Learning Korean

Anhyong haseyo. Post Korean related stuff here.
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Verile
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Boning up on Korean

Post by Verile » Sep 11th, '05, 03:44

I know basic Korean, having been exposed to it all my life, but my vocabulary is extremely lacking. I'm using conventional methods to improve, such as college level lesson books, but I'm also seeking creative, entertaining alternatives: watching Kdramas, for instance.

Some things I'm still missing are a detailed dictionary and maybe flashcard type studying. If anyone could recommend where to acquire them, I'd appreciate it. I'm currently looking at Declan's version, but would still prefer something better, if it exists.

Any sites that help with normal conversation would be good too (conversation that occurs between friends as opposed to traveler and native) so I can perfect my grammar. I can ask where the bathroom is but explaining why I liked a particular scene in a movie is beyond me.

Thanks

zdoon
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Post by zdoon » Sep 11th, '05, 05:05

I'm in your shoes, I guess.

The reason why I started watching K drama in the first place was so that I can learn more Korean. Watching tv shows helps a lot with vocabuluary. I couldn't recommend flash cards, etc. However, there is Sogang University and Michigan University. I've been memorizing vocabulary from their lessons. These are the sites:

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

http://www.lsa.umich.edu/asian/korean/intermediate/

A dictionary online:

http://kr.dic.yahoo.com/

This site is great too:

http://www.popjisyo.com/WebHint/Portal_e.aspx

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Gyopo
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Post by Gyopo » Sep 11th, '05, 08:16

I would just recommend what you did to learn your native language. Just Read.
Start off at Elementary school books and work your way up, nothing shameful about it.

Or...I guess you could always look at 만화첵 and compare the English translations and Korean words (although I'm not sure if you have access to these..)

PJB
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Post by PJB » Sep 11th, '05, 10:41

www.amazon.com

Plenty of books there.

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Post by Mythrel » Sep 11th, '05, 12:32

Thx for those links zdoon I am also looking into learning korean..

Gyopo ya you have to start from the beginning :) I remember in grade 10 french class we were going through this silly tape and I asked ym teacher what grade we were learning. She was reluctant at first than admitted something a grade 1 student might do.

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Verile
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Post by Verile » Sep 11th, '05, 21:14

Wow, voice clips and everything. Thanks a lot, zdoon, they look promising.

I agree with you, Gyopo, but I'm reluctant to do it without a comprehensive dictionary. Not that I don't have any but I'm still waiting for the one English/Korean dictionary to end all dictionaries. I don't want to have to sit at my computer desk every time I want to read and translate using online dictionaries.

VisitorQ
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Learning Korean

Post by VisitorQ » Nov 8th, '05, 17:21

Hi,

I have purchased the following books:

Integrated Korean Beginning 1 + 2 (Textbooks and Workbooks)

Making out in Korean

I figured if there are enough people interested I could scan these books in and
release them.

I struck me that there wasn't any Korean language stuff freely available except the 10
unit pimsleur course. (Maybe I wasn't looking in the right place?)

Let me know what you think.

PJB
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Post by PJB » Nov 8th, '05, 17:32

I think if people wanna learn just go buy stuff themselves. It doesn't cost the earth. I dunno, just seems kinda pointless to share them and extremely lazy if you can't go out and get a book or such. :unsure:

Starfire12
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Re: Learning Korean

Post by Starfire12 » Nov 8th, '05, 17:39

Actually so far i've been to lazy to even memorize the language guides on the internet even the ones that have nice audio, so way too little time to study a book. But thanks for the offer.
I'd like to know how hard you found it to learn Korean though.
VisitorQ wrote:Making out in Korean
:w00t:

Is that a typo on your part or did they really call a book that? Cause the title kinda does not sound like learning a laguage is what it's about. :mrgreen:

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Post by VisitorQ » Nov 8th, '05, 17:40

PJB wrote:I think if people wanna learn just go buy stuff themselves. It doesn't cost the earth. I dunno, just seems kinda pointless to share them and extremely lazy if you can't go out and get a book or such. :unsure:

Some books are quite expensive and not always easily available.

"Mastering Korean" costs 45GBP and "Elementary Korean" 53GBP (Amazon UK prices).

I figured if people would download Winter Sonata here rather than just buying the DVD (£53.45 from YesAsia) they would like to do the same with books (if they wanted to learn
korean of course).

