Hey guys! I know it’s been a really long time since I posted anything. I thought I’d have so much time this summer to work on my blog, and things just haven’t turned out that way. While on vacation, my girlfriend and I suddenly found out we had to prepare for her visa interview 3 weeks earlier than it was scheduled. We’re actually engaged. Unfortunately, we can’t get married here, so we are preparing to go the US together. It’s been quite a process. And therefore, I have been preparing to go home. And my room even had water pouring through the ceiling at one point. It’s been a really long month haha.
But I’m happy to say that everything turned out well. And I have a little comic of my girlfriend and me. I thought it might be some good reading practice. It’s written really naturally at the upper-intermediate level. I hope you like it! (It’s based on a true story…I hate doing dishes.) If you guys like it, I will post more. They’re fun to draw for me.
It also fits in great since it’s Pride month! Although, it’s slightly late. Happy Pride everyone!
Here is a translation of the comic.
Notes:
시키* is a much cuter and softer version of the curse word 새끼 (bastard). It’s something we use with each other, but I don’t use it with anyone else. Swear words should always be used with caution. ^^
*간지러 is used instead of 간지러워 (간지럽다 to be itchy, ticklish). Sometimes words ending in “럽다” are shortened like this, especially the faster you want to get the words out. It’s technically incorrect, but you’ll hear it. For example, sometimes you hear 시끄러! instead of 시끄러워 (시끄럽다 to be loud, noisy).
Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good summer so far!
Hi guys~ today’s post is a Korean 속담 (proverb, old saying).
백지장도 맞들면 낫다.
First, let’s break it down.
백지장 white paper / 도 also, too / 맞들다 to lift up something together / (으)면 “if/when” grammar / 낫다 to be better
You could literally translate it as “It’s better if you lift up even a sheet of paper together.”/ “If you lift up a white sheet of paper together, it’s better.”
It’s similar to “many hands make light work” or “two heads are better than one.”
A piece of paper is incredibly light, but even something that light is easier to lift if two people do it together. So, this is an expression about working together to make a task easier. Here are some examples of how to use it.
(If someone is telling you you don’t have to help) 아냐 아냐 나도 도와줄게. 백지장도 맞들면 낫잖아! No, no. I’ll help you (too). Many hands make light work, you know.
백지장도 맞들면 낫다고 제가 도와드릴게요. They say many hands make light work; I’ll help you.
왜 혼자서 하려고 그래? 백지장도 맞들면 낫다는 말도 있잖아. 같이 하자. Why are you trying to do it yourself? They say many hands make light work. (Lit: You know there is an expression/words “many hands make light work.”) Let’s do it together.
Hi guys~ I’ve mentioned before that learning hanja is a great way to expand your vocabulary and also to understand vocabulary on a deeper level. Today, I have two different hanja that are used to represent the word “사람” or “person.”
The first one is 사람 인 人.
인간 human / 타인 other person, stranger / 성인 (adult person) adult
인재 talented person (재 for 소질 talent, aptitude for / 재능 talent)
한국인 Korean (person) / 외국인 foreign person / 인구 (인 person, 구 mouth - like the number of mouths to feed) population / 애인 (애 love, 인 person) lover, boy/girlfriend
If you remember learning 힘 력 力 (power), then you can use that to understand the word 인력 人力 (manpower). It’s often seen in the work force as 인력 필요하다 to need people to work/manpower.
There is also 사람 자 者.
부자 rich person *So in the picture with the lipstick, the person says “이 립스틱이 십만원이라고? 싸네…더 비싼 걸 보여 주세요. This lipstick is 100,000 won? (about 100 US dollars) That’s cheap…please show me a more expensive one.
환자 patient / 소비자 consumer / 피해자 victim / 노동자 (노동 labor 자 person) laborer
희생자 victim (“희생 sacrifice 자 person”) / 기자 newspaper journalist
약자 weak person (typically used to refer to women, children, and the elderly)
범죄자 (crime person) criminal / (비)흡연자 (non)smoker (lit: (비 not) 흡 taking in/drinking 연 smoke 자 person)
Don’t worry about the difference between 사람 인 and 사람 자. These are just the hanja that appear in vocabulary words. There is no “difference,” but you cannot change them. It’s impossible to change 한국인 to 한국자. You have to use 한국인.
