taught to look at the other person’s feet, but there’s no need to do this in social settings. In fact, it might be preferable to look a foot or two in front of your feet.
Nodding
When listening to a senior you will see Koreans put their hands to their side, tilt their body a bit forward and listen attentively while nodding slightly and saying ye ( ye; yes) at appropriate intervals. The more frozen the listener seems, the more important the speaker is to the listener.
But even amongst friends you will see Koreans sometimes nod and say
geuraeyo ( geu-rae-yo; Is that so?) or jeongmal ( jungmal; really?) to show that they are paying attention to the speaker.
Shaking hands
As I had told you in the introduction, it is up to the senior to initiate a handshake. The grip of the handshake should be like any handshake anybody
from America should be used to, only if you are shaking hands with a senior or in a formal setting, put your left hand below your right elbow as if you were supporting your right arm. However, there is a gender difference when it comes to shaking hands. Generally speaking, Korean women do not shake hands that much, unless at a business setting. Even at that time, Korean women do not use two hands the way it’s described here. However, there are always exceptions.
05_037188-ch01.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 23
Chapter 1: Getting Down the Basics
23
Fun & Games
Fill in the blanks with equivalent Korean words:
1. Bicycle
____________________________________________________________________
2. Bed
____________________________________________________________________
3. Greetings
____________________________________________________________________
4. Shaking hands
____________________________________________________________________
5. Body
____________________________________________________________________
6. Danger
____________________________________________________________________
7. Friend
____________________________________________________________________
8. Over there
____________________________________________________________________
9. Toothbrush
____________________________________________________________________
10. Bread
____________________________________________________________________
05_037188-ch01.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 24
Part I: Getting Started
24
06_037188-ch02.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 25
Chapter 2
The Nitty-Gritty: Basic Korean
Grammar and Numbers
In This Chapter
Understanding the parts of speech
Knowing how to ask questions
Figuring out numbers
For most of us mere mortals, grammar is intimidating. And when faced
with learning a new language, grammar can be a major turn-off. But the truth is, if you can read this textbook, you already know a lot of grammar even though you might not know exactly what rules you are using. You simply know what “feels” right.
In this chapter, I go over some simple tips and tricks on combining the ingredients of a sentence using the same parts that make up an English sentence, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Then I take concrete examples from everyday speech and eventually ease you into composing similar Korean sentences.
So be patient. Read over the text, go over the dialogues, and listen to the accompanying CD. By the end of the chapter, you should be able to string together and read a number of sentences. In no time, you’ll be able understand others and express yourself with style.
Speaking Politely
Formal English is coming to a slow demise. The few times that we ever hear or use it is in situations that we’d rather avoid, such as during job interviews, public speeches, and in conversations with police officers and judges. On the other hand, formal Korean is very much alive and well. In fact, there are four degrees of conversational politeness in Korean, formal polite, informal polite, intimate, and plain.
06_037188-ch02.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 26
Part 1: Getting Started
26
Perhaps the
Nodding
When listening to a senior you will see Koreans put their hands to their side, tilt their body a bit forward and listen attentively while nodding slightly and saying ye ( ye; yes) at appropriate intervals. The more frozen the listener seems, the more important the speaker is to the listener.
But even amongst friends you will see Koreans sometimes nod and say
geuraeyo ( geu-rae-yo; Is that so?) or jeongmal ( jungmal; really?) to show that they are paying attention to the speaker.
Shaking hands
As I had told you in the introduction, it is up to the senior to initiate a handshake. The grip of the handshake should be like any handshake anybody
from America should be used to, only if you are shaking hands with a senior or in a formal setting, put your left hand below your right elbow as if you were supporting your right arm. However, there is a gender difference when it comes to shaking hands. Generally speaking, Korean women do not shake hands that much, unless at a business setting. Even at that time, Korean women do not use two hands the way it’s described here. However, there are always exceptions.
05_037188-ch01.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 23
Chapter 1: Getting Down the Basics
23
Fun & Games
Fill in the blanks with equivalent Korean words:
1. Bicycle
____________________________________________________________________
2. Bed
____________________________________________________________________
3. Greetings
____________________________________________________________________
4. Shaking hands
____________________________________________________________________
5. Body
____________________________________________________________________
6. Danger
____________________________________________________________________
7. Friend
____________________________________________________________________
8. Over there
____________________________________________________________________
9. Toothbrush
____________________________________________________________________
10. Bread
____________________________________________________________________
05_037188-ch01.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 24
Part I: Getting Started
24
06_037188-ch02.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 25
Chapter 2
The Nitty-Gritty: Basic Korean
Grammar and Numbers
In This Chapter
Understanding the parts of speech
Knowing how to ask questions
Figuring out numbers
For most of us mere mortals, grammar is intimidating. And when faced
with learning a new language, grammar can be a major turn-off. But the truth is, if you can read this textbook, you already know a lot of grammar even though you might not know exactly what rules you are using. You simply know what “feels” right.
In this chapter, I go over some simple tips and tricks on combining the ingredients of a sentence using the same parts that make up an English sentence, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Then I take concrete examples from everyday speech and eventually ease you into composing similar Korean sentences.
So be patient. Read over the text, go over the dialogues, and listen to the accompanying CD. By the end of the chapter, you should be able to string together and read a number of sentences. In no time, you’ll be able understand others and express yourself with style.
Speaking Politely
Formal English is coming to a slow demise. The few times that we ever hear or use it is in situations that we’d rather avoid, such as during job interviews, public speeches, and in conversations with police officers and judges. On the other hand, formal Korean is very much alive and well. In fact, there are four degrees of conversational politeness in Korean, formal polite, informal polite, intimate, and plain.
06_037188-ch02.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 26
Part 1: Getting Started
26
Perhaps the
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