Lesson 34: Explanations for Difficult Words

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Introduction
Vocabulary

~거리다
자기 and 자신
Still – 아직
Words that need negative endings
훨씬 = much more
관하다 and 관련하다
주위 = Around the circumference
일단 = Once
Weight Words

 

 

Introduction

This lesson is focused entirely on difficult vocabulary. I will teach you about some words that need to be explained before we can move on to more complex grammar. Specifically, you will learn how to to use: 자기/자신, 훨씬, 관하다/관련하다, 주위, 일단, 전혀/별로, words dealing with weight, and words ending in ~거리다. Let’s get started.

Below is the list of words I want to introduce.

Click on the English word to see “hidden” information and many examples of that word in use. This lesson is focused on introducing each specific word anyways, so a lot of this “hidden” information is already presented in the lesson itself. However, the sentences hidden behind each word also include example sentences from later lessons. Use these sentences to give yourself a feel for how each word can be used, and maybe even to expose yourself to the grammar that you will be learning shortly.

A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.

Conjugate 흔들다 = to shake

Conjugate 흔들거리다 = to be shaking

Conjugate 머뭇거리다 = to hesitate

Conjugate 반짝거리다 = to be shiny

Conjugate 두리번거리다 = to look around

Conjugate 끈적거리다 = to be sticky

Conjugate 출렁거리다 = to be sloshing, to be rocking

자기 = him or her

자신 = oneself

아직 = still, yet

여전히 = still

별로 = not very

전혀 = not at all

훨씬 = much more

Conjugate 관하다 = related to, regarding

Conjugate 관련하다 = related to, regarding

주위 = around the circumference

일단 = once, first, for now

무게 = weight

몸무게 = body weight

살 = flesh, weight

Conjugate 찌다 = to gain weight

Conjugate 빠지다 = to lose weight

For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.

Let’s look at each word (or groups of words) individually.

 

 

~거리다

You will sometimes see “~거리다” at the end of words. For example:

흔들거리다 = to be shaking
머뭇거리다 = to hesitate
반짝거리다 = to be shiny
두리번거리다 = to look around
끈적거리다 = to be sticky
출렁거리다 = to be sloshing

Some of these words have meaning without ~거리다 attached, or can be used in another form. For example, 흔들다 means “to shake/swing/wave.” What meaning could ~거리다 have?

When a word ends in ~거리다, it means that whatever is being done, it is being done repeatedly – in a stopping and starting fashion. For example:

흔들다 = to shake
흔들거리다 = to be shaking

Note that you can’t just add ~거리다 to every word to give it the meaning of ‘being repeated.’ Only certain words can use this ending, so I don’t recommend adding ~거리다 to random words if you haven’t learned that it can specifically be used like that.

In addition, some words only end in ~거리다. That is, other than their ~거리다 form, there is no other way that they can be used. For example:

머뭇거리다 = to repeatedly hesitate
두리번거리다 = to repeatedly look around.

While 머뭇거리다 and 두리번거리다 are words, “머뭇다” and “두리번다” are not words.

The idea of ~거리다 adding the feeling of a “repeated action” doesn’t always work in my brain. I feel that it doesn’t do the translation or feeling of ~거리다 justice sometimes. I’ve noticed that ~거리다 is often added to words that indicates one’s perception or feeling and where expressing this exact feeling is difficult. For example, if you touched something gooey and it was all gross and “sticky,” you could use the word “끈적거리다” to express this feeling. The stickiness is not really repeating – it’s more of a weird feeling that I can’t describe. Sometimes you will come across words ending in ~거리다 where the translation is more about a strange feeling or perception than an action that repeats itself. In times like these, I like adding the English word “all” to the sentence to express this strange feeling. For example:

“I touched that goo and it was all sticky.”

Below are some example sentences with words using ~거리다. Note that there are other words that end in ~거리다 that are not included in the vocabulary list above. Most words using ~거리다 are quite difficult, and the purpose of this lesson is not to introduce you to every word where you can see ~거리다. Rather, the purpose of this lesson is to introduce you to the general meaning/feeling of ~거리다 to allow you to understand its usage when you see it used on words during your studies.

