Chapter 15: Korean Markers

 

We’ve talked about markers in previous chapters, but here we’ll review all of them in more detail, along with examples, to help you know the difference between each of them. Before passing this chapter, make sure you have a good understanding of each of them, as you’ll be using these markers daily in your Korean practice.

 

Conversation

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김철수: 안녕하세요. 저는 철수라고 합니다.

김영희: 안녕하세요. 저는 영희라고 합니다.

김철수: 취미가 어떻게 됩니까?

김영희: 취미는 컴퓨터 게임과 독서입니다.

김철수: 저는 낚시와 운동입니다. 그리고 미국에서 삽니다.

김영희: 저는 한국에서 삽니다. 나이가 어떻게 됩니까?

김철수: 저는 스물 살입니다.

김영희: 저는 스물 일곱 살입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다.

김철수: , 반갑습니다.

 

This chapter will go back and review some of the concepts we’ve learned in earlier lessons – specifically markers such as the Topic Marker, the Subject Marker, and the Object Marker. Then we’ll go back and re-learn how to introduce ourselves in Korean, but with a much larger vocabulary.

 

Topic Marker – /

 

How to use it: Use after a consonant and after a vowel.

 

학교

 

What it does: The Topic Marker marks what the topic of a sentence is. You can think of it translating as "as for," or "when it comes to." Let’s look at some examples.

 

저는 김치를 싫어합니다.

"As for me, I dislike kimchi."

"When it comes to me, I dislike kimchi."

 

김치는 맛이 있습니다.

"As for kimchi, it is delicious."

"When it comes to kimchi, it is delicious."

 

Think of the Topic Marker as meaning "as for" – by "as for," I mean "as for (as opposed to someone or something else)."

 

씨는 김치를 좋아하지만, 저는 싫어합니다.

"As for Mrs. Kang, she likes kimchi, but as for me, I dislike it."

 

Although the above sentence uses two Topic Markers appropriately, be extra careful when using more than one in the same sentence as it can be awkward. For example, take the following sentence:

 

김치는 저는 좋아합니다.

"As for kimchi, as for me I like it."

 

The above type of repetition is awkward even in English, and should be avoided in Korean as well. Most of the time, a sentence will not have more than one Topic Marker, if it even has one at all.

 

저는 김치를 좋아합니다.

"As for me, I like kimchi."

 

좋아합니까?

"Why do you like it?"

 

맛이 있기 때문에 좋아합니다.

"I like it because it is delicious."

 

Subject Marker – /

 

How to use it: Use after a consonant and after a vowel.

 

학교

 

What it does: The Subject Marker marks a subject – whatever is doing an action in a sentence, or whatever is being described. Let’s look at some examples.

 

씨가 친절한 사람입니다.

"Mrs. Kang is a nice person."

 

빨간색이 예쁜 색입니다.

"Red is a pretty color."

 

제가 미국 사람입니다.

"I’m an American."

 

But the Subject Marker works differently from the Topic Marker; this difference is easier to see in Korean than in English, as often translations in English will be similar. Take the following two sentences for example:

 

저는 한국 사람입니다.

"I’m a Korean."

 

제가 한국 사람입니다.

"I’m a Korean."

 

In order to better understand the difference between using the Topic Marker and the Subject Marker, try translating the Topic Marker as "as for" in your head when using it.

 

저는 한국 사람입니다.

"As for me, I’m a Korean."

 

Using the Topic Marker expresses distinction – you’re specifying "as for me," as opposed to someone else.

 

저는 한국 사람입니다.

"As for me, I’m a Korean."

 

그렇습니까? 저는 미국 사람입니다.

"Is that so? As for me, I’m an American."

 

제가 한국 사람입니다.

"I’m a Korean."

 

Using the Subject Marker expresses emphasis – you’re simply marking something or someone as the subject of a verb (here the verb is 이다, "to be").

 

김치는 맛이 있습니다.

"As for kimchi, it’s delicious."

 

김치가 맛이 있습니다.

"Kimchi is delicious."

