Korean for Dummies (14 page)

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Check out the different terms and note when to use each:

annyeonghi gyeseyo
(
An-young-hee gye-sae-yo;
goodbye when you are the person leaving,
Literally:
stay well): Use these phrases with seniors and peers when you’re leaving and your friend is staying where she is.

This is the most common
good bye
used in Korean.

annyeonghi gaseyo
(
An-young-hee ga-sae-yo;
goodbye when you are the person staying,
Literally:
go well): Use these phrases when you are the person staying and your friend is the person leaving the place. This is the most common
goodbye
used in Korean.

jal isseyo
(
jal-ee-ssuh-yo;
goodbye,
Literally:
stay well): Use this phrase with juniors and peers when you’re leaving and your friend is staying

where he is.

jal gaseyo
(
jal-ga-se-yo;
goodbye,
Literally:
go well): Use this phrase as your friend or people who are junior leaves a place where you’re staying.

Korean also has some common goodbyes that you can use whether or not

you’re staying or going. You can use the following in almost any situation:

daeume tto bwayo
(
da-eum-ae tto bwa-yo;
see you again next time): Use this phrase if you want to meet the person again next time. Can be used to people both senior and junior than you.

annyeonghi jumuseyo
(
an-young-hi joo-mu-sae-yo;
good night,
Literally:
sleep well): This phrase is usually used to people you want to respect is sleeping at the same place as you or if you are talking to them on the phone and it’s time to sleep. These phrases cannot be used casually as ‘good night’ in English, which can be used even if the person is not

sleeping at the same house. For example, your parents, in-laws.

jaljayo
(
jal-ja-yo;
good night,
Literally:
sleep well): Use this phrase if people younger than you is sleeping at the same place as you or if you are on the phone with them and it’s bed time. For example, your son or daughter in law.

sugohaseyo
(
su-go-ha-sae-yo;
keep up the good work): This phrase can be used to encourage people at any time. Can be used with people senior or junior than you.

Talkin’ the Talk

Danny approaches Megan at a bar and, unfortunately, Megan feels

a strong urge to leave.

Danny:

chum chusillaeyo?

choom choo-shil-lae-yo?

Do you want to dance?

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Megan:

joesonghaeyo. jigeum gayahaeyo.

jwae-song-hae-yo jee-geum ga-ya-hae-yo

I’m sorry. I have to go now.

Danny:

geureom . . . jeonhwabeonhorado?

geu-rum . . . juhn-hwa-bun-ho-ra-do?

Then . . . your number?

Megan:

mianhaeyo, jeonbeonhoga eopseoyo.

mi-an-hae-yo, juhn-hwa-bun-ho-ga uhp-ssuh-yo

I’m sorry. I don’t have a telephone number.

Danny:

ye?

ye?

Yes? (actually closer to Huh?)

Megan:

annyeonghi gaeseyo.

an-young-hee gae-sae-yo

Goodnight.

Words to Know

bam

bam

Night

chum

choom

Fance

daeume

da-eum-ae

Next time

gidaryeoyo

gi-da-ryo-yo

To wait

jam

jam

Sleep

jeonhwabeonho

jeonhwa-bun-ho

Phone number

jip

jeeb

House

nat

nat

Day

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Fun & Games

Fill in the blanks with equivalent English words:

1. annyeonghaseyo (an-young-ha-sae-yo)

____________________________________________________________________

2. gamsahamnida (gam-sa-ham-ni-da)

____________________________________________________________________

3. joesonghamnida (jwae-song-ham-ni-da)

____________________________________________________________________

4. sillyehamnida (shil-lae-ham-ni-da)

____________________________________________________________________

5. ireum (ee-rum)

____________________________________________________________________

6. eomeoni (uh-muh-ni)

____________________________________________________________________

7. abeoji (a-buh-ji)

____________________________________________________________________

8. gajok (ga-jok)

____________________________________________________________________

9. seonsaengnim (sun-saeng-nim)

____________________________________________________________________

10. byeonhosa (byun-ho-sa)

____________________________________________________________________

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In this part . . .

Sure, you can learn all there is to know about conjugating verbs, distinguishing nouns from adjectives, as

well as sentence construction in Korean. But what about

everyday life? How can you communicate with your

Korean friends or make Korean friends? Look through this

part to find information and expressions that you can use

with your friends.

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Making Small Talk

In This Chapter

Conversing about nationality, languages, and current residence

Talking about the weather, work, and family

Giving out — and getting — contact information

Breaking the ice with a little
daehwa
(
dae-hwa;
conversation), in any language, helps you get to know people better and lays down the
cheotgeo-reum
(
chut-guh-reum;
first steps) for future friendships. Small talk makes great practice for conversation because the topics for conversation are usually predictable. If you want to know how to use Korean to find out where another person is from and discover a little more about their
gajok
(
ga-jok;
family), read on.

Chapter 3 shows you how to break the
eoreum
(
uh-reum;
ice) and introduce yourself, and in this chapter, I will show you how to carry the conversation further. Remember that I will be using the informal polite form of Korean language in this book. However, I may use formal polite forms from time to time in some situations, where more formality is required. I hope that by going over this chapter, you will be a little more familiar and comfortable with speaking in Korean.

