Today, you are gonna learn about basic sentence particles in Korean that are essential to make sentences!
In this part, you should study little bit harder because only after memorizing these, you can understand and make a lot of Korean sentences.
First of all, you should know that Korean sentence components are very different from Portuguese and English so it is better just to memorize rather than compare to your language. Ok?
1. Nominative pronouns
Korean has nominative pronouns like Portuguese and English.
I = 나[Na]
You = 너[Neo]/당신[Dang-sin] ; 당신 is a polite word for 너.
He = 그[Gue]
She = 그녀[Gue-nyeo]
We = 우리[Woo-li]
They = 그들[Gue-deul]
But, the problem is that you should add additional particles before you use these nominative pronouns.
The additional particles are..
English
I
You
He
She
We
They
Subjective
나는/내가
당신은
/당신이
너는/네가
그는/그가
그녀는
/그녀가
우리는
/우리가
그들은
/그들이
English
Me
You
Him
Her
Us
Them
Objective
나를
/나에게
너를/너에게
그를/그에게
그녀를
/그녀에게
우리를
/우리에게
그들을
/그들에게
English
My
You
His
Her
Our
Their
Possessive
나의
/내(나+의)
너의
/네(너+의)
그의
그녀의
우리의
그들의
* Examples
1) The subjective postpositonal particles
- "은[Eun]/는[Neun]/이[E]/가[Ga]"
은 is added after a pronoun ended with a consonant sound = ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅂ, ...
는 is added after a pronoun ended with a vowel sound = ㅏ,ㅔ,ㅣ,ㅗ,ㅜ...
Ex)
The pronoun, 나 is ended with "ㅏ". So you should put 는 after 나.
The pronoun, 그들 is ended with "ㄹ". So you should put 은 after 그들.
나는 안다. = I know . [Na-neun An-da].
너는 안다. = You know. [Neu-neun An-da], 당신은 안다. = You know [Dang-sin-eun An-da]
그는안다 = He knows
그녀는 안다 = She knows
우리는 안다 = We know
그들은 안다 = They know
2) The objective postpositional particles with the subjective postpositonal particles
- "을/를/에게"
을 is added after a pronoun with a consonant sound = ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅂ, ...
를 is added after a pronoun with a vowel sound = ㅏ,ㅔ,ㅣ,ㅗ,ㅜ...
을/를 are added after direct objectives
Ex)
The pronoun, 나 is ended with "ㅏ". So you should put 를 after 나.
The pronoun, 그들 is ended with "ㄹ". So you should put 을 after 그들.
The verbs accompanying direct objectives are "사랑하다=love", "좋아하다=like", "존경하다=respect", "이해하다=understand"..etc.
나는 너를 사랑한다. = I love you
나는 그를 사랑한다. = I love him
나는 그들을 존경한다. = I respect them
나는 그녀를 이해한다. = I understand her
에게 is added after all pronouns.
에게 is added after indirect objectives.
The verbs accompanying indirect objectives are "주다=give", "묻다=ask"..etc.
* These explanations are kind of intermediate level so you'd better just take a look at this moment. Otherwise, you might feel very overwhelmed and then hate learning Korean!!..haha :)
1. Subjective postpositional particles : 은/는/이/가
1) 은/는
-은/는
-은/는 is a topic particle that marks the topic in the sentence in order tell us what the sentence is about. -은 is used after the words that ends in a consonant(ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ....), and -는 is used after the words that ends in a vowel(ㅏ,ㅔ,ㅣ,ㅗ,ㅜ). Add -께서 before -은/는 for honorific expression (e.g. 어머니께서는).
Examples)
1. 벤은 강아지에요. As for Ben, (he) is a puppy. 2. 앤은 학생이에요. As for Ann, (she) is a student. 3. 사라는 제 친구예요. As for Sarah, (she) is my friend. 4. 오늘은 크리스마스예요. Today is Christmas. 5. 내일은 휴일이라서 문을 안 열어요. Tomorrow is closed because it's a holiday. (contrast)
-은/는 is also used to change the topic.
