Korean for Beginners 2

Vocabulary

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Vocabulary

•• 예 — yes (more formal, than 네). Generally

used only with the formal polite style

•• 자 — well (interjection)
•• 그러면 — then, in that case, if so (그럼 is the shortened form)

•• 그리고 — and

•• 그래서 — (and) so, therefore

•• 중 — among
Vocabulary

•• 수업 — class, course, lesson

•• 신문 — newspaper

•• 잡지 — magazine

•• 텍스트 — text

•• 음악 — music

•• 편지 — letter
Vocabulary

•• 옷 — clothes
•• 영화 — film

•• 밥 — rice, meal

•• 문 — door

•• 창문 — window

•• 시간 — time
Vocabulary

•• 백화점 — department store

•• 영화관 — cinema

•• 병원 — hospital

•• 노래방 — karaoke

•• 회사 — company, firm
Vocabulary

•• 자주 — often
•• 매일 — every day

•• 많이 — a lot, many (adverb)

•• 잘 — well

•• 내일 — tomorrow
Vocabulary

•• 만나다 — to meet
•• 사다 — to buy

•• 열다 — to open

•• 닫다 — to close

•• 마시다 — to drink
Vocabulary

•• 받다 — to receive
•• 알다 — to know (알겠습니다 — lit. ‘able to

be aware of’, best translated as ‘to understand’, ‘to get’)

•• 모르다 — to fail to know

(모르겠습니다 — I wouldn’t know)
Vocabulary

•• 시작하다 — to start
•• 일하다 — to work

•• 운동하다 — to exercise

•• 공부하다 — to study

•• 노래하다 — to sing
Vocabulary

•• 말하다 — to say, to tell

•• 좋아하다 — to like

•• 싫어하다 — to dislike

•• 덥다 — hot

•• 앉다 — to sit
Vocabulary

•• 어 comes from the Chinese character 語 — lit.

‘language’. Note that this character cannot be used

by itself (similarly to 인 — a person in 한국인)

but only as a part of another word.

•• 어 is attached to the name of a country and

the meaning of the resulting word becomes

‘the language of this country’.

Vocabulary

•• 중국어 — the Chinese language

•• 일본어 — the Japanese language

•• 러시아어 — the Russian language

•• 영어 — the English language 영국어

•• 독일어 — the German language

Korean for Beginners 2

The Object
Particle -을 / 를.
The Verb 하다

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Object Particle -을 / 를

The noun to which the object particle -을 / 를 attaches acts as an object in the sentence
-을
•• For a noun ending in a consonant, add

•• For a noun ending in a vowel, add -를

저는 영화를 봅니다. I watch a film.

이 여자는 책을 읽습니다. The girl reads a book.

The Object Particle -을 / 를

In colloquial speech, the object particle is sometimes shortened or even

omitted if it is clear from the context what the object of the sentence is.

저는 이걸 매일 삽니다. I buy it everyday.

살다 — to live
+  -ㅂ니다 삽니다
사다 — to buy
The Object Particle -을 / 를

In colloquial speech, the object particle is sometimes shortened or even

omitted if it is clear from the context what the object of the sentence is.

저는 이걸 매일 삽니다. I buy it everyday.

커피를 마십니까 ?
—— —— Do [you] drink coffee?

네, 마십니다.
—— —— Yes, [I] do.
The Object Particle -을 / 를

In everyday speech particles in Korean may be shortened or omitted,

but they must be used in their full forms in writing.

은지 씨가 친구를 매일 만납니다. Eunji meets her friends every day.

현준 씨는 음악을 듣습니다. Hyeonjun listens to music.

에릭 씨가 밥을 많이 먹습니다. Eric eats a lot.

Verbs That Are Used with Objects Derived from Them

There are some verbs in Korean that are mostly used with objects
which are derived from the verbs.

•• 잠을 자다 — to sleep
•• 춤을 추다 — to dance

•• 그림을 그리다 — to draw

•• 꿈을 꾸다 — to dream
Verbs That Are Used with Objects Derived from Them

The verb  먹다 also requires an object. Usually the word 밥 acts as an

object for this verb. 밥 is translated not only as ‘rice’ but also as ‘food’, ‘meal’.

•• 밥을 먹다 — to eat

밥 can also be replaced by 아침, 점심, 저녁.

