Korean for Beginners: Step 4

Vocabulary

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Vocabulary

•• 특히 — especially •• 후식 — dessert
•• 고기 — meat •• 한식 — Korean food

•• 생선 — fish •• 중식 — Chinese food

•• 반찬 — side dishes served with a meal •• 일식 — Japanese food

•• 음료수 — drink, beverage •• 양식 — Western food

•• 차 — tea
Vocabulary

•• 맵다 — spicy
•• 짜다 — salty

•• 달다 — sweet

•• 시다 — sour

•• 쓰다 — bitter

•• 싱겁다 — bland, insipid

•• 젓가락 — chopsticks

•• 숟가락 — spoon
Vocabulary

•• 배부르다 — to be full up
•• 몸에 좋다 — good for health 몸에 해롭다 — bad for health
•• 상태가 안 좋다 — to feel bad, to be not in good condition

•• 주문하다 — to order

•• 계산하다 — to pay

•• 외식하다 — to eat out

Vocabulary

•• 잘 먹겠습니다 — bon appetite (lit. ‘I’ll eat well’)

•• 잘 먹었습니다 — thank you for the meal (lit. ‘I ate well’)

•• 맛있게 드세요 — enjoy your meal

Korean for Beginners: Step 4

The Grammatical
Construction ‘feel like
(doing)’ -(으)ㄹ래요

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Grammatical Construction -(으)ㄹ래요

•• -(으)ㄹ래요 is an informal way to ask the listener’s opinion

or intention about doing something

•• -실래요 is used when people are close but there is still a distance
between them on account of age difference or social inequality

•• -(으)시겠어요 is a more formal way to ask the listener’s

opinion or intention about doing something
Examples with the Grammatical Construction -(으)ㄹ래요

뭐 먹을래요 ?
What do you want to eat?

소풍 같이 갈래요 ?
Would [you] like to go on a picnic together?

형님, 커피를 한 잔 드실래요 ?

Older brother, would you like to have a cup of coffee?

할머니, 후식을 잡수시겠어요 ?

Grandmother, would [you] like to eat dessert?
The Grammatical Construction -(으)ㄹ래요

The grammatical construction -(으)ㄹ래요 is also used to express

the speaker’s will or intention to do something.

——주말에 뭐 할래요 ? ——What would [you] like to do on weekends?

——너무 피곤해서 그냥 쉴래요. ——[I] am so tired, [so I] want to rest.

——뭐 드실래요 ? ——What would [you] like to eat?

——저는 불고기를 먹을래요. ——I want to eat Bulgogi.

Korean for Beginners: Step 4

The Negative
Grammatical
Construction
못 / -지 못하다

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Negative Constructions

•• 안 /  -지 않다 expresses that the situation is controlled by the speaker and

he or she doesn’t perform an action intentionally (used with both verbs and adjectives)

•• 못 /  -지 못하다 expresses that the situation is beyond the speaker’s control
and he or she is not able to do something (used mostly with verbs)
Comparing Negative Constructions

Compare 안 / -지 않다 and 못 / -지 못하다

춤을 안 춰요. 춤을 못 춰요.
[I] don’t dance. [I] can’t dance. (My body doesn’t move 
properly, I am afraid to dance etc.)

매운 음식을 안 먹어요.  매운 음식을 못 먹어요.

[I] don’t eat spicy food. [I] can’t eat spicy food. (My body
doesn’t handle it properly, I feel
sick after I eat it etc.)
Comparing Negative Constructions

Compare 안 / -지 않다 and 못 / -지 못하다

술을 안 마셔요. 술을 못 마셔요.
[I] don’t drink alcohol. [I] can’t drink alcohol. (I’m taking medicine,
I have an allergy to it etc.)
Examples with 못/ -지 못하다

——음식을 만들었어요 ?
——Have [you] prepared any food?

——아니요, 시간이 없어서 못 만들었어요.

