안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! Today I have a lesson with a grammar structure you hear pretty often and it yet another way to say “because” in Korean lol. I also made a post on my Instagram about this structure, so go check that out as well! Let’s start!
Here’s the formula for this structure:
[verb stem] + 느라고 + [rest of sentence]
Note that this can only be used with verbs, not adjectives.
I believe the -고 can be dropped with no difference in meaning.
-느라고 is used to explain a reason for a consequence, and this consequence is usually negative. It can also be used in contexts when your doing one action prevents you from doing the other. Let’s look at some examples:
공부하느라고 밤 새웠어요. = I stayed up all night studying.
Here, you’re explaining what caused you to stay up all night, which was studying.
숙제를 하느라고 파티에 못 갔어요. = I couldn’t go to the party because I was busy doing homework.
The consequence of your doing homework is not not being able to go to the party. One action, doing homework, prevented you from doing the other, which is going to the party.
Let’s see some more examples!
늦잠을 자느라고 수업에 못 갔어요. = I didn’t go to class because I overslept.
운동하느라고 전화를 못 받았어요. = I was exercising, so I couldn’t pick up your phone call.
일하느라고 바빴어요. = I was busy working.
요리하느라고 힘들었어요. = I was exhausted after cooking.
야근하느라고 집에 늦게 왔어요. = I came home late because I was working overtime.
That’s about it for this lesson! Hope it was helpful! See you in the next one! 다음에 또 봐요!
안녕하세요! Today we have a short lesson about a useful structure that’s used for talking about what doing an action requires: -는 데(에). Let’s start!
-는 데(에) is used for talking about what it takes to do an action. This will become clearer in the examples, but let’s start with a formula:
[verb stem] + 는 데(에)
The -에 is optional.
This is not to be confused with -ㄴ/은/는데, which does NOT have a space between -ㄴ/은/는 and 데!
Here are some examples:
커피를 한 잔 사는 데에 천원이에요. = It is 1,000 won to buy a cup of coffee.
This example talk about what it takes to do the action of buying a cup of coffee, which is 1,000 won.
떡볶이 만드는 데에 떡고 고추장이 필요해요. = In making tteokbokki, you need rice cakes and red chili paste.
When the verb stem ends in ㄹ, drop the ㄹ!
한국어를 배우는 데에 매일 연습해야 돼요. = You have to practice everyday when learning Korean.
This example talk about what you need to do to learn Korean, which is practice everyday. Notice how you can say you need to do an action or you need a noun when using this structure!
에쎄이를 쓰는 데에 일단 주제에 대한 연구해야 돼요. = In writing an essay, you first have to do research on your topic.
That’s about it for this lesson – I hope it was helpful! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions :) 다음에 또 봐요!
뿐 is a particle which can be attached to a noun to say ‘just’ or ‘only’. This is very similar to the particle 만, which has the same meaning. There is no real difference between the two, and they can mostly be interchanged, but the sentence must change to accommodate the grammar rules of each particle.
만 can be used in place of the topic or subject marker that would usually follow a noun, and can be used with verbs which are turned into nouns. 뿐 can only be used at the end of a sentence with 이다 attached to it, and can only be used with nouns. This sentence uses a regular noun, and can be changed to use either form:
He only likes movies. 그는 영화만좋아해요. 그가 좋아하는 것은 영화뿐이에요.
This sentence uses the nominalised form, where a verb is changed into a noun. Because of this, there is no way to use 뿐 in this sentence.
If you only go to class, you’ll be able to graduate. 매일 수업에 가기만 하면 졸업할 수 있을 거예요.
뿐만 아니라
With the addition of 아니라, this form negates the singularity created by 뿐 in the sentence. It is used in a sentence with the structure N + 뿐만 아니라 + N(도), and translates to ‘not only N, but N as well’.
Not only did I buy coffee, I also bought snacks. 커피뿐만 아니라 간식도 샀어요.
I didn’t just buy my things, but the things my friend needed too. 내것뿐 아니라 내 친구것도 샀어요
ㄹ/을 뿐
Including the object marker before 뿐 creates a slightly different meaning. Although it is a very small difference in spelling, the nuance is very different. This version carries the meaning that there in nothing special about the thing which 뿐 is describing. This usage essentially minimises what is being said.
