[Learn Korean I3] “반말”,”-야/이야,-지 마”,”-니/-냐,-아/어라”

안녕하세요. 토미입니다.

I am so happy to teach you Korean today.

Today, we will learn 반말!! Casual talk!!

You can get a lot closer to your Korean friends once you can use casual talk naturally.

Casual talk is super duper easy if you can already use honorifics!

However, there are several forms that you need to be careful with.

We will dig into this part today as well.

Today’s lesson is packed with many things. In particular,
casual talk that takes [요] out of [요] form,
[-야/이야](it’s smth),
[-지 마](don’t do smth),
an interrogative form, [-니] and[-냐],
an imperative form[-아/어라](do smth),
a solicitation form [-자](let’s do smth).

This lesson is almost a roundup of casual talk.

Let’s work on it together for our bright future so that you can use casual talk naturally with your Korean friends!

I know you can do it!

그럼 시작할게요!

Casual talk: 반말

I have taught you respectful ways of speaking.

For example, you can use [합니다] and[해요] to express politeness.

In contrast, 반말 is a casual way of speaking.

Most 반말 will be made if you take out [요] from the [요] form.

In other words, you just have to say goodbye to [요].

Adiós, sayonara, 再见(Zàijiàn)

Whatever languages are fine as long as you just have to say goodbye to [요], okay?

For example, there are phrases ending with [해요], [-네요], [-(으)ㄹ게요], [-(으)ㄹ래요] and so on, right?

All have in common is the last syllable, [요].

You can think of this 요 at the end as a magic spell that makes all sentences more formal and polite.

So if you simply remove 요 from these sentences, you can change polite sentences to casual ones.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Let’s see some examples of removing [요].

When you remove [요] from [먹어요] “I eat (sir or ma’am),” it becomes [먹어] “I eat”.

When you remove [요] from [가요] “I go (sir or ma’am),” it will become [가] “I go”.

Also, when you remove [요] from [맛있네요] “it’s tasty(sir or ma’am),” it is going to be [맛있네] “It’s yummy”.

In the same way, when you remove [요] from [할게요] “I will do it (sir or ma’am),” it will be [할게] “I’ll do it.”

These phrases don’t have the meaning of “sir or ma’am,” but I just wanna express the tone of casual talk.

OK, now, Let’s read an example sentence.

난 초콜렛이 좋아.
I like chocolate.

This is a very simple sentence.

The [요] form of [좋다] “to like” is [좋아요].

You remove [요] from it to make [좋아].

In addition, [난] is the shortened version of [나는].

[나] is a casual pronoun for “I” And [는] is the topic marker.

Let’s move on to the next sentence!

너 오늘 몇 시에 와?
What time are you coming?

Here, [오다] is “to come”. This [요] form is [와요].

You take out [요] from it, to make [와].

In addition, [너] is the casual pronoun for “you.”

Let’s move on to the next sentence!

내일은 1시까지 도착하면 돼.
You can arrive tomorrow by 1 pm.

Here, [되다] is “to be”.

The [요] form of [되다] is [돼요].

You remove [요] from it, goodbye [요], and make [돼].

Quiz

Now, let’s deepen your understanding by taking some quizzes.

Which one is the correct casual talk?

언니도 같이 ( ).
You should play games with us, sister.

(1)게임할래요? (2)게임해

Here, the correct answer is (2).
[게임하다] is “to play a game”.
The [요] form is [게임해요].
You say goodbye to [요], adios, and make [게임해].
Now, let’s read it together.
언니도 같이 (게임해).

Imagine that you are going to invite your sister to play a fun game.

Now, let’s move on to the next quiz.

어? 밖에 비가 ( ).
Oh? It’s raining outside.

(1)오네요 (2)오네

The correct answer is (2).
Here, [비가 오다] is “to rain”.
The polite way of speaking is [오네요].
You just take out the[요] from this, goodbye [요] and make [오네].
Let’s read it together.
어? 밖에 비가 ( ). Oh? It’s raining outside.

Please, read it at least three times imagining it has just started raining.

반말

Okay, I hope you’ve warmed up!

I said that understanding 반말 is mostly complete by removing [요] from the end of a sentence.

However, there are some tricky parts.

There are not many.

So, don’t worry! And let’s look at the following situations.

The first grammar is[-예요/이에요](is/are).

This will change to [-야/이야] in casual talk.

You will attach[-야] to a noun, which does not have a final consonant, and[-이야] to a noun, which has a final consonant
.

For example, [오빠] is an “elder brother” used only by a younger girl.

Since [오빠] does not have a final consonant, you just attach [야] at the end to make [오빠야].

[형] is also an “elder brother,” but used only by a younger boy.

And [형] has a final consonant, so it is going to be [형이야].

In the same way, [아니에요] will become [아니야]. And [-(으)ㄹ 거예요] will be[-(으)ㄹ 거야].

One more thing to remember is [-지 마세요](please do not do smth).

This will become [지 마].

I will read an example sentence.

이건 내 거야.
This is mine.

Since [내 거](mine) does not have a final consonant, you attach [야] at the end to make [내 거야].

Let’s read the next example sentence.

너 언제 졸업이야?
When do you graduate?

Since [졸업] “graduation” has a final consonant, you use[-이야] to make [졸업이야].

Quiz

Now, let’s deepen your understanding by taking simple quizzes.

Which one is the appropriate casual language?

저기 서 있는 사람이 ( )?
Who is it standing there?

(1)누구세요 (2) 누구야

the correct answer is (2).
Since누구(who) does not have a final consonant, you will attach[-야?] and say [누구야?] “who is it?”
Now let’s read it together.
저기 서 있는 사람이 (누구야)?

