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Lesson 23: ㅎ Irregular: Korean Colors, 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다

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The following video is available to reinforce the concepts taught in this lesson: Dictation
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Vocabulary
Introduction

Korean Irregular: ㅎ
Korean Colors

이렇다/그렇다/저렇다
이렇다
그렇다
저렇다
이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 As Predicating Words

A Discussion about the Use of ~의

 

Vocabulary

Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use (you probably won’t be able to understand the grammar within the sentences at this point, but it is good to see as you progress through your learning).

A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.

You can try to find all of the words from this lesson, and all of the words from every lesson in Unit 1 in a package of twenty five Word Searches.

Nouns:
초록색 = (the color) green

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “초록쌕”

Notes: Color words that end in “색” are nouns. However, these words are often used like adjectives by placing them before a noun.

Examples:
제가 가장 좋아하는 색깔은 초록색이에요 = My favorite color is green
저는 초록색 펜으로 썼어요 = I wrote with a green pen

보라색 = (the color) purple

Examples:
저의 아버지는 보라색 차를 사고 싶어요 = My father wants to buy a purple car
비가 온 다음 날에 하늘은 보라색으로 바뀌었어요 = The sky turned purple the day after the rain

연두색 = (the color) light green

Example:
연두색(의) 바지를 샀어요 = I bought green pants

분홍색 = (the color) pink

Notes: The Konglish word “핑크(색)” is used more and more commonly these days.

Example:
대부분(의) 여자들은 분홍색(의) 가방을 골랐어요 = Most girls chose the pink bag

갈색 = (the color) brown

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “갈쌕”

Example:
그 여자의 머리가 갈색이에요 = That girl’s hair is brown

회색 = (the color) grey

Example:
물이 왜 이렇게 회색이에요? = Why is the water grey like this?

적색 = (the color) red

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “적쌕”

Common Usages:
적신호 = a red light, warning sign

Example:
정부는 지진 가능성 때문에 적색 경보를 내렸어요 = The government issued a red alert because of the possibility of an earthquake

셔츠 = shirt

Common Usages:
셔츠를 입다 = to put on a shirt
셔츠를 갈아입다 = to change one’s shirt

Examples:
셔츠가 너무 작아서 못 입어요 = I can’t put this shirt on because it is too small
그녀는 빨간 셔츠를 입고 있다 = She is wearing a red shirt

= snow

Common Usages:
눈보라 = blizzard
눈을 치우다 = to shovel/clean up snow
눈이 녹다 = for snow to melt
눈이 오다 = for it to snow

Examples:
저는 집 앞에 있는 을 다 치웠어요 = I cleaned up the snow in-front of the house
비행기가 9시에 출발할 예정이지만 이 많이 와서 못 출발할 것 같아요 = The plane is scheduled to depart at 9:00, but it probably won’t because it is snowing a lot

눈보라 = blizzard, snow storm

Example:
내일 눈보라가 올 거라고 했어요 = They say there will be a snowstorm tomorrow

뉴스 = news

Example:
우리 아빠는 매 밤 TV로 뉴스를 봐요 = Our dad watches the news every night on TV

전쟁 = war

Common Usages:
제 1차세계대전 = Word War 1
제 2차세계대전 = World War 2
한국전쟁 = the Korean War

Example:
우리 할아버지는 한국전쟁에서 싸웠어요 = Our grandfather fought in the Korean War

작품 = a piece of work

Common Usages:
미술작품 = work of art
문학 작품 = some sort of literary work

Example:
우리는 미술 수업 시간 동안 여러 가지의 작품을 만들어요 = We make many different types of works in art class

날짜 = date

Common Usages:
날짜를 잡다 = to set a date
날짜를 정하다 = to set a date

Example:
우리는 결혼식의 날짜를 아직 안 정했어요 = We still haven’t set a date for the wedding

그릇 = bowl

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “그륻”

Common Usages:
그릇에 담다 = to put something in a bowl

Examples:
저는 계란 두 개를 그릇에 넣었어요 = I put two eggs into a bowl
빵이 그릇에 담겨 있어요 = The bread is in/on the bowl

= one's back

Notes: When you want to say that your “back hurts,” you should say “허리가 아파요” – which translates to “my hip hurts.”

Example:
이 간지러워서 긁어 주세요 = Scratch my back! It’s itchy!

손등 = back of hand

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “손뜽”

Example:
그는 손등에 뭔가를 썼어요 = He wrote something on the back of his hand

손톱 = fingernail

Common Usages:
손톱을 깎다 = to trim one’s nails
손톱을 칠하다 = to paint one’s nails

Example:
저는 저의 등을 손톱으로 긁었어요 = I scratched my back with my fingernails
손톱
을 왜 이렇게 짧게 잘랐어요? = Why did you cut your nails so short (like this)?

독자 = readers

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “독짜”

Example:
Harry Potter의 독자들은 보통 중학교 혹은 고등학생이에요 = Most readers of Harry Potter are middle or high school students

부부 = couple, married couple

Common Usages:
신혼부부 = a recently married couple
맞벌이부부 = a double income couple (where both husband and wife work)

Examples:
부부는 50년 전에 결혼했어요 = That couple got married 50 years ago
저는 그런 부부가 되고 싶어요 = I want to be that kind of couple

Verbs:
변경하다 = to change

Example:
시간이 부족해서 우리는 계획을 변경해야 돼요 = We need to change the plans because of the lack of time

들르다 = to stop by

들르다 follows the 르 irregular

Common Usages:
들렀다 가다 = to pop in somewhere for a bit, and then leave

Example:
죄송해요! 저는 잠깐 집에 들러야 돼요 = Sorry! I need to pop into the house for a second

내려오다 = to come down

Notes: Compound verb of 내리다 and 오다.

Example:
예쁜 신부는 계단에서 내려왔어요 = The beautiful bride came down the stairs

내려가다 = to go down

This word appears in Korean Sign Explanation Video 16.

Notes: Compound verb of 내리다 and 가다.

This is also used to refer to going down (geographically) in the country.

Example:
지금 점점 어두워지고 있어서 우리는 산에서 내려가야 돼요 = We need to go down the mountain, because it is gradually getting darker
우리는 부산으로 내려갔어요 = We went down to Busan

드러내다 = to reveal, to show

Common Usages:
마음을 드러내다 = to reveal one’s emotions/heart
몸을 드러내다 = to reveal one’s body

Example:
그녀는 처음으로 그녀의 감정을 드러냈어요 = For the first time, she revealed her emotions
남자는 자기 근육을 여자들에게 드러냈어요 = The man revealed his muscles to the girls

발표하다 = to announce

The noun form of this word translates to “announcement” or “presentation”

Example:
제가 너무 부끄러워서 발표를 못해요 = I can’t do presentations because I am so shy
간부들은 그 결과를 회의에서 발표했어요 = The executives announced that result at the meeting

Passive Verbs:
드러나다 = to be revealed, to be shown

Example:
그 사람의 정체가 드러났어요 = That person’s identity was revealed

Adjectives:
푸르다 = to be sea blue

Notes: 푸르다 gets conjugated into 푸르러(요) when ~아/어 is added to it.
I don’t know of any other word that acts like this.

Example:
해가 뜨기 전에 하늘은 푸르러요 = The sky was sea blue before the sunrise

노랗다 = to be yellow

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “노라타”

노랗다 follows the ㅎ irregular

Idioms:
싹수가 노랗다 = to have a bad future ahead of you

Examples:
저 노란 집이 예뻐요 = That yellow house is pretty
저 노란색 집이 예뻐요 = That yellow (colored) house is pretty
불이 노래요 = The light is yellow

빨갛다 = to be red

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “빨가타”

빨갛다 follows the ㅎ irregular

Common Usages:
빨간색 = the color red
얼굴이 빨갛다 = for a face to be red

Example:
얼굴이 왜 이렇게 빨개요? = Why is your face so red?
빨간 사과는 가장 맛있어요 = Red apples are the most delicious
그녀는 빨간 셔츠를 입고 있다 = She is wearing a red shirt

하얗다 = to be white

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “하야타”

하얗다 follows the ㅎ irregular

Common Usages:
하얀색 = the color white

Example:
하얀색은 가장 순수한 색깔이에요 = White is the purest color
나는 하얀 차를 사고 싶어 = I want to buy a white car

까맣다 = to be black

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “까마타”

까맣다 follows the ㅎ irregular

Common Usages:
까만 색 = the color black

Examples:
그 남자는 매일 까만색 옷을 입어요 = That man wears black clothes every day
저는 보통 까만 양복을 입어요 = I usually wear black suits

파랗다 = to be blue

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “파라타”

파랗다 follows the ㅎ irregular

Common Usages:
파란색 = the color blue

Example:
파란 눈이 있는 남자가 가장 잘생겼어요 = Men with blue eyes are the most handsome

섬세하다 = to be delicate

Common Usages:
감정이 섬세하다 = for one’s emotions to be delicate

Example:
소설가의 설명은 아주 섬세해요 = The novelists explanation is very delicate/sophisticated

이렇다 = to be like this

It is hard to describe the meaning of  이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 without any other grammatical principle added to it. Much like 이, 그 and 저 can mean “this,” “that” and “that;” 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 can mean “like this,” “like that” and “like that.”

It is easier to describe and understand the meaning of these words when other grammatical principles are attached to it. ~ㄴ/은 (Lesson 4) is often added to 이렇다 (to create 이런) to describe a noun. For example:

이런 일은 위험하다 = This type of work is dangerous
이런 차는 너무 커요 = This type of car is too big
대부분 사람들은 이런 음식을 좋아해요 = Most people like this kind of food

~게 (Lesson 8) is often added to 이렇다 (to create 이렇게) to turn it into an adverb. For example:

저는 이렇게 하고 싶어요 = I want to do it like this
이렇게
아프면 약을 먹어야 돼요! = If you are this sick, you should take some medicine!
저는 이렇게 많은 단어를 외울 수 없어요 = I can’t memorize this many words

When Korean people ask a “why” question, they often stress “why” by using 이렇게. For example:

왜 이렇게 일찍 가요? = Why are you going so early (like this)?
이 일은 왜 이렇게 어려워요? = Why is this so hard (like this)?
이 인터넷은 왜 이렇게 느려요? = Why is this internet so slow (like this)?
손톱을 왜 이렇게 짧게 잘랐어요? = Why did you cut your nails so short (like this)?

그렇다 = to be like that

It is hard to describe the meaning of  이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 without any other grammatical principle added to it. Much like 이, 그 and 저 can mean “this,” “that” and “that;” 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 can mean “like this,” “like that” and “like that.”

It is easier to describe and understand the meaning of these words when other grammatical principles are attached to it. ~ㄴ/은 (Lesson 4) is often added to 그렇다 (to create 그런) to describe a noun. For example:

저는 그런 사람을 믿지 않아요 = I don’t trust that type of person/those types of people
저는 과거에 그런 행동을 많이 했어요 = I acted like that a lot in the past
저는 그런 것을 좋아하지 않아요 = I don’t like that type of thing

~게 (Lesson 8) is often added to 그렇다 (to create 그렇게) to turn it into an adverb. For example:

저는 그렇게 운동 하고 싶어요 = I want to exercise like that
그렇게 행복해 보여요? = Why do you look so happy? (like that)
그렇게 하지 마! = Don’t do it like that!
그렇게 할 필요가 없어요 = You don’t need to do it like that
저도 그렇게 생각해요 = I think that way as well

Many other grammatical principles are commonly added to 그렇다. I discuss this more in the actual lesson below.

저렇다 = to be like that

It is hard to describe the meaning of  이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 without any other grammatical principle added to it. Much like 이, 그 and 저 can mean “this,” “that” and “that;” 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 can mean “like this,” “like that” and “like that.”

It is easier to describe and understand the meaning of these words when other grammatical principles are attached to it. ~ㄴ/은 (Lesson 4) is often added to 저렇다 (to create 저런) to describe a noun. For example:

저는 저런 여자를 좋아하지 않아요 = I don’t like that kind of girl
저는 저런 차를 사고 싶어요 = I want to buy that type of car

~게 (Lesson 8) is often added to 저렇다 (to create 저렇게) to turn it into an adverb. For example:

아빠는 왜 저렇게 말하고 있어요? = Why is dad talking like that?
저 사람이 왜 저렇게 걸어요? = Why is that person walking like that?

Adverbs and Other Words:
대부분 = most

Notes: Placed immediately before a noun to say “most.”

Often times “의” is attached to 대부분 when it describes an upcoming noun.

Examples:
대부분의 사람들은 아침밥을 먹지 않는다 = Most people don’t eat breakfast
대부분 사람들은 이런 음식을 좋아해요 = Most people like this kind of food
대부분의 원숭이는 나무에서 살아요 = Most monkeys live in trees

송이 = counter for “bunch” of bananas or single flower

Notes: You can use the word “꽃다발” to indicate that you bought a bunch or “bouquet” of flowers.

Example:
저는 저의 여자 친구를 위해 꽃 한 송이를 샀어요 = I bought one flower for my girlfriend
그 마트에서 바나나 한 송이가 얼마예요 = How much is one bushel of bananas at that mart?

종류 = counter for a “type/kind of thing”

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “종뉴”

Common Usages:
여러 종류의 = various types of…
몇 종류… = a few types of
어떤 종류의 = which type of

Notes: 종류 and 가지 have the same meaning. They are used as a counter when you are talking about types of things.

Example:
어떤 종류의 차를 원해요? = What type of car do you want?

가지 = counter for a “type of thing”

Common Usages:
여러 가지의 = various types of…
몇 가지… = a few types of

Example:
나는 세 가지의 차가 있어 = I have three types of tea

For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.

 

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn how to use colors in Korean by applying the ㅎ irregular. In addition, you will learn about the words 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 and how the ㅎ irregular can be applied to those words. Let’s get started.

 

 

Korean Irregular:

Korean Colors

You learned all about the Korean irregulars in Lesson 7. On top of all of those irregulars, there is one more that you should be aware of.
The reason I didn’t include this irregular in Lesson 7 is because it is an irregular irregular. Usually, if the last consonant of a word stem ends in ㅎ, the word is not conjugated in any special way. For example:

좋다 = 좋아
많다 = 많아

However, a lot of colors in Korean end with the final syllable ㅎ (see the vocabulary list for a good list of these). When conjugating these words (which are adjectives) to allow them to describe an upcoming noun, we can add ~ㄴ/은, just like it is done with other adjectives. However, in some words (mostly colors) the ㅎ gets dropped and ㄴ gets added directly to the word stem. For example:

Word Word + ~ㄴ/은 Word + noun Translation
노랗다 = yellow 노란 노란 공 Yellow ball
빨갛다 = red 빨간 빨간 공 Red ball
하얗다 = white 하얀 하얀 공 White ball
까맣다 = black 까만 까만 공 Black ball
파랗다 = blue 파란 파란 공 Blue ball

 

You can use those color words to describe objects in sentences where appropriate. For example:

저 노란 집이 예뻐요 = That yellow house is pretty
빨간 사과는 가장 맛있어요 = Red apples are the most delicious
그녀는 빨간 셔츠를 입고 있다 = She is wearing a red shirt
나는 하얀 차를 사고 싶어 = I want to buy a white car
저는 보통 까만 양복을 입어요 = I usually wear black suits
파란 불이 제일 뜨거워요 = The blue flame is the hottest

If you want to use these words as nouns (as in, “the color white” or “the color red”), you can add “색” after the adjective form of the color (색 means ‘color’):

노란색 = the color yellow
빨간색 = the color red
하얀색 = the color white
까만색 = the color black
파란색 = the color blue

Though these words are nouns, they are often placed before another noun to describe it. For example

저 노란색 집이 예뻐요 = That yellow (colored) house is pretty
그녀는 빨간색 셔츠를 입고 있어요 = She is wearing a red (colored) shirt
나는 하얀색 차를 사고 싶어 = I want to buy a white (colored) car
저는 보통 까만색 양복을 입어요 = I usually wear black (colored) suits
파란색 불이 제일 뜨거워요 = The blue (colored) flame is the hottest

Here, each of these “color” nouns is describing an upcoming noun without being an adjective.

This is a good time to teach you about another usage of the particle “~의”. “~의” can be attached to words that commonly describe nouns (like adjectives) but are inherently not adjectives. What I mean by this, is that you will often find words that are always (or very commonly) placed before nouns to describe them, but are technically classified as adverbs or nouns (and hence, don’t end with “~다” like a typical adjective). It is acceptable to attach the particle “~의” to these adjective-like adverbs or nouns when they describe an upcoming noun. The meaning is the same when using “~의” or not using it, but in speech it is more common to not use it.

For example, all of the above could be written as:

저 노란색의 집이 예뻐요 = That yellow (colored) house is pretty
그녀는 빨간색의 셔츠를 입고 있다 = She is wearing a red (colored) shirt
나는 하얀색의 차를 사고 싶어 = I want to buy a white (colored) car
저는 보통 까만색의 양복을 입어요 = I usually wear black (colored) suits
파란색의 불이 제일 뜨거워요 = The blue (colored) flame is the hottest

Although acceptable and understandable, it would be slightly more natural to not use ~의 with these color words. Therefore, I didn’t make audio recordings for the sentences above using ~의. In other situations with other (non-color) words, you will more commonly see ~의 attached to a noun or adverb being used to describe a noun.

For example, a common word that ~의 is attached to is “대부분,” which translates to “most.” Just like in English 대부분 is usually placed immediately before a noun to say “most (noun).” For example:

대부분 사람들… = Most people…
대부분 부부들… = Most couples…
대부분 독자들… = Most readers…

In each case, it is also possible to attach ~의. For example:

대부분의 사람들… = Most people…
대부분의 부부들… = Most couples…
대부분의 독자들… = Most readers…

These constructions can now be used in sentences where appropriate. For example:

대부분의 사람들은 아침밥을 먹지 않아요 = Most people don’t eat breakfast (rice breakfast)
대부분 사람들은 아침밥을 먹지 않아요 = Most people don’t eat breakfast (rice breakfast)

대부분의 부부들은 같은 침대에서 자요 = Most couples sleep in the same bed
대부분 부부들은 같은 침대에서 자요 = Most couples sleep in the same bed

대부분의 독자들은 그 작품을 안 좋아해요 = Most readers don’t like that work
대부분 독자들은 그 작품을 안 좋아해요 = Most readers don’t like that work

Using ~의 here is in effect the same reason why we can attach ~의 to counters when placed before a noun (as you learned in Lesson 10). To jog your memory, in that lesson I said it was acceptable to place a counter before a noun you are counting followed by the use of “~의.”

For example:

나는 네 개의 펜을 샀어 = I bought four pens
나는 두 개의 햄버거를 먹었어 = I ate two hamburgers
나는 어제 다섯 명의 친구를 만났어 = I met five friends yesterday

The number-counter pairs in the above sentences are effectively describing the upcoming noun. Of course, the number-counter pairs are not adjectives, so ~의 can be used.

I dig deeper into the use of “의” and specifically how it relates to “적” (which was introduced in Lesson 16) later in the lesson. I want you to be aware of this usage of ~의 and how it can be attached to adverbs and nouns when describing an upcoming noun. However, the main purpose of this lesson is to talk about color words and the ㅎ irregular, so I will continue with that now.

Often, the most common way to describe a color is to use a word that only exists as a noun and does not have an adjective form. For example, look at the following:

초록색 = (the color) green
연두색 = (the color) light green
보라색 = (the color) purple
분홍색 = (the color) pink
갈색 = (the color) brown
회색 = (the color) grey

The above are all color words, but they do not have a respective adjective form (like 빨갛다 and 빨간색). In order to use these words to describe the color of something, they can be placed immediately before a noun (naturally) without ~의 and (slightly unnaturally) with 의 just as described earlier. For example:

저는 초록색(의) 펜으로 쓰고 싶어요 = I want to write this with a green pen
연두색(의) 바지를 샀어요 = I bought green pants
대부분(의) 여자들은 분홍색(의) 가방을 골랐어요 = Most girls chose the pink bag
남자 친구가 보라색(의) 꽃 한 송이를 샀어요 = My boyfriend bought one purple flower

When adding “~아/어” (or any of its derivatives) to color words where the stem ends in ‘ㅎ,’ an irregular conjugation applies. For now, the only situation you know where you would add ~아/어 (or a derivative like ~았/었) is when conjugating using the honorifics introduced in Lesson 6. Note that there are other times when you would have to add ~아/어 to words, you just haven’t learned about them yet.

When adding ~아/어 to these words, the ㅎ is dropped and the final vowel changes to either ㅐ or ㅒ. If the final vowel is ㅏ or ㅓ, it changes to ㅐ, and if the final vowel is ㅑ, it changes to ㅒ. For example:

Word Word + ~아/어 Word + ~았/었어
노랗다 노래 노랬어
빨갛다 빨개 빨갰어
하얗다 하얘 하얬어
까맣다 까매 까맸어
파랗다 파래 파랬어

Here are some of these used in sentences:

불이 노래요 = The light is yellow
얼굴이 왜 빨개요? = Why is your face red?
유럽 사람의 피부는 하얘요 = European people’s skin is white
그 여자의 머리가 까매요 = That girl’s hair is black
저 남자의 눈이 진짜 파래요 = That man’s eyes are really blue

In each case, it would also be acceptable to use the noun form of each of the words above and conjugate the sentence with 이다. For example:

불이 노란색이에요 = The light is (the color) yellow
얼굴이 왜 빨간색이에요? = Why is your face (the color) red
유럽 사람의 피부는 하얀색이에요 = European people’s skin is (the color white)
그 여자의 머리가 까만색이에요 = That girl’s hair is (the color) black
저 남자의 눈이 진짜 파란색이에요 = That man’s eyes are really (the color) blue

A more advanced Korean speaker (or a Korean person) could argue that the two sets of sentences are not completely identical. Their meanings and translations could be exactly the same, but they could have a slightly different nuance. For example, “얼굴이 왜 빨개요?” would be more about a face being red as a result of it blushing, whereas “얼굴이 왜 빨간색이에요?” would be more about a face that is actually red from something like paint. This nuance is very subtle and not something you need to worry about as a beginner. Even as an advanced learner, I find it very hard to articulate this difference into words. In a way, I find the difference between the two similar to “why is your face red?” and “why is your face the color red?”  

————–

So far, you have seen how ~ㄴ/은 and ~아/어 cause the ㅎ irregulars to change. Since the beginning of this course, you have also learned the following additions that could potentially cause a change to a word stem:

~ㅂ/습니다 (Lesson 6)
~ㄹ/을 (Lesson 9)
~니 and ~나 (Lesson 21)

To this point, you have seen how these additions can cause changes to the irregulars introduced in Lesson 7. Because this is your first time learning about the ㅎ irregular, we should quickly discuss the changes that occur as a result of adding these to ㅎ irregular words:

  • Adding ~ㅂ/습니다 does not cause a change to ㅎ irregular words. ~습니다 is added directly to the stem. For example:

노랗다 + ~ㅂ/습니다 = 노랗습니다

  • Adding ~ㄹ/을 causes a change to ㅎ irregular words. The ㅎ is removed, and ~ㄹ is added to the stem. For this addition, the ㅎ irregular and ㄹ irregular follow the same rule. For example:

살다 + ~ㄹ/을  = 살
노랗다 + ~ㄹ/을 = 노랄

  • Adding ~니 causes a change to ㅎ irregular words. The ㅎ is removed, and ~니 is added after the stem. For this addition, the ㅎ irregular and ㄹ irregular follow the same rule. For example:

살다 + ~니 = 사니
노랗다 + ~니 = 노라니

The table below shows all of the additions you have learned so far that can cause a change to a word stem. This table shows how these additions affect various words, including words that follow the ㅎ irregular. Examples where irregulars apply are in bold.

Word (translation + ~ㄴ/은 ~ㅂ/습니다 ~아/어 ~ㄹ/을 ~니
짓다 (to build) 지은 짓습니다 지어 지을 짓니
걷다 (to walk) 걸은 걷습니다 걸어 걸을 걷니
쉽다 (to be easy) 쉬운 쉽습니다 쉬워 쉬울 쉽니
돕다 (to help) 도운 돕습니다 도와 도울 돕니
잠그다 (to lock) 잠근 잠급니다 잠가 잠글 잠그니
다르다 (to be different) 다른 다릅니다 달라 다를 다르니
살다 (to live) 삽니다 살아 사니
노랗다 (to be yellow) 노란 노랗습니다 노래 노랄 노라니

You will learn more additions in later lessons. In those lessons, you will learn how each addition affects each irregular – including the ㅎ irregular.

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The words 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 are not colors, but they also follow the ㅎ irregular. I will talk about those in the section below.

 

이렇다/그렇다/저렇다

이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 are all adjectives. Each word is essentially the same – the only difference being the difference between 이, 그 and 저. Remember the difference between these?

이 means “this”

그 means “that” when you are referring to something in a previous sentence. For example: “I went to Canada last week. At that time I forgot about my test that I had to write.”

저 means “that” when something is far from you.

이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 are very important and common in Korean, so let’s look at them one by one.

 

이렇다

이렇다 means “like this,” but (along with 그렇다 and 저렇다) is rarely used in its dictionary form. It is generally used in two ways: as an adjective and as an adverb:

As an Adjective: 이런
By adding ~ㄴ/은 to the stem of 이렇다 we get 이런, which means “this sort of/this kind of/this type of.” For example:

이런 일은 위험하다 = This type of work is dangerous
이런 차는 너무 커요 = This type of car is too big

As an Adverb: 이렇게
By adding ~게 to the stem of 이렇다 we get 이렇게, which means “like this.”

저는 이렇게 하고 싶어요 = I want to do it like this
왜 이렇게 일찍 가요? = Why are you going so early (like this)?
이 일은 왜 이렇게 어려워요? = Why is this so hard (like this)?

You’ll notice that in the last two examples, the words “like this” in English don’t necessarily need to be in the sentence. It is hard to fully explain in words, as this is something that you really just pick up after a while when learning Korean. When Korean people ask a “why” question, they often stress “why” by using  이렇게.

*Also notice the usage of “일” in the sentence above. Although the best translation of the word “일” is “work” (in noun form), it is very common for Korean people to use “일” to represent some sort of task or thing that somebody has to do (regardless of if we would call it “work” in English). I am reluctant to show you the most common example of this being used because you haven’t learned the grammar within it yet. Nonetheless, you will often see “저는 할 일이 있어요” which translates to “I have something to do.” As of now, you haven’t learned how “할” is being used, but try to focus on the usage of “일” in this sentence. The sentence is essentially saying “I have a task that I will do.” The sentence above could also be written as “이것은 왜 이렇게 어려워요.”

 

그렇다

Now that you know about 이렇다, learning about 그렇다 is simple. Like 이렇다, 그렇다 is usually used as an adjective or an adverb:

As an Adjective: 그런
By adding ~ㄴ/은 to the stem of 그렇다 we get 그런, which means “that sort of/that kind of/that type of.” For example:

저는 그런 사람을 믿지 않아요 = I don’t trust that type of person/those types of people
저는 그런 것을 좋아하지 않아요 = I don’t like that type of thing

As an Adverb: 그렇게
By adding ~게 to the stem of 그렇다 we get 그렇게, which means “like that.”

저는 그렇게 생각하지 않아요 = I don’t think like that
저는 그렇게 운동하고 싶어요 = I want to exercise like that

 

저렇다

저렇다 can be used the same way as 이렇다 and 그렇다; as 저런 and 저렇게. All you need to do is to keep in mind the differences between 이, 그 and 저.

As an adjective: 저런
저는 저런 여자를 좋아하지 않아요 = I don’t like that kind of girl
저는 저런 차를 사고 싶어요 = I want to buy that type of car

As an adverb: 저렇게
아빠는 왜 저렇게 말하고 있어요? = Why is dad talking like that?
저 사람이 왜 저렇게 걸어요? = Why is that person walking like that?

Just like our color words presented earlier in this lesson, when ~아/어 (or a derivative) is added to 이렇다, 그렇다 or 저렇다, an irregular conjugation occurs. Let’s look at this next.

 

 

 

이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 As Predicating Words

이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 can also be used as the predicating word (i.e. the end) of a sentence. These are usually only seen in relatively simple sentences asking or indicating if something is “like this/like that.” For example:

이 학교도 그렇지 않습니까? = Is this school not like that as well?
네, 그렇습니다 = Yes, that is correct (that is the way it is)

The most common way that you will see any of these words being used, especially for a beginner, is in the following form:

왜 이래?
왜 그래?
왜 저래?

Notice that the sameㅎ irregular applies to the words above. That is, when adding ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives), the ㅎ is dropped and the ㅓ changes to ㅐ.

In each case, the speaker is asking “Why are you like this/that?” This is very common in Korean conversation, as it essentially is like saying “what’s wrong?” or “what’s the matter” or “what the **** are you doing?”

그렇다 specifically is also commonly used by people to express their content/agreement with some sort of statement or situation. For example:

Person 1: 내일 공원에 같이 가고 싶어요? = Do you want to go to the park together tomorrow?
Person 2: 그래요. 같이 가요 = Sure (like that is fine). Let’s go together.

Person 1: 제가 지금 갈 거예요 = I’m going to go now
Person 2: 그래요! = Sure (like that is fine)

Person 1: 저는 내일 회사에 못 와요 = Tomorrow, I can’t come to work
Person 2: 그래요! 월요일에 봐요! = Sure (like that is fine). See you on Monday!

In this same respect, it is often used as a question to express one’s “disbelief” or “shock.” In reality, the speaker isn’t actually “shocked” or “in disbelief” but is merely showing his/her interest in the conversation. This would be akin to using the word “Really?!” in English. For example:

Person 1: 저는 지난 주에 캐나다에 있었어요 = I was in Canada last week
Person 2: 그래요? 어디에 갔어요? = Really!? (It’s like that?) Where did you go?

Person 1: 나는 보통 고기를 안 먹어 = I usually don’t eat meat
Person 2: 그래? 왜 안 먹어? = Really? (It’s like that?) Why don’t you eat it?

Person 1: 이 물이 맛이 없어 = This water doesn’t taste good
Person 2: 그래? = Really? (It’s like that?)

Many other grammatical principles can be added to 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 but these haven’t been introduced yet.

Specifically, you will find that many grammatical principles can attach to 그렇다 to have their respective meaning combined with the meaning of 그렇다. These will all be introduced in future lessons (where the grammatical principle is introduced), but here is a quick taste of what I am referring to. I suggest browsing through this list just to get an idea of:

a) How versatile 그렇다 is
b) The general meaning of 그렇다
c) How this meaning can be applied to many, many other grammatical principles.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather a small taste of some of the concepts that you will be learning in the next 100 lessons or so.

그렇다 + ㅁ/음 (Introduced in Lesson 29)
그럼 = “Yes, like that.”

그렇다 + ~ㄴ/은지 (Introduced in Lesson 30)
왜 그런지 몰라요 = “I don’t know why it is like that”

그렇다 + ~ㄹ/을 것 같다 (Introduced in Lesson 35)
그럴 것 같아요 = “It is probably like that”

그렇다 + ~아/어서 (Introduced Lesson 37)
그래서 = “It is like that, so…” (Therefore)

그렇다 + ~기 때문에 (Introduced in Lesson 38)
그렇기 때문에 = “It is like that, so…” (Therefore)

그렇다 + ~(으)면 (Introduced in Lesson 43)
그러면 = “If it is like that…”

그렇다 + ~지만 (Introduced in Lesson 47)
그렇지만 = “Even though it is like that”

그렇다 + ~았/었으면 좋겠다 (Introduced in Lesson 61)
그랬으면 좋겠다 = “It would be nice if it is like that”

그렇다 + ~ㄹ/을까? (Introduced in Lesson 63)
그럴까? = “Do you think it is like that?”

그렇다 + ~ㄴ/은데 (Introduced in Lesson 76 and 77)
그런데 = “It is like that… so…”

그렇다 + ~구나 (Introduced in Lesson 82)
그렇구나 = “Oh! It is like that”

그렇다 + ~네(요) (Introduced in Lesson 83)
그러네 = “Oh! It is like that”

그렇다 + ~지/죠 (Introduced in Lesson 93)
그렇죠 = Sure, yep, it is like that

At this point, I hope you can understand how 이렇다, 그렇다 and 저렇다 can be used, and their general meanings. In addition, I hope you can understand how color words can be used in sentences. Just below, I will continue the discussion of the use of ~의 and how it is used on words where ~적 is commonly attached.

 


 

I have had some people ask me about the difference between using “의” on a word to describe a noun (like 흰색의 차) and using “적” on a word to describe a noun. The grammar below is a little bit advanced, but this is the lesson that it belongs in (as I am already discussing the purpose of “~의” attached to nouns or adverbs to describe an upcoming noun). It might be good to glimpse over this, and then come back to it later when you have a better understanding of Korean grammar.

As you will recall from Lesson 16, “적” can be added to words to change them into a type of adjective as well. As I mentioned in Lesson 16, the addition of “적” to a noun causes the word to change a little bit. It’s hard to say exactly how the word changes, because it is a little bit different for every word. The examples that are given in the lesson are:

경제 = economy/economics
경제적 = economical

역사 = history
역사적 = historical

과학 = science
과학적 = scientific

충동 = impulse/shock
충동적 = impulsive

문화 = culture
문화적 = cultural

개인 = individual/personal
개인적 = individual

Some other examples that you might want to jot down, but not memorize at this point because they are quite advanced:

열정 = passion
열정적 = passionate

체계 = system
체계적 = systematic

획일 = standardization
획일적 = standardized

세계 = world
세계적 = global

Before I start, I want to first mention that the “의” that we are talking about here is not the possessive particle that is discussed in Lesson 3. Rather, it is a particle that is added to a word that is inherently not an adjective, but allows it to describe an upcoming noun (like an adjective).

Most of the time, adding “적” literally changes the translation of the word. As you can see in the list above, the word changes when “적” is added. For example, from “passion” to “passionate”. However, when just “의” is added to the word, the translation would not change – and using “noun+의” only makes sense if that word (the original word) can actually act as an adjective (without being an adjective) to begin with.

The easiest examples to start with are ones that work with “적” but not with “의”. For example:

열정 means “passion.” I can say things like:
과학에 대한 학생의 열정은 놀라워요 = The student’s passion for science is surprising

“적” can be added to mean “passionate”. For example:
그는 열정적인 사람이다 = He is a passionate man

However, simply adding “의” to the noun (열정) does not change it from “passion” to “passionate”. The meaning still stays as “passion”. Using this in a sentence would yield:
그는 열정의 사람이다 = He is a passion man – which doesn’t make sense

In the same way “과학” means “science”
과학적 means “scientific”
과학의 still means “science”

I can use “과학적” to describe a noun that would be natural being described by “scientific”. For example:

과학적인 증거 = scientific proof

However, “과학의 증거” literally translates to “science proof” which wouldn’t sound right.

Now, just like everything in life, there are some exceptions.  Specifically, the word “개인” (without the use of “적” or “의” actually means personal. Therefore, just like how the word “대부분(의)” (most) isn’t actually an adjective but feels like an adjective, “개인의” can be placed before a noun to describe it.
“개인적” also works, as it also means “personal.”

My advice is to learn words with “적” as separate words. Don’t try to think of words with “적” as a noun followed by a grammatical principle, but try to think of them as their own words with their own translation. From what I can see – there are some words where the “-적” version of the word is the same as the non-적 version of the word. In these cases, it appears that both “의” and “적” can be used.

Okay, I got it! Take me to the next lesson! Or,
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