Asking Questions with Essential

Words and Formal Usages

Certain words and questions are essential for small talk in Korean, and you need to familiarize yourself with them to converse effectively:
nugu
(
noo-goo;
Who)?
museun
(
moo-seun;
What)?
eonje
(
un-jae;
When)?
eodi
(
uh-dee;
Where)?

eotteoke
(
uh-ttuh-kkae;
How)? Take some time to become familiar with the Korean forms of these words before moving on to make small talk:

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mueot
(
moo-ut;
What)

mwo
(
mwo;
What
;
shorter version of
mueot
)
mwo
is shortened version of
mueot.
These two words are interchangeable, although
mueot
can sound a little more formal than
mwo.

eolmadongan
(
ul-ma-dong-an;
How long: used to define period of time)
eolmana
(
ul-ma-da;
How long: shortened version of
eolmadongan
)
eolmana
is shortened version of
eolmadongan.
These two words are interchangeable, although
eolmadongan
can sound a little more formal than
eolmana.

Here are few examples of sentences using basic question words.

nuguseyo?
(
noo-goo-sae-yo;
Who are you?)

igeoseun mueosieyo?
(
ee-guh-seun moo-us-ee-ae-yo;
What is this?)
igeoseun mwoeyo?
(
ee-guh-seun mwo-ae-yo;
What is this?)
myeot sieyo?
(
myuht-shi-ae-yo;
What time is it?)
eoneujjogeuro gaya haeyo?
(
uh-neu-jjo-geu-ro ga-ya-hae-yo;
Which way do I go?)

eonje mannalkkayo?
(
un-jae man-nal-kka-yo;
When should we meet?)
hwajangsiri eodieyo?
(
hwajang-shil-ee uh-dee-ae-yo;
Where is the bathroom?)

agiga wae ureoyo?
(
a-gi-ga whae-oo-ruh-yo;
Why is the baby crying?)
eolmadongan gidaryeoya haeyo?
(
ul-ma-dong-an gi-da-ryuh-ya hae-yo;
How long should I wait?)

eolmana gidaryeoya haeyo?
(
ul-ma-na gee-da-ryuh-ya hae-yo;
How long should I wait?)

geogireul eotteoke gayo?
(
guh-gee-reul uh-ttuh-kkae ga-yo;
How do I get there?)

igeoseul eolmaeyo?
(
ee-guh-seun ul-ma-ae-yo;
How much is this?) When you are speaking in Korean, it is perfectly okay to ask the
hanguk
saram
(
han-goog sa-ram;
Korean person) to
doepiri
(
dwae-poo-ree;
repeat) themselves if you did not
ihae
(
ee-hae;
understand) what they were saying.

They’ll be glad to help. Handy phrases to learn while you’re learning Korean for the first time are as follow:

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Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk

73

cheoncheonhi malsseumhae juseyo?
(
chun-chun-hee malsseum-hae
joo-sae-yo;
Speak slowly please?)

hanbeonman deo malsseumhae juseyo?
(
han-bun-man duh malsseumhae joo-sae-yo;
Please tell me once more?)

jal moreugeseoyo>
(
jal-mo-reu-get-ssuh-yo;
I’m not sure?)
mollayo?
(
mol-la-yo;
I don’t know?)

“Where Are You From?”

After you
kkeunnae
(
kkeunnae;
finish) introductions (see Chapter 3), people tend to first ask where you’re from and what
gukjeok
(
gook-juhk;
nationality) you are. Are you from Korea? America? Canada?

If you want to ask where someone is from, ask using the following sentence:
eodieseo osyeoseoyo?
(
uh-dee-ae-suh oo-syut-ssuh-yo;
Where are you from?)

The usual
daedap
(
dae-dap;
answer) to this question would be something like:

jeuneun . . . eseo waseoyo.
(
juh-neun [your country] ae-suh wa-ssuh-yo;
I’m from [your country].)

If you want to ask someone whether she’s from a particular
nara
(
na-ra;
country), you can ask:

eoneu naraeseo osyeoseoyo?
(
uh-neu-na-ra-ae-suh oo-syut-ssuh-yo;
Which country are you from?)

When someone asks whether you’re from a particular country, you can

answer “Yes, I’m from [country]” or “No, I’m from [country].”

Ye, jeoneun [country] eseo waseoyo.
(
ye, juh-neun, [country] ae-suh waseoyo;
Yes, I’m from [country].)

Aniyo, jeoneun [country] eseo waseoyo.
(
a-ni-yo, juh-neun, [country] ae-suh wa-seo-yo;
No, I’m from [country].)

Table 4-1 contains a short list of countries and their names in Korean.

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Table 4-1

Country Names

Korean Name and Pronunciation

English Name

dogil
(do-gil)

Germany

gana
(ga-na)

Ghana

hoju
(ho-joo)

Australia

ilbon
(il-bon)

Japan

indo
(in-do)

India

itaeri
(ee-tae-ree)

Italy

jungguk
(joong-goog)

China

kaenada
(kae-na-da)