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Vocabulary
Nouns:
광선 = beam, ray
멱살 = one’s neck when being choked
혈안 = a frantic attempt
형편 = circumstances/conditions
형편상 = due to circumstances, given the situation
신망 = confidence (in someone else)
그대 = you
전기세 = cost of electricity, electricity bill
Verbs:
노려보다 = to stare at, to glow at
물러나다 = to step back, to back off
섬멸하다 = to annihilate
모순하다 = to contradict
원망하다 = to have a grudge against, to blame
Adjectives:
인정받다 = to be recognized
그럴듯하다 = to be plausible/suspicious
무시무시하다 = to be horrible
Adverbs and Other Words:
쭉 = straight down
분명히 = distinctly, clearly
당당히 = fairly
따뜻이 = warmly
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:
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
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:
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.
아이들이 분명히 거기서 놀고 있었어요. 그런데 갑자기 무시무시한 소리가 들렸구요…
= The kids were definitely playing there. Then suddenly we heard a terrifying sound…
That’s it for this lesson!