Learning Korean

Anhyong haseyo. Post Korean related stuff here.
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mleung87
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Post by mleung87 » Jan 14th, '06, 05:40

I've been trying to learn Korean for quite awhile now, but I haven't gotten around to purchasing any books and such due to the cost of it and all. And there aren't any classes around where I live.

Is the grammar really difficult?

And what is the difference between
aro, arachi, ara, araseyo etc ... do they all mean the same thing??

bbgirl03
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Post by bbgirl03 » Jan 14th, '06, 05:51

making out in korean is a good book to learn korean slangs

pdk001
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Post by pdk001 » Jan 14th, '06, 07:56

mleung87 wrote:I've been trying to learn Korean for quite awhile now, but I haven't gotten around to purchasing any books and such due to the cost of it and all. And there aren't any classes around where I live.

Is the grammar really difficult?

And what is the difference between
aro, arachi, ara, araseyo etc ... do they all mean the same thing??
yea they are all the same thing and araseyo is a more polite than aro, arachi, ara

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mleung87
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Post by mleung87 » Jan 14th, '06, 08:05

pdk001 wrote:
mleung87 wrote:I've been trying to learn Korean for quite awhile now, but I haven't gotten around to purchasing any books and such due to the cost of it and all. And there aren't any classes around where I live.

Is the grammar really difficult?

And what is the difference between
aro, arachi, ara, araseyo etc ... do they all mean the same thing??
yea they are all the same thing and araseyo is a more polite than aro, arachi, ara

If they all mean the same, what is the purpose of the endings? I know that the ending -seyo makes it polite, but what do the other endings do?

pdk001
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Post by pdk001 » Jan 14th, '06, 08:35

mleung87 wrote:
pdk001 wrote:
mleung87 wrote:I've been trying to learn Korean for quite awhile now, but I haven't gotten around to purchasing any books and such due to the cost of it and all. And there aren't any classes around where I live.

Is the grammar really difficult?

And what is the difference between
aro, arachi, ara, araseyo etc ... do they all mean the same thing??
yea they are all the same thing and araseyo is a more polite than aro, arachi, ara

If they all mean the same, what is the purpose of the endings? I know that the ending -seyo makes it polite, but what do the other endings do?
sorry i dont understand what you mean

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mleung87
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Post by mleung87 » Jan 14th, '06, 09:07

pdk001 wrote:
mleung87 wrote:
pdk001 wrote: yea they are all the same thing and araseyo is a more polite than aro, arachi, ara

If they all mean the same, what is the purpose of the endings? I know that the ending -seyo makes it polite, but what do the other endings do?
sorry i dont understand what you mean
Haha, sorry!
I mean ..
if araseyo = ok (is that what it means?)
then ara = ok as well?
then aro = ok as well?
then why do they have different endings? like -seyo, -a, -o etc??
does tha tmake more sense?

Cop633
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Post by Cop633 » Jan 14th, '06, 09:19

man, every language looks so difficult to master compared to english. though i bet its just because i was raised in english, and am a moron, but I've tried to BEGIN learning korean, as well as swedish (as you can tell, i am not the most persistent individual), and it hasnt gone well. its hard when you arent around the language you want to learn. And when you want to try to test yourself by watching (korean or swedish) TV, they keep showing beautiful women and you get distracted. All I learned from the entire season of Full house is Aja Aja Fighting, rain is a wuss, and I got Song Hye Kyo's image burned into my brain. So much for making it an educational experience. I have acquired (somehow, wink):

Arirangtv let us speak korean language lesson 1-60 divx, Pimsleur - Korean [Learn korean complete 10 Units], and a korean english english Korean dictionary [which sucks].

i believe i rode an electronic donkey on my journey to acquire these tools.

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Post by JoSungMo » Jan 14th, '06, 10:16

If they all mean the same, what is the purpose of the endings? I know that the ending -seyo makes it polite, but what do the other endings do?
sorry i dont understand what you mean
Haha, sorry!
I mean ..
if araseyo = ok (is that what it means?)
then ara = ok as well?
then aro = ok as well?
then why do they have different endings? like -seyo, -a, -o etc??
does tha tmake more sense?
You said it yourself! politness
there is few forms of politeness in the Korean
it's about to whom your using the word.

araseumnida - (nida is the highest form of politness)e.g to your boss, tv-news announcer use this form of politness aswell.
araseoyo - to the elders, someone u just met.
ara, arasuh - to your friend

Hope you understand it lil' better.

