안녕하세요 여러분! Today I have a new kind of lesson for you all: it’s about Hanja! If you don’t know what Hanja is, it’s “Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation,” according to Korean Wiki Project. Korean words that feature the same borrowed character often have a shared meaning of some sort, which is why Hanja is good to know! If you know the meaning of one word with a character, you might be able to figure out another word with the same character without even using a dictionary!
To start this series of lessons, I wanted to start with the character 최; I got an ask about some words starting with it and thought it’d be helpful to make a short lesson about it :) I’m also going to post this on my Instagramsoon as well, so go check it out there too! Let’s start!
I hope this short list of words has been helpful – let me know what you think and if you’d like to see more of these! Maybe in the future I can break down the entire word – instead of just explaining what 최 means, for instance, I can explain what 애 means too, for example. Lmk your thought! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!
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 여러분! I have another Insta post I wanted to share with y’all! I have a regular lesson about -(으)면 되다 and -(으)면 안 되다 that I made a while back, but I feel like this post is a little more accurate and captures its nuance better. So that’s why I’m posting it here too! I hope it’s helpful!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram by clicking the link below! Hope this is helpful :) See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!
안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! I got a request for a vocab list about K-pop fandom-related words, so here it is! This is a combination of words you might use as a fan and some words related to being an idol. I hope it’s helpful :) Let’s start!
Nouns
가사 = lyrics
가수 = singer
그룹 = group
(메인, 리드) 댄서 = (main, lead) dancer
리더 = leader
(메인, 리드) 래퍼 = rapper
막내 = the youngest member of a group
(메인, 리드) 보컬 = vocal
노래 = song
뮤직비디오 = music video
뮤비 is short for this.
멤버 = member
비주얼 = visual
밴드 = band
안무 = choreography
안무 연습 = dance practice
아이돌 = idol
연습생 = trainee
응원봉 = lightstick
인터뷰 = interview
앨범 = album
(제일) 좋아하는 멤버 = bias
제일 좋아하는 멤버 literally means “favorite member” or “member you like the most.” I often just see 좋아하는 멤버 to mean the same thing, even though it literally means “member that you like.”
컴백 = comeback
콘서트 = concert
콘서트티켓 = concert ticket
케이팝 = K-pop
포토카드 / 포카 = photocard
팬 = fan
팬사인회 = fan signing event
팬클럽 = fan club
Verbs
덕질하다 = to be a die-hard fan of; to be really into
노래하다 = to sing
노래를 부르다 is another word for “to sing”
데뷔하다 = to debut
녹음하다 = to record
연습하다 = to practice
응원하다 = to cheer on; to support
촬영하다 = to shoot; to film
춤을추다 = to dance
컴백하다 = to have a comeback
That’s about it for this list! 제일 좋아하는 밴드가 뭐예요? 코멘트 하세요! What is your favorite band? Leave a comment! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!
안녕하세요 여러분! I got a request to do some possible questions and answers that you might come across if you’re auditioning to be a K-pop idol! I’m not entirely familiar with the audition process or what kinds of questions might be asked of you, but here’s a list based on what I found online. I think that in order to answer these questions in Korean, you should be familiar with beginner/upper-beginner and some intermediate grammar structures and vocabulary. Check out my masterlist linked below to find some lessons that might help you answer them! I hope this is helpful for any aspiring idols! Let’s start!
Questions / 질문
이름이 뭐예요? = What is your name?
어디에서 왔어요? = Where are you from?
어디에 살아요? = Where do you live?
몇 살이세요? = How old are you?
학교에 어디 다녀요? = Where do you go to school?
학교에 어디 다녔어요? = Where did you go to school?
무슨 언어를 하세요? = What languages do you speak?
노래한 지 얼마나 됐어요? = How long have you been singing for?
춤을 춘 지 얼마나 됐어요? = How long have you been dancing for?
랩을 한 지 얼마나 됐어요? = How long have you been rapping for?
무슨 악기를 하세요? = What instruments do you play?
왜 아이돌 되고 싶으세요? = Why do you want to be an idol?
가장 좋아하는 가수/밴드 누구예요? = Who is your favorite singer/band?
취미가 뭐예요? = What are your hobbies?
Answers / 대답
안녕하세요, 제 이름은 [name]입니다. = Hello, my name is [name].
저는 [country]에서 왔어요. / 저는 [country] 사람입니다. = I am from [country].
저는 [place]에 살고 있습니다. = I live in [place].
저는 [#]살입니다. = I am [#] years old.
Use native Korean numbers when saying your age.
저는 [school’s name]에 다녀요. = I go to [school’s name].
저는 [school’s name]에 다녔어요. = I went to [school’s name].
저는 [language 1], [language 2]하고 [language 3] 합니다. = I speak [language 1], [language 2], and [language 3].
