Lesson 38: Because: ~기 때문에

Common Usages:
주식투자자 = stock investor
개미투자자 = a person who only invests a small amount of money on stocks
투자자를 모집하다 = to recruit investors
해외투자자 = foreign investors

Examples:
주식에 투자하는 많은 사람들이 돈을 잃어요 = Many people lose money investing in stocks

투자자가 없기 때문에 우리는 다른 방법으로 할 거예요
= We will do it another way because there are no investors

주식투자자는 항상 세계 금융 상황에 관심을 가져야 해요
= Stock market investors always need to be aware/interested in the global financial situation

Common Usages:
주식시장 = stock market
주식을 매매하다 = to buy and sell stocks
주식을 사다 / 매수하다 = to buy stocks
주식을 팔다 / 매도하다 = to sell stocks
세계주식시장 = world stock market
한국주식시장 = Korean stock market
주식이 오르다 = for stock (prices) to go up
주식이 떨어지다 = for stock (prices) to go down

Examples: 제가 산 주식은 좀 비쌌어요 = The stocks I bought were a bit expensive
주식을 많이 샀기 때문에 돈이 없어요 = I don’t have any money because I bought a lot of stocks
주식에 투자하는 많은 사람들이 돈을 잃어요 = Many people lose money investing in stocks
주식투자자는 항상 세계 금융 상황에 관심을 가져야 해요 = Stock market investors always need to be aware/interested in the global financial situation

Common Usages:
세계주식시장 = world stock market
한국주식시장 = Korean stock market

Examples:
주식시장 때문에 요즘에 스트레스를 많이 받아요
= I am very stressed these days because of the stock market

세계주식시장은 경제 상황에 따라 좋을 수도 있고 나쁠 수도 있어요
= The world stock market can get better or get worse depending on the economic situation

한국주식시장은 작년에 상황이 좋지 않아서 많은 투자자들이 돈을 잃었어요
= Many investors lost money last year because the (situation of the) Korean stock market wasn’t good

Examples:
교복 때문에 아주 더워요 = I’m really hot because of my school uniform
저는 매일 교복 차림으로 학교에 갔어요 = I went to school every day wearing my uniform
학생들이 교복을 입기 때문에 다 똑같은 옷을 입었어요 = All the students wore exactly the same clothes because they wear uniforms

Examples:
그 여자가 여신 같기 때문에 남자들은 그녀를 다 좋아해요 = She’s like a goddess, so all the boys like her

저 여학생은 우리대학교에서 가장 유명한 여신이야
= That (female) student is the most popular girl (“goddess”) at our university

이 연예인은 한때 모든 남자들이 여신이라고 생각한 연예인이에요
= At one time, this celebrity was a celebrity that all men thought was a goddess

Common Usages:
별명을 짓다 = to nickname (to make/give somebody a nickname)

Examples:
별명 때문에 너의 진짜 이름을 깜빡했어 = I forgot your real name because of your nickname
저는 초등학교 때 많은 별명이 있었어요 = In elementary school, I had a lot of nicknames
슬기는 사람들에게 어울리는 별명을 잘 지어줘요 = Seulgi gives people nicknames that suit them well

Common Usages:
대기업 = big company (like Samsung, LG, Kia, etc…)
중소기업 = small and medium enterprises
기업문화 = “company culture” – the idea of always working late and going to staff dinners in Korea
기업에 입사하다 = to join a company

Examples:
제가 처음부터 그 기업에 투자하지 않았기 때문에 돈을 많이 못 벌어요
= I don’t earn that much money because I didn’t invest in that company from the beginning

많은 사람들이 대기업에 입사하기 위해 열심히 준비해요
= Many people prepare a lot (hard) to enter/get hired by a big company

전세계에는 무수한 수의 기업이 있지만 사람들이 가고 싶은 기업은 한정되어 있어요
= There are countless companies in the world, but there are a limited number of companies that people want to go into

Common Usages:
현실 세계 = real world
현실적이다 = realistic
현실을 부정하다 = to deny reality
현실을 부인하다 = to deny reality
현실을 외면하다 = to turn one’s head from reality (to put one’s head in the sand)
현실을 직시하다 = to face the reality

Examples:
우울증에 걸린 사람들은 보통 현실을 부인해요 = People who have depression often deny reality

현실을 직시하고 앞으로 나아가는 것은 중요해요
= It is important to face reality and to keep moving forward

엄마가 현실을 그냥 부정할 것 같기 때문에 말을 안 할 거예요
= I’m not going to say anything (to mom) because she’s probably just going to deny the reality

Notes: When exercising, you can talk about one’s “form” or “posture” using 폼 or 자세.

Common Usages:
폼을 잡다 = to pose
폼이 나다 = to look cool, to look nice

Examples:
폼이 좋네! = Your form is good!

