[Learn Korean E15] “을/를” , “-네요” , Sino-Korean Numbers

안녕하세요. 토미입니다.

Let’s have fun learning an exciting language, Korean!

The theme of today’s class is [생일이 언제예요?] “When is your birthday?”

The grammar we will learn is the object marker [을/를], how to count numbers, and the expression [네요] “~isn’t it.”

After completing today’s course, you will be able to tell your birthday to others by using numbers. These expressions often appear on the TOPIK 1, Level 1 and 2.

So if you want to pass the test, let’s learn through it!

Let’s study hard together, imagining ourselves achieving our dreams of being able to speak Korean fluently!
And become the super master of Korean!

그럼 시작할게요.

Listen to the Conversation

The title of today’s conversation is [생일이 언제예요?] “When is your birthday?”
It is a scene where Tammy and Sangmin are asking each other their birthdays.
What does Tammy always do on her birthday?
Let’s first take a look at it with English translations together.

그럼 들어보세요!

• 토미：상민 씨, 생일이 언제예요?
  Tammy：Sangmin, when is your birthday?
• 상민：10월 17일이에요. 토미 씨는요?
  Sangmin：October 17th. How about you,Tammy?
• 토미：저는 6월 20일이에요.
  Tammy：Mine is June 20th.
• 상민：토미 씨는 생일 때 주로 뭐 해요?
  Sangmin：What do you usually do on your birthday?
• 토미：친구들을 집에 초대하고 파티해요.
  Tammy：I invite friends to my house and have a party.
• 상민：파티를! 우와! 좋네요!
  Sangmin：Party! Wow! That’s nice, isn’t it?

Vocabulary and Phrases

Now, I will explain the vocabularies and phrases while reviewing the conversation sentence by sentence.

• 토미：상민 씨, 생일이 언제예요?

The word [생일] means “birthday.”
If you want to say “Happy birthday”, you say [생일 축하합니다].
By the way, this is a polite form.

[언제] means “when.”

Let’s briefly go over how to say the 5Ws and 1H in Korean.
[언제] is “when,” [어디] is “where,” [누구] is “who,” [무엇] is “what,” [왜] is “why,” and [어떻게] is “how.”

• 상민：10월 17일이에요. 토미 씨는요?

[토미 씨는요?] means “How about you, Tammy?”

Remember that having [요] in the end makes the sentence polite.

• 상민：토미 씨는 생일 때 주로 뭐해요?

[때] means “time.”
Korean tends to omit the particle [의] “of~,” so it’s more natural to say [생일 때] when you want to say “at the time of your birthday”, and [휴일 때] “at the time of your holiday.”

The word [주로] means “usually.”
For example, [저는 주로 집에서 일해요.] means “I usually work at home.”

• 토미：친구들을 집에 초대하고 파티해요.

[친구] means “friend.”
In English, you add “s” for plural, like “friends,” right?
In Korean, the concept of singular and plural is not as clear as in English.
So, if you say just [친구], the person listening might be unsure whether you are talking about one friend or two friends.
So when you want to express several friends, you add [~들] “(plural)~s” and say [친구들] “friends.”

[초대하다] means “to invite.”

[파티하다] means “to have a party.”

• 상민：파티를! 우와! 좋네요!

[우와!] means “Wow!”
Women(wimuhn) often use [어머] which sounds more feminine, but [우와!] is commonly used by both men and women(wimuhn).

Grammar

Next is the grammar lesson.

을/를

First, we will learn about the Object Marker [을/를].

You use this one to make sure that you are talking about an object of the sentence.
Tammy, What is an object? Is it like a thing? No, this is a grammatical term.

I will give you an example.

If I say, “I love Korean food,” the subject is “I” and the verb is “love” and the object of the verb is “Korean food.”
In Korean, you can say [저는 한국 음식을 좋아해요].
Here, [저는] is “I” as a subject and [한국음식을] is “Korean food” as an object and [좋아해요] means “love” as a verb.
As you can see, I used the object marker [을] right after the object of the verb [한국 음식].

I will show you how to use the object marker [을/를].
When a noun has a final consonant in the last letter, you use [을].
When a noun does not have a final consonant in the last letter, you use [를].

First, let’s go over a couple of examples with a final consonant.

• 토미：친구들을 집에 초대하고 파티해요.
  Tammy：I invite friends to my house and have a party.

In this case, there is a final consonant in [들] of the word [친구들], so it becomes [친구들을].

Let’s take a look at another example.

저는 책을 삽니다.
I buy a book.

In this sentence, [책] has a final consonant, so it becomes [책을].

Next, let’s check a couple of examples without final consonants.

