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To know (how to): ~ㄹ/을 줄 알다
As you know: ~알다시피
Vocabulary
Nouns:
풀 = grass
Common Usages:
풀밭 = a grassy field
풀을 베다 = to cut the grass
Examples:
아빠가 풀을 이미 벤 줄 알았어요
= I thought dad already cut the grass
사람들이 나무뿌리를 다 파내서 여기 있는 게 풀뿐이야
= People dug up all of the roots of trees, so the only thing left here is grass
나는 멀리서 기린 네 마리가 천천히 풀을 먹고 있는 것을 봤다. 기린은 내가 사진에서 본 것처럼 목이 매우 길었다. 내 목과 비교해 보면 열 배는 더 긴 것 같았다.
= From far away, I saw four giraffes slowly eating grass. The giraffes, just like I saw in pictures, had necks that were very long. If you compared it to my neck, it would probably be ten times longer.
단식 = a singles match (in sports)
Examples:
그 선수가 단식 테니스만 잘하는 줄 알았어요
= I thought that player was only good at singles tennis
단식경기인지 복기경기인지에 따라 전략을 다르게 짜야 해요
= You need to strategize differently depending on if the match is singles or doubles
주거 = place of living, dwelling, residence
Common Usages:
주거지역 = residential area
주거환경 = residential environment
Examples:
제가 사는 곳은 아파트 단지가 모여 있는 주거 지역입니다
= The place that I live is a residential area with (many) apartment complexes huddled together
집을 구할 때 꼭 주변 주거 환경을 잘 살펴보고 구해야 안전해요
= When you are buying a a house, you need to look carefully at the environment to see if it is safe
야심 = ambitions, aspirations
Common Usages:
야심차게 = with ambitions
Examples:
그 청년이 야심이 많은 줄 알았는데 어떻게 5 년 동안 징역을 살았어요?
= I thought that boy had lots of aspirations, how could he have been in prison for five years?
새로운 신제품을 야심차게 출시했지만 생각보다 반응이 좋지 않았어요
= I had big aspirations of releasing this new product, but the response wasn’t as good as I thought it would be
각도 = angle
Common Usages:
다각도 = multiangle
각도를 재다 = to measure an angle
다각도로 조명하다 = to examine something from all angles
Examples:
각도를 정확하게 재기 위해서는 각도기가 필요해요
= In order to measure the angle precisely, you need a protractor
이 작품은 현대 사람들의 복잡한 심경을 다각도로 조명해 표현했습니다
= This artwork projects the current peoples’ complex feelings from multiple angles
수납 = storage
Common Usages:
수납장 = closet
수납공간 = storage space
수납하다 = to store
Examples:
수납장이 많아서 정리가 되고 집이 더 넓어 보여요
= There are a lot of closets, so it is easy to organize the house and it looks bigger
이사를 갈 때 중요하게 보는 것 중 하나가 수납공간이 충분한가예요
= One of the important things to look for when you are moving is to make sure there is enough storage space
수납장 = closet
Examples:
옷을 수납장에 넣을 줄 알았어요
= I thought you would put the clothes in the closet
수납장이 많아서 정리가 되고 집이 더 넓어 보여요
= There are a lot of closets, so it is easy to organize the house and it looks bigger
이번 새집은 곳곳에 수납장이 있어서 정리정돈할때 유용해요
= There are a lot of closets in this new house, which are very helpful when I clean/organize
청년 = young people
Common Usages:
청년부 = youth group
청년지원사업 = youth support company
Examples:
이 청년은 예의가 발라서 어른들에게 인기가 많아요
= This young man is very polite, so he is popular amongst older people
오늘은 청년부 예배가 있을 거라 집에 가자마자 교회로 가야 해요
= Today there is a worship service for youth groups so as soon as I go home I need to go to the church
징역 = prison
Common Usages:
징역살이 = to do time in prison
Examples:
그 사람이 대통령을 암살했으므로 징역 100 년이 선고되었어요
= That person was sentenced to 100 years in prison because he/she assassinated the president
법을 어기면 벌금을 내야 되거나 징역선고를 받을 수도 있다
= When you break the law a fine has to be paid, or there is also the possibility of receiving a prison sentence
그 청년이 야심이 많은 줄 알았는데 어떻게 5 년 동안 징역을 살았어요?
