This is a vocabulary lesson that will cover two important topics: one is the verb for "to have" 잇다 (it-da). It-da is actually a very versatile word and has many meanings. In this video we will focus on just the one meaning: to have. The other topic that we're going to cover is the names for family members. In this lesson you will learn how to tell people about all the family members you have.
So, to say "have" in Korean we start with the infinitive 잇다(it-da). 잇다(it-da) is a regular ㅓ(eo) verb, so we conjugate into the simple present in the usual way.
Cut off the 다(-da), and add an 어(eo) to make the casual form, and add a 요(yo) to the casual form to make the polite form. Then to make the formal cut off the 다(-da) from the infinitive and add 습니다(seum-ni-da).
This is nothing new if you've watched my video on conjugating ㅓeo verbs into the simple present. By the way, all the videos I mention will be linked in the description.
Now let's make sentences with the word have. All the sentences we make will be in the form "I have BLANK" We remember the words for I: 나 (na) in the casual form and 저 (jeo) in the formal and polite form. Which form should we use when describing our family? That depends on who you are talking to and how much respect you want to show them. Here is a general guideline for when to use each type of language. In this video I will focus on just the formal and polite forms. Those are the ones you will be using most often because anyone who doesn't know about your family already is probably a stranger or group of strangers. (besides, casual is easy, just take off the yo change jeo to na)
나는 _____ 있어
저는 _____ 있어요
저는 _____있습니다 (notice the double s. That means we pronounce it with extra emphasis i-SSeo, i-SSeo-yo. We're gonna start pronouncing things better around here) and we don't need extra emphasis in 있습니다 (it-seum-nida) because the ㅆ (double s) is in the batchim and is sounding like "t"
I'm using "I have blank" as an example sentence but it works the same if you replace the I with any other noun or pronoun.
I don't wanna make you wait. Here is a summary of all the different family members in Korean. This chart is also linked in the description. But stay with me for the rest of the video anyways because we're gonna make some pretty complicated sentences using a lot of what we learned in the past videos. You'll be so impressed with yourself. You'll be able to tell Koreans all about your family.
First of all the word for ‘family’ in Korean is 가족 (gajok)
I HAVE A FAMILY
나는 가족 있어
저는 가족 있어요
저는 가족 있습니다
and now, a bit more about 있다 (it-da). It may look like a regular verb because it obeys regular conjugation rules but it is irregular. Like I mentioned earlier 있다 (it-da) can have multiple meanings. One translation is "to have" but another, more accurate translation would be would be "to exist". Things are gonna get a little complicated now as we discuss how subject and object markers are used with 있다 (it-da).
Look at the sentence we wrote:
저는 가족 있어요
I family exist
The verb in this sentence is "exist".... right? and the subject of a sentence is the thing that is doing the verb. When you say "I have a family" what is the thing that you are trying to tell people exists? Is it "I" or "family"? It's "family", right? When you say "I have a family" you are telling people that a family exists. So, family is doing the existing. Family is doing the verb. So, that makes it the subject of the sentence, and, thus, we give it a subject marker
저는 가족이 있어요
This sentence has two subjects because it's not just any family that exists it's my family. So, I start the sentence with 저는 (jeo-neun).
Subject markers don't exist in English. You're never gonna get a direct translation, but one way I have seen 저는 (jeo-neon) translated is as the words "for me".
저는 가족이 있어요
For me a family exists.
AH! the struggles of learning a language that was invented on the opposite side of the planet as your own!
But if you understood none of that, the take away message is that in the sentence "I have a family." family does not get the 을/를 (eul/reul) object marker like you would expect. Instead it gets the 이/가 (i/ga) subject marking particle because TECHNICALLY family is the subject of the sentence since 있다 (it-da) does not literally mean "to have", but rather it means "to exist"
or even more tldr:
In sentences of the form I have _____ give the blank an 이/가 (i/ga) subject marker.
