Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Lesson 10 - 오천 원이에요.



About - how much something is.

The main idea of this lesson is about how to count money using the numbering system borrowed from Chinese numbers. Lesson 9 explains two numbering systems in Korean, and this lesson will provide you with some examples and exercises.

원 (Won) is the unit for Korean currency. "(A) 원이에요" means that it would be (A) Won.

In the video clip,
Owner: 어서오세요, 뭐 드릴까요? --- Welcome, what can I get for you?
Customer: 이 사과 얼마예요? ------- How much are these apples?
Owner: 천이백 원이에요. ----------- It is 1,200 Won (per apple).
Customer: 비싸요, 저 사과는 얼마예요? -- It's expensive, how much are those apples?
Owner: 팔백 원이에요. ------------- It is 800 Won (per apple).
Customer: 맛있어요? --------------- Is it delicious?
Owner: 네, 맛있어요. --------------- Yes, It is delicious.
Customer: 저 사과 주세요. ---------- Please give me those apples.
Owner: 몇 개 드릴까요? ------------ How many apples can I get for you?
Customer: 네 개 주세요. ------------ Four apples, please.
Owner: 잠깐만 기다리세요. --------- One moment, please.
..........................
Owner: 삼천이백 원이에요. --------- It would be 3,200 Won.
Customer: 돈 여기 있어요. ----------- Here is the money.
Owner: 고맙습니다. 안녕히 가세요. --- Thank you. See you later.

In this conversation, there are three expressions about "(A) 원이에요"; 천이백 원이에요, 팔백 원이에요 and 삼천이백 원이에요. Considering how to read numbers in Korean from the lesson 9, this expression is easy to learn. First, read a number and add the unit for currency. For example,
983,453 원이에요.
1) read the number 983,453: 구십팔만 삼천사백오십삼
2) add the simple expression - 원이에요.
구십팔만 삼천사백오십삼 원이에요.

For more exercises, I'd like you to read the sentences in Korean.
1) 10,300 원이에요.
2) 100 원이에요.
3) 1,930 원이에요.
4) 54,157,319 원이에요.
5) 189,372,400 원이에요.

Expressions
비싸요 (bi-ssa-yo) --- It's expensive.

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean

Friday, September 4, 2009

Lesson 9 - 얼마예요?



About - how to ask how much it is.

There are two numbering systems in Korean: one is pure Korean, and the other one is borrowed from Chinese numbers. The lesson 8 explains how to count one to ten using pure Korean numbering system. This lesson 9 is about counting money in Korean. Usually, pure Korean numbering system is used when counting things such as apple, bottle and book, while numbering system borrowed from Chinese numbers is used when counting years, money and phone numbers.

In the video clip,
Owner: 어서 오세요, 뭐 드릴까요? --- Welcome, what should I get for you?
Customer: 사과 있어요? ------------- Do you have some apple?
Owner: 네, 있어요. ------------------ Yes, we have some apple.
Customer: 얼마예요? ---------------- How much is it? (for an apple)
Owner: 천 원이에요. ---------------- It would be a thousand Won. (for an apple)
Customer: 맛있어요? ---------------- Is it delicious?
Owner: 네, 아주 맛있어요. ---------- Yes, it is very delicious.
Owner: 몇 개 드릴까요? ------------- How many things can I get for you?
Customer: 다섯 개 주세요. ---------- Five, please.
............................
Customer: 이 빵 주세요. ------------ Give me this bread, please.
Customer: 전부 얼마예요? ---------- How much would it be the total price?
Owner: 만 원이에요. ---------------- It would be 10,000 Won.

"얼마예요?" means "how much is it?" and its corresponding answer form is "_ 원이에요." "원 (Won)" is the unit of Korean currency. The phrase "만 원이에요" in the conversation means that it would be 10,000 Won. In general, "(A) 원이에요" means that it would be (A) Won, where A is a certain amount of money.

Furthermore, Let's learn more about one of Korean numbering system based on Chinese words. There is a very good reference about the Korean numbering systems from Wikipedia:

Korean numbering Systems: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_numerals

Now you are familar with the Korean numbering systems. "십" is 10, "백" is 100, "천" is 1000 and "만" is 10,000. How do you read the number-10,100-in Korean? 1o,000 plus 100 equals 10,100, so the number 10,100 can be read "만 백" in Korean. How do you read the number, 450? 400 plus 50 equals 450, so it is "사 백 오 십." When counting money, simply add the unit "원 (Won)" to the end of number. For example, 오 천 원, 만 원, 천 원, 삼 백 원, etc.

