This lesson introduced a few standard greetings that can be used when meeting someone for the first time. The following are a few notes that go more in-depth into these greetings, as well as some important grammar points related to the lesson.
Vocabulary
Hello – 안녕하세요?
- 안 녕하세요? (annyeonghaseyo?) has the literal meaning of “Are you at peace?” But this is used like the English “Hello.” This can be used during the morning, day, and evening, and is used for people who are on formal or polite speaking terms.
It’s Nice to Meet You – 처음 뵙겠습니다
- “It’s nice to meet you” – The expression 처음 뵙겠습니다 (cheoeum boepgesseubnida) literally means “I’m meeting you for the first time,” but is translated as “It’s nice to meet you.” This is used when meeting someone for the first time.
Grammar Focus
The Copula – 이다
- The affirmative Korean copula – the verb expressing “to be” – is 이다 (ida). When 이다 is conjugated in the present tense and expressed for use in a formal context, it changes into 입니다 (imnida).
The Formal Declarative Sentence Ending – ㅂ/습니다
- To conjugate 이다 (ida) using this sentence ending, we take the dictionary form of the copula 이다 (ida) and remove 다 (da) to get the verb stem, 이 (i). From there we add ㅂ 니다 (mnida). 이 (i) + ㅂ 니다 (mnida) = 입니다 (imnida).
- For verb stems that end in vowels we attach ㅂ 니다 (mnida), such as the case is with 이다 (ida), the copula.
- For verb stems that end in consonants, we attach 습니다 (seumnida).
Dropping the “I”
- As is often done in Korean, when the meaning can be clearly derived from context, dropping 저는(jeoneun), which means “I” with the topic particle, is acceptable in the conversation.
