Lesson 47: Even though: ~지만

Common Usages:
아파트단지 = apartment complex (a group of apartments together all part of the same complex)

Examples:
그 아파트가 경비 아저씨가 있지만 안전하지 않아요
= Even though that apartment (complex) has a security guard, it isn’t safe

제가 사는 곳은 아파트 단지가 모여 있는 주거 지역입니다
= The place that I live is a residential area with (many) apartment complexes huddled together

Common Usages:
인조잔디 = artificial grass (“turf”)
잔디를 깎다 = to mow the lawn

Examples:
잔디를 깎아야 되지만 밖에 나가기 싫어요
= I have to cut/mow the grass/lawn, but I don’t want to go outside

잔디보호를 위해 꼭 정해진 길로만 지나가 주세요
= In order to protect the lawn, please only go/walk/pass by on the designated path

Common Usages:
경비 아저씨 = security guard
경비실 = security office/room
경비를 강화하다 = to strengthen security
경비를 서다 = to be on guard
경비가 삼엄하다 = for security to be strict

Examples:
그 아파트가 경비 아저씨가 있지만 안전하지 않아요
= Even though that apartment (complex) has a security guard, it isn’t safe

이 곳은 사람들의 안전을 위해 열 명의 경호원들이 경비를 서요
= For the safety of this area, there are ten security guards/body guards on guard

공항에서는 테러위험방지를 위해 경비가 다른 곳보다 삼엄해요
= Security at airports is more strict to prevent against the dangers of terrorism

Common Usages:
동물원 = zoo
육식동물 = carnivore
초식동물 = herbivore
동물성 기름 = animal fats

Examples:
동물원에 카메라를 가지고 입장해도 돼요?
= Am I allowed to enter the zoo with a camera?

제가 동물원에서 유일하게 보고 싶은 동물은 코끼리예요
= The only animal I want to see at the zoo are the elephants

우리 어머니가 강아지를 아주 좋아하지만 다른 동물을 싫어해요
= My mother really likes dogs/puppies, but doesn’t like other animals

하지만 펭귄이 있는 곳은 동물원 입구에서 멀다고 하니 아빠와 나는 우선 다른 동물들을 먼저 봤다
= But (because) the place the penguins are was said to be far from the zoo entrance, so Dad and I saw other animals first

Notes: “줄” can also be translated to “line” and can be confused with 선. “줄” usually refers to a string or rope (and is also used to refer to a queue of people). “선” is usually more abstract or something that can’t be manipulated.

Common Usages:
호선 = a line on the subway. For example, “Line 2”
차선 = a lane (of traffic) “a car line”
국경선 = border line
시선 = one’s eye line
선을 그리다 = to draw a line
선을 긋다  = to draw a line

Examples:
주차를 이 선 안에 해야 되지 않아요?  = Don’t you have to park between these lines?
2호선은 서울 도심 주위를 돌아요 = Line 2 circles around the downtown of Seoul

수학시간에 도형에 대해 배울 때는 선을 그릴 일이 많기 때문에 꼭 자를 가져와 주세요
= In math class, when you learn about figures there are many times where you will draw lines, so please bring a ruler

Common Usages:
감각신경 = sensory nerves
(패션) 감각이 뛰어나다 = to have a keen sense of (fashion)
감각이 마비되다 = for something to go numb (for feeling to be “paralyzed”)

Examples:
마취를 했지만 입에 아직 감각이 있어요
= I received freezing/anesthetic, but there is still feeling in my mouth

슬기는 패션 감각이 뛰어나 많은 사람들이 그녀를 패션스타라고 생각해요
= Seulgi has a keen sense of fashion, so many people think of her as a fashion star

Common Usages:
한계를 넘어서다 = to go over a limit
한계를 뛰어넘다 = to go over a limit
한계에 도달하다 = to reach a limit

Examples:
저는 제 자신의 한계를 뛰어넘기 위해 최선을 다해서 운동을 해요
= In order to exceed my limits, I put everything I’ve got into exercise

에베레트산을 오르는 일은 인간의 한계를 넘어서는 아주 힘든 일이에요
= Climbing Mount Everest is a difficult task that pushes the limits of humans

Common Usages:
뼈와 살을 깎는 고통 = an idiom for severe pain
고통을 버티다/참다 = to endure pain
고통을 감내하다 = a difficult way to say “to endure pain”

Examples:
고통으로 인해 저는 일에 집중하지 못했어요 = I couldn’t concentrate as a result of the pain
상처에 치료를 받았지만 아직 고통이 있어요 = I received treatment on my wound, but there is still pain

환자분이 느끼는 고통은 부작용 중 하나 일 뿐이에요
= The pain you are feeling is just one of the side effects

뼈가 아플 때 고통을 버티려고 이 약을 먹어요
= When your bones are sore, in order to endure the pain, take this medicine

Notes: 태양 is more often used in scientific usages of the word “sun.” When looking at the sun, or referring to it rising and setting, the word “해” is often used.

