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Simple Sentences Posted by Ginny on Aug 7, 2009
Remember the last post on subject marking particles? We’re gonna use them today, so get ready! Before we do that, let’s review a couple things. First, how do you conjugate verbs into the deferential polite? For regular verbs, just add ㅂ니다 (we’ll do irregular verbs at another time). For the verb ‘to sleep’, which is jada…
Subject Marking Particles Posted by Ginny on Aug 4, 2009
There are two particles to mark the subject of a sentence in Korean. Whether you use one or the other will depend on whether the word ends in a vowel or a consonant. Let’s first tackle words that end in a vowel. The proper noun minji (민지) ends in a vowel (minji is a girl’s…
Constitution Day Posted by Ginny on Aug 1, 2009
Last month South Korea celebrated Constitution Day. Constitution Day in Korean is Jehunjul (제헌절). This national holiday celebrates the South Korean Constitution. The South Korean constitution was first drafted in 1948, but there have been revisions to the constitution ever since. The South Korean constitution lays out a basic framework for the Korean government and lists…
Animal Names Posted by Ginny on Jul 28, 2009
I was helping my cousin with his home-made Korean language flash cards and I noticed he didn’t have a list for animals. This is more for him, but I hope it will benefit you as well. bear – (곰) gom elephant – (코끼리) kkoggiri tiger – (호랑이) horangi giraffe – (기린) girin monkey – (원숭이)…
General Guidelines for Korean Counters Posted by Ginny on Jul 25, 2009
Counters that use Sino Korean numbers tend to be counters that measure a unit of time. For example, the Korean counter months is wol (월). Ex: January is ilwol (일월). Counters that use Native Korean numbers tend to be counters that measure an amount of time that has passed. For example, the Native Korean counter for…
Hangover Soup Posted by Ginny on Jul 22, 2009
In Korea, the common cure for a hangover is Hejangguk (해장국). Hejangguk (해장국) can be made in different ways. The people of Seoul have a tendency to mix together denjang (된장) or soybean paste with kongnamul (콩나물) or sprouts, mu (무) or radish, bechu (배추) or cabbage, junbok (전복) or abalone, and kumbulgunsek (검붉은색) or…
Korean Surnames Posted by Ginny on Jul 19, 2009
Have you ever wondered what Korean surnames sound like? You may have see some of them below. Some of them are very common, and some are not. On official documents like birth/marriage/divorce certificates, it’s typical to see the surname in Chinese characters. How many have you seen before? Kim (김) (金) Park/Bak (박) (樸) Lee/Yi (이)…