•• 아침을 먹다 — to have breakfast

•• 점심을 먹다 — to have lunch

•• 저녁을 먹다 — to have supper

The Verb 하다

•• 하다 — to do
It is used with many different nouns. With this verb the object particle is frequently
dropped and two words become a single compound word.

운동을 하다 to exercise 운동하다

공부를 하다 to study 공부하다
노래를 하다
to sing 노래하다
노래를 부르다
일을 하다 to work 일하다
말을 하다 to say, to tell 말하다
Exceptions with the Verb 하다

•• 좋아하다 — to like (instead of 좋아를 하다)

저는 그 영화를 좋아합니다. I like that film.

•• 싫어하다 — to dislike (instead of 싫어를 하다)

저는 그 책을 싫어합니다. I dislike that book / I don’t like that book.
Exceptions with the Verb 하다

리사 씨는 일을 많이 합니다. Lisa works a lot.

제프 씨는 매일 운동합니다. Jeff exercises every day.

저는 일본어를 합니다. I speak Japanese.

Exceptions with the Verb 하다

우리는 한국어를 공부합니다. We study Korean.

한국 가수들 중에 누구를 Who do you like among Korean singers?

좋아합니까?
Korean for Beginners 2

Personal Pronouns.
The Plural Particle -들

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Personal Pronouns in Korean

All Korean pronouns belong to the same category as

normal nouns. We put them into a separate chapter
to compare them with English counterparts and explain
to you how they operate in the Korean language.
Personal Pronouns in Korean

Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun

First-person
+ + + +
pronoun
-은/는 -이/가 -의 -을/를
저 저는 저의
I (humble)
(전) 제가 (제) 저를
Singular
나 나는 나의
I (plain)
(난) 내가 (내) 나를
First-person Pronouns

Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun

First-person
+ + + +
pronoun
-은/는 -이/가 -의 -을/를
저희
We (humble) 저희는 저희가 저희 저희를

Plural 우리(의)
우리 우리는 우리가 -의 우리를is
We
(우린) often dropped
Humble and Plain Prononouns

Humble pronouns (e. g. 저,) are used:

•• with people whom you don’t know well or whom you see for the first time;

•• with older people or those of higher social rank.

Plain pronouns (e. g. 나):

•• are used with your intimates or with children;

•• require informal speech.

우리 can be both plain and humble depending

on what a speaker implies!

Second-person Pronouns

There is no substitution for the pronoun ‘you’ in the Korean language.

There are several ways to address someone in a polite way:

•• to use a person’s title if you know it for sure;

•• if you don’t know the title of the elder, the generic title 선생님
can be used instead;

•• you can avoid using a pronoun or a title at all, because it is possible

to make a sentence without them.

The best way to address a group of people or an audience is to say 여러분(들).

Non-honorific Second-person Pronouns

Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun Pronoun

Second-person + + + +
pronoun
-은/는 -이/가 -의 -을/를

너 너는 네가 네 너를
Singular
[니가] [니] (널)
당신 당신은 당신이 당신의 당신을

Plural 너희(들) 너희들은 너희들이 너희들의 너희들을

(너희는) (너희가) (너희) (너희를)
Non-honorific Second-person Pronouns

•• 너 is used with your intimates of the same age

as you are or younger, and also with children

•• Be careful not to use it with elders or non-intimates

•• 너 requires an informal speech ending

Non-honorific Second-person Pronouns

당신 is used: 
•• between spouses;

•• when there is an affection arising between a man and a woman

and a man may use 당신 to show his feelings and his desire to
be closer to a woman. This pronoun is also used in poetry while

addressing a lover;

•• when Koreans (not necessarily spouses and lovers) argue with

each other. In this case, 당신 is used to show disrespect.

Third-person Pronouns

There are no proper third-person pronouns in Korean. To refer to someone,

demonstrative pronouns are used with nouns or titles.

그 남자는 운동을 많이 합니다. That man exercises a lot.

저 여자는 춤을 잘 춥니다. That woman over there dances well.

그 사람은 한국어를 공부합니다. He [that person] studies Korean.

Third-person Pronouns (Honorific)

There are no proper third-person pronouns in Korean. To refer to someone,

demonstrative pronouns are used with nouns or titles.

그 분은 우리 선생님입니다. He (honorific) is our teacher.

그 여자분은 똑똑합니다. She (honorific) is smart.

