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Showing posts from May, 2010

I love your new shoes!

Hi all. The start of the evening was pretty average for me because of all the hassles that had happened in the afternoon. I won't go into too much detail. After I came home, I had a chat with a friend over a phone and amazingly I felt much better! I even went to the gym afterwards! Is there anything that a good friend can't fix! :) Therefore, it is always nice to complement your friend's new it item! ;) I love your new shoes! 새 신발 정말 멋진데요! 새, sae, new 신발, sinbal, shoes 정말, joungmal, really 멋진데요, mutjindaeyo, it is cool 새 신발 정말 멋진데요! sae sinbal joungmal mutjindaeyo! There is not a strict rule for plurals in the Korean grammar. So strictly speaking, 신발 is in a singular form but used as a plural here. There is a suffix to make most of countable nouns plurals and it is -들(deul). But I would say 신발들 when there are a lot of those! -들 is more commonly added if the noun is for a living object such as a person and animal. 사람이 많아요 is just as same as 사람들이 많아요. saram(deul)yi manayo. -&

Dialogue 4

Hi all. How was your weekend? As the weather is getting cooler here, I went out shopping for a new pair of boots. But unfortunately I could not find ones I liked today. It looks like I need to spend the next weekend hunting for boots. I might as well talk about shopping next week. :) But for today, here is a short dialogue between Clare and Minho on TV shows. Clare: Do you watch any American dramas? Minho: I regularly watch Lost. Clare: Why do you like it? Minho: The stories are not so predictable. Clare: Did you watch the latest episode as well? Minho: Yes. There is a shocking twist in the story. Clare: 미국 드라마 보는 것이 있습니까? Miguk drama bonun gussi itsumnika? Minho: 나는 Lost를 규칙적으로 봅니다. nanun Lostluel gyuchikjergero bomnida. Clare: 왜 그 드라마를 좋아합니까? wae ge dramalurl joahamnika? Minho: 이야기가 너무 뻔하지 않아요. yiyagiga nermu bbunhaji anayo. Clare: 최신 에피소드도 보았습니까? chuisin episodedo boaatsumnika? Minho: 네. 이야기에 충격적인 반전이 있었어요. nae. yiyagiae choongyukjergin banchernyi yitsotsoyo. Good night!

I want nothing but good news.

Hi all. I just had dinner with friends and we talked about the current tension in Korean peninsula . It is sad that these things happen over and over. We sincerely hope that these military conflicts come to a full stop. I want nothing but good news on TV tonight. 오늘 밤 TV에 좋은 소식만 있었으면 좋겠네요. 오늘, ohnul, today 밤, bam, night 좋은, joeun, good 소식만, sosikman, news only 있었으면, yitsotsumyun, if there is 좋겠어요, jotgetsoyo, I would like it 오늘 밤 TV에 좋은 소식만 있었으면 좋겠어요. ohnul bam TVae joeun sosikman yitsotsumyun jotgetsoyo. 만 as in 좋은 소식 만 is a suffix that imposes an exclusive nature of the matter. 커피만 주세요. Give me just coffee, please. 맥주만 샀어요. I bought only beer. 버스만 탔어요. I only took a bus. 웃기만 했어요. I just laughed. Peace tonight all.

There is a twist in the story.

Hi guys! Enjoying your Friday evening? I am home watching TV. It is kind of boring. Wonder since when I became such a stick-in-the-mud. lol. As long as there is an interesting show with a good twist, staying in on a Friday night isn't too bad. :) There is a shocking twist in the story. 이야기에 충격적인 반전이 있어요. 이야기에, yiyagiae, story + suffix 충격적인, choongyukjergin, shocking 반전이, banchernyi, twist + suffix 있어요, yitsoyo, there is 이야기에 충격적인 반전이 있어요. yiyagiae choongyukjergin banchernyi yitsoyo. Today, let's have a close look at 충격적인. 충격 alone means 'shock' and -적인 is a suffix commonly used to make nouns adjectives. So together it becomes 'shocking'. More examples: 상식적인, sangsikjergin, commonsensical 사교적인, sagyojergin, social 이성적인, yisunggergin, rational 공식적인, gongsikgergin, official That's it for today. Enjoy the weekend. :)

The stories are so predictable!

