Lesson 57: To make/order: 시키다

Examples:
다람쥐를 우리에 넣으라고 시켰어요 = I made him put the squirrel in the cage
강아지가 우리에 하루 종일 있는 게 불쌍해요 = It is pitiful/unfortunate for a puppy to be in a cage all day

Examples:
저는 다람쥐를 잡고 목욕시켰어요 = I got the squirrel and gave it a bath (made it have a bath)
다람쥐를 우리에 넣으라고 시켰어요 = I made him put the squirrel in the cage
다람쥐는 위로 빨리 뛰어올라갔어요 = The squirrel ran quickly to the top of the tree

Common Usages:
도마뱀 = lizard
뱀가죽 = snakeskin leather

Examples:
그 할아버지가 저에게 뱀을 어떻게 잡는지를 많이 연습시켰어요
= That old man (grandfather) made me practice how to hold snakes a lot

이 뱀은 맹독이 있으므로 물리면 바로 병원에 가서 치료를 받아야 합니다
= This snake has venom, so if you get bit, you should go to the hospital immediately and receive treatment

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “시럽”

Common Usages:
실업자 = an unemployed person
실업률 = unemployment rate

Examples:
그 대통령이 당선됐을 때부터 실업률이 많이 떨어졌어요
= The unemployment rate dropped a lot since that president was elected

그 나라가 실업문제를 해결하기 위해 직업박람회를 개최하고 있어요
= That country is hosting a job fair to (try to) solve the unemployment problem

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “시럽짜”

Examples:
경제가 어려워질수록 실업자의 수가 증가해요
= As the economy gets worse (gets more difficult), the number of unemployed people increases

제가 실업자라는 것이 저의 어머니를 실망시켰어요
= The fact that I am unemployed (an unemployed person) disappointed my mother

Common Usages:
초인종을 누르다 = to press the doorbell
초인종이 울리다 = to ring the doorbell

Examples:
아기가 자고 있으니 초인종을 누르지 말고 노크해 주세요
= The baby is sleeping, so please don’t ring the bell, knock (instead)

초인종을 눌렀지만 집 안에서 아무런 소리가 안 나서 그냥 집에 갔어요
= I pressed/rang the doorbell, but there was no (sort of) sound from inside the house so I just went home

Notes: You often see Korean parents (or even more commonly – grandparents) fold up a blanket and wrap it around their waist with a space in the back for a baby to fit into. The name of that blanket is a 포개기.

Common Usages:
포대기로 싸다 = to wrap up in a baby blanket

Examples:
저는 애기를 포대기로 쌌어요 = I wrapped the baby in a baby blanket

옛날에는 애기를 재울 때 포대기에 싸서 재웠어요 = A long time ago, when putting babies to sleep, you wrapped them in a baby blanket (and then put them to sleep)

Common Usages:
음주금지 = for the drinking of alcohol to be prohibited
음주운전 = drunk driving

Examples:
경찰관은 남자에게 음주운전이 왜 위험한지를 이해시켰어요
= The police officer made the man understand why drunk driving is dangerous

Notes: “금” (禁) is often used to denote the restriction of something. The syllable after “금” indicates what is being restricted. 주 (酒), which is in the words 맥주 and 소주 refers to alcohol. Another example is 금연 (禁煙), which refers to the restriction of smoking. When my wife was on a diet, she posted a note on our refrigerator that said “9시 이후 금식!” In this case, 금식 (禁食) refers to the restriction of not eating.

Examples:
우리 아빠가 오늘부터 금주하기로 저와 약속했어요
= Our dad made a promise with me that he will not drink alcohol from today

이 약을 드시면 꼭 일주일 동안 금주하셔야 됩니다
= When you take this medicine, you must not drink for one week

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “겯”

Notes: 곁 is usually not used to literally/physically refer to one’s side. Instead, it is most commonly used to refer to “being beside” somebody in an emotional sort of way. For example:

나는 항상 너의 곁에 있을 거야 = I will always be by your side

제 남자친구는 항상 제 곁을 지켜주는 소중한 사람이에요
= My boyfriend is a precious person who always protects (is by) my side

제가 매일 일만 해서 성공했지만 제 곁에 남은 사람은 아무도 없어요
= I worked every day and was successful, but there is nobody left by my side

Common Usages:
심부름을 시키다 = to make/ask somebody to do an errand/favor

Examples:
저는 남편에게 쌀을 사라고 심부름을 시켰어요
= I made my husband do an errand of buying rice

어렸을 때 저는 부모님의 심부름을 해서 용돈을 벌었어요
= When I was younger, I did my parent’s errands and got (earned) an allowance

Constructions with ~시키다 are typically used when a subject “makes” a person do the action specified before ~시키다. For example:

선생님은 학생들을 방과후 수업 시간 동안 공부시켰어요
= The teacher made the students study during the after school class

경찰관은 남자에게 음주운전이 왜 위험한지를 이해시켰어요
= The police officer made the man understand why drunk driving is dangerous

