어렵다

[jaesun]

Maybe there could be a lesson around the verb 어렵다.

As I understand it, if you invite or ask a person from Korea something, they would not be so direct as to say "No, I can't".

They might say "Well, I am supposed to do this other thing at about the same time, so it would be difficult..."

If this is right, then that would be a good verb to know. I'm new but I don't think there's been a lesson on politely saying "I can't"

고마와요

[Bouks]

That is interesting...I would like to see that as well, and any similar kind of point. Maybe there should be an "Indirectness Series", because I think there are lots of points in that category to talk about.

It sort of reminds me of the indirectness of Japanese. For example, when someone asks "(x,y,z)....right?" but the answer is no, you don't directly say "No, that's wrong." You have to say "chingaimasu ga..." ("It's different, but ...") Wouldn't it be nice if English had that kind of sensibility.

[Keith]

Yea actually, there are a lot of speech softeners - words that are used to make speech less direct, and thus, more polite. Because this includes a bit of cultural insight, we're trying to include that into lessons as part of our vocabulary, and explain the nuances in the lesson.

This also sounds like a possible culture class as well