Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cedar]

Everyone, please add the essential words onto this thread and maybe the mods will make this a sticky so we can say we -tried- to teach the newbies the specialized vocabulary. I don't mean things like "anja" (sit down, in low form) but I do mean things like "anju" (the snacks you eat when you are out drinking). Please add your two pence!


Anju: Food you eat when you are out drinking
Hagwon: Private schools that teach language (or math or science, etc.) classes for kids and adults before or after their school or work hours.
Noraebang: Singing room, private karaoke room for you and your group only
Soopuh: Minimart (think 7-11 or a mom and pop type 7-11)
Kwangjangnim: Owner of a martial arts establishment and head teacher there... some use the word "master" but I will ALWAYS use the Korean, as do most foreigners I know in Hapkido, TKD, etc.
Soju: Korea's clear booze, about half the strength of vodka, usually sold in small green bottles...


Now, I could add onto this list for hours, but I have grad school reports to write. You guys take it from here.

[uberscheisse]

"mekju, jusayo"-beer, please!

[bosintang]

No offence intended, but to save a lot of time you could just tell them to buy a bloody Lonely Planet book like everyone else.

However keeping with the idea that spurned from the original thread, here is my list of some Korean words that English expats will assume everyone else knows , and may use more frequently than their English counter-parts (if they even exist):

1. hagweon: (see Cedar's post above)
2. waeguk: in Korean it means foreign, but often used by expats to also refer to a foreign person (e.g. 'I saw a couple of waeguks at the market today'). The more proper waegukin or waeguk saram may also be used.
3. dong: neighbourhood ('E.g. I live in Seomun-dong').
4. gu: city district
5. noraebang: (see Cedar's post above)
6. PC-bang: (pronounced PeeSheebang, but most English speakers will just pronounce it Pee-See-bang): internet cafe, but almost always set up for playing computer games rather than doing any serious work.
7. Saunain Korean it's pronounced Sa-un-ah, but most English speakers will just call it by the English pronunciation) Sauna is not completely incorrect, but probably a more accurate description is a health spa. Sauna's are a combination of saunas, steam-rooms, hot and cold baths, and other simular facilities.
8. Any food that is remotedly Korean-style will be referred to by it's Korean name. There are far too many to list here.

[shakuhachi]

How about we put hangul along with the romanisation. I mean, learning to read correct romanisation is harder than learning hangul. So if we must use romanisation, lets also write the hangul. Also, does it have to be individual words? Wouldnt phrases be more helpful?

OK, here I go.

�Ƿ� �մϵ� (shilrye hamnida) - Excuse me
�� �԰ڽ��ϴ� (chal mokkesumnida) - set phrase you say when someone treats you to dinner, either at the home or outside. Say this just before eating. Literally, 'I will eat well'
�� �Ծ����ϴ� (chal mogosumnida) - set phrase you say when someone treats you to dinner, either at the home or outside. Say this after you finish eating. Literally, 'I ate well'
����, �� ���ó׿�! (hyong nim, chal mashineyo!) - Wow older brother, you drink so well! (���� (older brother) can easily be replaced by ������ (teacher) or ����� (boss)
���� �ѱ���� ��ȭ�ϰ� ���ݾƿ�? ������ ���ϸ� �ܾ��� �����̳� ���ӽ��� �� �𸣱� ������ ���� ���� ���� ���� ���ϸ� ���ǰ� �ִٰ� �������� �ʰ� ���� �ѱ�� ����� �� ���� �� �ϴ� ���� ���� �� �ּ��� (chigum hangugoro tehwa hago itchanayo? soljiki maramyon tano e sayongbobina nuancega chal morugi demune manyak moyokgwa katun gosul maramyon agwiga ittago sengak haji anko tanji hangugoga chunbunhi chal haji motanun gosul yanghe he juseyo) - This is a disclaimer for your Korean. It will prevent people from getting mad when you make a cultural faux pas or mess up your words. Here it is - I am speaking Korean now right? To tell the truth, I dont know much about word usage or nuance so if I was to offend you dont take it like I have bad intentions, and please understand that it is simply the result my Korean not being good enough.

OK, next person.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Shipsekki- Son of a hoor.

Kaesekki-Son of a beach.

Ohnoseki-Son of Apollo Anton Ohno.

[Wangja]

pegin-seki - son of a white beach
ilbon-seki - son of a Japanese beach
gam-chee - son of a black beach

[Cedar]

All these swear words are TOTALLY unnecessary. Unless you are watching a Korean movie or walking past a pojangmacha late at night you hardly hear them. I think the worst thing you can do in a foreign language is use their swear words. All you do is get yourself in trouble.

pojangmacha: tents on the street usually at night where you drink soju or beer and eat mussels or odengtang or other anju.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[Wangja]

They are useful not so much to say them but to understand them.

[crazylemongirl]

Here are some ones that I think are good.

�ּ��� (juseyo) give to me please.

�󸶿��� ((eolmayeyo) How much

������ (seonsaengnim) teacher

���� (winjjok) left

������ (oreunjjok) right

[uberscheisse]

the ones i use most:

(place name) ro kajusayo - (place name) go, please. great for cabs.
it helps if you know the subway station (yeok) /neighborhood you're going to, ie. "yeonsinnae yeok ro kajusayo"

aniyo - "no".
(thing you want) issayo? - (thing you want) do you have this? often followed by "upsoyo" meaning "none" - i only use it if there's a question as to whether a place has something. if it's on the menu, say "(item) jusayo)"

"pan-chan" -side dishes
"gim" - seaweed

and i am just learning the hanja way of counting - which is how you order items... only i can only count to 4. someone taught me to 10 but i forgot. 1-hana 2-dugae 3-saegae 4-naegae

in class, the only time i'd resort to using korean is if things have descended into chaos. therefore, there are three korean phrases i use.

"YAAAAAA!" at the top of your lungs is like "HEY!"
"anjusayo!" is "sit down"
"jo yong hihae" is "be quiet" - this works for trucks with loudspeakers on them parking outside your window in the AM.

and if you have a real beginner class, it's often necessarry to use "gi da ryo baah" (wait, please) especially when you're doing a one-on-one thing with one student and the other student is in your ear saying "TEACHA! TEACHA! TEACHA! TEACHA!" as if nobody else in the world exists. pounding your fist on the table works too.

(edit) -on the rare occasion you have to use korean, always accompany it with the english.

please know that my romanizations may not be 100% correct and my computer, while having a hangeul keyboard, doesn't have the hangeul windows software. i'll agree with shakuhachi that it's way easier to get the pronounciations more correct once you learn to read. as soon as you learn to read it, you feel as if you've had an epiphany.

my korean is beginner at best, i have no time to learn... but what i do know helps in certain situations.

[SuperHero]

[kermo]

[Cheyne]

Yogi-yo - here, please. I use it when asking for the cabbie to drop me off...usually at a bar....

Chogi-yo - Excuse me - When ordering or asking someone if you aren't sure if they are an ajumma or an ajossi.

Aish - when something isn't good. Girlfriend used it constantly and now I find I am using it constantly too. Not as bad as a swear word but still not very good.

[peppermint]

villa- yes it's an english word, but it's got a different meaning here. It's konglish for a small apartment building