Lesson 178: Using ~구요 Instead of ~고

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Vocabulary
Introduction

~구요 instead of ~고

Vocabulary

Nouns:
광선 = beam, ray

Common Usages:
광선검 = lightsaber

Examples:
광선이 커튼 사이로 스며들며 방 안을 은은하게 밝혔어요
= A beam of light slipped through the curtains, softly illuminating the room

광선이 갑자기 하늘에서 쏟아졌구요, 모두가 놀라서 뒤로 물러났어요
= A beam suddenly poured from the sky, and everyone stepped back in shock

멱살 = one's neck when being choked

Common Usages:
멱살을 잡다 = to grab someone by the collar/throat

Examples:
그는 화가 나서 상대의 멱살을 움켜쥐고 소리를 질렀어요
= Enraged, he grabbed the other person by the collar and shouted

그 사람이 제 멱살을 잡았구요, 분노에 찬 눈빛으로 저를 노려봤어요
= He grabbed me by the collar, and glared at me with eyes full of rage

혈안 = a frantic attempt

Common Usages:
혈안이 되다 = to be desperate and frantic about something

Examples:
아버지는 돈 버는 일에만 혈안이되서 가족도 외면했어요
= My father was so obsessed with making money that he even neglected his family

그 남자는 돈에 혈안이 되어 밤낮없이 일했구요, 결국에는 건강이 크게 나빠졌어요
= That man was obsessed with money and worked day and night, and in the end, his health greatly deteriorated

형편 = circumstances/conditions

Common Usages:
가정 형편 = one’s family’s financial situation
형편이 어렵다 = to be in a difficult financial situation
형편에 맞게 = within one’s circumstances

Examples:
요즘 형편이 어려워서 장보기도 힘들구요, 전기세도 밀렸어요
= Our circumstances are tough these days, grocery shopping is hard, and we’re behind on the electricity bill

그 사람은 형편도 안 좋은데 가족까지 떠났대요. 게다가 주변 사람들한테 신망도 잃었구요.
= His circumstances are already bad, and on top of that, he’s lost the trust of those around him, too

형편상 = due to circumstances, given the situation

Examples:
형편상 이번에는 참석하지 못하지만, 마음만은 함께할게요
= Due to circumstances, I can’t attend this time, but my heart will be with you/expand]

신망 = confidence (in someone else)

Common Usages:
신망을 받다 = to receive trust and respect

Examples:
그 교수님은 제자들 사이에서 신망이 높구요, 학교 전체에서도 인정받는 분이에요
= That professor is well trusted by students, and respected throughout the university

그대 = you

Examples:
그대를 바라보고 있을 때 저는 제일 행복해요
= When I stare at you, I am most happy

오직 그대만을 바라보고 사랑할게요
= I’m only going to love you and look at you

그대는 항상 저 곁에 있었구요, 말없이 날 위로해줬어요
= You were always by my side, and you comforted me without a word

전기세 = cost of electricity, electricity bill

Common Usages:
전기세 고지서 = electricity bill notice

이번 달 전기세가 평소보다 두 배나 나와서 깜짝 놀랐어요
= I was shocked because this month’s electricity bill was twice the usual amount

Verbs:
노려보다 = to stare at, to glow at

Common Usages:
매섭게 노려보다 = glare fiercely, stare sharply

Examples:
그 사람이 제 멱살을 잡았구요, 분노에 찬 눈빛으로 저를 노려봤어요
= He grabbed me by the collar, and glared at me with eyes full of rage

남자는 거짓말이 들통나자 화가 나서 상대방을 노려보았어요
= The man glared at the other person in anger when his lie was exposed

물러나다 = to step back, to back off

Common Usages:
한발 물러나다 = to step back, to back off

Examples:
광선이 갑자기 하늘에서 쏟아졌구요, 모두가 놀라서 뒤로 물러났어요
= A beam suddenly poured from the sky, and everyone stepped back in shock

그는 책임을 지기 싫다며 한 발 물러나 다른 사람에게 일을 넘겼어요
= He stepped back, unwilling to take responsibility, and handed the task to someone else

섬멸하다 = to annihilate

Examples:
적을 완전히 섬멸하기 위해 군대는 새 전략을 세웠어요
= The army devised a new strategy to completely annihilate the enemy

적군을 완전히 섬멸했구요, 마을 사람들은 안심할 수 있었어요
= The enemy forces were annihilated, and the villagers could finally feel safe

모순하다 = to contradict

Examples:
그의 행동은 그의 말과 모순이 되어 신뢰가 가지 않았어요
= His actions contradicted his words, so I couldn’t trust him

처음에는 말이 그럴듯하길래 믿었죠. 나중에 알고 보니 완전히 모순되었구요.
= At first his words seemed plausible, so I believed him. Later I found out they completely contradicted each other too.

