Learn how to ask for a word in Korean
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| Welcome to Can-Do Korean by KoreanClass101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how to say something in Korean. |
| For example, "How do you say "textbook" in Korean?" is |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Ju-ri Yu is at a cafe doing a language exchange with her classmate, Ga-eun Gim. |
| It’s the Korean portion of the exchange, and she points at the textbook and asks what it's called in Korean. |
| Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components. |
| 한국어 (Han-gug-eo) |
| "Korean" |
| 한국어 (enunciated) |
| 한국어 |
| Listen to the conversation, and focus on the question. |
| The conversation is between two young adults of the same age, so the politeness level is informal-polite. |
| Ready? |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say "textbook" in Korean?" |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| "It's "textbook."" |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Ju-ri Yu asks |
| "How do you say ‘textbook’ in Korean?" |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| First is 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro), meaning, "in Korean." 한국어로. |
| This starts with 한국어 (Han-gug-eo), "Korean," as in the Korean language. 한국어 (enunciated). 한국어. |
| Next is the particle, 로 (ro), which marks the thing you use to do something. 로 (enunciated). 로. |
| In this sentence, 로 (ro) marks 한국어, "Korean," as the language used to speak. |
| Note, 로 (ro) follows words that do not end in consonants, as in 한국어. |
| Together, it’s 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro), "in Korean." 한국어로. |
| Next is the English word, "textbook." |
| Note: this is the shortened version of “textbook은 (eun)." |
| Ju-ri Yu omits the topic-marking particle 은 (eun). |
| In spoken Korean, speakers tend to omit particles when it’s clear which particle would be used. |
| Last is the phrase 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo), translating as "how do you say…?" 어떻게 말해요? 어떻게 말해요? |
| First is 어떻게 (eo-tteo-ke), meaning "how." 어떻게 (enunciated). 어떻게. |
| Next is "말해요" (mal-hae-yo), "say." 말해요 (enunciated). 말해요. |
| 말해 (mal-hae) is from the verb 말하다 (mal-ha-da), meaning "to say." 말하다 (mal-ha-da). |
| Last is 요(yo), the polite sentence-ending particle. 요. |
| Together, it’s 어떻게 말해요?" (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?), literally "how you say…?" 어떻게 말해요? |
| At this level, remember it as a set phrase. 어떻게 말해요? (enunciated). 어떻게 말해요? |
| All together, 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) literally means, "In Korean, textbook how you say," but translates as "How do you say ‘textbook’ in Korean? |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Ga-eun Gim says, |
| "It's ‘textbook.’" |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| First is 교과서 (gyo-gwa-seo), "textbook." 교과서 (enunciated). 교과서. |
| Next is 예요 (ye-yo). In this case, it's like the "is" in "It’s." 예요 (enunciated). 예요. |
| 예요 is from 이다(i-da) meaning "to be." 이다. |
| While 이다 is technically a particle, it acts like a verb. |
| Note: 예요 follows words that do not end in a consonants, such as 교과서 (gyo-gwa-seo). |
| Together, 교과서예요 (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) literally means "textbook it is," but translates as, "It’s textbook." |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| Note: "it" is understood from context, as the speaker is answering a question. |
| 교과서예요 is the shortened version of the sentence, Textbook은 교과서예요. ("Textbook"eun gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| The first part, "textbook은," meaning "As for ‘textbook,’" is omitted since the context is clear, as Ga-eun is responding to a question about the "textbook." |
| The pattern is |
| 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro) {ENGLISH WORD} 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| How do you say {ENGLISH WORD} in Korean? |
| 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro) {ENGLISH WORD} 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {ENGLISH WORD} placeholder with the word you want to know. |
| Imagine you want to know the Korean word for 'pen'. |
| Ask |
| "How do you say "pen" in Korean?" |
| Ready? |
| 한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say "pen" in Korean?" |
