Learn the key pattern to talk about your nationality
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Ms. Yu asks, |
| "Are you Korean?" |
| 한국인이에요? (Han-gug-in-i-e-yo?) |
| First is 한국인 (han-gug-in) "Korean," as in a Korean person. 한국인 (han-gug-in). |
| There are two components. |
| This starts with 한국 (han-guk), "Korea." 한국. 한국. |
| After this is 인 (in), "person." 인. 인. |
| Together, 한국인 (han-gug-in) literally means "Korea person," but translates as "Korean" as in a Korean person. 한국인. |
| Note: 한국인 (han-gug-in) is a noun, not an adjective. |
| Next is 이에요 (i-e-yo). Here, it’s like the "are" in "are you." 이에요. 이에요. |
| Note: the word "you" is understood from context, as this is a two person conversation. |
| In addition, 이에요 (i-e-yo) follows words that end in consonants, as in 한국인 (han-gug-in). |
| All together, it’s 한국인이에요? This literally means "Korea person [you] are?" but it translates as "Are you Korean?" 한국인이에요? |
| Note the question is formed by the rising intonation. Listen again, |
| 한국인이에요? (Han-gug-in-i-e-yo?) |
| 한국인이에요? (Han-gug-in-i-e-yo?) |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Ji-yeong Ju says, |
| "Yes, I'm Korean." |
| 네, 저는 한국인이에요. (Ne, jeo-neun han-gug-in-i-e-yo.) |
| The first part is 네 (ne), meaning, "yes." 네. 네. |
| It answers Ms. Yu’s yes-or-no question, "Are you Korean?" |
| 한국인이에요? (Han-gug-in-i-e-yo?) |
| First is 저 (jeo), meaning "I." 저. 저. |
| This is the humble word for “I.” |
| Next is 는 (neun), the topic-marking particle. 는. 는. |
| It marks "I" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for me…." |
| Together, it’s 저는 (jeo-neun). "As for me...." 저는. |
| Next is 한국인 (han-gug-in), "Korean," as in a person from Korea. 한국인 (han-gug-in). |
| After this is 이에요 (i-e-yo). Here, it’s like the "am" in "I am." 이에요 (i-e-yo). |
| All together, it’s 네, 저는 한국인이에요. (Ne, jeo-neun han-gug-in-i-e-yo.) This literally means "Yes, as for me, Korea person am," but it translates as "Yes, I’m Korean." |
| 네, 저는 한국인이에요. (Ne, jeo-neun han-gug-in-i-e-yo.) |
| The pattern is |
| 저는 {NATION}인이에요. (Jeo-neun {NATION}-in-i-e-yo.) |
| I'm {NATIONALITY}. |
| 저는 {NATION}인이에요. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {NATION} placeholder with the country you're from. |
| Imagine you’re from the United States of America. 미국 (min-guk), an abbreviated form of "the United States of America." 미국. 미국. |
| Say |
| "I'm American." |
| Ready? |
| 저는 미국인이에요. (Jeo-neun mi-gug-in-i-e-yo.) |
| "I'm American." |
| 저는 미국인이에요. (Jeo-neun mi-gug-in-i-e-yo.) |
| In the conversation, the response to the yes-no question was "yes." |
| In the case the answer were "no," the corresponding Korean response would be 아니요 (a-ni-yo), meaning, "no." |
| 아니요. |
| 아니요. |
| For example, if Ms. Yu asks |
| 미국인이에요? (Mi-gug-in-i-e-yo?) |
| "Are you American?" |
| Ms. Ju would answer |
| 아니요, 저는 한국인이에요. (A-ni-yo, jeo-neun han-gug-in-i-e-yo.) |
| "No, I'm Korean." |
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