Examples)
1. 어디 갔었어? 시험은 어땠어? Where have you been? How was the exam? (Now the topic is the exam)
2. 그 아파트 어때? 가격은 얼마야? How’s the apartment? How much is it? (Now the topic is the price of the apartment)
3. 이 셔츠 얼마예요? 이 넥타이는요? How much is this shirt? How about this necktie? (Now the topic is the necktie)
When -은/는 is NOT in the beginning of the sentence, the sentence is used for comparing and contrasting.
Examples)
1. 연필은 있지만 볼펜은 없어. I have pencils, but I don't have pens.
2. 수지는 얼굴이 예뻐. Susie's face is pretty.
수지가 얼굴은 예뻐. (하지만 성격이 너무 나빠.) Susie's FACE is pretty. (but her personality is really bad.)
3. 그 식당은 음식이 맛있어. The restaurant’s food is delicious. 그 식당이 음식은 맛있어. (하지만 비싸) The restaurant’s FOOD is delicious. (but expensive)
To talk about the past information.
Examples)
1. 여행은 누구랑 갔어? Who did you travel with? 2. 이 책은 어디에서 찾았어? Where did you find this book? 3. 어제 잠은 몇 시에 잤어? What time did you go to bed yesterday?
When brining up a new topic to the conversation, -이/가 (marking the subject) is used for questioning, and -은/는 (marking the topic) is used for answering the question.
Examples)
1. 전공이 뭐예요? (major '전공' is the subject of the sentence) What is your major? 전공은 미술이에요. (the topic is changed to a major) (My) major is art.
2. 생일이 언제에요? (birthday '생일' is the subject of the sentence) When is your birthday? 생일은 9월 6일이에요. (the topic is changed to a birthday) My birthday is September 6th.
3. 취미가 뭐예요? (hobby '취미' is the subject of the sentence) What is your hobby? 취미는 기타 치는 거예요. (the topic is changed to a hobby) My hobby is playing a guitar.
2) 이/가
-이/가
-이/가 marks the subject in the sentence. -이 comes after a noun that ends in a consonant, and 가 comes after a noun that ends in a vowel.
Examples)
1. 마크가 운동을 한다. Mark does exercise.
마크(Mark) is the subject, and 운동(exercise) is the object.
2. 지갑이 없어졌다. (My) wallet is gone.
지갑(wallet) is the subject.
3. 수잔이 집에 있다. Susan is at home.
수잔(Susan) is the subject.
* What's the difference between -이/가 and -은/는?
To talk about new topics, use -이/가 at first, and then use -은/는.
Examples)
1. 나비가 하늘을 날아다닙니다. 나비는 꽃에 다가갔습니다.
The butterfly flies in the sky. It approached to flowers.
2. 저기 패트릭이 온다. There, Patrick comes.
-이/가 is for general statements, while 은/는 is for comparing statements.
Examples)
1. 하늘이 파랗다. The sky is blue. 2. 강아지가 짖는다. The puppy barks.
3. 하늘은 파랗다. (하지만 비가 온다.) The sky is blue. (But it rains) 4. 강아지는 짖는다. (하지만 고양이는 안짖는다.) The puppy barks. But the cat doesn't (bark).
-이/가's focus is the noun in front of the sentence, while -은/는 focuses the noun in the end.
Examples)
말리가 서점에 갔어요. Marley went to a book store. (The sentence is focused on Marley) 말리는 서점에 갔어요. Marley went to a book store. (The sentence is focused on a book store)
For endings -겠습니다, -으ㄹ까요, use -이/가.
Examples)
1. 제가 도와드리겠습니다. I will help (you). 2. 제가 먹을까요? Shall I eat (this)?
2. Objectvie postpositional particles : 을/를/에게
; 을/를 are for direct objectives. Ex) I loveyou= 나는 너를 사랑해.
; 에게 is for indirect objectives. Ex) I giveyoumy love = 나는 너에게나의 사랑을 준다.