= I thought that boy had lots of aspirations, how could he have been in prison for five years?
실권 = power
Common Usages:
실권 행사 = using one’s power
실권을 쥐다 = to hold power
Examples:
우리 부서에서 실권을 쥐고 있는 사람은 바로 저예요
= The person who holds the power in our department is me
새로 뽑힌 국회의원은 내일부터 실권을 행사할 수 있어요
= The newly chosen congressman can use his power starting tomorrow
겉보기 = outward appearance
Notes: 겉보기 appears in a lot of physics terms as the word apparent. For example, 겉보기 깊이 refers to apparent depth, and is used to refer to the idea that water sometimes looks shallower than it actually is because of refraction.
Common Usages:
겉보기에는… = On the outside…
Examples:
이 과일은 겉보기와 다르게 먹어 보면 매우 맛있어요
= Contrary to what you might think my looking at its outward appearance, that fruit is really delicious
그 사람은 겉보기에는 어리숙해 보이지만 일할 때마다 매우 부지런해요
= That person looks dopey on the outside but whenever he works he is very diligent
Verbs:
베다 = to cut
Common Usages:
나무를 베다 = to cut a tree
손가락을 베다 = to cut one’s finger
Examples:
저는 손가락을 실수로 베서 피가 났어요
= I cut my finger by accident so it was bleeding
저는 주기적으로 오래된 나무를 베고 어린 나무를 다시 심어요
= Periodically I cut down old trees and plant new/young ones again
데우다 = to heat up
Common Usages:
몸을 데우다 = to heat up one’s body
음식을 데우다 = to heat up food
Examples:
물이 미지근해서 아빠가 물을 데운 줄 알았어요
= I thought dad heated up the water cause it was lukewarm
음식을 데울 때 가장 편리한 방법을 전자레인지를 쓰는 거예요
= The most convenient way to heat up food is to use a microwave
욕하다 = to swear, to insult
The noun form of this word (욕) translates to “swearing” or “an insult.”
Examples:
화가 날 때마다 욕하는 버릇은 좋지 않아요
= The habit of swearing every time you get mad is not good
여자 친구에게 과하게 욕을 해서 분명히 헤어질 줄 알았어요
= I thought for sure that your girlfriend would break up with you for swearing at her too much
단식하다 = to fast
Common Usages:
단식원 = a place where one fasts with people (for the purpose of losing weight)
간헐적 단식 = intermittent fasting
단식투쟁하다 = hunger strike
Examples:
내일 오전에 위내시경을 받아야 해서 오늘밤부터 단식해야 해요
= Tomorrow I’m getting an endoscopy to look at my stomach so I need to fast from tonight
간헐적 단식은 일정시간 동안 공복을 두고 식사를 하는 것을 말해요
= Intermittent fasting refers to not eating for a specified period of time and then eating
남모르다 = for something to be secret or unknown to people
Common Usages:
남모르게 = for something to be unknown to other people
Examples:
저는 이 시험을 남모르게 준비했어요
= I prepared for this exam without anybody knowing
우리에게 남모르는 비밀을 말할 줄 알았어요
= I thought you were going to tell us some secret that nobody knows
베이다 = to be cut
Examples:
저의 손가락이 그 칼에 베인 줄 알았어요
= I thought my finger got cut by the knife
면도를 하다가 살을 심하게 베어서 피가 많이 났어요
= I cut myself bad when I was shaving so I was bleeding a lot
풀숲을 걸을 때 긴 바지를 입지 않으면 나무에 살이 베일 수도 있어요
= When you walk through grasslands, if you don’t wear long pants you cut cut yourself on trees
Adjectives:
과하다 = to be excessive
Common Usages:
과하게 = excessively
Examples:
이번 신제품 피자는 토핑이 너무 과하게 들어가서 오히려 맛이 없어요
= This newly released pizza has way too many (excessive) toppings, so it doesn’t even taste good
새로 산 옷의 노출이 너무 과해서 출근할 때 입을 수 없을 것 같아서 반품했어요
= There is too much exposure on this newly bought article of clothing, and I can’t wear it when I go to work, so I returned it
분명하다 = to be clear, to be for definite
Examples:
그 말을 연설에 말하면 사람들이 분명히 반대할 거예요
= If you say that in the speech, people will definitely disagree (with it)
엄마가 오늘이 제가 여름 방학 후 첫 등교일인 것을 까먹은 게 분명해요
= It’s obvious that my mom forgot that today was my first day back at school after summer vacation
그 사람이 저를 대하는 태도를 생각해 보면 저를 좋아하는 게 분명해요
= If you think about the way that person treats me, it is clear that he likes me
미지근하다 = to be lukewarm
Examples:
아침에 탄 커피가 미지근해져서 커피를 다시 내렸어요
= The coffee I made in the morning got lukewarm so I made it again
미지근한 물을 마시는 것이 찬물을 마시는 것보다 몸에 훨씬 좋아요
= It is better for your body to drink lukewarm water instead of cold water
Adverbs and Other Words:
아마 = probably
Examples:
아마 어제 아빠가 도서관에 들려서 책을 반납했을걸?