그 할아버지가 저에게 뱀을 어떻게 잡는지를 많이 연습시켰어요
= That old man (grandfather) made me practice how to hold snakes a lot

제가 실업자라는 것이 저의 어머니를 실망시켰어요
= The fact that I am unemployed disappointed my mother

저는 열심히 일해서 부장님을 만족시켰어요
= I worked very hard, so I satisfied my boss

저는 다람쥐를 잡고 목욕시켰어요
= I got the squirrel and gave it a bath (made it have a bath)

저는 하루 종일 열심히 일해서 엄마를 감동시켰어요
= I impressed mom because I worked hard all day

저는 저의 여자 친구를 저의 부장님께 소개시켰어요
= I introduced my girlfriend to my boss

저는 시험 전에 긴장하는 학생을 진정시켰어요
= Before the exam, I relaxed a nervous student (I made him relaxed)

저의 이웃사람이 제 강아지를 잘 훈련시켰어요
= My neighbor trained my dog very well

그 뉴스는 시민들을 흥분시켰어요
= That news excited the public/citizens

저는 우리 아버지와 우리 어머니를 화해시켰어요
= I made my mother and father reconcile

Examples:
저는 우리 아버지와 우리 어머니를 화해시켰어요
= I made my mother and father reconcile

우리가 화해하지 않더라도 우리는 계속 사귈 거예요
= Even if we don’t make up, we will still being going out

우리는 지난 10년 동안 서로 싫어했지만 드디어 화해했어요
= We didn’t like each other for the last 10 years, but we finally reconciled

우리가 화해하지 않았을 뿐만 아니라 아내는 저한테 또 화를 냈어요
= Not only did we not make up, but my wife got mad at me again

Common Usages:
흥분제 = a stimulant

Examples:
그 뉴스는 시민들을 흥분시켰어요
= That news excited the public/citizens

새로운 스타워즈 영화가 곧 나올 거라는 것을 듣고 아주 흥분했어요
= I heard that the near Star Wars movie is coming out soon and got very excited

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “자그카다”

Examples:
저의 남자 친구가 저를 자꾸 자극했어요 = My boyfriend kept irritating me

박수를 많이 치면 손바닥에 자극을 줘서 건강에 좋아요
= Clapping a lot gives your palms stimulation so it is good for one’s health

나는 반복되는 일상에서 무언가 새로운 자극이 필요했다. 그래서 나는 여행을 가기로 결심을 했다. 아일랜드와 지리적으로 매우 가깝지만 한번 도 가지 않았던 영국에 가기로 결심했다.
= In my repeating daily life, I needed some new stimulation. So, I decided to go traveling. I decided to go to England, which, although geographically very close to Ireland, I had not been to once.

안정하다 has two meanings, and it is hard to come up with a translation for either word when written as “안정하다.” In general, their translations are:

안정하다 = to be calm (to calm down)
안정하다 = to be stable (to stabilize)

These verbs remind me of 감동하다, where they look like active verbs but their translations make you think they are passive verbs. The active form of these verbs (“to calm down” and “to stabilize”) are much more commonly used and can be created by replacing ~하다 with ~시키다. For example:

그 의사는 고통으로 울고 있는 환자를 안정시켰어요
= The doctor calmed down the patient who was crying from pain

노동자들이 무너질 것 같은 벽을 안정시켰어요
= The workers stabilized the wall that was probably going to collapse

Common Usages:
응용수학 = applied mathematics

Examples:
당신의 경력을 이 일에 응용하면 좋을 것 같아요
= It’ll probably be good if you apply your experience to this task/job

저는 그 단어의 뜻을 알고 있는데 문장에 어떻게 응용하는지 잘 몰라요
= I know the meaning of that word, but I don’t know how to apply it to a sentence

차리다 is commonly used when getting some sort of food ready for a meal. For example:

엄마가 곧 올 거라서 빨리 밥을 차려야 돼요 = Mom is coming soon, so we need to get the food ready

The name of the little table that Korean people often eat at is called a “상.” Often times, 차리다 acts on this word. For example:

상을 차려 주세요 = Please set the table for me

차리다 is also used when one snaps out of something and regains attention. When used like this, 차리다 often acts on the noun 정신 (one’s mind or spirit). For example, as a teacher, sometimes I will see a student looking off into space and not focusing. At this time, I could say:

정신을 좀 차려! = Focus!/Snap out of it!

One time I was playing Ultimate Frisbee with the students at my school. One boy would always catch the Frisbee and immediately throw it without thinking. I once had to tell him:

프리스비를 잡고 정신을 차리고 던져 = Catch the Frisbee, think (focus) for a second, and then throw it

Notice that it is hard to translate “정신을 차리다” in English.

Similarly, 차리다 is also used when one recovers consciousness. For example:

잠깐 정신을 잃었고 다행히 바로 정신을 차렸어요 = He lost consciousness for a moment but thankfully regained it right away

“상기하다” means “to recall/to remember” – therefore, by saying “상기시키다,” the meaning changes to “to make somebody recall.” This is usually more naturally translated to “to remind.”

