how does one say "one of ..."

[mishio]

I wonder if someone can teach me the proper construction to say something like this:

"one of my favorite things to do is...."
or
"one of my friends gave me a present, etc"

Many thanks!

[javiskefka]

Basically, it's "...중에 하나"

Often, you will get more specific and use the appropriate counting word instead of just 하나. For example,

"one of my favorite things to do is...."

좋아하는 것 중에 하나는...

"one of my friends gave me a present, etc"

제 친구 중에 한 명은 저한테 선물을 주었어요.

[erich]

"one of my favorite things to do is...."
or
"one of my friends gave me a present, etc"

Hi Mishio,

the construction you are looking for is
<superlative> <noun>중의 (for your first sentence)
<noun>중(에서/의) 한 <counter> (for your second sentence)
[please anybody who knows better correct me if I'm wrong!!]

가장 좋아하는것중의 수영하는 것이다 (2 times 것? maybe a native Korean can point out how to say that better?)

네 친구중에서 한 사람 선물을 주었어요.
or
네 친구중의 한 사람 선물을 주었어요.

[erich]

Oh, javiskefka was faster

[javiskefka]

Hmm, now that you've posted, I'm not sure if it's 중에 or 중의. They do sound the same...

[holdfast]

i am pretty sure it is 중에 but we should wait for a native speaker, i think ^^

[mishio]

Hi everyone & thanks for the help & speedy responses.

Being new to the forum, may I ask a side question?
"holdfast" mentioned that we should wait for a native speaker.
How do you know if the responses are coming from someone who is native or not?

[yhenry]

1. 둘 중에 하나

2. 둘 중의 하나

뭐가 맞는말인가요? Which one is correct?



* 둘 중에/의 하나

Either suffix is okay.

http://kin.naver.com/detail/detail.php? ... enc=euc-kr

[kyuree]

I'm pretty sure it's



둘 중에

look it up in a grammar book

[mishio]

Just want to thank everyone for their continued input.

@yhenry - unfortunately, I'm not at a level where I completely understand what the "Naver" passage is saying, but thanks for showing me the utility of that site for such questions.

@kyuree - thanks. I don't have a text that explains that point,but I think I am going to stick with 에 (instead of 의) also - just gut feeling

[manyakumi]

* 둘 중에/의 하나

Either suffix is okay.

I agree with Mr.henry.
Both of them would be okay.

Mr. Henry and I are native speakers.

[kimchiandsoju]

Hi.

I'm kind of new to be replying here, and this thread is kind of old, but I thought I would jump in real quick. Also, I don't have the hangul layout on my keyboard so I'm not even going to attempt that (and my spelling sucks anyways, so there's that).

Anyways, I think the real answer to your question is that your question is sort of flawed. You are thinking in English... In Korean you would just say "Chingoo chuosso" (A friend gave it to me) and not "one of my friends". Likewise, instead of saying "one of my favorite things to do is..." is also an English way of thinking. A Korean would say "A thing I like to do" or "A thing I really like to do" or even "my hobby is...".

Using the "...chung eh hana" (sorry for the horrible romanization), well its a more literal thing. You are using it to specifically point out something. For example "one of these shapes is square" or "among these fruits, one of them is rotten."

Think of it as specificly singling out 1 item from a group. When you look at it that way, you can see why it might be odd to say that about "one of my freinds". It would be like saying "Amongst my friends, one friend in particular..." which is just sort of weird. I mean, it has its place I guess, but its not something you would use daily.

Now, I am not a native speaker, but I've eaten my fair share of Kimchi, so take this with a grain of, uh, kochu karu.... If a native speaker wants to confirm or deny this then please do.

[kimchiandsoju]

"one of my favorite things to do is...."
or
"one of my friends gave me a present, etc"

Hi Mishio,

the construction you are looking for is
<superlative> <noun>중의 (for your first sentence)
<noun>중(에서/의) 한 <counter> (for your second sentence)
[please anybody who knows better correct me if I'm wrong!!]

가장 좋아하는것중의 수영하는 것이다 (2 times 것? maybe a native Korean can point out how to say that better?)

네 친구중에서 한 사람 선물을 주었어요.
or
네 친구중의 한 사람 선물을 주었어요.