Good luck studying everyone! Follow me for more Korean lessons.
(으)면 좋겠다 is a power grammar point. It’s at the (lower) intermediate level, but it’s used all the time. It’s a core grammar point in my opinion, and you definitely need to master it.
(으)면 좋겠다 is attached to both verbs and adjectives to express one’s wishes or hopes. Many beginner students try to say “I wish/hope” by translating the word to 소원을 빌다/희망하다/바라다 or the grammar point -기를 바라다. And while they aren’t exactly wrong, it’s really easy to use them awkwardly or incorrectly in everyday situations.
And that’s why, I’d like to introduce (으)면 좋겠다. It uses (으)면 “if” and 좋겠다 “would be nice” to mean “I wish” or “I hope,” even though “wish” and “hope” aren’t always interchangeable in English. This grammar point can be used to express both. It literally expresses “I would be nice if…” One of the interesting parts of this grammar point is that context is super important when translating it. It can be used in a lot of situations unlike the English words “wish” or “hope” which have more distinguished differences.
And if you already learned (으)면 “if/when,” then you already know how to conjugate it! Words ending with a consonant use -으면 좋겠다, and words ending with no consonant use -면 좋겠다.
Verbs/Adjectives
하다 —> 하면 좋겠다 vs. 먹다 —> 먹으면 좋겠다
크다 —> 크면 좋겠다 vs. 없다 —> 없으면 좋겠다
Here are some examples.
내일 시험을 잘 보면 좋겠어요. I hope I do well on the test tomorrow. (시험을 잘 보다 - to take a test well, do well on a test)
전 여자 친구가 앞으로 나랑 연락을 안 하면 좋겠어. I hope my ex-girlfriend doesn’t contact me anymore.
둘이 항상 싸우더라고…헤어지면 좋겠어 Those two always fight…I wish they’d break up.
오늘 비가 오면 좋겠어요. I hope it rains today./It’d be nice if it rains today.
It’s also common to see this grammar used in the past tense, 았/었/였으면 좋겠다. I would actually argue that it’s more common to see it in the past tense (in my experience that is). Luckily, its core meaning doesn’t change. Textbooks are a bit hazy on the difference between the two. But some books say it’s just a little bit stronger. Think of it as a little more emphasis on your wish. (Just remember that this form is used a bit more. And the difference is really arbitrary in regards to its usage.)
너는…그런 말을 안 했으면 좋겠어. 너는 예쁘잖아. I wish you wouldn’t say that (words like that). You’re pretty…
A 아이돌이 나랑 사랑에 빠졌으면 좋겠다~ I wish idol A would fall in love with me.
내 생일 파티에 왔으면 좋겠어요. I hope you come to my birthday party./I wish you would come to my birthday party./It’d be great if you came to my birthday party.
좋은 대학교에 합격했으면 좋겠어. I hope I get accepted into a good school.
걔가 좀 조용했으면 좋겠어. I wish he would be quiet. (*note: this is not a nice thing to say~^^)
It can also be used with the copula 이다 and 아니다.
올해 우리 선생님이 남자였으면(남자면) 좋겠어. I hope our teacher is a man this year.
올해 우리 선생님이 남자가 아니었으면(아니면) 좋겠어. I hope our teacher isn’t a man this year.
You can also use (으)면 하다 instead of (으)면 좋겠다. (으)면 하다 tends to be used more often in formal speech. But the meaning remains the same.
*Note: (으)면 하다 can be used in casual speech, but (으)면 좋겠다 isn’t really used in formal speech.
여러분, 이 발표를 재미있게 보셨으면 합니다. Everyone, I hope you all enjoy this powerpoint.
주연 씨는 좀 더 일찍 수업에 오셨으면 해요. Miss Juyeon, I wish you would come to class a little bit earlier.
(이웃에게) 죄송한데요. 저희 아들이 강아지 털 알레르기가 있거든요. 그래서 강아지랑 놀지 않았으면 해요. (To a neighbor) I’m sorry. You see, our son has a dog fur allergy. So, I hope he doesn’t play with the dog. (And in context, that would equal~ I hope you don’t let him play with the dog.)
Let me know if you have any questions.
Good luck studying everyone! Follow me for more lessons and tips~
어떤 사생팬이 A 아이돌 그룹의 기숙사에 몰래 들어가서 B의 팬티를 훔쳤대! Some stalker fan snuck into A idol’s dorm and stole B’s underwear.
미친…제정신이 아닌가 봐. No f**king way…they’re out of their mind.
Notes
*사생팬
사생(활) is one’s private life. And 팬 is the English loan word for “fan” of an artist or something. Together 사생팬 describes a fan that invades the private life of a star or artist (often to an unbelievable degree) (사생팬: 유명한 사람의 사생활을 침해하는 팬). And with Kpop as crazy as it can be, sometimes fans do unacceptable things like sneaking into a famous celebrities house or stalking them. They can be described as a 사생팬.
*훔쳤대 Someone said someone stole (something)/I heard that someone stole (something)
(V-ㄴ/는대(요) or A-대(요)) is the contracted form of ㄴ/는다고 해(요) and 다고 해(요). This grammar point is for conveying speech that one heard from someone else.
For example:
My mom says it’s okay. 엄마는 괜찮대. (엄마는 괜찮다고 해/했어.)
My sister says she isn’t going. 언니는 안 간대요. (언니는 안 간다고 해요/했어요.)
This contracted form is used all the time in casual speech since it’s shorter. It can be used in the past tense 댔어(요), but it’s used in the present more often. It’s the difference between “My mom says it’s okay” and “My mom said it’s okay.” There really isn’t a huge difference in the message you want to convey.
*팬티
The English loan word panty (팬티) can be used for anyone’s underwear regardless of age or gender. I don’t know about other countries, but I had never heard panty used for underwear that wasn’t for adult women. So, I was a little surprised when I first heard it used for men’s underwear.
*미친
미치다 means to be crazy. And 미친 can be used as an abbreviated way to say that’s crazy/insane or respond to something like “no f–ing way” or “holy shit.” (미쳤다, 미친 사건, 미친 새끼) I’m not quite sure how this abbreviated form came to be, but it’s really common. *I would also like to mention here that 미치다 “to be crazy” is quite a bit more negative in Korean than it is in English. It’s used a lot more often as a curse. It’s can be used lightly among friends, but you should be quite close, as the nuance or intonation could hurt someone’s feelings.
*제정신
제정신 is one’s “right mind.” So, 제정신 아니다 would mean “to not be in one’s right mind.” So, if someone does something that’s kind of crazy or unacceptable, you might be able to use this word. 그 사람이 경찰 앞에서 물건을 훔쳤다고요? 제정신이 아닌가 봐요. (You’re saying) that person stole something right in front of the cops? They’re out of their mind.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you have any questions!
It’s been a while since my last post, but I’m going to get back into the rhythm of things!
Hi guys! Today’s post is about worries–more specifically three words that get translated to “worry” but are not the same.
고민 and 걱정 are two words that always confuse beginner Korean learners and even intermediate students.
고민 is a worry or trouble, but it’s typically used when you’re trying to make a decision. When you need to make a decision, you tend to worry about it, right? It’s also typically a decision that you can’t make right away, so it might cause you discomfort, which is why it’s translated to “a trouble.” It gets used in serious situations or lightly, like when choosing what to eat or wear.
Like the picture, 딸기를 먹을까 포도를 먹을까…고민되네. Should I eat some strawberries? or should I eat some grapes? I’ve gotta think about it.
I typically translate 고민되다 to “thinking about” something in light situations because that’s what is happening. English would not typically use the word “worry” when deciding what fruit to eat (at least in my experience).
걱정 on the other hand is a bit more serious than 고민. It’s normally something that’s causing discomfort or panic in some sense (severe or not). I think it’s more in line with the English definition of “worry.”
Like the worried girl in the picture, 연락이 안 돼서 걱정했잖아! I was worried because you didn’t answer my message(s). (연락이 안 되다 - to not be able to get in touch/contact with someone)
So, if you are worried about not being accepted into college, that’s a 걱정. If you’re trying to decide which college to go to, that’s a 고민.
