Korean study blog for my help and yours. Korean grammar and vocabulary posts as well as interesting cultural knowledge!
You might have heard this grammar particle before if you’re a fan of Korean shows and dramas! There are a lot of “가지 마” (don’t go), “울지 마” (don’t cry), “하지 마” (don’t do it) in Korean shows said by actors, and many more similar phrases. Adding the ~지 마 at the end of a verb is a simple and straightforward way to say “don’t do something” and really convey that urgency or emotion.
Back in 2023, I did an overview of the Korean Lunar New Year, going through how it is celebrated, key New Year dishes, the difference between Chinese and Korean New Year, and more. Today I want to delve a bit deeper and get more into the customs and zodiacs, and certain things. Koreans still enjoy the January 1st New Year, but it’s more similar to the one over here, without any big family connection.
Today let’s get a bit into vocabulary for cooking in Korean; along with food, ingredients, verbs for taste, popular foods, and more. Food is always a big part of culture, and Korea has its own unique food that’s gaining more and more popularity outside of the country.
Cooking is a necessary skill, but it is also a fun hobby and way to connect with others by sharing recipes or just cooking for friends and family. Gardening can take it to the next level, so check out my post for gardening vocabulary over here!
요리: cooking
음식: food/dish
프라이팬: frying pan
소테팬: saute pan
냄비: pot
도마: cutting board
주전자: kettle
돌솥: stone pot
웍: wok
Today I want to get into Korean dialects! South Korea while being small in size, is quite big in population and history of culture to build their own dialectal variences. I’ll cover the major dialects, where they are from, any notes about them, the pronunciation differences, and then some interesting slang or expressions!
A dialect is a specific version of language that develops from distance, cultural influence, and historical events. Dialect changes can include grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Dialects include enough of these changes to distinguish themselves, and with enough changes or population or influence one can become a fully new language!
Distinct English dialects you’d probably recognize are Standard American, Southern American, Australian, AAVE (African American Vernacular English), British English, etc.
Korean dialects have their own quirks and little changes like those! Learning about them will help you better understand the Korean language, and especially connect with Koreans. Satoori (사투리) is the Korean word for dialect so when you hear someone speak in a dialect, often you’ll hear the word Satoori come up as well.
Past swear words some of the most fun things to learn is slang. You can easily connect with and impress Koreans with your knowledge past typical dictionary or textbook-level Korean.
So let’s get into some Korean slang. I’ll try to break it down by its meaning/origin and whatever else might be interesting about the word/phrase and see if there is an English equivalent!
Sometimes it’s hard not to feel stuck in a rut, especially if you are self-studying and don’t have a clear lesson plan to follow. Or maybe you feel tired of what you are currently doing. Trying out new methods to learn Korean is a good idea to revitalize your motivation! You can decide to pair a new technique alongside what you have already or swap entirely if it works for you.
Here are some new methods I have heard about, so let’s go through them and see if any could work for you. And don’t feel bad if some don’t work, everyone has their own learning style and limits on the time and effort they can put into learning!