1) 을/를
-을/를
을/를 is usually used to mark the direct object, which refers a noun that goes through the action indicated by the verb. When the following noun ends in a consonant, use 을. When the following noun ends in a vowel, use 를.
Examples)
1. 신문을 읽어요. (I) read the newspaper. 2. 텔레비전을 봐요. (I) watch a television. 3. 그는 사진을 찍어요. He takes pictures. 4. 그녀는 매트리스를 사요. She buys a mattress. 5. 스파게티를 먹어요. (I) eat spaghetti. 6. 우리는 자전거를 타요. We are riding bicycles.
You can also change a noun into a verb form by simply adding -을/를 해요 to a noun.
Examples)
1. 샐리가 수영을 해요. Sally swims. 2. 릭이 숨바꼭질을 해요. Rick plays hide-and-seek. 3. 테리가 노래를 해요. Terry sings songs. 5. 낸시가 말을 해요. Nancy talks. 6. 해리가 일요일에 일해요. Harry works on Sunday.
2) 에게
-에게, -께 and -한테
Those all mean "to" in English, which are used to mark the animate objects. -에게 is used in formal/written language, -께 is used to indicate the esteemed person or someone higher position. -한테 is used in colloquial language.
Examples)
1. 제이콥에게 Dear Jacob (letter) 2. 팻에게 안부 전해주세요. Please give my regards to Pat. 3. 학생들에게 설문조사를 했다. (I) surveyed students. 4. 선생님께 꾸중을 들었어요. (I) was scolded by a teacher. 5. 사장님께 연락했어요. (I) made a phone call to the president. 6. 학부모님께 Dear parents of the students (letter) 7. 나한테 묻지 마. Don’t ask me. 8. 강아지한테 먹이 줬어? Did you feed the puppy? 9. 그 종이 캐시한테 있어. Cathy has the paper.
By adding -서 to -에게, or 한테, the meaning changes to "from (someone)"
Examples)
1. 샘한테(서) 선물을 받았어. (I) received a gift from Sam. 2. 팀한테서 답장을 기다려요. (I) wait for a reply from Tim. 3. 빅터에게서 전화를 기다립니다. (I) wait for a phone call from Victor. 4. 교수님에게(서) 추천서를 받았습니다. (I) received a letter of recommendation from a professor.
3. Possessive postpositional particle
의
-의
It indicates a possessor and relationship between two nouns in the sentence. The particle -의 is '...'s', and 'of' in English such as Andy's (앤디의), and the professor's (교수님의).
For the personal pronouns, 나/저 (I) becomes 나의(내)/저의(제), 너 (you) becomes 너의(네), and 우리/저희 (we, us, our) becomes 우리의/저희의, etc. For -의, you must put -것(거) 'thing' after -의.
Examples)
1. 그는 나의 (내) 친구예요. He is my friend. 2. 이것은 저의 (제) 컵이에요. This is my cup. 3. 그 시디는 나오미 거예요. The CD is Naomi's thing 4. 그 신발은 니키의 것이에요. The shoes is Nicky's thing.
However, -의 is not necessary for colloquial settings.
Examples)
1. 이 가방은 누구의 것이에요? Whose bag is this? (formal) 이 가방은 누구 것이야? Whose bag is this? (informal)
2. 그 지갑은 베니의 것이에요. That wallet is Benny's thing. (formal) 그 지갑은 베니 것이야. That wallet is Benny's thing. (informal)
As you learned already, there are two ways to count numbers in Korean!
The first one is counting with pure Korean letters and the other one is counting with Chinese characters.
The difference between Korean numbers and Sino numbers is "rules and pronunciation".
native Korean numbers are more irregular than Sino numbers and it is little bit harder to pronounce for you, unfortunately. haha. Plus, the usage of those two systems is different in people's life.
* In official and academic areas, Koreans tend to use Sino numbers.
Ex) Counting the amount of money (in the bank), saying the temperature degree (in the weather forecast), etc.
* In informal areas, we use generally use Korean numbers.
Ex) Ages, the number of usual stuffs. the number of people, etc.