Just to illustrate what I mean, this last example about the friends is exactly what I mean. Its a direct translation, and technically it is correct. But its odd.

네 친구 ga 선물을 주었어요.
OK I copy/pasted this and took out the weird parts and added a "ga" for clarity. anyways, "my friend" and "one of my friends" basically means the same thing anyways (in English) so go with the simple answer!

[yhenry]

Hi.

anyways, I think the real answer to your question is that your question is sort of flawed. *** You are thinking in English... *** In Korean you would just say "Chingoo chuosso" (A friend gave it to me) and not "one of my friends". Likewise, instead of saying "one of my favorite things to do is..." is also an English way of thinking. A Korean would say "A thing I like to do" or "A thing I really like to do" or even "my hobby is...".

Now, I am not a native speaker, but I've eaten my fair share of Kimchi, so take this with a grain of, uh, kochu karu.... If a native speaker wants to confirm or deny this then please do.

You hit home one of the troubles we foreign language learners facing- thinking in own native language and trying to translate it into the second language we try to learn.
Not many realize it is a root problem in learning the second language though.

How would you translate native thoughts into a foreign language that doesn't work the same way own language does in many different aspects?

Can you understand what I try to say?
I am putting my thoughts into a language that is foreign to me.

If you didn't know, I am a Korean native, living in NYC.

Ps, Kimchi and soju don't get along well. Maybe 삼겹살 and 소주 would do good.

[kimchiandsoju]

Hi.

anyways, I think the real answer to your question is that your question is sort of flawed. *** You are thinking in English... *** In Korean you would just say "Chingoo chuosso" (A friend gave it to me) and not "one of my friends". Likewise, instead of saying "one of my favorite things to do is..." is also an English way of thinking. A Korean would say "A thing I like to do" or "A thing I really like to do" or even "my hobby is...".

Now, I am not a native speaker, but I've eaten my fair share of Kimchi, so take this with a grain of, uh, kochu karu.... If a native speaker wants to confirm or deny this then please do.

You hit home one of the troubles we foreign language learners facing- thinking in own native language and trying to translate it into the second language we try to learn.
Not many realize it is a root problem in learning the second language though.

How would you translate native thoughts into a foreign language that doesn't work the same way own language does in many different aspects?

Can you understand what I try to say?
I am putting my thoughts into a language that is foreign to me.

If you didn't know, I am a Korean native, living in NYC.

Ps, Kimchi and soju don't get along well. Maybe 삼겹살 and 소주 would do good.

You have to think like the people who's language you trying to speak. But not all Koreans/Americans/NewYorker/etc are the same so how is that possible? Everybody is different, but language reflects cultural values that we share whether we realize it or not. Or, at the very least puts the way we think in a certain order. so you have to think in that order. You have to learn to mentally switch the order that you think in.

So for example... suppose you are chilling at your friend's house and you realize you need some beer.
In English, I'm going to naturally speak the way I'm thinking it.... "I'm going to go to the store to buy some beer". To do the same thing in Korean I can't think "I'm going to the store to buy some beer"....(pause)... "lets see.... object first, so uh "Mekju" and then, uh, "buy" but conjugated to reflect intent... "saro"... and then I"m going... no wait, I have to say where I"m going first... "Kageh"... and OK I"m going, but I have to have the proper ending... well, thats my homey so I can just say "Ka".

Dude.

THats going to take forever. And granted, when you first start learning a language you have no choice. That's how you have to start.

But when you start thinking in Korean... you can sort of feel it... the intent might come out first "to buy beer"... and then where you are going "to the store" and then finally the verb..."ka". "I" isn't even in the sentence.

My Korean sucks, but even if you get out of order you can still make it sound natural... like you can say "Na... kageh eh ka.... mekju saro..." which is totally wrong but totally natural too.

So this is a ramble but hopefully you sort of understand what I mean. Stop translating in your head. Just say it. If you are going to say you are going to the store then just say it. So if you are Korean, here in the US, just jump off the couch and yell "The Store!.... To buy some beer!.... I"m going to go there!" Just start saying stuff. It will line up eventually.

Or not. One day I just gave up and instead of thinking so hard about it I just went for it. Everybody is different. And my korean still sucks, so there's that too.