkayo?
(
juhn-hwa hantong jom hae-do
dwel-kka-yo;
May I please make a phone call?)

Making the call

Korean phone numbers can be seven to eight digits long, and are preceded by a two-to three-digit
jiyeok beonho
(
jee-yuhk-bun-ho;
area code).
Hyudaepon
(
hyoo-dae-pon
: cellular phones. Literal translation: Carry around phone.) or 14_037188-ch09.qxp 6/24/08 11:11 PM Page 153

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haendeupon
(
han-deu-pon;
cellular phone. Literal translation: Hand phone, that is phone for your hand) in Korea have separate
jiyeok beonho
from regional area codes such as 011, 010, and 016. If you can’t quite figure out how to use the phone, you might want to ask your host,
jeonhwareul eottoeoke
georeoyo?
(
juhn-hwa-reul uh-ttuh-kae guh-ruh-yo;
How do I make a phone call?) or
oebu jeonhwaneun eottoke georeoyo?
(
wae-boo-juhn-hwa-neun uh-ttuh-kae
guh-ruh-yo;
How do I make phone calls to external numbers?) When you hear a dial tone and hear another voice at the end of the line, you might hear one of the following lines if the other person is unable to pick up the phone:
jamsihue dasi georeojuseyo.
(
jam-shi who-ae da-shi guh-ruh joo-sae-yo;
Please call me back little later.)
yeoboseyo, [some word] eyo/ [some word] ieyo.
(
yuh-bo-sae-yo, [some
word] ae-yo/ [some word] ee-ae-yo;
Hello, this is [some word] .) Substitute [some word] with your name/title.
[some word] eyo
([some
word] ae-yo;
It’s [some word] ) for names ending with vowels,
[some
word] ieyo
( [some word] ee-ae-yo;
It’s [some word] ) for names ending with consonant. For example:
yeobosaeyo, Rusaeyo.
(
yuh-bo-sae-yo, Rusa-ae-yo;
Hello, this is Rusa.)
yeoboseyo, jasonieyo.
(
yuh-bo-sae-yo, Jason-ee-ae-yo;
Hello, this is Jason.)
sillyejiman nuguseyo?
(
shil-lae-ji-man-noo-goo-sae-yo;
I beg your pardon, but who is this?)

jal andeullyeoyo.
(
jal-an-deul-lyuh-yo;
I can’t hear you well.)
dasi malsseum hae juseyo.
(
da-shi malsseum-hae-joo-sae-yo;
Could you say that again?)

cheoncheonhi malsseumhae juseyo.
(
chun-chun-hee-mal-sseumhae-joo-sae-yo;
Please speak slowly.)

joesonghaeyo. jega beonhoeul jalmot georeoseoyo.
(
jwae-song-hae-yo.

jae-ga bun-ho-reul jal-mot guh-ruh-ssuh-yo;
I’m sorry. I dialed the wrong number.)

Talkin’ the Talk

Will Rogers is at a shopping mall trying to make a call to his

brother-in-law, Mr. Kim. He is looking for a phone.

Will:

jeonhwa hantong jom sseodo doelkkayo?

juhn-hwa hantong jom ssuh-do dwel-kka-yo?

May I please make a phone call?

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Sales clerk:

ye, i jeonhwareul sseuseyo.

ye, ee-juhn-hwareul sseu-sae-yo.

Yes, you can use this phone.

Will:

oebu jeonhwaneun eotteoke georeoyo

whae-boo-juhn-hwa-neun uh-ttuh-kae guh-ruh-yo?

How do I make phone calls to external numbers?

Sales clerk: tonghwaeumi deullisimyeon gubeoneul nureun-

daeum tonghwa hasigo sipeusin beonhoreul

nureuseyo.

tonghwa-eum-ee deul-li-shi-myeon goo-bun-eul noo-

reun-da-eum, tonghwa-ha-go shi-peu-shin bun-ho-

reul noo-reu-sae-yo.