How do you read the numbers below?
65,300 원, 7,150 원, 550 원, 20 원, 9,310 원

Expressions
얼마예요? (eolma-yeyo) --- How much is it?
_ 원이에요. (_ Won-ieyo) -- It would be _ Won.

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Lesson 8 - 두 개 주세요.



About - how to count in Korean

This lesson explains how to count in Korean. Lesson 6 and 7 explains how to ask something at a store using the expressions "_있어요?" and "_주세요" respectively. Now, it is time to learn how to count in Korean, and then you can buy as many things as you need at a store. Let's read the following conversation from the video above.


Fruit store owner: 어서 오세요. 뭐 드릴까요?
Customer: 귤 있어요?
Fruit store owner: 예, 있어요. 몇 개 드릴까요?
Customer: 다섯 개 주세요. 이 사과 주세요.
Fruit store owner: 몇 개 드릴까요?
Customer: 두 개 주세요.
Fruit store owner: 네.
...
Fruit store owner: 여기 있어요.

In the conversation, "어서 오세요" is a greeting such as "Welcome" or "Good morning" in English, and "뭐 드릴까요?" means "What can I get for you?" or "May I help you?" The expression "여기 있어요" means "Here it is."

The following table shows how to count from one to ten in Korean.







Numbers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
In English
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
In Korean
하나 (hana)
둘 (dul)
셋 (set)
넷 (net)
다섯 (daseot)
여섯 (yeoseot)
일곱 (ilgop)
여덟 (yeodeop)
아홉 (ahop)
열 (yeol)
Counting example




다섯 개
여섯 개
일곱 개
여덟 개
아홉 개
열 개

"몇 개" means "how many things," so "몇 개 드릴까요?" means "How many things can I get for you?" or "How many things would you like to buy?" Here "_개" is used as a unit of counting something. There are many units to be used for counting in Korean, and "개" is one of them. For example, the unit for counting animals is "마리," so "소 한 마리" means "a cow." Usually, when counting fruits such as apple and tangerine, you can use "개" as a unit. "다섯 개 주세요" means "Please give me five tangerines" in the conversation.

Now, assuming that you are in a fruit sotre to buy seven apples, how would you say to the fruit store owner? Yes, you can say "사과 일곱 개 주세요."

Expressions and Practice
감 (gam) --------- persimmon
과자 (qwaja) ----- cookie
귤 (gyul) ------- tangerine
배 (bae) -------- pear
볼펜 (bolpen) --- ball-point pen
사과 (sagwa) --- apple
연필 (yeonpil) -- pencil
뭐 (mueo) 드릴까요? (deu ril kka yo) --- What can I get for you?

Let's practice using the expressions. Again, assuming that you are in a fruit store and want to buy four persimmons and six pears, how would you say to the fruit store owner in Korean?

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Lesson 7 - 빵 주세요.



About - how to ask several things at once at a store

The lesson 6 explains how to ask something at a store using the expression "_있어요?" This lesson explains how to ask something at a store using the expression "_주세요," and how to ask several things at once using the conjunction word "하고."

(무엇) 주세요. --- Plesas give me (something).
A 하고 B --------- A and B

If you want to buy a newspaper, you can order it by saying "신문 주세요." The word "하고" is corresponding to "and" in Egnlsih. When you mention more than two items, you can use "하고" between items. For example, if you want to mention three items (A, B and C) at once, you can say "A 하고 B 하고 C." Now you can order several things at once when you buy something at a store or restaurant.

A하고 B하고 C 주세요. --- Please give me A, B and C.

The expression "_주세요" is very useful. You can use "_주세요" when you buy something at a store or want to get some service at a restaurant or etc. For example, if you want to buy some bread at a store, you can say "빵 주세요." And if you want to drink a cup of water at a restaurant, you can say "물 한 잔 주세요."

