Korean for Dummies (17 page)

In Korea, there are many cram or tutoring

going around each apartment town, picking up

schools. After school, Korean students will go

and dropping off students at specfied times. So

to these schools to learn mainly math, Korean,

there is no need for the parents to be the drivers.

and English, which are the three main subjects

Korean students will usually come home after

that Korean students focus on. However, they

dark. Especially for students in
godeunghakgyo

also have tutoring schools and private tutors for

(godeung-hak-gyo; high school), they’ll be

social studies, physics, chemistry, biology, cal—

coming home (after many tutoring schools)

culus, and so on. Tutoring schools have buses

around 11pm.

Describing the Members of Your Family

The use of
chinjok
(
chinjok;
kinship) terms is a fascinating part of Korean
munhwa
(
moon-hwa;
culture). The kinship is a very
jungyohan
(
joong-yo-han;
important) part of Korean culture. Koreans have several dozen
daneo
(
da-nuh;
words) for family members, which may not exist in English. And a few family words have rules that the English language doesn’t; for example, sometimes you choose a word depending on your
seongbyeol
(
sung-byul;
gender) and whether or not the person you’re talking about is your family member or someone else’s. Table 4-8 presents just a few words for immediate family that are hard to go wrong with.

Table 4-8

Own Family Members

Korean Word and Pronunciation

English Word

gomo
(go-mo)

Aunt from dad’s side (dad’s sisters)

imo
(ee-mo)

Aunt from mom’s side (mom’s sisters)

hyeongje
(hyoung-jae)

Brothers

janyeo
(ja-nyuh)

Children

ttal
(ttal(

Daughter

abeoji
(a-buh-ji)

Father

sonnyeo
(son-nyuh)

Granddaughter

chinharabeoji
(chin-ha-ra-buh-ji)

Grandfather from dad’s side

oeharabeoji
(wae-ha-ra-buh-ji)

Grandfather from mom’s side

(continued)

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Table 4-8 (continued)

Korean Word and Pronunciation

English Word

chinhalmeoni
(chinhal-muh-ni)

Grandmother from dad’s side

oehalmeoni
(wae-hal-muh-ni)

Grandmother from mom’s side

jobumonim
(jo-boo-mo-nim)

Grandparents

sonja
(son-ja)

Grandson

nampyeon
(nampyun)

Husband

bakkatyangban
(ba-kkat-yangban)

Husband (when a wife refers to her husband); literal translation: outside person

eomeoni
(uh-muh-ni)

Mother

hyeong
(hyoung)

Older brother (used by males only)

oppa
(o-ppa)

Older brother (used by females only)

nuna (
noo-na)

Older sister (used by males only)

eonni
(un-ni)

Older sister (used by females only)

bumonim
(boo-mo-nim)

Parents

jamae
(ja-mae)

Sisters

adeul
(a-deul)

Son

samchon
(samchon)

Uncle from dad’s side (dad’s brothers)

oesamchon
(wae-sam-chon)

Uncle from mom’s side (mom’s brothers)

namdongsaeng
(man-dong-saeng)

Younger brother

dongsaeng
(dongsaeng)

Younger sibling

yeodongsaeng
(yuh-dong-saeng)

Younger sister

In Korea, even if you are not blood-related, if you see an old man or woman, your should call them
harabeoji
(
ha-ra-buh-ji;
grandfather) and
halmeoni
(
hal-muh-ni;
grandmother). Also many Korean call their mother’s friends
imo
(
ee-mo;
aunt, mom’s sisters).

Now I take a look at a few expressions that have to do with family. I start off with “Do you have a [some word] ?” There are two ways to ask this question in Korean:

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Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk

89

Ask someone if they have people more senior than the person you are

speaking to, such as parents and grandparents:
[some word] kkesu gyeseyo?
(
[some word] kkae-suh gae-sae-yo;
Do you have a [some word]?) Replace “[some word]” with: parent/s, grandparent/s, uncle/s, and aunt/s.

