Learn Korean With K-Pop: “My Treasure” by TREASURE (트레저)
I chose this song because it has a really sweet message and I think we could all use some uplifting words! It’s also super catchy and has been stuck in my head all month hehe
As always, feel free to request a song you’d like me to analyze like this, and I’ll try my best!
If you’ve spent any amount of time listening to the Korean language, you’ve probably heard the ending 은/는데 quite a bit. Like me, you may have wondered what exactly that grammar pattern means. Here’s the thing: it doesn’t really mean anything. At least, not anything we can translate to English.
The easiest way to explain it is that, usually, adding 은/는데 to a verb stem sets up the sentence to continue with another verb. It’s kind of like adding a connecting word like “and” or “but” in English. Here’s an example:
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먹고싶어요. 음식 없어요.
I am hungry. There isn’t any food.
먹고싶은데 음식 없어요.
I’m hungry but there isn’t any food.
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As you can see, by adding 은데 to the stem of 먹고싶다, we connected two sentences into one, creating a much more natural feel. I translated it to “but,” because that’s what we would use in English, however 은/는데 can’t really be translated since all it does is connect two verbs. Meaning our example sentence could also be translated as “I’m hungry and there isn’t any food.”
However!
Here’s where it gets a bit more confusing. Sometimes, 은/는데 isn’t used to connect two statements at all. Instead, it’s just used independently, like any other conjugation. In these cases, there isn’t really an agreed upon meaning. Often times, though, it has a sort of interrogative tone. For example:
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A: 음식을 삽시다!
Let’s buy food!
B: 돈이 업는데?
[We] don’t have money, though?
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I hope this made sense! As always, I encourage using a variety of sources to better understand this concept, as well as plenty of listening practice to see where it occurs naturally. Good luck everyone and thanks for reading ☺️
These are some tips on how to sound more natural when speaking Korean. Please note that these aren’t official rules by any means, just my personal opinions about some things I’ve picked up from many hours of listening to the language!
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are sounds created when vowels flow into each other (ex: oi in coin, ai in hair). The English language uses these a lot more than Korean, since even the basic individual English vowel sounds are actually diphthongs.
For example, try slowly pronouncing the letter a, and listen to the way it actually slides from eh to ee. In Korean, this sound doesn’t exist on its own, but it can be created by combining 에 and 이 -> 에이.
So even though these diphthongs don’t really exist in Korean, they can often be heard in everyday speech. For example, something I’ve noticed is that, when used at the end of a word, 에 and 애 are sometimes pronounced more like 에이 or 애이, and 오 is sometimes pronounced more like 오우. My personal theory is that this is a result of English influence.
My point in all this is that, although it is generally taught that the Korean vowel sounds are short and tight, with no flowing of different sounds into one another, the pronunciation of the language in everyday life can be different!
봐 or 바 ?
This one is simply a matter of speed and ease of pronunciation. While the syllable 와 is a combination of 오 and 아, a distinct 오 sound isn’t usually heard when the word 봐 is spoken, so it sounds more like 바.
Similarly, the syllable 왜 is a combination of 오 and 애, but the 오 is not distinctly pronounced when a consonant comes before 왜. For example, the word 안돼 often sounds more like 안대.
This isn’t a huge deal, but I find it helps your pronunciations sound a lot more natural and closer to that of a native speaker if the 오 isn’t so clearly pronounced in these sounds. It’s still there, of course, but it sort of takes a back seat.
Disappearing Consonants
As we’ve already looked at with vowels, some sounds are disregarded for speed and ease of pronunciation. In the following cases, I believe this is due to the same consonant appearing more than once in a word, so one of the occurrences is ignored.
For example, something I’ve heard many times is the word 맛있어 pronoinced as 마있어. I could never find a solid explanation for this. My theory is that the ㅅ in 맛 is disregarded because the ㅆ in 있어 comes right after.
Another slightly less common example is 것 같아 being pronounced as 거 앝아. Again, my theory is that the ㄱ in 같아 is disregarded because of the ㄱ in 거 that comes right before.