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Childhoodless
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Post by Childhoodless » Jan 14th, '06, 10:24

Haha, sorry!
I mean ..
if araseyo = ok (is that what it means?)
then ara = ok as well?
then aro = ok as well?
then why do they have different endings? like -seyo, -a, -o etc??
does tha tmake more sense?
If I'm reading this correctly (which is difficult to tell, since romanization of Korean isn't always the same all around), then I think I can help out with the endings.

First off, the word I think you're trying to use is "알다 (al da)." It translates to "to know."

"-seyo" If you mean 세요 (sae yo), that's a polite ending, and can also be a directive, depending on context. This is an example of informal polite form. It's fairly common.

"ara" Informal version of 알다 (al da). This is a form usually used between friends. This is an example of "반말 (ban mal)." Ban mal is essentially informal "impolite" form. It's considered rude to use it with anyone you don't know or people older than you.

"aro" Same thing as above, if I'm reading this correctly. It's just a different pronounciation. It's still ban mal.

Different endings point to different conjugations and different points of grammar, as well as different levels of politeness and formality.

It's difficult to do this solely through English. It makes better sense if you see it written in Korean.

[EDIT]
It seems someone else has already explained this. Ah well. :P [/quote]

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mleung87
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Post by mleung87 » Jan 16th, '06, 00:09

Thanks JoSungMo and Childhoodless :) Both your explanations clarified things for me! This thread is quite useful for super beginners like me >_<"

cinalob
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need help want to learn korean

Post by cinalob » Jan 26th, '06, 01:31

how many of you can speak fluent korean that learnt from the begining
im trying to learn on my own and gotten to know quiet a bit of words but dont know how to learn setence structures like i know phrases but when you have to make up your own setences and who your speaking to it gets quiet hard. i dont seem to understand like when to use ham ni da seum ni da and etc and when not to
does anyone have any good sites? or could help me ?
my msn is anson_69@hotmail.com if anyone wants to help me
thanks thanks

ilovja
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Post by ilovja » Jan 26th, '06, 01:53

Have you tried the following site? I think it is provided by a Korean university for english speaking foreigners.

http://korean.sogang.ac.kr/

ham ni da comes after a noun, while seum ni da comes after the root part of a verb.
Last edited by ilovja on Jan 26th, '06, 01:54, edited 1 time in total.

pdk001
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Re: need help want to learn korean

Post by pdk001 » Jan 26th, '06, 01:53

cinalob wrote:how many of you can speak fluent korean that learnt from the begining
im trying to learn on my own and gotten to know quiet a bit of words but dont know how to learn setence structures like i know phrases but when you have to make up your own setences and who your speaking to it gets quiet hard. i dont seem to understand like when to use ham ni da seum ni da and etc and when not to
does anyone have any good sites? or could help me ?
my msn is anson_69@hotmail.com if anyone wants to help me
thanks thanks
here you go
both sites will help you www.johnwasham.com and www.learn-korean.net

cinalob
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Post by cinalob » Jan 26th, '06, 03:02

thanks guys
keep up the help
i mean i asked my girlfriend cause i thought it would be the best to learn from her and she couldnt explain clearly that i could understand how to put it together. haha

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stupoh
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Post by stupoh » Jan 26th, '06, 03:07

Sogang is good for beginner. Later you should take a look at Arirang TV's "Let's Speak Korean" show, it's a very good 10min daily show but i'm not sure it's good for beginner or not. You can watch the VODs directly from the website.

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Re: need help want to learn korean

Post by aisu_kurimu » Jan 26th, '06, 03:24

cinalob wrote:how many of you can speak fluent korean that learnt from the begining
im trying to learn on my own and gotten to know quiet a bit of words but dont know how to learn setence structures like i know phrases but when you have to make up your own setences and who your speaking to it gets quiet hard. i dont seem to understand like when to use ham ni da seum ni da and etc and when not to
does anyone have any good sites? or could help me ?
my msn is anson_69@hotmail.com if anyone wants to help me
thanks thanks
You mean like the difference between "geu ruh kae ham ni da / seum ni da" ?

hamnida makes the meaning of the sentence a little different. Sorta like an -ing reference, so the sentence means: It is so and so-ing.

Seumnida means it will be doing whatever.

