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8 votes
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Is there any rule for the pronunciation of 닫히다 as tachida not tathida?

This is called 구개음화 (palatalization), and it's one of several assimilation rules in Korean. It occurs when ㄷ or ㅌ is in the 받침, and is followed by a syllable beginning with 이: 같- + 이 = 같이 [가치] 굳- + ...
gaeguri's user avatar
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8 votes
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Basic steps to take when learning Korean

Learning any language can be difficult. That being said, Korean can be quite a challenge if you are only used to reading romanized characters. Learning the Korean alphabet would be the first step ...
완벽한 씨's user avatar
8 votes
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Anyone know some sites that have a korean short stories?

http://18children.president.pa.go.kr/mobile/our_space/fairy_tales.php This is the website serviced by the government of South Korea. 100 kinds of Korean fairy tales are provided. Since this website ...
jungyh0218's user avatar
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7 votes

How is 시 pronounced?

시 is always pronounced "shi." The issue of "si" versus "shi" is one of romanization. In some romanization systems, ㅅ is always transcribed as "s," regardless of what vowel follows. So "시" would be ...
Vladhagen's user avatar
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7 votes
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Addressing someone on the street you have never met and who is of ambiguous age

For strangers being approached in real life, 반말 is never an option. 존댓말 is obligatory, and is mostly 해요체 - informal (as this isn't a business meeting) but polite. However, whether you need ...
Michaelyus's user avatar
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6 votes
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Difference between -난 and -나는 on action verbs

-(으)ㄴ attached to a verb is one of two: 앞말이 관형어 구실을 하게 하고, 사건이나 행위가 과거 또는 말하는 이가 상정한 기준 시점보다 과거에 일어남을 나타내는 어미. A verb ending which lets the verb act as a noun modifier, and indicates that the ...
MujjinGun's user avatar
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6 votes
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Answer to "아저씨,이 공책 세 권 주세요"

여기 있습니다 is idiomatic, translates to "here you go". 세 권 있습니다 is "there are three", so it's a bit unnatural to say that in that situation.
MujjinGun's user avatar
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6 votes
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Korean hangul with voiced, unvoiced and aspirated or not aspirated

I can tell you right now. (Always) Voiced: all vowels, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅇ(final), ㄹ (Conditionally) Voiceless: ㄱ, ㄲ, ㄷ, ㄸ, ㅂ, ㅃ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅉ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ (Strongly) Aspirated: ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅅ, ㅊ, ㅎ Not (strongly)...
MujjinGun's user avatar
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6 votes
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How do you say "None of your business" in Korean?

Of course, "nunya" and "it's none of your business" are pretty impolite even in an informal setting, but should you wish to offend and defend, this is the way: 남이야 "nunya&...
제이 죤스톤's user avatar
6 votes
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What does 자차 mean in terms of driving?

자차 (自車) means "own car". It's normally heard in the expression 자차보험 "own car insurance" - which means auto insurance in which your own car is covered. I haven't heard it used outside of that ...
gaeguri's user avatar
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6 votes

Should I pronounce Korean names with proper pronunciation while speaking English?

I suppose it's whoever decided to start writing 김 as Kim and 이 as Lee's fault for making this annoying pronunciation issue. Possibly! But Romanisation of Korean isn't easy. There's no one-to-one ...
Нет войне's user avatar
6 votes
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'서울에는 인사동 있어요 ' can this also be the correct sentence for Insadong in in Seoul or I should just say ' 인사동은 서울에 있어요'?

First, try not to learn Korean (or any other language) using automatic translators. They have many errors and frequently omit subtle nuances altogether. So if you try to answer "How are phrase X and ...
jick's user avatar
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5 votes

Pronunciation of 옷이 with linking sound

When we read the word 옷이 slowly, the 받침 ㅅ is pronounced as ㄷ. No, it's not. It's always pronounced [오시], no matter how slow you read it. Unless somehow the 이 part was obscured while 옷 was being read, ...
MujjinGun's user avatar
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5 votes

What is the difference in speaking between the question endings 나, (으/느)냐, and (는/ㄴ)가?

