Verb Ending Confusion

[cherryblossom]

Hi. This is a pretty loaded post, but I have some questions about Korean verb endings.

1. What is the difference between these two statements? What is the significance of "-iji" or is it "ji"? (Please pardon my lack of hangul)

Ex. Musun iriji? ----> What's the matter?
Musun iriya? -----> What's the matter?

I am learning Spanish and I was wondering if this "-iji" / "-ji" ending had anything to do with expressing doubt as the subjunctive is used in spanish.

2. Does the ending "-myeon" mean "if"? How do you use it?


3. What is the grammatical structure behind "-ma".? Does it automatically mean "don't do something"?
Ex. Haji-ma --->don't do it
Kaji-ma----> don't go

I have no idea where the "ji" part comes in. (Or maybe it has something to do with my first question.)


4. I also had another quick question which deals with the unconjugated form of a verb. Sometimes I hear "Mianhada" instead of "Mianhaeyo". Is "Mianhaeyo" (or the conjugated form in general) used for when you're speaking to someone, and "Mianhada" when you're speaking to yourself or something?

5. I understand how to conjugate a verb to "I want"...

Ex. Ka-go Shipeo --> I want to go
Ha-go Shipeo---> I want to do

...But sometimes in k-dramas I hear just "ka-go" or "ha-go" but no "shipeo" following. What is the meaning of this form?

6. Is it "Keok-jeong-ma" or "Keok-jeong-haji-ma" (Meaning: Don't worry)? I think I've heard both...

7. What's the difference between "araso" and "arachi" (Meaning: I understand)? Can I add "-chi" to any verb?

Thank You.

[holdfast]

i can help with some of this but first let me say that it is VERY difficult to understand korean without understanding hangul because there are so many different ways to romanize things (and some things are romanized differently than they are pronounced, in my opinion). so if you do not know how to read/write the korean script, i would start there. it is not difficult, and it makes pronunciation much easier, and also you will be able to understand better because you will be able to see exactly what you are working with (for example, it's hard to show the past tense in the romanized form, but it's very easy to spot with hangul. also, the -ji you asked about in the first question and the -chi you asked about in the last question are the same thing, only romanized differently). perhaps you already know it but are unable to type, and if that is the case ignore this paragraph, but on to the questions - i will help as much as i can..

1. adding 지 (ji) to the end of a statement or question is like adding ..right? ..isn't it? to the end of a sentence in most cases. now it is also added to a lot of other statements that i wouldn't usually add ..right? to in english, and i am not quite sure of the reason behind that. for example, your example. there really isn't any difference in the meaning of the statement, it is just a subtlety that i don't understand myself yet (perhaps someone else can explain better).

2. 면 (myeon) does indeed mean if (it can also mean when) but it is a conjunction, not an ending. for example: 내일 비가 와면 밖에 안 갈 거예요. (naeil biga wa myeon pakkae an gal goaeyo) tomorrow, if it rains, i won't go outside. sorry i am horrible at romanizing, but i tried!!!!

3. ~지마 (ji ma) is a structure that means don't do. it is not related to the ji in the first question, but the ji is part of the structure.

4. this is a loaded question - there are many formality levels in korean which are all conjugated differently, and i am not going to be able to explain that all here (i don't know it well enough to explain, i don't think) but the lowest formality level of speech (like when you are talking to yourself) often does use the unconjugated form, but not always.

5. 고 (go) is a conjunction. if you hear people saying 가고 (kago) without the 싶어 (shipeo) they are probably using it as "and". sometimes in informal speech people end on the go, but it means and. it is very very common in speech. perhaps someone can explain this better as well.

6. 걱장마 (keokjangma) is just a shortened form of 걱장하지마 (keokjanghajima) and it means the same thing.

7. 알았어 (araso) is just like "do you understand?" and 알았지 (arachi) is like "you understand, right?" or something similar. it's the same thing from question number 1.



i certainly hope this is somewhat helpful, given my lack of outstanding korean knowledge. if i am incorrect in any way (anyone) please feel free to correct me or explain better. (:

[cherryblossom]

Oh, wow! Thanks for the quick response. Yeah, I can read hangul, I just can't exactly type it... No worries though. You're answers were REALLY thorough, and really helped me out. These are questions that have just been nagging me for the longest time. They just piled up, and I finally decided to get some answers. Anyway,thank you so much. I really appreciate the help that you've given me!

[holdfast]

no problem! i understand the typing problem - i have a mac so it automatically has korean fonts and keyboard abilities, but for a long time i had a different computer at work that couldn't read korean font or type at all. if your computer has typing abilities, it's pretty fun once you get the hang of it. i just wrote the letters on the keys with a sharpie until i had it all memorized, then i erased it.

if you have any other questions, i'd be happy to give it a try. my korean is not amazing, but explaining things to other people helps me understand it better myself. in other words, helping other people helps me too!

good luck with studying. and still, someone else may have better explanations than i did..