...and as always subject and object markers are optional.
But if you do use subject markers you must always use 는/은 (neun/eun) here and 이/가 (i/ga) here. You do not get to change them depending on what you want to emphasize. It must always be like this.
__는/은 ____가/이 있어요.
Or... we can say "I have______." in a different way, a way that uses object markers. That is:
저는 ______ 가지고 있어요.
When we add 가지고(ga-ji-go) we can use 를/을 (reul/eul) object markers at the end of the word that goes in the blank. for example:
저는 가족을 가지고 있어요.
...and once again, as always, subject and object markers are optional.
But this form is not used for family members because it means you actually own them. So wrong. (It's like keeping your family in a jar... with airholes)
This is a stupid example. Everyone has a family. People don't just appear out of nothing.
Let's learn some more vocabulary for our relatives. or, in Korean:
친척
chin-cheok
First let's learn parents.
Parents in Korean is 부모님 bu-mo-nim
mother is
어머니 eo-meo-ni
나는 어머니가 있어
저는 어머니가 있어요
저는 어머니가 있습니다
or if you prefer to say mom that is 엄마 eom-ma
(나는 엄마가 있어
저는 엄마가 있어요
저는 엄마가 있습니다)
people call their mother either word eomeoni is a bit more polite
father is similar
father is 아버지 a-beo-ji
나는 아버지가 있어
저는 아버지가 있어요
저는 아버지가 있습니다
if you prefer dad that is 아빠 a-ppa
(저는 아빠가 있어요 )
Now let's move onto brothers and sisters and get ready because there are 4 words for brother and 4 words for sister.
The word for brother of any age is
brother- 형제(hyeong-je) and then we can get more specific. A younger brother is 남동생 (nam-dong-saeng) and older brother has 2 different variations. It is 오빠(oppa) when you are a female, and 형(hyung) when you are a male.
So, if you wanted to talk about your brothers you might say something like:
I have 2 brothers, 1 older brother and one younger brother
I have 2 형제, 1 오빠 and 1 남동생.
or if you are a boy you would say hyung instead of oppa.
Now we're gonna translate this whole sentence into Korean and for that you'll need to recall our lesson on counters. When you want to say how many of something there is using numbers you must also use a counter. The counter for people is 명(myeong) and the word order is thing, number, counter. If this is confusing for you please watch the video on counters linked below. If you want to say 2 brothers you say brother 2 myeong or, in Korean, 형제 두 명. Remember you drop the last letter of 1,2,3,4, & 20. So lets translate this whole sentence. Starting with the one that you use when you are a girl.
I have 2 형제, 1 오빠 and 1 남동생.
jeo-neun hyeong-je-ga du myeong i-sseo-yo oppa han myeong-gwa nam dong-saeng han myeong-i i-sseo-yo.
저는 형제가 두 명 있어요. 오빠 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
The i/ga goes here. (ideally/preferably)
저는 형제가 두 명 있어요. 오빠 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
it could also go here if you really want
저는 형제가 두 명 있어요. 오빠 한 명과 남동생이 한 명 있어요.
but the first one is more natural
and for the formal change 있어요 to 있습니다
저는 형제가 두 명 있습니다. 오빠 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있습니다
and in the casual form
and if you are a boy change oppa to hyeong.
저는 형제 두 명이 있어요. 오빠 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
저는 형제 두 명이 있어요. 형 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
저는 형제가 두 명 있어요. 오빠 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
저는 형제가 두 명이 있어요. 형 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
or 저는오빠랑 남동생 있어요
오빠 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요. better to put the 이-i here
getit? It really helps if you know how to use counters. Notice 과(gwa) in there too. That is the formal/polite version of "and" that goes between nouns.
For sisters we have the same kind of situation. a sister of any type is 자매(ja-mae)
a younger sister is 여동생 (yeo-dong-saeng) and older sister is 언니(eonni) if you are a girl and 누나(nu-na) if you are a boy.. Let's make a similar sentence with the word sister.