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Re: Learning Korean

Post by VisitorQ » Nov 8th, '05, 17:46

Starfire12 wrote:Actually so far i've been to lazy to even memorize the language guides on the internet even the ones that have nice audio, so way too little time to study a book. But thanks for the offer.
I'd like to know how hard you found it to learn Korean though.
I've only just started but the alphabet is very easy to learn. Doens't seem that hard :-)

VisitorQ wrote:Making out in Korean
:w00t:
Starfire12 wrote:Is that a typo on your part or did they really call a book that? Cause the title kinda does not sound like learning a laguage is what it's about. :mrgreen:
That is the correct title. It teaches you Korean slang and swearing ;-)

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Post by WroW » Nov 8th, '05, 20:01

I also just started learning korean. You can learn the basic language and the reading/writing from the net but to really understand korean I would suggest to take classes because the grammer can really be tricky.
And to everyone who says korean is an easy to learn language .... that is so wrong :-) ...the beginning is pretty easy ,you can learn to read Hangul in 1h (well most of it) but than the for us strange sentence structure and grammatik in addidion with hard to remember vocabulary makes it very difficult.
But watching dramas helps to get a feeling for the language :-) but thats all watching dramas helps with :P

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Post by limroom9 » Nov 9th, '05, 00:51

i can speak korean fluently. i would love to help if u need any help:) korean is a hard language compared to english probably because there are so many colloquialisms(?) that are unique to the language.

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Post by 2Quyen » Nov 9th, '05, 01:20

I would love it if you uploaded the books. I'm trying to learn korean as well and right now I'm doing the korean pimsleur. Anything else is greatly appreciated. Afterall, the good things in life are free :lol :lol :cheers: :thumleft:

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Post by Hit_the_Fan » Nov 9th, '05, 01:26

haha i looked through making out in korean a long time ago. it has very interesting sexual requests, and quite vulgar insults, i have yet to actually use them tho. I think theres "making out" books for japanese and other languages as well.

good luck, finding korean learning books was difficult for me, as well, but they're out there. Depending on where you are, some libraries have a very good selection. The one near me has quite a few.

ans
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Post by ans » Nov 9th, '05, 01:28

I would appreciate it very much as well. I have a tape and bk thing, aside from using the web, but its more like a travel thing...so less into everyday verbage. Thanks for the offer.

Is the Korean Pimsleur anything good?

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Post by Spike23 » Nov 9th, '05, 01:30

ans wrote:I would appreciate it very much as well. I have a tape and bk thing, aside from using the web, but its more like a travel thing...so less into everyday verbage. Thanks for the offer.

Is the Korean Pimsleur anything good?
Yea its pretty good

I recommend ppl going to the library,
you don't even have to purchase anything,.

WroW
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Post by WroW » Nov 9th, '05, 01:34

ans wrote:I would appreciate it very much as well. I have a tape and bk thing, aside from using the web, but its more like a travel thing...so less into everyday verbage. Thanks for the offer.

Is the Korean Pimsleur anything good?
Pimsleur isnt bad but I think they only made 10units which isnt enough and they use the very very formal speech. :-)
Best thing is learning hangul and starting to read yourself...there are also books with audio cds which can help you pronounce the words right.
I can also recommend the learning software from declan...espcially their flashcard program is the best vocabulary program out there because they update their vocab list and sort it by how often words get used in korean.

BTW the most famous korean learning book is Elementary Korean...I think.

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Post by Childhoodless » Nov 9th, '05, 08:12

Pimsleur...from personal experience, it's not the greatest teacher.

I had already started formally learning Korean in classes when I got a hold of Pimsleur's Korean. And I thought it'd be nice to compare and contrast the two.

I have to say, Pimsleur is only good if you have no other means of learning the language. Granted, I didn't finish the whole thing; I barely made it through the first fifteen minutes before giving up on it.

If you can, find a different way. I find it's better if you have a strong foundation in knowing a lot of the basics before venturing into sentences with formal/informal forms. Knowing when and how to use formal/informal forms is a big deal. And the first sentence Pimsleur teaches uses formal form, but doesn't tell you it's formal form. It can lead you to presume things that may not necessarily be true. I find that incredibly disturbing. That's why I choose to stay away from the Pimsleur series.

I find the best way to learn is immerse yourself in it. Going to Korea helps tremendously. It forces you to use Korean. You can even enroll in a school that'll teach you Korean.

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Post by skyami0830 » Nov 11th, '05, 22:04

im fluent in korean...so send me any questions if anyone needs help while learnin it ^^
theres just one thing i recommend for those who wanna learn korean
learning how to speak formally FIRST is prolly better than learning how to speak informally
cuz most of the time formal gets around and its not that different from informal either.
you can prolly learn formal first and then get around making a korean friend and then learning informal from the friend. or you dont have to use informal at all
cuz most koreans (if you do go to korea and try to ask people stuff) will get annoyed or pissed off if you talk to them informally the first time you're meeting them anyway. hehe they might forgive you if they can see you're obviously not korean lol

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Post by limroom9 » Nov 12th, '05, 02:01

i'm just wondering but why do u want to learn korean? i speak korean fluently but often thought chinese or japanese would be more useful to learn. feel free to contact me with questions:)

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Post by chitato_80 » Nov 14th, '05, 04:58

limroom9 wrote:i'm just wondering but why do u want to learn korean? i speak korean fluently but often thought chinese or japanese would be more useful to learn. feel free to contact me with questions:)
limroom9, then can you explain the use of "dangshin" ?

I'm interested in learning Korean.. and thanks to the various korean dramas that I've watched I've picked up a lot of phrases. :p Anyway... in the last Kdrama that I watched (Phoenix - Bulsae) I've heard "dangshin" being used a lot. From the subtitle and the use of it I know it means "you". But then there's a couple occasions where it's translated as "Honey".

I've looked it up on the internet but couldn't find anything useful. It just confuse me because I read that it's usually used only between married couples. However in Phoenix I heard it being used a lot, not just between married couples.

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Post by WroW » Nov 14th, '05, 05:03

If you mean this 당신 than it means "you" which you would say to someone equal or inferior.
Well I am not korean so correct me if I am wrong :-) and especially since I am not aware of another meaning for it.

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Post by chitato_80 » Nov 14th, '05, 05:14

Thanks Wrow. I know it means "You".

But is it supposed to be used between married Couples only ?

This is where I read about it : (search for dangshin)
http://efl.htmlplanet.com/kor_lesson.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_language

I swear I heard it used a lot in Phoenix, not just between married couples (finished the series last week) :p .. but now I've watched several episodes of Super Rookie and have yet to hear the word "dangshin" :p

that's why it's just a bit weird to me..

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Post by WroW » Nov 14th, '05, 05:22

Ahh found it ... I didnt know that its only used for your wife or husband...books only teach you that it means you :unsure:

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Post by Scyth3r » Nov 14th, '05, 05:22

danghsin means more like "honey" or "dear" than it does "you." I'm sure "you" was used for translation purposes at times to fit English grammar.

Bascially it's an affectionate way of refering to someone you are close to. (as in a relationship... not family/friends)
Last edited by Scyth3r on Nov 14th, '05, 05:26, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by WroW » Nov 14th, '05, 05:24

Scyth3r wrote:danghsin means more like "honey" or "dear" than it does "you." I'm sure "you" was used for translation purposes at times to fit English grammar.

It's an affectionate way of refering to your significant other.
And I was going to use it to speak with strangers :P ... Thanks for clearing that up.

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Post by chitato_80 » Nov 14th, '05, 05:41

Thanks Scyth3r!

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Post by Childhoodless » Nov 14th, '05, 11:05

Now, don't quote me on this. In fact, those who are more fluent than I am, chime in if I'm wrong (this is one of many words that I'm stil confused with).

But I recall learning that "dangshin," while meaning "you" in terms of affection, it can also be used to mean "you" in an almost derogatory context, like when you're arguing with someone. I don't reallly hear it used in a more casual sense between random people.

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Post by hatshepsout » Nov 14th, '05, 11:34

hi VisitorQ
me i am very intereted by your book, it will be a good to put this book on d addict
i search book like this in france but i don't find one
if you can please :cry: send to me and szcan it
thank you very very much :D
i love you a lot :wub:

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Post by leestern » Nov 14th, '05, 15:23

WroW wrote:
Scyth3r wrote:danghsin means more like "honey" or "dear" than it does "you." I'm sure "you" was used for translation purposes at times to fit English grammar.