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Post by Sunshine_36 » Feb 13th, '06, 20:41

Does anyone have a site where it shows you how to pronunce some words lol ? :D

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Post by jennyvu » Mar 5th, '06, 22:38

is there a site where they teach you how to "SPEAK" korean? please and thank you~ ^^

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Childhoodless
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Post by Childhoodless » Mar 5th, '06, 23:06

The Sogang site has some spoken parts in there that can help. It has a pronounciation section for letters and whatnot. I'd suggest going there first. It'll help so much more in the long run rather than learning whole words first.

And as mentioned before, the Arirang TV "Let's Speak Korean" show helps in speaking as well. I believe some episodes are floating around somewhere for download. I'm not sure.

uniquo
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Post by uniquo » Mar 8th, '06, 02:26

does nayohne know a site that eaches you how to make sentence? like "don't park in front of the building" how would you structure it the sentence in Korean.. I have such massive probelms doing it and I have class tonite.

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Post by kona99 » Mar 8th, '06, 08:37

uniquo wrote:does nayohne know a site that eaches you how to make sentence? like "don't park in front of the building" how would you structure it the sentence in Korean.. I have such massive probelms doing it and I have class tonite.
it'll be like "the building, in front of, park, don't"
"그 건물 앞에 주차하지 마세요."

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Post by saku » Mar 13th, '06, 07:21

i've only recently started watching k-dramas and k-movies and noticed that some of them say "you wanna die?" a lot. Whats that in korean? like romanized and the actually korean (kanji? do they call it the same like in japanese)

SkyyBlue
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Post by SkyyBlue » Mar 13th, '06, 08:32

Childhoodless wrote:
Haha, sorry!
I mean ..
if araseyo = ok (is that what it means?)
then ara = ok as well?
then aro = ok as well?
then why do they have different endings? like -seyo, -a, -o etc??
does tha tmake more sense?
If I'm reading this correctly (which is difficult to tell, since romanization of Korean isn't always the same all around), then I think I can help out with the endings.

First off, the word I think you're trying to use is "알다 (al da)." It translates to "to know."

"-seyo" If you mean 세요 (sae yo), that's a polite ending, and can also be a directive, depending on context. This is an example of informal polite form. It's fairly common.

"ara" Informal version of 알다 (al da). This is a form usually used between friends. This is an example of "반말 (ban mal)." Ban mal is essentially informal "impolite" form. It's considered rude to use it with anyone you don't know or people older than you.

"aro" Same thing as above, if I'm reading this correctly. It's just a different pronounciation. It's still ban mal.

Different endings point to different conjugations and different points of grammar, as well as different levels of politeness and formality.

It's difficult to do this solely through English. It makes better sense if you see it written in Korean.

[EDIT]
It seems someone else has already explained this. Ah well. :P
[/quote]

1st. I'd like to say, even though using english characters bugs the hell out of me, that it is a good way to pronounciate.

2nd. Yes, in Korean there's different ways to talk. Its not like english, there's ways to talk to elders/equals/younger.

Its like german also, there's a "Proper" way to talk to adults and like to your friends. Btw, I'm not German, I'm Korean-American. Born in Korea, moved to the States when I was 5. So I can speak/understand Korean well enough, but my vocabulary is limited and writing/reading takes some time for me.

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Post by pc » Mar 14th, '06, 23:00

Here's my two cents worth.

"ara": As someone already mentioned, this is the casual way of saying "to know".

"aro": I, too, think this is just a misheard or mispronounced version of "ara".

"arase-yo": Well, this requires a little bit more explanation. First of all, if it is what I think it is, then I prefer to Romanize it as "ara-suh-yo", since I think that’s closer in pronunciation. Secondly, if it is "ara-suh-yo", then it is NOT the "polite" equivalent of "ara"; Rather it is the polite equivalent of "ara-suh". The polite equivalent of "ara" is "ara-yo". As you can see, there's a rule here: Adding "-yo" to the end of "casualspeak" turns it into "politespeak" (usually). (If you've watched "I'm sorry, I love you", there's a scene where the main actress is trying to teach the main actor the very same rule. I won’t get into the “superpolitespeak” stuff that has to do with the “nida” ending here, as this already is going to be a very long discussion...)

Now, for the difference in meaning between "ara/ara-yo" and "ara-suh/ara-suh-yo". They are similar, but not identical. In fact, they are quite distinct in their use. When someone says "ara" by itself, it translates most closely in English to "I know" with the "I" being implicit, so the better way of writing it would be "(I) know". (By the way, "OK" is DEFINITELY NOT the meaning of "ara": Putting "OK" in the subtitle might make the continuity of the storyline as reasonable as putting "I know", but it is the latter that is actually being said.)

