Learn Korean: LP's Korean Language Learning

Let's do it - 하자

Let's do it - 하자

This should be easy to learn. Just replace 다 of a plain verb with 자 to make a phrase, "Let's (verb)". Note: This is an informal form.

하다 → 하자 = Let's do it
먹다 → 먹자 = Let's eat
마시다 → 마시자 = Let's drink
가다 → 가자 = Let's go
앉다 → 앉자 = Let's sit
보다 → 보자 = Let's see
읽다 → 읽자 = Let's read
쓰다 → 쓰자 = Let's write
듣다 → 듣자 = Let's listen
달리다 → 달리자 = Let's run
걷다 → 걷자 = Let's walk
사다 → 사자 = Let's buy
팔다 → 팔자 = Let's sell

Example Sentences

우리 = we
같이 = together

(우리) (같이) 농구 하자 = Let's do basketball. (Let's play basketball)
(우리) (같이) 피자 먹자 = Let's eat a pizza (together)
(우리) (같이) 커피 마시자 = Let's drink coffee (together)
(우리) (같이) 바닷가 가자 = Let's go to beach (together)
(우리) (같이) 벤치에 앉자 = Let's sit on the bench (together)
(우리) (같이) 영화 보자 = Let's watch a movie (together)
(우리) (같이) 교과서 읽자 = Let's read a textbook (together)
(우리) (같이) 아이포드 듣자 = Let's listen to ipod (together)
(우리) (같이) 새 신발 사자 = Let's buy new shoes (together)
(우리) (같이) 저 냉장고 팔자 = Let's sell that fridge (together)

The formal form of "Let's (verb)" is exactly the same as that of the formal spoken present form. You may want to refer to Verbs - Formal [Present, Past] "Please" is implied in the phrase.

하다 → 해요 = (Please.) Let's do it
먹다 → 먹어요 = (Please.) Let's eat
마시다 → 마셔요 = (Please.) Let's drink
가다 → 가요 = (Please.) Let's go
앉다 → 앉아요 = (Please.) Let's sit
보다 → 봐요 = (Please.) Let's see
읽다 → 읽어요 = (Please.) Let's read
쓰다 → 써요 = (Please.) Let's write
듣다 → 들어요 = (Please.) Let's listen
달리다 → 달려요 = (Please.) Let's run
걷다 → 걸어요 = (Please.) Let's walk
사다 → 사요 = (Please.) Let's buy
팔다 → 팔아요 = (Please.) Let's sell

Example Sentences

우리 = we
같이 = together

(우리) (같이) 농구 해요 = [Please] Let's do basketball (Let's play basketball)
(우리) (같이) 피자 먹어요 = [Please] Let's eat a pizza (together)
(우리) (같이) 커피 마셔요 = [Please] Let's drink coffee (together)
(우리) (같이) 바닷가 가요 = [Please] Let's go to beach (together)
(우리) (같이) 벤치에 앉아요 = [Please] Let's sit on the bench (together)
(우리) (같이) 영화 봐요 = [Please] Let's watch a movie (together)
(우리) (같이) 교과서 읽어요 = [Please] Let's read a textbook (together)
(우리) (같이) 아이포드 들어요 = [Please] Let's listen to ipod (together)
(우리) (같이) 새 신발 사요 = [Please] Let's buy new shoes (together)
(우리) (같이) 저 냉장고 팔아요 = [Please] Let's sell that fridge (together)

It's cold, isn't it? - 춥지요?

지요 is used similarly to "isn't it?" of English. For example, 춥다 means "cold", and 춥지요 means "It's cold, isn't it? or It's cold, eh? or It's cold, right?" This is used when you want to chat up somebody or when you are looking for a confirmation.

● Rule

Take 다 off an adjective and add 지요 to it.

춥다 → 춥지요 = It's cold, isn't it?
덥다 → 덥지요 = It's hot, isn't it?
많다 → 많지요 = There is a lot, isn't there?
적다 → 적지요 = There is little, isn't there?
높다 → 높지요 = It's high, isn't it?
낮다 → 낮지요 = It's low, isn't it?
크다 → 크지요 = It's large, isn't it?
작다 → 작지요 = It's small, isn't it?
좋다 → 좋지요 = It's good, isn't it?
나쁘다 → 나쁘지요 = It's bad, isn't it?
깊다 → 깊지요 = It's deep, isn't it?
맛있다 → 맛있지요 = It's delicious, isn't it?

Note: 지요 is often contracted to 죠 in speech. Therefore 춥지요 → 춥죠.

춥죠 = It's cold, isn't it?
덥죠 = It's hot, isn't it?
많죠 = There is a lot, isn't there?
적죠 = There is little, isn't there?
높죠 = It's high, isn't it?
낮죠 = It's low, isn't it?
크죠 = It's large, isn't it?
작죠 = It's small, isn't it?
좋죠 = It's good, isn't it?
나쁘죠 = It's bad, isn't it?
깊죠 = It's very deep, isn't?
맛있죠 = It's delicious, isn't it?

Sentences

날씨가 춥죠? = The weather is cold, isn't it?
태국 날씨가 되게 덥죠? = The weather in Thailand is very hot, isn't it?
한라산이 높죠? = Mount Halla is high, isn't it?
강물이 정말 깊죠? = The river water is very deep, right?
집이 작죠? = The house is small, eh?
김치가 맛있죠? = Kimchi is delicious, isn't it?

날씨 = weather
태국 = Thailand
한라산 = Mount Halla
강물 = river water
집 = house
김치 = kimchi (A traditional Korean fermented dish made of cabbages with spicy seasonings)

Learn Korean Language - 014

Learn Korean Language: Let's Speak Korean - 014

In this lesson, we learn about ~지요 and the formal spoken form, eg. 추워요.

날씨가 정말 춥지요? = The weather is really cold, isn't it?
날씨가 정말 춥죠? = The weather is really cold, isn't it?
네, 정말 추워요. = Yes, it is really cold.

영화가 재미있지요? = The movie is fun, isn't it?
예, 재미있어요 = Yes, it's fun.

Jason and Miriam used the past tense rather than the present tense above. 재미있지요 becomes 재미있었지요. Refer to Adjectives - Present, Past for more information about the past tense of adjectives.

영화가 재미있었지요? = The movie was fun, wasn't it?
예, 너무 재미있었어요 = Yes, it was very fun.

Note: In this past tense, 미있 is contracted to 밌. Therefore, 재미있었지요 is contracted to 재밌었지요? and 재미있었어요 → 재밌었어요

영화가 재밌었지요? = The movie was fun, wasn't it?
예, 너무 재밌었어요 = Yes, it was very fun.

Learn Korean Language - 013

Learn Korean Language: Let's Speak Korean - 013

We learn about the expression, Try doing - ~해 보다 in this lesson.

떡국을 먹어 봤어요? = Have you tried eating 떡국?
네, 먹어 봤어요. = Yes, I have.
아뇨, 안 먹어 봤어요. = No, I haven't.
아직, 안 먹어 봤어요. = No, I haven't tried it yet.

저기 가 봤어요? = Have you gone there? [= Have you tried going there?]
여기 와 봤어요? = Have you come here? [= Have you tried coming here?]
마셔 봤어요? = Have you tried drinking it?
해 봤어요? = Have you done it?

많이 먹어 봤어요. = I have eaten it many times.

Extra Korean Words:

Written Form

맛있다 = delicious (present)
맛있습니다 = delicious (formal present)
맛있었다 = delicious (past)
맛있었습니다 = delicious (formal past)

Spoken Form

맛있어 = delicious (present)
맛있어요 = delicious (formal present)
맛있었어 = delicious (past)
맛있었어요 = delicious (formal past)

Jason used the formal past form of delicious which is 맛있었어요 to ask Miriam:

맛있었어요? = Was it delicious?

Notes on:
Adjectives - Present, Past
Adjectives - Formal [Present, Past]

Learn Korean Language - 012

Learn Korean Language: Let's Speak Korean - 012

오래간만이에요! = Long time no see!
그 동안 별일 없었어요? = How have you been?

오래 = long (time)
오래간만 = long time since

오래간만 refers to the long time that we haven't seen each other for since we had last met. 오래간만 is treated as a noun and 이에요 is attached after it.(Nouns - Present, Past)

Korean words:

그 = that
동안 = a period, during
별일 = anything special
없다 = there isn't
없었어요 = there wasn't (formal spoken form)

So 그 동안 별일 없었어요? essentially means "During that period wasn't there anything special (that happened to you)?" [= How have you been?/Have you been well?]

네, 별일 없었어요 = Yea. I'm cool [= Yea, no, there wasn't anything special (that happened to me)]
네, 잘 지냈어요 = Yes, I've spent my time well.

Sentence Order

Please refer to Audio Recordings - Sentence Order, to listen to the sentences used in this lesson.

For the video recording, please see below. :)

In regards to the order of a sentence, there are four basic types in Korean. These are:

S + N
S + V
S + A
S + O + V

* S = subject, N = noun, A = adjective, O = object and V = verb.

The tense of a sentence is determined by the last part of a sentence, namely, by a noun, verb or adjective.

In Korean, adjectives function like verbs in that they can be converted to different forms to determine the tense of a sentence.

For example,

In English, the past tense of "go" is "went."
In Korean, the past tense of "가다" (gada, go) is "갔다" (gatta, went).

The verbs function in the same way in English and Korean.

However, in the case of adjectives, the past tense of "good" in English is not "gooded" but it is written, "was good."
Contrary to this, in Korean, "좋다" (jota, good) has a past tense form of "좋았다" (joatta, was good).

Compare:

In English, "good" (present) → "was good" (past)
In Korean, "좋다" (present) → "좋았다" (past)

Therefore, the adjectives in Korean function like verbs in that they can be converted to a past tense or future tense, or any other tense forms.

This conversion of a verb(or adjective) to its past, future, present continuous or past continuous tense forms is called a verb (or adjective) "conjugation."

Before proceeding to the explanation section below, I recommend that you read the "particles" alongside this post.

To understand Korean grammar, it is crucial that you become familiar with the concept of a distinct part of speech called, "particles."

Particles are function words that indicate what the subject or object is in a sentence.

For example,

는/은 is a topic particle
가/이 is a identifier particle
를/을 is an object particle

For more information and explanation on particles, please refer to (Particles - 는, 도, 를, 가, 에).

Now, let's have a look at the four main types of Korean sentences.

Note: S = Subject, N = Noun, V = Verb, A = Adjective, O = Object

1. S + N

나는 학생이다 = I am a student
리사는 선생님이다 = Lisa is a teacher
앤드류는 의사였다 = Andrew was a doctor
저는 중학생이에요 = I am a middle school student [polite spoken form]

For more explanations on the S + N pattern, please read Nouns - Present, Past.

나 = I
학생 = student
리사 = Lisa
선생님 = teacher
앤드류 = Andrew
의사 = doctor
저 = I (polite)
중학생 = a middle school student

2. S + V

주영은 달린다 = Ju-young runs [written form]
주영은 달려요 = Ju-young runs [polite spoken form]
주영은 힘차게 달린다 = Ju-young vigorously runs

*An adverb comes before a verb.

주영 = Ju-Young (a Korean male name)
달리다 = run
달려 = run [spoken form]
달려요 = run [polite spoken form]
힘차게 = vigorously

For more information and explanations on verbs, please read Verbs - Present, Past and Verbs - Polite [Present, Past].

3. S + A

그는 크다 = He is big
그녀는 작다 = She is small
앤은 예쁘다 = Anne is pretty [written form]
앤은 정말 예뻐요 = Anne is really pretty [polite spoken form]
산이 아름답다 = The mountain is beautiful
날씨가 정말 좋다 = The weather is very good

그 = he
크다 = big
그녀 = she
작다 = small
앤 = Anne
정말 = really, very
예쁘다 = pretty
산 = mountain
아름답다 = beautiful
날씨 = weather
좋다 = good

For more information and explanations on adjectives, please read, Adjectives - Present, Past, Adjectives - Polite [Present, Past] and Adjectives - Connective.

4. S + O + V

나는 사과를 먹었다 = I ate an apple.
지성은 물을 마신다 = Ji-sung drinks water.
새들이 노래를 부른다 = The birds are singing songs.
안나는 대학을 다닌다 = Anna attends college (university) [written form]
안나는 대학을 다녀요 = Anna attends college (university) [spoken form]
영희는 어제 정원에 꽃을 심었다 = Young-hee planted a flower in the garden yesterday.

*Notice that the time(어젯밤) and place(정원에) are inserted between S and O.

나 = I
사과 = apple
먹었다 = ate
물 = water
마시다 = drink
새 = a bird
새들 = birds
노래 = song
부르다 = sing
다니다 = attend [written form]
다녀요 = attend [polite spoken form]
어제 = yesterday
정원 = garden
꽃 = flower
심다 = plant (verb)

In addition, unlike English, it is quite common to leave out the subject in a sentence in Korean. When the subject is known by the readers or speakers, it is often left out. Therefore, depending on a situation or context, it is OK to write or speak without beginning the sentence with a subject.

A subject may not be used in a sentence if it is known who or what the subject is. So, the sentences below are also correct and it is common in spoken Korean (conversations).

학생이다 = (am/is) a student
선생님이다 = (am/is) a teacher
의사였다 = was a doctor
중학생이에요 = (am/is) a middle school student

달린다 = runs
힘차게 달렸다 = vigorously ran

크다 = (am/is/are) big
작다 = (am/is/are) small
정말 좋아 = (am/is/are) really good [spoken form]

사과를 먹었다 = ate an apple
물을 마셨어 = drank water [spoken form]
노래를 불렀어 = sang songs [spoken form]
어제 꽃을 심었어요 = planted a flower yesterday [polite spoken form]

For more help with the particles, please refer to the following posts:

Learn Korean Language - 011

Learn Korean Language: Let's Speak Korean - 011

In this lesson, Stephen teaches you how to express your desire to do something with somebody. Also see (Would you like to go? - 갈래요?)