Expressions and Practice
주세요 (juseyo) --- please give me (something)
하고 (hago) ------- and
물 (mul) ---------- water
사과 (sagwa) ----- apple
신문 (sinmun) ---- newspaper
전화카드 (jeonwha-card) --- telephone card
커피 (keopi) ------ coffee
휴지 (hyuji) ------- toilet paper

Let's practice using "주세요" and "하고." If you want to buy 신문 and 전화카드, then you can say "신문하고 전화카드 주세요." How would you say in Korean when you want to buy 물, 사과, 신문, and 커피?

More resources for learning Korean:

Friday, August 7, 2009

Lesson 6 - 비누 있어요?



About - Expressions related to how to ask someting at a store

This lesson explains how to ask something at a store using the expression "_있어요?" For example, When you visit a store to buy some soap, you can say "비누 있어요?" in Korean. In this case, "(무엇) 있어요?" means "do you have (something)?" in English. They will answer yes or no according to whether or not they have what you are looking for.



(무엇) 있어요? --- Do you have something?
네, 있어요. ------- Yes, we have something.
아니오, 없어요. --- No, we don't have something.

That is, the expression "_있어요?" is to ask whether or not something is available, so the answer "네, 있어요." means that it is available and "아니오, 없어요." means that it is not available. If you say "빵 (bread) 있어요?" at a store, then they will answer "네, 있어요." if it is avaible or "아니오, 없어요." if it is not available.

Expressions and Practice
무엇 (mu-eot) ------ something
있어요? (isseoyo) -- Do you have (something)? -- or Is (something) available?
있어요 (isseoyo) --- we/I have (something) ------ or it is available.
없어요 (eopseoyo) -- we/I don't have (something) -- or it is not available.
네 (ne) ------------- Yes
아니오 (anio) ------- No

계란 (gyeran) ------- Egg
담배 (dambae) ------ Cigarette
라면 (ramyeon) ----- Noodles
비누 (binu) --------- Soap
빵 (ppang) ---------- Bread
신문 (sinmun) ------ Newspaper
우유 (u-yu) --------- Milk

Let's practice the expression "_ 있어요?" using the words above!
If you want to buy some milk at a store, how do you say in Korean?

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean

Friday, July 31, 2009

Lesson 5 - 저는 학생입니다.



About - how to tell someone what you do for a living

The expression "입니다" means "to be" in English. When you introduce yourself to others, you say "저는 (누구)입니다." And "저는 (어느 나라) 사람입니다" is said when you say where you are from. The basic form is "(저는) 명사 (Noun) 입니다." "저는" can be omitted, and 명사 (noun) can be your name or nationality or profession etc. Let's see the following sentences:


저는 김민욱입니다. ------ I am Kim Min-Wook. (Name)
저는 중국 사람입니다. --- I am a Chinese. (Nationality)
저는 학생입니다. --------- I am a student. (profession)

This lession explains how you can ask what they do for a living and tell them your profession using the expressions "입니까?/입니다." The expression "입니까?" is question form of "입니다." For example, if you want to know someone is a student, you can ask him or her:

(당신은) 학생 입니까? --- Are you a student?

And then, the person will answer:

네, (저는) 학생입니다. --------- Yes, I am.
아니오, (저는) 회사원입니다. --- No, I am an office worker.

Here "네" or "예 (ye)" means yes, and "아니오" means no in English. In general, "ㅂ니까?" is question form of "ㅂ니다." For example,

어느 나라에서 왔습니까? --- 미국에서 왔습니다.
학생입니까? ----------------- 학생입니다.

Expressions and Practice
학생입니까? Haksang-imnikka?
네, 학생입니다. Ne, haksang-imnida.
아니오, 회사원입니다. Anio, hoesawon-imnida.

Let's ask your friends about their profession in Korean using the following words:
간호사 (ganhosa) ---------- nurse
과학자 (gwahakja) -------- scientist
기자 (gija) ------------------ journalist
선생님 (seonsangnim) --- teacher
의사 (uisa) ----------------- doctor
학생 (haksang) ----------- student
회사원 (hoesawon) ------ office worker

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Lesson 4 - 어느 나라에서 왔습니까?



About - greeting plus how to tell someone where you are from.

The previous lesson (lesson 3) explains how to say where you are from in Korean. This lesson brings slightly different expression from the previous lesson. The phrase "(어느 나라) 사람입니다" is the core expression of lesson 3 and uses present tense. The phrase "(어느 나라)에서 왔습니다" is introduced in this lesson:

어느 나라에서 왔습니까? Which country did you come from?
(어느 나라)에서 왔습니다. I came from (your country).