[cherryblossom]

Thanks again for the help. I don't want to litter the boards with a new post, but I have three more questions having to deal with verb endings. I really appreciate the time you're taking to help me out. (I'm using a different computer, so I now can use Hangul to better explain myself)

1. This is related to a question I already asked before, but if "-go" means "and" (or something close to that when attached to the end of a word), what exactly does "haji-mal-go" mean?

2. Sarang-hae-bon-jok [ Whole Phrase: 있나요 사랑해본 적]---> Is the ending "-적" (-jok) also past tense, because I thought most verbs in past tense ended in "-sseo".

3. In a lot of Korean songs I hear the ending "-jyo" Like in one of Epik High's songs, Love Love Love, (also where I heard the "-적" ending) they say "Amudo nae mameul moreujyo" [아무도 내 맘을 모르죠](Meaning: Nobody knows how I feel). Is this "-jyo" [죠] ending an expression of doubt? I'm not really sure...

Thank you so much!

[holdfast]

ok i will try again!

1. i am not exactly sure about this one - i am pretty sure it is a way to say don't do it in the future tense but i don't really understand it... i am hoping someone else can explain the use of 고 at the end of a sentence - this is directly related to your question number 5 from your first post.

2. your sentence here is backwards - it should be: 사랑해본 적이 있어요 which literally translated means i have had the experience of loving (or being loved, depending on the context). the 사랑해 part means love, the 본 적이 part means the experience of something having happened (이 is just the subject particle and is often omitted), and the 있어요 part means exists/is. the whole sentence is not in the past tense because it says you have the experience (literally translated) but it could be translated as "i have loved/i have been loved." you could use this in many ways: such as 한국에 가본 적이 있어요 i have had the experience of going to korea - i have been to korea. or: 김밥을 먹어본 적이 있어요 i have had the experience of eating kimbap - i have eaten kimbap. i hope this answers your question.

3. 죠 is exactly like 지 from your first question of your first post, only in the standard politeness level of speech whereas 지 is informal. it's contracted from 지요 to 죠 and if you say 지요 really fast, you will hear why they write it as 죠. but the meaning is the same.

[javiskefka]

1. The -고 ending is indeed a conjunction that means and. Since -지 말다 is a construction meaning "do not ...", you follow 하지 말고 with an alternative in the imperative.

For example:
포기하지 말고 한 번 더 해 보세요.
Don't give up; try it once more.

2. 적 is a noun meaning an experience, and the construction -ㄴ/은 적(이) 있다 means "to have had the experience of ...". Its opposite is -ㄴ/은 적(이) 없다.

3. -죠 is a contraction of -지요, so it's a more polite form of -지. Except in a song, it's just a choice of style anyway. Also, the nuance is different when it's a statement versus when it's a question. If there is a rising intonation at the end, (알았지?) the speaker is asking for confirmation, but if the tone is just flat (알았지) the speaker is offering confirmation.

I hope that I answered your questions well. Keep on asking!

[holdfast]

thank you for explaining too - sometimes i understand something but am not able to explain it very well.

am i right in assuming 지 말다 is future tense of 지 마다?

[javiskefka]

No problem.

말다 is actually the dictionary form, not 마다. Despite that, though, the word is spelled and pronounced as 마 or 마라 in the intimate politeness level.

[holdfast]

ah... and the ㄹ drops before 시 so that is why we end up with 하지 마세요 - is that right?

[javiskefka]

Yes. That's a rule that you can apply to other verbs that end in 'ㄹ'.

Oh, and I didn't realize before that you had already answered those questions above. I didn't mean to try to answer over you or anything. 미안해요.

[holdfast]

o.k. thanks!

and i am glad you answered the questions too - like i said, i am not very good at explaining sometimes.

[cherryblossom]

I want to thank you both so much for helping me to answer my questions! I understand everything better now. I think for now, I've put an end to those questions that have been bugging me. lol Thanks so much!

Holdfast: For the second question, (Ittnayo, saranghaebonjok?) the phrase was actually a question, and that's how they said it in the song...lol

[holdfast]

ah yes, if it was in a song i can understand why they would say it that way - a bit of poetic license or made it fit to rhyme... i understand. but 적 is generally not an ending. i hope it made more sense once i flipped it around.

[manyakumi]

ah... and the ㄹ drops before 시 so that is why we end up with 하지 마세요 - is that right?

There are a few of samples.

하지 말+시+ㅂ시오 -> 하지 마십시오
하지 말+시+ㅓ요 -> 하지 마세요

하지 말+아요 -> 하지 말아요 -> 하지 마요 (both are OK)
하지 말+아 -> 하지 말아 -> 하지 마 (both are OK)