I have 2 sisters one older sister and one younger sister
저는 자매 du myeong 있어요 eonni han myeong-gwa yeodongsaeng han myeong.
저는 자매가 두 명 있어요. 언니 한 명과 여동생 한 명이 있어요.
저는 자매가 두 명 있어요. 누나 한 명과 여동생 한 명이 있어요.
jeo-neun ja-mae-ga du myeong i-sseo-yo. nu-na han myeong
and the formal version with 있습니다 in stead of 있어요
and if you are a boy you change eonni to nuna.
Now we have남동생(nam-dong-saeng) for younger bro and 여동생(yeo-dong-saeng) for younger sis.
if we just wanted to say younger sibling that would be just 동생(dong-saeng) so we can make a sentence like this:
I have 2 younger siblings 1 younger sister and one younger brother.
저는 동생이 두 명 있어요. 여동생 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
jeo-neun dong-saeng-i du myeong i-sseo-yo. yeo-dong-saeng han myeong-gwa nam-dong-saeng han myeong-i i-sseo-yo.
OK, that was tricky, but lets move on to grandparents
조부모님 jo-bu-mo-nim
Grandparents
나는 조부모님이 네 명 있어.
저는 조부모님이 네 명 있어요.
저는 조부모님이 네 명 있습니다
할머니 hal-meo-ni
Grandmother
나는 할머니가 있어.
저는 할머니가 있어요.
저는 할머니가 있습니다
할아버지 ha-ra-beo-ji
Grandfather
나는 할아버지가 있어.
저는 할아버지가 있어요.
저는 할아버지가 있습니다
and aunts uncles and cousins ...
aunt is 이모 (i-mo) on your mothers side and 고모 (go-mo) on your fathers side
uncle is 삼촌 (sam-chon) usually but their is a couple other ways to say it. your father's older brother can be called 'big father' 큰아버지 (keun a-beo-ji) and his younger brother can be called 'little father' 작은아버지(ja-geun a-beo-ji) but only after they get married. Also, your mother's sister's husband is 이모부 (i-mo-bu). Think about that i-mo is aunt on your mother's side her husband is her bu... i-mo-bu
and your father's sister's husband, naturally, 고모부 (go-mo-bu).
But the words that you will hear most often for aunt and uncle are i-mo and sam-chon. That's what you call your parents' friends and your friends' parents or sometimes even the woman serving you at a restaurant.
and cousin is 사촌 (sa-chon). So let's tell people how many aunts uncles and cousins we have
I have 4 aunts.
나는 이모가 네 명 있어.
저는 이모가 네 명 있어요.
저는 이모가 네 명 있습니다.
I have 6 uncles
나는 삼촌이 여섯 명 있어.
저는 삼촌이 여섯 명 있어요.
저는 삼촌이 여섯 명 있습니다.
I have 10 cousins
나는 사촌이 열 명 있어.
저는 사촌이 열 명 있어요.
저는 사촌이 열 명 있습니다.
you might have a wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend in your family.
Wife is an interesting one because if you are talking about your own wife the word is 아내 (a-nae), but you are talking about someone else's wife the word is 부인 (bu-in).
So "I have a wife" is 저는 아내가 이써요.
and "Tim has a wife" is Tim은 부인이 이써요.
"I have a husband"
저는 남편이 있어요.
"I have a girlfriend"
저는 여자친구가 있어요
"I have a boyfriend"
저는 남자친구가 있어요
You might have a son or daughter
if you have a son
저는 아들이 있어요
a daughter
저는 딸이 있어요
a son or a daughter? The word for that is 자녀(ja-nyeo). You may also hear 자식(ja-sik) or 아이(a-i).