• 상민：파티를! 우와! 좋네요!
  Sangmin：Party! Wow! That’s nice, isn’t it!

Here, [파티]’s [티] does not have a final consonant, so you add [를] to say 파티를.
Sangmin omitted [해요!] in the sentence.
So, the actual whole sentence would be [파티를 해요!]

Here is another example.

저는 김치를 먹습니다.
I eat Kimchi.

In this sentence, [치] in the word [김치] doesn’t have a final consonant, so it becomes [김치를].

Quiz

Now, let’s take a quiz to deepen your understanding.

Q : Which of [을/를] goes into the parentheses?

[밥(  )　먹고 지하철(  ) 타고 여자 친구(  ) 만납니다.]
I will have a meal, take the subway, and meet my girlfriend.

(1)을/을/를 (2)를/를/을

The answer is (1).

First, [밥] “meal” has a final consonant, so you use [~을] to make [밥을].
Next, [지하철] “subway” also has a final consonant, so you add [~을] and say [지하철을].
Lastly, [여자 친구] “girl friend” does not have a final consonant, so you just add [를] to make [여자 친구를].

밥(을) 먹고 지하철(을) 타고 여자 친구(를) 만납니다.

Number two is the opposite of number one, so it is wrong.

Sino-Korean Numbers

Now, let’s learn about Sino-Korean numbers.
Sino Korean numbers? What’s that?
I will explain now.

In Korean, there are two counting systems.
One is called Sino-korean numbers and the other is native Korean numbers.
Korean use both numbers depending on the situation.

Today, we are going to learn Sino- Korean numbers
Let’s count sino-Korean numbers together in a loud voice.

1：일	2：이	3：삼	4：사	5：오
6：육	7：칠	8：팔	9：구	10：십
11：십일	12：십이	13：십삼	14：십사	15：십오
16：십육	17：십칠	18：십팔	19：십구	20：이십
30：삼십	40：사십	50：오십	60：육십	70：칠십
80：팔십	90：구십	100：백	1000：천	10000：만

Next, let’s take a look at the counting words, counters that Korean people use with Sino-Korean numbers.
Counters come after numbers, such as “month” and “date”in English.

Let’s see it together.

[년] means “year”, and you read [1년 (1 year)]、[2년 (2years)]
[일] means “day” and you read [1일(1 day / 1st )]、[2일(2 days / 2nd)]
[번] means “number” and you read [1번(Number 1)]、[2번(Number 2)]
[층] means “floor” and you read [1층 (1st floor)]、[2층 (2nd floor)]

Next, Let’s count months.
[월] is the counter for month.
In English, we call them January, February, March and so on.
In Korean, January is the 1st month, so we call it [1월]; Number plus month [월].
February is the second month so we call it [2월] and so on.

Before we go over all of them, I want to tell you that Korean pronounce two months differently.
They are, “June” and “October” that were introduced in the conversation.
[육] is “six” so it should be [육월] technically, but [육월] is hard to pronounce.
So Korean people get rid of [ㄱ] and say [유월] instead.
[십] is “10” so it should be [십월] technically, but again, it is a little bit hard to pronounce, so Koreans remove [ㅂ], and you say [시월]. [유월], [시월] don’t forget!

Then, let’s say from “January” to “December,” being aware of these two exceptions [유월], and [시월]. I will read now.

[일 월]、[이 월]、[삼 월]、[사 월]、[오 월]、[유 월]、[칠 월]、[팔 월]、[구 월]、[시 월]、[십일 월]、[십이 월].

January 일 월	February 이 월	March 삼 월	April 사 월	May 오 월	June 유 월
July 칠 월	August 팔 월	September 구 월	October 시 월	November 십일 월	December 십이 월

Quiz

Now, let’s have a quiz and deepen our understanding.

Q : How do you read these numbers?
“365”

(1)삼백육십오 (2) 삼백 유십 오

The answer is (1) 삼백육십오!

(2) is wrong because [육] became [유].
[육] changes to [유] when you say June, [유월].

-네요 isn’t it

The next grammar is [네요].

You use this to express surprise or admiration, and you can replace this [네요] to [해요], or [예요].
It is similar to “It is something, isn’t it?” in English.
But in Korean, you are not asking a question.

There are three important points to remember about [네요].

Point 1) With or without a final consonant, the sentence is “verb/adjective + 네요.”
Point 2) When the final consonant of the stem of verbs is [ㄹ], you remove [ㄹ].
Point 3) For nouns with a final consonant, you add 이네요. For nouns without a final consonant, you add [네요].

Let’s start with learning point 1) in detail.
Point 1) With or without a final consonant, verb/adjective + 네요

“Verb/adjective + 네요” is a very simple concept : just add [네요] to the stem of verbs or adjectives.
For example,

요즘은 날씨가 좋네요.
The weather is very nice these days, isn’t it?