| 한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| If you want to keep the conversation in Korean, you can say, "How do you say ‘this’ in Korean?" simply replace the English word with 이거 (i-geo), meaning "this." 이거 (enunciated). 이거. |
| When using this pattern, you may want to gesture or point at the thing you want to know the Korean word for. |
| 한국어로 이거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say ‘this’ in Korean?" |
| If the thing is far away from you, you can also use the Korean word 저거 (jeo-geo), "that (over there)." 저거. |
| 한국어로 저거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro jeo-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say ‘that’ in Korean?" |
| Again, these patterns are very useful for using Korean to learn Korean. |
| Keeping the conversation in Korean as long as possible is a great tactic to learn a language. These questions will help with that. |
| Again, the key pattern is |
| 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro) {ENGLISH WORD} 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| How do you say {ENGLISH WORD} in Korean? |
| 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro) {ENGLISH WORD} 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Let's look at some examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say “textbook” in Korean?" |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| "It's “textbook.”" |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Ju-ri Yu 한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say “pen” in Korean?" |
| 펜이에요. (Pen-i-e-yo.) |
| "It's “pen.”" |
| 한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 이거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say this in Korean?" |
| 젓가락이에요. (Jeot-ga-rag-i-e-yo.) |
| "It's “chopsticks.”" |
| 한국어로 이거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 저거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro jeo-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| "How do you say that in Korean?" |
| 연필이에요. (Yeon-pir-i-e-yo.) |
| "It's “pencil.”" |
| 한국어로 저거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro jeo-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 이거 뭐예요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo mwo-ye-yo?) |
| "What's this in Korean? |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| "It's textbook." |
| 한국어로 이거 뭐예요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo mwo-ye-yo?) |
| Did you notice how one of the speakers in the last exchange used a different pattern? |
| 한국어로 이거 뭐예요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo mwo-ye-yo?) |
| "What is ‘this’ in Korean?" |
| Instead of 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) "How do you say," 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?), this pattern uses the phrase 뭐예요? (mwo-ye-yo?) "What is" 뭐예요? (mwo-ye-yo?) |
| Let’s take a closer look at 한국어로 이거 뭐예요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo mwo-ye-yo?) |
| First is 한국어로 (Han-gug-eo-ro), meaning, "in Korean." 한국어로. |
| Next is 이거 (i-geo) "this." 이거 (enunciated). 이거. |
| After this is the phrase 뭐예요? (mwo-ye-yo?) meaning "what is…." 뭐예요? (enunciated) 뭐예요? |
| First is 뭐(mwo), the shortened form of 무어 (mu-eo), meaning "what." 무어. |
| Next is 예요 (ye-yo), here it's like the "is" in "What is..." 예요 (enunciated). 예요. |
| All together, 한국어로 이거 뭐예요? literally, "Korean in, this, what is?" but translates as "What is this in Korean?" 한국어로 이거 뭐예요? |
| This pattern shorterns the question with the same effect. |
| You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson. |
| 한국어로 {English word} 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro {English word} eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| How do you say {English word} in Korean? |
| Let's review the key vocabulary. |
| 펜 (pen). |
| "pen." |
| 펜 (enunciated). 펜. |
| 젓가락 (Jeot-ga-rak). |
| “chopsticks." |
| 젓가락 (Jeot-ra-rak). |
| 연필 (yeon-pil) |
| "pencil." |
| 연필 (enunciated). 연필. |
| 이거 (i-geo). |
| "this." |
| 이거 (enunciated). 이거. |
| 저거 (jeo-geo). |
| "that (over there)" |
| 저거 (enunciated). 저거 |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. |
| Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "Korean," as in the language? |
| 한국어.(Han-gug-eo.) |
| 한국어. |
| And how to say "in Korean?" |
| 한국어로. (Han-gug-eo-ro.) |
| 한국어로. |
| Do you remember how to say "How do you say?" |
| 어떻게 말해요? (eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 어떻게 말해요? |