십대 남자아이들은 여자아이들 앞에서 멋진 폼을 잡는 것을 좋아해요
= Teenage boys like to make cool poses in-front of girls

선글라스를 쓰면 멋있어 보이고 폼이 나기 때문에 저는 자주 선글라스를 써요
= When I wear sunglasses, I look cool so I wear them often

Notes: 제사 is a tradition in Korea where family members gather and pay respect to ancestors who passed away (usually one’s father or grandfather). Families usually gather and prepare a bunch of food and it is typically performed on the anniversary of the ancestor’s death and the two major Korean holidays추석 and 설날.

Common Usages:
제사상 = the table that the prepared food is placed on during 제사
제사를 지내다  = to do 제사 (지내다 is the verb that is used with 제사)
제사상을 준비하다 = to prepare the table for 제사

Examples:
한국에서는 매년 2번씩 제사를 지내요 = In Korea, 제사 is observed twice every year
우리는 제사 때문에 할아버지 집에 갔어요 = We went to our grandfather’s house because of 제사
추석에 제사상을 준비하기 위해 친척들이 모두 아침 일찍 큰집으로 모여요 = During Chuseok, in order to prepare the table for 제사, family members (relatives) all meet at the “big house” (the house of the oldest son) early in the morning

Notes: Words ending in ~아/어지다 are often passive words that have an active ~아/어뜨리다 equivalent. (Note that this is not the grammatical principle ~아/어지다 that gets added to adjectives). For more words like this, you can see Lesson 105.

Words ending in ~아/어지다, just like any passive verb cannot act on an object. Rather, it describes that something occurs – usually without indicating who/what caused the action to occur. For example:

병이 탁자에서 떨어졌다 = The bottle fell from the table

However, words ending in ~아/어뜨리다 have a subject (which is usually a human, but not always) that cause something to happen to an object/person.  For example:

나는 병을 떨어뜨렸다 = I dropped the bottle

Examples:
깜짝 놀라서 들고 있던 접시를 거의 떨어뜨릴 뻔 했어요
= I was very surprised, so I almost dropped the plate that I was holding

저는 어제 핸드폰을 떨어뜨려서 이제 통화가 안돼요
= I dropped my phone yesterday so I can’t talk on the phone now (because it is broken)

유리병을 떨어뜨려서 바닥에 유리조각이 많으므로 걸을 때 조심하세요
= Be careful when you are walking, as I dropped a bottle, so there are lots of glass pieces on the ground

The noun form of this word (“제안”) translates to “a proposal.”

Common Usages:
아이디어를 제안하다 = to propose/suggest an idea
의견을 제안하다 = to propose /suggest an idea/opinion

Examples:
오늘 공원에 가고 싶지 않았기 때문에 저는 다른 것을 제안했어요
= I didn’t want to go to the park today so I suggested something different (a different thing)

오늘 회의에서는 새로운 프로젝트에 대한 의견을 제안해 주세요
= In today’s meeting, please suggest an opinion about the new project

많은 사람들이 좋은 아이디어를 제안했지만 채택된 아이디어는 없었어요
Many people suggested good ideas, but there was no idea that was chosen/selected

The noun form of this word (“투자”) translates to “an investment.”

Common Usages:
주식 투자를 하다 = to invest in stocks
미래를 위해 투자하다 = to invest for the future

Examples:
투자를 할 때 모아 놓은 돈이 있으면 좋아요
= When you invest, it is good if you have money saved up

학생들이 할 수 있는 가장 큰 미래를 위한 투자는 지금 공부를 열심히 하는 거예요
= The biggest investment students can make for their future is studying hard now

제가 처음부터 그 기업에 투자하지 않았기 때문에 돈을 많이 못 벌어요
= I don’t earn that much money because I didn’t invest in that company from the beginning

The noun form of this word (“부정”) translates to “denial.”

Common Usages:
현실을 부정하다 = to deny reality
사실을 부정하다 = to deny facts
부정적이다 = negative, pessimistic

Examples:
그 남자는 자기가 한 일을 부정했어요 = That man denied what he did

엄마가 현실을 그냥 부정할 것 같기 때문에 말을 안 할 거예요
= I’m not going to say anything (to mom) because she’s probably just going to deny the reality

경제 상황이 좋지 않을수록 더욱 많은 사람들이 현실을 부정해요
= As the economic situation gets worse and worse, more and more people reject reality

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “되집따”

Common Usages:
기억을 되짚다 = to look back on old memories

Examples:
우리가 과거를 되짚어 볼 것이기 때문에 사진을 가져왔어요
= We are going to be looking back at old times, so I brought some pictures

기억을 되짚어 어젯밤에 일에 대해 생각해 봤지만 기억이 잘 나지 않았어요
= I reviewed my memory of last night’s events, but it’s not coming back to me well

Common Usages:
결정을 망설이다 = to hesitate a decision
말을 망설이다 = to hesitate one’s speech

Examples:
많은 사람들이 어느 대학교에 갈지를 망설여요 = Many people hesitate about which university to go to

하지만 민호는 내가 자기에게 관심이 없다고 생각했기 때문에 망설이고 있었다고 했다.
But, because Minho thought that I would not be interested in him he was hesitating