Again, this is not a very big deal, and not every native Korean speaker does these, but it is something I’ve picked up on that may help you sound more natural and comfortable with the language.
Slurring
If you’ve listened to any Korean spoken in a natural situation rather than an educational one, you’ve probably noticed that native Korean speakers slur their words. A lot. To the point where some words are almost unrecognizable. In terms of listening and understanding, this makes things a bit difficult. It’s also something to keep in mind when speaking.
The most common example is 안녕하세요. I have never once heard a native Korean person pronounce each syllable of this word clearly and distinctly. Slurring is already normal, but the fact that this is one of the most used words means that it’s likely to be understood no matter how intensely you slur.
I suppose for a beginner it would be a good idea to start out with clear pronunciation to help you communicate better and fully understand what you’re saying. But I think the more you get used to speaking the language, the easier it will be to emulate this natural slur.
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I hope this was helpful! I’ll be sure to add more tips to this post if I think of any.
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I found a great example of what I was talking about here with the 왜 sound in 안돼, in case anybody wanted to hear it! It can be heard in the chorus of the song Why Not? by 이달의 소녀 (LOONA). The lyrics are 왜 안돼, meaning “why not,” but it really sounds like 안대. Listen closely, though, and you’ll hear just the tiniest little 오 sound hidden in there.
Of course, this is a song and not a canon conversation, but I do think it reflects the way a lot of people say this word!
my japanese lessons are low key getting frustrating af. it’s a “conversational class” so in my textbook, everything has the roman transcription underneath the kana and my brain just naturally looks at it. i get that for beginners, kana can be too overwhelming but it’s like, i don’t want to literally learn japanese through romaji??? and when i then go to put my vocab into memrise it makes things so much harder because i am remembering things based on their romaji not kana
i feel so negative about japanese rn in general. like, the stuff that takes weeks to learn in japanese could be learned in a romance language or most germanic languages in a day and sometimes i think, even though i love japanese more than any other potential languages i’m interested in learning, is the sacrifice worth it? like i could learn multiple other languages in the time it takes me to “master” just japanese
I struggle with this exact same problem, but with Korean! My books have romanization right under the hangul, and my eyes are drawn to that first because it’s my native alphabet. It can be so frustrating, especially since it’s impossible for romanization to be completely accurate. I feel your pain. Good luck with your studies!!
This is a list of some Korean words that are easy to mix up due to similarities in spelling and pronunciation. Not sure if many other learners struggle with these, but here are some of the ones I personally need to work on!
These are some tips on how to sound more natural when speaking Korean. Please note that these aren’t official rules by any means, just my personal opinions about some things I’ve picked up from many hours of listening to the language!
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are sounds created when vowels flow into each other (ex: oi in coin, ai in hair). The English language uses these a lot more than Korean, since even the basic individual English vowel sounds are actually diphthongs.
For example, try slowly pronouncing the letter a, and listen to the way it actually slides from eh to ee. In Korean, this sound doesn’t exist on its own, but it can be created by combining 에 and 이 -> 에이.
So even though these diphthongs don’t really exist in Korean, they can often be heard in everyday speech. For example, something I’ve noticed is that, when used at the end of a word, 에 and 애 are sometimes pronounced more like 에이 or 애이, and 오 is sometimes pronounced more like 오우. My personal theory is that this is a result of English influence.
My point in all this is that, although it is generally taught that the Korean vowel sounds are short and tight, with no flowing of different sounds into one another, the pronunciation of the language in everyday life can be different!
봐 or 바 ?
This one is simply a matter of speed and ease of pronunciation. While the syllable 와 is a combination of 오 and 아, a distinct 오 sound isn’t usually heard when the word 봐 is spoken, so it sounds more like 바.
Similarly, the syllable 왜 is a combination of 오 and 애, but the 오 is not distinctly pronounced when a consonant comes before 왜. For example, the word 안돼 often sounds more like 안대.