It's an affectionate way of refering to your significant other.
And I was going to use it to speak with strangers :P ... Thanks for clearing that up.
About the 당신 Problem (Tangshin):
It caused a discussion about 30 min with my wife: The only place that it is used in a polite way is when married person are taking to each other. If my wife calls me she is using jobo. If she then wants to talk to me and I have e.g. to do something she adresses me as tangshin.
But this is more used between couples in mid-age. Modern and younger couples use Tsagi or equivalent.
In every other situation (I mean taking to stranger or not so close person, even between son and mother (watch Fashion70s, when Peen is taking to his mother) it is a very unpolite form of addressing a person.

I know this sounds very unlogical but if you want to learn Korean, you have to be aware that reading or writing might be easy, but taking is a great hassle.

I am now married to my wife for 11 years and I lived in Seoul for 2.5 years, but this language always surprises me again and again.

A huge problem is when you watch historical dramas like Hur-Jun or Dae-Jang-Geum. Because the language used there, better the way of interaction between adults in former times are so much different to nowadays.

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Re: Learning Korean

Post by leestern » Nov 14th, '05, 15:32

Starfire12 wrote:Actually so far i've been to lazy to even memorize the language guides on the internet even the ones that have nice audio, so way too little time to study a book. But thanks for the offer.
I'd like to know how hard you found it to learn Korean though.
VisitorQ wrote:Making out in Korean
:w00t:

Is that a typo on your part or did they really call a book that? Cause the title kinda does not sound like learning a laguage is what it's about. :mrgreen:
Hi, just a remark how hard it is to learn Korean:

writing reading is easy to learn (the alphabet I learns in 3 days, numbers in one night) , understanding is ok, but the prober taking is a hassle, and I might say that if you donot life in Korea it might be a problem to learn proper talking. For example there are 7 forms of politeness in the Korean language, so you always have to know with whom about whom you are taking, compared with your own social status. ok, level 1 and 7 are not used anymore.
And do not go to Cheju Island. Even my wife has trouble to understand them when they are talking slang.
One positive thing is that all Korean are very happy when you can talk just a few words in Korean, and they excuse a lot of mistakes a foreigner might do.

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Re: Learning Korean

Post by JoSungMo » Nov 16th, '05, 02:47

leestern wrote:
Starfire12 wrote:Actually so far i've been to lazy to even memorize the language guides on the internet even the ones that have nice audio, so way too little time to study a book. But thanks for the offer.
I'd like to know how hard you found it to learn Korean though.
VisitorQ wrote:Making out in Korean
:w00t:

Is that a typo on your part or did they really call a book that? Cause the title kinda does not sound like learning a laguage is what it's about. :mrgreen:
Hi, just a remark how hard it is to learn Korean:

writing reading is easy to learn (the alphabet I learns in 3 days, numbers in one night) , understanding is ok, but the prober taking is a hassle, and I might say that if you donot life in Korea it might be a problem to learn proper talking. For example there are 7 forms of politeness in the Korean language, so you always have to know with whom about whom you are taking, compared with your own social status. ok, level 1 and 7 are not used anymore.
And do not go to Cheju Island. Even my wife has trouble to understand them when they are talking slang.
One positive thing is that all Korean are very happy when you can talk just a few words in Korean, and they excuse a lot of mistakes a foreigner might do.
give some example of 7 forms of politeness...
(I thought there were 4)

p.s do not mix letter C with korean nr 8.. that's bad!

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Re: Learning Korean

Post by kwon » Nov 16th, '05, 16:31

I would love to see some Korean books, until today I have not been able to find any in my country. Even travel guides are rare, at least in the region I live(not that I live in such a rural place or anything hehe).

I just started a few days ago with learning the alphabet and trying to read some text. It would be great if I had some vocabulary(I hate using babelfish or anything similar).

@JoSungMo: Don't you mean mixing C with Korean nr 4?

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Post by limroom9 » Nov 17th, '05, 00:58

yeah, dangshin refers mainly to affection, mainly between lovers. married couples usually say "yuh bo" which i think is used more often than "dangshin".

