Learn Korean Easily

Hi all. It was a Bridge to Brisbane day today and I ran ten kilometers amongst forty thousand runners and walkers! It was a beautiful day to run and there were some very inspiring runners at all ages and in all interesting costumes. :) Check out some photos from the event. :) This is a dialogue number fifteen! A: Who are you going to vote for? B: I have no idea. A: Why is politics so boring? B: Because all politicians are the same. A: I wish I didn't have to care about politics. A: 누구 뽑을 거에요? nugu bbobul goaeyo? B: 아무 생각이 없어요. amu sengagi upsoyo. A: 정치는 왜 이렇게 지루하죠? jongchinun wae yirotke jiruhajo? B: 왜냐면 정치인은 다 똑같으니까요. waenyamyun jongchiineun da ddokgatuniggayo. A: 정치에 신경을 안 쓰면 속이 시원하겠어요. jongchiae singyongeul an ssumyun sogi siwonhagetsoyo. Let me know if you want me to elaborate on any sentences. Bye for now! :)

Hi guys. I lost my faith in politics in Korea long time ago when the ex-presidents went to jail one after another. :( Democracy in South Korea is progressing slowly but there is still a lot of crap going on. One good thing about living in a foreign country is that I can switch off from it. I couldn't be happier about not having to care about politics. 정치에 신경을 안 써도 되니 속이 다 시원하네요. 정치에, jongchiae, politics + suffic 신경을, singyongeul, care or attention + suffix 안, an, not 써도, ssodo, consume (쓰다) 되니, dueni, it is allowed (되다) 속이, sogi, mind + suffix 다, da, all 시원하네요, siwonhaneyo, cool or no blockage in this context (시원하다) 정치에 신경을 안 써도 되니 속이 다 시원하네요. jongchiae singyongeul an ssodo dueni sogi da siwonhaneyo. 신경을 (안) 쓰다 is an expression meaning '(not) paying attention or (not) care something'. 건강에 신경을 써요. -> Taking care of health. 건강에 신경을 안 써요. -> Not taking care of health. 블로그에 신경을 많이 써요. -> (I) pay a lot of attention to the blog. 속이 시원하다 means satisfied or relieved as if ...

Hi all. People say all politicians are the same. But we always hope for some good ones. In this election in Australia, Wyatt Roy at the age of 20 was elected as a member of parliament. Yep, he is twenty years old! We all certainly hope he is different from the same old politicians! :) All politicians are the same. 정치인은 다 똑같아요. 정치인은, jongchiineun, politician + suffix 다, da, all 똑같아요, ddokgatayo, exactly same (똑같다) 정치인은 다 똑같아요. jongchiineun da ddokgatayo. The word 정치인 is consist of 정치 (politics) plus 인 (people). You can add 인 to may other nouns to make people. 방송인 -> Media figures 음악인 -> Musical people 기업인 -> businesspeople You can say just 같다 without 똑 when two things are the same. 똑 emphasize how they are exactly the same. 나는 Wyatt Roy와 나이가 (똑)같다. -> I am (exactly) the same age as Watt Roy. 나는 Wyatt Roy와 꿈이 (똑)같다. -> I have (exactly) the same dreams as Wyatt Roy's. 이 사과는 저 배와 가격이 (똑)같다. -> This apple has (exactly) the same price as that pear. 이 쌍둥이는 똑같이 생겼다. -...

Hi all. I thought I was going to tell which party had won by the end of last night. I was wrong about that. But I was correct about that the preferences were split in half. There are some more votes to be counted, but neither of the parties got majority yet. Both parties are trying to win the support from three independent seats. It will be nail biting for those leaders. Election was all boring until I found out about my ex-workmate entered the election as a Senate candidate in Adelaide this evening!! I am not going to name her name here but she was representing The Secular Party of Australia . Good on her! But I still think politics is boring. :P Why is politics so boring? 정치는 왜 이렇게 지루하죠? 정치는, jongchinun, politics + suffix 왜, wae, why 이렇게, yirotke, like this 지루하죠, jiruhajo, boring (지루하다) 정치는 왜 이렇게 지루하죠? jongchinun wae yirotke jiruhajo? I am going to talk about the difference between '왜' and '왜 이렇게' today. I think we use just '왜', if we are after really serious ...