원망하다 = to have a grudge against, to blame

Examples:
미래에 자신을 원망하고 싶지 않으면 지금부터 열심히 하세요
= If you don’t want to hold resentment for yourself in the future, you need to start working hard now

그는 모든 책임을 당당히 받아들였구요, 누구도 원망하지 않았어요
= He accepted all responsibility fairly, and didn’t blame anyone

Adjectives:
인정받다 = to be recognized

Examples:
그는 수년간의 노력이 드디어 인정받아 회사의 대표로 승진했어요
= After years of hard work, he was finally recognized and promoted to company president

그 교수님은 제자들 사이에서 신망이 높구요, 학교 전체에서도 인정받는 분이에요
= That professor is well trusted by students, and respected throughout the university

그럴듯하다 = to be plausible/suspicious

Common Usages:
외관이 그럴듯하다 = appearance is decent / looks convincing

Examples:
처음에는 범죄자의 설명이 그럴듯했구요, 그래서 다들 쉽게 속았어요
= At first, his explanation sounded plausible, and everyone was fooled

무시무시하다 = to be horrible

Examples:
그 소문은 정말 무시무시했구요, 아이들이 들으면 안 될 이야기였어요
= The rumor was horrifying, and not something children should hear

아이들이 분명히 거기서 놀고 있었어요. 그런데 갑자기 무시무시한 소리가 들렸구요…
= The kids were definitely playing there. Then suddenly we heard a terrifying sound…

Adverbs and Other Words:
쭉 = straight down

Examples:
이 길을 쭉 따라가다 보면 한 마을에 이르게 되는 데 바로 그곳이 저의 고향입니다
= Follow this road till the end and when you reach a village, that place is my hometown

이 길로 쭉 내려가다 보면 큰길이 나오는 데 거기서 왼쪽으로 꺾으면 돼요
= If you keep going down this road, you will see a main road, and there, you should turn left

우리는 산길을 쭉 올라갔구요, 정상에서 일출을 봤어요
= We climbed the mountain path straight up, and watched the sunrise at the peak

이 도로를 따라서 쭉 걸어가면 병원이 나와요
If you walk straight down this road, you’ll see the hospital (the hospital will come out)

분명히 = distinctly, clearly

Examples:
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

그 말을 연설에 말하면 사람들이 분명히 반대할 거예요
= If you say that in the speech, people will definitely disagree (with it)

비록 힘들더라도 인내하고 꾸준히 하다 보면 분명히 목표를 이룰 수 있어요
= Even if it is hard, if you are patient and continue to try, you can definitely reach your goal

그 말을 연설에 말하면 사람들이 분명히 반대할 거예요
= If you say that in the speech, people will definitely disagree (with it)

그 사람 얼굴이 분명히 기억나구요, 목소리도 익숙했어요
= I clearly remember that person’s face, and the voice was also familiar

당당히 = fairly

Examples:
그는 모든 책임을 당당히 받아들였구요, 누구도 원망하지 않았어요
= He accepted all responsibility fairly, and didn’t blame anyone

그는 어떤 압력에도 굴하지 않고 당당히 자신의 입장을 밝혔어요
= He stood firm and expressed his position confidently despite all the pressure

따뜻이 = warmly

Common Usages:
따뜻이 맞이하다 = to welcome warmly

Examples:
친구는 저를 따뜻이 안아줬어요
= My friend gave me a warm hug

아이들이 할머니 손을 꼭 잡고 따뜻이 인사했구요, 할머니는 눈물을 흘리셨어요
= The children warmly greeted their grandmother holding her hand tightly, and she shed tears

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn a new take on a familiar particle. Specifically, you will see how ~구요 can replace ~고 given the right situation. Let’s get started.