극장에 같이 갈래요? = Would you like to go to the cinema together?
네, 좋아요 = Yes, I'd like to. (most common)
네, 갈래요 = Yes, I will go. (very uncommon)
네, 가고 싶어요 = Yes, I want to go. (fairly uncommon) see (Verbs - Want)
아뇨, 안 갈래요 = No, I won't go.
너무 피곤해요 = I'm very tired

Korean words:

네 = Yes (formal)
아니요 = No (formal)
아뇨 = 아니요's contracted form
어 = Yes (informal)
아니 = No (Informal)

좋다 = like, good
좋아 = like, good (spoken form)
좋아요 = like, good (formal spoken form)
극장 = theatre, cinema
같이 = together
너무 = very
피곤하다 = tired
피곤해요 = tired (formal spoken form)

Would you like to go? - 갈래요?

Would you like to go? - 갈래요?

~을(ㄹ)래요? is used when you express your desire to do something together with someone, or when you want someone to do something. So it is similar to "Would you like to do something?/Do you want to do something?" in English.

● Rule

1. For verbs without a final consonant, add ㄹ 래요.

하다 = 할래요? = Would you like to do?
가다 = 갈래요? = Would you like to go?
사다 = 살래요? = Would you like to buy?
마시다 = 마실래요? = Would you like to drink?

2. For verbs with a final consonant, add 을래요.

먹다 = 먹을래요? = Would you like to eat?
앉다 = 앉을래요? = Would you like to sit?
읽다 = 읽을래요? = Would you like to read?

Eg.

커피 마실래요? = Would you like to drink coffee?
점심 먹을래요? = Would you like to eat lunch?
극장에 같이 갈래요? = Would like to go to the cinema together?

극장 = cinema, theatre
점심 = lunch, noon
같이 = together

Note: If you omit 요 off 을(ㄹ)래요, ie. 을(ㄹ)래 it becomes an informal form.

커피 마실래? = Would you like to drink coffee?
점심 먹을래? = Would you like to eat lunch?
극장에 같이 갈래? = Would like to go to the cinema together?

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Learn Korean Language - 003

Learn Korean Language: Let's Speak Korean - 003

In this lesson, we talk about the time.

지금 몇 시에요? = What time is it now?
지금 7시에요 = It's 7 o'clock now.
지금 2시 30분입니다 = It's 2:30 now.
지금 4시 반입니다 = It's half past four now.
4시 10분 전입니다 = It's ten to four. [3:50]

Korean words:

지금 = now
반 = half, 30min
전 = before

When we talk about minutes, we use 일, 이, 삼 etc., but when we talk about hours, we use 하나, 둘, 셋 etc which are used when counting. See, (Nouns - Numbers and Counting)
하나, 둘, 셋, and 넷 have also been abbreviated to 한, 두, 세 and 네.

1시 = 한시 = 1 o'clock
2시 = 두시 = 2 o'clock
3시 = 세시
4시 = 네시
5시 = 다섯시
6시 = 여섯시
7시 = 일곱시
8시 = 여덟시
9시 = 아홉시
10시 = 열시
11시 = 열 한시
12시 = 열 두시

The usual pronunciations for numbers are used for minutes.

1분 = 일분 = 1 minute
2분 = 이분 = 2 minute
5분 = 오분
10분 = 십분
20분 = 이십분
30분 = 삼십분
45분 = 사십 오분
50분 = 오십분
60분 = 육십분

Learn Korean Language - 002

Let's Speak Korean - 002

I highly recommend watching this show. Stephen Revere is very enthusiastic, and his explanations are excellent.

무슨 일을 하세요? = What work do you do? (= What do you do for a living?)

무슨, 뭐 = what

Note: When 무슨 is used, a noun is attached after it.

Eg.

무슨 일 = what work
무슨 직업 = what vocation
무슨 학교 = what school
무슨 옷 = what clothes [무슨 옷 샀어? = What clothes did you buy?]

But 뭐 is used alone,

Eg.

뭐 하세요? = What do you do?
병원에서 뭐 하세요? = What do you do at hospital?
집에서 뭐 하세요? = What do you do at home?

우리 can be omitted when answering the question because we already know that we are talking about my father, (우리) 아버지.

(우리) 아버지는 병원에서 일하세요. = (Our) father works at hospital.
(우리) 어머니는 병원에서 일해요. = (Our) mother works at hospital.

Note: 해요 = 하세요 They are both formal. (Verbs - Formal [Present, Past]),

Word List:

의사 = doctor
간호사 = nurse
선생님 = teacher
학생 = student
배우 = actor
군인 = soldier
변호사 = lawyer
경찰 = police officer
소방관 = fire fighter
이발사 = barber

Example sentences

학생이에요 or 학생입니다 = I am a student
학교에서 공부 해요 = I study at school (= student)
학교에서 일(을) 해요 = I work at school (= teacher)

Note: Object particles can be omitted in speech.

Are you doing? - ~는 거야? [Informal]

Are you doing? - ~는 거야?

는 거야 is commonly used in situations where you see somebody doing something and you want to ask them what they are doing. Again, 는 거야 can only be used when you are actually watching somebody doing something, and you want to ask them what they are doing.

● Rule

Take 다 off a plain verb and add 는 거야?

하다 → 하는 거야? = Are you doing?
가다 → 가는 거야? = Are you going?
읽다 → 읽는 거야? = Are you reading?
보다 → 보는 거야? = Are you watching?
쓰다 → 쓰는 거야? = Are you writing?
먹다 → 먹는 거야? = Are you eating?
마시다 → 마시는 거야? = Are you drinking?
자다 → 자는 거야? = Are you sleeping?
보내다 → 보내는 거야? = Are you sending?

Eg.

일 하는 거야? = Are you working?
학교 숙제 하는 거야? = Are you doing school homework?
점심 먹는 거야? = Are you having lunch?
집에 가는 거야? = Are you going home?
교회 가는 거야? = Are you going to church?
물 마시는 거야? = Are you drinking water?
영화 보는 거야? = Are you watching a movie?
에세이 쓰는 거야? = Are you writing an essay?
문자 메시지 보내는 거야? = Are you sending a txt message?
벌써 자는 거야? = Are you sleeping already?

You can add 언제, 어디, 누가, 뭐, 어떻게 or 왜 [when, where, who, what, how or why] in front of ~는 거야? to make these sentences.

뭐 하는 거야? = What are you doing?
뭐 읽는 거야? = What are you reading?
뭐 보는 거야? = What are you watching?
뭐 쓰는 거야? = What are you writing?
뭐 먹는 거야? = What are you eating?
뭐 마시는 거야? = What are you drinking?
뭐 보내는 거야? = What are you sending?
어디 가는 거야? = Where are you going?
누가 자는 거야? = Who is sleeping?
누가 하는 거야? = Who is doing?
어떻게 쓰는 거야? = How are you writing?
왜 하는 거야? = Why are you doing?