Common Usages:
태양계 = solar system
태양열 발전 = solar power

Examples:
오늘 우리가 달에 대한 것을 배울 거지만 우선 태양에 대한 것을 배워야 돼요
= Today, we’ll learn about the moon, but first, we must learn about the sun

지구과학 수업시간에 배운 태양계는 매우 흥미로워요
= The solar system, which we learned about in earth science class, is very interesting

Common Usages:
상처를 받다 = to receive a wound
상처를 입다 = to be wounded
상처를 씻다 = to clean a wound
마음의 상처 = a wound to one’s mind/spirit/heart
상처를 치료하다 = to heal a wound

Examples:
상처에 치료를 받았지만 아직 고통이 있어요 = I received treatment on my wound, but there is still pain
제가 어렸을 때 왕따를 당한 것은 마음의 상처가 되었어요 = Suffering as an outcast when I was young left scars on my spirit

Translation: to stick out of, to stretch out of

Common Usages:
혀를 내밀다 = to stick out one’s tongue
명함도 못 내밀다 = to not be able to get anywhere with a skillset

Examples:
친구는 저를 놀리기 위해 혀를 내밀면서 제 별명을 불렀어요
= To tease me, my friend called out my nickname while sticking out his tongue

이 정도의 경험으로는 이 회사에 명함도 못 내밀어요
= With that level of experience, he won’t get anywhere (won’t even be able to give out his business card)

Common Usages:
얼음 = ice
몸이 얼다 = for one’s body to be frozen or stiff

Examples:
물을 마셔야 되지만 물이 아직도 다 얼어 있어요 = I need to drink water, but it is still all frozen

뒤에서 누군가가 저를 따라오는 것을 느끼자 몸이 얼어서 움직일 수가 없었어요
= I felt somebody following me from behind and my body froze up so I couldn’t move

Notes: This is technically two words in Korean, but they often come hand-in-hand, and in English “scream” is only one word.

소리 질러! = “Make some noise!” (Common at a rock concert or some event with a crowd)

Examples:
소리를 많이 질러도 그는 제 말을 듣지 못했어요
= Regardless of how much I screamed he didn’t hear my voice

시위자들이 소리를 지르기도 했고 가게창문을 깨기도 했어요
= The protesters screamed and also broke store windows too

저는 동생을 간지럽게 해서 소리를 지르게 했어요
= I tickled my younger brother to the point that it made him scream

위험에 처하면 망설이지 말고 크게 소리를 지르세요!
= When you run into danger, don’t hesitate, and just scream loudly!

The noun form of this word (“마취”) translates to “anesthetic.”

Common Usages:
전신마취 = full/general anesthetic
부분마취 = local anesthetic

Examples:
마취를 했지만 입에 아직 감각이 있어요
= I received freezing/anesthetic, but there is still feeling in my mouth

통증에도 불구하고 마취 없이 소화기관에 수술을 받았어요
= Despite the pain, he had surgery on his digestive organs without anesthesia

전신마취를 하는 것은 건강에 좋지 않고 위험하니 신중하게 고려해야 합니다
= Getting general anesthesia isn’t good for your health and is dangerous, so you should think carefully (about it)

Examples:
로그인이 안 돼요 = The log-in isn’t working (I can’t log in)
로그인을 이미 했지만 그 화면이 안 보여요  = I already logged in, but I don’t see that screen
핸드폰으로 이메일에 로그인할 수 있어요 = You can log in to your e-mail using a cell-phone
어제 모르는 사람이 제 페이스북에 로그인해서 장난을 했어요 = Yesterday, some person (I don’t know) logged into my Facebook and played around

The noun form of this word (“장난”) translates to “a joke”

Common Usages:
장난감 = toys
짓궂은 장난을 하다 = to play a practical joke/hoax
장난 아니다 = a term used to express one’s amazement towards the extent of something. For example, if friends are talking about how expensive a dinner menu is, you could say “장난 아니다!” to say “Yeah, it’s no joke, it really is expensive!”

Examples:
어제 모르는 사람이 제 페이스북에 로그인해서 장난을 했어요
= Yesterday, some person (I don’t know) logged into my Facebook and played around

제 친구가 저에게 짓궂은 장난을 해서 저는 크게 화를 냈어요
= I was really mad because a friend played a practical joke on me

Common Usages:
감정을 나타내다 = to show one’s emotions

Examples:
이 사진이 무언가를 나타내기 위해 찍은 사진 같아서 분석을 해 봐야 해요
= I think this picture was taken to show something, so we should analyze it

이 미술작품은 행복한 가족을 나타내는 작품으로 10만 달러 이상의 가치가 있습니다
= This work of art shows a happy family, and it is worth more than 100,000 dollars

The noun form of this word (“참가”) translates to “participation.”