Hi! I am wondering if you ever saw a Korean drama. There are many internationally renowned ones such as Dae Jang Geum or Full House . I find it very interesting that Korean dramas are so popular around the world regardless the cultural differences. But I don't watch them very often because there are so many crying scenes in every show and every episode. And some stories are too corny and predictable. :( The stories are so predictable. 이야기가 너무 뻔해요. 이야기가, yiyagiga, story + suffix 너무, nurmu, very 뻔해요, bbunhaeyo, obvious or predictable 이야기가 너무 뻔해요. yiyagiga nurmu bbunhaeyo. 뻔해요 is commonly used when you are sure of something, usually in a negative way. For example: 진수는 또 늦을게 뻔해요. Jinsu is going to be late again. 진수는 자고 있을게 뻔해요. I am quite sure Jinsu is still sleeping. 우리가 질게 뻔해요. Obviously we are going to loose. 그들은 사랑에 빠질게 뻔해요. They are so going to fall in love. ;) Good night.

Can you record the show for me?

Hello all. The 2010 FIFA World Cup is only a couple of weeks away, which is exciting. I guess there will be lots and lots of soccer fans deprived of sleep for a month. :) One of my friend who was German but living in Australia recorded every match that Germany played during 2006 World Cup because he didn't want to stay up. And amazingly, he managed to avoid watching news or reading sports news on the Internet before he watched the recorded game the next day. So he could be as excited as he would have been real time. :) Anyway, let's learn how to ask someone for a favour. Can you record the show for me? 그 쇼를 녹화해 주시겠어요? 그, gu, that 쇼를, showluel, show + suffix 녹화해, nokwhahe, record 주시겠어요, jusigetsoyo, (literally)would you give me 그 쇼를 녹화해 주시겠어요? gu showluel nokwhahe jusigetsoyo? Here, two verbs are combined to form an expression for asking a favour. The basic form of 녹화해 is 녹화하다. 주시겠어요 literally means "would you give me ...". For example, "리모콘 주시겠어요?" is "

This show is getting popular.

Hi guys! Watching any TV tonight? I am watching Grey's Anatomy while I am writing this post. It is not as popular as it used to be but still interesting. And McDreamy, Dr. Shepherd is still hot. :D This drama is getting more ratings lately. 이 드라마는 최근에 시청율이 올라가고 있습니다. 이, yi, this 드라마는, dramanun, drama + suffix 최근에, chuegene, lately 시청율이, sichungyuelyi, ratings + suffix 올라가고, ollagago, increase 있습니다, yitsomnida, nature of being continued in this case 이 드라마는 최근에 시청율이 올라가고 있습니다. yi dramanun chuegene sichungyuelyi ollagago yitsomnida. Today, I am going to focus on present continuous forms. It is similar to English grammar which is the form of "am/is/are + present participle" but the normal verb comes first in Korean grammar. For example, 올라가고 있습니다 in today's sentence, 올라가고 is the normal verb and 있습니다 is there to express the continuous nature. Actually, the basic form of the verb 올라가고 is 올라가다. As two verbs get combined, it changes its form slightly. 올라가 다 -> 올라가 고 . Mor

Did you watch the latest episode?

Hi all! This week's theme is television. Some people like it while some people don't. If you ask me, I love TV except cop shows. I don't understand why there are so many of them. The world doesn't need any more violence! :) Anyway, today's expression is: Did you watch the latest episode of Lost? 로스트 최신 에피소드 보았습니까? 로스트, lost, Lost 최신, chuisin, latest 에피소드, episode, episode 보았습니까, boaatsumnika, watched? 로스트 최신 에피소드 보았습니까? lost chuisin episode boaatsumnika? You might want to say "Did you watch the fifth episode of Lost?" Then there is a counter word for TV episode which is 회 (whe) or 편 (pyon). So you can say either "로스트 오회 (ohwhe) 보았습니까?" or "로스트 오편 (ohpyon) 보았습니까?". BTW, do you remember that there are different ways to count numbers in Korean? Depending on which counting way you use, there are differences in meaning. For example: 로스트 오회 보았습니까? -> Did you watch the fifth episode of Lost? 로스트 다섯회 보았습니까? -> Did you watch five episodes