Hi! Tomorrow, I will vote for the federal election in Australia. It is effectively my first vote as an Australian citizen. I am very excited. :) According to the latest poll results shows that voters' preference is divided in almost exact half and half between the current government and the opposition. No one will be able to tell how it is going to turn out until every vote is counted. Well good thing about this is that the counting will be as exciting as a premier football game. :) I know who I am going to vote for. Hope it turns out the way I wish. Who are you going to vote for? 누구 뽑을 거에요? 누구, nugu, who 뽑을, bbobul, pick (뽑다) 거에요, goaeyo, is going to 누구 뽑을 거에요? nugu bbobul goaeyo? Let's talk about Korean word for 'who'. There are 누구 and 누가 (nuga). 누구 is used when the person in question is an object. On the other hand, 누가 is an nominative form, i.e. the subject of the sentence. For example, by tomorrow night, someone might ask me; 누가 뽑혔어요? -> Who has been elected? He...

Hi guys. I just heard from my sister that 폭염 was continuing in Korea. And I found a better way than swimming in a valley to stay cool. Some lucky people are enjoying skiing in the middle of summer from indoor sky slope. See it from here . :) A: This summer is abnormally hot. B: It really is. A: Why don't we go for a swim in the valley? B: How about skiing? A: OK, but let's see some stamina food first. B: I feel energized after having stamina food! A: Me too. Oh, it starts raining! B: Now I breathe a sigh of relief. A: The heat will get reduced. A: 이번 여름은 이상하게 무덥네요. yibun yeorumeun yisanghagae mudupnaeyo. B: 정말 그러네요. jeongmal geroneyo. A: 계곡에 수영하러 안 갈래요? gaegogae sooyoungharo an gallaeyo? B: 스키는 어때요? skinun oaddaeyo? A: 좋아요, 하지만 보양식을 먼저 먹어요. yoayo, hajiman boyangsikeul monjo mogoyo. B: 보양식을 먹었더니 힘이 솟는데요! boyangsikeul mogutdoni himi sonnundaeyo! A: 저도요. 오, 비가 오기 시작하는데요! jodoyo. oh, biga ogi sijakhanundaeyo! B: 이제 살 것 같아요! yijae sal gut gatayo. A: 더위가 한풀 꺾이겠어요. durweega hanpool gg...

Hi all. I am back to Brisbane after a short holiday in South Korea. I didn't go to a single beach but what matters is spending time with the loved ones. :) I managed to read a few books too. One of them had a title called "Apptizen" and it was referring to people who are actively using smartphones and social network service application such as Twitter or Facebook to shape public opinion. A new generation after Netizen. Pretty clever isn't it. Anyway, I am happy to be back to Brisbane where the temperature is just right. Having escaped from the heat, now I breathe a sigh of relief. 더위를 피하니 이제 살 것 같아요. 더위를, durweeleul, heat + suffix 피하니, peehani, avoid (피하다) 이제, yijae, now 살, sal, to live (살다) 것 같아요, gut gatayo, likely to do something (같다) 더위를 피하니 이제 살 것 같아요. durweeleul peehani yijae sal gut gatayo. -니 이제 살 것 같다 is a quite common expression. Like, I just had late dinner after a long day and I say; 밥을 먹으니 이제 살 것 같아요. If I feel better after taking medicine, I would say; 약...

Hi everyone! :) I am in Korea enjoying the time with family and friends. I was going to have a break from blogging during the holiday but I just thought I would do it anyway if I wanted! :) The first few days in Korea were really tough for me because of the heat wave, day and night. It was unbearable! Thankfully, last couple of days were better with some rain as Korea is under influence of a typhoon or 태풍. The heat wave have flinched because of this rain. 이번 비로 인하여 더위가 한풀 꺾였어요. 이번, yibun, this time 비로, biro, rain + suffix 인하여, inhayeo, because of 더위가, durweega, heat + suffix 한풀, hanpool, a big chunck of severity 꺾였어요, ggokyotsoyo, break or snap (꺾이다) 이번 비로 인하여 더위가 한풀 꺾였어요. yibun biro inhayeo durweega hanpool ggokyotsoyo. -로 인하여 is to indicate a cause or reason of what happens in the following phrase. 인하여 can be omitted. For example, 휴가로 인하여 블로그 업데이트가 안 돼요 -> The blog doesn't get updated due to holiday. 취미로 블로그를 해요. -> (I) blog for a hobby. 한풀 꺾이다 is an expression and means t...

Hi. There are three specific days which indicate the start, peak and end of the hottest summer period. They are called 초복, 중복 and 말복 respectively. There is a complicated method to calculate those days, which I won't be able to explain here, but 하지 or summer solstice is the reference point to calculate the first day. Anyway, as a tradition we enjoy various stamina food around these days. The most famous one is 삼계탕 . This Sunday is 말복 and luckily I will be enjoy authentic 삼계탕 in Korea this time. :) I feel energized after having stamina food! 보양식을 먹었더니 힘이 솟는데요! 보양식을, boyangsikeul, stamina food + suffix 먹었더니, mogutdoni, because (I) ate (먹다) 힘이, himi, energy + suffix 솟는데요, sonnundaeyo, raising (솟다) 보양식을 먹었더니 힘이 솟는데요! boyangsikeul mogutdoni himi sonnundaeyo! -더니 is an ending style that makes the first phrase a cause of the second phrase. For example: 땀을 흘렸더니 목이 말라요. -> I sweated and that's why I am thirsty. 수영을 했더니 상쾌하네요. -> I swam and that's why I feel refreshed. 매일 공부했더니...

