Chapter 6 of 17 · Explore the Korean path
How sentences work · Chapter 6 of 17
Say hello, and say what something is
Say hello, and pick the right goodbye for who is walking away. Then learn the two Korean words for “is”: one glues onto a noun, the other says where something is.
≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- 안녕하세요
an-nyeong-ha-se-yo “hello” works at any hour, to anyone. - Goodbye is two words — one to the person leaving, another to the person staying.
- A sentence ending in 요
yo means a person is being spoken to; one ending in 다 da is a book narrating. - Korean has two words for “is”: 이다
i-da glues onto a noun for what a thing is; 있다 it-tta stands alone for where it is.
Four greetings people genuinely say
These are the greetings people actually use, and both readings at the end open and close with them.
| English | Korean | When |
|---|---|---|
| hello | 안녕하세요 | any time, to anyone |
| hi | 안녕 | friends, children — and the animals in fables |
| goodbye | 안녕히 가세요 | “go in peace” — they are leaving |
| goodbye | 안녕히 계세요 | “stay in peace” — you are leaving |
Which goodbye depends on who is walking away; both readings at the end turn on it.
Glue 이다 onto a noun to say what something is
A noun names a person, place or thing. Korean glues this ending onto one to say what it is.
Tobi 토비는
토비는 여기 있다.
to-bi-neun yeo-gi it-tta
있다
Words for I, we and my
These few words stand in for a name, and they are the ones a fable leans on hardest.
| English | Korean | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | 나 | the plain one, used in stories; politely to a person it is 저 |
| we, our | 우리 | very common; the last reading turns on it |
| my | 내 | 내 이름 |
Korean has pronouns and mostly leaves them out. 그
Sentences that leave the person out
Compare the full sentence with the shorter one a book would print.
Read the sentence before revealing it
- 내 이름은 미나다.
my name · Mina · is — the is-word is glued to the name.
Show answer +Hide answer −
nae i-reu-meun mi-na-da — “My name is Mina.” - 토비는 집에 있다.
A place, so which of the two is-words ends it? And 집에 is rule one.
Show answer +Hide answer −
to-bi-neun ji-be it-tta — “Tobi is in the house.” - Somebody is walking away from you. Which goodbye do you say?
Show answer +Hide answer −
안녕히 가세요an-nyeong-hi ga-se-yo — “go in peace”, because they are the one going.