This isn’t a huge deal, but I find it helps your pronunciations sound a lot more natural and closer to that of a native speaker if the 오 isn’t so clearly pronounced in these sounds. It’s still there, of course, but it sort of takes a back seat.
Disappearing Consonants
As we’ve already looked at with vowels, some sounds are disregarded for speed and ease of pronunciation. In the following cases, I believe this is due to the same consonant appearing more than once in a word, so one of the occurrences is ignored.
For example, something I’ve heard many times is the word 맛있어 pronoinced as 마있어. I could never find a solid explanation for this. My theory is that the ㅅ in 맛 is disregarded because the ㅆ in 있어 comes right after.
Another slightly less common example is 것 같아 being pronounced as 거 앝아. Again, my theory is that the ㄱ in 같아 is disregarded because of the ㄱ in 거 that comes right before.
Again, this is not a very big deal, and not every native Korean speaker does these, but it is something I’ve picked up on that may help you sound more natural and comfortable with the language.
Slurring
If you’ve listened to any Korean spoken in a natural situation rather than an educational one, you’ve probably noticed that native Korean speakers slur their words. A lot. To the point where some words are almost unrecognizable. In terms of listening and understanding, this makes things a bit difficult. It’s also something to keep in mind when speaking.
The most common example is 안녕하세요. I have never once heard a native Korean person pronounce each syllable of this word clearly and distinctly. Slurring is already normal, but the fact that this is one of the most used words means that it’s likely to be understood no matter how intensely you slur.
I suppose for a beginner it would be a good idea to start out with clear pronunciation to help you communicate better and fully understand what you’re saying. But I think the more you get used to speaking the language, the easier it will be to emulate this natural slur.
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I hope this was helpful! I’ll be sure to add more tips to this post if I think of any.
*Note: The following lesson is in 존댓말 (formal / polite language), specifically 해요체 (informal polite speech level).
When describing things that are hot, the verbs 덥다 and 뜨겁다 are used. While 덥다 is mainly used for weather, 뜨겁다 is used for objects that are hot to the touch. Another verb related to heat is 맵다. However, this is only used to describe spicy foods.
*Descriptive verbs can be conjugated like any other verb or made into adjectives. I’ve given examples of both! Check the “conjugation” and “grammar” tags of this blog or the pinned post for more detailed explanations.
오늘은 날씨가 더워요. The weather is hot today.
더운 날씨 - hot weather
조심하새요! 커피는 뜨거워요. Be careful! The coffee is hot.
뜨거운 커피 - hot coffee
레스토랑의 음식이 매워요. The restaurant’s food is hot / spicy.
매운 음식 - hot / spicy food
When describing things that are cold, the verbs 춥다 and 차갑다 are used. Just like what we learned about describing things that are hot, 춥다 is used for weather and 차갑다 is used for objects that are cold to the touch.
스웨터를 입으세요. 밖에 추워요. Wear a sweater. It’s cold outside.
추운 날씨 - cold weather
아이스크림은 맛있고 차가워요. The ice cream is delicious and cold.
This is a list of useful Korean verbs and their present tense, past tense, and future tense conjugations, all in the three most commonly used speech levels. In each “tense” column, the verb is conjugated in order of ascending formality: first in 반말 (informal casual), then in 해요체 (informal polite), and finally 합쇼체 (formal polite).
This isn’t a lesson on all of these conjugations, just a list for reference. You can find in-depth explanations in the “conjugation” tag of this blog, or the link in bio which will take you to a list of every lesson on this blog.
(I couldn’t find a good way to format this using only Tumblr, hence the screenshots. Click the images and zoom in for better quality!)
This was meant to be my thank-you for 1,000 followers. I apologize for my inactivity. I’ve been dealing with some stuff, and then with everything going on recently it just didn’t feel right. During my break we’ve already reached nearly 1,300! Thank you all so much. I hope I can provide some distraction during these difficult times. Stay safe and take care.
This is a list of useful Korean verbs and their present tense, past tense, and future tense conjugations, all in the three most commonly used speech levels. In each “tense” column, the verb is conjugated in order of ascending formality: first in 반말 (informal casual), then in 해요체 (informal polite), and finally 합쇼체 (formal polite).