I just put a bit of water in it, why are you so mad? It’s only ramen… 불을 조금 넣었다고 화를 이렇게 많이 내? 그냥 라면일 뿐이야…
It’s just a joke. 그것은 농담일 뿐이에요.
Buying this is just a waste of money. 그것을 사는섯은 돈 낭비일 뿐이에요.
This is the form which the Game Administrator is using in this scene. By saying ‘이건 게임일 뿐입니다’ (this is just a game), he is trying to minimise the situation. To both him and the VIPs, the Squid Game is truly just a game for entertainment. The players rightfully object to this, saying ‘사람을 그렇게 죽여 놓고 게임이라고요?’ (people just died like that and you’re saying it’s only a game?!). Obviously, as potential victims of the game, the Administrator’s attempt to minimise the situation is ridiculous.
One final thing to note about this form is that whilst the object particle is used to add this nuance, it is also used with the past tense form of 뿐. This can cause confusion as to whether the original form or the nuanced form is being used. In this case, you will have to use context clues to determine how 뿐 is being used in the situation.
When literally translated, 한 사람 means ‘one person’. The actual meaning of this grammar isn’t too far off the literal translation. This grammatical rule can be used to say ‘the person who’, or ‘the one who’. As with the English equivalent, this is used to highlight the person in particular who carried out a certain action. Here are some examples:
They were all destroyed. Even the (one who was) the last man. 그들은 모두 처치되었다. 마지막 한 사람까지.
She is the only one who is suited to the job. 그녀가 그일자리에 맞는 단 한 사람이다.
Who is the one who said that this movie was good (it’s terrible and I want to pick a fight). 이 영화 재미있다고 한 사람누구야?!
Which one of you said that it wasn’t going to be cold here? (I didn’t bring a jacket and it’s your fault). 여기 안 춥다고 한 사람누구야?
In this scene, Kyu-Sik is saying ‘아이, 그래도 이년 연속 보험왕까지 한 사람인데요.’ In our last lesson, we went through how the use of the auxiliary 까지 creates the meaning ‘Even for the insurance king?!’. Without 한 사람, this would be a perfectly fine sentence which conveys the same meaning. 한 사람 just adds the nuance of asking how can De-Young in particular be having a hard time since he’s the person who’s held the title of insurance king for 2 years running. It allows the suggestion that De-Young should be exempt from having a hard time due to his skills, but times are so difficult that even he is struggling.
Many Korean learners begin their studies by learning very basic grammar such as 도, 고, 서, 요, etc. One of the most commonly learned grammar rules at this stage is 부터 and 까지. In most situations, 까지 is used in this way to mean ‘to’ or ‘until’, however in this scene, it is an alternative usage of 까지. This form is the auxiliary form.
When used as the auxiliary form, 까지 is used to express that something has extended to an extreme or surprising extent. This can often be translated to ‘even’. Here is an example:
My friend ate japchae, bindaetteok, and kimchi jjigae. They even ate octopus! 친구가 잡채와 빈대떡과 김치찌개를 먹었어요. 문어까지먹었어요!
Here, you could say 문어도 먹었어요 - they ate octopus too. However, 까지 adds a nuance of surprise or something being beyond expectations, which is much more useful in this statement to show that it was shocking that their friend tried octopus. Here are some more uses of this grammar form:
I even did all my homework too! 나는 숙제까지 다 했어!
I lost my phone and even my wallet. 핸드폰도 없어졌는데 지갑까지잃어버렸어요.
I was already late but I even missed my bus. 늦었는데 버스까지늫졌어요.
In the previous scene that we studied, Do-Yeon was saying that from what she remembers, it’s hard to make money nowadays. In this scene, Kyu-Sik responds saying ‘아이, 그래도 이년 연속 보험왕까지 한 사람인데요.’ Here, 까지 is being used to say ‘What? Even for the person who was the insurance king for two consecutive years?!’
In this lesson we will be looking at the grammar structure “전에 ~하지 않았어요?” This is used to ask a question about what someone has done in the past A: 엘라, 전에 케이팝을 좋아하지 않았어? B: 응 근데 이제는 요즘 중국 음악을 자주 들어.
영어 해설: A: Ella, didn’t you used to like K-pop? B: I used to but now I listen to Chinese music often these days