= Dad probably returned the book when he went to the library yesterday, right?
아마 친구가 그 소식을 듣고 충격을 받아서 집에 간 것 같아요
= That friend probably heard that news, wa shocked, and then went home
한층 = much more
Common Usages:
한층 나아지다 = to get much better
Examples:
저번 훈련을 통해 그 선수의 실력이 한층 더 좋아질 줄 알았어요
= I thought that athlete’s ability would be much better because of the training last time
그 배우는 일년 간의 공백 기간 후 한층 성숙한 모습으로 돌아왔어요
= That actor took a year off and then came back with a much better (mature) image
남몰래 = secretly
Examples:
그 남자가 남몰래 바람을 피우고 와이프와 이혼한 줄 알았어요
= I thought that man got a divorce with his wife because he had an affair without anybody knowing
아이가 처음으로 어린이집에 다니기 시작했을 때 남몰래 많이 울었어요
= When kids start going to daycare, they secretly cry a lot
온종일 = all day
Examples:
그 사람들이 온종일 단식하는 줄 알았어요
= I thought those people fasted all day
온종일 청소를 하다 보니 하루가 다 갔어요
= While cleaning all day I realized that an entire day went by
For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn two grammatical principles that can are commonly used with the verb 알다 (to know). First, you will learn about ~ㄹ/을 줄 알다, and second you will learn about ~다시피. Let’s get started.
To know (how to): ~ㄹ/을 줄 알다
By placing ~ㄹ/을 줄 알다 after a verb, you can indicate that one “knows how” to do that action. For example:
각도를 잴 줄 알아요 = I know how to measure the angle
김밥을 만들 줄 알아요 = I know how to make 김밥
한국말로 욕을 할 줄 알아요 = I know how to swear in Korean
저는 그것을 할 줄 알아요 = I know how to do that
It is common to use this type of sentence as a question to ask if one “knows how” to do an action. For example:
각도를 잴 줄 알아요? = Do you know how to measure the angle?
김밥을 만들 줄 알아요? = Do you know how to make 김밥?
한국말로 욕을 할 줄 알아요? = Do you know how to swear in Korean?
그것을 할 줄 알아요? = Do you know how to do that?
“줄” is one of these special nouns like “수” in ~ㄹ/을 수 있다 and “적” in ~ㄴ/은 적이 있다 that can only be described by something in the ~는 것 form.
You can also use the word “모르다” (to not know) instead of “알다” to state that one “does not know how” to do an action. For example:
각도를 잴 줄 몰라요 = I don’t know how to measure the angle
김밥을 만들 줄 몰라요 = I don’t know how to make 김밥
한국말로 욕을 할 줄 몰라요 = I don’t know how to swear in Korean
저는 그것을 할 줄 몰라요 = I don’t know how to do that
It is also possible to use “모르다” to create a question. For example:
각도를 잴 줄 몰라요? = You don’t know how to measure the angle
김밥을 만들 줄 몰라요? = You don’t know how to make 김밥?