It is also important to note that all words ending in ~거리다 are verbs and therefore must be conjugated as such. Many of these words inherently feel like adjectives, so it is strange at first to consider them verbs. For example, “끈적거리다” is a verb, but it typically translates to the adjective “to be sticky” in English.

우리는 흔들거리는 다리를 건넜어요
= We crossed the wobbly bridge (the bridge that keeps shaking, the shaky bridge)

남자가 여자와 얘기하는 것을 머뭇거렸어요
= The man kept hesitating to talk with the girl

사고가 난 후에 차를 다시 운전하는 것을 머뭇거렸어요
= I (continually) hesitated about driving again after the accident

반짝거리는 목걸이를 하고 있었어요
= She was wearing a necklace that was all sparkly/shiny

별이 밤에 하늘에서 반짝거려요
= The stars in the night sky are all sparkly/shiny

열쇠를 찾으려고 방을 두리번거렸어요
= I looked around the room to find my keys

땀이 나고 나서 몸이 아주 끈적거려요
= After sweating, my body is all sticky

바다에서 물이 출렁거렸어요
= The water rocked back and forth in the ocean

It is common to see words with ~거리다 used in literature where the author wants to describe a certain feeling through language. For example, the sentence immediately above could be translated to “the water rocked back and forth.” However, it could also be translated to “the water sloshed back and forth in the ocean.” The word “slosh” gives me a more descriptive feeling and image of the water. In Korean, these ~거리다 words often give sentences a more descriptive feeling and image.

 

자기 and 자신

When referring to somebody in the third person, you can use words like “he,” “she,” or “that person.” For example:

그는 한국을 좋아해요 = He likes Korea
그녀는 한국을 좋아해요 = She likes Korea
그 사람은 한국을 좋아해요 = That person likes Korea

자기 is usually used in sentences when a person has already been mentioned, and is being mentioned again. For example, in the sentence:

“He likes his appearance.”

You could write that sentence like this:

그는 그의 외모를 좋아해요

However, it could also be written like this:

그는 자기(의) 외모를 좋아해요 = He likes his appearance

Here, you can use 자기 to replace the person you are talking about the second time you mention that person. Below are many more examples. I have bolded the word “자기” and its translation to make it clear what “자기” translates to.

우리 아들은 자기(의) 일을 항상 혼자 하고 싶어요
= Our son always wants to do his work alone

저의 아내는 자기가 요리한 것을 보통 안 먹어요
= My wife usually doesn’t eat the food she cooks

우리 아들은 자기 건강에 대해 의사와 상담을 했어요
= Our son consulted with a doctor about his health

여자가 변한 자기 모습을 보고 실망했어요
= The girl looked at her changed appearance and was disappointed

————————

In the example sentences above using “자기,” some person is being referred to twice in the same sentence. Although this person is mentioned twice, the person is not the subject and the object of the sentence. For example:

우리 아들은 자기(의) 일을 항상 혼자 하고 싶어요
The subject is “our son.” The object is “his work.”

저의 아내는 자기가 요리한 것을 보통 안 먹어요
The subject is “my wife.” The object is “the food (she cooks).”

When one person is both the subject and the object of a sentence, the word “자신” is used as the object. The translation of 자신 to English depends on who the person is, but the basic form you will see is “oneself.” Depending on the person, the translation would be:

Myself
Yourself
Himself
Herself
Themselves

For example:

저는 자신을 안 믿어요 = I don’t trust myself
너는 자신을 안 믿어? = You don’t trust yourself?
그는 자신을 안 믿어요 = He doesn’t trust himself
그녀는 자신을 안 믿어요 = She doesn’t trust herself
그들은 자신을 안 믿어요 = They don’t trust themselves

It is common to place the following words before 자신:

나/내/저/제 if the subject is “I”
너/네 if the subject is “you”
그/그녀/자기 if the subject is “him” or “her”
그들 if the subject is “they”

For example:

저는 제 자신을 안 믿어요 = I don’t trust myself
너는 네 자신을 안 믿어? = You don’t trust yourself?
그는 자기 자신을 안 믿어요 = He doesn’t trust himself
그녀는 자기 자신을 안 믿어요 = She doesn’t trust herself
그들은 그들 자신을 안 믿어요 = They don’t trust themselves

We also see these translations when the person is the subject and also placed before ~에 대해 or ~에게 in a sentence. For example:

자신에 대해 = about oneself
자신에게 = to oneself

Below are many examples showing the use of 자신:

청소년들은 그들 자신을 사랑하지 않아요
= Young people don’t love themselves

그 학생은 자기 자신에게 자꾸 변명을 해요
= That student always makes excuses to/for himself

저도 제 자신을 몰라요
= Even I don’t know myself

저는 제 자신에게 그런 말을 많이 했어요
= I said that (type of thing) to myself many times

그 남자가 수업 시간 동안 자기 자신에게 말을 해요
= That boy talks to himself during class

저는 한국에서 제 자신에 대해 많이 배웠어요
= I learned a lot about myself in Korea

그는 자기 자신에 대해 아무 것도 알고 있지 않아요
= He doesn’t know anything about himself

 

 

Still – 아직

When used in the present tense, 아직 translates to “still.” For example:

저는 아직 기다리고 있어요 = I am still waiting
학생들은 그 선생님을 아직 좋아해요? = Do students still like that teacher?
불이 아직 켜져 있어요 = The light is still on
그 상가가 그 길에 아직 있어요 = That building is still on that street
저는 주름이 아직 많아요 = I still have a lot of wrinkles
저는 한국에 아직 간 적이 없어요 = I still haven’t been to Korea

When used in the past tense, it is typically used in negative sentences to indicate that something still hasn’t happened. For example:

보증 기간이 아직 안 지났어요 = The warranty period still hasn’t passed
수표를 아직 안 받았어요 = I still haven’t received the cheque
우리는 그 문제를 아직 해결하지 못했어요 = We still haven’t resolved that problem
새로운 휴대폰을 아직 안 샀어요 = I still haven’t bought a new phone
우리는 4번출구를 아직 찾지 못했어요 = We still haven’t found exit 4

When used like this, the word “yet” can also be used in the translation. For example:

보증 기간이 아직 안 지났어요 = The warranty period hasn’t passed yet
수표를 아직 안 받았어요 = I haven’t received the cheque yet
우리는 그 문제를 아직 해결하지 못했어요 = We haven’t resolved that problem yet
새로운 휴대폰을 아직 안 샀어요 = I haven’t bought a new phone yet
우리는 4번출구를 아직 찾지 못했어요 = We haven’t found exit 4 yet

If somebody asks you if you have done something, you can respond with “아직…. 안 했어요.” For example:

Person 1: 일을 다 했어요? = Have you done all the work yet?
Person 2: 아직 안 했어요 = I haven’t done it yet/I still haven’t done it

In these cases, it is common to simplify the sentence and just use “아직” as the answer (~요 can be added in formal situations). For example:

Person 1: 일을 다 했어요? = Have you done all the work yet?
Person 2: 아직요… = Not yet

——————-

Above, notice how only “아직” is being used (which translates to “yet”) and how the English translation includes both “yet” and “not.” This difference often causes Korean people to make mistakes when saying this type of sentence in English. For example, a conversation with a Korean person (in English) might go like this:

English speaker: Did you do the work yet?
Korean speaker: Yet

——————-

Particles ~도 and ~은 can be attached to 아직 to create a more complex meaning of the word “still.” The word 여전히 also translates to “still.” The following can be very confusing:

아직도 = still
아직은 = still
여전히 = still

I’ll explain the subtle nuisances between each one:

아직도 is used when you are emphasizing that something is still the case – but it shouldn’t be. For example:

저는 운동을 아직도 하지 않았어요 = I still haven’t exercised
(Putting emphasis on “still” meaning that you still haven’t exercised – but should have by now)

머리가 아직도 아파요 = My head still hurts
(Putting emphasis on “still” meaning that your head still hurts, but shouldn’t anymore)

