Chapter 14 of 17 · Explore the Korean path
Verbs and stories · Chapter 14 of 17
Once upon a time, and the words that join sentences up
Every Korean story opens the same way. Learn the words that open and join a fable, and how an ending on the verb gives a reason with no word for “because”.
≈ 3 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Every Korean story opens with the same formula: 옛날 옛적에
yen-nal yet-jjeo-ge “once upon a time”. - Korean does not usually join reasons with a word for “because”: an ending glues onto the verb of the reason — 아서 / 어서
a-seo / eo-seo — and the reason comes first. - So a sentence that opens with what feels like a fragment is the reason; the main clause is coming.
Words that open and join a story
These turn up on the first page of nearly every fable, and they tell you when something happens or how two sentences connect.
| English | Korean | English | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| once upon a time | 옛날 옛적에 | one day | 어느 날 |
| and, and then | 그리고 | but | 하지만 |
| then, at that moment | 그때 | with, and | 와 / 과 |
옛날 옛적에 is “old days, old times” — spelled with ㅅ, said with an n, rule two. 와
Give a reason without a word for “because”
Korean has no separate word for because. An ending on the verb of the reason does the job, and the reason comes first.
I 나는
배가 고파서 나는 간다.
bae-ga go-pa-seo na-neun gan-da
English ends with the reason; Korean opens with it. When a sentence opens with what feels like a fragment, do not reread it — the main clause is coming.
Joined-up sentences
- 어느 날 여우가 왔다. 그리고 새를 보았다.
The second sentence has no subject of its own, so ask who the first was about.
Show answer +Hide answer −
eo-neu nal yeo-u-ga wat-tta. geu-ri-go sae-reul bo-at-tta — “One day a fox came. And it saw a bird.” - 배가 고파서 곰이 숲에 갔다.
The sentence opens with the reason.
Show answer +Hide answer −
bae-ga go-pa-seo go-mi su-pe gat-tta — “The bear went to the forest because it was hungry.”