저는 노래한 지 [amount of time] 됐어요. = I have been singing for [amount of time].
저는 춤을 춘 지 [amount of time] 됐습니다. = I have been dancing for [amount of time].
저는 랩을 한 지 [amount of time] 됐습니다. = I have been rapping for [amount of time].
저는 [year]년부터 노래했습니다 / 춤을 췄습니다 / 랩을 했습니다. = I have been singing/dancing/rapping since [year].
저는 [instrument] 연주합니다. = I play [instrument].
[reason] 아이돌 되고 싶습니다. = I want to become an idol because [reason].
가장 좋아하는 가수는/그룹은 [name]입니다. = My favorite singer/group is [name].
제 취미는 [hobby]하고 [hobby] 입니다. = My hobbies are [hobby] and [hobby].
That’s about it for this list! Best of luck to you all :) See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!
안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! I got another request for a K-pop breakdown, so here it is! This one was pretty tricky for me to break down, but I hope it all makes sense anyways! If you have a song you’d like to see me break down, let me know and I’ll try to fulfill it!
You can listen to this song here! I used lyricstranslate.com’s really good translations and Naver Dictionary to help me out. As usual, I linked my full-length lessons about the grammar structures mentioned if you want to learn more about them! Let’s start!
휘하고 멋지게 솟구치는 눈은 / 이별에 손짓인 듯 부서지는 / 밤으로 가득한 고요를 본다
The snow that soars up majestically with a whoosh / Sees the silence full of night / That is shattered by our goodbye as if it were a gesture
휘하다 -> I can’t find a related translation for this word on Naver Dictionary, but just going off the translations from lyricstranslate, it means “with a whoosh.”
멋지다 can mean anything from “nice” to “awesome” to “charming.”
-고is attached to stems to mean “and.” So 휘하고 멋지게 means “with a whoosh and majestically.”
솟구치다 = soar; gush; surge
눈 = snow
[verb] + 는 + [noun] = [noun] that [verbs] -> This is how you describe nouns with verbs in the present tense.
-은 is a topic particle that shows that 눈 is the topic of the sentence. More about particles here!
이별 = farewell; goodbye
에 = is a location particle meaning “to” or “in.” In this context, however, it means “by,” as in “shattered by.”
손짓 = hand gesture
[noun] + 인듯 = as if it is [noun]
부서지다 = break; be broken; be shattered
밤 = night
가득하다 = full [of smth]
-(으)로 in this context means “with” or “of,” as in “filled with night” or “full of night.”
고요 = silence
보다 = to see
[verb stem] + ㄴ/는다 or [adjective stem] + 다 is known as the plain style or narrative form. This type of speech doesn’t really have a formality level. You see it a lot in books and newspapers where there’s not really a specific formality level you’re using. It can also be used with those who you would speak informally to.
돌아보는 여운이 안타깝다 / 숨을 쉰다 눈이 온다 / 인사한다 잠이 든다
The afterglow is full of regret / Breathing, snowing / Greeting, falling asleep
돌아보다 = to look back
여운 = resonance; lingering feeling; echo
I think 돌아보는 여운 literally means “the resonance I looked back on” or something like that.
안타깝다 = regrettable; sad
숨을 쉬다 = to breathe
눈이 오다 = to snow (literally “snow comes”)
인사하다 = to greet
잠이 들다 = to fall asleep
When conjugated into the plain style, the ㄹ gets dropped and replaced with -ㄴ다 because it’s irregular.
떠나간다 / 떠나간다 / 남은 것은 이제 없다
Leaving / Leaving / Now there’s nothing left
떠나가다 = to leave
남다 = to remain; to be left
남은 것 = what’s left; the things that remain
이제 = now
없다 = to not be there; to not exist; to not have
그대가 웃는 걸 보면서 나도 웃는다 / 발자국에 아쉬움 꾹 묻어둔 채로
As I look at you smile, I smile too / Burying my regret in my footprints
그대 = You -> this is a more romantic way of saying “you” that you would say to your partner.
웃다 = to smile; to laugh
웃는 걸 refers to the fact that you’re smiling. The action of you smiling is turned into a noun, and that is what the speaker is looking at.
[verb stem] + (으)면서 means “as one [does verb]” and is used for when two actions are done simultaneously.
-ㄴ 채로 describes the state that something is in as an action is being done. In this case, the speaker is smiling with her heart buried – her heart is in the state of being buried as she is smiling.
That’s all for this breakdown – I hope it was helpful! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!
안녕하세요! Hey everyone! Here is yet another breakdown request fulfilled! If you have a song you’d like to see me break down, let me know and I’ll try to fulfill your request!
