으 ending Words Posted by Ginny on Jan 13, 2010
With a verb like 쓰다 (to write, to use) the standard polite conjugation will be 써요 in the present tense. To form the standard polite ending of 으 ending verbs, drop the 다, like the 다 in 쓰다 and change the 으 vowel in 쓰다 to an 어 vowel. Now try conjugating the adjective 크다…
Special Honorific Words Posted by Ginny on Jan 10, 2010
There are certain verbs that look unrecognizable in the honorific. Take the verb 먹다 (to eat). In the honorific polite it would be 잡수세요 or 드세요. Just be careful about when to use 잡수세요 and 드세요. The two aren’t always interchangeable. When it comes to solid foods like rice both 잡수세요 and 드세요 will work. However…
Modern Korean Weddings Posted by Ginny on Jan 7, 2010
Modern Korean weddings are much like Western weddings, in that the bride wears a fancy white dress, and the groom wears a black suit. However, modern Korean weddings are traditional in the sense that the close relatives of the bride and goom who are female, wear a 한복. The mother of the groom wears a…
Korean Soups Posted by Ginny on Jan 4, 2010
As a new year rolls in, how about trying something adventurous with your palate? Korean stews are delicious and hearty. Those of you who’ve tried different kinds of Korean stew know what I’m talking about! 삼계탕 is a Korean version of chicken soup. The entire chicken is boiled in a broth consisting of ginseng, dates…
Korean Mythology Posted by Ginny on Dec 31, 2009
Today we’ll look at some Korean mythology. The first story has to do with the beginnings of mankind. A long time ago, a man named 지수 was starving from a famine that raged the entire countryside. To relieve his hunger, 지수 decided to climb a tall cliff to jump off of it and die. Before he was about to jump off, he…
Honorific Deferential Posted by Ginny on Dec 28, 2009
In the last post we looked over the honorific polite and the honorific polite in the past tense. In today’s post we’ll take a look at the honorific deferential and the honorific deferential in the past tense. With a 하다 ending verb like 사랑하다 (to love), the honorific deferential would be 사랑하십니다 and 사랑하십니까 in…
Honorific Polite Posted by Ginny on Dec 25, 2009
As you know, there are different levels of politeness in Korean. We’re going to take a step further to explore the honorific polite. The honorific polite is politer than the standard polite. The standard polite ending is just 요. So the verb 사다 (to buy) in the standard polite is 사요. However, the honorific polite…