This isn’t a lesson on all of these conjugations, just a list for reference. You can find in-depth explanations in the “conjugation” tag of this blog or the pinned post, which has a list of every lesson on this blog.
(I couldn’t find a good way to format this using only Tumblr, hence the screenshots. Click the images and zoom in for better quality!)
*Note: This lesson is in 존댓말 (formal/polite language), specifically 해요체 (informal polite speech level).
Welcome to future tense conjugation! If you haven’t seen our previous conjugation lessons, I recommend taking a look at those first. All conjugation lessons can be found in the “conjugation” tag of this blog or in the link in bio which will take you to a list of every lesson on this blog.
I referenced a YouTube video by Learn Korean With GO! Billy Korean to help me better understand the future tense forms. This was extremely helpful to me, and I highly recommend watching!
How to Conjugate
If the stem ends in a consonant:
If the stem of the verb ends in a consonant, add the ending 을 거예요.
For example, the stem of 먹다 (to eat) is 먹. Add 을 거예요 to get the future tense conjugation 먹을 거예요.
Exceptions / modifications:
If the stem ends in ㄹ, simply add 거예요 (살다 [to live] -> 살 거예요)
If the stem ends in ㅂ and is a descriptive verb, remove the ㅂ and add 울 거예요 (덥다 [to be hot] -> 더울 거예요)
If the stem ends in ㅎ and is a descriptive verb, remove the ㅎ and add ㄹ 거예요 (빨갛다 [to be red] -> 빨갈 거예요)
If the stem ends in a vowel:
If the stem of the verb ends in a vowel, just add the ending ㄹ 거예여.
For example, the stem of 보다 (to see) is 보. Add ㄹ 거예요 to get the future tense conjugation 볼 거예요.
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I’ve only covered the most common future tense form here, but there are several others. I will make separate posts for these!
Hello everyone, and welcome to another grammar lesson (finally)! In this one, we’ll go over the present progressive tense as well as the past progressive tense.
I strongly suggest taking a look at regular present and past tense first if you haven’t already! They can be found under the “conjugation” and “grammar” tags or the link in bio, which will take you to a list of every lesson on this blog.
*Note: This lesson is in 존댓말 (formal/polite language), specifically 해요체 (informal polite speech level)
Explanation
The present progressive tense is used to describe things that are currently in progress. For example, “I eat” is in the regular present tense, simply stating a fact, but “I am eating” shows that the action is still in progression.
Similarly, “I ate” shows that the action has ended, while “I was eating” specifies that the action was in progression for a period of time.
How to Conjugate
In English, verbs in the progressive tense have the ending “ing” (eating, seeing). In Korean, they have the ending 고 있다 (먹고 있다, 보고 있다).
Unlike some other conjugation rules, this one is the same whether the verb stem ends in a consonant or a vowel, which makes things a tad easier.
Present Progressive Tense
For present progressive tense, simply conjugate the ending 고 있다 into present tense to get 고 있어요, and then add it to the stem of the verb you’re conjugating.
For example, the stem of 먹다 (to eat) is 먹. Add 고 있어요 to get 먹고 있어요 ([I] am eating).
The stem of 보다 (to see) is 보. Add 고 있어요 to get 보고 있어요 ([I] am seeing).
Past Progressive Tense
For past progressive tense, simply conjugate the ending 고 있다 into the past tense to get 고 있었어요, and then add it to the stem of the verb you’re conjugating.
For example, add our ending to the stem of 먹다 (to eat) to get 먹고 있었어요 ([I] was eating).
Add the same ending to the stem of 보다 (to see) to get 보고 있었어요 ([I] was seeing).
Recap
This is a lot, so let’s review real quick!
먹어요 - I eat (regular present tense)
먹었어요 - I ate (regular past tense)
먹고 있어요 - I am eating (present progressive)
먹고 있었어요 - I was eating (past progressive)
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That’s all for now! I hope this was helpful and not too confusing.