Let's look at the dictionary definitions first. -냐 (‘이다’의 어간, 용언의 어간 또는 어미 ‘-으시-’, ‘-었-’, ‘-겠-’ 뒤에 붙어)  해라할 자리에 쓰여, 물음을 나타내는 종결 어미. -나 (주로 동사 어간이나 어미 ‘-으시-’, ‘-었-’, ‘-겠-’ 뒤에 붙어) ...
MujjinGun's user avatar
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5 votes

Are there any clear differences in how women and men speak Korean?

Men are more likely to use the formal style endings (스)ㅂ니다/ㅂ니까 mixed in here and there. Also, mainly men really still use the Familiar or 하네 Style. (indicative 하네, suggestion 하세, question 하나, command ...
B. Alvn's user avatar
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5 votes

제가 김밥을 준비할까요? 그럼 부탁해요 or 준비합시다

I can't see a situation where this conversation will take place with these exact phrases and honorific conjugations, but let me take a stab at why (a) is better than (b). Since the question is, "...
제이 죤스톤's user avatar
5 votes

How do you say "None of your business" in Korean?

In addition to WEBjuju's answers, if you want to sound polite, you can say "제가 알아서 할게요" (I'll take care of it myself). It's not always applicable, and in some situations it may still hurt the other ...
jick's user avatar
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5 votes

How do you say you are a nosey person in Korean?

Nosy means '참견하기 좋아하는' in dictionary. So, a nosy person can be translated into '참견쟁이' because -쟁이 is a suffix which has the meaning 'someone who does or prefers something' (e.g. 개구쟁이, 그림쟁이, 이발쟁이) Or,...
jungyh0218's user avatar
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5 votes

Saying years in Korean

The most natural way to say "I was born in 1976" would be: 저는 (천 구백)칠십육년생입니다. N년생 means "born in the year N". You can omit the "천 구백" part since it's obvious. As slang / colloquialism, some ...
MujjinGun's user avatar
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4 votes
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How is 시 pronounced?

From Wikipedia: The sibilant /sʰ/ has behavior of both the plain and aspirated stops: it is aspirated, at least word-initially, and it does not become voiced intervocalically like the plain stops ...
MujjinGun's user avatar
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4 votes

How is 시 pronounced?

Of course, '시' is pronounced as '시'. :) To give a more helpful answer, you are correct in that ㅅ in '시' is similar to English "sh", or more precisely, IPA symbol [ʃ]. (Edit: it's apparently [ɕ], ...
jick's user avatar
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4 votes

Basic steps to take when learning Korean

This is an interesting question. I hope that one day someone, more qualified than me, will devise an effective learning path that we can offer (to absolute beginners) as a "standard path to learn ...
AlexBottoni's user avatar
4 votes

What is the difference in speaking between the question endings 나, (으/느)냐, and (는/ㄴ)가?

On -나, we need to distinguish at least two different types of situation. In type I, it is used between two equals. A: 가 보았나? B: 난 아직 못 가 보았네. A군, 자네는 가 보았나? You see this type of use in the ...
Catomic's user avatar
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4 votes
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Pronunciation of 잘 - /jal/ or /jai/

잘 is /t͜ɕal/. /jal/ would be 얄. Remember, /j/ is a "yes"-sound, not a ㅈ sound. That being said, the reason why you're hearing /l/ as [i] or [j] is probably because the Korean /l/ at the end of a ...
MujjinGun's user avatar
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4 votes

How can I find listening practice at my Korean level?

Try to find something broadcasted/recorded that also has a transcript. Take the transcript and completely translate it, or at least, look up every unknown word and difficult/unfamiliar phrase. Now ...
제이 죤스톤's user avatar
4 votes
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Why is the Korean language sometimes called Hangul?

You made a good point! As you've said, 한글 is only a writing system, not the language(한국어) itself. But unlike many other writing systems, 한글 was "invented" solely for 한국어, and many Koreans feel very ...
Jihyung Kang's user avatar
4 votes

How are 선배 and 후배 classified in Korean (age, position or both)?

선배 and 후배 are normally used with someone who is attending the same school or a member of the same organization or company. Then, 선배 is used for someone who has been at that school or organization ...
gaeguri's user avatar
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