Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Let’s take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Ben asks
"How do you say “textbook” in Korean?"
한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
First is 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro), meaning, "in Korean." 한국어로.
This starts with 한국어 (Han-gug-eo), "Korean," as in the Korean language. 한국어. 한국어.
Next is the particle, 로 (ro), which marks the thing you use to do something. 로. 로.
In this sentence, 로 (ro) marks 한국어, "Korean," as the language used to speak.
Note, 로 (ro) follows words that do not end in consonants, as in 한국어.
Together, it’s 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro), "in Korean." 한국어로.
Next is the English word, "textbook."
Note: this is the shortened version of “textbook은 (eun).”
Ben Morris omits the topic-marking particle 은 (eun).
In spoken Korean, speakers tend to omit particles when it’s clear which particle would be used.
Last is the phrase 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo), translating as "how [do you] say…?" 어떻게 말해요?. 어떻게 말해요?
First is 어떻게 (eo-tteo-ke), meaning "how." 어떻게. 어떻게.
Next is "말해요" (mal-hae-yo), "say." 말해요. 말해요.
말해 (mal-hae) is from the verb 말하다 (mal-ha-da), meaning "to say." 말하다 (mal-ha-da).
Last is 요(yo), the polite sentence-ending particle. 요.
Together, it’s 어떻게 말해요?" (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?), literally "how [you] say…?" 어떻게 말해요?
At this level, remember it as a set phrase. 어떻게 말해요?. 어떻게 말해요?
All together, 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) literally means, "In Korean, textbook how [you] say," but translates as "How do [you] say “textbook.” in Korean?
한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
Let’s take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Ga-eun Gim says,
"It's “textbook.”"
교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.)
First is 교과서 (gyo-gwa-seo), "textbook." 교과서. 교과서.
Next is 예요 (ye-yo). In this case, it's like the "is" in "It’s." 예요. 예요.
예요 is from 이다 (i-da) meaning "to be." 이다.
While 이다 is technically a particle, it acts like a verb.
Note: 예요 follows words that do not end in a consonant, such as 교과서 (gyo-gwa-seo).
Together, 교과서예요 (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) literally means "textbook [it] is," but translates as, "It’s textbook."
교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.)
Note: "it" is understood from context, as the speaker is answering a question.
교과서예요 is the shortened version of the sentence, Textbook은 교과서예요. (Textbook-eun gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.)
The first part, "textbook은," meaning "As for textbook," is omitted since the context is clear, as Ga-eun is responding to a question about the "textbook."
교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.)
The pattern is
한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro) {ENGLISH WORD} 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
How do you say {ENGLISH WORD} in Korean?
한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro) {ENGLISH WORD} 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
To use this pattern, simply replace the {ENGLISH WORD} placeholder with the word you want to know.
Imagine you want to know the Korean word for 'pen'.
Ask
"How do you say "pen" in Korean?"
Ready?
한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
"How do you say “pen” in Korean?"
한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
If you want to keep the conversation in Korean, you can say, "How do you say this in Korean?" simply replace the English word with 이거 (i-geo), meaning "this." 이거. 이거.
When using this pattern, you may want to gesture or point at the thing you want to know the Korean word for.
한국어로 이거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
"How do you say this in Korean?"
If the thing is far away from you, you can also use the Korean word 저거 (jeo-geo), "that (over there)." 저거.
한국어로 저거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro jeo-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?)
"How do you say that in Korean?"
Again, these patterns are very useful for using Korean to learn Korean.
Keeping the conversation in Korean as long as possible is a great tactic to learn a language. These questions will help with that.

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