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Post by davelee » Nov 17th, '05, 06:37

korean is definitely easier to learn than english, its is almost a universally known saying that 'english is the hardest language' i've taught korean for 5 years, and it's true, its gets harder as you become more advanced. however the same goes for every other language

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Post by servantryforgood » Nov 17th, '05, 19:50

hehe. there's this saying

1. "even a dog can master hangeul in 5 days" or something.. .i probably butchered that so badly. heck i guarentee i butchered it. but like, the alphabet is world renowned for its architechture and efficiency. and it sounds pretty to the ear ^^

2. i'm half korean, my mom is korean and speaks korean alot. i've attended a korean church all my life. AND I STILL CANT SPEAK IT PERFECTLY. my noona [guy -> older girl] at my church is tutoring me. she always makes fun of my accent T_T

3. I think there's a few major dialects. 1. Seoul standard style, what you hear in dramas. 2. jaeju craziness style. 3. "satorri" - country dialect, i love this dialect, its so cute. 4. pusan style - it sounds almost chinese to me, i think.

anyway, props for you guys who are trying to learn korean. its a gorgeous language, but the grammar is pretty tough. a really important thing, though, is submersion into the culture. you gotta be forced to speak it to learn it. i learned tons in korea over the summer, but since my church buds speak english, it feels unnecessary to speak korean, unless its to people who just came over. i suggest seeking out some submersion. a korean church is a great place to start, or a korean student org at your school / college, or just a korean market =D

haha ok i'll shut up.

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Post by WroW » Nov 17th, '05, 20:05

davelee wrote:korean is definitely easier to learn than english, its is almost a universally known saying that 'english is the hardest language' i've taught korean for 5 years, and it's true, its gets harder as you become more advanced. however the same goes for every other language
Korean is easier to learn than english ??? Hmmm you know that english is known to be the easiest language ever...I mean cave people had a more complicated way of comunicating :roll

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Post by servantryforgood » Nov 17th, '05, 21:44

woah.. no way
english is practically impossible to learn, unless you start early
since germanic languages use F, V, Th, its really hard especially for koreans to learn English.
and think about it, with all the exceptions to rules, the insanely different conjugation methods, etc., etc., im really impressed when a korean can speak english. we're just really blessed that we grew up speaking it and take it for granted ~

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Post by Childhoodless » Nov 17th, '05, 21:58

I recall a linguistics professor saying that every language is difficult in its own way, whether it be the grammar or the vocabulary, etc etc.

I don't think there's any "easier" language. It will always be more difficult to pick up a second language than it is the first. It's all a matter of perspective.

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Post by Kiruccia » Nov 18th, '05, 02:11

I've started to study korean 2 months ago. I like this language and my teacher!!! *___* He is so beautiful and kind... *___*
Last week I have buy "Elementary Korean" (discounted) and "The korean sounds" (korean pronunciation make me sick!!!) from Amazon.com, and "Minjung pocket dictionary", "Korean grammar for international learners" + workbook from Hanbooks.com. I've spent a lot of money, but I'm really happy!!!
Some interesting links for learn korean language:
http://www.mct.go.kr/hangeul/index.html
http://korean.sogang.ac.kr/
http://english.gg.go.kr/SITE/data/html_ ... 110037.jsp
http://www.learn-korean.net/
http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/lessons/e_index.htm
http://kr.dic.yahoo.com/search/eng/ (on line dictionary)
http://club.tour2korea.com/study (a study group! ^^)

I've required some brochures about Korea on http://www.tour2korea.com , and they have send to me an interesting travel guide. Now, answering a questionary on customer satisfaction, I will receive a gift (korean bookmark) :)

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Post by WroW » Nov 18th, '05, 17:55

servantryforgood wrote:woah.. no way
english is practically impossible to learn, unless you start early
since germanic languages use F, V, Th, its really hard especially for koreans to learn English.
and think about it, with all the exceptions to rules, the insanely different conjugation methods, etc., etc., im really impressed when a korean can speak english. we're just really blessed that we grew up speaking it and take it for granted ~
It might be difficult for koreans because their grammer is almost nothing like english but you should learn german or french and see what difficult means :D

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Post by servantryforgood » Nov 18th, '05, 18:17

hehe
yeah, i think it is difficult for koreans because of the different grammar
but its also hard for english speakers to learn korean because of the same reason
but in all fairness, no language is "easy" to learn =D
but, i think korean is worth the pain. i love korean. i love it so hard.

p.s. i'm LOVIN that kim taehui icon, way too cute.
did you make it?

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Post by WroW » Nov 19th, '05, 13:58

servantryforgood wrote:hehe
yeah, i think it is difficult for koreans because of the different grammar
but its also hard for english speakers to learn korean because of the same reason
but in all fairness, no language is "easy" to learn =D
but, i think korean is worth the pain. i love korean. i love it so hard.

p.s. i'm LOVIN that kim taehui icon, way too cute.
did you make it?
Yes its definitely worth learning it..no matter how hard :-)

Yes I made tbe KTH gif ,the scene is from LSIH.