A typical use of it would be something like this:

(person a) I heard that person X is blah blah blah.
(person b) "ara".

In the above conversation, "b" is telling "a" that he/she is already aware of the information, i.e. it’s not news. There's actually a very good example of the use of "ara/ara-yo" in the last episode of "my girl", after the main actress does her "lying performance" to everyone involved. Then, a few scenes later, the main actress ends up talking to actress #2(the tennis pro), while in a different place the main actor is talking to his friend, and the scene keeps on switching back and forth between the two pairs. The main actress uses "ara-yo" when she is explaining to the tennis pro that the main actor “knows” that it's all a lie, and the main actor uses "ara" to tell his friend that the main actress "knows" that he doesn’t believe her lies.

Understanding "ara-suh" requires knowing what the suffix "-suh" does: It denotes some form of completion of the action that it is following in the word order, almost like a past tense. Let me put it this way: Think of "ara" as "The information is already in (my) head". What the "-suh" does is to change this to "The information has now completed its journey into (my) head." Or, in plain terms "(I) got it." In that sense, if anything, "ara-suh" is more like "(I) understand" than "(I) know".

The way it is used would be something like this:

(person a) Hey, be sure to go to the store and pick up items X, Y, and Z. And don't forget to call me after you're done.
(person b) "ara-suh".

In the above conversation, “b” is telling “a” that the information/instruction has “gotten through”.

Finally, something that was left untouched in the discussion after it was brought up: "ara-chi". (I actually prefer "arat-ji", which is somewhat closer to the true pronunciation) This one is actually fairly close to "ara-suh", except that it shows what I would say is a certain bias towards the affirmative. Something like "(I) did get it" or "Of course (I) got it."

This affirmative bias is probably better shown in the question form rather than the statement form. (I forgot to mention that all of these phrases can be either a question or a statement, just depending on the intonation of the last syllable; When the pitch goes up at the last syllable of the sentence, it becomes a question.) Basically, "ara?" means "(do you) know?" "ara-suh?" means "(did you) grasp what was said?" and "arat-ji?" is "(you) did grasp what was said, right?"

So, “ara-suh-yo?” :)

ricexnxfish
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Post by ricexnxfish » Mar 14th, '06, 23:40

go to youtube.com and search for , let's speak korean , theres two kinds i think, thers the old skool one and the newer looking one, i watch the newer looking one, its not perfect, but u can learn alot,

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Childhoodless
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Post by Childhoodless » Mar 15th, '06, 02:12

Wow. pc took an awful long time in explaining the difference between 알아 and 알았어.

Simply put, it's a difference betwen present and past tense. That's all you really need to know. A good English equivalent is "I know," and "I got it (already)." In that sense, "OK" can work too, but literally.

"알어" (aro) isn't necessarily a mispronounciation. It's more like casual impolite speak.

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Post by Néa Vanille » Jan 13th, '08, 10:29

kclass, for the love of God, STOP SPAMMING THE SITE WITH ADVERTISEMENTS! And second, your site doesn't seem very legit if you misspell 주세요, you know.

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Post by kclass » Jan 22nd, '08, 11:10

*Embarassed look*

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Post by Grc733 » Feb 7th, '09, 05:34

Ok I'm trying to learn korean on my own but im having issues forming words i was wondering if anybody had a good website that teaches grammar and spelling because im having such a hard time......... please please

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Post by dima » Feb 28th, '09, 16:54

first, congrats on embarking on the learn Korean journey!

:cheers:

if you want, I have CDs that came with Korean study books, I suppose I could rip them if I haven't already and send you some mp3's... doubt I could be bothered to scan the books though, too much work!

on top of my LMGTFY head, http://www.learnkorean.com/k4fun/k4fun_basic.asp has some mp3's linked... ancientscrips has basic intro to the writing system, http://www.learn-korean.net/learn-korea ... cle-5.html explains syllable structure, if thy googleth thy shalt find all the devil details too I bet. somewere. :mrgreen:

행운을 빕니다.

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Post by Puppet Princess » Feb 28th, '09, 19:33

Grc733 wrote:Ok I'm trying to learn korean on my own but im having issues forming words i was wondering if anybody had a good website that teaches grammar and spelling because im having such a hard time......... please please
Spelling and pronunciation rules.

Neliets
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Learning Korean

Post by Neliets » Oct 12th, '09, 04:31

Hello. Does anyone here know where or how I can very slowly start to learn Korean(on-line).

And have anyone tried, and is there any positive results?

Malboro
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Post by Malboro » Oct 12th, '09, 10:38

Please use search next time. We already have one topic: http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_24431.htm

I think this is best site for learning Korean: http://language.snu.ac.kr/english/pages/SD00023_00.jsp

EDIT: And here you can learn Korean alphabet: http://community.livejournal.com/learn_ ... 27297.html

Malboro
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Post by Malboro » Oct 12th, '09, 10:41

I think this is best site for learning Korean: http://language.snu.ac.kr/english/pages/SD00023_00.jsp

Basuha
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Don't give up!

Post by Basuha » Oct 12th, '09, 13:10

Making out in Korea has been very helpful too me, it's simple every day words you will use in most interaction. It have the curse words for you can know when you being curse at.......or in my case when your roommate is telling you basketball but it really "bastard! He really is an "geoji saekki"

I try Pimseuler as while I think all tools are helpful you just have to find the one that will make it stick for you. By watching drama I now understand what it been say too me for the most part, but I still can speak it fluently. I can do one off words maybe too at the most but a complete sentence sounds like baby talk still. A friend of my told me that because I don't sound it out loud but only IN my head that it pointless I need to sound it out loud

My roommate now only talk to me in Korea and and I have been replying back if I get the punctuation wrong he will correct me and we move on. So if you can find someone to talk to you in Korean and you response back in Korean I think you would be fluently in no time. I don't know if it me being an Bab lo, but when other Korean talk to me it don't sound the same as my roommate so it take me longer to understand others, so keep that in mind don't just depend on the sound in the way the person teaching you speak take in the punctuation as while. Good luck! Fighting

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Post by kazu123 » Dec 10th, '09, 11:24

There is no better then Rosetta Stone! :thumright:

JNixie
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Post by JNixie » Dec 11th, '09, 21:08

Hi, I've started a blog about expressions, idioms, slang etc that I come across in Kdramas, http://korean-idioms-in-drama.blogspot.com/ I'm basically using it to track things and remember them better, but I thought maybe somebody here will find it useful. I've started with Boys over flowers (because it has lot of funny stuff thanks to Junpyo *^.~*) and Only you (because I have a reliable script from a textbook ^.^)

Ethlenn
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Post by Ethlenn » Dec 13th, '09, 11:46

Buy Hollym books/or borrow somehow. They are difficult to learn by yourself, but it's worth it.

Fantastical
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Re: Don't give up!

Post by Fantastical » Jan 18th, '10, 17:36

Basuha wrote:[

My roommate now only talk to me in Korea and and I have been replying back if I get the punctuation wrong he will correct me and we move on. So if you can find someone to talk to you in Korean and you response back in Korean I think you would be fluently in no time. I don't know if it me being an Bab lo, but when other Korean talk to me it don't sound the same as my roommate so it take me longer to understand others, so keep that in mind don't just depend on the sound in the way the person teaching you speak take in the punctuation as while. Good luck! Fighting
Get a Korean roommate......hhhmm..
Thanks for the indirect idea!
:thumright:
I will start looking for one on craigslist.

Ethlenn
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Post by Ethlenn » Jan 18th, '10, 19:27

There is a book called Korean. A Complete Course for the Beginners with mp3. If somebody wants it, I uploaded it on Megaupload, pm me if anybody is interested.

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Post by Fantastical » Feb 11th, '10, 06:52

Ethlenn wrote:Buy Hollym books/or borrow somehow. They are difficult to learn by yourself, but it's worth it.
Hollym books?

Ethlenn
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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 11th, '10, 10:20

Yes, 4 books set: Listening, Writing, Speaking, Reading.
Website:
Hollym Publisher

Fantastical
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Post by Fantastical » Feb 15th, '10, 22:59

Ethlenn wrote:Yes, 4 books set: Listening, Writing, Speaking, Reading.
Website:
Hollym Publisher
My god...
Is your middle name Google? :lol

Ethlenn
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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 16th, '10, 09:25

How did you know??

No, actually I have whole set, keke^^

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Post by Fantastical » Feb 16th, '10, 14:32

Ethlenn wrote:How did you know??

