LESSON NOTES

Beginner #1
Self-Introductions

CONTENTS
2
2
2
2
3
3
5
6

Korean Hangul
Romanization
English
Vocabulary
Sample Sentences
Grammar
Pronunciation
Cultural Insight

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KOREAN HANGUL
1.

(1) KEITH:

? Keith. .

2.

(2):

? . .

ROMANIZATION
1.

(1) KEITH:

Annyeonghaseyo? Jeoneun Keith-imnida. Cheoeum

boepgesseumnida.

2.

(2) YUNSEOL:

Annyeonghaseyo? Jeoneun Yunseol-imnida. Cheoeum

boepgesseumnida.

ENGLISH
1.

(1) KEITH:

Hello. I am Keith. Its nice to meet you.

2.

(2) YUNSEOL:

Hello. I am Yunseol. Its nice to meet you.

VOCABULARY
Hangul

R omanization

English

C lass

annyeonghaseyo

Hello.

expression

jeo

I (humble)

noun

neun/eun

topic marking particle

particle

ida

to be

verb

haksaeng

student

noun

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cheoeum
boepgesseumnida.

Its nice to meet you.

SAMPLE SENTENCES
. .

annyeonghaseyo. cheoum beopgesseumnida.

jeoneun gimgyeongmiimnida.

"Hello. How do you do?"

"I am Kyoungmi Kim."

! !

uwa! hangugida.

gyeongwoo ssineun haksaengimnida.

"Wow! It's Korea!"

"Kyoungwoo is a student."

. .
annyeonghaseyo. cheoum beopgesseumnida.

"Hello. How do you do?"

GRAMMAR
This lesson introduced a few standard greetings that can be used when meeting someone for
the first time. The following are a few notes that go more in-depth into these greetings, as well
as some important grammar points related to the lesson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Vocabulary Focus #1 - Hello - ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Korean greeting - ? (annyeonghaseyo?) has the literal meaning of "Are you at
peace?" But this is used as same as "Hello" in English. This can be used during the morning,
day, and evening, and is used for people who are on formal or polite speaking terms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Vocabulary Focus #2 - It's Nice to Meet You -
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Its nice to meet you - The expression (cheoeum boepgesseumnida) literally

means "I'm meeting you for the first time," but is translated as "Its nice to meet you." This is
used when meeting someone for the first time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Grammar Point #1 - The Copula -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Identifying People and Things Using the Korean Copula (Part I) - The affirmative Korean
copula the verb expressing to be is (ida). When is conjugated in the present
tense and expressed for use in a formal context, it changes into (imnida). Note that the
speakers used (imnida) (See line 1: Keith.) in this conversation.
(ida) is the Korean affirmative copula. This is roughly equivalent to the English verb "to
be." Using (ida) is the most useful and basic way to identify people and objects. An
example of a sentence is (Subject and particle) + [Noun]+. This expresses "(Subject)
is [noun]." If the subject is not included in the sentence, the subject must be inferred.
Note: (ida) only expresses equation, definition, identification, or description. But it is not
existential. Essentially, (ida) is used much like the English verb "to be" in all ways except
expressing existence. Korean has a separate word that expresses existence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Grammar Point #2 - The Formal Declarative Sentence Ending - /
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (imnida) is the copula conjugated into the present tense, and in the formal politeness
level.
---------------------------- Construction
----------------------------To conjugate (ida) using this sentence ending, we take the dictionary form of the copula
(ida) and remove (da) to get the verb stem, (i). From there we add (mnida).
(i) + (mnida) = (imnida). For verb stems that end in vowels we attach
(mnida), such as the case is with (ida), the copula. For verb stems that end in
consonants, we attach (seumnida).
Using (imnida) is the most useful and basic way to identify people and objects. See the
sentence structure below:

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Noun 1() Noun 2.

Note that () is called the topic particle and placed after a noun to make it the topic under
discussion. Using the topic particle is one way to designate a noun as the topic of a particular
sentence.

I am Yunseol.
In the sentence above, (I) was Noun 1 and (Yunseol) was Noun 2. We identified I as
Yunseol.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Grammar Point #3 - Dropping the "I"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------As is often done in Korean, when the meaning can be clearly derived from context, dropping
(jeoneun), which means I with the topic particle, is acceptable in the conversation. No
significant changes occur in translation or meaning. See the example below:
Before:
[].
Jeoneun [ireum] imnida.
I am [name].
After:
[].
[ireum] imnida.
I am [name].
Likewise, could have been dropped from our conversation as well:
(1) Keith? Keith. .
(2) ? . .
(1) Keith: Hello, how do you do? I am Keith. Its nice to meet you.
(2) Yunseol: Hello, how do you do? I am Yunseol. Its nice to meet you.
In many cases, the dropping of subjects, or topics can be done for many sentences, not just
the pronoun (jeo - I).

PRONUNCIATION TIPS
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 (imnida), the formal form of the copula, is typically spelled with a "" which makes a b/
p like sound. But because of the proceeding consonant, "" (n), "" (b) changes to "" (m).
This is a natural phonetic change. These phonetic changes occur when two consonants
meet. Most of these phonetic changes are natural when spoken at natural speed.
Beginner Lesson #1
level:newbie
tags: self introduction, basic greetings, manners
grammar: copula affirmative
(1) Keith: ?
Keith.
.
(2): ?
.
.
Listen to the entire conversation.

CULTURAL INSIGHT
In Korean culture, it is customary for one to bow to another when greeting someone with
? The bow is performed and the spoken greeting stated, simultaneously. Bowing is a
gesture of respect and generally divided into three types: informal, formal, and very formal.
The angle at which one bows increases (increased stooping) as the situation becomes more
formal. A quick greeting with a peer would require a very slight bow. A nod would even suffice
in this kind of informal situation. A formal conversation with strangers, like the one featured in
todays lesson, would require a formal bow (~15 degrees). A meeting with a potential set of
Korean in-laws would most certainly call for very formal bow

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