Or
bumonimkkaeseo gyeseyo?
(
boo-mo-nimkkae-suh gae-sae-yo;
Do you have parents?)

Ask a general question about whether the person you are speaking to has brothers, sisters, or children:
[some word] i/ga iseoyo?
(
[some word]

i
/
ga ee-ssuh-yo;
Do you have [some word]?), replacing “[some word]” with: brothers, sisters, or children. Or you may ask
eonniga iseoyo?
(
un-ni-ga
it-ssuh-yo;
Do you have an older sister?). This is a question you ask females only, since you have used the word
eonni
(
un-ni;
older sister) which is used for females only.

Answers to the question about parents may be something like:

ye, bumonimi gyeseyo.
(
ye, bu-mo-nim-ee gye-sae-yo;
Yes, I have parents.)

or

aniyo, bumonimi angyeseyo.
(
a-ni-yo, bu-mo-nim-ee an-gye-sae-yo;
No, I don’t have parents.)

Answers to the question about brothers/sisters/children may be something like:

ye, eonniga itseoyo.
(
ye, un-ni-ga ee-ssuh-yo;
Yes, I have an older sister.)
aniyo, eonniga eobseoyo.
(
a-ni-yo, un-ni-ga uhb-ssuh-yo;
No, I don’t have an older sister.)

Talkin’ the Talk

Hong Ser meets Matt on a date and she asks about Matt’s family.

Hong Ser:

hyeongje jamaega iseoyo?

hyung-jae ja-mae-ga ee-ssuh-yo?

Do you have brothers and sisters?

Matt:

ne, hyeongi han myeong itgo, yeodongsaengi han

myeong iseoyo.

ne, hyung-ee han-myung-it-go, yuh-dong-saeng-ee

han-myung-ee-ssuh-yo.

Yes, I have one older brother and one younger sister.

Hong Ser:

hyeongnimeun myeot sarieyo?

hyung-nim-eun myuht-sal-ee-ae-yo?

How old is your older brother?

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Matt: hyeongeun

32sarieyo

hyung-eun sam-shi-bee-sal-ee-ae-yo.

My older brother is 32 years old.

Hong Ser:

bumonimeun mwohaseyo?

boo-mo-nim-eun mwo-ha-sae-yo?

What do your parents do?

Matt: bumonimeun

seonsaengnimiseyo.

boo-mo-nim-eun sun-saeng-nim-ee-sae-yo.

My parents are teachers.

Hong Ser:

a, geuraeyo. cham jaldoenneyo

a, geu-rae-yo. cham-jal-dwet-nae-yo.

Oh, that is really great.

Words to Know

cham

cham

Really

mwohasaeyo?

mwo-ha-sae-yo

What do you/they do?

jeonyeok

juh-nyuk

Dinner

deiteu

dae-ee-teu

Date

jeorang sagwillaeyo? juh-rang-sa-gwil-

Do you want to go

lae-yo

out with me?

Exchanging Contact Information

Giving and receiving contact information is important if you want to keep in touch with someone. You may want to ask for the other person’s
imeil juso
(
ee-mae-il joo-so;
e-mail address),
jeonhwabeonho
(
juhn-hwa-bun-ho;
phone number),
paekseubeonho
(
paekseu-bun-ho;
fax number), or
juso
(
joo-so;
mail-ing address). And if you think that the other person may become an important part of your social or professional life, make sure to give him your
myeongham
(
myoung-ham;
business card). In Korean, when you have met someone for the first time and you are asking for their contact information, you need to ask them in a formal polite form. When you are asking for contact information of someone you have met before, informal polite form is enough.

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Formal polite:
yeollakcheoga eotteoke doesimnikka?
(
yuhl-lak-chuh-ga
uh-ttuh-kkae-dwae-shim-ni-kka;
What is your contact information?) You can substitute
yeollakcheo
(
yuhl-lak-chuh;
contact information) with
jeonhwabunho
(
juhn-hwa-bun-ho;
phone number) or some other specific contact information.