Usage:
Both 고민 and 걱정 can be used with the verbs 하다 and 되다.
고민/걱정하다 is used to refer to something that you are actively thinking/worrying about. It’s also used in active constructions like 해야 하다 “have to” or 하지 마 “don’t” do something.
고민/걱정되다 is used to refer to more passive worries or something that is worrisome, but usually not keeping you up at night.
They can also both be used as nouns(고민이다/걱정이다) to say “this is a worry.”
*Note the following are not direct translations. (I usually try to balance them, but I decided to go with mostly natural translations for this to demonstrate their differences.)
뭐 먹을까? 고민되네. What should we eat? Gotta think about it…
고민하지 말고 결정해! Don’t think/worry about it and just decide.
내일 도서관에 갈까 말까 고민이야. I’m thinking about whether I should go to the library tomorrow or not.
그 여자랑 사귈까 말까 많이 고민했는데…안 만나는 것이 나을 것 같아요. I considered(thought about) whether I should date her or not a lot…and I think it would be better not to meet her.
—————————————————————
오늘도 많이 안 먹었어? 걱정되네. 무슨 일 있어? You didn’t eat a lot today either? That’s worrisome. (I’m getting worried) Is anything going on?
어제 연락이 없어 가지고 걱정했거든! 무슨 일 생긴 줄 알았어. I didn’t hear from you yesterday, so I worried, you know! I thought something happened.
걱정하지 마. 괜찮을 거 야. Don’t worry. It will be okay.
우려 is our last “worry.” Luckily, you don’t have to worry about 우려 too much, because it’s quite advanced, but I wanted to add it to balance these words. 우려 means “worry,” but it’s used in formal situations (presentations, news etc). It’s often used as 우려가 되다/우려가 있다 and 우려의 목소리가 크다/우려하는 목소리가 크다 (the voices of worry are big/the voices expressing worry are big –which means that a lot of people have expressed being worried about a certain topic).
Like in the picture, someone is giving a presentation with the title “멸종된 동물 증가” (extinct animals increase). He would probably use the word 우려 during his presentation instead of 걱정.
Here are some examples, but please don’t worry if they’re hard to read. These are the kinds of sentences that might be seen in news papers.
과학자들이 지구 온난화에 대한 우려의 목소리를 내고 있다. Scientists are voicing their concerns about global warming.
물가 상승이 우려된다. The rising cost of living is worrisome.
물가가 계속 올라가서 시민들이 우려하고 있다. Citizens are worried because the cost of living keeps going up.
I hope you guys are having a nice weekend without any worries.
There are many translations within Squid Game which don’t do justice to the original script, and this is one of the most significant for me. After the first game, where the players have realised that losing the game results in their death, player 271 steps forward and pleas ‘우리가 빚을 졌지, 죽을죄를 지은 건 아니잖아요!’ There are two significant phrases here, the first being 빚을 지다 (to be in debt), and the other 죽을 죄를 지었습니다, which has many connotations attached to it.
Firstly, focusing on 죽을 죄를 지었습니다, this is likely a phrase which you have heard before even if you don’t recognise it. 죽을 죄 means unforgiveable sin/crime, and 지었습니다 means to commit. This is a common phrase in historical dramas where someone has to bow down to a member of the royal family or a army general to express their guilt at their actions in the hope of a lenient sentence (even if they’ve done nothing wrong). Someone of a lower class or place within society may also be forced to say it by someone above them as a way to demonstrate power and ‘put them in their place’.
