Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use. You might not be able to understand all of the grammar within the example sentences, but most of the grammar used will be introduced by the end of Unit 2. 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.
Notes: When paying by card (bank card or credit card) in Korea, customers have to sign an electronic device to provide their signature. At this time, the clerk working the cash will say: “사인해 주세요!”
Common Usages:
팬사인회 = an event to give fans one’s autograph
사인을 받다 = to get an autograph
Examples:
여기에 사인을 안 해도 돼요 = You don’t need to sign here
여기 아래에 사인해 주세요 = Please sign below, here 그 연예인의 사인을 받았을 때 너무 설레었어요 = When I got that celebrity’s signature, I was really excited
오늘 저스틴 비버 팬사인회에서 사인을 받기 위해 한 시간을 기다렸어요 = I waited for an hour to get Justin Bieber’s signature at the fan signing meeting (autograph session) today
사랑 없이 집안 배경을 보고 결혼할 경우 미래에 이혼할 가능성이 높아요
= If you only look at one’s “family background” (the money that somebody has) and don’t have any love, the possibility of divorce in the future is high
Common Usages:
복권을 긁다 = to scratch a lottery ticket
복권에 당첨되다 = to win the lottery
Examples:
저는 복권에 당첨되면 바로 세계여행을 떠날 거예요
= If I won the lottery I would travel the world right away
보통 돼지꿈을 꾸면 한국에서는 복권을 사요
= If you dream about pigs, you usually buy a lottery ticket in Korea (This is actually true. In Korea, there are these things called “해몽” and depending on what you dream about, it signals that something is going to happen. Specifically, if you dream about pigs, it signals that you will have good luck)
Examples: 저는 사막에서 살았을 때를 잊어버리고 싶어요 = I want to forget the time I lived in the desert
사막을 생각하면 자연스럽게 낙타가 떠올라요 = If you think about deserts, camels naturally come to one’s mind
Examples: 뼈가 아플 때 고통을 버티려고 이 약을 먹어요
= When your bones are sore, in order to endure the pain, take this medicine
하지만 내가 하고 싶은 일을 시작해서 하루하루 잘 버티고 있다
= But, because am starting work that I want to do, every day (day by day) I am enduring it well.
신입사원으로 입사해서 힘들었지만 잘 버텨서 어제 승진했어요
= I entered the company as a new worker (rookie) so it was very difficult, but I endured it well and was promoted yesterday
Examples:
실연의 아픔이 커도 견디다 보면 언젠가는 그 사람도 잊혀질 거예요
= Even if the pain of a broken heart is big, if you endure it for a while, someday that person too will be forgotten
The noun form of this word (“응원”) translates to “(moral) support.”
Common Usages:
응원석 = a “cheering” seat (at Korean sporting events, there is usually a designated area of seats that will have fans who will cheer a lot during the game)
Examples: 저는 그 팀을 어렸을 때부터 응원했어요 = I’ve been cheering for that team since I was young
이번에 제가 응원하는 팀이 슈퍼볼에서 승리했으면 좋겠어요
= It would be nice if the team I cheer for won the Super Bowl this time
우리 가족은 내가 힘들 때마다 나와 함께 있어주고 내가 무슨 일을 해도 항상 응원해주는 든든한 지원군이다 = Whenever things are difficult, my family is always with me, and anything I do, they are always encouraging (cheering) strong supporters
Examples:
너의 눈을 응시할 때 가슴이 설레어 = When I gaze into your eyes, my heart flutters
컴퓨터를 오래 사용해 눈이 피곤하면 먼 곳을 20초 동안 응시하면 좋아요
= If your eyes are tired from using a computer for a long time, it is good if you look at a far place for 20 seconds
Examples: 머리를 감을 때 비누로 해요 = When I wash my hair, I do it with soap
저는 머리가 길어서 머리 감는 데 남들보다 오래 걸려요 = I have long hair, so it takes longer than other people to wash my hair
Common Usages:
수심이 얕다 = for the depth (usually of a pool) to be shallow
지식이 얕다 = to have “shallow” knowledge (to know a lot of things, but to not know them deeply)
Examples: 키가 클 때까지 얕은 수영장에서만 수영할 거예요
= I’m only going to swim in shallow swimming pools until I am taller
이 수영장이 다른 곳보다 수심이 얕아서 어린아이들이 놀기에 좋아요
= This pool is shallower than other places so it is good for children to play here
Adverbs and Other Words: 어쨌든 = at any rate, in any case, anyways
Translation: at any rate, in any case, anyways
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “어짿뜬”
Examples:
어쨌든 오늘은 저의 생일이기 때문에 화를 내지 않을 거예요
= Anyways, today is my birthday so I won’t be mad
나는 사자를 보는 게 무서웠지만 어쨌든 우리는 사자가 있는 곳에 도착했다. 하지만 사자는 낮잠을 자고 있었다.