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Post by kwon_sw_girl » Nov 19th, '05, 23:54

Thanks Kiruccia for those links! :D

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Post by silvertaz » Nov 20th, '05, 16:18

to VisitorQ, yes, please could you share those books with us? that'll be sooo great.

I start learning Korean two months back. In the beginning, (comparing to the language that I've learned: french, german or chinese), it's fairly easy to pick up. But the sentence structure is a bit confusing, since I'm always used to Subject+Verb+Object, not S+O+V.

But I think, in the end, every language will get tougher in the intermediate/advanced level. When u got to this point, your interest plays a big role, cause ppl tend to easily quit as it gets harder. so, keep ur interest to not distracted to the language's complexity and stay focused. <-- at least, this is what I've been telling to myself when learning a language gets tough. :mrgreen:

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Post by limroom9 » Nov 21st, '05, 04:06

WroW wrote:
servantryforgood wrote:woah.. no way
english is practically impossible to learn, unless you start early
since germanic languages use F, V, Th, its really hard especially for koreans to learn English.
and think about it, with all the exceptions to rules, the insanely different conjugation methods, etc., etc., im really impressed when a korean can speak english. we're just really blessed that we grew up speaking it and take it for granted ~
It might be difficult for koreans because their grammer is almost nothing like english but you should learn german or french and see what difficult means :D
i can speak korean, english, and french. korean was my first language and language at home so i speak it fluently without a problem. i'd have to say french was definitely harder to learn than english (all the verb forms, masculine/feminine business, objects, etc). i'd have to imagine that if u were to learn korean as a second or third language it would be pretty difficult. by far i think english is one of the easiest languages to learn.

VisitorQ
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Post by VisitorQ » Nov 21st, '05, 16:32

I see there are one or two people interested in me scanning some Korean learning stuff. I
will scan in the books I mentioned when I have set my digital camera up and got a little time.

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Post by qwertyness » Nov 21st, '05, 17:02

make that three :D

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Post by Hayashi_kun » Nov 21st, '05, 17:23

Language learning is definitely easier when we start from young and with a conducive environment... i speak english and chinese fluently + other dialects (in singapore)
now i can engage in japanese conversations, mostly informal ha...
thanx to everyone providing links and suggestions, im on my way to learn korean!

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Post by kobaybay » Nov 21st, '05, 17:30

oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii how are u guys

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Post by cow » Nov 23rd, '05, 00:50

another way to learn korean is to go out w a native korean! gal or boy!!! even if u have a chance to study/live in korea

do a language exchange eng x kr or whatever u speak

tats y almost all of the chinese n jp [male] students (ie students who r taking cn or jp degree!) at my uni always always go out w a jp or cn mainland gals (who r mainly 1 year exchange students) that it looks to me as thou this "going out business" is part of their (for both parties) degree


cow.

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Post by tsp_uk » Nov 23rd, '05, 20:06

VisitorQ wrote:I see there are one or two people interested in me scanning some Korean learning stuff. I
will scan in the books I mentioned when I have set my digital camera up and got a little time.
Thank you very much VisitorQ, I am very interested what Intergrated Korean will be like as I have heard many people recommending it. Guess I will have a chance to review it before buying it. Thanks for taking your time to help others learn Korean :cheers:

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Post by WroW » Nov 23rd, '05, 20:08

Thanks VisitorQ ,I would be interested too :-)

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Post by skul1gurl » Nov 25th, '05, 04:43

its definitely harder learning korean than english...i have been trying to learn korean and gosh its difficult if you r doing it self learning....english very easy to master....

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Post by becu » Nov 25th, '05, 05:02

i'm learning Korean right now. I have 2 korean friends teach me.. ..hehe.. ..
You can only see the result if you really want to learn it! :)
I got the alphabet down after 2 days. Man! :D

Good luck guys!

