Korean for Dummies (47 page)

Koreans also use
neukkihada
to describe people and their actions. A similar-ity in English is using
saccharine
to describe people or actions that are overly nice to the point of being unnatural or uncomfortable. Koreans use
neukkihada
to exclusively describe men. They do not use
neukkihada
to describe women. Use it to describe the feeling you get when someone seems to be putting on airs to look more sophisticated or charming than they are.

Suppose your guy friend is trying to impress a girl he just met at a bar. He’s being a perfect gentleman, which is completely out of character for him, and as a result you have a hard time suppressing your laughter. Here, you can use
neukkihada
(
neu-kki-ha-da
) to express the awkwardness that you feel.

Perhaps you later tell your friend
akka neo neomu neukkihadeora.
(
a-kka
nuh nuh-moo neu-kki-ha-duh-ra;
Man, you were being so uncharacteristically smooth back there that I felt queasy watching you.) You can also use
neukkihada
negatively. For example, you can use it if you see a female friend of yours dancing with a dude who looks and acts

strangely like Fabio, and even talks like Fabio — and you really don’t like Fabio. You may want to use
neukkihada
to describe that person.
jeo saram
jom neukkihada
(
juh sa-ram jom neu-kki-ha-da;
That person looks like he’s trying a little too hard, and it’s making me uncomfortable.) siwonhada

shi-won-ha-da
: Cool, refreshing, or good
;
plain

You can use
siwonhada
(
shi-won-ha-da;
cool, refreshing) just as you do the English word
cool.
For Koreans, a cool breeze on a summer day is
siwonhada,
and a cup of cold lemonade is also
siwonhada.
Literally,
siwonhada
means
cool,
but Koreans use it to capture a much broader range of feelings. Koreans also use
siwonhada
to describe the sense of mental catharsis or refreshment that you feel after experiencing a happy event. Furthermore, although scratching an itch and drinking a hot cup of tea aren’t literally cool, Koreans use the word
siwonhada
because it internalizes the feeling that you get from a breeze on a hot summer day. The informal polite form is
siwonhaeyo
(
shi-won-hae-yo
) and you can use this phrase to describe the drink you are drinking is cool or the weather is cool.
siwonhaeyo,
however, does not have as broad range of feeling as the
siwonhada
, since it’s not used as much as
siwonhada
, and sounds kind of awkward.

Koreans use
siwonhada
to describe seeing a long-needed summer rainstorm, driving down an non-congested road, taking a shot of tequila, and seeing a person they don’t like get into trouble. In this way, Koreans use the word
siwonhada
to describe a feeling of catharsis. It’s like having a breeze lift your spirits.

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Chapter 20: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Korean

299

You can also use
siwonhada
to describe the feeling of refreshment that you get from scratching an itch, stretching out, walking out of a sauna, or drinking a cup of tea.

sugohaeyo

soo-go-hae-yo:
Keep up the good work
;
informal polite This is a common expression in English, of course, but you should be especially certain to use it often when you’re working with people who speak Korean. Using
sugohaeyo
(
soo-go-hae-yo;
Keep up the good work) is okay with people you know well or work with a lot. Make sure you use the formal polite form,
sugohasipsiyo
(
soo-go-ha-ship-shi-yo;
Keep up the good work) if you’re going to use the expression around any seniors.

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In this part . . .

In this part you can find several references that you

may want to turn to while flipping through the rest of

the chapters or while out on your own. You can find verb

tables that show the conjugations of regular and irregular

verbs, and a mini-dictionary for Korean-to-English and

English-to-Korean words. Think you’ve mastered the Fun

& Games sections? Well, check out the answers in this

part as well as look for the list of tracks that appear on the

audio CD.

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Appendix A

Korean Verbs

This section lists Korean verbs, in their dictionary forms. For proper use of Korean verbs, consult Chapter 2. Try to remember that the verb usually ends a Korean sentence, and you’re off to a great start!

akkida/
a-kki-da
/to cherish

bureuda/
boo-reu-da
/to call, to

alda/
al-da
/to know

summon, to be full

allyeojida/
al-yuh-jee-da
/to be

chada/
cha-da
/to be cold, to be full,

known

to kick (For proper usage, please

check the context in which the

anda/
an-da
/to sit

verb is used.)