If we look at the phrase as a whole, then, we have ‘yes, we’re in debt, but we haven’t committed some unforgiveable sin/crime. You know that.’ Whilst the translation in the subtitle is similar (we may be in debt, but that doesn’t mean we deserve to die), I feel that this translation points more towards the games being unfair and immoral, rather than the writers’ intention of highlighting the players as good people. Yes, some of the players, such as Jang Deok-su have committed crimes, and are in debt due to their own immoral lifestyles, but many are just unfortunate victims of an unjust society. Seong Gi-hun is an example of this. His character provides a reference to the real-life 2009 Ssangyong Motor strike, where nearly 2,600 workers who occupied the plant for seventy-seven days to protest layoffs were violently beaten down by police. Many of these protestors went to jail, which may be the reason that Gi-hun struggles to find and hold down a good job. As a result, he is desperate for money, especially since he wants to give his daughter expensive gifts. He gambles, and this causes his debt. Ultimately, Gi-hun did nothing wrong. He is a victim of his circumstances, and this is what the writers wanted to highlight - that almost all of the players are unfortunate victims of society, who are victimised yet again through the games. Therefore, ‘we haven’t committed some unforgiveable crime/sin’ is much more fitting to me, even if it isn’t a very natural phrase in English. Maybe the subtitle translator should have gone with something like ‘yes, we’re in debt, but we were pushed into it through no fault of our own. Does that really mean that we deserve to die?’. This highlights the innocence of the players much more.
Themes of unjust society, and the widening of the income gap are incredibly important to Squid Game’s narrative. Some great articles to read to learn more about these themes can be found here:
If you’re planning on going to Korea for school or work. You will absolutely have to fill out Visa paperwork. This is the first section of all Visa paperwork, but are also common words you will see on other official documentation.
어휘 Vocabulary:
인적사항 | personal details
여권에 기재된 영문 성명 | full name as shown on passport in English
여권 | passport
기재된 | written/entered
영문 | English (written)
성명 | (full) name
성 | family name (last name)
명 | given name (first and middle names)
한자성명 | Chinese characters for your name (only relevant to people that have them)
성별 | gender
남성 | male
여성 | female
생년월일 | date of birth
국적 | nationality
출생국가 | country of birth
국가신분증번호 | national identity number (to my knowledge, its the equivalent of a social security number)
질문 Questions:
이전에 한국에 출입국하였을 때 다른 성명을 사용했는지 여부 | Have you ever used any other names to enter or depart from Korea?
이전(에)| previous(ly)
한국 | Korea
출입국 | enter and exit
다른 | different/another
사용 | use
여부 | basically means “whether or not”
복수 국적 여부 | Do you have multiple citizenships/nationalities?
복수 | plural/multiple
대답 Answers:
아니오 | no
예 | yes
‘예’ 선택 시 상세내용 기재 | if “yes” please write details
선택 | choice/choose
시| when
상세내용 | details of circumstance (i.e. other names used or names of countries where you have dual citizenship)
Numbers 1-10 (comparing Korean, Japanese, and Chinese)
I’ve noticed a lot of people have been studying “The Big Three” Asian languages simultaneously or consecutively, which is great! But it can get confusing. So I decided to make this post to help relate the languages to one another to ease the learning process a bit. I learned the languages in order: Korean, Japanese, Chinese. Korean helped me with some of the Japanese pronunciation, both with some numbers being the same, and the [l/r] sound English just doesn’t have. And then when I started learning Chinese, knowing the kanji from Japanese helped me remember the number characters, and Korean helped me remember some of the pronunciation.
Disclaimers:
Korean does use 2 counting systems, but I’ll only be showing Sino-Korean in this lesson
I don’t use romanization, but since this includes languages other people may still be learning/want to learn, I have included it here
Korean Through Song: Breathe by Lee Hi (Pt. 2 Vocab & Grammar)
어휘/문법 Vocab/Grammar
숨 | breath
크게 | dictionary form 크다 meaning to be big, the ~게 turns it into an adverb which might technically mean bigly, but given the context would use it as deeply since it makes sense and is an actual word
쉬어봐요 | dictionary form 쉬어보다 meaning to try to breathe. 쉬다 means to breathe by itself and adding ~아/어 보다 to the end of a verb gives the meaning of to try to do x.
