Category: Word of the Day

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Common Drama Words: Geureom (그럼)

I have been watching Korean drama lately.  I just finished watching 별에서 온 그대 (byeoleseo on kudae).  Although the English translated title of this drama is very popular, i still love breaking down the words of the title.  별 (byeol) means star with the place marker 에서  and 온 (on) is from the verb 오다 (oda) which means to come but since it’s in modifier form 온 actually denotes past event, this two words means came from star. 그대 means you which is typically used on songs and poems.  I am not sure if this is still being used in normal Korean conversation though.  So 별에서 온 그대 would mean You (who) came from stars 🙂

Anyway, after watching this 21-episode drama in marathon, i came to realise that there is this word I often hear at the end of the conversation.  This word I am referring to is  그럼 (geureom).  I actually had double thoughts if I heard the word right.  From what I know 그럼 means ‘so’ or ‘by the way’ as such I don’t expect it to be said right at the end of a statement.  It was weird that in most cases where I hear this word from the drama, the scene is the person who just said 그럼 would leave the person he/she is talking to.

To end my curiosity, I asked two of my Korean friends if I am hearing this word right.  This is what I learned from my them,  other than the meaning I know this word is apparently used frequently at the end of Korean conversation.  It means to end discussion and would suggest that the speaker is about to leave or bid goodbye.

Such a little thing but to someone who is eager to learn Korean, this is worthy to know especially that I someday still dream of being conversant in this language.

이거 지금 친구에서 알았어요…그럼 ^^

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Traffic in Korean

I was thinking of what to post today. The content I lost for 2012 is not a joke.  So my inspiration for this post is the situation I was few hours ago.  Traffic in Korean is 교통 (gyotong).   The traffic is so bad going out from Makati (south) to Quezon City (north) via EDSA highway.  In Korean to say the traffic is bad because of the volume of cars on the road you say 차가 막힌 (chaga makhin).  It means the cars are bumper to bumper.  I thought it was 나쁜 교통 (nappeun gyotong) which literaly means bad traffic but it is more acceptable or natural to say 차가 막힌.

Slow-Edsa-Traffic

Whenever I am in the business district or going towards the business district I always find taxi driver saying they are confused in Makati.  마카티는 교통이 복잡해요. (Makatineun gyotong-i bokjaphaeyo).  The traffic in Makati is complicated. This is because there are a lot of one-way streets which are not properly marked that if you unfortunately enter these roads you can get 교통사고 (gyotong sago) or a traffic accident or get ticket for  교통 위반 (gyotong wiban) or a traffic violation.

내일 좋은 교통이 좋겠어요.  (Naeil choeun gyotong-i  chokesseoyo).  I wish for a good traffic tomorrow.

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Vocabulary: Travel

It’s barely a week before Christmas.  People are busy shopping preparing for gift giving.  But right now my mind is already traveling to South Korea because it’s 10 days to go before i hit South Korea again =)

I love traveling and i won’t be bored or tired going back again and again to South Korea. So i thought of sharing what travel is in Korean, its 여행 (yeohaeng) as noun and 여행하다 (yeohaenghada) as verb that means to travel.

  • 다음 주 서울에 여행할 께요. (Daum chu Seoure yeohaenghal kkeyo)  – I am traveling to Seoul next week.
  •  서울 여행이  좋아요. (Seoul  yeohaeng choayo) -I like traveling in Seoul
  • 나도  서울 여행을 좋아해요. (Nado Seoul yeohaengeul  choahaeyo.) – Me too, I like traveling in Seoul.

Good thing they made it even more easy to go to South Korea by not asking too much document if you are an OECD visa holder.  More so, visa is gratis for Filipino traveling to South Korea for less than 60 days.

다시 한 번  서울에 좋은 시간을 보내고 싶어요. (Dashi hanbon Seoure choeun shiganeul bonaego shipeoyo)  Once again, i want to spend a good time in Seoul.

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Cheer Up!

This is a pretty common expression in Korean although I only get to know what it means a little late while I was talking to a Korean friend.  I was so upset then and he said to me this phrase — 힘내요 (himnaeyo).

It means cheer up! It also means the same as the cliche ‘break a leg’ in English. When you want to uplift someone’s spirit or give encouragement, this is a good expression to say. To someone esteemed, one can say the more polite way 힘내세요 (himnaeseyo).  This is in addition to common expression like 화이팅 (fighting) or 아자 (aja).

*image was taken from firemasterxd.devianart

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Vocabulary: Gift (Seonmul)

It’s December. Christmas starts when the month ends with -ber here in the Philippines. So it’s like an event slowly unraveling until it hits the 25th of the December. Actually Christmas is still in the air until the last day of the holiday vacation. This is the season when my head is filled with thoughts of 선물 (seonmul).