Common Usages:
대회에 참가하다 = to participate in a competition

Examples:
그 경기에 참가하고 싶지만 네가 안 하면 나도 안 할래
= I want to participate in the match, but if you don’t do it, then I won’t

신입생만 예외로 하고 모든 학생들이 체육대회에 참가해야 해요
= With the exception of freshmen, all students must participate in the physical competition/event

미술대회에 참가하는 신입생들은 잊지 말고 꼭 10시까지 모여주세요
= Freshmen participating in the art competition, don’t forget, and be sure to gather by 10 o’clock

Examples:
이 길을 계속 따라가다 보면 찾고 있는 시장이 나타날 거예요
= If you keep following this road, the market you are looking for will appear, come into view

모든 사람들이 그를 싫어하지만 그는 파티에 나타났어요
= Even though everybody hates him, he showed up at the party

그 사람의 얼굴이 기억 안 났지만 갑자기 제 꿈에 나타났어요
= I had forgotten that person’s face, but it suddenly appeared to me in my dream

반 이상의 학생들이 늦게 약속장소에 나타나서 선생님이 화가 났어요
= The teacher was mad because more than half of the students showed up late to the meeting place

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “혹씨”

Notes: Many Korean words are used to intensify a feeling or indicate a particular mood in a sentence. When you say “혹시,” it indicates that something later on in the sentence is unknown. In practice, “혹시” is often added to question sentences because, by their nature, there is something unknown.

For example:
혹시 파티에 갈 거야? = Are you going to the party?

Which would be the exact same as:
파티에 갈 거야?

But, the sentence doesn’t always need to be a question in order to use 혹시. For example:
혹시 오시면 연락해주세요 = If you come, let me know

The usage is fairly confusing, and one of the only words that I actually “picked up” simply from listening to Korean – as it was never a word that I studied.

Examples:
혹시 밖에 비가 왔어요? = Is it raining outside?
부장님! 혹시 캐나다에 언제 가실 거예요? = Boss! When are you going to Canada?
혹시 가고 싶은 데가 있어요? = Do you want to go anywhere?
혹시 소스를 조금이라도 주면 안 돼요?  = Would you be able to give me just a little bit of sauce?
제가 지금 가야 되는데 혹시 그것을 내일 저한테 줄 수 있어요?  = I have to go now; can you give that to me tomorrow?

This word appears in Korean Sign Explanation Video 15.

Notes: 우선 is used to indicate that one action will occur before doing something else, usually because the first action has priority over the second. It is hard to give a translation that fits every usage, but often times you will see the translation as “priority.”

Examples:
우리가 가기 전에 나는 우선 밥을 먹고 싶어 = Before we go, I want to eat first

오늘 우리가 달에 대한 것을 배울 거지만 우선 태양에 대한 것을 배워야 돼요
= Today, we’ll learn about the moon, but first, we must learn about the sun

우선 내일 무엇을 입을지 정하기 위해 옷장을 확인했다
= First things first, in order to set what I will wear for tomorrow, I checked my closet

우선 비행기표를 사고 나서 함께 일정을 짜는 게 더 나을 것 같아요
= It will probably be better if we first buy the plane ticket and then set the plans together

하지만 펭귄이 있는 곳은 동물원 입구에서 멀다고 하니 아빠와 나는 우선 다른 동물들을 먼저 봤다 = But (because) the place the penguins are was said to be far from the zoo entrance, so Dad and I saw other animals first

Notes: 너머 is used to describe a location “beyond” a specified noun. The location being described is usually ambiguous, but “너머” allows the speaker to indicate that (even though we don’t exactly where location is), we do know that it happened beyond a specific noun. For example, look at the following sentence:

저는 창문 너머로 봤어요 = I looked beyond (through) the window

Here is a picture that shows the image I have in my brain when I read that sentence:

In this sentence, we know what “저” refers to, and we know what “창문” refers to. Those are both specific things that we can point to. However, 너머 refers to the area beyond the noun that it follows. In this sentence, 너무 refers to the area beyond the window, which can be represented by the green in the image below. As you can see, it is not a specific place but rather a broad area.

Below are more examples:

그렇게 높은 산을 꼭대기까지 올라가면 도시 너머로 숲이 보여요
= If you go up a high mountain like that, you can see a forest beyond the city

머리를 창문 너머로 내밀었지만 밖에 있는 친구가 저를 보지 않았어요
= I stuck my head out of the window, but my friend outside didn’t see me

친구들이랑 축구공을 차다가 공이 울타리 너머로 넘어 갔어요
= I was kicking the soccer ball with friends and then the ball went over the fence