Native Korean numbers
1. Native Korean numbers
1 = 하나 [Ha-na]
2 = 둘 [Deul]
3 = 셋 [Set]
4 = 넷 [Net]
5 = 다섯 [Da-sut]
6 = 여섯 [Yeo-sut]
7 = 일곱 [il-gob]
8 = 여덟 [Yeo-deol]
9 = 아홉 [A-hob]
10 = 열 [Yeul]
- - - - - No rules till now so you should just memorize these numbers.
11 = 열 하나 [Yeul-hana]
12 = 열 둘 [Yeul-deul]
13 = 열 셋 [Yeul-set]
14 = 열 넷 [Yeul-net]
15 = 열 다섯 [Yeul-dasut]
- - - - - Can you see the rule here? you should just add the number which is smaller than 10 following the number which is bigger than 10. ok?
.
.
.
20 = 스물 [Seu-mool]
21 = 스물 하나[Seumool-hana]
.
.
.
30 = 서른 [Seo-leun]
40 = 마흔 [Ma-huen]
50 = 쉰 [Shin]
60 = 예순 [Ye-soon]
70 = 일흔 [il-huen]
80 = 여든 [Yeo-deun]
90 = 아흔 [A-heun]
.
.
.
100 - from 100, we just use Sino numbers in modern Korean language.
Ex)
I am 27 years old = 저는 27살 입니다 [Jeo neun "Seu-mool il-gob" sal ibnida.]
Jeu neun = I, sal = unit for ages, ibnida = be.
Please, give me 5 of them. = 그거 다섯 개 주세요. [Geu-geo "Da-sut" gae Jooseyo].
Geu-geo = of them, Gae = unit for usual stuffs, Jooseyo = Please, give me something.
* One more rule in native Korean numbers.
When you count the number of something with native Korean numbers
1(hana), 2(deul), 3(set), 4(net) are changed.
For example, when you say one thing, it is "Han-gae" (Gae is a unit for usual stuffs).
So, you should remove the pronunciation of "a" in the last part of the word.
The two of something is "Deu-gae".
The three of something is "Se-gae".
The four of something is "Ne-gae"
Understood?
This irregular rule is made just to make them sound soft to people.
And after 5, you can just use the same formation.
Da-sut gae, Yeu-sut gae, il-gob gae...etc.
Sino Korean numbers
2. Sino numbers
: Remember Korean language was affected by China for a long time ago.
So, some Chinese language things are still remained in Korean.
And Sino numbers are one of the examples. :)
As you can see below, it is easier and more regular.
1 = 일[il]
2 = 이[E]
3 = 삼 [Sam]
4 = 사 [Sa]
5 = 오 [O]
6 = 육 [Youk]
7 = 칠 [Chil]
8 = 팔 [Pal]
9 = 구 [Goo]
10 = 십 [Sib]
11 = 십 일 [Sib-il]
12 = 십 이 [Sib-e]
13 = 십 삼 [Sib-sam]
.
.
.
.
.
20 = 이 십 [E-sib]
21 = 이 십 일 [Esib-il]
22 = 이 십 이 [Esib-e]
.
.
.
30 = 삼 십 [Sam-sib]
40 = 사 십 [Sa-sib]
50 = 오 십 [O-sib]
60 = 육 십 [Youk-sib]
70 = 칠 십 [Chil-sib]
80 = 팔 십 [Pal-sib]
90 = 구 십 [Goo-sib]
100 = 백 [Back]
1000 = 천 [Cheon]
10,000 = 만 [Man]
100,000 = 십 만 [Sib-man]
1000,000 = 백 만 [Back-man]
10,000,000 = 천 만 [Cheon-man]
100,000,000 = 억 [Ueok]
Ex)
Please, give me 1000 won = 1000원 주세요. [Cheon-won jooseyo].
Won = unit for Korean currency, jooseyo = please, give me something
Today's temperature is 30℃. = 오늘의 기온은 30도 입니다. [O-neul eu Gi-on eun "Sam-sib"do ibnida]
O-nuel = today, eu = of, Gi-on = temperature, eun = subjective postposition, do = unit for temperature, ibnida = be.