Hi. Sweating like a pig is an interesting expression as I haven't seen any pigs sweating. :) An equivalent expression in Korean makes no sense to me either. :) I am sweating like a pig. 팥죽 같은 땀이 줄줄 흐르네요. 팥죽, patjuk, red bean porridge 같은, gateon, as such (같다) 땀이, ddami, sweat + suffix 줄줄, juljul, look of liquid running down the surface 흐르네요, huruneyo, running (흐르다) 팥죽 같은 땀이 줄줄 흐르네요. patjuk gateon ddami juljul huruneyo. I sweat like red bean porridge running down my face?? I have no idea what the origin of this expression is. 팥죽 is a seasonal food that we enjoy in winter, especially on winter solstice. If the sweat is not that heavy, we also use '구슬 같은 땀' which literally means 'beads of sweat'. Tomorrow's expression is "I feel energized after having stamina food!" Bye!

Hi everyone. How do you deal with it when it is too hot? How about jumping in to the cold weather in a valley. There is a perfect spot in South Korea called 얼음골 (Eoreumgol, Ice Valley) As the name suggests, you can see ice from there even in the middle of summer. No matter how hot the weather is, you will be freezing once you get in the water. How interesting is that? I wonder if there are similar places in other countries. Swimming in the valley is as popular as going to the beach in Korea. It is too hot! Why don't we go for a swim in the valley? 너무 더운데 계곡에 수영하러 안 갈래요? 너무, nurmu, too much 더운데, duoundae, as it is hot (덥다) 계곡에, gaegogae, valley + suffix 수영하러, sooyoungharo, to swim (수영하다) 안, an, not 갈래요, gallaeyo, would you like to go (가다) 너무 더운데 계곡에 수영하러 안 갈래요? nurmu duoundae gaegogae sooyoungharo an gallaeyo? Even though there are two separate sentences in English, I made it to be one sentence in Korean to use -ㄴ데 expression. -ㄴ데 following a adjective or verb indicates a preconditi...

Hi guys, I will be visiting South Korea in a few days so am keeping an eye on the weather forecast. It is good that 장마 is finally over, but the temperature is going through the roof! I can see myself complaining about that already. :) This week, let's talk about hot weather and good ideas to avoid it. This summer is abnormally hot. 이번 여름은 이상하게 무덥네요. 이번, yibun, this time 여름은, yeorumeun, summer + suffix 이상하게, yisanghagae, strangely (이상하다) 무덥네요, mudupnaeyo, sultry (덥다) 이번 여름은 이상하게 무덥네요. yibun yeorumeun yisanghagae mudupnaeyo. 이 means this and 번 means order or count. As 저 means that, 저번 is a previous time or last time. If you want to talk about 저번 여름, the ending of 덥네요 has to change as well to match the tense like this: 저번 여름은 이상하게 무더웠어요. If you are a great prophet who can predict next summer's weather: 다음번 여름은 이상하게 무더울 거에요 . :) 이번/저번/다음번 + noun is a useful expression to give an event a sense of order as used in this post . 이상하다 is something is strange and abnormal. And we call an...

Hi all. Hope you all had a great weekend! I had a very good weekend. There were a few drizzly days in Brisbane last week so it was extra wonderful to have a good weather this weekend. :) And thanks so much for your repeated visits and following my blog. I really appreciate it. :) Min: Please top up 5000 won on my T-money card. Clerk: OK. The balance is 6000 won now. Min: By the way, what is the best to way get to Insadong from here? Clerk: Taxi is the best way. Min: Thank you. Min: Is this the right direction to Insadong? Driver: Yes, it is. Are you running late? Min: Yes, but please do not speed. Driver: Sure. Min: Mr. Driver, do you mind if I get off here? Driver: No, that's fine. The fare is 4500 won. Min: I would like to pay by T-money. Min: 티머니 카드에 오천원 충전해 주세요. T-money cardae ohchunwon chungjonhae jusaeyo. Clerk: 네. 이제 잔액은 육천원입니다. nae. yijae janekeun yookchunwonimnida. Min: 그런데 여기서 인사동 가는 가장 좋은 방법은 뭐에요? gerundae, yogiso insadong ganun gajang joeun bangbubeun moaeyo? Clerk: 택시...