Quick Korean Lesson

Friday was the second day of Korean class for Gianni and I. I asked to be moved into his class because it was a higher level. The first level class is just learning how to read, which I already know how to do. The teacher made me read a few words to prove I could actually read, but I passed! I'm MUCH happier in this class. I'm really dedicated to learning the language, and I actually think it's fun to be able to read an alphabet that is made up of different letters than English.

The topic of the second Korean class was introductions. We learned to tell someone our names, where we are from, and what our job is. We also learned some grammar points in relation to saying these things. There were several cases where if a word ended in a vowel you would then write one thing versus if it ended in a consonant you would write something slightly different. It reminded me of how the French language modifies grammar rules to make words flow more easily together.

So here's the basics of what I know about Korean. Every word is made up of syllables. Syllables have to go consonant, vowel, consonant. Sometimes they go ㅇ vowel consonant. ㅇ at the start of a syllable is like a placeholder, but at the end of a syllable it's a consonant that sounds like -ng. Other times, syllables can go consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant.

Here are the basic consonants: ㅂ(makes a B noise), ㅈ(makes a J noise),ㄷ (makes a D noise), ㄱ(makes a G noise, or a K noise if it comes at the end of a syllable),ㅁ (makes an M noise), ㅅ (makes an S noise, a T noise at the end of a syllable),ㄴ(makes an N noise),ㄹ(makes an R noise, an L noise at the end of a syllable),ㅇ (nothing noise at the start but an -ng at the end of the syllable),ㅎ (makes an H noise),ㅊ (makes a CH noise),ㅋ (makes a K noise),ㅌ (makes a T noise),ㅍ (makes a P noise).

The basic vowels are: ㅏ(makes an A noise),ㅑ(makes an ya noise),ㅓ(makes an aww noise--spelled in English here that's "eo"),ㅕ(makes a yaww noise--"yeo"), ㅗ (makes an O noise), ㅛ (makes a yo noise), ㅜ (makes a U noise), ㅠ(makes a yu noise), ㅡ (makes an eu noise--like "ehhh that's gross"), ㅣ(makes an E noise),ㅐ(makes an AE noise--like ay), ㅒ(makes a yae noise--like yay),ㅔ(makes a eh noise--like the E in pen),ㅖ(makes a yeh noise).

There are 2 number systems in Korean. One is straight Korean, used for counting and some other stuff. The other is based on Chinese, and it is used for money and other stuff. Numbers: 1- hana (하 나)/il (일), 2- dul (둘)/i (이), 3- set (셋)/sam (삼), 4- net (넷)/sa (사), 5-daseot (다섯)/o (오), 6- yeoseot (여 넛)/yuk (육), 7- ilgob (일 곱)/chil (칠), 8- yeodeolb (여 덟)/pal (팔), 9- ahob (아 홉)/gu (구), 10-yeol (열)/chip (십).

I find it easier to correctly pronounce Korean words when I'm reading the actual Korean letters instead of the romanized, English version of the Korean words.

To introduce myself, I say "My name is Abbi": cheo nun Abbi ay yo or 처 논 아 비 예 요. 처 (sounds like chaw) is the word for I, and 눈 (sounds like nun) is the Korean topic marker. It tells you the sentence is about the person saying "I." 아 비 is my name in Korea--broken down it is A (which sounds more like ahh than A) BI. The ay yo or 예 요  is like a "to be" verb. Almost like the "is" in the sentence. If the syllable before it ends in a vowel, like this one does because my name ends with an I or 이, then you write 예 요 at the end of the sentence. If it ends in a consonant, you write 이 에 요. If I want to say where I am from, everything stays the same in the sentence except that instead of my name, I write mi gook saram or 미 국 사 람 in the middle. Mi gook (the first two syllables in the last sentence) means America or USA. The last syllable in the last sentence is saram, which means person. So that's how you say American. If I just said mi gook, I would be saying that I am America. Because saram ends with a consonant, I have to then write 이 에 요 at the end of the sentence for the to be verb. The process is the same if I want to say what my job is. The sentence stays the same except for I take out mi gook saram and add yeonga seon saeng nim or 영 아 선 생 님. The first two syllables mean English--yeonga. The last three syllables means teacher--seon saeng nim.

So that's most of what I know so far. I'm excited to learn more. Korean is really fun! Next week's topic is ordering food at restaurants, so maybe I'll finally not have to sound like a bumbling idiot, pointing at things when I was food. Hooray!