5.1 Greetings, Names, and Countries — Epoché
What you will be able to do Greet somebody, take leave of them, and choose correctly between the two farewells: 안녕히 가세요! and 안녕히 계세요! Thank, apologise and interrupt at the right level of formality: 정말 감사합니다! against 정말 고마워요! Ask somebody's name in two ways and know which one to use with a stranger: 이름이 뭐예요? and 성함이 어떻게 되세요? Say where you are from and what language you speak, and name eight countries: 나는 한국 사람이에요. Use the two words for "I" and know which one goes with which person. Prerequisites : 3.16, which closes the Grammar volume. Every sentence in this lesson uses grammar you already have; what is new is the vocabulary, and it is the vocabulary a conversation cannot start without. You also want 3.5 Grammar , since half the sentences below are built on the copula. This is the first of the vocabulary lessons, and the words in it are the ones a learner needs on the first day. They are also the ones where Korean is least like English socially: the greeting depends on who is leaving, the word for "I" depends on who you are speaking to, and thanking somebody in the wrong register is more conspicuous than a grammatical error. Every item below therefore carries a note about when to use it, and the notes are the part to read twice. Word list Greeting and taking leave Word Meaning Notes 안녕하세요 ko annyeonghaseyo? hello Note for English speakers Used at any hour, so it covers good morning, good afternoon and good evening at once. Literally it asks whether you are at peace. 안녕히 ko annyeonghi in peace Note for English speakers The first block of both farewells. Never used alone. 가세요 ko go (respectful) Note for English speakers The second block of the farewell said to the person who is leaving. If you are the one staying, this is what you say. 계세요 ko stay (respectful) Note for English speakers The second block of the farewell said to the person who is staying. If you are the one leaving, this is what you say. 여러분 ko yeoreobun everyone, all of you Note for English speakers Used to address a group, in a classroom or a speech. There is no singular of it, and it is not used of a group you are not addressing. 처음 ko cheo'eum the first time Note for English speakers With the humble verb for meeting it makes the standard formula on being introduced. It is a noun and takes endings. 뵙다 ko to meet (humble) Note for English speakers The humble word for meeting somebody senior. Its ordinary counterpart is the verb of lesson 3.3, and the two are not interchangeable. Thanking, apologising, interrupting Word Meaning Notes 감사하다 ko gamsahada to be thankful (formal) Note for English speakers Sino-Korean and formal. The usual form of it is what you say to a shopkeeper, an official or anybody you do not know. 고맙다 ko gomapda to be thankful (native) Note for English speakers Native Korean and warmer. Between friends and to anybody younger it is the natural choice; to a stranger it is slightly casual. 미안하다 ko mianhada to be sorry (plain) Note for English speakers The everyday apology, for small things and to people you know. Using it after a real fault sounds light. 죄송하다 ko joesonghada to be sorry (humble) Note for English speakers The humble apology, for real faults and to anybody senior. The pair works like the pair for thanking, and the choice is not optional. 실례 ko sillye a discourtesy Note for English speakers With the verb for doing it means "excuse me" and is used before interrupting or squeezing past. It is not an apology for anything done. 네 ko ne yes Note for English speakers Also used as a backchannel while listening, where English says "mm" or "right", so hearing it does not mean agreement. 아니요 ko aniyo no Note for English speakers Answers the question as asked, so to a negative question it means "that is right, not so", the opposite of the English answer. Names, titles and people Word Meaning Notes 성함 ko seongham name (respectful) Note for English speakers Used of somebody else's name, never your own. Asking for it is the polite way to ask a stranger who they are. 씨 ko ssi Mr, Ms (after a name) Note for English speakers Follows the name, never precedes it, and is used with the full name or the given name but not with the family name alone. 님 ko nim honorific suffix Note for English speakers Attaches to a title rather than a name, and is higher than the previous item. It is what makes the word for teacher respectful. 사람 ko saram a person Note for English speakers Also the second half of every nationality word, so a Korean is literally a Korea-person. 친구 ko chin'gu a friend Note for English speakers Strictly somebody of one's own age. A person two years older is not this word but a kinship term, which lesson 5.2 gives. 자기소개 ko jagisogae a self-introduction Note for English speakers A noun plus the verb for doing. It is a normal thing to be asked for, in a classroom or at a first meeting. 엄마 ko eomma mum Note for English speakers The affectionate word, used to and about one's own mother. The neutral word is in lesson 5.2. Countries, peoples and languages Almost nothing here has to be memorised separately. A country name plus the word for person gives the people, and a country name plus one syllable gives the language. Word Meaning Notes 한국 ko Korea Note for English speakers The Republic of Korea. The North uses a different name for the country, which lesson 12.1 explains. 일본 ko Japan Note for English speakers Sino-Korean, and the same two elements as the Japanese and Chinese names of the country. 중국 ko China Note for English speakers Also Sino-Korean, and transparently "middle country" once the seventh phase gives you the characters. 미국 ko the United States Note for English speakers The first element was chosen for its sound rather than its meaning, which is true of most Western country names. 영국 ko the United Kingdom Note for English speakers Formed the same way. It covers the whole kingdom, not England alone, despite the origin of the first syllable. 호주 ko hoju Australia Note for English speakers Sino-Korean r