아직은 is used when you are saying that something hasn’t happened yet, but it will happen soon (or vice-versa). Here, the comparison function of ~은 is used to compare the present (where something has or hasn’t happened) with the future (where the opposite will happen). For example:

저는 운동을 아직은 하지 않았어요 = I still haven’t exercised
(Indicating that I haven’t exercised, but I will exercise shortly)

저는 아직은 공부를 하고 있어요 = I am still studying
(Indicating that I am studying, but I will finish [and therefore won’t be studying] shortly)

여전히 is used when the action that is still being done/still hasn’t been done will continue into the foreseeable future. For example:

저는 운동을 여전히 하지 않았어요 = I still haven’t exercised
(Indicating that you haven’t exercised, and you have no plans to exercise soon)

저는 그 여자를 여전히 좋아해요 = I still like that girl
(Indicating that you still like that girl, and will continue to like her)

Honestly, this is more confusing than it needs to be. In most situations, simply using “아직” is sufficient. However, if you ever wanted to be more specific, you could use 아직도, 아직은 or 여전히. It helps if you understand the meanings of ~도 and ~은 on their own to extrapolate how they can be applied to 아직.

 

 

Words that need negative endings

In Lesson 25, you learned about using 아무도, 아무 것도, 아무 데도 and 아무 때도. In that lesson, you learned that sentences containing those words should have a negative conjugation. For example, instead of saying:

아무도 나를 좋아해 (incorrect)

You would have to write:
아무도 나를 좋아하지 않아 or 아무도 나를 안 좋아해 = Nobody likes me

There are a handful of other words that require this negative ending. I would like to introduce you to 별로 and 전혀.

별로 and 전혀 both have very similar meanings – but 전혀 is more extreme. 별로 has the meaning of “really” or “that” in these types of sentences:

I’m not really/that hungry
I don’t really want to go
He’s not that handsome

To say those sentences in Korean, you can use 별로 as an adverb within the sentence, and then finish the sentence with a negative conjugation.

For example:

나는 별로 배고프지 않아 = I’m not really hungry
나는 밖에 별로 나가고 싶지 않아 = I don’t really want to go outside
그는 별로 잘생기지 않았다 = He’s not that handsome

You should know by now that 이다 usually does not attach to adverbs. 별로 is an exception, as it is very common for Korean people to use this construction to describe their indifference towards something. The most common way you would hear this is in response to a question. For example:

A: 밥은 맛있어? = Is the food delicious?
B: 별로야 = Meh, not really

A: 이 바지는 마음에 들어? = Do you like these pants?
B: 별로야 = Meh, not really

If it is being used in a formal setting, it is more common to just attach “요” to it:

A: 홍콩에 가고 싶어요? = Do you want to go to Hong Kong?
B: 별로요 = Meh, not really

It can also be used in the past tense. In these cases, the past tense conjugation of 이다 is used for both formal and informal situations. For example:

A: 점심을 먹었어요? 어땠어요? = Did you have lunch? How was it?
B: 별로였어요 = Meh, it wasn’t that good

A: 그 남자를 만났어? 잘생겼어? = Did you meet that man? Was he handsome?
B: 아니. 별로였어 = Nah, not really.

It can also be used immediately after a noun, almost as if it were an adjective. This allows it to be used by a speaker even if there was not a soliciting question. For example:

우리가 먹었던 피자가 별로였어 = The pizza we ate wasn’t that good

This sentence is essentially the same as:

우리가 먹었던 피자가 별로 맛있지 않았어 = The pizza we ate wasn’t that delicious

The only difference is that using “별로이다” in these cases is very colloquial and more common in speech.

