Survival Korean Donghee kim National Institute for International Education Development Ⅰ. The Korean Alphabet (Hangeul) 1. What is "Hangeul"? Hangeul is the writing system used by Koreans. It was created in 1443 by the Great King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty. Hangeul is a phonetic alphabet with each letter representing a sound. It is a distant cousin of the Altaic language family. In terms of its morphological characteristics, Korean is an agglutinating language. Hangeul consists of 10 basic vowels and 14 basic consonants. There are also 16 other compound characters combining the basic characters which make for a total of 40 Hangeul characters. 1.1 Vowels The letter shapes for the vowels were based on the three core essential elements of the universe: Heaven( ), Earth(ㅡ) and Human(ㅣ). Hangeul is not only unique but is also embedded with philosophical principles of the universe. The vowel ㅏ which portrayal of the sun rising in the east, represents a bright picture. ㅓ, portrayal of the sun setting in the west, a dark picture. Korean has 10 simple vowels and 11 diphthongs. The sound of the vowel is based on tongue position, degree of mouth opening and lip rounding. Diphthongs, the letter is a combination of vertical and horizontal vowels. The horizontal letters, ㅡ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅛ, ㅠ must be put below consonants, while the vertical, ㅣ, ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅔ, ㅐ, ㅖ, ㅒ must be put the right of consonants. Simple (10) ㅏ [a] ㅓ [ə] ㅗ [o] ㅜ [u] ㅡ [ɨ ] ㅣ [i] ㅐ [æ] ㅔ [e] ㅚ [ö] ㅟ [ü] Diphthongs (11) ㅑ [ja] ㅕ [jə] ㅛ [jo] ㅘ [wa] ㅠ [ju] ㅝ [wə] ㅢ [ɨ i] ㅒ [jæ] ㅙ [wæ] ㅖ [je] ㅞ [we] Chart 1. Vowels Chart 2. Approximates in Vowel
Letter Sound Approximates Letter Sound Approximates ㅏ a banana ㅐ æ air ㅑ ya yahoo ㅒ yæ yes ㅓ ə ago ㅔ e every ㅕ yə young ㅖ ye yellow ㅗ o over ㅘ wa hawaii ㅛ yo yo-yo ㅙ wæ weight ㅜ u moon ㅚ we way ㅠ yu you ㅝ wə war ㅡ ɨ /eu "uuh"(good) ㅞ we well ㅣ i bee ㅟ wi we ㅢ ɨ i "uuhi" 1.2 Consonants The letter shapes of consonants were formed after graphic imitations of the human voice organs, such as lip, tongue, throat, etc. Korean has 19 consonants. They are distinguished as Plain, Aspirated, Tensed consonants according to the place and manner of articulation. The basic 5 characters, ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, ㅇ are designed reflecting the points of articulation, and the rest were produced by adapting strokes to the basic letters. So, the sound value is predicted from the shape. Each consonant has its own individual sound value and name. Chart 3. Consonants Plain ㄱ [g,k] ㄴ [n] ㄷ [d,t] ㄹ [r,l] ㅁ [m] ㅂ [b,p] ㅅ [s] ㅇ [ŋ] ㅈ [dz,ts] Aspirated ㅋ [kʰ] ㅌ [tʰ] ㅍ [pʰ] ㅊ [tsʰ] ㅎ [h] Tensed ㄲ [k ] ㄸ [t ] ㅃ [p ] ㅆ [s ] ㅉ [ts ] Chart 4. Approximates in Consonant Letter Sound Name Approximates Letter Sound Name Approximates ㄱ g/k giyeok UgUame/booUkU ㅊ tsʰ chieut UchUurch ㄴ n nieun UnUow ㅋ kʰ kieut UkUitchen
ㄷ d/t digeut UdUog/gooUdU ㅌ tʰ tieut UtUrip ㄹ l/r Rieul UlUime/rain ㅍ pʰ pieup UpUiano ㅁ m mieum UmUoon ㅎ h hieut UhUotel ㅂ b/p bieup UbUoy/maUpU ㄲ k' ssang-gyeok sukuip ㅅ s siot UsUnake ㄸ t' ssang-digeut sutuop ㅇ ŋ ieung siungu ㅃ p' ssang-bieup supuy ㅈ dz/ts jieut UjUoy ㅆ s' ssang-siot UsUong ㅉ ts' ssang-jieut piuzzua 1.3 Syllable Final Consonants (Bat-chim) The consonant attached to the bottom of a syllable is called the "Bat-chim". Although all consonants can be used as a "Bat-chim", the sound of "Bat-chim" is based on the 7 following consonants : ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅂ,ㅇ. The "Bat-chim" is written at the bottom of the word syllable. Chart 5. Bat-chim Sound [k] [n] [t] [l] [m] [p] [ŋ] Single& Double Batchim ㄱ,ㅋ,ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ,ㅌ, ㅅ,ㅆ ㅈ,ㅊ, ㅎ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ,ㅍ ㅇ Example 각,엌,밖 산 곧,밭,옷,있다 달 밤 밥,잎 공 1.4 How to use the dictionary When finding words in a Korean dictionary, it is found according to the order written below. Korean words are organized in the dictionary by "(consonant)-vowel-(consonant : bat-chim)", but each part of the word must follow the order written below. a. Consonants ㄱ, ㄲ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄸ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅃ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅉ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ b. Vowels ㅏ, ㅐ, ㅑ, ㅒ, ㅓ, ㅔ, ㅕ, ㅖ, ㅗ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅢ, ㅣ For example, a word beginning with the letter "ㄱ would come before a word