Dialogue 3

Hi Everyone. It is already time for the third dialogue. :) Chris: What is the national sport of Korea? Jinsu: It is Taekwondo. Chris: Do you practice Taekwondo? Jinsu: No. I prefer sports that I can play with others like soccer . Chris: I used to be a soccer player. I still practice three times a week. 크리스: 한국을 대표하는 운동은 무엇입니까? hangukeul daepyohanun undongeun muersimnika? 진수: 태권도입니다. Taekwondoimnida. 크리스: 진수씨는 태권도를 합니까? Jinsossinun taekwondoluel hapnika? 진수: 아니오. 나는 축구처럼 여러 사람과 함께하는 운동을 더 좋아합니다. aniyo. nanun chukguchorum yorua saramgua hamkehanun undonguel de joahapnida. 크리스: 나는 예전에 축구 선수였습니다. 나는 아직도 일주일에 세번 연습합니다. nanun yechunae chukgu sunsu yotsumnida. nanun ajicdo iljuilae saebun yeonsphapnida. Some new expressions that weren't in last week's sentences are highlighted. Yes and No are 예 (yae) and 아니오 (aniyo) respectively. ~처럼 means like something and 아직도 means still. Good night! :)

I work out three times a week.

Hi guys. Hope your weekend is going well. Earlier this evening, I went to my friend's rock band gig. It was a weekend-hobby kind of band but their performance was great. Especially the bassist of the band was an old lady in her fifties! It was so inspirational to see people enjoying things they love against the odds. Why don't you start doing something you always wanted to do? Practice makes perfect. :) I work out three times a week. 나는 일주일에 세번 운동합니다. 나는, na + nun, I + suffix 일주일에, iljuil + ae, one week + suffix 세번, saebun, three times 운동합니다, undonghapnida, work out 나는 일주일에 세번 운동합니다. nanun iljuilae saebun undonghapnida. There are a few counter words in today's sentence. Let's first look at 일주일. The first 일 is one. 주일 is a week. How do we count ten in Korean? 1, 일, il 2, 이, yi 3, 삼, sam 4, 사, sa 5, 오, oh 6, 육, yook 7, 칠, chil 8, 팔, pal 9, 구, goo 10, 십, sip It would make our life so much easier if this is the only way to count numbers in Korean. We are not that lucky. :(

Is he gay? So what?

Hi all! Sorry about the short one yesterday. I came home too late after seeing a movie. I might fix it up later. Do you know a sport called Australian rules football ? It is a pretty tough sport. I remember being shocked when I first saw this game and players punching in each other's face on the ground. Anyway, it is a hot issue in Australia right now whether gay players should come out or not. One of the "straight" players said it is not safe for gay players to come out because they are too tough and masculine to play or be in the locker room with gay players. Excuse me?! This is the twenty-frigging-first century! I can't believe what I am hearing. So here is today's expression. He is just a football player not a gay football player. 그는 게이 축구 선수가 아니라 그냥 축구 선수입니다. 그는, gnun, he + suffix 게이, gay, gay 축구, chukgu, football 선수가, sunsoo, player + suffix 아니라, anira, rather 그냥, gnyang, just 그는 게이 축구 선수가 아니라 그냥 축구 선수입니다. gnun gay chukgu sunsooga anira gnyang chukgu sunsoo

I used to be a soccer player.

Hi all! This is a short one as it is getting too late. I used to be a soccer player. 나는 예전에 축구 선수였습니다. 나는, nanun, I 예전에, yechunae, before 축구, chukgu, soccer 선수, sunsu, player 였습니다, yotsumnida, was 나는 예전에 축구 선수였습니다. nanun yechunae chukgu sunsu yotsumnida. "예전에 + ~였습니다" means something was regular in the past. Similarly, if you want to say "I used to live in Seoul" it goes like this. "나는 예전에 서울에 살았습니다 ." See you tomorrow. :)

Who won?

Hi everyone. I recently rejoined a gym after having one year break. It was great to be back to my favourite dance class and let the hip do the talking. My legs are a bit sore but it is a nice kind of pain. :) Today, let's find out who won the game. Who won the baseball game today? 오늘 야구 경기 누가 이겼어요? 오늘, ohnul, today 야구, yagoo, baseball 경기, kyunggi, game 누가, nuga, who 이겼어요, eegyotsoyo, won 오늘 야구 경기 누가 이겼어요? ohnul yagoo kyunggi nuga eegyotsoyo? Here are a few words to indicate time. 어제, erje, yesterday 내일, neil, tomorrow 아침, achim, morning 오전, ohchun, in the morning or AM 점심, chomsim, noon 오후, ohhu, in the afternoon, or PM 저녁, chonyak, evening 밤, bam, night Then how can you say "Who won last night?"? It is "어제 밤 누가 이겼어요?". Easy, isn't it. :) And 아침, 점심 and 저녁 could mean breakfast, lunch and dinner depending on the context. Check out my earlier post on this at How about KFC? You can use "어느 팀, erne team, which team" instead of "누가" from today

I like team sports.