전혀 has a similar meaning, but it is more extreme. 전혀 has the meaning of “at all” in the following sentences:

I’m not hungry at all
I don’t want to go outside at all
He’s not handsome at all

For example:

나는 전혀 배고프지 않아 = I’m not hungry at all
나는 밖에 전혀 나가고 싶지 않아 = I don’t want to go outside at all
그는 전혀 잘생기지 않았다 = He’s not handsome at all

Another way to express a similar meaning to 전혀 is to attach ~도 to 하나. Like 별로 and 전혀, this is commonly used in negative sentences. Technically, this would translate to something like “not even one,” for example:

저는 친구가 하나도 없어요 = I don’t even have one friend
저는 사진을 하나도 안 찍었어요 = I didn’t even take one picture
그 할아버지는 주름이 하나도 없어요 = That grandfather doesn’t even have one wrinkle

However, even though the word “하나” is used, it can be used even in situations where nothing is countable. In this case, it is better translated to something like “not at all” like 전혀. For example:

저는 밥을 하나도 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat at all
학교가 하나도 재미없어요 = School isn’t fun at all
그 여자가 하나도 안 웃었어요 = That girl didn’t laugh at all

 

 

 

훨씬 = much more

훨씬 can be used in sentences just like 더 (which you learned about in Lesson 19), but the meaning is stronger than 더. For example:

나는 나의 남동생보다 훨씬 똑똑해 = I am way/much smarter than my brother
한국어는 영어보다 훨씬 어렵다 = Korean is much more difficult than English

You can also put 더 in the sentence after 훨씬 with no difference in meaning:

나는 나의 남동생보다 훨씬 더 똑똑해 = I am way/much smarter than my brother
한국어는 영어보다 훨씬 더 어렵다 = Korean is much more difficult than English

 

 

관하다 and 관련하다

You learned how to use ~에 대하다 in Lesson 13. The typical translation for ~에 대하다 is “about.” For example:

나는 너에 대해 생각했어 = I thought about you
나는 한국역사에 대한 영화를 봤어 = I saw a movie about Korean history

You can use ~에 관하다 instead of ~에 대하다. For example:

나는 한국역사에 대한 영화를 봤어 = I saw a movie about Korean history, and
나는 한국역사에 관한 영화를 봤어 = I saw a movie about Korean history

관하다 indicates some form of “relation.” A literal translation would be “to have relation with.” Therefore, the sentence above could also be translated to:

나는 한국역사에 대한 영화를 봤어 = I saw a movie about Korean history, and
나는 한국역사에 관한 영화를 봤어 = I saw a movie related to Korean history

Although 관하다 and 대하다 can be used to create a similar meaning in some situations, it is awkward to use 관하다 when “thinking” about something/somebody. For example, the following sentence:

나는 너에 관해 많이 생각했어

Would be better off said as:

나는 너에 대해 생각했어 = I thought about you

A word that is similar in form is ~에 관련하다. It is often used in the same way as ~에 대하다 and ~에 관하다. Notice the difference in meanings:

환경에 대해 = About the environment
환경에 대한 것 = A thing about the environment

환경에 관해 = About/regarding the environment
환경에 관한 것 = A thing about/regarding the environment

환경에 관련해 = About/regarding the environment
환경에 관련한 것 = A thing about/regarding the environment
(관련한 is also often used as 관련돼 and 관련된)

~에 관련해 is usually written/spoken as 관련하여 (or 관련되어). Remember that 해 is actually the shortened form of 하여, and is much more common. In some formal situations, instructions, and signs you might find 하여 used more often than “해,” but other than that, “하여” is less commonly used. However, 관련하여 is quite common.

Some examples:

환경에 관련된 영화가 많아요
환경에 관련한 영화가 많아요
환경에 관한 영화가 많아요
= There are a lot of movies relating to the environment

이 문제에 관련되어 회의가 있을 것이다
이 문제에 관련하여 회의가 있을 것이다
이 문제에 관해 회의가 있을 것이다
= There will be a meeting relating to this problem

태극기에 관련된 이야기를 했어요
태극기에 관련한 이야기를 했어요
태극기에 관한 이야기를 했어요
= We had a discussion relating to the Korean flag

 

 

주위– Around the circumference

주위 is also a fairly simple word, but a little bit of explanation will probably help you understand it better. In Lesson 2, you learned various words of position, like ‘inside,’ ‘outside,’ ‘beside,’ etc… For example:

학교 앞에 = in-front of the school
학교 뒤에 = behind the school
학교 안에 = inside the school

You can use 주위 in the same way, but to mean “around.” For example:

나는 학교 주위를 걷는 것을 좋아해 = I like walking around the school
달은 지구 주위를 돌아요 = The moon spins around the earth
학생들이 넘어진 친구 주위에 서 있었어요 = The students stood around their friend who had fallen

It can also be used to refer to the general surroundings of a place. For example:

그가 주위를 두리번거렸어요 = He looked around at his surroundings
주위가 안전하지 않아요 = This area/surrounding area isn’t safe

Finally, you will also see 주위 used to refer to the people who one often comes in contact with. This is often translated to the people “around” a person – but not in a physical sense. Rather, it refers to ones friends, family, coworkers, etc. For example:

그는 주위 사람들을 안 믿어요 = He doesn’t trust those around him
주위 사람 중에 그를 좋아하는 사람은 하나도 없어요 = There isn’t even one person around him that likes him

 

 

일단 = Once, First, For Now

Throughout your studies, you will learn a variety of adverbs that can be placed in sentences that have no real meaning. The purpose they serve is more to add feeling to a sentence rather than to change the meaning in any drastic way. This is hard to describe in English because (to my knowledge) we don’t have anything similar. The most common of these words is “만약” which you have yet to learn about at this point (you will learn about it in Lesson 43).

The purpose of these words (or the feeling that they give off) is to allow the listener/reader to expect the type of sentence that is about to be said. For example, when somebody says “일단”, one can expect that the speaker will be mentioning that one action will happen before another.

You will usually see the translation of “once” for 일단, although it is hard to correctly decide on a translation for a word whose meaning is more about feeling.

In Lesson 24 you learned about how to use ~ㄴ/은 후에 to say sentences like this:
제가 밥을 먹은 후에 밖에 나갈 거예요 = After I eat, I will go outside

In this sentence, one action (eating) happens before another (going outside). You can use “일단” in sentences like this. For example:

일단 제가 밥을 먹은 후에 밖에 나갈 거예요 = Once I eat, I will go outside

Notice that the two sentences essentially have the same meaning. The only reason I translated them differently is to try to account for the fact that “일단” was used in the second example.

Other examples:

일단 일을 다 한 후에 아빠에게 전화할 거예요
= Once I do all the work, I will call my dad

일단 재료를 산 후에 샐러드를 만들 거예요
= Once I buy the ingredients, I will make a salad

일단 한국어를 배운 후에 중국어를 배우고 싶어요
= Once I learn Korean, I want to learn Chinese

The word “이상” is often used in sentences with 일단 similar to how “후에” is used. You learned about “후에” in Lesson 24. For example:

밥을 먹은 후에 친구를 만났어요 = After I ate I met a friend
밥을 먹은 후에 친구를 만날 거예요 = After I eat, I will meet a friend

이상 is similar to 후에, but when 이상 is used the speaker is specifically indicating that the clause prior to 이상 has already completed, and that he/she will now complete the clause after 이상. The translation of “now that one has…” is usually appropriate. For example:

일단 제가 시작한 이상 멈추지 않을 거예요 = Now that I’ve started, I won’t stop
일단 일을 다 한 이상 아빠에게 전화할 거예요 = Now that I’m done all my work, I will call my dad
일단 재료를 산 이상 샐러드를 만들 거예요 = Now that I have bought all the ingredients, I will make a salad
일단 한국어를 배운 이상 중국어를 배우고 싶어요 = Now that I have learned Korean, I want to learn Chinese

In addition to this, you will often see 일단 placed at the beginning of a sentence that has the particle “~부터” attached to the object in the clause that happens first, followed by a verb with ~고 attached. For example:

일단 밥부터 먹고…

You learned about the particle “~부터” in Lesson 12. Although the translation of ~부터 is slightly different, the usage shown above is essentially the same as the usage introduced in that earlier lesson.