"어느 나라에서 왔습니까?" has the exactly same meaning as "어느 나라 사람입니까?" "(어느 나라)에서 왔습니다" has the same meaning as "(어느 나라) 사람입니다." "왔습니다" is past tense of the verb "오다" which means "come" in English.

As you see, the phrase "(어느 나라) 사람입니다" uses present tense, while the present "(어느 나라)에서 왔습니다" uses past tense.

Expressions and Practice
어느 나라에서 왔습니까? Eoneu nara-eseo wasseumnikka?
미국에서 왔습니다. Miguk-eseo wasseumnida.

Let's practice with your country name!

미국 (miguk) - the U.S.A
독일 (dokil) - Germany
러시아 (reosia) - Russia
인도 (indo) - India
일본 (ilbon) - Japan
중국 (jungguk) - China
파키스탄 (pakiatan) - Pakistan
호주 (hoju) - Australia

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Lesson 3 - 저는 한국 사람입니다.



About - greeting plus how to tell someone where you are from.

This lesson explains how to ask where they are from and to answer where you are from in Korean. The basic expressions are as follows:

어느 나라 사람입니까? Where are you from?
저는 (어느 나라) 사람입니다. I am from (your country).

"나라 + 사람" in Korean means nationality. For example, "일본 사람" for Japanese and "중국 사람" for chinese. "어느" and "나라" means "which" and "country" respectively.

At the end of the lesson, you can learn the expression "고맙습니다", which means "thank you." You can say "고맙습니다" for all the situations where "thank you" can be said. Another expression to show your gratitude is "감사합니다."

Expressions and Practice
어느 나라 사람입니까? Eoneu nara saram imnikka?
저는 일본 사람입니다. Jeoneun ilbon saram imnida.
고맙습니다. Gomapseumnida.
감사합니다. Gamsahamnida.

Let's practice with your country name!

미국 사람 (miguk saram) - American
독일 사람 (dokil saram) - German
러시아 사람 (reosia saram) - Russian
인도 사람 (indo saram) - Indian
일본 사람 (ilbon saram) - Japanese
중국 사람 (jungguk saram) - Chinese
파키스탄 사람 (pakistan saram) - Pakistani
호주 사람 (hoju saram) - Australian

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean

Lesson 2 - 저는 마이클 찬입니다.



About - the way to greet someone and introduce myself to others.

This lesson 2 is slightly different from the previous lesson. This introduces a new expression "만나서 반갑습니다" and explains the way of greeting in more detail. "만나서 반갑습니다" is usually said on the first day when they meet someone. It means "(I am) glad to meet you" in English.

In the expression "저는 (누구)입니다," "저는" means I in English. "저는" is more polite expression than "나는" and is said when they show their politeness to the listeners: when they say to older person, someone in higher position or who they meet for the first time.

저는 김민욱입니다. (I am Kim Min-Wook.)
만나서 반갑습니다. (I am glad to meet you.)

Expressions and Practice
저는 김민욱입니다. Jeoneun Kim Min-Wook imnida.
만나서 반갑습니다. Mannaseo bangapsseumnida.


Practice this expressions with your name. For example,
저는 데이빗(David)입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다.

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean


Friday, July 24, 2009

Lesson 1 - 안녕하세요



About - the way to greet someone and introduce myself to others.

In Korea when they meet someone for the first time or someone who they already know, they greet the person by saying "안녕하세요." And when they introduce themselves to others, they say "누구 (name) 입니다." For example, Mr. Kim introduces himself to the other person by saying "김민욱 입니다."

Even though they usually say "안녕하세요" in any situation for greeting, they can say "처음뵙겠습니다" as a greeting when they meet someone for the first time. That is to say, "안녕하세요" can be used in the situations that "how do you do?" and "how are you?" can be said, while "처음뵙겠습니다" can be said only when they meet for the first time.

This is Korean way of greeting. What's your way of greeting?

Expressions and Practice
안녕하세요 - Annyeong-haseyo
김민욱입니다 - Kim-min-wook-imnida
처음뵙겠습니다 - Cheoum-boepgetseumnida

안녕하세요. (누구) 입니다.
처음뵙겠습니다. (누구) 입니다.

More resources for learning Korean:
infocobuild Learning Korean