You can listen to this song here! I used Genius’s translationsandNaver Dictionary to help me out with this breakdown! I also linked my full-length lessons about the grammar structures featured in this song if you want to learn more about them. Let’s start!
사랑 촌스런 그 감정 / 근데 내 가슴이 뛰어 / 왜 나 이래 나?
Love, that old-fashioned feeling / But why is my heart racing? / What’s wrong with me?
사랑 = love
촌스런 -> from 촌스럽다, meaning “old-fashioned”
그 = that (must be placed before a noun)
감정 = feeling
근데 can usually be translated as “but” – it is sometimes used to draw attention to a different topic or something contrasting to what is currently being spoken about.
내 = my (informal)
가슴 = heart; chest
-이 is a subject particle – more about particles here!
뛰다 = to run; to jump
왜 = why
이래 comes from 이렇다, meaning “to be like this” or “to do this.” This line literally means “why am I like this?” but can also mean “what’s wrong with me?”
나도 모르게 when you call my name / 가슴 아프게 나의 심장이 쿵쿵
Unknowingly, when you call my name / Heartbreakingly, my heart is pounding
나 = I/me (informal)
-도 = too/even (depending on context)
모르다 = to not know
Adding-게 to a verb or adjective stem turns it into an adverb. 나도 모르게 means “unknowingly” or, more literally, “without me even knowing.”
아프다 = to be sick; to hurt
나의 = another way to say “my.” -의 is a possessive marker.
심장 = heart -> This refers more to the heart, while 가슴 can mean either “heart” or “chest.”
쿵쿵 is an onomatopoeia and is supposed to mimic the sound of a heartbeat.
내 뜻대로 되지 않아 / 흔한 filter조차 없어
It’s not going my way / I don’t even have any trendy filter
되다has a few different meanings. In this case, it’s a little hard to translate directly, but I would say it means “to go” (as in to go a certain way) or “to be done” (as in something is done some way).
More literally, I think this line means “It’s not going according to my meaning.” As with a lot of K-pop lyrics (and Korean in general), it’s best to focus on the meaning rather than the literal English translation, so don’t worry too much if the translation sounds odd!
흔하다, according to Naver Dictionary, means “common” or “commonplace.” Not quite sure why Genius translated it as “trendy,” but I guess if something is trendy, it becomes common because everyone is using it.
[noun] + 조차 = even [noun]
없다 = to not be there / to not have
That’s about it for this breakdown! I hope it was helpful :) See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!
안녕하세요! Hello again everyone! I have yet another breakdown that was requested! If there’s a song you want to see broken down, let me know and I’ll try to fulfill your request!
You can listen to this song here! I used colorcodedlyrics.comandNaver Dictionary to help me translate these lyrics! I also linked my full-length lessons about the grammar structures featured in this song if you want to learn more about them. Let’s start!
거울 속에 마주친 얼굴이 어색해서 / 습관처럼 조용히 눈을 감아 / 밤이 되면 서둘러 내일로 가고 싶어
The face in the mirror is awkward / So like a habit I quietly close my eyes / When the night comes I want to hurry up and go to tomorrow
거울 = Mirror
속에 = Inside
마주치다 = to meet (usually refers to eyes meeting)
얼굴 = face
-ㄴ/은allows you to describe nouns with that verb in the past tense. So 마주친 얼굴 literally means “the face that I met.”
-이 is a subject particle – more about particles here!
어색하다 = awkward
-아/어서 means “so” or “because.” 어색해서 means “because it’s awkward” or “it’s awkward, so…”
설렘으로 차오르던 나의 숨소리와 / 머리 위로 선선히 부는 바람 / 파도가 되어 어디로든 / 달려가고 싶어 / 작은 두려움 아래 천천히 두 눈을 뜨면
My breath that rose up with excitement / And the wind that blows coolly above my head / I want to become a wave / And run anywhere / When I slowly open my eyes under the small fears
설렘 = excitement; thrill
Here, -(으)로 means “with”
차오르다 = to rise up
나의 = my (informal) -> 나 means “I,” while -의 is a possessive marker.
숨소리 = breath -> refers to the sound of breath
[verb stem] + 던is another way to describe a noun with a verb. It is used for actions that you used to do repeatedly in the past or that you did but did not complete.
불다’s stem ends in ㄹ, which gets dropped when you want it to describe a noun.
바람 = wind
파도 = wave
어디로든 = anywhere
달려가다 = to run
작다 = small
두려움 = fear -> noun form of the verb 두렵다, meaning “afraid”
아래 = below; bottom
천천히 = slowly
두 = two (this is the word for “two” that you put before a noun)
뜨다 = to open (eyes)
휩쓸려 길을 잃어도 자유로와 / 더이상 날 가두는 / 어둠에 눈 감지 않아 / 두 번 다시 날 모른 척 하지 않아
I’m free even when I’m swept away and get lost / I won’t close my eyes / in the darkness that traps me anymore / I won’t pretend to not know who I am again
안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! I have another Hanja lesson for y’all today – this one is about two possible meanings of 악! I’m planning on posting this to my Instagramtomorrow as well, so be sure to follow me there for more Korean content! I hope this is helpful, and you can let me know if you have any questions! 화이팅!