More than one son or daughter? You can say how many you have like this:
저는 자녀가 # 멍 있어요.
if you want to say something like "I have 3 kids. I have 1 son and 2 daughter" that is:
저는 자녀가 세 명 있어요. 저는 아들 1 명과 딸 2 명이 있어요.
you might have nieces조카딸 or nephews 조카
you might have grandsons 손자
granddaughters 손녀
and once you have identified all your relatives. your 친척. You can start describing them using the types of sentences we learned in the i-da video.
Here is one example:
"I have 2 aunts. my aunts' names are Pat and Katie. My aunt Pat is a singer. My aunt Katie is a police officer."
name in Korean is i-reum.
저는 이모가 두 명 있어요. 저희의 이모의 이름은 팥과 캐티예요. 저희의 팥이모는 가수예요. 저희의 캐티이모는 경찰관이에요.
jeo-neun i-mo-ga du myeong i-sseo-yo. jeo-hui
저는 이모 두 명이 있어요. 저희의 이모의 이름 신디과 리사예요. 저희의 신디이모 선생님이예요. 저희의 리사이모 가수에요.
저는 이모가 두 명 있어요. 저희의 이모의 이름은 신디과 리사예요. 저희의 신디이모 선생님이예요. 저희의 리사이모 가수에요.
look at the word I used for my... jeo-hui-e. It literally means our. When you are talking about your relatives in Korean you use our (uri-e and jeo-hui-e) not my (je and nae).
The reasons for that are more cultural than linguistic. Koreans kind of consider themselves all just one big family. That's why they call their friends big brother or big sister.
When you are talking about someone else's family, however, don't use our. use your.
My family is our family, and your family is your family.
But, you should use my for all things that are not family members.
Koreans always assume you are talking about yourself unless you specify otherwise. Even when you say our they will understand from context that you really mean my.
Sort of like how you might just say 'mom' instead of 'my mom' when you are talking with people who aren't your brother or sister and they still understand that you are talking about your mom.
This lesson has contained a lot of grammar and a lot of vocabulary. Let's summarize.
The word for to have in Korean is 있다 it is conjugated like a regular verb 있어 있어요 있습니다.
When you make a sentence with it-da, for example I have ____, it is in this form. and the subject marking particles are like so: I gets the neun/eun and the word in the blank gets an i/ga. words for family members are summarized here. If you want to tell people the names of your family members the Korean word for name is i-reum. Review our lesson on counters and the Korean word for "and" linked in the description so you can make statements like this: 저는 이모 두 명이 있어요. 저희의 이모의 이름 팥과 캐티예요. 저희의 팥이모 가수예요. 저희의 캐티이모 경찰관이에요.
and don't call your family members "my". Don't say my mom, my sister, my cousin etc. Instead, say Our mom, our sister, our cousin etc. In Korean the word for our is u-ri-"e" or u-ri in the cas form and jeo-hui-"e" or jeo-hui in the polite/formal form.
and that's this lesson. We covered lots of important stuff. but now it;s time to say annyeonghi gyeseyo and thanks for studying with me.
...
This video is already so long but I feel like I didn't make this as clear as I should. I didn't want to blow past this.
Take a look at this:
I have 2 brothers. I have 1 older brother and 1 younger brother
저는 형제가 두 명 있어요. 오빠 한 명과 남동생 한 명이 있어요.
We recall that when saying how many of something there is the word order is noun, number, counter.
The first sentence has the subject marking particle after the noun. This puts emphasis on the number.
I have two brothers.
저는 형제가 두 명 있어요.
The second sentence has the subject marking particle after the counter, not the noun. That is what sounds more natural when you have more than one noun in the sentence.
But you could, if you really want, put the subject marking particle at the end of the noun. If you choose to do that put it at the end of the last noun in the list.
Likewise, in the first sentence you could also put the subject marking particle at the end of the counter. It doesn't sound as natural but if doing so brings you happiness, or if you just forget where it should go, people will still understand.
But, in sum, if there is one noun put it at the end of the noun,
if there is more than one noun put it at the end of the counter.