= I was afraid of seeing the lions, but, at any rate, we arrived at the place where the lions were. However, the lions were taking a nap
Notes: The translation of 겨우 is typically “barely” but it has two main usages. For the first usage, I like to imagine a line, and when 겨우 is used the action is just able to cross the line. For example:
늦잠을 자서 출근시간을 겨우 맞췄다 = I slept in and I just managed to arrive on time
Here, if you imagine the line is the “출근시간” (the time work starts) the speaker just crossed the line and made it to work on time
It can also be used to emphasize that some action or number is smaller than one would expect. For example:
겨우 50만원을 벌기 위해 이렇게 열심히 일했다고 생각하니 허무했어요
= Thinking about how hard you say you worked in order to make a measly 50만원, you wasted your time
겨우 이런 일 가지고 친구가 저한테 실망을 하다니 믿을 수가 없었어요
= For such a small thing I can’t believe that my friend is disappointed in me
Examples: 가방을 처음 봤을 때 가짜인 것을 알았어요 = When I first saw the bag, I knew that it was fake
제가 어제 산 신발이 가짜인 것을 알게 되었어요 = I found out that the shoes I bought yesterday are fake
For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.
Introduction
In this lesson, you will use the ~는 것 principle to describe a specific time that an action takes place. This can be done using the special noun “때” to makes sentences like:
When I study…
When I meet you…
When I was in Korea…
In addition, we will look at other ways “때” can be used. Let’s get started.
Simple Usages of 때
The word “때” typically refers to a “time.” In its most simple form, you can see it placed after some event or period to refer to the time during that event/period. For example:
저녁 때 = During dinner/evening time 방학 때 = During the school vacation 회의 때 = During the meeting 휴가 때 = During a vacation 고등학교 때 = During high school 중학교 때 = During middle school 초등학교 때 = During elementary school 대학교 때 = During University
These constructions can be used in sentences where appropriate. For example:
Let’s look at how 때 can be described by a preceding clause to indicate a more complex time.
When: … ~ㄹ/을때
때 can be used as the noun being described in the ~는 것 principle. When used like this, it indicates a specific moment in which something happens. The future tense form of ~는 (~ㄹ/을) is usually used to describe 때 in these cases. For example:
내가 밥을 먹을 때
This construction translates to something like “the time that I eat.”
The use of ~ㄹ/을 theoretically indicates that this is a time in the future. However, this form could be used to describe a general time (that doesn’t necessarily happen in the past, present or future), or to describe a time in the future. Depending on the context and the rest of the sentence, the construction above could be completed as:
Notice in the examples above that the main action of the sentence is occurring precisely at the time indicated by the clause describing “때.” The main action of the clause is not occurring after the time indicated by “때,” or as a result of action. Therefore, be careful of the meaning you create when attaching ~ㄹ/을 때 to 가다 or 오다. For example:
집에 갈 때 아빠를 전화할 거예요
This sentence would not translate to “when I go home, I will call my father.” Rather, it is indicating that you will call your father during the “going” part of the sentence. To indicate that you will call your father after arriving at home, you should use another grammatical principle like:
집에 가서 아빠를 전화할 거예요 = I will go home and call my father
집에 가면 아빠를 전화할 거예요 = When I go home, I will call my father The use of ~(으)면 is discussed in the next lesson
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In order to indicate that something happened at some time in the past, you can add ~았/었 to the stem of a word followed by ~ㄹ/을 때. For example:
먹었을 때 = When I ate
갔을 때 = When I went
공부했을 때 = When I studied
Just like when used in the future/general tense, the remaining part of the clause can indicate the action that occurred at that time. For example:
The particle ~에 can be added to 때 in all of the sentences above. However, when used to refer to a time (which it was in all of the examples above), the ~에 can be omitted. Other particles can be attached to 때 if you want to use “the time in which an action happens” as the subject or object of a sentence. For example:
In all of the examples shown so far, the best translation for “때” would be “when,” as they indicate the time “when” an action happens. 때 can also be used to indicate that some sort of “time” or “case” has occurred. This usage is usually predicated by a word like “있다” or “없다” to indicate that there is/is not times/cases where some event happens. For example:
그 친구를 죽이고 싶을 때가 있어요 = There are times when I want to kill that friend 밤 늦게 배고플 때가 많아요 = There are many cases/times where I am hungry at night
In this usage, it could be appropriate to attach ~ㄹ/을 때 to 가다 or 오다. For example:
그 학생이 늦게 올 때가 많아요 = There are many times where that student comes late