안녕하세요 여러분! I have another Hanja lesson for y’all – this one is about 수! This lesson doesn’t list every single possible meaning of 수, but these are some common ones. You can find this post on my Instagram as well; be sure to follow me there for more Korean content! I hope this is helpful!
안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! Today’s lesson is about -고 보니까, which is one way to express realization. Let’s start!
Use this formula:
[verb stem] + 고 보니까 + [rest of sentence]
The -까 can be dropped with no difference in meaning.
This structure is used to express your realization after you finish doing an action. Let’s look at an example:
한국어 수업을 듣고 보니까 꽤 어렵더라고요. = After taking a Korean class, I’ve realized that it’s quite difficult.
This sentence communicates your realization after you completed the action of taking a Korean class, that realization being that Korean is difficult to learn. I want to emphasize that this structure can only be used when talking about a completed action, not one that is currently in progress.
Notice that this structure is seen in sentences that have other endings communicating some sort of realization or surprise like 것 같다,-네요,and-더라고요. Let’s see some more examples!
책을 다 읽고 보니까 생각보다 재미있어요. = After reading the book, I see that it’s more interesting than I thought.
그러고 보니까 그 콘서트 표는 꽤 비싸네요. = Now that I think about it, that concert ticket it quite expensive.
그러고 보니 is a fixed expression meaning “now that I think about it” or “come to think of it.”
처음에는 김치를 싫었는데 다시 먹어보고 보니 괜찮더라고요. = At first, I didn’t like kimchi, but after trying it again, it’s okay.
원래는 걔가 좀 차가운 것 같지만 더 친해지보니 아주 착하네요. = Originally I thought she was a little cold, but now that I’ve gotten closer to her, she’s very nice.
That’s about it for this lesson! Lmk if you have any questions :) See you in the next one! 다음에 또 봐요!
Since COVID I’ve noticed more Korean teachers posting lessons on Youtube. A lot of them have criminally low views so I thought I would provide some links as I think they would be useful to many of you.
While the lessons are mostly in Korean please don’t be put off. The teachers speak slowly and clearly so even low intermediate learners should have no problem understanding :)
Grammar and vocab videos both TOPIK specific and more everyday content. Beginner through to high intermediate level. I really like all of the videos I have watched. In some of her videos she sets ‘homework’ and asks viewers to post in the comments and she will personally mark it for you!
As the channel name suggests most of her videos are around 10 minutes long. Predominately intermediate and advanced grammar lessons but she also has videos on hanja.
English has 8 parts of speech. Korean has 9. Learning parts of speech is crucial to becoming fluent in Korean. So, Today I’m going to introduce you to all nine parts of speech.
1. Noun 명사 [Myeong-sa]
2. Pronoun 대명사 [Dae-myeong-sa]
3. Numeral, quantity indicator 수사 [su-sa]
4. Verb 동사 [dong-sa]
5. Adjective 형용사 [hyeong-yong-sa]
Adjectives shows the quality or state of something.
6. Determiner, pre-noun 관형사 [gwan-hyeong-sa]
Determiners are a word used in front of a substantive(nouns, pronouns, and numerals) and modifies it. Compared to other Korean parts of speech, there are only a few determiners.
7. Adverb 부사 [Bu-sa]
While Determiners modify only Substantives*(체언 [cheeon]. nouns, pronouns, and numerals) Adverbs modify everything. They mostly modify verbs and adjectives, but they can modify determiners, adverbs, and even sentences.
8.★Post positional particle 조사 [Jo-sa]
*What’s a Post positional article?: Post positional particles are attached behind a noun, pronoun, numeral, and adverbs… They usually stick together with words that are independent. They indicate grammatical relationships or make it more specific in meaning. (particles each have different jobs) Some particles make the word it stuck to a subject (Like -은/는 or 이/가) Or some particles make the word an object (Like 을/를) There are so many particles! It’s very confusing and hard, so study extra hard on Post positional particles.
9.Exclamation, interjection 감탄사 [gam-tan-sa]
These are all nine parts of speech in Korean! To advance to harder grammar, you MUST remember all these nine parts of speech.
I will explain in detail about each part in later grammar lessons! I hope this lesson was helpful
Since I’m still pretty new to the langblr community, please tell us if we have anything to improve. Thanks!
-admin sun
Each conversation in my textbook has a section of “new words” that are divided by parts of speech. Now I can write the parts of speech in Korean!