U봅U + U보U + + + beginning with any other letter. Whereas a word beginning with "가 would come before a letter beginning with 기", Again, whereas a word beginning with "각" would come before a word beginning with "간", and a word beginning with "같 would come before a word beginning with "개. 2. Korean vs English The major difference between Korean and English is "word order". Unlike English, the order of words in a sentence does not necessarily make any difference in meaning in Korean, and the reason is because the special components- "particles"- are used in the Korean language. Tom likes Ann. Ann likes Tom. 톰은 앤을 좋아한다. 앤을 톰은 좋아한다. The words are ordered differently in the two sentences but those two sentences mean the same things due to the different positions of the two particles of 은 and 를. The sentences have same predicate( 좋아한다. = like ), which is always placed at the end of a sentence. 2.1 Basic Sentence Structure English: S + V + O Kate eats an apple. Korean: S + O + V U케이트가U U사과를U U먹어요.U Kate an apple eats 2.2 Korean Syllables Korean syllables, in general, can be made with consonants and vowels. A vowel by itself form a syllable, whereas a consonant should be followed by a vowel to make a syllable. When a vowel forms the first sound in a syllable, the consonant 'o' is necessarily written but has no sound. 2.3 Verb Conjugation Korean verbs are made up of bases and endings. The bases are constant, while the endings can take more than one shape. The notion of variable endings attaching to verb bases is called conjugation. Through conjugation, verbs can take on numerous different functions. a. see : 보다 U니다.U vb.stem sentence ending(declarative) U시U U겠U U습니까U?
vb.stem pre-final ending(intent) pre-final ending(honorific) final ending(interrogative) b. go : 가다 갑니다 (declarative: ~go~.) 갑니까?(interrogative: Do~go~?) 갑시다 (propositive: Let's go~.) 가십시오(imperative: Go.) 갔습니다(past tense: ~went~.) 가겠습니다(future tense: ~will go~?) 갈까요? (Shall we~?) 가고 있습니다(progressive: is going.) 2.4 Non-existent sounds Korean doesn't have f, v, ð, θ sounds of English. On the other hand, English has only 5 vowels and 2 semivowel 'y, w'. Thus it's hard to make the exact sounds of Korean diphthongs. a. English: [f], [v], [ð], [θ] : couffuee(커피), UVUincent(빈센트), UthUank you(쌩큐) b. Korean: ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅘ, ㅝ, ㅢ...(diphthongs) : UyaUrd [ja], rouyaul[iə], UwaUr[wɔ ] ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ (tensified consonants) : UsUong [ss], supuy [bb] 2.5 Action Verbs & Descriptive Verbs Verbs are used as the predicate in a sentence. There are 2 main types of verb in Korean. Action verbs denote actions or processes. Descriptive verbs(adjectives) denote qualities or states. a. The student UgoesU to school. 학생이 학교에 U갑니다.U b. The weather Uis fineu. 날씨가 U좋습니다U. c. I'm boring/ tired/ interested. 심심해요/ 피곤해요/ 재미있어요 2.6 Yes & No In positive interrogative sentences, answering with yes or no has the same rule as English, while negative interrogative sentences doesn't. A: 자요? Are you sleeping? B: 네, 자요. Yes, I'm sleeping. 아니오, 안 자요. No, I'm not sleeping. A: 안 자요? Aren't you sleeping? B: U네U, 안 자요. UYesU, I'm not sleeping. 아니오, 자요. No, I'm sleeping. 2.7 Social function(honorific) Koreans use different words or end a sentence in a different way depending on the relationship between the speaker and the listener or the situation, such as older person/ friend/ younger person, formal/ informal speech. When speaking to an older person, they use polite expressions with some special words or the different ending of a sentence, or by lowering themselves. All verbs can be converted into an honorific by adding the suffix -시'si'- after the stem.