Related posts:

Learn Korean Language - 180

Learn Korean Language: Let's Speak Korean - 180

I find this programme very helpful for learning Korean. You can listen to a few sentences found in ordinary conversations and they are explained to you in English and so it will be easier to understand them. You can also practice listening and speaking in Korean. I have also made some explanations of the sentences below.

Eg.

안녕하세요! = Hello! [Formal]

친구한테 문자 메시지 보내는 거야? = Are you sending a txt message to your friend?

Korean words:

보내다 = send
보내는 거야? = Are you sending? (Are you doing? - ~는 거야?)

친구 = friend
문자 메시지 = text message
음성 메시지 = voice message
한테 = see (Particles - 께/에게/한테)

응. 아직 서툴러서 시간이 걸려. = Yes. Because I'm still clumsy, it takes time.

아직 = still
서투르다 = clumsy

서툴다 is a contracted form of 서투르다 and
서툴러서 = Because I'm clumsy. see (Conjunctions - Because, So)

시간 = time
걸리다 = takes

걸려 is a spoken form of 걸리다. see (Verbs - Present, Past)
걸려요 is a formal form of 걸려. see (Verbs - Formal [Present, Past])

Proverbs

낮 말은 새가 듣고 밤 말은 쥐가 듣는다. = The day time speech, the birds hear, and the night time speech, the rats hear. (The walls have ears.)

듣다 = hear (a plain form)
듣는다 = hear (a present written form) (Verbs - Present, Past)

Nouns - Numbers and Counting

There are two ways of pronouncing numbers in Korean. These are:

Sino-Korean numerals - 일, 이, 삼, ...
Native Korean numerals - 하나, 둘, 셋, ...

The Sino-Korean numerals are used for dates, minutes and prices.
The native Korean numerals are used for counting, age and hours.

Sino-Korean Numerals [Dates, Minutes and Prices]

The key to memorizing the pronunciations of the Sino-Korean numerals is to learn from 1(일) to 10(십), and use these ten numbers as building blocks to learn the rest of the numbers. Here is a list of the first ten numbers:

1 = 일
2 = 이
3 = 삼
4 = 사
5 = 오
6 = 육
7 = 칠
8 = 팔
9 = 구
10 = 십

From 11 to 19, what you need to do is say 10(십) first and say the ones' number.
For example,

11 = 10 + 1 → 십 + 일 = 십일
12 = 10 + 2 → 십 + 이 = 십이
13 = 10 + 3 → 십 + 삼 = 십삼
17 = 10 + 7 → 십 + 칠 = 십칠
19 = 10 + 9 → 십 + 구 = 십구

From 20 and onward, it works in the same way. But in addition, 20, 30, ..., 90 are pronounced in the following way:

20 = 이 + 십 = 이십 (Lit. two-ten)
30 = 삼 + 십 = 삼십 (Lit. three-ten)
50 = 오 + 십 = 오십
80 = 팔 + 십 = 팔십
90 = 구 + 십 = 구십

Additionally,

21 = 이십 + 일 = 이십일 (Lit. two-ten one)
22 = 이십 + 이 = 이십이
32 = 삼십 + 이 = 삼십이
45 = 사십 + 오 = 사십오
57 = 오십 + 칠 = 오십칠
89 = 팔십 + 구 = 팔십구

100 is 백, and 200 is 이백 which literally means 'two-hundred.' Then how do you say 300 as a Sino-Korean numeral? Yes, it's 삼백 (Lit. three-hundred)

100 = 백
101 = 백일
105 = 백오
127 = 백이십칠
200 = 이백
219 = 이백십구
324 = 삼백이십사
508 = 오백팔
731 = 칠백삼십일
945 = 구백사십오

1000 is 천, then 2000 is? Yes, it's 이천. Then how do you say 3283 in a Sino-Korean way? It's 삼천이백팔십삼. [Lit. three-thousand two-hundred eight-ten three]

1000 = 천
1001 = 천일
1035 = 천삼십오
2427 = 이천사백이십칠
8492 = 팔천사백구십이

What is 10000? It's 만. It is not 십천 (or ~~ten-thousand~~). 20000 is 이만, 30000 is 삼만 and so on.

10000 = 만
10002 = 만이
10034 = 만삼십사
20673 = 이만육백칠십삼
84832 = 팔만사천팔백삼십이

Now 100000 is 십만 and 200000 is 이십만. At this point, it'd help you understand the naming system of these numbers if you think them in terms of their number of zeros. Here is what I mean:

10000 is 만
10,0000 is 십만
100,0000 is 백만
1000,0000 is 천만
1,0000,0000 is 억 (NOT ~~만만)~~
10,0000,0000 is 십억
100,0000,0000 is 백억
1000,0000,0000 is 천억
1,0000,0000,0000 is 조

You can see that numbers obtain a new name every time they get additional 4 zeros. This is different to English where the name of numbers change after every additional 3 zeros. For example, 'thousand', 'million' and 'billion'.

However, when we write numbers, we follow the international standard in that the comma is placed after every threes. The examples above where the comma is placed after every 4 zeros are for the purpose of easier understanding only. Therefore:

만 = 10,000
십만 = 100,000 (NOT ~~10,0000~~)
백만 = 1,000,000 (NOT ~~100,0000~~)

Let's revise what we've learned above:

11 = 십일
12 = 십이
13 = 십삼
20 = 이십
25 = 이십오
30 = 삼십
40 = 사십
50 = 오십
56 = 오십육
70 = 칠십
80 = 팔십
100 = 백
101 = 백일
107 = 백칠
120 = 백이십
150 = 백오십
200 = 이백
202 = 이백이
537 = 오백삼십칠 [500 +30 + 7 → 오백 + 삼십 + 칠 = 오백삼십칠]
1000 = 천
2000 = 이천
2500 = 이천오백
10000 = 만
10500 = 만오백 [10000 + 500 → 만 + 오백 = 만오백]
53847 = 오만삼천팔백사십칠 [50000 + 3000 + 800 + 40 + 7 → 오만 + 삼천 + 팔백 + 사십 + 칠 = 오만삼천팔백사십칠]

The following are the examples of how the Sino-Korean numerals are used for dates, minutes and prices.

[Dates]

The order in which the date is written is reversed in Korean. A day of the week comes first, then a month and then a year. [a year = 년, a month = 월, a day of the week = 일]

Notice how the Sino-Korean numerals are used in pronouncing dates.

28 Jan 2010 → 2010년 1월 28일 = 이천십년 일월 이십팔일
17/10/2011 → 2011/10/17 = 2011년 10월 17일 =이천십일년 시월 십칠일

Note: 10월 is not 십월, but rather 시월. This exception is due to the awkwardness of pronouncing 십월, which is quite cumbersome to pronounce. Therefore 10월 is 시월 for the pronunciation's sake.

[Minutes]

The Sino-Korean numerals are also used for 'minutes' but not for 'hours'. The native Korean numerals which are used for pronouncing the number of 'hours' are explained below in the second section of this post.

[an hour, o'clock = 시, a minute(s) = 분, am = 오전, pm = 오후]

9:38 am → 오전 9시 38분 = 오전 아홉시 삼십팔분
6:19 pm → 오후 6시 19분 = 오후 여섯시 십구분

[Prices]

The Korean currency is called 'won.' Its symbol is '₩', and it's pronounced 원.

₩12,800 → 12,800원 = 만이천팔백원
₩39,130 → 39,130원 = 삼만구천백삼십원

Native Korean numerals [Counting, Age and Hours]

The basic numbering system of the native Korean numerals is the same as that of the Sino-Korean numerals. However, in addition to one to ten, there is a need to learn the special pronunciations of tens, i.e. 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90.

From 100, the pronunciation is the same as the Sino-Korean numerals we've looked at above. [hundred (100) = 백, thousand (1000) = 천, ten thousand (10000) = 만]

1 = 하나
2 = 둘
3 = 셋
4 = 넷
5 = 다섯
6 = 여섯
7 = 일곱
8 = 여덟
9 = 아홉
10 = 열
11 = 열 하나
12 = 열 둘
13 = 열 셋
17 = 열 일곱
20 = 스물
21 = 스물 하나
22 = 스물 둘
23 = 스물 셋
30 = 서른
40 = 마흔
50 = 쉰
55 = 쉰 다섯
60 = 예순
70 = 일흔
75 = 일흔 다섯 [70 + 5 → 일흔 + 다섯 = 일흔다섯]
80 = 여든
90 = 아흔
100 = 백
189 = 백 여든 아홉 [100 + 80 + 9 → 백 + 여든 + 아홉 = 백여든아홉]

Below are the examples of how the native Korean numerals are used in counting, age and hours.

[Counting]

The native Korean numerals are used for counting, e.g. the number of people in a class, the number of cars in a car park, the numbers of apples on an apple tree, the numbers of pencils or pens on a desk, etc.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... = 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯, ...

When counting, we use distinctive identifier words called counters. Each kind of object (or person for that matter) has their own counter to distinguish them from other kinds. This counter system is a bit like the system found in English, i.e. 3 cups of juice, 5 glasses of water. However, the Korean counting system extends to every object.

For example,

three cups of juice = 주스 세컵
five glasses of water = 물 다섯잔
six people = 여섯명 (사람)
five cars = 차 다섯대
three apples = 사과 세개
two pencils = 연필 두자루
four books = 책 네권
ten roses = 장미 열송이

Listed below are some of the most common counters used in counting.

명 = people
마리 = animals
대 = cars
개 = objects (this is very widely used for any inanimate objects)
자루 = long, lean objects
그루 = trees
송이 = flowers
켤레 = shoes
장 = paper
권 = books
살 = age
층 = floor [The Sino-Korean numerals are used for counting the number of floors, i.e. the first floor = 일층, the second floor = 이층, and the eighth floor = 팔층]

Please also note that 하나 becomes 한, and the final consonant of each of 둘, 셋, 넷 and 스물 is omitted when they are attached to counters. For example,

(물) 한잔 = a glass of water (NOT ~~하나잔~~)
(종이) 두장 = two pieces of paper (NOT 둘장)
(신발) 세켤레 = three pairs of shoes (NOT ~~셋켤레~~)
(사람) 네명 = four people (NOT 넷명)
(나이) 스무살 = twenty (years of age) (NOT ~~스물살~~)

The counters work in a similar way to some of the counter words in English, e.g. 장 is similar to 'pieces' and 켤레 is similar to 'pairs'.

[Age]

As we've looked at above, the counter, 살, is attached to years of age. For example:

1 = 한살
2 = 두살
3 = 세살
4 = 네살
5 = 다섯살
7 = 일곱살
10 = 열살
11 = 열한살
12 = 열두살
13 = 열세살
17 = 열일곱살
20 = 스무살
24 = 스물 네살
32 = 서른 두살
58 = 쉰 여덟살

[Hours]

The native Korean numerals are also used for 'hours' but not for 'minutes' which use the Sino-Korean numerals.

10:25 am → 오전 10시 25분 = 오전 열시 이십오분
7:30 pm → 오후 7시 30분 = 오후 일곱시 삼십분 or 오후 일곱시 반 (반 means 'a half')

[Months]

한달 = 1 month
두달 = 2 months
세달 = 3 months
네달 = 4 months
다섯달 = 5 months
여섯달 = 6 months
일곱달 = 7 months
여덞달 = 8 months
아홉달 = 9 months
열달 = 10 months

Example sentence

2달 동안 학교를 다니고 2주동안 방학을 했다 = I went to school for 2 months and had a break(holidays) for 2 weeks.

Try doing - ~해 보다

Try doing - ~해 보다

보다 means "see" and ~해 보다 is a special expression which means "try doing". This expression is used very commonly in ordinary conversations.

● Rule

Add 보다 to a spoken form of a verb. (Verbs - Present, Past)

해 보다 = try doing
가 보다 = try going
먹어 보다 = try eating
마셔 보다 = try drinking
읽어 보다 = try reading
들어 보다 = try listening
사 보다 = try buying
앉아 보다 = try sitting
봐 보다 = try seeing/looking/watching
올라가 보다 = try going up
쳐 보다 = try playing (the instrument)

The tables below are showing the written and spoken forms, and their respective positive and negative forms.

Remember that the plain form of verbs is the most basic from which many other forms of verbs derive and the plain form itself is rarely used in both written and spoken Korean.

I have omitted the present negatives for both written and spoken forms because people never use it in this way.

Instead of saying, "don't try eating", people would say, "don't eat" which is 먹지마.

There are two ways of expressing past negatives and one is more common than the other. "안~" form is more commonly used.

Factual/Declarative (Written)	*Plain*	Present	Past
Positive	먹어 보다	먹어 본다	먹어 봤다
Negative	먹어 보지 않다		먹어 보지 않았다 안 먹어 봤다

Dialogue/Conversation (Spoken)	*Plain*	Present	Past
Positive	먹어 보다	먹어 봐	먹어 봤어
Negative	먹어 보지 않다		먹어 보지 않았어 안 먹어 봤어

Eg.

안나는 중국 음식을 먹어 봤다. = Anna tried eating Chinese food.
찰스는 조나단 에드워즈의 책을 읽어 봤다. = Charles tried reading Jonathan Edwards' book.
예전에 먹어 봐서 코코넛을 또 사 봤다 = Because I tried eating it before, I tried buying a coconut again. (Conjunctions - Because, So)

예전에 = in the past, before
또 = again

이 음악을 들어 봐! = Try listening to this music!
이 차를 마셔 봐! = Try drinking this tea!
이 언덕에 올라가 봐. 그리고 푸른하늘을 봐 봐. = Try going up this hill! And try looking at the blue sky!

독일 가 봤어? = Tried going to Germany? (= Have you been to Germany?)
이 오래된 소파에 앉아 봤어? = Tried sitting on this old sofa?
피아노 쳐 봤어? = Tried playing the piano?