Please, read it at least three times imagining a scary moment.
Let’s see the next quiz!

너 정말 같이 ( )?
Are you sure you’re not going?

(1) 안 갈 거야? (2) 안 갈 거예요?

The correct answer is (1).
[거] from [안 갈 거] does not have a final consonant, so you attach [야] at the end to make [안 갈 거야?] Let’s read it together, imagining that you try to make sure with your friend.
너 정말 같이 (안 갈 거야)?

Good!! Let’s move on!

-니/-냐,-아/어라,-자

Next let’s learn an interrogative sentence[-니] or[-냐], an imperative sentence [-아/어라], and a solicitation sentence [-자].

To begin with, these grammatical terms such as interrogative, imperative, and solicitation sound too difficult for me, so I will explain each in an easy term.

An interrogative sentence means a sentence that asks a question like “Are you okay?” “Are you following?”

And an imperative sentence means a sentence that demands someone to do something. So it is like “Run!” or “Go!”.

And a solicitation sentence is inviting someone to do something like “let’s eat pizza!”

Is your head clear now? Let’s move on.

First, we’ll look at an interrogative sentence[-(이)니] or [(이)냐]. You can attach [이니] or [이냐] when a noun has a final consonant, and [니] or [냐] when a noun does not have a final consonant.

You can also attach[-니] or[-냐] to a verb stem regardless of a final consonant such as [기쁘니?] [좋냐?]

It also applies to a past tense [았/었] like [먹었니?] [먹었냐?]

And a future tense[겠] like [가겠니?] [가겠냐?]

It’s also important to remember that [-냐?] can sound a little rough, or even condescending.

So, you have to be very mindful of the context when using this expression.

Next is the imperative sentence [아/어라] (do smth).

You can make an imperative sentence by removing [요] from the [요] form and replacing it with [라].

For example, the [요] form of [가다] is [가요].

You exchange [요] to [라] to make [가라](go).

For [먹다] “to eat,” the [요] form is [먹어요].

You exchange [요] to [라] to make [먹어라](eat).

For your information, you can just remove [요] from the [요] form to speak in the imperative language.

For example, [가](Go), or [먹어](Eat).

Lastly, let’s learn about soliciting sentences[-자](let’s do smth).

You attach[-자] to a verb stem regardless of a final consonant.

For example,[가다] “to go” will be [가자] “let’s go,” and [먹다] will be [먹자] “let’s eat.” pretty easy.

Now, let’s read some sentences.

넌 어느 게 더 비싸 보이니?
Which one looks more expensive to you?

Here,[비싸 보이다] means “to look expensive.”

You attach [-니] to its verb stem to make [비싸 보이니?] “does it look expensive?”

Let’s see the next example sentence!

내가 올 때까지 여기 앉아 있어라.
Sit still until I come here.

Here, [앉아 있다] means “to sit still.” This [요] form is [앉아 있어요].

You can exchange this [요] to [라], to make [앉아 있어라] “Sit still.”

Since this tone is a little bit strong, parents can say this to their children.

[앉아 있어] has the same meaning, and Korean people use [앉아 있어] more commonly than [앉아 있어라].

Let’s see the next sentence!

자, 얼른 밥 먹고 출발하자.
Let’s quickly eat and head out.

Here, [출발하다] is “to head out.”

You attach 자 to the verb stem to make [출발하자] “let’s head out.”

Quiz

Now, let’s deepen your understanding by answering a few simple questions.

What is the correct answer?

아니, 이 밤중에 어떻게 혼자 ( )?
Why did you come here by yourself at this time of night?

(1)왔구나? (2)왔냐?

The correct answer is (2)!
[왔다] means “Came”.
You only need to attach [-냐] to the verb stem.
So, it becomes [왔냐?] Let’s read it together!
아니, 이 밤중에 어떻게 혼자 (왔냐)?

Please repeat it at least three times, imagining that you’re very surprised by your friend’s action.

Let’s go to the next quiz.

오늘 바쁘면 내일 ( ).
Let’s do it tomorrow if we are busy today.

(1)했다 (2)하자

The answer is number 2!
하다 is “to do”.
You just need to attach [자] to the verb stem to make [하자] (let’s do smth).
Now, let’s read it together.
오늘 바쁘면 내일 (하자).

Please, read it imagining that you’re suggesting it to your friend.

Homework

You are so motivated to learn.

I’m so glad that you’ve watched this far.

Now, I will present a gift of homework.

The first assignment is to make three sentences by today’s grammar.

For the first sentence, make a casual sentence by removing [요] from the [요] form.

For example, You can come up with a sentence like

  • 얼른 손 씻고 밥 먹어.
    Quickly wash your hands and eat.

 

For the second sentence, please tell me something by making a sentence using a noun and [야/이야] “it is smth.”

For example,

  • 이거 생일 선물이야.
    This is your birthday present. Ok?

For the third sentence, ask a question by using [니] or [냐].

For example,

  • 그 남자가 사랑한다고 하니까 그렇게 좋니?
    Does it make you so happy that that guy said he loved you? Ok?

I got a lot of energy from your homework comments!

So please send me a lot of homework!

The second part of the assignment is memorizing 40 words.

Please memorize 40 words from numbers 81 to 120 on page 1 of the Intermediate Vocabulary List. Once you memorize these 40 words, please try taking the vocabulary quiz on my website.

That’s all!! Great job, everyone!

I will continue supporting you in your Korean language journey, so you can make a lot of friends and have wonderful experiences.

Have fun learning Korean!

그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요!

한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅!!

Vocabulary Test : 40 Questions

There will be 40 multiple choice questions in total displayed in random order, testing on Vocabulary #81~120 from the Intermediate Level Vocabulary List.