Hi all. Wow, today I have a new follower! Welcome, Leaa! I should have introduced lacosta too. lacosta has lovely blogs. The first follower was my sister who joined as a token of moral support (upon my request). ;) Anyway, what kind of sports do you like? I like golf... just going out there alone watching grass grow... lol But you might like team sports. I like sports that I can play with others. 나는 여러 사람과 함께하는 운동을 좋아합니다. 나는, nanun, I 여러, yorua, several 사람과, saramgua, person + suffix 함께하는, hamkehanun, doing together 운동을, undonguel, sports + suffix 좋아합니다, joahapnida, like 나는 여러 사람과 함께하는 운동을 좋아합니다. nanun yorua saramgua hamkehanun undonguel joahapnida. 여러 goes well with many countable nouns. 여러 사람 is several people, 여러 나라 is several countries, 여러 음식 is several foods, 여러 가지 is several things and so on. Interestingly, 여러 명 is also several people, 여러 개 also mean several things. But the difference is 명 and 개 are not nouns, they are rather counter words. For example; 한 개 , 두 개 , 세 개 mean one,

What is the national sport of Korea?

Hi all. This week I am going to talk about sports. There are many sports that are popular in Korea including soccer, baseball, volleyball, basketball and so on. But let's first find out what is the national sport of Korea. :) What is the national sport of Korea? 한국을 대표하는 운동은 무엇입니까? 한국, hanguk, Korea ~을, eul, a suffix that follows a noun 대표하는, daepyohanun, representing 운동, undong, sport ~은, eun, another suffix that follows a noun 무엇입니까, muersimnika, what is it 한국을 대표하는 운동은 무엇입니까? hangukeul daepyohanun undongeun muersimnika? All these suffixes make Korean very difficult to learn. Many suffixes have different forms depending on how the sound of the followed noun ends. For example, if the noun ends with a consonant 을 and 은 are used. But if the noun ends with a vowel, 를 and 는 are used receptively. I'll give you some examples instead of trying to explain the grammar itself. 한국사람 은 매운 음식 을 좋아합니다. Korean people like spicy food. 민 은 저녁 을 먹었습니다. Min had dinner. 나 는 책 을 읽습니다. I rea

Dialogue 2

Hi everyone. What have you guys planned for Sunday? How about going to the movies and having Korean barbecue for dinner? :) This is this week's dialogue. Chris: Would you like to eat something? Jinsu: Sure. What do you feel like? Chris: I feel like some Korean food. Jinsu: What kind of food do you prefer? Spicy or non-spicy? Chris: I am OK with spicy food. Jinsu: Then how about Budae jjigae ? Chris: Sounds good. Let's go. 크리스 : 뭐 좀 먹을래요? mo chom mogulleyo? 진수: 좋아요. 뭐 먹고 싶어요? joayo. mo mokgo sipoyo? 크리스: 한국 음식 먹고 싶어요. hanguk emsik mokgo sipoyo. 진수: 매운 음식 또는 안매운 음식 중 어떤게 좋아요? meun emsik ddonun anmeun umsic jung addunge joayo? 크리스: 매운 음식도 괜찮습니다. meun emsikdo gwenchansumnida. 진수: 그럼 부대찌게 어때요? grum budaejjigae addayo? 크리스: 좋아요. 갑시다. joayo. gaapsida. See you tomorrow. Bye!

Would you like some coffee or tea?

Hi Everyone. I got woken up by a phone call this morning and it was not a good news. My close friend's mother passed away yesterday. I would like to express my condolences. And let's all be nice to our mothers while we can. Love you mum! Today we will learn how to represent alternatives. Would you like some coffee or tea? 커피나 차 마실래요? 커피, kopi, coffee ~나, na, or 차, cha, tea 마실래요, masileyo, would you like to drink? 커피나 차 마실래요? kopina cha masileyo? You can attach a suffix, ~나, to a noun to express alternatives. 또는(ddonun) has the same meaning but is a word not a suffix. 커피 또는 차. Both are common. I would say the degree of politeness of "마실래요?" is about neutral. The most polite form for both drink and eat is 드시다(dusida). Informal ----------------------------------------- Polite 마실래? ------ 마실래요? ------ 마시겠습니까? ------ 드시겠습니까? 먹을래? ------ 먹을래요? ------ 먹겠습니까? ------- 드시겠습니까? Don't for get to say I love you to you mum. :) Bye!