——No, [I] didn’t have time, so [I] didn’t prepare it.
Examples with 못/ -지 못하다

——괜찮아요 ? 어디 아픈 데 없어요 ?
——Are [you] OK? Does anything hurt? (lit. ‘Isn’t there anything that hurts?’)

——네, 괜찮아요. 그냥 어제 잠을 자지 못해서 상태가 안 좋아요.

——[I] am OK. [I] just couldn’t sleep yesterday, so [I] don’t feel well.
잘 + Verb

잘 + verb means that someone does something well

저는 한식을 잘 먹어요.
lit. ‘I eat Korean food well’ (meaning that someone likes the taste of Korean food and eat it with alacrity).

선미 씨는 피아노를 정말 잘 쳐요.
Sunmi plays the piano really well.

한국어를 잘하시네요!
[You] speak Korean so well!
잘 + 못Verb

잘 + 못 V means that someone can do an action but doesn’t perform it well

수영을 잘 못해요.
[I] can’t swim well.
 

저는 영어를 아직 잘 못해요.
I still can’t speak English well. 
 

안나 씨는 그림을 잘 그리지 못해요.

Anna can’t draw well.
Korean for Beginners: Step 4

Contrastive
Connective -지만

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Contrastive Connective -지만

•• The contrastive connective -지만 is used to express that the information in the
second clause of a sentence is in contrast to the information in the first clause

•• -지만 is attached to the stem of both adjectives and verbs and can be preceded
by the past tense suffix -았 / 었 / 였 or the future tense suffix -겠
Examples with the Contrastive Connective -지만

한국어가 어렵지만 재미있어요.

Korean is difficult but interesting.

떡볶이가 매우 맵지만 맛있어요.

Tteokbokki is very spicy but tasty.

어제는 따뜻했지만 오늘은 추워요.

Yesterday was warm but today is cold.
Examples with the Contrastive Connective -지만

저는 축구를 잘하지만 동생은 축구를 못해요.

I am good at playing football but my younger brother can’t play football.

음식을 많이 먹었지만 아직도 배고파요.

[I] ate a lot but [I] am still hungry.

이번 주에 바쁘겠지만 청소를 할 거예요.

[I] will be busy this week but [I] will clean [the room].
Korean for Beginners: Step 4

The Grammatical
Construction
‘can / cannot’
-(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Grammatical Construction
‘can / cannot’ -(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다

•• -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 is used to mean that something is possible;

it expresses a general ability to do something

•• -(으)ㄹ 수 없다 means that something is not possible;

it expresses an inability to do something

•• A tense marker may precede -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 and -(으)ㄹ 수 없다

-(으)ㄹ 수 없다 vs 못 / -지 못하다

-(으)ㄹ 수 없다 and 못 / -지 못하다 are synonyms and can be used interchangeably but:

•• 못 / -지 못하다 focuses more on an individual’s inability;

•• -(으)ㄹ 수 없다 is used to say that an action is essentially not possible.
Examples with the Grammatical Construction
-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 / 없다

젓가락을 쓸 수 있어요 ?
Can [you] use chopsticks?

음식이 너무 짜서 먹을 수 없어요.
The food is too salty, so [I] can’t eat it.

——오늘 저녁에 홍대에 같이 놀러 갈까요 ?

——How about going to Hongdae to hang out?

——미안하지만 오늘 저녁에 약속이 있어서 갈 수 없어요.

——[I] am sorry but [I] have other plans, so [I] can’t go.
Examples with the Grammatical Construction
-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 / 없다

저는 알레르기가 있어서 단 음식을 먹을 수 없어요.

I have an allergy, so [I] can’t eat sweets.

——운전할 수 있어요? ——Can [you] drive?

——아니요, 할 수 없어요. ——No, [I] cannot.

영어를 알면 혼자 여행을 갈 수 있어요.

If [you] know English, it’s possible [for you] to travel alone.
Examples with the Grammatical Construction
-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 / 없다

저는 여권이 없어서 술을 살 수 없어요.

I don’t have a passport, so it’s impossible to buy alcohol.