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Post by servantryforgood » Nov 25th, '05, 18:25

everyone who says "korean is hard and english is easy" probably grew up speaking english... i'd respect that view if it was from someone who grew up speaking a completely different language.

also, my tutor and i, last night, started reading the great gatsby, in korean. oh god that was hard... our aim was to get done 3 paragraphs.. and we only did two.. hahaha. man, speaking it is so different from reading it -_- cuz they'res no shortcuts.. huk...

but i still love korean ~ im saving up this year to go to korea next winter to stay with some family.. but i need to save up bare minimum 1000, i think going price is like 1500 round trip T_T

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Post by Jin91 » Nov 26th, '05, 20:16

well.. I grew up in america and I dont think korean is that hard to learn. (even though I'm not fluent) but I guess maybe its becuase I'm korean so my whole family is korean and they speak it all the time

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Post by joonggook » Nov 30th, '05, 01:44

if u live in LA, you can go to classes at kccla (korean cultural center of LA) for $40 and they have every level from beginner to advanced and u move up at your own pace. paying $40 to learn how to speak and read korean...pretty darn cheap....plus, the teachers give you certain cultural nuances of koreans which is a big help when u understand how koreans think and so things.

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Childhoodless
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Post by Childhoodless » Nov 30th, '05, 04:49

Is that $40 a lesson, or what? Got any more information on that program, joonggook?

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Post by pdk001 » Nov 30th, '05, 09:37

i will help you learning korean if i can explain in english

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Post by Steps- » Dec 1st, '05, 20:09

i wish to learn korean language too .. anyone can teach me in english :wub:

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Post by marks » Dec 1st, '05, 20:32

I would like to know if Korean language is more difficult than others asian languages , such as chinese , or others southerns asia language. I do know that japanese language is more ease to understand and speak because they way of speak is kind a slow comparate to the chinese and korean .

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Post by albarosa » Dec 1st, '05, 20:57

I think English is the hardest language to learn. Of course growing up in an English speaking country it seems easy, but I speak Japanese and English and if you look at all the grammar Japanese is just so easy compared to English because English has so many ridiculous rules that are exceptions or do not make sense. I don't really know about other European languages, except a little German. I learned some French before but I forgot all of it so easily. Anyway, I also really want to learn Korean and I heard the structure is similar to Japanese. Is this true? I do not have much time so I was wondering if I could pick up the basic grammar fairly quickly.

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Post by kwon_sw_girl » Dec 2nd, '05, 19:29

Is anyone willing to tutor me in some Korean lessons? I want to learn some Korean so bad!

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Post by Néa Vanille » Dec 2nd, '05, 20:00

English is indeed a very easy language, grammar-wise. In my experience, Romantic and Slav languages are a TON harder to learn, and German is ridiculous in its grammar anyway. My native language is German and I learned English, Italian and French in high school. Take my advise and stay away from Italian, you get the exceptions of the exceptions of the exceptions. :goggle:

I don't speak any Asian languages, so I have a hard time comparing (even though my Japanese boyfriend tries to teach me whenever he feels like it (which isn't often)) but I always got the impression that Korean was a **** to pronounce.

I have a couple of Korean friends and I once asked them to teach me some easy Korea. So we decided that I should learn how to say 'mother', 'father', grandfather', etc. When it was my turn to pronounce the Korean word for grandfather (hal-ah-beo-ji), my friend spontaneously broke into laughter. The reason? Not knowing the difference between beo-ji and bo-ji I had pronounced the last syllable in grandfather like boji.

Boji is what women have between their legs.

I STILL can't pronounce grandfather without saying grandvagina. :salut:

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Post by WroW » Dec 2nd, '05, 20:14

Néa Vanille wrote:German is ridiculous in its grammar anyway. My native language is German and I learned English, Italian and French in high school.
So true if I it wouldnt have been my native language I would have never been able to learn that strange grammer.
Boji is what women have between their legs.
I STILL can't pronounce grandfather without saying grandvagina. :salut:
:lol I didnt know that...but they really do sound the same...I guess the koreans did that to have a good laugh at foreigners :-)

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Post by Childhoodless » Dec 2nd, '05, 23:04

When it was my turn to pronounce the Korean word for grandfather (hal-ah-beo-ji), my friend spontaneously broke into laughter. The reason? Not knowing the difference between beo-ji and bo-ji I had pronounced the last syllable in grandfather like boji.

....

I STILL can't pronounce grandfather without saying grandvagina. :salut:
Don't worry too much about that. Sure, it's a no-no for Koreans, but you're still learning. Pronounciation of vowels can be a hassle sometimes.

But there are times when Koreans can do the same thing. Many Koreans have a hard time distinguishing between the English words "lives" and "leaves." Not to mention the Rs and Ls, much like the Japanese "R" and "L", are mixed. Also, there's no "f" or "v" sounds, which drives me up the walls whenever I hear the word "video." From a native Korean's lips, it's more like "bideo."

