Potential Vs. Knowing How to Do Something Posted by Ginny on Apr 5, 2010
To state that you can do something or have the potential to so something, use the ~(으) ㄹ 수 있다 construction : 집을 지을 수 있어요 = I can build a house (집 = house. 을 = object marking particle. 지을 수 있어요 = can build) (짓다 = to build) Compare the above sentence with…
ㅎ Ending Words Posted by Ginny on Apr 2, 2010
A lot of color words have the ㅎ ending. For example, 빨갛다 (red) falls in this category. There are other words that are not color words that have a ㅎ ending. 그렇다 (to be in that way, to be like that) is another example In the standard polite present tense form 그렇다 will be 그래요. Drop…
Korean Tea Ceremony Posted by Ginny on Mar 31, 2010
The Korean tea ceremony is called 다례. The purpose of the ceremony is to create a relaxing atmosphere for conversing and enjoying tea. A normal tea ceremony includes a host and guests. The host heats the tea, and while the tea is heating, small talk is made. The Korean tea ceremony has been greatly influenced…
The Imperative Posted by Ginny on Mar 28, 2010
To form the polite imperative, just use the honorific polite form of the verb. 도우세요! = Please help! (돕다 = to help) To give the impression of urgency, place 어서 in front of the verb. 어서 가세요! = Please leave! (어서 = gives sense of urgency. 가다 = to go) Other adverbs can be placed…
Korean Numbers 1-100 Posted by Ginny on Mar 25, 2010
I know we’ve already gone over the numbers, but I made this chart of Korean numbers 1 – 100 so that you could compare the native Korean numbers along with the Sino Korean numbers. Just for good measure, I threw in zero as well. 🙂 If you’re new to learning Korean, check out our other…
Shopping Areas in Seoul Posted by Ginny on Mar 22, 2010
A lot of people know about areas like 남대문, 인사동, and 용산 (https://blogs.transparent.com/korean?s=nigh+market) within the Seoul area, but did you know that there are lots of other shopping venues within Seoul? For example, 명동 is a shopping district that is famous for its expensive retail shops. The Lotte Department Store (롯데백화점) is one of the…
Informal Korean Posted by Ginny on Mar 19, 2010
So far, we’ve explored ways to express ideas in formal Korean. Today we’ll learn a little about informal Korean. Just as a reminder, informal Korean should not be used with an elder or superior. In written communication, informal Korean is mostly used with friends through chatting and email, but remember no informal Korean with bosses…