한국말로 욕을 할 줄 몰라요? = You don’t know how to swear in Korean?
그것을 할 줄 몰라요? = You don’t know how to do that?
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There is another meaning that can be created by describing 줄. When creating this meaning, it is possible for the word describing 줄 to be in the past, present, or future tense.
When used this way, the speaker is stating that that he/she just realized something is not true – but because of some lapse in judgment, originally thought that it was true. It is hard to describe with words, so I will describe an example from my real life.
One day, I went to buy some 김밥 worth 2,000 won. When I paid the lady, she gave me a weird look. She looked at me and said something like “aren’t you going to give me more money?” After a minute of confusion, she looked down and said:
아~ 미안해요~ 천원만 준 줄 알았어요 = Oh, sorry, I thought you only gave me 1,000 won
(Notice that 주다 is describing 줄 in the past tense using ~ㄴ/은)
Another example would be if I was talking to somebody in my school using the low respect form of speech. Afterwards, I realize that the person that I am speaking to is not a student but is actually a teacher (which could actually happen in Korea because some people look really young). In this scenario, I could say:
미안해요~ 학생인 줄 알았어요 = Sorry, I thought you were a student
(Notice that 이다 is describing 줄 in the present tense using ~ㄴ/은)
(Also remember that the rules of describing a noun are different for verbs and adjectives/이다.)
Notice that the English translation for the sentence above could be the same as a quoted sentence using 생각하다. For example:
학생이라고 생각했어요 = I thought you were a student
In order for you to understand the purpose of “줄,” let’s talk about the difference between:
학생인 줄 알았어요 = I thought you were a student
학생이라고 생각했어요 = I thought you were a student
The difference between the two is that ~ㄹ/을 줄 알다 implies that there was a lapse in judgment that caused the speaker to make a mistake. Whereas “~ㄴ/다고” just expresses that the speaker thought something. For example:
그녀가 예쁘다고 생각했어요 = I thought she was pretty
This would be used if your opinion was that the girl is actually pretty.
그녀가 예쁜 줄 알았어요 = (Oh,) I thought she was pretty
This would be used if you originally thought the girl was pretty, but because of some lapse in judgment (maybe you saw her from far away and couldn’t see her very well). However, when you get new information (maybe you saw her close up, or your friends told you that she is not pretty), you now realize that she actually isn’t pretty.
Depending on when the action that was mistaken occurs, it is possible to describe “줄” in the past, present or future tense. For example:
아빠가 저에게 돈을 준 줄 알았어요 = I thought that dad gave me money
The speaker, for some reason, had a lapse in judgment and mistakenly thought that his dad gave him money
아빠가 저에게 돈을 주는 줄 알았어요 = I thought that dad is/was giving me money
The speaker, for some reason, had a lapse in judgment and mistakenly thought that his dad is giving him money
아빠가 저에게 돈을 줄 줄 알았어요 = I thought that dad will give me money
The speaker, for some reason, had a lapse in judgment and mistakenly thought that his dad will give him money
Below are many examples where 줄 is being described in the past tense:
저한테 욕한 줄 알았어요 = I thought you swore at me
아빠가 풀을 이미 벤 줄 알았어요 = I thought dad already cut the grass
저의 손가락이 그 칼에 베인 줄 알았어요 = I thought my finger got cut by the knife
물이 미지근해서 아빠가 물을 데운 줄 알았어요 = I thought dad heated up the water cause it was lukewarm
그 남자가 남몰래 바람을 피우고 와이프와 이혼한 줄 알았어요 = I thought that man got a divorce with his wife because he had an affair without anybody knowing
Below are many examples where 줄 is being described in the present tense:
그 사람들이 온종일 단식하는 줄 알았어요
= I thought those people fasted all day
그 선수가 단식 테니스만 잘하는 줄 알았어요
= I thought that player was only good at singles tennis
캐나다에서 영국 왕비가 실권을 쥐는 줄 알았어요
= I thought the Queen of England held all the power in Canada
그 선물을 겉보기로만 봐서 나쁜 선물인 줄 알았어요
= By only looking at the outside appearance, I thought you got me a bad present
그 청년이 야심이 많은 줄 알았는데 어떻게 5년 동안 징역을 살았어요?