Hope you don't feel dizzy with these two systems. haha :D
Today, I am going to explain about the history of Hanguel connecting Chinese characters.
A loooooooooog time ago, Korea was affected by China in a lot of areas
because China was so big and powerful that they ruled almost all over the Asian continent where Korea was involved.
At that time, Korea didn't have a written language system and
China had their own written language system so Koreans started borrowing Chinese characters to write words.
Chinese characters.. haha feeling dizzy? kkk
So! Koreans had used Chinese characters to write various things such as academic papers, documents, etc in their living life.
But, the problem was that ordinary people including poor people could not use Chinese characters because as you already know, Chinese characters were too many and hard to learn and it took a very long time and required much money to master. So, poor people could not afford to learn it. And this caused a lot of big problems when they needed to write something and sometimes they even were rooked easily in document needed matters.
And There was a great king called "King Sejong the Great". He was aware of the problem of ordinary people's high illiteracy rate. So, he recruited great linguists to create an easy written language system, Hanguel, only for Korean people. It was in 9th, October, 1446 and the manual was called "훈민정음, Hunminjeongeum", the first Korean written language manual book.
You can see him in 10,000 won bill :D!
훈민정음, the first Korean letters.
However, Korea had been affecting by China for too much time, which means Korea had been using many Chinese letters to call and name things by borrowing Chinese characters' meanings already.
You know, Chinese characters are ideogram. So, one character has one meaning and this meaning is combined with other characters and then make another meaning.
This way, Korean people had made a lot of words.
And in this point, Hangul was made just to write the words in an easier way, and it is phonogram. When you hear something, you can write it down in Hanguel very quickly without knowing the meaning.
So, we have a lot of words based on Chinese character meanings but the pronunciation is based on pure Korean spoken language.
For example, most Koreans have Chinese character names.
My name, 지혜(Hanguel, my name)=智惠(Chinese character).
Its pronunciation is "Ji-Hye" based on Korean spoken language but the meaning is "Wisdom" based on Chinese characters.
And many words such as 학생(student)=學生(Chinese character).
학생's pronunciation is based on Korean spoken language as well so it is "Hak-sang" but the meaning, student, is based on Chinese characters.
Few years ago, Korea was still writing some political and legal words in Chinese characters so it was easy to find Chinese characters in newspapers
but these days, the government made a movement to use only Hanguel in all living life.
So, now, only some experts who are engaged in the area which requires documents written in Chinese characters use it.
I explained about this just to make you understand Korean better. :D
Boring? kkkk Be patient! You can talk to me in Korean very fluently soon :).
The first lesson starts from the most basic word, the greeting words in Korean.
"Ola, and Oi" in Korean is "안녕하세요"
This could be alternative for "Bom dia, Boa tarde, Boa noite" for Koreans.
You can say "안녕하세요" whenever you meet someone for the first time of the day on the street or, anywhere.
"안녕" notionally means "the status without problems".
"하세요" is like "do" or "be" in English.
So "안녕하세요" means "Are you fine (without any problems)?"
This is why Korean people don't need to say "How are you" like English
because "안녕하세요" has already that meaning itself. Ok?
Again. "안녕하세요" in Korean means "Ola and Oi, also tudo bom" in Portuguese.
And if someone says to you "안녕하세요", you can just answer the same saying "안녕하세요" back to him/ her. Ok?
+ Just in case, If you want to know what Bom dia is in Korean,
It is "좋은(Bom) 아침(Dia)" = "좋은 아침" [Joeun Achim]
And Boa tarde is "좋은(Boa) 오후(Tarde)" = "좋은 오후" [Joeun Owho]
Boa noite is "좋은(Boa) 저녁(Noite)" = "좋은 저녁" [Joeun Jeonyuck]
There are no genders in Korean language. Every word is neutral! (No sexual discrimination. Beautiful!! isn't it? haha) and also we don't use articles such as "a or o, as, os" in Portuguese. Ok?
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