Informal polite:
yeollakcheoga eotteoke dwaeyo?
(
yuhl-lak-chuh-ga uh-ttuh-kkae-dwae-yo;
What is your contact information?)

Formal polite:
hoksi myeongham hanjang iseumnikka?
(
hok-shi myoung-ham hanjang-ee-sseum-ni-kka;
Do you have a business card?)
Literal translation:
Do you have one business card?

Informal polite:
hoksi myeongham hanjang iseoyo?
(
hok-si myoung-ham
hanjang-ee-ssuh-yo;
You have a business card?)
Literal translation
: Do you have one business card?

Some answers to these questions may include the following:

Formal polite:
je myeonghamimnida.
(
jae myoung-ham-im-ni-da;
Here’s my business card.)

Informal polite:
je myeonghamieyo.
(
jae myoung-ham-ee-ae-yo;
Here’s my business card.)

Formal polite:
kkok yeollakhaejusipsio.
(
kkok yuhl-lak-hae-joo-ship-shi-yo;
Please make sure to contact me.)

Informal polite:
kkok yeollakhaejuseyo.
(
kkok yuhl-lak-hae-joo-sae-yo;
Please make sure to contact me.)

Formal polite:
kkok yeollakhagetseumnida.
(
kkok yuhl-lak-ha-get-ssum-ni-da;
I’ll make sure to contact you.)

Informal polite:
kkok yeollakhalkkaeyo.
(
kkok yuhl-lak-halkkae-yo;
I’ll make sure to contact you.)

Use the formal polite form to answer if you have met the person you are speaking to for the first time. Informal polite form can be used at any other times.

Formal Korean is fine for professional and business settings, but for parties and bars, it’s a bit too formal. So if you need to ask someone for her number or e-mail address at a party or bar, choose the following informal polite sentences.

yeollakcheoga mwoeyo?
(
yuhl-lak-chuh-ga mwo-ae-yo;
What’s your contact information?)

imeil jusoga mwoeyo?
(
ee-mae-il joo-so-ga mwo-ae-yo;
What’s your e-mail address?)

jeonhwabeonhoga mwoeyo?
(
juhn-hwa-bun-ho-ga mwo-ae-yo;
What’s your number?)

kkok yeollakhaeyo.
(
kkok yuhl-lak-hae-joo-sae-yo;
Contact me, please.) 09_037188-ch04.qxp 6/24/08 11:07 PM Page 92

Fun & Games

Fill in the blanks with equivalent English/Korean words.

1. Older sister for a female

____________________________________________________________________

2. Younger brother

____________________________________________________________________

3. Grandfather on mother’s side

____________________________________________________________________

4. Aunt on dad’s side

____________________________________________________________________

5. Oppa

____________________________________________________________________

6. Eomoni

____________________________________________________________________

7. Samchon

____________________________________________________________________

8. Yeodongsaeng

____________________________________________________________________

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In This Chapter

Discovering Korean food

Practicing good table manners

Ordering food and conversing at a restaurant

Cooking Korean food

The culinary arts, history, and traditions in Korea are ancient ones that predate refrigeration and electricity. Exploring a culture through its culinary tradition is a great and delicious way to get to know more about the culture. This couldn’t be truer with Korean cooking because the dining experience embodies the sense of community, tradition, and history of an ancient culture. Everyone can find something to eat at a Korean table. The variety of Korean food ranges from fresh spring greens tossed in sesame seed oil, soy sauce, and vinegar — for the timid, savory grilled meats wrapped in vegetables, and for the most daring, even live baby octopi dipped in red pepper paste!

This chapter elaborates on the Korean dining experience and how it differs from the dining experience of the West. This chapter also helps you to communicate when you’re hungry or thirsty, sitting down to eat, as well as show you the proper table manners, how to order at a restaurant, buy groceries, and proper drinking and dining etiquette. I’ve also included a few authentic Korean recipes that can be made easily with items available in most grocery stores.