number of polite forms that Korean has shows just how much emphasis Koreans place on showing the proper levels of respect to the listener or someone being talked about. But, showing too much respect is just as awkward as showing too little respect. And if one hopes to say they have mastered Korean, it is necessary to master the polite forms of the Korean language.
The good news is that you don’t need to have a full understanding of all the different polite forms of Korean to carry on daily conversations. Informal polite form of speech is all that you need for daily conversations when you are just starting to learn Korean. As you become more fluent in the Korean language, you can worry about the other forms of politeness. However, for those of you who are more interested in grammar, in Korean, you set the degree of politeness that you use by changing the ending of the verb or adjective that comes at the end of the sentence. For those of you who are curious about when to use different degrees of politeness in Korean, Table 2-1 will provide general guidelines.
Table 2-1
Speech Styles
Form
Used With
Formal Polite
Someone much older than you, your teacher, your boss, customers of your business, your in-laws, a judge, and sometimes
your parents. Basically people who have seniority over you, and
to whom you want to show respect.
Informal Polite
Your colleague, an acquaintance, church minister, shop keeper,
people you do not know (e.g., people you meet on the street,
bus, train, and park). Basically everyone who does not have
seniority over you, but you want to show some respect to.
Intimate
Your close friends, your sibling, your children, your student.
Basically anyone really close to you.
Plain
In newspaper or magazine articles. Usually to an unknown
audience.
In this book, I will stick with informal polite form of the Korean language. It is formal enough so that you never sound rude, and it is informal enough so that it can be used in a variety of situations. However, in incidences where formal polite form is necessary, I will tell you both formal polite and informal polite forms of Korean. When you say jeoneun hangungmareul baewoyo ( juh-neun han-goong-ma-reul bae-wo-yo; I am learning Korean) you are using the informal polite form. This form is more than enough for everyday conversations.
06_037188-ch02.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 27
Chapter 2: The Nitty-Gritty: Basic Korean Grammar and Numbers
27
I recommend starting off with the informal polite form, then eventually moving on to other degrees of politeness of speech as you become more fluent in Korean language.
Knowing the Basic Parts of Speech
English sentences are mostly made of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Korean sentences are also mostly made up of these same parts. There are no outlandish grammatical terms that you have to learn or master in order to learn Korean. However, the order of the sentence in Korean is different from English sentences. The basic word order in English is subject-verb-object, whereas the basic word order for Korean is subject-object-verb. Please see examples of different grammatical orders in two languages below: English: I love you.
Korean: naneun dangsineul saranghaeyo ( na-neun dang-shin-enl saranghae-yo; I love you). Literal translation: I you love.
English: I eat Kimchee.
Korean: jeoneun gimchireul meogeoyo ( juh-neun gim-chee-reul muh-guh-yo; I eat Kimchee). Literal translation: I Kimchee eat.
English: I study Korean.
Korean: jeoneun hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo ( juh-neun han-goo-guh-reul gong-boo-hae-yo; I study Korean). Literal translation: I Korean study.
Here are a few other cool things to know about the Korean language:
There is no need to distinguish between singular and plural nouns. For example, in Korean, a person and people are both called saram ( sa-ram; person, people).
There is no such a thing as subject-verb agreement (e.g., I am, It is, They are).
You don’t have to change word order
The good news is that you don’t need to have a full understanding of all the different polite forms of Korean to carry on daily conversations. Informal polite form of speech is all that you need for daily conversations when you are just starting to learn Korean. As you become more fluent in the Korean language, you can worry about the other forms of politeness. However, for those of you who are more interested in grammar, in Korean, you set the degree of politeness that you use by changing the ending of the verb or adjective that comes at the end of the sentence. For those of you who are curious about when to use different degrees of politeness in Korean, Table 2-1 will provide general guidelines.
Table 2-1
Speech Styles
Form
Used With
Formal Polite
Someone much older than you, your teacher, your boss, customers of your business, your in-laws, a judge, and sometimes
your parents. Basically people who have seniority over you, and
to whom you want to show respect.
Informal Polite
Your colleague, an acquaintance, church minister, shop keeper,
people you do not know (e.g., people you meet on the street,
bus, train, and park). Basically everyone who does not have
seniority over you, but you want to show some respect to.
Intimate
Your close friends, your sibling, your children, your student.
Basically anyone really close to you.
Plain
In newspaper or magazine articles. Usually to an unknown
audience.
In this book, I will stick with informal polite form of the Korean language. It is formal enough so that you never sound rude, and it is informal enough so that it can be used in a variety of situations. However, in incidences where formal polite form is necessary, I will tell you both formal polite and informal polite forms of Korean. When you say jeoneun hangungmareul baewoyo ( juh-neun han-goong-ma-reul bae-wo-yo; I am learning Korean) you are using the informal polite form. This form is more than enough for everyday conversations.
06_037188-ch02.qxp 6/24/08 11:06 PM Page 27
Chapter 2: The Nitty-Gritty: Basic Korean Grammar and Numbers
27
I recommend starting off with the informal polite form, then eventually moving on to other degrees of politeness of speech as you become more fluent in Korean language.
Knowing the Basic Parts of Speech
English sentences are mostly made of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Korean sentences are also mostly made up of these same parts. There are no outlandish grammatical terms that you have to learn or master in order to learn Korean. However, the order of the sentence in Korean is different from English sentences. The basic word order in English is subject-verb-object, whereas the basic word order for Korean is subject-object-verb. Please see examples of different grammatical orders in two languages below: English: I love you.
Korean: naneun dangsineul saranghaeyo ( na-neun dang-shin-enl saranghae-yo; I love you). Literal translation: I you love.
English: I eat Kimchee.
Korean: jeoneun gimchireul meogeoyo ( juh-neun gim-chee-reul muh-guh-yo; I eat Kimchee). Literal translation: I Kimchee eat.
English: I study Korean.
Korean: jeoneun hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo ( juh-neun han-goo-guh-reul gong-boo-hae-yo; I study Korean). Literal translation: I Korean study.
Here are a few other cool things to know about the Korean language:
There is no need to distinguish between singular and plural nouns. For example, in Korean, a person and people are both called saram ( sa-ram; person, people).
There is no such a thing as subject-verb agreement (e.g., I am, It is, They are).
You don’t have to change word order
Similar Books