No, actually I have whole set, keke^^
NYAH! :P

Imma get it soon.
You should put out a list of recommended learning tools

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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 16th, '10, 20:44

Declan Dictionary (and flashcards for those who use it, I don't)
Book to learn
Notebook
Pencil, ballpen, fountain pen, brush, whatever
sheets of paper (for practicing hangeul)
CD player or PC to play audio
Paper Dictionary or denshijisho (browse here, here, or here, or just download one here
Patience
Lots of kdrama and variety shows
k-music
Perseverance

I guess that's all.
But remember, there is not a word that is useless!!

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Post by Néa Vanille » Feb 17th, '10, 05:21

I actually recommend the dictionary over at naver.com even over an electronic dictionary. I have one, and while it's very useful for class and when I'm out and about here in Seoul, I always use naver at home. It actually has more (!) definitions and is easier to use.

Link: http://endic.naver.com/

Works 한영 and 영한, just type it in. :-)

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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 17th, '10, 12:30

Yes, I know and use that too, but it's not for a beginner, since the site is in Korean.

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Post by Fantastical » Feb 17th, '10, 20:45

Néa Vanille wrote:I actually recommend the dictionary over at naver.com even over an electronic dictionary. I have one, and while it's very useful for class and when I'm out and about here in Seoul, I always use naver at home. It actually has more (!) definitions and is easier to use.

Link: http://endic.naver.com/

Works 한영 and 영한, just type it in. :-)
I book marked it but I just can't use it. waaay to advaned for lil ol me!

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Korean

Post by ioanna » Feb 18th, '10, 11:18

I am learning now to speak and write in the Korean language. It seems to be difficult for the beginning, but i want to learn it. I am from Romania (Europe) and I know Romanian, English, Spanish and some French... I want to thank you all for the links from this post, I know it will help me. :-)

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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 21st, '10, 16:58

Had you only knew Japanese, it would be easier.
But be strong, and learn!!^^ Nice going!

PS. I posted link on my blog to pdf Krn-Eng dictionary. You can download and print it^^

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Post by ioanna » Feb 21st, '10, 18:48

Ethlenn wrote:Had you only knew Japanese, it would be easier.
But be strong, and learn!!^^ Nice going!

PS. I posted link on my blog to pdf Krn-Eng dictionary. You can download and print it^^
Thank you so much!!! I downloaded the dictionary and also Learning Korean for Beginners. I know that will help in my learning. Thanks again!

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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 21st, '10, 18:51

In case of any questions - I'm here^^
Good luck!

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Post by Fantastical » Feb 23rd, '10, 07:35

Ethlenn wrote:In case of any questions - I'm here^^
Good luck!
Do you know if there are any websites that are like J-List but for Korean products?

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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 23rd, '10, 08:57

Well, there is Yesstyle, but not with those fancy stuff:
http://www.yesstyle.com/en/home.html
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/shopping/products.cfm
This one is the best but in Korean (I guess they have English button, haven't checked):
http://www.gmarket.co.kr/

Koreatown isn't enough? Mehehe^^

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Post by Fantastical » Feb 23rd, '10, 13:39

Ethlenn wrote:Well, there is Yesstyle, but not with those fancy stuff:
http://www.yesstyle.com/en/home.html
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/shopping/products.cfm
This one is the best but in Korean (I guess they have English button, haven't checked):
http://www.gmarket.co.kr/

Koreatown isn't enough? Mehehe^^
it's chock full of karaoke bars, restaurants and a few book stores but that's it.

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Post by Ethlenn » Feb 23rd, '10, 20:01

Bookstores...
文句を言わないでよ!!

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Post by toto rain » Feb 28th, '10, 04:12

Wow
I hope to learn the Korean language quickly
I am currently studying the Korean language but I'm not good
I feel the difficulty of some thing
But with constant practice be easy

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Post by peterrific » Mar 1st, '10, 06:42

I'm actually trying to learn Hangul on my own but obviously I'm having difficulties. Are there any good language schools out there that would be worth my money (which is not enough by the way. :P ) ? I don't think I'll progress on my own.

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Post by Ethlenn » Mar 1st, '10, 20:31

Find private tutor.

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Post by Néa Vanille » Mar 1st, '10, 21:12

peterrific wrote:I'm actually trying to learn Hangul on my own but obviously I'm having difficulties. Are there any good language schools out there that would be worth my money (which is not enough by the way. :P ) ? I don't think I'll progress on my own.
If you're serious, there's also Yonsei online lectures. http://www.yskli.com/lsm_lect.htm They're the most famous school for Korean as a foreign language education in the world.

