Reading the lesson 17 puts a smile on my face. While reading descriptive +해요 verbs, which was my previous post, it was like confirming my hunch before that there are verbs in Korean which are combination of two verbs. Today, I have discovered 2 main processive verbs which when combined with another verb makes them an auxiliary verb to show direction.
Here are some compound verbs formed with 가 (ka) and 와 (wa) :
| Verb | Meaning | Compound Verb/Expression | Compound Verb Meaning |
| 도-ㄹ (do-l) | Turn (around) | 돌아가요 (dorakayo)돌아와요 (dorawayo) | Goes backComes back |
| 드-ㄹ(deu-l) | Enter | 들어가요 (deureokayo)들어와요 (deureowayo) | Goes inComes in |
| 나 (na) | Exit | 나가요 (nakayo)나와요 (nawayo) | Goes outComes out |
| 걸 (keol) | Walk | 걸어가요 (keoreokayo)걸어와요 (keoreowayo) | Walks (there)Walks (here) |
| 오르 (oreu) | Ascend | 올라가요 (ollakayo)올라와요 (ollawayo) | Goes upComes up |
| 내리 (naeri) | Descend | 내려가요(naeryeokayo)내려와요naeryeowayo) | Goes down Comes down |
I remember the first Korean song that I liked from Se7en (a popular artist in Korea) which was 와줘 (Wajuwo) which carried an English title Comeback. In the chorus of the song the word 돌아와줘 (Dorawajuwo) is repeatedly said. One of my language exchange partners then told me it means comeback. I asked him how come the title of the song is 와줘? He said it’s the same with some nuances on use and that 와줘 in reality just means come. Now I know what the nuance is… because 와 can be used plainly to say comeback and may depend on the scenario when it is said but to say 돌아와 would exactly mean comeback and may not be applicable when you just plainly want to mean come.
The beauty of Korean language continues to amaze me.
It Started with Hangul 