I'll help you do the dishes.

Hi all. After a satisfying meal, you just want to sit back and relax. But what about the dishes. A proper Korean dinner uses a lot of dishes in different shape and size. It is always nice to offer a help to do the dishes. :) By the way, I decided not to use hyphens when I write the pronunciation. I'll help you do the dishes. 내가 설겆이 도와줄게요. 내가, nega, I 설겆이, serlguoji, washing dishes 도와줄게요, dowajulgeyo, help you 내가 설겆이 도와줄게요. nega serlguoji dowajulgeyo. 내가 is also I. The polite form of 내가 is 제가(jega). But I can't really tell the difference between 내가 and 나는. They are pretty much interchangeable. But if I say "나는 설겆이 도와줄게요.", it kind of implies that there is someone else who can do something else while I am doing this. That's it for today. I have a party to go. Right Now! Have a good weekend all! :)

I had enough.

Hi everyone. It is Korean or any Asian country's custom to serve large amount of food to guests. I remember suffering from too much food when I had to visit a lot of relatives in one day, for example on Chinese New Year Day. It doesn't matter whether I am full or not. They would just keep serving food because I am a guest. I think it will be useful for you to learn to say that you had enough in case you are invited to a Korean family dinner. :) I had enough. I am really full. 저는 많이 먹었습니다. 배가 너무 부릅니다. 저는, jue-nun, I 많이, ma-ni, a lot 먹었습니다, mo-gut-sum-ni-da, have eaten 배가 , bae-ga, stomach 너무, nuo-mu, too much 부릅니다, bu-rum-ni-da, full 저는 많이 먹었습니다. 배가 너무 부릅니다. jue-nun ma-ni, mo-gut-sum- ni-da. bae-ga nuo-mu bu-rum-ni-da. Both 저는 and 나는 have the same meaning when translated in English. But there is a difference in Korean. 저는 is used to lower yourself when you speak to a senior. It would have been much easier to learn Korean if there weren't the differences between the polite an

I feel like some Korean food.

Hi everyone! I added a search option yesterday so you can search other Korean teaching websites. It searches only seven websites at the moment including mine but I will add more as I find them. Hope you find it useful. :) Today, let's learn how to express your wish. I feel like hot Korean food. 매운 한국 음식 먹고 싶어요. 매운, mae-un, hot 한국, han-guk, Korea 음식, em-sik, food 먹고, mok-go, eat 싶어요, si-po-yo, want to do something 매운 한국 음식 먹고 싶어요. mae-un han-guk em-sik mok-go si-po-yo. Korean food is famous for its spicy taste. If you have tried " 불닭, bul-dak " you will see what I mean. :) A few more expressions that describe tastes are: 짠, jjan, salty 단, dan, sweet 담백한, dam-back-han, lean 기름진, gi-rum-jin, greasy 시원한, si-won-gan, cold 따뜻한, dda-ddut-han, hot A word for action followed by 싶어요 means you would like to do something. 자고(ja-go) 싶어요. I would like to sleep. 가고(ga-go) 싶어요. I would like to go. 만나고(man-na-go) 싶어요. I would like to meet. If you want to ask someone's wish, it is simp

How about KFC?

Hello everyone! I just had KFC Mega meal with friends. Yummy! :) So here is today's expression. How about KFC for dinner? 저녁은 KFC 어때요? 저녁은, cho-neok-en, dinner 어때요?, a-dae-yo?, How about something? 저녁은 KFC 어때요? cho-neok-en KFC a-dae-yo? The primary meaning of 저녁 is evening. But in this context it means meals for dinner. It is similar for breakfast and lunch. 아침, a-chim, morning or breakfast 점심, chum-sim, afternoon or lunch 은 that follows 저녁 is one of the suffixes. Suffixes are very common in Korean grammar . 어때요? is also a very common expression that has versatile usages. Use this when you want to ask about a state of things or someone's opinion on something. It is also useful when you suggest something to someone. For example, "날씨가 어때요? nal-ssi-ga a-dae-yo?" means "How's the weather?". "영국은 어때요?, young-guk-en a-dae-yo? means "What's it like in England?" or "How about England?" depending on the context. Have a good evening! :

Let's have some food.