Can't vouch for their online program, but I did graduate from their regular, offline Korean language program... and learned enough to translate dramas by now. You won't get to that level with 1hr/day online lectures, but it's surely a good start. I think a private tutor may be a better investment once you have the basics down so you can actually talk to your tutor in Korean from lesson 1 onward (the lessons pay off more that way, and I actually know that from experience, being an English tutor for Koreans).

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Post by Neliets » Mar 1st, '10, 21:31

I envy you :(

I started to learn something @ January and still all I know is alphabeth(I know it all). I can write romanizations, some words and about 3 greeting sentences. Though, I know some words from dramas/music but that's clearly not enough. I`d want to study in my own way but I`m unable to, because there is no such thing as Korean - Latvian dictionary. And I don't really know if I can get korean - english dictionary here in Latvia. Learning by PC is pretty hard, actually. I`m losing my determination, to be honest. I love Korean alphabeth, though. I write names/things in korean whenever I remember something. Because of Korean language my school notes looks like a mess.

I think that I actually have to go to Korea and then learn the language. :D

By the way - are there any International Universities where you study first 2 years in english and then last 2 years in Korean language(i don't know if it works like that, i just know that there is that kind of system in International University in Denmark)?

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Post by Néa Vanille » Mar 1st, '10, 22:55

Ah, don't be too envious. I used to be like you -- I went to Korea the year I graduated high school, at 19, but before that, I'd tried very unsuccessfully to teach myself. It's just no fun to learn the basics alone, right? Once I had gotten to a good enough level to enjoy native material, 'studying' didn't feel like studying anymore (I learned a lot -- and still do -- just from watching drama and surfing Korean websites, all the fun things!), but back by myself in my home country... God, it was hard to muster up the motivation.

I just came to Korea after I graduated HS, despite everyone thinking I was crazy. I enrolled at a full-time Korean school (Yonsei), studied there for 1.5 years, and then entered Uni in Korea as a degree-seeking student (it's much easier to enter good unis for foreigners than for Koreans because all the top unis are very concerned about having an 'international image' :roll ). Maybe that would be an idea for you as well? You sound young and in a similar position to me.

The language program cost me about 800 euro per 3 month term, but now as a 'real' student in a Korean uni, I pay very little because of scholarships. But yeah, the 1.5 years I spent studying Korean before I was eligible to enter were a bit costly -- although nowadays they also accept foreigners with a year of language training under their belt.

Perhaps it's worth a thought?

The university program you speak of is the dual degree system some universities employ, I assume. I don't know much about it, but I guess it's a much saner approach than the one I took. XD

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Post by xxGing » Mar 1st, '10, 23:05

You listening to drama's and variety programs will get you to a level of fluent understanding for any language. To actually speak fluently though you need a lot of actual contact, meaning there's only so far you can go without experience.

I don't know Korean personally ( I learned Japanese, aside from that I know Polish as well) but it is the same thing, from what I've seen Japanese and Korean are actually very similar, there are quite a few sentences where you can replace words from both languages word for word and it is still perfectly understandable.

If you want to go to Korea all the more power to you, experiencing different cultures is a wonderful thing, just don't forget your own culture in the mix, balance is important.

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Post by Néa Vanille » Mar 1st, '10, 23:23

Yeah, it was only when I had already reached intermediate level that I started to benefit from watching drama. Once you have a vocabulary of at least a few thousand word, it's very beneficial to have them re-enforced daily through something you enjoy, and you'll also pick up new words from the context.

Without a solid base, there's only so much you can learn from dramas. Most likely, you'll learn greetings, how to call family members and friends (Oppa, Unni, Appa, that kind of thing) and some of semi-expletives (omo! Aigoo! Micheosso?? that kind of thing) -- but that's where it'll probably end. You need a good basic understanding of grammar and vocabulary to benefit from dramas in any meaningful way, I think. (That, or you're just much smarter than me :lol ).

But even so, even just knowing some Korean-for-drama-watchers still impresses Koreans, so it's better than nothing. :-) Really deciding you want to learn Korean (or any language radically different from English) to fluency or even semi-fluency takes a lot of time and dedication, much more than most people are probably willing to give. So I always tell people not to bother unless they're much more dedicated than the average person or are willing to come to Korea, but I can't exactly tell them not to do it when I did the very same thing.

About losing contact with your own culture... well, I certainly feel I've become 'Koreanized' to some extent after my years here, but I just view it as a natural consequence. It's hard, or nearly impossible, to move to another country, learn its language, and not have some of its culture, values and beliefs rub off on you. Not to the point that you enter an identity crisis (I know who I am, where I come from, and who my parents are), but just to the extent that I admit Korea has 'tweaked' me in many ways. This frequently causes conflict between me and the locals here, because how they view me (a pure foreigner) is no longer how I view myself (a partly Koreanized foreigner).