After you hear the dial tone, press 9
;
then dial the

number you want to call.

Will: a,

gamsahamnida.

a, gam-sa-ham-ni-da.

Ah, thank you.

Will dials the number, and Mr. Kim picks up the phone.

Mr. Kim:

yeoboseyo.

yuh-bo-sae-yo.

Hello.

Will:

yeoboseyo, Will Rodgers imnida. Jigeum heonhwa

tonghwaga ganeunghaseyo?

yuh-bo-sae-yo, Will Rodgers-im-ni-da. jee-geum juhn-

hwa-tong-hwa-ga ganeung-ha-sae-yo?

Hello, this is Will Rogers. Can you take a call right

now?

Mr. Kim:

jigeum jeonhwareul batgiga jom gollanhaeyo. jamsi

hue jega dasi geolkkeyo.

jee-geum juhn-hwa-reul bat-gee-ga jom gol-lan-hae-

yo. jam-shi who-ae jae-ga da-shi guhl-kkae-yo.

I’m a bit preoccupied at the moment. I’ll call you back

in a little bit.

Will:

a ye, annyeonghi gyeseyo.

a ye, an-nyoung-hi gye-sae-yo.

Oh, okay, have a nice day.

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Words to Know

gukjejeonhwa

guk-jae-juhn-hwa

International call

gyohwanwon

gyohwan-won

Operator

jamkkanman gidariseyo

jamkkan-man gee-

Just a moment

da-ree-sae-yo

please.

jeonhwa

juhn-hwa

Telephone

jeonhwa hantong

juhn-hwa-hantong

One call

jigeumeun jom bappayo

jee-geum-eun jom ba-I’m little busy

ppa-yo

right now.

jiktongjeonhwa

jiktong-juhn-hwa

Direct call

keuge malsseumhae

keu-gae-malsseum-

Please speak

juseyo

hae-joo-sae-yo

louder.

nugureul chajeuseyo?

noo-goo-reul cha-jeu- Who are you

sae-yo

looking for?

susinjabudam jeonhwa

soo-shin-ja-boo-dam Collect call

juhn-hwa

teullinbeonho

teullin-bun-ho

Wrong number

yeoboseyo

yuh-bo-sae-yo

Hello

Asking for someone

If the person who
daedap
(
dae-dap;
answered) the phone isn’t the person you need to talk to, you need to ask for your party. The way that you ask for a person differs, depending on who you’re
malhada
(
mal-ha-da;
talking) to and who you’re asking for. I organized these sections according to a few possible scenarios you may encounter.

Calling business contacts

When you are calling business contacts, it is best to use the formal polite forms, rather than the informal polite forms you use in
maeil
(
mae-il;
everyday) conversation. If you do this, Koreans will be very impressed with your 14_037188-ch09.qxp 6/24/08 11:11 PM Page 156

understanding of their culture
;
respecting your business
sangdae
(
sangdae;
partner) is a big thing in Korea. Therefore, the following section will use the formal polite forms.

Koreans use two words to show whether or not someone is there. They are
iseoyo
(
ee-ssuh-yo;
He/she is here. Informal polite) and
gyesimnida
(
gyeshim-ni-da;
He/she is here. Formal polite).
iseoyo
is an informal polite way of saying someone is there whereas
gyesimnida
is an formal polite honorific way of saying that someone is there. For example, you’d use
gyesimnida
, when you’re talking about someone in a higher position in your company and your grandparents and
iseoyo
, when you’re talking about a peer, sibling, or a subordinate.

Some phrases which might be useful are as follows. You can replace

“Smith” with the name/job title of the person you are looking for.

smithssikkeseo jarie gyesimnikka?
(
Smith-sshi-kke-suh ja-ree-ae gyeshimni-kka;
Is Smith there? Literal translation: Is Smith at his place?)
If Smith is not present:

aniyo, smithssikkeseo jarie angyesimnida.
(
a-ni-yo, Smith-sshi-kke-suh ja-ree-ae an-gye-shim-ni-da;
No, Smith is not here. Literal translation: Smith is not at his place.)

najunge jeonhwa georeo jusipsiyo
. (
na-jung-ae juhn-hwa guh-ruh joo-ship-shi-yo;
Please call later.)