The Particle -들

The particle-들 marks that a noun is plural. But unlike in English, the plural form
is optional in Korean. There is almost no difference between the formulations:

사람이 많습니다.
There are a lot of people.

사람들이 많습니다.
Korean for Beginners 2

Verbs of Motion.
Grammatical
Construction -에 가다/
오다/다니다

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Particle -에

•• The particle of location, when we want to express

something being somewhere in a static action

•• Expresses movement towards a location or a goal

(in this case often followed by verbs of motion

such as 가다, 오다, 다니다)

가다 (to go) and 오다 (to come)

If a speaker says that someone is moving from him or her, 가다 is used.

민수 씨가 대학교에 갑니다. Minsu is going to university.

Speaker Minsu
가다 (to go) and 오다 (to come)

If a speaker tells about someone who is moving towards him or her, 오다 is used.

——마리아 씨는 한국에 ——내일 갑니다.

언제 옵니까? ——[I] am going tomorrow.

——Maria, when are [you] coming

to Korea?
다니다 (to go, to attend)

다니다 means to go somewhere on a regular basis, e.g. school, office, sportclub and so on.

언니가 학원에 다닙니다. [My] elder sister attends a private educational institute. 

Examples with Verbs of Motion

어디에 갑니까?
—— ——Where are [you] going?

기숙사에 갑니다.
—— ——[I] am going to the dormitory.

저는 오늘 생일이 있습니다.
—— ——Today is my birthday. Are [you] coming
to my birthday party, Michael?
마이클 씨, 생일 파티에 옵니까?
네, 갑니다.
—— ——Yes, [I] am going.
Examples with Verbs of Motion

형은 회사원입니다. 그래서 매일 회사에 다닙니다.

[My] elder brother is an office worker. Therefore, [he] goes to the office every day.
Korean for Beginners 2

Imperative -(으)십시오
and Propositive
-(으)ㅂ시다 Sentences
in Formal Polite Style

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Imperative Formal Polite Sentences

운동하다 -십시오
운동하십시오
(Patchim  )
운동하 십시오 +

열다 -십시오
여십시오
ㄹ
(Patchim ) 여 십시오
+

읽다 -으십시오
읽으십시오
(Patchim  )
읽 으십시오
+
Examples of Verbs in Imperative Form

물을 많이 마십시오. Please, drink a lot of water. 

공부를 열심히 하십시오. Please, study hard.

케이크를 만드십시오. Please, make a cake. 

메일을 보내십시오. Please, send an email.

Propositive Formal Polite Sentences

운동하다 -ㅂ시다
운동합시다
(Patchim )
운동하 ㅂ시다 +

만들다 -ㅂ시다
만듭시다
ㄹ
(Patchim ) 만드 ㅂ시다+

읽다 -읍시다
읽읍시다
(Patchim  )
읽 읍시다
+
Examples of Verbs in Propositive Form

-ㅂ시다 / -읍시다 may be translated as ‘let’s do something’.

도서관에 같이 갑시다. Let’s go to the library together.

영화를 봅시다. Let’s watch a film.

창문을 엽시다. Let’s open a window.

점심을 먹읍시다. Let’s eat lunch.

Korean for Beginners 2

The Particle
of Location -에서

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Particles of Location -에 and -에서

•• The particle of location-에 is used to talk about a static action:

that is, to be somewhere, to live somewhere, to sit somewhere,
to lie somewhere etc.

•• The particle-에서 is attached to a noun and expresses that

an active action is occurring in the particular place, indicated
by that noun. It corresponds to ‘in’ or ‘at’ in English
The Particles of Location -에 and -에서

Compare the usage of the particle -에 with –에서.

——어디에 있습니까? ——Where are [you]?

——기숙사에 있습니다. ——[I] am in the dormitory.

——기숙사에서 뭘 합니까? ——What are [you] doing in the dormitory?

——영화를 봅니다. 그리고 —— [I] am watching a film. And eating snacks.

과자를 먹습니다.
Examples with the Particle -에서

저는 이 음식점에서 점심을 매일 먹습니다.

I have lunch in this restaurant every day.
Examples with the Particle -에서

옷을 어디에서 삽니까?
—— ——Where do [you] buy clothes?

그 옷가게에서 삽니다.
—— ——[I] buy clothes in that clothing store.
Examples with the Particle -에서

저는 학원에 다닙니다. 거기에서 영어를 공부합니다.

I attend a private educational institute. [I] study English there.