But that's another rant for another topic...

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Post by xxGing » Mar 2nd, '10, 00:04

That's not what I meant by losing touch with your own culture. I mean that there are many people who take up an asian language (mainly Japanese) that start to over embrace the culture of that language, and completely denounce their own culture. I have a friend who is completely obsessed with Japan to the point where he keeps saying that every single thing about the United States is bad. I know quite a few things here are worse off than in Japan, but one thing I really do enjoy about American culture is the open friendliness, you are on a first name basis with just about everyone, it lets off a lot of tension.

That's all I meant, don't become so Korean that you start to think even the things of your native country that you enjoyed before are now bad just because they're different.

I know Japanese just as well as my friend, but sometimes I really just feel like slapping him.

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Post by Néa Vanille » Mar 2nd, '10, 00:59

Oh, I see what you mean, and I agree with you. If I got a penny for every person who said, "I'm gonna go to Japan and live there because it's soooo much better than America/Europe/wherever that person's from"....

To be fair, though, I think that a lot of that is just a youth phase really. Most of us go through a phase in our teenage lives when we think we live in the worst country/city/region in the world, only to become more balanced and objective individuals later on.

Hopefully, anyway.

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Post by basbosa2OO9 » Mar 2nd, '10, 01:48

u can learn korean on utube
let us speak korean the old eps r more usefull than the newer version
it is 60 ep dawnloaded in 2 part the first part reviwe of past ep and new grammer and verbs , the2nd part vocabillary and words
it intresting ep and cover all daily life vocab .
korean languge very easy and one grammer will repeated in verb , noun ,adjective
so, start study and don't stop , watch kdrama while u learn
u will got it ^_*
aja aja fighting
>>>>> :idea:

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Post by RB » Mar 2nd, '10, 02:50

I decided today to join a Korean language course (besides the Japanese one I am taking). I am a fan of Asian horror movies (especially Japanese and Korean, with the K-horror industry being nowadays much more important than the j-horror one) so the advices given in this thread will be pretty useful.

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Post by aility » Mar 8th, '10, 09:39

I started taking Korean course this year, it is basically 2 hours every week! I have to admit that it is really difficult to learn it, especially how things are pronounced. the r/l, b/p, t/d, j/ch etc are not pronounced the way I think they should be...

Is it best to learn how to read things, or listening, or writing? I would prefer to be able to talk, but I think that milestone is waaaaay ahead of me... It is also very difficult to pick up words/sentences from the dramas, as Koreans seem to speak quite fast. Much faster than Japanese...

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Post by makutake » Mar 19th, '10, 21:04

Hi!! I am trying to find two books to learn korean: writing korean for beginners and reading korean for beginners, but in Spain is impossible to obtain them. I was in Korean last year, but I didn't find them in the bookstores I visited.

If someone has this two books, could you share them with me?. I am dying for having them!!!

Thanks in advance for reading this post!! (^___^)

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Post by Ethlenn » Mar 19th, '10, 21:30

You mean Hollym books? They are nowhere on MU or any other links. You have to buy them.

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Korean language learning community

Post by Neliets » Jul 28th, '10, 19:55

Hello there! I wanted to make this kind of topic since I and so many more people are learning Korean these days and want to give it a shot. This can be our training ground ;D Just trying to communicate half English half Korean. Maybe those, who knows Korean better could show newbies, like me, some tricks ;D

To be honest, I just didn't want to spam Recommendation topic ;D

I`ll try to introduce myself. And keep in mind - I am not using any dictionaries. Maybe sometimes I try to find something in google translater.

아녕하세요, 초는 Karl 입니다. I'm not too sure if it was "입" or "임".

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Post by Ethlenn » Jul 28th, '10, 20:10

안녕!
You wrote it correctly cause the ending is: ㅂ니다^^
But: 초 is wrong, should be 저.

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Post by Neliets » Jul 28th, '10, 20:21

Ethlenn wrote:안녕!
You wrote it correctly cause the ending is: ㅂ니다^^
고마워 누나. Don'' really know how to spell Noona correctly but I think I had it right.

I need to get some more ideas what to write here, since my Korean is very poor. I'll try finding the program I used before, it may give me some ideas. ;D

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