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~답다: Taking the Qualities of a Noun
Vocabulary
Nouns:
계기 = opportunity
Examples:
이번 일을 계기로 어른답게 행동하려고 해요
= I’m going to use this opportunity to act like an adult
그 사건을 계기로 그는 인생의 방향을 완전히 바꾸게 되었어요
= That incident became the turning point that completely changed his life
무죄 = innocence
Common Usages:
무죄를 선고 받다 = to be found not guilty
무죄를 증명하다 = to prove innocence
Examples:
그는 끝까지 무죄를 주장하며 군인답게 당당한 태도를 보였어요
= He firmly maintained his innocence and showed a soldier-like, dignified attitude
재판 결과 피고인은 증거 불충분으로 무죄 판결을 받았어요
= The defendant was found innocent due to insufficient evidence
유죄 = guilty
Common Usages:
유죄를 선고 받다 = to be found guilty
Examples:
유죄 판결을 받았지만 마지막까지 신사답게 말 한마디 없이 법정을 떠났어요
= Even after being found guilty, he left the courtroom without a word, like a true gentleman
그는 명백한 유죄임에도 끝까지 잘못을 인정하지 않았어요
= Despite being clearly guilty, he refused to admit his wrongdoing until the end
서민 = common people
Common Usages:
서민 음식 = common people’s food, inexpensive everyday food
Examples:
그는 항상 서민답게 검소하고 성실하게 살아왔어요
= He has always lived modestly and diligently, like a common person
그는 항상 서민의 입장에서 정책을 고민하는 정치인이다
= He is a politician who always considers policies from the viewpoint of ordinary people
상기 = the above, the aforementioned
Examples:
상기 내용을 보면 학생다운 질문이 하나도 없어요
= Looking at the above, there isn’t a single question that sounds like it came from a student
상기 내용에 동의하시는 분은 서명란에 서명해 주십시오
= Those who agree with the above statement, please sign in the designated area
판결 = ruling, judgement
Common Usages:
판결문 = written judgment, verdict document
판결을 내리다 = to render a verdict
Examples:
유죄 판결을 받았지만 마지막까지 신사답게 말 한마디 없이 법정을 떠났어요
= Even after being found guilty, he left the courtroom without a word, like a true gentleman
판사가 판결을 할 때는 사건 전체를 보고 결정해야 돼요
= When judges make their judgment, they need to look at the whole case and then decide
법정 = courtroom
Examples:
판사가 판결을 할 때는 사건 전체를 보고 결정해야 돼요
= When judges make their judgment, they need to look at the whole case and then decide
몇몇 커플들은 이혼을 하면 법정싸움을 해요
= Some couples fight/battle in court when they get divorced
산악 = mountains
Common Usages:
산악 구조대 = mountain rescue team
산악회 = mountaineering/hiking club
Examples:
산악 구조대는 신속하고 학자다운 분석력으로 실종자를 수색했어요
= The mountain rescue team searched for the missing person swiftly and with scholarly analysis
한국의 산악 지형은 등산을 즐기는 사람들에게 이상적이에요
= Korea’s mountainous terrain is ideal for those who enjoy hiking
절정 = peak
Common Usages:
절정에 이르다 = to reach a climax, to reach a peak
Examples:
이 작품은 감동의 절정에 달하며 천사다운 순수함을 보여줘요
= This piece reaches the height of emotion and reveals an angelic purity
공연이 절정에 달했을 때 관객들의 환호가 극에 달했어요
= The audience’s cheers reached their peak as the performance hit its climax
자치 = autonomy
Examples:
자치 단체라면 군인답게 조직적이고 질서 있게 운영되어야 해요
= If it’s a self-governing body, it should be run in an organized and disciplined way, like a soldier would
그 도시는 일정 부분 자치 권한을 가진 특별 자치시로 지정되었어요
= The city was designated as a special autonomous city with limited self-governing authority
자치권 = right of autonomy
Examples:
시민 자치권을 강화하기 위한 제도적 장치가 필요해요
= Institutional measures are needed to strengthen citizens’ right to autonomy
분석력 = analytical ability
Common Usages:
날카로운 분석력 = sharp analytical ability
Examples:
산악 구조대는 신속하고 학자다운 분석력으로 실종자를 수색했어요
= The mountain rescue team searched for the missing person swiftly and with scholarly analysis
그는 뛰어난 분석력으로 복잡한 문제의 본질을 빠르게 파악했어요
= With his sharp analytical ability, he quickly grasped the essence of a complex problem
조직적 = systematic, organized
Common Usages:
조직적으로 움직이다 = to operate in an organized manner
Examples:
그들은 목표를 달성하기 위해 조직적으로 움직였어요
= They worked in an organized, systematic way to achieve their goal
자치 단체라면 군인답게 조직적이고 질서 있게 운영되어야 해요
= If it’s a self-governing body, it should be run in an organized and disciplined way, like a soldier would
서민층 = working class
Examples:
경제가 어려워짐에 따라 서민층의 고층이 늘어나고 있어요
= As the economy gets worse, the hardships faced by the working class are increasing
Verbs:
달하다 = to reach a point, goal
Common Usages:
목표치에 달하다 = to reach the target value
Examples:
선수들이 결승선에 달하자 거의 쓰러질듯이 결승선을 통과했어요
= When the athletes reached the finish line, they crossed it almost as if they were about to collapse
Adjectives:
사람답다 = to be like a person
Common Usages:
사람답게 행동하다 = to act like a decent human being
Examples:
그는 사람답게 살기 위해선 양심이 필요하다고 강조했어요
= He emphasized that to live like a true human being, one must have a conscience
남자답다 = to be manly
Examples:
그는 언제나 책임감 있고 남자다운 행동으로 존경을 받았어요
= He was respected for his responsible and manly behavior
여자답다 = to be feminine
Examples:
그녀는 부드럽고 여자다운 매력으로 많은 사람들의 호감을 샀어요
= She won people’s hearts with her gentle, feminine charm
당당하다 = to be dignified
Examples:
오히려 29살에 열심히 일하는 당당한 여자가 될 것 같은 좋은 느낌이 든다
= Contrary to what you think, I have a good feeling that at 29 (years of age) I will become a hard-working, confident woman.