~구요 instead of ~고

In Lesson 17, you first saw how to use ~고 to indicate that one action occurs, and then something happens after that. For example:

저는 자고 한국어를 공부했어요 = I slept then studied Korean

You also saw how ~고 can be used to connect two clauses with a similar idea. For example:

그 사람은 착하고 똑똑해요 = That person is kind and smart

It is possible to end a sentence with ~고. In a polite situation, you can add ~요 to it to make it ~고요. Doing this at the end of a sentence suggests to the listener that there is more information coming. For example:

저는 대학교에서 공부하고요. 지금 3학년이에요.
= I study at university. And I’m in my third year.

Some accents in Korean pronounce ~고 closer to 구. It’s also pronounced that way sometimes colloquially in speech. In fact, sometimes my wife and I use ~구 instead of ~고 just to be cute.

In everyday speaking (and even in some writing) using ~구요 is much more common than ~고요. Using ~구요 softens the tone of speech a bit and is not as direct as simply using ~고요. Technically, ~구요 is spoken variant of ~고요, but in practice, ~구요 has a friendly, sympathetic tone. You can use it when gently adding more detail, rather than listing facts. For example:

저는 이슬기이구요, 한국에서 산 지 20년 되었어요

Here, the ~구요 attached to 이다 adds a friendly, spoken tone. As if the speaker is easing into the second detail with a conversational flow. Let’s look at another example:

Here, the use of ~구요 makes the list of events feel softer and flowing, as if telling a story. Instead of sounding like a cold sequence of actions, the speaker is using a softer tone.

Below are many more examples:

우리는 산길을 쭉 올라갔구요, 정상에서 일출을 봤어요
= We climbed the mountain path straight up, and watched the sunrise at the peak

그대는 항상 저 곁에 있었구요, 말없이 날 위로해줬어요
= You were always by my side, and you comforted me without a word

그 사람 얼굴이 분명히 기억나구요, 목소리도 익숙했어요
= I clearly remember that person’s face, and the voice was also familiar

요즘 형편이 어려워서 장보기도 힘들구요, 전기세도 밀렸어요
= Our circumstances are tough these days, grocery shopping is hard, and we’re behind on the electricity bill

적군을 완전히 섬멸했구요, 마을 사람들은 안심할 수 있었어요
= The enemy forces were annihilated, and the villagers could finally feel safe

그는 모든 책임을 당당히 받아들였구요, 누구도 원망하지 않았어요
= He accepted all responsibility fairly, and didn’t blame anyone

그 사람이 제 멱살을 잡았구요, 분노에 찬 눈빛으로 저를 노려봤어요
= He grabbed me by the collar, and glared at me with eyes full of rage

그 소문은 정말 무시무시했구요, 아이들이 들으면 안 될 이야기였어요
= The rumor was horrifying, and not something children should hear

처음에는 범죄자의 설명이 그럴듯했구요, 그래서 다들 쉽게 속았어요
= At first, his explanation sounded plausible, and everyone was fooled

광선이 갑자기 하늘에서 쏟아졌구요, 모두가 놀라서 뒤로 물러났어요
= A beam suddenly poured from the sky, and everyone stepped back in shock

아이들이 할머니 손을 꼭 잡고 따뜻이 인사했구요, 할머니는 눈물을 흘리셨어요
= The children warmly greeted their grandmother holding her hand tightly, and she shed tears

그 교수님은 제자들 사이에서 신망이 높구요, 학교 전체에서도 인정받는 분이에요
= That professor is well trusted by students, and respected throughout the university

As a speaker often you want to add ideas to some already discussed situation. This is another purpose of ~고, and therefore another common place to find ~구요. For example:

그 사람은 형편도 안 좋은데 가족까지 떠났대요. 게다가 주변 사람들한테 신망도 잃었구요.
= His circumstances are already bad, and on top of that, he’s lost the trust of those around him, too.

Here, you can see that the speaker is using ~구요 to imply that the statement is part of a continuing context. In a sense, the speaker is following-up to a previous statement and building on something else. This way of using ~구요 is particularly natural in spoken Korean. Below are some more examples:

That’s it for this lesson!

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