 

Which sentence sounds better in English? In most situations, the second one will be preferred. Grammatically, both sentences are correct.

 

As for our two sentences, let’s take one more look:

 

저는 한국 사람입니다.

"As for me, I’m a Korean."

 

제가 한국 사람입니다.

"I’m a Korean."

 

Can’t tell which one is better? Don’t worry – both of them are fine. Their meanings are slightly different, as we’ve learned, but being used in context will help you pick which one you’d want to use.

 

Topic Markers and Subject Markers are often confused by beginning speakers because of their seemingly similar meanings when translated into English. Frequent practice will help you to distinguish when to use one or the other.

 

The Topic Marker and Subject Marker Together

 

Let’s take a look at a few examples which use both the Topic Marker and the Subject Marker in the same sentence.

 

저는 김치가 맛이 있습니다.

"As for me, kimchi is delicious."

 

씨는 취미가 독서입니다.

"As for Mrs. Kang, her hobby is reading."

 

생선은 고등어가 최고입니다.

"As for fish, mackerel is the best."

 

Advanced Notes:

생선 means "fish," and is what you would call the fish on your plate at a restaurant – specifically, dead fish. This is different from 물고기, which refers to live fish.

 

Most of the time the Topic Marker will come first after the topic of the sentence, followed by the Subject Marker marking the subject of the verb.

 

Object Marker – /

 

How to use it: Use after a consonant and after a vowel.

 

학교

 

What it does: The Object Marker marks the object of a verb – whatever is receiving an action.

 

저는 김치를 먹습니다.

"I eat kimchi."

 

씨는 저를 사랑합니다.

"Mrs. Kang loves me."

 

새로운 수학 선생님을 좋아합니까?

"Do you like the new math teacher?"

 

If you’re still feeling a little confused about any of these markers even after several reviews, don’t stress. Instead, try to absorb as much Korean as you can. As these concepts do not translate well into English, they may feel foreign at first, but with practice will become second nature.

 

Now let’s look over the conversation.

 

김철수: 안녕하세요. 저는 철수라고 합니다.

"Hello. My name is Chul-soo."

 

저는 _____()라고 합니다.

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In addition to 이름은 _____입니다 which we learned in Chapter 11, here is one more useful way that you can say your name. Literally it means "I am called _____."

 

Use 이라고 합니다 after a consonant, or 라고 합니다 after a vowel.

 

저는 빌리라고 합니다.

"My name is Billy."

 

저는 메릴이라고 합니다.

"My name is Merrill."

 

Remember to not use after your own name; this is only used when referring to other people. Simply use your name as it is.

 

Advanced Notes:

This form originally comes from the verbs 이다 ("to be") and 하다 ("to do"); here 하다 is being used to mean "to say" or "to call" – just like () 하다.

 

김영희: 안녕하세요. 저는 김영희라고 합니다.

"Hello. My name is Yung-hee."

 

김철수: 취미가 어떻게 됩니까?

"Tell me about your hobbies."

 

"Tell me about…"

Noun + (/) 어떻게 됩니까?

 

Take a noun and attach the Subject Marker, followed by 어떻게 ("how") and then 됩니까?

 

You can use this form to say "tell me about," such as in this chapter’s conversation.

 

취미가 어떻게 됩니까?

"Tell me about your hobbies?"

 

A more natural translation of the above sentence could be "What are your hobbies?"

 

This form has limited usage, and can’t be used to ask about people.

 

Asking 김철수 씨가 어떻게 됩니까 would therefore be incorrect.

 

Advanced Notes:

됩니까? comes from the verb 되다 which means "to become," which we’ll learn about in Chapter 17. 어떻게 됩니까? literally means "how does it become?" It might sound strange now, but it will make more sense later when we go over it.

 

김영희: 취미는 컴퓨터 게임과 독서입니다.

"My hobbies are computer games and reading."

 

김철수: 저는 낚시와 운동입니다. 그리고 미국에서 삽니다.

"My hobbies are fishing and exercise. And I live in America."