If Smith is present:

ye, smithssikkeseo jarie gyesimnida.
(
ye, Smith-sshi-kkae-suh ja-ree-ae
gyeshim-ni-da;
Yes, Smith is here.)

jigeum bakkwo deurilkkayo?
(
jee-geum ba-kkwo deu-ril-kka-yo;
Do you want me to put Smith on the phone now?)

Calling acquaintances at home

Calling your friends, classmates, and general acquaintances is pretty simple in Korean. Basically you make a call and ask
[some word] iseoyo?
( [some word]
ee-ssuh-yo
: Is [some word] there?). For example,
aliceiseoyo?
(
Alice-ee-ssuh-yo;
Is Alice there?). However, when you are calling for your teachers, Professors, or grandparents (basically someone older than you), it’s a little different. You want to ask using
[some word] gyeseyo?
([some word] gye-saeyo;
Is [some word] there?). For example,
harabeoji gyeseyo?
(
ha-ra-buh-ji gye-sae-yo;
Is grandfather there?).

Usual answers to these questions would be:
ye, iseoyo
(
ye,ee-ssuh-yo;
yes, he/she is here) or
aniyo, eopseoyo
(
a-ni-yo, uhp-ssuh-yo;
no, he/she is not here) and
ye, gyeseyo
(ye, gye-sae-yo
;
yes, he/she is here) or
aniyo, angyeseyo
(
a-ni-yo, an-gye-sae-yo;
no, he/she is not here).
gyeseyo
is little more respectful than
iseoyo
. But in most instances,
iseoyo
is fine.

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It might further help you to know that
jip
(
jeep
) and
daeg
(
daeg
) both mean
house;
however, you use
daeg
when you want to show more respect toward the person you are talking about or talking to. Usually
daeg
is used when the person you are talking to or talking about has seniority over you. For example, grandparents, professors and teachers.

Leaving a message

If the person that you wanted to talk to isn’t there, you might want to leave a message so that they can get back to you. When you are leaving any kind of a message, either on an answering machine or with someone else, you need to make sure that the message is very clear. Otherwise, the person you have left the message for, will not know what to do.

Leaving messages at businesses

Please be very clear when leaving a message for someone at a business setting. Also, you need to make sure that you are using formal polite form of Korean. Some useful phrases are:

meseji jeonhae deurilkkayo?
(
mae-sae-jee juhn-hae-deu-ril-kka-yo;
Do you want me to take a message?)

aniyo, gwaenchansseumnida.
(
a-ni-yo, gwaenchan-sseumni-da;
No, that’s all right.)

najunge dasi yeollakhagetseumnida.
(
na-jung-ae da-shi yuhl-lak-ha-get-sseumni-da;
I’ll call again later.)

meseji namgyeodo doegetseumnikka?
(
mae-sae-jee nam-gyuh-do dwae-get-sseumni-kka;
Would it be all right if I leave a message?)
jega jeonhwa haeseotdago jeonhaejusipsiyo.
(
jae-ga juhn-hwa hae-ssuh-da-go juhn-hae-joo-ship-shi-yo;
Please say that I called.) Leaving messages at someone’s home

When leaving a message at someone’s home, just make sure to be very polite.

Remember, Koreans are very big on being polite and respectful.

mesejireul namgyeodo doelkkayo?
(
mae-sae-jee-reul nam-gyuh-do dwel-kka-yo;
May I leave a message?)

jega jeonhwa haeseotdago jeonhaejuseyo.
(
jae-ga juhn-hwa hae-ssuh-da-go juhn-hae-joo-sae-yo;
Could you please tell [some word] that I called?)
je yeollakcheoga [some word] imnida.
(
jae yuhl-lak-chuh-ga [some word]