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Post by Kiruccia » Dec 2nd, '05, 23:58

Néa Vanille wrote:English is indeed a very easy language
-_- But for me is very hard!!!!!!!!! ...But I have not never studied it at school. I have studied only French, and now Japanese and Korean.
Néa Vanille wrote:In my experience, Romantic and Slav languages are a TON harder to learn
It's true... I've tried to learn Czech, but it's very hard...
Néa Vanille wrote:Take my advise and stay away from Italian, you get the exceptions of the exceptions of the exceptions. :goggle:
Davvero? :D
My teacher of Korean is learning Italian... but it becomes crazy with the verb "To go" (Andare =
1st singular person = io vado
2nd singular person = tu vai
3rd singular person = egli va
1st plural person = noi andiamo
2nd plural person = voi andate
3rd plural person = essi vanno :D)
Néa Vanille wrote:I don't speak any Asian languages, so I have a hard time comparing (even though my Japanese boyfriend tries to teach me whenever he feels like it (which isn't often)) but I always got the impression that Korean was a **** to pronounce.
YES!!!!! -_-
Néa Vanille wrote:I have a couple of Korean friends and I once asked them to teach me some easy Korea. So we decided that I should learn how to say 'mother', 'father', grandfather', etc. When it was my turn to pronounce the Korean word for grandfather (hal-ah-beo-ji), my friend spontaneously broke into laughter. The reason? Not knowing the difference between beo-ji and bo-ji I had pronounced the last syllable in grandfather like boji.

Boji is what women have between their legs.

I STILL can't pronounce grandfather without saying grandvagina. :salut:
ROTFL!!!!

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Post by Néa Vanille » Dec 3rd, '05, 01:23

What I hated the most about Italian was saying like: She told me she would go to school or similar indirect speeches and questions. It's NUTS. :blink

Italian is also hard because it has the broadest vocabulary out of all Romantic languages (due to the fact that Italy became a country fairly recently and the different regions are still quite diverse). They are like at least 3 different words you can use for one English word.

Italian is nuts. :lol (but, you got some good-looking men down there :whistling: )

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Post by Kiruccia » Dec 3rd, '05, 10:55

Néa Vanille wrote:What I hated the most about Italian was saying like: She told me she would go to school or similar indirect speeches and questions. It's NUTS. :blink)
:D
Néa Vanille wrote:Italian is also hard because it has the broadest vocabulary out of all Romantic languages (due to the fact that Italy became a country fairly recently and the different regions are still quite diverse). They are like at least 3 different words you can use for one English word.
In Japanese it is the same... for one Italian word, there are often many translations in Japanese, with various "shadings" of meant... @_@
Néa Vanille wrote:Italian is nuts. :lol (but, you got some good-looking men down there :whistling: )

:D
But i prefer asians :wub:

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Post by knuts » Jan 7th, '06, 23:29

I was not sure in which thread to post this, but I found a Korean school, so for those living near Rotterdam in the Netherlands and interested in learning Korean:

Saturday: 09:30-13:00 hrs
Verhulstlaan 21
Rotterdam

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Post by bioshiva07 » Jan 8th, '06, 21:31

i found the best site for learning korean--www.teenkorean.net

it's awesome. i've learned how to write and read in hangeul. but i'm not sure if it fully teaches grammar. it's set up like a textbook--learning phrases, etc. but no grammar yet. maybe it's because i'm just getting started.

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Post by kwon » Jan 9th, '06, 01:12

knuts wrote:I was not sure in which thread to post this, but I found a Korean school, so for those living near Rotterdam in the Netherlands and interested in learning Korean:

Saturday: 09:30-13:00 hrs
Verhulstlaan 21
Rotterdam
That sounds like the same schedule as the Chinese school I used to go to :-)
Too bad I don't live close to Rottie :cry: , I would definitely go there if I did live nearby...

And thanks to bioshiva07! I'll go and see how wonderful it is :lol

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Post by vincci » Jan 13th, '06, 19:20

hey i just got very interested in korean and am trying to learn it now. however the only words i know are kamsahamida and saranghaeyo.lol. but i came upon this site http://www.langintro.com/kintro/index.htm which teaches you the language and even teaches you how to write and stack korean alphabet and vowels together. i am learning from there now and it helps quite abit. i dont know whether it helps you, but its something i want to share(:

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