당신 | you. (Formal) because it’s a song it’s a formal/general you that you don’t use very often in korean at all. Calling someone by their name and/or title is preferred if a pronoun is necessary
가슴 | chest
양쪽 | both sides
저리게 | dictionary form 저리다 meaning to be numb
조금 | a little
아파올 때까지 | until it hurts. Dictionary form 아프다 is to be sick/hurt added with 오다 which means to come makes 아파오다 meaning something along the lines of for pain to come out (start hurting?). ~ㄹ 때 is a grammar form meaning when and ~까지 in this context has the meaning of until
더 | more
뱉어봐요 | dictionary form 뱉어보다 to try to spit out. 뱉다 alone is spit out, but in this context means breathe out/get your breath out
안에 | inside
남은 게 없다고 | nothing left. 남은 게 is short for 남은 것이. 남다 to be left over. 없다 is to not have/not exist. ~은 게 is a way to let you conjugate the verb so you know what doesn’t exist
느껴질 때까지 | until you feel it. dictionary form 느끼다 to feel, ~어/아 지다 is a way to say something becomes something. Essentially until you feel it in this case. ㄹ 때까지 is same as earlier grammar
숨이 벅차올라도 괜찮아요 | it’s okay even if you’re out of breath. Dictionary form 벅차오르다 in this context is to be out of. But I feel like overflowing is more accurate? ~아/어도 has the grammar meaning of even if. Dictionary form 괜찮다 to be okay
아무도 | nobody. In order to use this, the sentence has to be negative (i.e. ~않다)
그댈 | you. This is in generally a more poetic way to say it and doesn’t really get used often. 그대 is you and the added ㄹ is short for object marker 를
탓하진 않아 | dictionary form 탓하다 to blame, so together with ~지 않다 means to not, so to not blame. ~진 않다 is a little more complicated. 진 is short for 지는, where 는 is a topic marker. It’s basically adding extra emphasis that a negative fact/thought/statement is actually different from what you expected. Here it was you expecting that everyone blames you, but they actually don’t
가끔 | sometimes
실수해도 돼 | can make mistakes. Dictionary form 실수하다 to make mistakes. ~아/어도 되다 is a grammar meaning “can” but more in the permission way. Like you’re allowed to make mistakes. You may mistakes.
누구든 | anyone. Short for 누구든지
그랬으니까 | dictionary form 그러다 to be like that. ~으니까 grammar form meaning because. 그랬어 would be past tense regular conjugation
말 | words
~뿐인 | grammar form meaning just ~ (for nouns)
위로지만 | 위로 is comfort/condolence. ~지만 means but
누군가의 | somebody/someone’s. 의 is the ’s
한숨 | sigh
무거운 | Dictionary form 무겁다 to be heavy
어떻게 | how
헤아릴 수가 있을까요 | can understand that. 헤아라다 in this context means to like try to understand. Like comprehend/relate to/guess. ~ㄹ 수가 있다 grammar form meaning can/to be able to. ~을까 is a question form. She’s partially asking herself and partially asking about the possibility of understanding
이해할 순 없겠지만 | can’t understand. Dictionary form 이해하다 to understand (in the literal sense of I understand this) ㄹ 수 없다 can’t
안아줄게요 | I’ll hold you. Dictionary form 안다 to hold + 주다 to do for someone/give
남들 | others
눈에 | in (someone’s) eyes
힘 | strength/energy
빠지는 | dictionary form 빠지다 to fall out/deflate/release
보일진 몰라도 | might be seen. Dictionary form 보이다 to be seen. ~ㄹ진 몰라도 where ㄹ is future tense, 지 모르다 is grammar for might, ㄴ is the same as the ㄴ in 진 않다 that adds emphasis, and 도 is once again meaning even if
작은 | dictionary form 작다 to be small
내뱉기도 | spit out, breath out. Dictionary for 내뱉다. ~기도 meaning even
어려운 | dictionary form 어렵다 to be difficult
하루 | a day (24 hours/within a full day)
보냈단 걸 | in context of the phrase, had. Dictionary for 보내다 to spend time x, 보냈다 would be past tense. 단 걸 is short for 다는 것을 which means something like the fact that
이제 | now
다른 | Dictionary form 다르다 to be different
생각 | thought(s)
마요 | dictionary form 말다 to not/to stop
깊이 | Dictionary form 깊다 to be deep
그대로 | as it is/like that
정말 | really
수고했어요 | did well/worked hard/put in effort. Dictionary form 수고하다
Korean Through Song: Breathe by Lee Hi (Pt. 1 Translations)
note: some of the lines don’t translate directly well and others don’t work well line by line since Korean and English grammar have different word orders. I’ll go into more detail in part 2 with vocabulary and grammar
