Are you getting bored with speaking the same kind of languages every day? It’s time to learn Korean. Korean is quite different from your language, so it will give an exciting zest to your life.
Now, are you getting sick of ending Korean sentences with -요, -다, or -까 every day? No problem. In this video, you will learn some of the real-world Korean verb/adjective endings other than the commonplace -요, -다, or -까. As you may already know, Korean sentences can end in various particles that imply or express the speaker’s emotions and intentions, which are not always translatable into English. Once you know their subliminal meanings, you will be able to use them fluently in the right situations.
1. Verb-나(?): … ? I wonder
The particle -나 can mean many different things in Korean, but let’s focus here on the question sentences ending with a verb stem followed by -나(?). Please note that the question mark is not always used in written Korean. But you will know that this is a question when it’s a verb-나. This structure implies that you, as a speaker, are wondering about something, as if you were speaking to yourself (in a monologue) or thinking alone (in meditation). But of course, you can also use this -나? when you speak to close friends or someone whose rank is equal to or lower than yours in your organization.
- 벌써 나를 잊어버렸나? Have you already forgotten me? (I wonder…)
This conjugation is very simple. You just add -나 directly to any regular verb stem in present tense, or a past tense conjugated verb form (-었 + 나). To simplify our life, we will go over the future tense (-려나) sometime later. But when you speak to a senior person or a stranger, you can just add -요 after the -나 question, i.e., -나요? This ending sounds almost always cuter, more adorable(or polite) than the usual -어/아요?, regardless of the speaker’s gender, age, social status, etc.
- 이 레스토랑 오늘 문 닫았습니까? Is this restaurant closed today? [ official register; sounds too formal. Sometimes this -까 sounds like a North Korean spy ]
- 이 레스토랑 오늘 문 닫았어요? Is this restaurant closed today? [ normal/polite register. Usual, commonplace, nothing special ]
- 이 레스토랑 오늘 문 닫았나요? Is this restaurant closed today? [ sounds cuter, more approachable. It may invite further conversations. ]
So you can practice using this formidable Korean secret weapon by speaking to yourself with -나 from now on. With its pensive undertone, you will enjoy its lilting sound and monologic nuance.
2. Verb-는가(?), Adjective-ㄴ/은가(?): Rhetorical questions
These question endings are often used in written Korean, particularly in newspaper articles, university posters, political essays or poems, where the authors make a point by rhetorical questions instead of directly stating their opinion. You can add -는가(?) to a regular verb stem. You can also add -ㄴ/은가(?) to adjective stems, considering the usual vocal harmony.
- 아, 이별이 그리 쉬운가 Ah, is farewell so easy? [Instead of stating, “Farewell is not so easy,” the lyricist makes a rhetorical question here to make a point, poetically and elegantly with -ㄴ가(?). Note that 쉽다 is an irregular adjective, and conjugates into 쉬운가 ]
- 빼앗긴 들에도 봄은 오는가? Does Spring Come to the Stolen Fields, Too? [오다 to come => 오는가? Does/Do … come? The title of a patriotic poem (1926) by 이상화 ]
In spoken Korean, you can only use this ending with close friends, colleagues with equal to or mostly lower than your rank. Its tone often gives a sense of decency and composure even when the interlocutor who hears it is of a lower rank.
- 자네 요즘도 바쁜가? Are you still busy these days? [ 바쁘다 busy => 바쁜가 are you busy? ]
3. Verb/Adjective-네: mild surprise or admiration about perceived information or observations
Here, the -네 ending is not a question, but a statement with an implication that the speaker is mildly surprised about observed or realized facts or information. It is also used in monologues or self-speech in a poetic, elegant style.
- 수양버들 춤추는 길에 꽃가마 타고 가네 [ 가다 to go => 가네 she is going, (Watching it now, I realize that she is going) ]
- 아홉 살 새색시가 시집을 간다네 [ idiomatic 시집(을) 가다 for a woman to get married <=> 장가(를) 가다 for a man to get married ]
- 가네 가네 갑순이 갑순이 울면서 가네
On the path where weeping willows dance, a flower palanquin is carrying her.
A nine-year-old bride is getting married
She is going away, Gapsoon; Gapsoon is leaving home in tears
– From “새색시 시집가네 The Young Lady Is Getting Married” by 이연실 (1971)
- 그대만을 믿었네 I believed only in you; I trusted only you [ 믿다 to believe, to trust; 믿-었(past tense conjugation)-네 monologu in poetic style ]
As with -나(?) above, you can add -요 to the -네, i.e., -네요, when you speak to a stranger or colleagues of higher rank in a polite normal register.
P.S.> 어쩌나 is a contraction of 어찌 하나, which means “What should I do?” Do you see that 하-나 conjugation?
Level B1: You are traveling to Vilnius by train, and at the platform, you want to confirm that the train is the right one. You look around and you see a good-looking Korean man with a South Korean flag on his knapsack. You want to practice your Korean with him by asking the following question:
- 이 기차, 빌뉴스로 갑니까?
The man answers you quickly and goes away from you. Why is that? Please rephrase the question in a more approachable register that may change the man’s reaction.
Level C1: The following sentences are excerpts from a newspaper article, with my intentional twist on a verb conjugation. Please correct the error by maintaining the register consistently, using the conjugation for rhetorical questions explained above.
그는 전날에 이어 이날도 “불편함을 느끼신 분들께 진심으로 사과드린다”고 했다. 이는 사과가 아니다. 자신의 행동에 대한 자각과 반성은 전혀 찾아볼 수 없다. 이준석 후보는 자신이 그렇게도 비판한 윤석열과 지금 너무 닮아 있다는 걸 알까요?
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