Isn’t it nice to receive one?  I think Christmas is celebrated more as a day for couples in South Korea rather than a family event like Chuseok.  In my country, it’s gift giving day.  Sharing your blessings to other people. I like receiving gifts that are functional, something that i can really use.

너에게 좋은 선물을 뭐예요? (What is a good gift to you?)

 

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Vocabulary: To Write

I have downloaded an application from iPAD that allows me to doodle.   It kinda let you practice your Hangul writing without wasting papers and inks. The word 쓰다 (seuda) is the dictionary form of the verb write, so it means ‘to write’.

To use this in a sentence you have to identify the base or infinitive form of the word that is 쓰(seu) and 써 (seo) respectively.  Here are some use that I can think of:

  • 여기에 이름을 써 주세요 (Yeogie ireumeul sseo juseyo) – Please write your name here.
  • 친구에게 편지를 썼어요 (Chinguege pyeonjireul sseosseoyo) – I wrote a letter to a friend.
  • 나중에 블로그 엔트리를 쓸거에요 (Najunge beullogeu enteurireul sseulkoeyo) – I will write ( I have an intention of writing) a blog entry later.

Try the Doodle application in iPAD it’s just cute and nice way to practice Hangul writing. It’s also cool that iPAD has enabled writing on most east asian fonts and that includes Hangul.

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Vocabulary : To Think

Are you thinking of something or someone?

생각하다 (Saenggakhada)

The verb  생각하다 (saenggakhada) is in dictionary form which means ‘to think’.  The base form is 생각하 (saenggakha) while the infinitive form is 생각해 (saenggakhae).  These are some of its use that I learned to create:

  • 나도 당신을 생각하고 있어요 (Nado dangshineul saenggakhago isseoyo) – I am thinking of you too.  This is in present progressive form, please note that 고 있어요 is added to the base form of the verb.
  • 당신을 생각했어요 (Dangshineul saenggakhaesseoyo) – I thought about you.
  • 나도 너 맞아는 생각해요 (Nado no majaneun saenggakhaeyo) – I (also) think you’re right.

Some tenses are formed using the base form like the future form -겠어요 (-kesseoyo) while some are formed using the infinitive form like past form, in fact 생각해 (saenggakhae) can be used in a sentence for informal (intimate) style.

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Vocabulary: Promise

You probably heard of this word in many songs and drama, 약속 (yaksok).  This word means promise.  It also means appointment or undertaking.

약속 (yaksok) - promise

So if you want to say I promise you can say 약속해요 (yaksokhaeyo).  Now if you want to ask someone to make a promise you can say 약속하세요 (yaksokhaseyo).

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WOTD: 공부하다 (Gongbuhada)

Some suggested that I post verb of the day, so I will be doing this type of post moving forward.  It can be any word may it be verb, noun or adjective.  I will try to use them in the different forms that I know, this way I really get to practice usage of words.

First Word of the Day (WOTD) is 공부하다 (gongbuhada) this is the dictionary form of the word which means ‘to learn’.  If you want to use this in conversation or sentence you need to get its base form or root for simpler terms  since this is the form where you start doing conjugation.  The base form of this word is 공부하 (gongbuha), as I previously learned a verb in Korean may either end in ㅓ (eo) or ㅏ (a), and this is done by adding this to the base form the verb.  The result of such is what is called verb in infinitive form.  There are some rules that has to be considered in doing this.   The infinitive form of this verb is  공부해 (gongbuhae), from this form usage of this verb can already be done especially on the casual and polite manner.

  • 한국어를 공부해요. (Hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo) –  I am studying Korean or I study Korean.
  • 한국어를 공부하고 있어요. (Hangugeoreul gongbugo isseoyo) – I am studying Korean. (Note: Currently in the act of studying)
  • 한국어를 공부하고 싶어요. (Hangugeoreul gongbuhago shipeoyo) – I want to study Korean.
  • 한국어를 공부하세요. (Hangugeoreul gongbuhaseyo) – Please study Korean.
  • 한국어를 공부했어요. (Hangugeoreul gongbuhaesseoyo) – I studied Korean.
  • 한국어를 공부해겠어요. (Hangugeoreul gongbuhaekesseoyo) – I will (have the intention) study Korean.
  • 한국어를 공부할 거에요. (Hangugeoreul gongbuhal koeyo) – I will be studying Korean (there is certainty of doing it in the near future).

우리 함께 한국어를 공부하십시오. (Uri hamkke hangugeoreul gonbuhashipsio). Together let us study Korean =)