When added to a noun like this (as in the example above) preceded by “일단” one is indicating that one action should happen before another action. The construction above (which is not a complete sentence yet) means that the speaker wants to eat first, and then, after finishing eating, another action can take place. For example:

나는 일단 밥부터 먹고 나갈 거야

Again, this sentence implies that the speaker wants to eat, and then after finishing eating, wants to go out(side). This sentence could translate to many different things in English:

나는 일단 밥부터 먹고 나갈 거야 = I will eat first, and then go outside
나는 일단 밥부터 먹고 나갈 거야 = I will start by (from) eating, and then go outside
나는 일단 밥부터 먹고 나갈 거야 = After I eat, I will go outside
나는 일단 밥부터 먹고 나갈 거야 = Once I am finished eating, I will go outside

Notice that it doesn’t matter what you translate the sentence to. In the end, the result is the same in each translation, and the purpose of 일단 is merely there to give feeling to the sentence. More examples:

일단 숙제를 끝내고 친구를 만날 거예요
= Once I finish my homework, I will meet a friend

일단 피자부터 먹고 과자를 먹을 거예요
= Once I finish eating the pizza, I will eat candy/snacks

일단 빵에 땅콩버터부터 바르고 딸기를 놓을 거예요
= Once I spread peanut butter on the bread, I will put strawberries onto it

일단 한국어부터 배우고 중국어를 배우고 싶어요
= Once I learn Korean, I want to learn Chinese

 

 

Weight Words

There are a lot of words that relate to weight/body weight that aren’t very easy to understand. I want to take some time to explain these words to you.

The word for “weight” is “무게”

You already know that the word for body is “몸.” If you are talking about one’s body weight, you can say “몸무게.”

Korea, like most of the world, uses the metric system. People probably wouldn’t understand if you expressed your weight using pounds.

The first way to indicate how much you weigh is like this:
나는 (몸무게가) 70 kg야 = I weigh 70 kilograms
“kg” is pronounced as “킬로” or “킬로그램” in Korean. You are more likely to see “kg” written instead of “킬로” or “킬로그램.”

It is also possible to use “나가다” as the predicating word of the sentence. For example:
나는 (몸무게가) 70 kg 나가 = I weigh 70 kilograms

In both situations, “몸무게” can be omitted from the sentence as the context makes it clear that the speaker is referring to his/her weight. The sentences above could be shortened to:
나는 70 kg야 = I weigh 70 kilograms
나는 70 kg 나가 = I weigh 70 kilograms

If you want to ask how much somebody weighs, you can turn those two sentences into questions using 몇 (which you learned about in Lesson 22). For example:

(몸무게가) 몇 kg야? = How much do you weigh?
(몸무게가) 몇 kg(가) 나가? = How much do you weigh?

When talking about weight, it is common to talk about losing or gaining weight. When doing this, the word “살” is typically used instead of “몸무게.” 살 literally refers to one’s soft tissues (like muscle, fat or flesh) and can also be applied to the meat/flesh of other animals. For example:

그 물고기에 살이 없어요 = There is no meat on that fish

Weight is typically lost and gained in soft tissue, so 살 is used instead of 몸무게. Common verbs you will hear with “살” are:

살이 찌다 = to gain weight
살이 빠지다 = to lose weight (typically used when weight is lost inadvertently)
살을 빼다 = to lose weight (typically used when weight is lost on purpose)

These verbs have other uses than these situations related to weight. For example:

빠지다 is a verb used when something falls, sinks, drops or is deflated
빼다 is a verb used when somebody removes something from somewhere (as in, to remove weight from one’s body).
(찌다 doesn’t have much use outside of this situation)

찌다 and 빠지다 are passive verbs, so they cannot act on objects. In practice, all this means is that you cannot put ~을/를 in a sentence/clause that ends in 찌다/빠지다. The best way to use these words in situations of gaining and losing weight is:

나는 작년에 살이 많이 쪘어 = I gained a lot of weight last year
나는 살이 많이 빠졌어 = I lost a lot of weight

빼다 is an active verb, and therefore can act on an object. For example:

저는 살을 빼고 싶어요 = I want to lose weight

This lesson was a little bit different than our usual lessons, but I felt that before going any further, you needed to know how to use these important words in Korean. In the next lesson, we will go back to our usual format of teaching you a lot of Korean grammar. In the mean time, make sure you are comfortable with what was taught in this lesson.

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