I was thinking about this week's theme and I thought why not talk about food! Yep, it is a ground breaking idea-- Not. ;) Is there anyone who doesn't like food? I love food. Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Greek, American, Brazilian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, Chinese of course, Spanish, you name it. Anyway, let's learn how to suggest someone to eat. 뭐 좀 먹을래요? Would you like to have some food? 뭐, mo, what 좀, chom, little bit 먹을래요?, mo-gul-le-yo?, eat? 뭐 좀 먹을래요? mo chom mo-gul-le-yo? First of all, I think I need to mention that in Korean, we tend to omit a subject from the sentence when it is obvious. Actually, it sounds a bit awkward if I try to add a word for "you" to this sentence. But it is OK if you use a title. For example, "선생님, 뭐 좀 먹을래요?" or "학생, 뭐 좀 먹을래요?" 선생님, sun-saeng-nim, teacher 학생, hak-saeng, student 좀, chom, is commonly used just like we use a lot of "a bit" or "a little bit", in English sentences. &q

Dialogue 1

Hello everyone! How's your weekend going? I had an awesome night at a club with my favourite DJ's performance yesterday. Check out Coxy DJ at http://coxydj.podOmatic.com/ Back to the serious business of learning Korean! Sunday posting will be a short dialogue made up of the sentences from the previous week. Eventually, I would like to record it on the video and put it on here. Let's see how it goes. So here it is. English version. A: Hello. Are you Korean? B: Yes, I am Korean. A: My name is Chris. A: My name is Jinsu. Nice to meet you. Korean version. A: 안녕하세요. 한국 사람 입니까? an-yong-ha-se-yo. han-guk sa-ram im-ni-ka? B: 예. 나는 한국 사람 입니다. Yae. na-nun han-guk sa-ram im-ni-da. A: 제 이름은 크리스입니다. Je i-rum-en Chris im-ni-da. A: 제 이름은 진수입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다. Je i-rum-en Jinsu im-ni-da. man-na-seo ban-gab-sum-ni-da. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Bye! :D

What a beautiful day!

It is a beautiful autumn day in Brisbane. The temperature is just right. Great for doing anything outdoor! I am driving down to the driving range soon to whack some golf balls. :) The weather is beautiful. 날씨가 정말 좋아요. 날씨가, nal-ssi-ga, The weather 정말, jeong-mal, really 좋아요, jo-a-yo, good 날씨가 정말 좋아요. nal-ssi-ga jeong-mal jo-a-yo. "좋아요, jo-a-yo" can be used in many circumstances. When you like something, when you are saying OK to someone, when you mean something is in a high quality etc. 나는 바다가 좋아요., na-nun ba-da-ga jo-a-yo., I like the sea. 좋아요. (by itself), jo-a-yo., OK 맛이 좋아요. ma-si jo-a-yo., It is delicious. Have a great day!

Say where you are from

Have you had any luck meeting Korean people? :) Now let's learn how to say where you are from. I am Chinese. 나는 중국 사람 입니다. 나는, na-nun, I 중국, jung-guk, China 사람, sar-ram, person 입니다., im-ni-da, am 나는 중국 사람 입니다. na-nun jung-guk sa-ram im-ni-da. A few other country names are: 미국, mi-guk, America 태국, tae-guk, Thailand 베트남, bae-tu-nam, Vietnam If you have noticed that many country names in Korean ends with "국, guk", that is because the origin of the word is from Chinese meaning "country". When that word is written in simplified Chinese it looks like 国. Interesting, huh? :D See you next time!

Meet Koreans!

One way of learning a new language is having a friend who speak the language. When you see a person who looks Korean next time, why not ask if he or she is Korean? Are you Korean? 한국 사람 입니까? 한국, han-guk, Korea 사람, sa-ram, person 입니까? im-ni-ka?, are you? 한국 사람 입니까? han-guk sa-ram im-ni-ka? Replace 한국 with 일본. Then you are saying "Are you Japanese?". 일본, il-bon, Japan 영국, young-guk, England 호주, ho-chu, Australia Too advanced?! It will get easier. If you want to learn Korean characters (한글, han-gul) visit http://www.learnkorean.com/lesson/lesson2.asp . Have fun! :)