The original form of [좋네요] “It’s nice” is [좋다] “to be nice.”
So when you add [네요] to the stem, it becomes [좋네요].

Next, in the sentence

한국말 정말 잘하네요!
You speak Korean very well, don’t you.

On the stem of [잘하다] “to be good at,” you add [네요] to say [잘하네요].
Like these, Regardless of a final consonant, simply add [네요] to the stem of a verb or adjective to make a sentence.

Point 2) When the final consonant of the stem is [ㄹ], you drop [ㄹ].
But, one thing you have to be aware is [ㄹ] final consonant.
When there is [ㄹ] in the final consonant of the stem of verbs, you remove [ㄹ].
Typical examples are [만들다] “to make” and [알다] “to know.”
Let’s take a look at an example.

종이 비행기를 정말 잘 만드네요.
You can make paper airplanes really well, can’t you？

Here, You get rid of [ㄹ] of [만들다] , and add [네요] to say [만드네요].

Point 3) Nouns with a final consonant + 이네요 /
Nouns without a final consonant + 네요
Point 3) is when you add [-네요] to a noun.

In this case, if there is a final consonant, you add [이네요].
And when there is no final consonant, you add [네요].
Let’s take a look at a word with a final consonant first.

아버님이네요.
He’s your father, isn’t he?

Here, [님] of the word [아버님] has a final consonant, so you add [이네요] to say [아버님이네요] “He’s your father, isn’t he?”
Then, let’s check the word without a final consonant.

김치네요.
It’s Kimchi, isn’t it?

Here, [치] of the word [김치] does not have a final consonant, so you add [네요] to say [김치네요] “It’s kimchi, isn’t it?”

Quiz

Now, let’s take a quiz! What goes into the parenthesis?

Q1. [오늘은 호박죽(       ).]
It’s pumpkin porridge today, isn’t it?

(1)이네요 (2) 네요

The answer is number (1)

[호박죽] is a noun meaning “pumpkin porridge.”
Since [죽] has a final consonant, you add [이네요] to say [호박죽이네요].

Q2. [애기들이 잘 (       ).]
The children are playing very well, aren’t they?

(1)노네요 (2)놀네요

The answer is (1).
The verb [놀다] “to play” is used here.
You get rid of the final consonant [ㄹ] from the stem, so it becomes [노네요].

Conversation (Korean only)

Now, let’s take a look at the conversation again but this time only in Korean.
You should be able to understand it much better than the beginning.
그럼 확인해 보세요 !

• 토미：상민 씨, 생일이 언제예요?
• 상민：10월 17일이에요. 토미 씨는요?
• 토미：저는 6월 20일이에요.
• 상민：토미 씨는 생일 때 주로 뭐 해요?
• 토미：친구들을 집에 초대하고 파티해요.
• 상민：파티를! 우와! 좋네요!

Conversation Practice

Now, let’s try reading it aloud.
This is one of the only times you can make an output, so please don’t skip it but read it aloud.

그럼 큰소리로 읽어 보세요!

• 토미：상민 씨, 생일이 언제예요?
  Tammy：Sangmin, when is your birthday?
• 상민：10월 17일이에요. 토미 씨는요?
  Sangmin：October 17th. How about you,Tammy?
• 토미：저는 6월 20일이에요.
  Tammy：Mine is June 20th.
• 상민：토미 씨는 생일 때 주로 뭐 해요?
  Sangmin：What do you usually do on your birthday?
• 토미：친구들을 집에 초대하고 파티해요.
  Tammy：I invite friends to my house and have a party.
• 상민：파티를! 우와! 좋네요!
  Sangmin：Party! Wow! That’s nice, isn’t it?

Homework

In the first sentence, write your birthday in Hangul instead of numbers.
For example,

• 제 생일은 이천 사년 팔월 칠일입니다.
  My birthday is August 7, 2004.

In the second sentence, let’s use the expression [을/를] to describe what you usually do on your birthday.
For example,

• 생일 때는 미역국을 먹어요.
  I eat seaweed soup on my birthday.

The second homework is memorizing vocabulary.
Please, memorize 40 words from page 3, number 201 to 240 on the beginner’s word list.

At the end of this page, you can take this 40-word quiz, so after you memorize 40 words, please challenge yourself!

Also this is the 15th lesson. So, I have prepared a test for you.
Lesson No. 11 to 15 will be on the test.
By taking my test, you can enhance your reading skills for TOPIK 1.

I hope many of you will come to visit my site to check how much you understand my lesson.

That’s all for today! Thank you for watching.

그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요！ 한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅！！