그는 끝까지 무죄를 주장하며 군인답게 당당한 태도를 보였어요
= He firmly maintained his innocence and showed a soldier-like, dignified attitude
검소하다 = to be modest
Examples:
그는 항상 서민답게 검소하고 성실하게 살아왔어요
= He has always lived modestly and diligently, like a common person
그 가족은 검소하게 살지만 마음만은 누구보다 넉넉해요
= The family lives modestly but has hearts richer than anyone’s
Introduction
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to turn certain nouns into adjectives using ~답다, a pattern that adds the qualities of a noun to a description. Let’s get started.
~답다: Taking the Qualities of a Noun
You can attach ~답다 to certain nouns. Doing so allows you to turn the noun into an adjective. Specifically, one that takes on the qualities of the noun that it is attached to. The following are three common nouns that ~답다 can attach to in order to create an adjective:
남자답다 = to be masculine, to be manly
여자답다 = to be feminine
사람답다 = to be humane, to be human-like
The three examples above are actually words on their own. That is, you can actually find those three as actual words in the dictionary. Here is a list of other nouns that ~답다 commonly attaches to:
어른 = adult
어른답다 = to be mature, like an adult
아이 = child
아이답다 = to be childish, like a child
학생 = student
학생답다 = to act like a student
군인 = soldier
군인답다 = to act like a soldier (to be disciplined and brave)
친구 = friend
친구답다 = to be a good friend, act like a friend
신사 = gentleman
신사답다 = to be gentlemanly
천사 = angel
천사답다 = to be angelic, kind and pure
학자 = scholar
학자답다 to be scholarly
Only certain nouns, like the ones above, can have ~답다 attached to it. Specifically, only nouns referring to the identity of an individual, or qualities of an individual can naturally pair with ~답다.
You might be thinking that ~답다 is similar to adding ~스럽다. While similar in form, ~스럽다 is more specifically added to feelings or emotions that are more subjective. Indeed, when adding ~스럽다, creates an adjective that expresses a feeling or emotional quality. Whereas the addition of ~답다 creates an adjective that indicates a particular noun is like some other noun.
Below are many examples showing ~답다 in use. Notice that the construction with~답다 creates an adjective, which means that you can use ~다운 to describe an upcoming noun, and ~답게 as an adverb.
이번 일을 계기로 어른답게 행동하려고 해요
= I’m going to use this opportunity to act like an adult
상기 내용을 보면 학생다운 질문이 하나도 없어요
= Looking at the above, there isn’t a single question that sounds like it came from a student
그는 항상 서민답게 검소하고 성실하게 살아왔어요
= He has always lived modestly and diligently, like a common person
제삼자의 입장에서 봐도 친구다운 행동은 아니었어요
= Even from a third party’s perspective, that wasn’t something a real friend would do
이 작품은 감동의 절정에 달하며 천사다운 순수함을 보여줘요
= This piece reaches the height of emotion and reveals an angelic purity
그는 끝까지 무죄를 주장하며 군인답게 당당한 태도를 보였어요
= He firmly maintained his innocence and showed a soldier-like, dignified attitude
자치 단체라면 군인답게 조직적이고 질서 있게 운영되어야 해요
= If it’s a self-governing body, it should be run in an organized and disciplined way, like a soldier would
산악 구조대는 신속하고 학자다운 분석력으로 실종자를 수색했어요
= The mountain rescue team searched for the missing person swiftly and with scholarly analysis
유죄 판결을 받았지만 마지막까지 신사답게 말 한마디 없이 법정을 떠났어요
= Even after being found guilty, he left the courtroom without a word, like a true gentleman
One interesting thing to note is that the word 아름답다 is not a combination of the word 아름 and ~답다 being added to it. Rather, the word 아름답다 is a word in itself that simply means “to be beautiful,” and it should not be thought of two separate things.
That’s it for this lesson!