The previous lesson was on Korean pronouns. Now it's time to learn some proper nouns, and by proper nouns I mean names. names are a little different in Korean and sometimes calling a person by just their name is rude. So, let's try and learn all about that.
In English we write our names with the given name first and family name last. In Korean it is the family name first and the given name last. Now, usually the family name is one syllable and the given name is two syllables. This is the most common Korean name length, but there are many, many people who have longer or shorter names.
Example:
ENGLISH: Aron Kwak
KOREAN: 콱아론
Now you can call someone by their name if they are a close friend, if they are younger than you, or if they are ranked lower than you at work or whatever. (the people with which you use casual language) But, if you want to be polite and show respect there are a couple of ways to do that.
When in a workplace environment the way you address someone is by using their given or full name and adding -ssi (씨) to the end. Kind of like when we use Mr or Mizz except it goes after the given / full name and it's the same for males and females. Again, this way of addressing someone is popular in the workplace and is used for people with which you have a professional relationship.
When it comes to your friends you can usually speak with casual language, but you still have to show respect to those who are older than you. You may have heard that age is very important in Korea. So, if you have a friend who is older than you you call them:
name + big brother or big sister
This is for your friends and your actual, biological, big brothers and sisters. But, not strangers, don't call everyone big bro/sis as soon as you meet them. That's just a little too friendly. So, when you become friends with a female who is older than you, you call her:
name eon-ni if you are a female
or
name nu-na if you are a male
That's right, there is a different word for big sister depending on whether you are male or female.
Same thing for big brother. When you become friends with a male who is older than you, you call him:
name o-ppa if you are a female
or
name hyeong if you are a male
For your friends who are much older than you (like 15 years or more) use auntie (i-mo) or uncle (sam chon). You can use the same word for aunt and uncle no matter whether you are male or female.
Also, what you can do if a name ends in a consonant is add "ee" to the end of the name before adding the family relationship word. For example, if you are a boy and you are talking your older friend "Hellen" You call her "Hel-len-i nu-na" instead of "Hel-len-nu-na". Just so that it flows off the tongue easier. If you are a girl call her "Hel-len-i-eon-ni".
Again, this is what you call your friends who are older than you.
For friends who are younger than you you can just call them by their name and, if you like, you can add "ya" or "a" to the end. Names than end in vowels get a "ya", and names that end in consonants get an "a". This is totally optional. You don't have to add a ya or a if you don't want to. The function of the "a" or "ya" is to diminutize the name. Have you ever heard the word diminutize before? It means make it more cute and thus it is something that is only commonly used towards young people. As you get older you will probably want people to stop adding the a or ya to your name.
So, now strangers. How do you address them? You don't know what their names are, but you may be encountering them while at work. So, you know what their job is, and you can use that in place of their name. We 've already learned one, infact.
seon-saeng-nim which means teacher. You see this part, "nim"? That is a very formal suffix. we learned "ssi" which is a polite suffix and this "nim" is a formal suffix. It shows even more respect. You can add it to the end of a job title, or name if you like. "nim" is most often used for people older than you. If you want to be polite to a stranger who is younger than you you can add "-gun" for younger men or "-yang" for younger women.
Another job title we learned is hak-saeng that means student. Safe to assume any child or teenager is a student so you can call them hak-saeng.
Here are some more job titles:
For strangers whose jobs you do not know you can use the words we learned last lesson. here they are again:
so now you know how to address coworkers, friends and strangers. Keep in mind, though, this is just a guideline. The way you address people can vary a lot between different comunities and different individuals. So don't be afraid to ask them what you should call them. If you want to memorize vocabulary the real only way is by reviewing it frequently. So, keep these words floating around in your head as much as possible and thanks for studying with me.
WATCH THE LESSON VIDEO: https://youtu.be/jVSdlMx0W8k
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