| Do you remember how Ju-ri says, "How do you say "textbook" in Korean?" |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 textbook 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro textbook eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Do you remember how to say "textbook?" |
| 교과서. (gyo-gwa-seo.) |
| 교과서. |
| Do you remember how Ga-eun Gim says, "It’s textbook." |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| 교과서예요. (Gyo-gwa-seo-ye-yo.) |
| Do you remember how to say "this?" |
| 이거 (i-geo) |
| 이거 |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Yeon-a Yu, and you’re having a language-exchange lunch with So-yeong Seo. |
| Ask, "How do you say "chopsticks" in Korean?" |
| Ready? |
| 한국어로 chopsticks 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro "chopsticks" eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 젓가락이에요. (Jeot-ga-rag-i-e-yo.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 한국어로 chopsticks 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro "chopsticks" eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 chopsticks 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro "chopsticks" eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Now you want to know the word for "pen." |
| Ready? |
| 한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 펜이에요. (Pen-i-e-yo.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 pen 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro pen eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you’re No-a Yu, and you’re at school. While pointing at a nearby pencil, ask your friend how to say "this" in Korean. |
| Ready? |
| 한국어로 이거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 연필이에요. (Yeon-pir-i-e-yo.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 한국어로 이거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 이거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro i-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask how to say something in Korean. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of asking for clarification. Let’s review. |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "Sorry, but" |
| 죄송하지만. (joe-song-ha-ji-man.) |
| 죄송하지만. |
| And how to say, |
| "One more time." |
| 한 번 더 (han beon deo) |
| 한 번 더 |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "Please say." |
| 말해 주세요 (mal-hae ju-se-yo) |
| 말해 주세요 |
| And do you remember how to say, |
| "Sorry, but please say it one more time." |
| 죄송하지만 한 번 더 말해 주세요. (Joe-song-ha-ji-man han beon deo mal-hae ju-se-yo.) |
| 죄송하지만 한 번 더 말해 주세요. (Joe-song-ha-ji-man han beon deo mal-hae ju-se-yo.) |
| Do you remember how to say, "slowly?" |
| 천천히 (cheon-cheon-hi) |
| 천천히 |
| And do you remember how to say, |
| "Please say it slowly." |
| 천천히 말해 주세요.(Cheon-cheon-hi mal-hae ju-se-yo.) |
| 천천히 말해 주세요.(Cheon-cheon-hi mal-hae ju-se-yo.) |
| Imagine You're Jack Jones, and you're meeting your fellow student Ga-eun Gim for the first time. She introduces herself, but you can't catch her name. |
| Respond to her introduction, and ask her to repeat it one more time, and slowly. |
| Ready? |
| 안녕. 나는 김가은이야. (An-nyeong. Na-neun gim-ga-eun-i-ya.) |
| 죄송하지만 한 번 더 말해 주세요. 천천히 말해 주세요. (Joe-song-ha-ji-man han beon deo mal-hae ju-se-yo. Cheon-cheon-hi mal-hae ju-se-yo.) |
| Listen again, and repeat. |
| 죄송하지만 한 번 더 말해 주세요. 천천히 말해 주세요. (Joe-song-ha-ji-man han beon deo mal-hae ju-se-yo. Cheon-cheon-hi mal-hae ju-se-yo.) |
| 죄송하지만 한 번 더 말해 주세요. 천천히 말해 주세요. (Joe-song-ha-ji-man han beon deo mal-hae ju-se-yo. Cheon-cheon-hi mal-hae ju-se-yo.) |
| On a different occasion you're doing a language exchange. In the Korean portion of it you want to know how to say pencil in Korean. |
| Imagine you're pointing at the pencil. |
| Ask Ga-eun Gim how to say "that" in Korean. |
| 한국어로 저거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro jeo-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 연필이에요. |
| Listen again, and repeat. |
| 한국어로 저거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro jeo-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| 한국어로 저거 어떻게 말해요? (Han-gug-eo-ro jeo-geo eo-tteo-ke mal-hae-yo?) |
| Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask for Clarification unit of this course. |
| Now you know how to ask how you say something in Korean. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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