annaehada/
an-nae-ha-da
/to guide

chaengida/
chaeng-gi-da
/to gather

apeuda/
a-peu-da
/to be hurt, to be

together, to pack

ill, to be sick

chajihada/
cha-jee-ha-da
/to occupy,

baeuda/
bae-oo-da
/to learn

to possess

bakkuda/
ba-kkoo-da
/to change, to

chamda/
cham-da
/to be patient, to

exchange

persevere, to endure

bappeuda/
ba-ppeu-da/
to be busy

chamgahada/
cham-ga-ha-da
/to participate, to join

batda/
bat-da
/to receive

charida/
cha-ree-da
/to prepare, to

beorida/
buh-ree-da
/to throw away,

get ready

to discard

chatda/
chat-da
/to search, to

beotda/
buht-da
/to take off, to

look for

undress, to unburden

cheorihada/
chuh-ree-ha-da
/to take

bichuda/
bee-choo-da
/to shine on,

care of

to shed a light on

chida/
chi-da
/to hit, to strike

bissada/
bee-ssa-da
/to be expensive, too costly

chiida/
chi-ee-da
/to get hit (for

example, in a car accident)

boda/
bo-da
/to look, to see

chinhada/
chin-ha-da
/to be inti-

boyeojuda/
bo-yuh-joo-da
/to show

mate, to be close, to be friendly

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chiuda/
chi-oo-da
/to put away, to clean up,

garida/
ga-ree-da
/to cover up, to hide, to

to remove

conceal

chuda/
choo-da
/to dance

garyeopda/
ga-ryuhp-da
/to itch

chupda/
choop-da
/to be cold

gatda/
gat-da
/to be same

chwihada/
chwee-ha-da
/to be drunk, to be

geotda/
guht-da
/to walk

intoxicated

gidarida/
gee-da-ree-da
/to wait

chwisohada/
chwee-so-ha-da
/to cancel

gilda/
gil-da
/to be long, lengthy

dahada/
da-ha-da
/to complete, to finish

gireuda/
gee-reu-da
/to raise

dalda/
dal-da
/to hang, to put up

gochida/
go-chee-da
/to fix

dallida/
dal-lee-da
/to run

goreuda/
go-reu-da
/to choose

danggida/
dang-gee-da
/to pull

guhada/
goo-ha-da
/to save, to find

danida/
da-nee-da
/to come and go, to go

hada/
ha-da
/to do

about

himdeulda/
himdeul-da
/to be hard, to be

deonjida/
duhn-jee-da
/to throw

difficult

deopda/
duhp-da
/to be hot, warm

igida/
ee-gee-da
/to win

deullida/
deul-lee-da
/to be heard

ikda/
ilk-da
/to read

deurida/
deu-ree-da
/to give

ipda/
eeb-da
/to wear

deutda/
deut-da
/to listen

itda/
eet-da
/to exist, to be here, to be

dolboda/
dol-bo-da
/to look after

present

dollida/
dol-lee-da
/to turn, to spin

jada/
ja-da
/to sleep

dowajuda/
do-wah-joo-da
/to help

jakda/
jahg-da
/to be small, doesn’t fit

duda/
doo-da
/to leave alone

jallida/
jal-lee-da
/to be cut, to be laid off

eodupda/
uh-doop-da
/to be dark, to be dim

japida/
ja-pee-da
/to be grabbed, to be

eolda/
uhl-da
/to freeze

captured

eojireopda/
uh-jee-ruhp-da
/to be dizzy

japda/
jap-da
/to grab, to capture, to grasp

eojireuda/
uh-jee-reu-da
/to make a mess

jareuda/
ja-reu-da
/ to cut

eopda/
uhp-da
/to not exist, to run out, to

jeopda/
juhp-da
/to fold

not have

jeotda/
juht-da
/to stir, to be wet

eoryeopda/
uh-ryuhp-da
/to be difficult

jichida/
jee-chee-da
/to be exhausted

gabyeopda/
ga-byuhp-da
/to be light,

jida/
jee-da
/to lose

weighs little

jubda/
joob-da
/to pick up

gada/
ga-da
/to go, to come, to proceed, to

keuda/
keu-da
/to grow

travel

kiuda/
kee-oo-da
/to nurture, to raise

gajida/
ga-jee-da
/to have, to take

makda/
mak-da
/to block

galda
/
gal-da
/to exchange, to grind

makhida/
mak-hee-da
/to be blocked, to be

gamchuda/
gam-choo-da
/to hide

clogged

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Appendix A: Korean Verbs

305

mandeulda/
mandeul-da
/to make

nolda/
nol-da
/to play

mannada/
man-na-da
/to meet

nollada/
nol-la-da
/to be surprised

mareuda/
ma-reu-da
/to be dry, to be

nollida/
nol-lee-da
/to tease

thirsty

nota/
no-ta
/to release, to let go

masida/
ma-shi-da
/to drink

nullida/
nool-lee-da
/to be pressed down,

meogida/
muh-gee-da
/to feed

to be squashed

meokda/
muhk-da
/to eat

nureuda/
noo-reu-da
/to press down, to

meokhida/
muk-hee-da
/ to be eaten

squash

meolda/
muhl-da
/to be far away

oda/
o-da
/to come

mitda/
meet-da
/to believe

pada/
pa-da
/to dig

moeuda/
moh-eu-da
/to gather something

palda/
pal-da
/to sell

(for example, berries)

pallida/
pal-lee-da
/to be sold

moida/
mo-ee-da
/ to gather together

sada/
sa-da
/to buy

(for example, people)

salda/
sal-da
/to live