Formal Form
Refer to Verbs - Formal [Present, Past]

Eg.
Written Form

먹어 봅니다 = try eating
먹어 봤습니다 = tried eating
먹어 보지 않았습니다 = haven't tried eating
안 먹어 봤습니다 = haven't tried eating

Spoken Form

먹어 봐요 = try eating
먹어 봤어요 = tried eating
먹어 보지 않았어요 = haven't tried eating
안 먹어 봤어요 = haven't tried eating

Adjectives - Polite [Present, Past]

Polite Form

In the previous post, Adjectives - Present, Past, we learned to distinguish between the written and spoken forms of Korean. In addition to it, we're going to further distinguish between the polite and informal forms in Korean.

What are the difference between the informal and polite forms?

Informal - Generally speaking, the informal form is used among people of the same age or to people who are younger by older people. It is also used by people who are closely related such as such family members and relatives. People who are close friends would use this form depending on the familiarity and acceptability.

Polite - The polite form is used when speaking to people who are older than you or of a higher rank than you such as in the company, army and other institutions. However, people generally use the polite form in many social settings regardless of one's age. Initially, it would be best to stick to the polite form when learning Korean, as this would be the predominant form of speaking to people in many social environments. However, if you attend school or other similar institutions where you'd make friends and the environment is more casual, it might be more appropriate to use the informal form.

Below are the two tables showing the polite form of the written and spoken forms of Korean. Please note that the words in bold indicate which of the two negatives are more common in each form, i.e. 빠르지 않습니다 is more commonly used than 안 빠릅니다 in the written form whereas 안 빨라요 is more commonly used than 빠르지 않아요 in the spoken form.

Polite Written Form	Present	Past
Positive	빠릅니다	빨랐습니다
Negative	빠르지 않습니다 안 빠릅니다	빠르지 않았습니다 안 빨랐습니다

Polite Spoken Form	Present	Past
Positive	빨라요	빨랐어요
Negative	빠르지 않아요 안 빨라요	빠르지 않았어요 안 빨랐어요

Conjugations rules

I) Informal written form → Polite written form (Present tense)

First of all, take 다 off adjectives, and then:

1. For adjectives whose final character has no final consonant, add ㅂ 니다.

E.g.

크다 → 큽니다 = big/large
세다 → 셉니다 = strong

빠르다 → 빠릅니다 = fast
느리다 → 느립니다 = slow
착하다 → 착합니다 = kind

따뜻하다 → 따뜻합니다 = warm (touch, feeling)
시원하다 → 시원합니다 = cool (touch, feeling)

2. For adjectives whose final character has a final consonant, attach 습니다.

E.g.

작다 → 작습니다 = small (size)
많다 → 많습니다 = many
적다 → 적습니다 = small (quantity)
쉽다 → 쉽습니다 = easy

어렵다 → 어렵습니다 = difficult
뜨겁다 → 뜨겁습니다 = hot (touch)
새롭다 → 새롭습니다 = new

II) Informal written → Polite written (Past tense)

Take 다 off the past tense of adjectives, and then attach 습니다.

E.g.

컸다 → 컸습니다 = was big/large
작았다 → 작았습니다 = was small (size)
좋았다 → 좋았습니다 = was good

빨랐다 → 빨랐습니다 = was fast
느렸다 → 느렸습니다 = was slow
쉬웠다 → 쉬웠습니다 = was easy

어려웠다 → 어려웠습니다 = was difficult
뜨거웠다 → 뜨거웠습니다 = was hot (touch)
차가웠다 → 차가웠습니다 = was cold (touch)
새로웠다 → 새로웠습니다 = was new

III) Informal → Polite (Spoken)

Attach 요 at the end of the adjectives of all forms.

E.g.

높아 → 높아요 = high
안높아 → 안높아요 = not high
높았어 → 높았어요 = was high
안높았어 → 안높았어요 = was not high

많아 → 많아요 = many
안많아 → 안많아요 = not many
많았어 → 많았어요 = were many
안많았어 → 안많았어요 = were not many

커 → 커요 = big/large
안커 → 안커요 = not big/large
컸어 → 컸어요 = was big/large
안컸어 → 안컸어요 = was not big/large

For help with the pronunciations of these adjectives in various forms, please use the 'listen' feature on Google Translate.

Verbs - Polite [Present, Past]

Polite Form

This lesson is about the polite form of verbs, in addition to the informal form which we learned in the previous lesson. Let's go over again the differences between the informal and polite forms.

Informal - Generally speaking, the informal form is used among people of the same age or to people who are younger by older people. It is also used by people who are closely related such as such family members and relatives. People who are close friends would use this form depending on the familiarity and acceptability.

Polite - The polite form is used when speaking to people who are older than you or of a higher rank than you such as in the company, army and other institutions. However, people generally use the polite form in many social settings regardless of one's age. Initially, it would be best to stick to the polite form when learning Korean, as this would be the predominant form of speaking to people in many social environments. However, if you attend school or other similar institutions where you'd make friends and the environment is more casual, it might be more appropriate to use the informal form.

Note: The words in bold indicate which of the two negatives are more commonly used in each case, i.e. 먹지 않습니다 is more commonly used than 안 먹습니다 in the written form, and 안 먹어요 is more commonly used than 먹지 않아요 in the spoken form.

Polite Written Form	Present	Past
Positive	먹습니다	먹었습니다
Negative	먹지 않습니다 안 먹습니다	먹지 않았습니다 안 먹었습니다

Polite Spoken Form	Present	Past
Positive	먹어요	먹었어요
Negative	먹지 않아요 안 먹어요	먹지 않았어요 안 먹었어요

Conjugation Rules

I) Informal Plain → Polite Present (Written)

First of all, take 다 off the plain form of verbs, and then:

1. For verbs whose final character has no final consonant, add ㅂ 니다.

E.g.

하다 → 합니다 = do
가다 → 갑니다 = go
오다 → 옵니다 = come
쓰다 → 씁니다 = write
말하다 → 말합니다 = speak
바라다 → 바랍니다 = hope
자라다 → 자랍니다 = grow

2. For verbs whose final character has a final consonant, add 습니다.

E.g.

먹다 → 먹습니다 = eat
걷다 → 걷습니다 = walk
듣다 → 듣습니다 = listen
읽다 → 읽습니다 = read
입다 → 입습니다 = wear

Note: The rule 3 overrides the rule 2.

3. For verbs whose last character has ㄹ as a final consonant, change it to ㅂ and add 니다.

E.g.

살다 → 삽니다 = live
놀다 → 놉니다 = play (have fun)
알다 → 압니다 = know
날다 → 납니다 = fly
걸다 → 겁니다 = hang (up)
말다 → 맙니다 = roll (up)
밀다 → 밉니다 = push

II) Informal Past → Polite Past (Written)

Take 다 off the informal past form of verbs, and then add 습니다.

