Adjectives make sentences more interesting, and allow us to express ourselves in more detail. We’ll learn in this chapter how to describe people and things using adjectives – specifically, descriptive verbs in Korean.
Conversation
웨이터: 맛이 괜찮습니까?
김철수: 김치가 아주 맛이 있습니다. 감사합니다.
웨이터: 아, 좋습니다.
김철수: 하지만 볶음밥이 조금 차갑습니다.
웨이터: 죄송합니다.
김철수: 그리고 식당도 조금 춥습니다.
웨이터: 많이 춥습니까?
김철수: 네. 그리고 음식이 많이 비쌉니다.
Before we go over today’s conversation, let’s learn a little bit about adjectives.
In Korean, many adjectives actually come from verbs.
Specifically, adjectives in Korean are called descriptive verbs, meaning they’re verbs that are used to describe things – it’s okay to just call them adjectives if that’s easier.
So far in this book, every verb we learned before this chapter has been an action verb (action verbs are all verbs which involve doing something, such as "to eat," "to go," "to see," etc.). From now on, we will be learning both descriptive verbs and action verbs.
In order to use a descriptive verb in a sentence, we must first conjugate it. Conjugating a descriptive verb in the present tense is similar to conjugating an action verb.
Let’s learn how to conjugate a descriptive verb in the present tense.
Descriptive Verb Stem + ㅂ니다/습니다
Look familiar? That’s because conjugating a descriptive verb in the present tense – with the 니다 form – is the same as conjugating an action verb in the present tense.
Take the verb stem and add ㅂ니다 if it ends in a vowel, or add 습니다 if it ends in a consonant.
춥다 → 춥 + 습니다
→ 춥습니다
예쁘다 → 예쁘 + ㅂ니다
→ 예쁩니다
Advanced Notes:
Although 예쁘다 is the correct spelling, you might also come across 이쁘다 which is a popular variation. They are the same thing.
웨이터: 맛이 괜찮습니까?
"Is the flavor okay?"
The waiter is asking whether or not the flavor is okay. Therefore, 맛 is the subject and needs to be marked with the Subject Marker.
Another way to translate this sentence could be, "Does it taste okay?"
김철수: 김치가 아주 맛이 있습니다. 감사합니다.
"The kimchi is very delicious. Thank you."
아주 is an adverb which means "very." It is used directly before a verb.
아주 작습니다.
"It is very small."
아주 예쁩니다.
"It is very pretty."
맛이 있다 can also be said as 맛있다. Remember that any time you see parentheses around a word or syllable in a chapter’s New Vocabulary section, it means it is optional and can be removed – or you can use it as is.
감사합니다 is going to be one of the most important Korean phrases we will learn in this book. Memorize it and use it often whenever appropriate.
Advanced Notes:
Another way to say "thank you" is with the verb 고맙다 – 고맙습니다. They both mean the same thing, but using the verb 감사하다 is a bit more polite than using 고맙다.
웨이터: 아, 좋습니다.
"Ah, good."
김철수: 하지만 볶음밥이 조금 차갑습니다.
"But the fried rice is a little cold."
조금 is an adverb that means "a little," as in "I eat a little" or "I study a little."
저는 조금 먹습니다.
"I eat a little."
저는 조금 공부합니다.
"I study a little."
조금 can be also combined with the particle 만 to mean "only a little."
저는 정말 조금만 먹습니다.
"I really eat only a little."
춥다 and 차갑다
Both 춥다 and 차갑다 mean "to be cold," but are each used differently. 춥다 is used when you’re talking about the weather, or the temperature of the air in a room; if you feel cold, 춥다 is the word to use. If you’re talking about something being "cold to the touch," such as a beverage, or an item, or another person’s skin, then 차갑다 is the word to use.
의자가 차갑습니다!
"The chair is cold!"
오늘 아주 춥습니다!
"Today is very cold!"
커피가 차갑습니다.
"The coffee is cold."
한국도 춥습니까?
"Is Korea cold too?"
웨이터: 죄송합니다.
"I’m sorry."
죄송합니다 is another important phrase to learn, and means "I’m sorry." Hopefully, you won’t have to say this too often.
Advanced Notes:
Another way to say "sorry" is using the verb 미안하다 – 미안합니다. They both mean the same thing, but using 죄송하다 sounds a bit more polite than 미안하다.
김철수: 그리고 식당도 조금 춥습니다.
"And the restaurant is also a little cold."
그리고 means "and" or "also," and is used at the beginning of a sentence.
그리고 저는 친절합니다!
"And, I am nice!"
그리고 김 씨도 먹으러 갑니다.
"Also, Mr. Kim is going to eat too."
웨이터: 많이 춥습니까?
"Is it cold a lot?"
Although the translation "a lot" seems a bit awkward in English, the adverb 많이 is the opposite of 조금, and means "a lot." For a more natural sounding sentence, it might be better to translate this sentence to English as "Is it really cold?"
저는 많이 먹습니다.
"I eat a lot."
저는 커피를 많이 마십니다.
"I drink a lot of coffee."
저는 영화를 많이 좋아합니다.
"I like movies a lot."
저는 영화를 많이 봅니다.
"I watch a lot of movies."
As an adverb, 많이 will go directly before a verb.
김철수: 네. 그리고 음식이 많이 비쌉니다.
"Yes. And the food is very expensive."
Practice
Identify the following verbs as descriptive verbs or action verbs:
1. 크다
2. 먹다
3. 작다
4. 수영(을) 하다
5. 내다
6. 덥다
Translate to English:
7. 김 씨가 술을 정말 많이 마십니다.
8. 오늘 저는 조금 춥습니다.
9. 물이 차갑습니까?
Translate to Korean:
10. "The soup is a little cold."
11. "Today is very cold."
12. "I really like Korea."
New Phrases
감사합니다. - "Thank you."
죄송합니다. - "I’m sorry."
New Vocabulary
감사하다 - "to be grateful"
죄송하다 - "to be sorry"
웨이터 - "waiter"
식당 - "restaurant"
그리고 - "and," "also"
그래서 - "so," "therefore"
볶음밥 - "fried rice"
아주 - "very" (adverb)
조금 - "a little"
조금만 - "only a little"
많이 - "a lot" (adverb)
맛 - "flavor"
춥다 - "to be cold" (weather)
차갑다 - "to be cold" (to the touch)
덥다 - "to be hot" (weather)
뜨겁다 - "to be hot" (to the touch)
따뜻하다 - "to be warm" (weather, or to the touch)
시원하다 - "to be cool" (weather, or to the touch)
맑다 - "to be bright and clear" (weather)
괜찮다 - "to be okay," "to be alright"
악하다 - "to be evil"
맛(이) 있다 - "to be delicious"
멋(이) 있다 - "to be cool," "to be stylish"
좋다 - "to be good"
나쁘다 - "to be bad"
예쁘다 - "to be pretty"
아름답다 - "to be beautiful"
크다 - "to be big"
배(가) 고프다 - "to be hungry"
목(이) 마르다 - "to be thirsty"
흔하다 - "to be common"
드물다 - "to be rare"
내다 - "to pay (money)"
작다 - "to be small"
수영(을) 하다 - "to swim"
의자 - "chair"
비싸다 - "to be expensive"
맵다 - "to be spicy"
커피 - "coffee"
수프 - "soup"
날씨 - "weather"
비(가) 오다 - "to rain"
눈(이) 오다 - "to snow"
술 - "alcohol"
담배 - "tobacco," "cigarettes"
친절하다 - "to be nice"
강하다 - "to be strong"
약하다 - "to be weak"