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ways of saying I and you

pokeme1
New in Town
Posts: 2
Joined: June 18th, 2009 8:26 am

ways of saying I and you

Postby pokeme1 » June 19th, 2009 10:53 am

hi i was wondering what are the diffrent ways of saying I and you? could you possibly put it in hangul format and romajin? thank you so much!

SiEd
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Posts: 117
Joined: June 17th, 2008 5:51 pm

Re: ways of saying I and you

Postby SiEd » June 19th, 2009 3:24 pm

pokeme1 wrote:hi i was wondering what are the diffrent ways of saying I and you? could you possibly put it in hangul format and romajin? thank you so much!


'I' =

나 [na] (blunt, informal) -> 내 [nae] when used with -가
저 [jeo] (formal, humilitative - definitely use with superiors and elders) -> 제 [je] when used with -가

우리 [uri] (literally 'we', but often used for 1st-person singular)

(저희 [jeoheui] - the humilitative form of 우리. I have the impression that this form isn't used for 'I' as much, if at all.)

'you' (which is quite tricky to use) =

너 [neo] (blunt, informal) -> 네 [ne - but actually pronounced {ni}] when used with -가
너희 [neoheui] - plural form of 'you'
당신 [dangshin] - used with intimates - avoid using this with strangers.

If in doubt, use the person's first name plus -씨 [sshi] or some other appropriate title.
"I'm trying to make a pun, but it's not punny."
-Mas Widiyanto

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pokeme1
New in Town
Posts: 2
Joined: June 18th, 2009 8:26 am

Postby pokeme1 » June 22nd, 2009 8:43 am

i am getting confused with somthing wich one would you use formally for you?

SiEd
Expert on Something
Posts: 117
Joined: June 17th, 2008 5:51 pm

Postby SiEd » June 22nd, 2009 1:06 pm

pokeme1 wrote:i am getting confused with somthing wich one would you use formally for you?


See, that's the thing - ALL forms of 'you' are contentious in some way.

The most neutral thing you could do is to 1) learn the person's name, and 2) use their name (plus -씨 or whatever) as if you were saying "you".
"I'm trying to make a pun, but it's not punny."
-Mas Widiyanto

kimchiandsoju
Established Presence
Posts: 82
Joined: March 20th, 2009 5:19 pm

Postby kimchiandsoju » June 24th, 2009 3:54 pm

There is no formal way of saying "you" in Korean. Sounds hard to beleive, but its true. Instead you call people titles... "Young girl" or "aunty" or "mister" or "boss" or "friend's father" or "wife's uncle"....etc etc... its confusing.

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