If you’ve been learning about terms for outer space in Korean you might have noticed 성 pop up multiple times, 성 has Sino-Korean origins and uses the hanja 星 which means a star or planet. You’ll especially see it for planets in our solar system which all, excluding earth, end with 성 and have their own meaning for their names!
Time for some quick grammar! The Korean present participle ‘~질’ can be attached at the end of a word and attaches the meaning of ‘act of using/doing’.
A present particle is basically a suffix that turns a word into a current action, much like the English suffix ‘~ing’! The specifics in the linguistics can go pretty in-depth and might be a bit confusing but depending on the word and the context it’s in adding ‘~ing’ can change a verb to act like a noun, adjective, or change the verb tense.
Knowing some common or interesting Korean idioms is a fun way to take your Korean to the next level! Idioms or 관용구 are phrases that people use to express something more than their literal meaning. You’ll hear and see them everywhere; from TV and movies, music, books, and daily conversation. Some common English ones can be “once in a blue moon (very infrequently)”, “break a leg (good luck)”, and more.
Idioms come from anything; old folklore, traditions, culture, etc. So while being a creative or fun way to express something they can also give you some insight into Korea itself! For example, a lot of idioms have to do with rice because of how important it is to Korea and it’s history. So let’s get into some common Korean idioms and expressions to use!
You probably already know the 4 seasons but seasons in Korean can go more in-depth than that! Following the Chinese lunar calendar Korea’s traditional calendar has a solar system for seasons too, spaced approx. 15 days apart these dates mark specific points in the seasons.
Since it follows the Chinese calendar it the begins in February instead of January. The names are the original ones pulled from Chinese with matching hanja. The Korean calendar was used until the western Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1896.
Of course, please don’t take this as a clear-cut guide to weather in Korea, it can be close but think of it similar to our calendars which mark the seasons like “Start of Spring” but as you know can feel wildly off haha.
Halloween is coming up fast do you have your costume yet? In the west and many English countries Halloween is a fun holiday (though not usually recognized with time off from school or work) for kids and adults to eat candy, dress up, watch scary or Halloween-themed movies, and more.
So in the spirit of Halloween this post is dedicated to Halloween in Korea, Koreas own spooks, and some vocab to go along with the season!
This is actually a super useful particle that you’ve already been using without knowing it! The 시 particle shows up in 안녕하세요, with the literal break down of it being 안녕 meaning peace and 하세요 (하다 + 시 + 해요체 honorific form)
The 시 or ~(으)시 particle is only used in formal relationships. So it could be with a boss, teacher, parent, etc. or just people older than you. If you’re new to Korean honorifics, or just need a refresher than check out my post breaking it down here; with shows which to use depending on situation and nice clear image breakdowns of honorific usage based on age.
At least for me typing was something I was really weak at in Korean and took a lot of time to develop (though I’ll get into why it took me longer). From memorizing spelling, the correct order for typing out double vowel words such as 원, being slow, and just mistyping by not knowing the keyboard layout yet. So I have a favourite resource for Korean typing practice that I really like that I wanted to share with you all!
추석 also known as 한가위, is Koreas autumn harvest festival, similar to thanksgiving or other such celebrations. It’s celebrated in both North and South Korea and lands on the 15/8 on the lunar calendar so it changes each year, but for this year it starts on September 28 and goes on until the 30th. Uniquely 추석 guarantees 3 days off; the day before, 추석 day, and day after.
Chuseok is an age old celebration so when it originated is a bit debated. Some think it comes from around 57 BC – 935 AD as a part of another celebration called gabae. Gabae was a month-long weaving contest between two teams and when the competition was over the winner would be treated to a feast from the losing team.
Other think that it is tied to celebrations for the harvest moon where people would offer deities and ancestors new harvests. Which means chuseok could have started off as a worship ritual.
Whichever the origins or history, chuseok has developed to be a big family event in Korea, with a lot of specific foods and events going on. The event celebrates family, food, and the large harvest before winter starts to come in.
Korean Onomatopoeia! A fun thing to add to your repertoire of Korean words to really add emphasis and feeling to your conversations. Onomatopoeias imitate a sound, feeling, or action; like “The dog barked at me as I clanked my keys”.
In Korean onomatopoeia is called 의성어, you might have heard Koreans use onomatopoeia something like: “and I ‘whhackkkkk’ smacked him!”. I actually think they are used more commonly in Korean than English. You will especially see them with storytelling, whether in person or a comic or book.
식 is a reoccurring piece in many Korean food words and that’s because it has Sino-Korean and hanja origins. 식 comes from 食 which means meal and food. It also comes in up in some words related to family or people because of Koreas strong cultural attachment of family and meals. So let’s get into some of the words that it comes up in!
