How to Ask a Total Stranger for a Favor - 초면에; Welcome to Waikiki
It is not always easy to ask a perfect stranger to do a favor for you. If you are in a foreign country, the best…
Month: February 2021
The Blue Night of Jeju Island - 제주도의 푸른 밤; Contraction -를/-을"
In everyday informal conversations, you can omit object particles -를/-을 if the object is obvious. But such omissions, if overused, may make you sound like…
Like I’m Your Last - 마지막처럼; Simile in Korean II”
-처럼 is one of the ways to make a direct comparison (simile) in Korean. In English, it corresponds to the preposition “like,” or to the…
I Hate You 미워요; 보아요 보나요 보세요
The verb 보다 is arguably the most commonly used words in Korean vocabulary. It refers to activities related with “eyes.” So, 보다 by itself…
But at Any Time, Anytime - 무시로: Non-Sentence-Final Ending -인데
Unlike English, Korean clauses sometimes use verb endings that do not actually END a sentence. Such Non-Sentence-Final Endings often sound like they have finished the…
Mimetic Words 반짝반짝 깜짝깜짝
Do you want to sound more like a Korean when you speak Korean? Then learn how to use 의태어 (Mimetic words). Ah, those funny-sounding adverbs…
A Taxi Driver and a Foreign Journalist - 택시 운전사 (2017)
In general, “속” means “inside” of anything, any object. 동굴 속에 들아가 보자 = Let’s get inside the cave. 상자 속에 아무 것도 없었어…
문을 하나 만들자, 너의 맘 속에다 - Colloquial Personal Pronouns
Colloquial Personal Pronouns (as they are spoken most often in informal conversations with close friends, brothers/sisters, boy/girlfriends, etc. – 1st/2nd person singular): Nominative: 난 =…
서시 (Prelude) by 윤동주
Poetry inspires us to learn more about a foreign language or culture, once we learn some basics. It is a great idea to start with…
Fifty Shades of Korean ‘Honey!’
그대: My Love. This is an elegant term used only in poems, songs, and other literature. That’s why you hear a lot of it in…