대학교에 갈지 안 갈지 많이 망설였기 때문에 대학교에 갈 기회를 놓쳤어요
= Because I hesitated a lot about going to university or not, I missed the opportunity to go to university

Common Usages:
꼼꼼히 세수하다 = to clean up/freshen up thoroughly

Examples:
세수를 하는 것이 귀찮기 때문에 안 했어요 = I didn’t wash my face because it is annoying
제가 세수를 하지 않았기 때문에 얼굴이 더러워 보여요 = My face looks dirty because I didn’t wash it
꼭 저녁에 잠을 자기 전에 세수를 해야 해요 = Before you go to sleep at night, you must wash your face

세수를 아직 못 했기 때문에 잠깐 화장실에 갈 거예요
= I haven’t washed my face yet, so I’m going to go to the washroom for a second

세수를 꼼꼼히 하지 않으면 얼굴에 여드름이 생길 수도 있어요
= If you don’t wash your face thoroughly, you could have pimples come up

Common Usages:
긴급통화 = emergency phone call

Examples:
지금 공부를 하고 있기 때문에 너랑 통화하고 싶지 않아
= I don’t want to talk with you on the phone because I’m studying now

엄마가 전화를 갑자기 끊었어요. 즉 저랑 통화하기 싫어하는 것 같아요
= Mom suddenly hung up the phone. In other words, it seems that she doesn’t want to talk with me (on the phone)

요즘에는 사람들이 컴퓨터로도 통화할 수 있어요
= These days, people can also talk over (using) computers

Notes: Words ending in ~아/어지다 are often passive words that have an active ~아/어뜨리다 equivalent. For more words like this, you can see Lesson 105.

Words ending in ~아/어지다, just like any passive verb cannot act on an object. Rather, they describe that something occurs – usually without indicating who/what caused the action to occur. For example:

병이 탁자에서 떨어졌다 = The bottle fell from the table

Common Usages:
시험에 떨어지다 = to fail a test
체온이 떨어지다 = for one’s body temperature to drop
인기가 떨어지다 = for the popularity of something to drop
(some sort of item)이 떨어지다 = to run out of something

Examples:
병이 탁자에서 떨어졌다 = The bottle fell from the table
애기는 높은 소파에서 떨어졌어요 = The baby fell from the high sofa
가을에는 낙엽이 많이 떨어져요 = In the fall, a lot of leaves fall to the ground
그녀가 시험에 떨어졌다는 소문을 들었어요 = I heard a rumor that she failed the test

2월이기 때문에 비행기표 가격이 떨어졌어요
= The prices of flights dropped because it is February

우리가 만든 드라마의 시청률이 떨어졌다니 너무 실망스러워요
= I’m very disappointed that the ratings for the drama we made dropped

날개가 위로 움직이면 비행기가 떨어져요
= When/if the wings move up, the plane drops

추운 곳에 오랫동안 있으면 체온이 떨어져요
= If you stay in a cold place for a long time, your body temperature drops

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “북쩍꺼리다”

Common Usages:
사람들로 북적거리다 = to be crowded with people

Examples:
명동은 항상 관광객들로 북적거려요 = Myeong-dong is always packed with tourists

거리가 아주 북적거리기 때문에 우리는 밖에 나가고 싶지 않아요
= We don’t want to go out because the streets are very crowded

북적거리는 곳에 가면 소지품을 잃어버리지 않게 주의해야 해요
= You need to be careful that you don’t lose your personal belongings when you go to a crowded place

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “귀찬타”

Notes: It’s hard to translate 귀찮다 perfectly to English. It refers to the feeling that one gets when doing something annoying, cumbersome or tedious.

Common Usages:
만사가 귀찮다 = to be annoyed generally at life and to not want to do anything

Examples:
세수를 하는 것이 귀찮기 때문에 안 했어요
= I didn’t wash my face because it is annoying

가끔씩은 밥을 먹는 것도 귀찮을 때가 있어요
= Sometimes even eating (rice) is annoying

자꾸 말을 거는 남동생 때문에 집에 오면 너무 귀찮아요
= It is annoying coming home because of my brother who keeps talking to me

Notes: The word 고르다 is actually an adjective, but it is very commonly used as an adverb as 고르게.

Common Usages:
고르게 나눠주다 = to divide evenly
고르게 배분하다 = to distribute evenly
고르게 바르다 = to spread evenly (like a lotion or sauce)

Examples:
식빵에 잼을 고르게 발라야 더욱 맛있어요 = Only if you spread jam evenly on bread is it delicious
밥을 고르게 나눠 주지 않으면 애들이 싸워요 = If you don’t divide the food evenly, the kids will fight

애기들에게 과자를 고르게 안 줬기 때문에 많이 받지 못한 애기들은 울었어요
= I didn’t give the candy to the babies evenly, so the babies that didn’t get a lot cried

어제 번 돈을 친구들과 고르게 배분하기 위해 정확하게 계산을 했어요
= In order to distribute the money that we earned yesterday with friends evenly, I calculated it precisely