했다 → 했습니다 = did
갔다 → 갔습니다 = went
왔다 → 왔습니다 = came
봤다 → 봤습니다 = watched
먹었다 → 먹었습니다 = ate
달렸다 → 달렸습니다 = ran
만났다 → 만났습니다 = met

III) Informal → Polite (Spoken)

Just add 요 to the informal spoken forms.

해 → 해요 = do
가 → 가요 = go
와 → 와요 = come

안해 → 안해요 = not do
안봐 → 안봐요 = not watch
안사 → 안사요 = not buy
안자 → 안자요 = not sleep

먹었어 → 먹었어요 = ate
걸었어 → 걸었어요 = walked
만났어 → 만났어요 = met

안했어 → 안했어요 = didn't do
안갔어 → 안갔어요 = didn't go
안먹었어 → 안먹었어요 = didn't eat
안빌렸어 → 안빌렸어요 = didn't borrow

A brief revision of the differences between the written and spoken forms

The written form is used in literature such as books, newspapers and any form of writing that is not 'conversational.' The written form, in essence, is literary, factual and declarative. It is rarely used in normal everyday conversations. However, the news on TV uses this written form of Korean. It is also used in public speeches. The reason is probably due to the fact that the news and public announcements or speeches are usually all declarative and/or factual.

The spoken form is the usual way in which people speak and have a conversation. It is used in all types of spoken Korean such as normal conversations, dramas, and movies, with the possible exceptions of news, documentaries and other factual, formal types of programs on TV and radio.

To do something - ~기 위해

To do something - ~기 위해

This is the expression used to show that you purpose to do something. For example,

아브라함은 대학 가기 위해 열심히 공부를 했다 = To go to college, Abraham studied hard.

In the sentence above, the reason why Abraham studied hard is because he's purposed to go to college.

점심 먹기 위해 레스토랑에 들어 갔다 = To eat lunch, we went into the restaurant.

We went into the restaurant because we'd purposed to eat lunch.

Therefore, the clause containing ~기 위해 is the reason for doing something revealed in the rest of the sentence.

Rules

● Add 위해 to a nominalized verb. Also see (Nouns - Nominalizing Verbs)

읽기 위해 = To read
쓰기 위해 = To write
듣기 위해 = To listen
말하기 위해 = To speak
가기 위해 = To go
오기 위해 = To come
보기 위해 = To watch
먹기 위해 = To eat
자기 위해 = To sleep
달리기 위해 = To run
사기 위해 = To buy
팔기 위해 = To sell
서기 위해 = To stand
앉기 위해 = To sit
살기 위해 = To live
죽기 위해 = To die

Eg.

한글을 읽기 위해 한국어를 공부했다. = To read Korean words, I studied Korean.
자유의 여신상을 보기 위해 뉴욕에 갔다. = To see the Statue of Liberty, we went to New York.
그녀는 필리핀에 가기 위해 비행기 티켓을 샀다. = To go to the Philippines, she bought a flight ticket.
유다에 도착한 룻은 시어머니를 돕기 위해 일을 했다 = Ruth, who arrived in Judah, to support her mother-in-law, she worked. (An excerpt from 룻 이야기)

한글 = Korean (writing)
한국어 = Korean (language)
자유의 여신상 = The Statue of Liberty
필리핀 = The Philippines
비행기 티켓 = flight ticket
유다 = Judah
룻 = Ruth
시어머니 = Mother-in-law
돕다 = support
돕기 위해 = To support

Nouns - Nominalising Verbs

In this lesson, we're going to learn how to nominalise a verb, which means converting a verb to a noun.

First, take 다 off the plain form of a verb, and then attach 기 to it. (For a list of verbs in the plain from, please refer to Verbs - Present/Past)

The following is a list of some of the verbs which have been converted to nouns.

읽다 → 읽기 = reading
쓰다 → 쓰기 = writing
듣다 → 듣기 = listening
말하다 → 말하기 = speaking
하다 → 하기 = doing
가다 → 가기 = going
오다 → 오기 = coming
보다 → 보기 = watching
먹다 → 먹기 = eating
마시다 → 마시기 = drinking
자다 → 자기 = sleeping
걷다 → 걷기 = walking
달리다 → 달리기 = running
사다 → 사기 = buying
팔다 → 팔기 = selling
서다 → 서기 = standing
앉다 → 앉기 = sitting
살다 → 살기 = living
죽다 → 죽기 = dying

Example Sentences

걷기는 하기 쉬운 운동이다 = Walking is an exercise that (we) can do easily
나는 쇼핑 하기를 좋아한다 = I like shopping (Lit. I like doing shopping)
한나는 아이스크림 먹기를 좋아한다 = Hannah likes eating an icecream
비 오는 날 학교 가기는 쉽지 않다 = It's not easy going to school in a rainy day
제인은 오래된 CD 플레이어를 팔기를 원했다 = Jane wanted 'selling' an old CD player

쇼핑 = shopping
좋아하다 = like
한나 = Hannah (Also a Korean female name)
아이스크림 = icecream
비 = rain (noun)
오다 = come
날 = a day
비 오는 날 = a rainy day (Lit. a rain-coming day) (For more information, refer to Verbs - Descriptive I)
학교 = a school
쉽다 = easy
쉬운 = easy (Adjectives - Descriptive)
운동 = exercise
제인 = Jane
오래되다 = old
CD 플레이어 = a CD player
원하다 = want (Please refer to Verbs - Want to learn how to form 'want to do')

Here are some more example sentences using nominalized verbs.

사기와 팔기는 비지니스의 기초다. = Buying and selling are the business's basis.

비지니스 = business
기초 = basis, foundation

지영은 공원에서 걷기와 새들의 노래 듣기를 좋아했다. = Ji-young liked walking in the park and listening to birds singing.

지영 = Ji-young (A female name)
공원 = a park
걷다 = walk
새 = a bird
노래 = a song
듣다 = listen, hear

외국어를 배울 때 읽기, 쓰기, 듣기, 말하기는 모두 매우 중요하다. = When we learn a foreign language, reading, writing, listening and speaking are all very important.

외국어 = a foreign language
배우다 = learn
배울 때 = When we learn (To learn how to use 'when', please read Conjunctions - When)
모두 = all
매우 = very
중요하다 = important

Particles - 만 [only]

만 [Only Particle]

만 essentially means "only" and it is used after a noun. Sometimes, 오직 is used before a noun to emphasize the "only-ness."

나만 떠났다. = Only I left.
아빠만 TV를 보셨다. = Only Dad watched TV.
룻만 이스라엘에 왔다. = Only Ruth came to Israel.

물만 마셨다. = I drank only water.
스티븐은 구두만 샀다. = Stephen bought only shoes.

오직 나만 먹었다. = Only I ate.
오직 폴만 한국어를 공부했다. = Only Paul studied Korean.
오직 존만 떠났다. = Only John left.

만 can be also used for nominalized verbs.(Nouns - Nominalizing Verbs) In this case, 만 했다 is attched after a nominalized verb.

Eg.

나는 먹기만 했다. = I did only eating.
폴은 1주일 동안 한국어 공부하기만 했다. = Paul, for a week, did only studying Korean.
동물원에서 본 코알라는 자기만 했다. = The koala, which I saw at the zoo, did only sleeping.

동물원에서 본 코알라 = The koala, which I saw at the zoo
For a detailed explanation of the descriptive verb, see (Verbs - Descriptive I)

Conjunctions - When

Conjunctions - When [~을 때]

● Rules

First, take 다 off a plain form of verbs(Verbs - Present/Past) then:

1. Add ~을 때 to verbs with a final consonant

먹다 → 먹을 때 = when I eat
앉다 → 앉을 때 = when I sit
믿다 → 믿을 때 = when I believe
죽다 → 죽을 때 = when I die

2. Add ~ㄹ 때 to verbs without a final consonant.

가다 → 갈 때 = when I go
오다 → 올 때 = when I come
자다 → 잘 때 = when I sleep
사다 → 살 때 = when I buy

3. Add ~때 to verbs with ㄹ as a final consonant

팔다 → 팔 때 = when I sell
살다 → 살 때 = when I live
놀다 → 놀 때 = when I play (muck around)

Eg.

저녁 먹을 때 비가 왔다. = When we were eating dinner, the rain came.
의자에 앉을 때 조심하세요. = When you sit on the chair, be careful.
병사는 죽을 때 한 마디를 남겼다. = When the soldier was dying, he left a message.

학교 갈 때 차로 간다. = When I go to school, I go by car.
집에 올 때 친구 집에 들린다. = When I come home, I visit my friend's house.
우리는 잘 때 꿈을 꾼다. = When we sleep, we dream.
사람들은 먹을 것을 살 때 슈퍼마켓으로 간다= When people buy food, they go to a supermarket.

● Take 다 off and add ~을 때 to the past tense of verbs

먹었다 → 먹었을 때 = when I ate
앉았다 → 앉았을 때 = when I sat
믿었다 → 믿었을 때 = when I believed
죽었다 → 죽었을 때 = when I died

팔았다 → 팔았을 때 = when I sold
살았다 → 살았을 때 = when I lived
놀았다 → 놀았을 때 = when I played (mucked around)

Eg.

시카고에 살았을 때 영어를 배웠다. = When I lived in Chicago, I learned English.
밖에서 놀았을 때, 날씨가 좋았다 = When we played outside, the weather was good.

Note:

저녁 먹을 때 비가 왔다. = When we were eating dinner, the rain came.
저녁 먹었을 때 비가 왔다. = When we were eating dinner, the rain came.

Both 먹을 때 or 먹었을 때 can be used and they mean the same thing. This is because the final verb, 왔다, determines the tense of a sentence. The former is a more casual form than the latter.

Update - 도 [Additive Particle]

The lesson on 도 [Additive Particle] has been added to the section on particles.
(Particles - 는, 도, 를, 가, 에)

Conjunctions - But, Although

그러나 [But]

그러나 can only be used between sentences.

Book = 책
Banana = 바나나
read = 읽다
want to read = 읽고 싶다
wanted to read = 읽고 싶었다 (Verbs - Want)
sleep = 자다 slept = 잤다
like = 좋다 (plain)
like = 좋아한다 (present) (Verbs - Present/Past)

Eg.

책을 읽고 싶었다. 그러나 잤다. [I wanted to read a book. But I slept.]
바나나는 맛있다. 그러나 나는 좋아하지 않는다. [Banana is delicious. But I don't like it]

The two sentences are linked by 그러나 but they are still separate.

~데/~지만 [But, Although]

To link two or more sentences into one sentence, ~데 or ~지만 are used.

● For verbs, add 데 to Verbs - Descriptive I
● For adjectives, add 데 to Adjectives - Descriptive

Eg.

쓰는 → 쓰는데 = write but / although I write
글씨는 쓰는데, 읽을 수 없다 = I write words but I cannot read / Although I write, I cannot read

사는 → 사는데 = live but / although it lives
물에서는 사는데, 땅에서는 못 산다 = It lives in the water but it cannot live on the ground / Although it lives in the water, it cannot live on the ground

어려운 → 어려운데 = difficult but / although it's difficult
외국어는 배우기 어려운데 재미있다 = A foreign language is difficult to learn but it's interesting / Although a foreign language is difficult to learn, it's interesting.

● For verbs and adjectives, add 지만 to a plain form without 다.

Eg.

쓰다 → 쓰지만 = write but / although I write
글씨는 쓰지만, 읽을 수 없다 = I write words but I cannot read

살다 → 살지만 = live but / although it lives
물에서는 살지만, 땅에서는 못 산다 = It lives in the water but it cannot live on the ground

어렵다 → 어렵지만 = difficult but / although it's difficult
외국어는 배우기 어렵지만 재미있다 = A foreign language is difficult to learn but it's interesting.

Conjunctions - Because, So

Conjunctions - Because and So [~서]

~서 has many usages and "because and so" is one of them.

Rules

● Add 서 to a spoken form of the present tense of verbs or adjectives. (Adjectives - Present/Past, Verbs - Present/Past)

해 → 해서 = Because (I) do / (I) do and so
가서 → 가서 = Because (you) go / (you) go and so
떠나 → 떠나서 = Because (you) leave / (you) leave and so
좋아 → 좋아서 = Because (I) like / (I) like and so
먹어 → 먹어서 = Because (you) eat / (you) eat and so
잡아 → 잡아서 = Because (I) catch / (I) catch and so
빨라 → 빨라서 = Because (he's) fast / (he's) fast and so
높아 → 높아서 = Because (it's) high / (it's) high and so
작아 → 작아서 = Because (she's) small / (she's) small and so
커 → 커서 = Because (it's) big / (it's) big and so

Example Sentences

농구를 해서 키가 크다
= Because I play basketball, I'm tall.
= I play basketball and so I'm tall.

한국에 가서 지금 미국에 없다
= Because he's gone to Korea, now he's not in America.
= He's gone to Korea and so he's not in America.

나무는 커서 좋다
= Because a tree is big, I like it.
= A tree is big and so I like it.

과학이 좋아서 대학에 갔다
= Because I like science, I went to college.
= I like science and so I went to college.

빌딩이 높아서 엘리베이터를 사용해야 한다
= Because the building is high, we have to use an elevator.
= The building is high and so we have to use an elevator.

농구 = basketball
한국 = Korea
미국 = America
나무 = tree
과학 = science
대학 = college/university
빌딩 = building
엘리베이터 = elevator

Conjunctions - So [그래서]

A sentence containing ~서 can be divided into two separate sentences and 그래서 is used to link them.

Example sentences

농구를 한다. 그래서 키가 크다. = I play basketball. So I'm tall.
한국에 갔다. 그래서 지금 미국에 없다. = He's gone to Korea. So he's not in America.
나무는 크다. 그래서 좋다. = A tree is big. So I like it.
과학이 좋다. 그래서 대학에 갔다. = I like science. So I went to college.
빌딩이 높다. 그래서 엘리베이터를 사용해야 한다. = The building is high. So we have to use an elevator.

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