Formal expressions are used when holding an office meeting, being interviewed for a job, or speaking formally in front of a large group of people. Informal expressions are used when conversing with colleague friends. a. Formal form : 안녕하십니까?/ 김선생님 계십니까? (Is there Mr. Kim?) b. Informal form: 안녕하세요? / 민수 있어요? (Is there Min-soo?) Ⅱ. Useful expressions 1. Greetings 안녕하십니까?/안녕하세요?/안녕? 안녕히 주무셨어요?/잘 잤니? 어서 오세요. 안녕히 계십시오./잘 있어. 안녕히 가십시오./잘 가. 안녕히 주무세요./잘 자. 또 만납시다./또 만나. 처음 뵙겠습니다. 잘 부탁합니다. How are You? Good morning. Welcome Good Bye. Good Bye. Good night. See you later. How do you do? 저는 김영수라고 합니다./ 나는 김영수라고 해./ 제 이름은 김영수입니다. 만나 뵙게 되어 반갑습니다./ 만나서 반가워. I am Kim Youngsoo. Nice to meet you. 다녀오겠습니다. 다녀오십시오. 다녀왔습니다. I'm leaving. Bye. See you later. I'm back. 2. Having meal 잘 먹겠습니다. Thank you for the meal. (before the meal)
잘 먹었습니다. 조금 더 드시겠습니까? 배가 부릅니다. 괜찮습니다. 이 음식 이름이 무엇입니까? 냉면 하나 주세요. 맛있어요./매워요./짜요. 김치 조금 더 주세요. 맵지 않게 해 주세요. I really enjoyed the meal. (after the meal) Would you like some more? I am full. Thank you. What do you call this food? / What is this food called? One Naengmyun please. It tastes good./ It's too spicy. / It's too salty. Can I have a little more Kimchi? Could you make this dish less spicy? 3. Expressions of positive and negative 네/예/응 아닙니다/아니오/아니 그렇습니다. 그렇지 않습니다. 틀렸습니다. Yes No Yes, it is. No it isn't. You are wrong. 4. Trying to say something 저, 실례합니다. Excuse me. 여보세요. 죄송합니다만. 다시 한번 말씀해 주십시오. Hello! I am sorry but... Could you repeat that please? 5. Expressions of appreciation and apology 감사합니다./고맙습니다./고마워. Thank you. / Thanks.
천만에요. 신세 많았습니다. 죄송합니다./미안합니다./미안해. 실례합니다. You're welcome. Thank you for your help. I am sorry. Excuse me. 6. Asking for directions and transportation 여기가 어디입니까? Where am I? 혜화역은 어디에 있습니까? 인사동은 어느 쪽으로 갑니까? 경복궁에 어떻게 갑니까? 지하철 몇 호선을 타면 됩니까? 어디서 갈아탑니까? 서울역으로 가 주세요. 시청 앞에 세워 주세요. 요금은 얼마입니까? Where is Hyewha station? Which direction do I go to if I want to go to Insadong? How do I get to Kyeongbokgung? Which metro should I take? Where should I transfer? Seoul station please./ Can you take me to Seoul station? Drop me off in front of City Hall, please. How much does that cost? 7. Shopping 시계 있습니까? 다른 것은 없습니까? 이것은 한국어로 뭐라고 합니까? 이것으로 하겠습니다. 모두 얼마입니까? 따로따로 포장해 주세요. Do you have watches? Do you have any other ones? How do you call this in Korean? I will take it. What is the total cost? Pack them separately, please.
8. Others 이름이 뭐예요? 주소를 적어 주세요. 편지해 주세요. 사진 좀 찍어 주세요. What is your name? Write down the address. Write to me. Can you please take a picture? 저를 좀 도와 주세요. Would you help me? 이 번호로 전화해 주세요. Call me at this number. 경찰을 불러 주세요. Call the police, please. 9. Classroom Korean 책을 펴세요. Open your books. 공부합시다. Let's study. 읽으세요. Read it, please. 쓰세요. Write it, please. 잘 들으세요. 듣고 따라하세요. 듣고 대답하세요. 잘 했어요. Listen carefully. Repeat after me. Listen and answer to me. Good job! 알겠어요?/ 알겠습니까? Do you understand?
네, 알겠어요./ 아니요, 모르겠어요./ 모르겠습니다. 질문 있어요?/ 질문 있습니까? Yes, I understand./ No, I don't understand. Do you have any questions? Ⅲ. Korean language study on the internet(kosnet) 1. What's KOSNET? KOSNET is a free website developed by NIIED and offering the educational spaces to learn the Korean language through the Internet. KOSNET has provided various learning programs to overseas Koreans and foreigners who intend to study the Korean language since 1998. The Korean Language Study Program of KOSNET is composed of 3 parts. There is a pretest, preliminary, and then Korean language courses graded according to the age of learners (Pre-K/Kindergarten, Children 1, Children 2, and Adolescent/Adult). The Korean language course is established by selecting appropriate vocabulary and sentences according to the learner's age and then gradually increasing in difficulty from that point. We also provide various types of learning materials utilizing advanced multimedia technology to increase the interest and the learning of learners. KOSNET is also provided with a CD. 1.1 Pretest 1.2 Preliminary
1.3 Contents of adolescent/adult <Listening> <Expressions> <Practice> <Exercise>
2. System Requirement - Flash Shockwave - Real Player - Windows 98 Useful Website U -'KOSNET' http://www.kosnet.go.kr - 'Novice Korean' http://korean.sogang.ac.kr - 'Teen korean' http://www.teenkorean.com - 'Click Korean' http://lei.snu.ac.kr