Lessons from Dave-seonsaengnim (World of Dave)

Korean L1: Basic Korean + Basic Vocab

I have no fans so I have no one to apologize to for the inconsistency in topics I write (and plan to write) about. I am going to be documenting Dave’s Korean lessons! You can internet-stalk Dave on your own time. Lets get right into the lesson.

Starter Pack

안녕하세요/annyeonghaseyo・Hello (formal)

안녕/annyeong・Hello (informal, not to be used with acquaintances or elders)

감사합니다/gamsahabnida ・Thank you (formal)

고맙습니다/gomapseumnida・Thank you (formal)

고마워요/gomawoyo・Thank you (semi-formal)

감사해요/gamsaheyo・ Thank you (semi-formal)

고마워/gomawo・Thank you (informal)

Miscellaneous Phrases

잠시만요/jamshimanyo・One moment please, “hold up”

괜찮아요/gwaenchanayo・Are you okay?, I’m okay

전화해요/jeonhwaheyo・Call me

전화/jeonhwa ・phone

해요/heyo・to do

배고파요/baegopayo・Hungry?, I’m Hungry

재미있어요/jaemi isseoyo・I’m having fun, It’s fun, Is it fun?

아파요/apayo・It hurts, I’m sick, You sick?

졸려요/jollyeoyo・I’m sleepy, You sleep?

졸려/jollyo・I’m sleepy (formal)

잘자요/jaljayo・Sleep well, Have a nice sleep (only applies if person is about to go to sleep)

알아요/arayo・I know, I know that

Random tangent, but when hyperpolyglot, Luis Miguel Rojas-Berscia, is learning a new language he starts with just the essentials.

The essentials included “predicate formation, how to quantify, negation, pronouns, numbers, qualification — ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ and such. Some clausal operators — ‘but,’ ‘because,’ ‘therefore.’ Copular verbs like ‘to be’ and ‘to seem.’ Basic survival verbs like ‘need,’ ‘eat,’ ‘see,’ ‘drink,’ ‘want,’ ‘walk,’ ‘buy,’ and ‘get sick.’ Plus a nice little shopping basket of nouns. — The New Yorker

Looks like Dave-seonsaengnim covered a couple of these!

Writers notes: For some phrases (ex. baegopayo) whether the word is a statement or question is a matter of tone. Dave briefly explains this in the video, but basically if the tone goes up (ex. baegopayo↑) at the end — issa question (like how you read a question mark in English). If the tone goes down (ex. baegopayo↘︎) its a statement.

Also, if a word ends in “yo” for example, annyeonghaseyo, more often than not it is the formal (and safest) form of the word.

Edit: Read lesson #2 here

Thoughts from The Last Debutante

Written by

Blogger-writer. Fashionista. Graphic Designer. Aspiring polyglot.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade