Why Korean sentences are challenging for learners (and what to do about it)

Once you go beyond the absolute beginner level and start learning more complex phrases in Korean, sentences become more and more challenging to understand. We talk about why that happens (apart from the obvious fact that more advanced vocabulary is used), and what kind of approach you need to have toward it.

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0:00 Languages in general
1:01 Example of omission
1:48 Guessing game in Korean
2:33 Particles
3:31 Examples of particles' roles
4:14 Discover the missing elements
4:48 Example #1
6:02 What should you do as a learner?
6:18 Example #2
7:32 Takeaway
8:55 New course for you!

#LearnKorean #TTMIK #한국어

[talktomeinkorean]

Can you think of a Korean sentence or phrase that was particularly difficult for you to understand recently?

0:00 Languages in general
1:01 Example of omission
1:48 Guessing game in Korean
2:33 Particles
3:31 Examples of particles' roles
4:14 Discover the missing elements
4:48 Example #1
6:02 What should you do as a learner?
6:18 Example #2
7:32 Takeaway
8:55 New course for you!

[birdeynamnam]

I had a dream last night in Korean! 😄 I am finally fluent enough to have conversations even if they are with imaginary people 😆 I couldn’t have made this progress without you, thank you TTMIK! 💕🙇

[stevesutcliffe]

I often wondered how a single word in a K-Drama could end up as an entire sentence in the English subtitles! Now I know.

[ElCuchu]

Your Spanish pronunciation at the introduction was flawless I know what I say because I'm spanish indeed 😂 congratulations

[shjung]

I sometimes watch your lessons to learn how to explain somewhat tricky points in Korean using English even though I'm Korean. And I oftentimes find Korean also has what seems crazy when learning it, which is acutally what I think learning English. What was surprising and even funny in this lesson was when you said "인터넷이 더 싸요." I also found that sentence awkward even as a native Korean (shame on me🤣). I was like "What is he talking about? How could possilby the Internet be cheaper than something? Wait, does the Internet have cost in the first place? Ah, I got it. He probably means the monthly Internet fee!" And then your explanation about the missing elements enlightened me. I understood again how even native speakers get confused without proper context. As an English learner, I sometimes find it difficult to figure out what or who pronouns refer to espeically when reading novels since pronouns are not used in Korean as much as in English and we quite strictly distinguish between people and things when using pronouns. Plus, we usually use his or her names or titles instead. Anyway, I'd like to tell you who are struggling to learn Korean (probably the target audience of this lesson) that you're doing a great job. Keep up the good work!

[Adyaenchantingrecords]

I swear to God, the editorial team is comprised of legends.
Putting on the detective hat, editing it chapter wise, zooming in on Hyunwoo 씨 at the right time, adding the suspenseful music in the background.... The editors do a great job in making the lessons more engaging and fun. Kudos to the ttmik team. Also I've been with ttmik for 7 months and I've developed a lot. Started from level 1 and reached level 4. Feels really good. Thanks for the confidence and encouragement along with the best possibly delivered lessons. 감사합니다 티티믹 ✨️💖

[faecreature]

Me first learning Korean: "i love how specific this language is with its subject marker. I feel like i'm guessing a lot with translations but I'll get it!"

Me 9 months in: it's all just guessing. we're just guessing, aren't we???

I thought I was just struggling to translate, but no! There's definitely context missing. At least i know i'm not losing it when I hear two words but the translation is somehow an entire paragraph. Kdrama: "ㄴㅔ " Translation: "yes, I agree that is the best course of action to take, " Me: ".... wait a minute...."

[CottidaeSEA]

One thing that helps me a lot when trying to learn a language is simply not translating. That way things are never lost in translation and they never seem strange if that's simply how you've learned the language. You do not need to be concerned with what a sentence would mean in your own language; that is not what you're learning and it's a different language.
Of course, you'll still need some translations as help to remember what some words mean to begin with, but after using a language very regularly for about 6 months you can probably move on to using a dictionary in the language you're learning. It'll take time, but you'll learn even as you read the explanations of the words in the dictionary. Sometimes you find words that explain another word that you do not understand, which can lead you to learn a whole bunch of other words as well.
This is how I taught myself English; I did have mandatory English in school, but I was far ahead in terms of ability because I studied at home from a young age.

[jazzyyoongi]

I started learning 6 months ago. Watching this video humbled and showed me I have a LONG way to go😅

[chelzan]

Whoever edited this video did a great job hahaha
I love Detective Hat Hyunwoo at 6:46 😂

[farbenrausch]

This video has really helped me to feel more at ease! I had to accept that after nearly one year of (quite) dilligent studying (self, teacher, immersion, ...) that I still have to guess a lot, sometimes only picking up keywords and having to 눈치(I know it's not a verb) some sense into my teachers remarks. This was different when I was learning English and Italian. If I still can't follow my teacher will explain speaking slowly or write it down for me. We have lot's of fun, too! That helps! Often when I read the sentences, they make sense but only listening is really hard. I'm glad TTMIK keeps providing us learners with brilliant content so I can keep practising this wonderful language. Thank you!

[zacharycates]

Not exactly, but I've got a suggestion for a video topic for you guys:

So, I teach English at an Elementary school in Gyeonggido, and we have a faculty/staff KakaoTalk chatroom that's used to post announcements about stuff outside of regular school business, such as 회식, weddings, holidays, and stuff like that. Sadly, in the past few months, two of our faculty members had deaths in the family, and the funeral arrangments were posted in this chatroom. Then, basically everyone in the school all replied with the same sentence: "삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다."

The context here makes the general meaning pretty obvious, but I would love to see a video explaining this sentence in more detail, and explaining the cultural aspects of it, too. Like, obviously, it's NICE to go support a colleague in a time of loss, but do Koreans feel that it's obligatory, or rude not to go unless you have a good excuse? Even if the colleague is someone that you don't know well at all? Are there any customary gifts you should bring? Is it customary to give some money, similar to when going to a wedding?

Particularly, I would like to hear you talk about the cultural difference between English speakers and Korean speakers when it comes to *variety* in language. When this same situation happens in the States, for example, I feel like people would take great lengths to NOT write the same sentence as the people before them. You'd see lots of "My condolences, " "May they rest in peace, " "I'm sorry for your loss, " etc. but even those would have variations to make them different from what people had said before. "Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss." "My sincere condolences." and so on. Nobody wants to look like they just copied and pasted the same sentiment from someone else. That would feel insincere and rude to most Americans, I think. But obviously, that's not the case for Korean society. I was surprised to see 50 or so people saying the exact same sentence, with NO variation at all. It makes me think of how I've noticed that Koreans have no problem using a single word for something almost exclusively, like the word '맛있다' to describe good tasting food, whereas we English speakers usually prefer having a billion different ways to say similar things.

Anyway, I've been a fan of your work since your Koreanclass101 days, Hyunwoo! Thanks for everything. :)

[zacharycates]

As an English teacher living in Korea, this is also very helpful for me to help my Korean speaking students learn English! 감사합니다, 현우씨!

[tinka_minina]

Your video is brilliant as always! I’ve started learning Korean at the university three months ago and sometimes it feels impossible for me to ever learn this language, but whenever I’m struggling I just turn on some of your videos and I feel much better. Thank you so much!

[sharicutty]

Watching this video is mentally soothing! I do struggle a lot with understanding Korean language context but these tips will help a lot. Love from Nigeria

[juanpAAA]

Thank you for the video TTMIK. I will simply enjoy the process of learning Korean step by step no matter if it takes me 5 or 10 years.

[marycat]

Gracias por los videos 🥰 estoy aprendiendo inglés y coreano, y sus vídeos son súper útiles, gracias 🥰

[yusarinnnn]

This week I found my old books from when you guys started. And seeing the 4th one signed by the team made me want to start over in my journey. It's crazy to see how big and impactful TTMIK has become!

[BingBong]

It's great to have this kind of thing spelled out like this. For me Korean language exchange friends, this kind of "guessing game" is so natural to them that it never occurs to them to spell it out this way.

Also it's funny that it sort of goes in reverse, too. My Korean students frequently leave out the subjects in their English sentences.

[Necokeniii]

This inspired me to get back into my Korean studies, thanks for making this video