상기하다 is a difficult word in Korean and isn’t used very often. Nonetheless, it can be used to have this meaning of “recalling” or “remembering,” even if it may be an uncommon way to express this meaning:

다시 한번 작년 사고를 상기하고 철저히 준비해 주세요
= Recall/remember the accident from last year again, and prepare thoroughly

~시키다 can be used instead of ~하다 in 상기하다 to indicate that one “reminds” somebody else of something. For example:

저는 매일 저의 여자친구에게 제가 그녀를 사랑하는 것을 상기시켜요
= I remind my girlfriend that I love her every day

선생님은 학생들에게 숙제를 해야 하는 것을 상기시켰어요
= The teacher reminded the students that they have to do their homework

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “옴따”

Notes: 옮다 is used when one catches a disease from somebody else. 옮기다 is used when one transmits the disease to somebody else.

Common Usages:
병이 옮다 = to catch a disease
감기가 옮다 = to catch a cold

Examples:
병이 옮을까 봐 병원에 안 갈 거예요
= I’m not going to go to the hospital because I’m worried I will catch a disease

친구에게 눈병이 옮아서 하루 종일 집에 있어야 했어요
= I caught an eye disease (eye infection) from a friend, so I need to be/stay at home all day

반에 감기가 걸린 학생이 있어서 많은 학생들이 그 친구에게서 감기를 옮았어요
= There is a student who has a cold in the class, so many students caught it from that friend

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “옴기다”

옮기다 is more versatile that 옮다. First, 옮기다 can be used when one transmits a disease to somebody else. For example:

감기를 학생들에게 옮길까 봐 오늘 학교에 안 가요
= I’m worried that I will give my cold to the students, so I am not going to school today

It can also be used when one literally moves something from one place to another. For example:

아들과 아들 친구들이 소파를 저 방으로 옮기게 시켰어요
= I made my son and my son’s friend move the sofa to that room

이 침대를 다른 방으로 옮기는 데 사람 네 명이 필요할 것 같아요
= We will probably need four people to move this bed to the other room

물품을 트럭에 쉽게 옮길 수 있게 아저씨가 트럭을 뒤로 움직였어요
= The man moved the truck back so that we could load the products/items easily

The thing that is being moved doesn’t need to be something physical. Like a “cold” or some type of disease, it could be something non-physical. For example:

일이 너무 심심해서 다른 분야로 옮길 수밖에 없어요
= I have no choice but to move/switch fields because my work is so boring

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “불확씰하다”

Common Usages:
불확실성 = uncertainty
미래가 불확실하다 = for the future (or one’s future) to be uncertain

Examples:
그 정보가 불확실해서 직원이 확인하게 시켰어요
= That information isn’t certain, so I made the worker check

미래가 불확실하기 때문에 하루하루 열심히 사는 게 매우 중요해요
= The future isn’t certain, so it is important to live every day to its fullest

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “간지럽따”

Examples:
등이 간지러워서 긁어 주세요 = Scratch my back! It’s itchy!

저는 동생을 간지럽게 해서 소리를 지르게 했어요
= I tickled my younger brother/sister, so I made him scream

Another alternative is saying “학교 끝나고.”

방과후 can refer to something that is done after classes on a particular day, or during one of the vacations. For example, a 방과후 수업 could refer to an class held after school (at like 6:00pm) or during summer/winter vacation.

Examples:
저는 방학 동안 방과후 수업을 들을 거예요
= I’m going to take a class during the vacation

저는 방과후 수업 시간 동안 한국어를 공부했어요
= I studied Korean during the after school class

선생님은 학생들을 방과후 수업 시간 동안 공부시켰어요
= The teacher made the students study during the after school class

Examples:
대체로 중학교 학생들이 고등학교 학생들에 비해 키가 작아요
= Usually, middle school students are shorter (in height) than high school students

대체로 참을성이 좋은 사람이 일을 포기하지 않고 끝까지 해내요
= Usually people who have good patience don’t give up on jobs and see/do them to the end

Common Usages:
지금 당장 = right now, right this instant

Examples:
지금 안 하면 내가 너에게 당장 노래하게 시킬 거야
= If you don’t do it now, I will make you sing now/right away

지금 당장 여행이 하고 싶어서 회사를 그만두고 비행기 표를 샀어요
= I want to go traveling right now, so I quit my job and bought a plane ticket

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “마음껏”

Common Usages:
마음껏 하다 = to do something as much as one wants
마음껏 먹다 = to eat as much as one wants

Examples:
반찬을 마음껏 드세요 = Eat as much/many side dishes as you want

저는 어른이 되면 마음껏 제가 하고 싶은 것을 할 거예요
= When I become an old person, I am going to do everything that I want (as much as I want)

뷔페에 가면 제일 좋은 점은 마음껏 먹을 수 있는 거예요
= The best thing (point) about going to a buffet is that you can eat as much as you want