= I thought that boy had lots of aspirations, how could he have been in prison for five years?
The English translations of the verb seem to be more natural when translated into the past tense. However, in the above examples, realize that 줄 is being described by something in the present tense.
Below are many examples where 줄 is being described in the future tense:
내가 죽을 줄 알았어 = I thought I was going to die
우리가 내일 갈 줄 알았어 = I thought we were going tomorrow
나한테 돈을 줄 줄 알았어 = I thought you were going to give me money
옷을 수납장에 넣을 줄 알았어요 = I thought you would put the clothes in the closet
민지가 미국 대학교에 갈 줄 알았어
= I thought 민지 would be going to an American university
우리에게 남모르는 비밀을 말할 줄 알았어요
= I thought you were going to tell us some secret that nobody knows
여자 친구에게 과하게 욕을 해서 분명히 헤어질 줄 알았어요
= I thought for sure that your girlfriend would break up with you for swearing at her too much
저번 훈련을 통해 그 선수의 실력이 한층 더 좋아질 줄 알았어요
= I thought that athlete’s ability would be much better because of the training last time
The speaker can use 모르다 in place of 알다 to indicate that something is true – but because of some lapse in judgment, he/she originally thought that it wasn’t true. For example, look at the difference between using 모르다 and 알다 in the following examples:
그녀가 예쁜 줄 알았어요 = I thought she was pretty
This would be used if you originally thought the girl was pretty, but because of some lapse in judgment (maybe you saw her from far away and couldn’t see her very well). However, when you get new information (maybe you saw her close up, or your friends told you that she is not pretty), you now realize that she actually isn’t pretty.
그녀가 예쁜 줄 몰랐어요 = I didn’t know she was pretty
This would be used if you originally thought the girl wasn’t pretty, but because of some lapse in judgment (maybe you saw her from far away and couldn’t see her very well). However, when you get new information (maybe you saw her close up, or your friends told you that she is pretty), you now realize that she actually is pretty.
Other examples:
거기가 비싼 줄 몰랐어요 = I didn’t know it was expensive there
Originally you didn’t know it was expensive there, but you realized that you were wrong – and it is actually expensive there
그 핸드폰이 좋은 줄 몰랐어요 = I didn’t know that cell-phone was good
Originally you didn’t know that cell phone was good, but you realized that you were wrong – and it actually is good
네가 가고 싶지 않다고 한 줄 몰랐어 = I didn’t know you said you didn’t wanted to go This is a confusing example, but it could still be used. Originally you didn’t know that he/she said she didn’t want to go – but now you realize that she said she didn’t want to go])
Referring to a Listener’s Perception: ~다시피
~다시피 can be used to refer to a listener’s perceptions. Technically the thing that connects to the word is “~다시피.” The “다” is not part of the stem of the word, but actually part of the grammatical principle itself.
~다시피 is most commonly added to 알다 to refer to what the listener knows. For example:
너도 알다시피… = As you know…
선생님도 알다시피… = As you (teacher) know…
As you can see, ~도 is commonly added to the person. In addition to the speaker, the listener “also” knows.
In times when the listener deserves a high amount of respect, it is common to also include the formal ~(으)시, which you learned in Lesson 39. For example:
선생님도 아시다시피… = As you (teacher) know…
부장님도 아시다시피… = As you (boss) know…
~다시피 is often added to 보다 to refer to what the listener sees. For example:
너도 보다시피… = As you (can) see…
선생님도 보시다시피… = As you (teacher) (can) see…
부장님도 보시다시피… = As you (boss) (can) see…
You can use these constructions to refer to what the listener knows or is looking at in sentences. For example:
부장님도 아시다시피 저는 내일 출장을 가야 돼요
= As you know, I have to go on a business trip tomorrow
너도 알다시피 나는 돈이 없어서 그것을 못 사
= As you know, I have no money, so I can’t buy that
너도 보다시피 우리 집 상황이 매우 안 좋아
= As you can see, the situation of our house is really not good
선생님도 보시다시피 제 가방에 아무것도 없어요
= As you can see, there is nothing in my bag
That’s it for this lesson!
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