 

"at," "in" – 에서

 

When using action verbs, such as "to do" or "to go" (action verbs are all verbs that involve doing something), mark the location of where that action is taking place at or in by using 에서.

 

어디에서 공부합니까?

"Where do you study at?"

 

Advanced Notes:

어디에서 can be shortened to 어디서 with no change in meaning. In addition, 어디서 is easier to say than 어디에서, so feel free to use it yourself instead.

 

저는 학교에서 공부합니다.

"I study at school."

 

저는 미국에서 삽니다.

"I live in America."

 

식당에서 밥을 먹습니다.

"I eat (a meal) at the restaurant."

 

병원에서 의사를 만납니다.

"I meet a doctor at the hospital."

 

Note that this particle (에서) is different from , which simply marks the location of where something is going or coming (verbs that show movement), or where something exists.

 

저는 한국에서 여행하고 싶습니다.

"I want to travel in Korea."

 

저는 한국에 여행하고 싶습니다.

"I want to travel to Korea."

 

저는 한국에 갑니다.

"I go to Korea."

 

저는 한국에 있습니다.

"I am in Korea."

 

저의 자동차가 미국에 있습니다.

"My car is in America."

 

Note that the verb 있다 ("to exist"), although an action verb, does not use 에서. This is an exception.

 

김영희: 저는 한국에서 삽니다. 나이가 어떻게 됩니까?

"I live in Korea. How old are you?"

 

Advanced Notes:

The verb 살다 is special, in that although it is an action verb it can use either or 에서. Therefore, the two following sentences are both correct:

 

한국에서 삽니다.

한국 삽니다.

"I live in Korea."

 

The standard way of asking a person’s age is by using 나이가 어떻게 됩니까? Although above we said that 어떻게 됩니까? can translate as "tell me about," a much better translation in this situation would simply be "how old are you?"

 

Using 살입니까?, as covered in Chapter 13, is acceptable only when speaking to people younger than yourself (using it to anyone older can be impolite, as it is a direct way of asking a person’s age). Therefore, in most situations you should use 나이가 어떻게 됩니까? to ask someone’s age.

 

김철수: 저는 스물 살입니다.

"I’m 21 years old."

 

김영희: 저는 스물 일곱 살입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다.

"I’m 27 years old. Nice to meet you."

 

김철수: , 반갑습니다.

"Yes, nice to meet you."

 

Don’t expect to master these concepts in an afternoon, but know that it’s possible to master them with practice. The more you become familiar with seeing them, hearing them, and using them yourself, the better you will understand when to use each one. As usual, practice using them all wherever you can.

 

Practice

 

Translate to English:

 

1. 제가 중국 사람이 아닙니다.

 

2. 씨는 친절한 한국 남자입니다.

 

3. 도시는 서울이 최고입니다.

 

4. 저는 김철수라고 합니다.

 

5. 오늘 학교에서 공부하고 싶습니까?

 

6. 저는 정말 영화관에 가고 싶습니다.

 

Translate to Korean:

 

7. "How old is Mr. Kim?"

 

8. "As for me, I like school."

 

9. "I do not want to eat cold steak."

 

10. "My name is [your name]."

 

11. "What are your hobbies?"

 

12. "I want to do homework at home."

 

New Phrases

 

저는 _____()라고 - 합니다. "My name is _____."

어떻게 됩니까? - "Tell me about…"

나이가 어떻게 됩니까? - "How old are you?"

 

New Vocabulary

 

나이 - "age"

취미 - "hobby"

운동 - "exercise"

독서 - "reading"

낚시 - "fishing"

컴퓨터 게임 - "computer game"

언어 - "language"

언어학 - "linguistics"

여행 - "travel," "a trip"

생선 - "(dead) fish"

고등어 - "mackerel"

최고 - "(the) best"

최악 - "(the) worst"

치과 의사 - "dentist"

경찰 - "police"

경찰관 - "policeman"

- "medicine," "drugs"

약국 - "pharmacy"

지갑 - "wallet"