Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Newbie]

Sadly, after 4 years, my Korean is still pretty crappy. However, I find that some words have become part of my regular speech and pop up when I am talking to myself.

Some are ok, like when it's cold outside I always think "ooh, chup-da" (bad grammar, no?) Or when I see a pretty girl I think "hmmm, yehpuda"

But then there are also some words that I feel a 20 something, foreign male has no business saying. For example, when shocked or confused I let out an "ohtokae?". Or in class, when kids do something strange or wrong, I always let out an "aye-go!".

Worst of all, when I speak to my French relatives I find myself speaking half French and half Korean. Confuses the heck out of em.

Are you guys ever worried, concerned, amused by Korean words you find yourself using?

[SPINOZA]

This is probably a bad thing, but the phrases I'm famous for in school are Korean phrases that I say all the time - not English words or phrases. Those are �����ѻ�� (rude person, which I say in class a lot - not that they're really rude kids, quite the opposite actually, just a bit of fun, because Korean kids simply cannot use English manners no matter how many times they're told), and a very, deliberately whiney �ƴϿ� and ������. You've really got to put a big, elongated whine on the end of the latter two for maximum piss-taking whinyness. I use these automatically with western friends too. They're part of my vocab forever - there's no getting rid of them, ever!

Recently, me and a friend were having a drink - very naughtily because we had work the next morning. It was late, and mate got beer munchies...."let's get some fried chicken god damnit!". I pointed at my watch and roared �ƴϿ�aaaaaaaah, just like the whiny princesses at school.

[mindmetoo]

I think maybe "miso" was my first. I liked that it meant smile in Korean and soup in Japanese.

[red headed stranger]

I find myself doing the "yeh yeh" thing sometimes when I am on the phone with relatives. It can be awkward, as they think i am bored or trying to hurrying them along.

[Intrepid]

My relatives finally asked me why I was always saying "yeah" twice.
I like "sullung-hae"--for the "cold feeling" after a bad joke, etc. I use that sometimes.

[flotsam]

"eung"

You know:

Friend: You want to get a drink?
Me: eung.
Friend: How about Ehwa Jumak?
Me: eung.
Friend: You in the mood for dong-dong ju?
Me: eung.
Friend: Are you fucking listening to me?!?
Me: eung?

Which is OK here with Koreans or expats who have been exposed to it, but it's a pretty damn rude grunt to the folks at home. Like picking up "*beep*." from your Brit friends and then trying to use it in the States, or on Dave's...

[JAWINSEOUL]

These are some of the words I always seem to say for no reason.

����ģ�� = Girl Friend (I like pestering kids with it)
�ּ��� = Give me (I plan on saying to my fiance's parents)
���� = Bank (Signs all over downtown)
���� = Me Too (Creepy but my ex girlfriends last name in French)
�Ź� = Newspaper (always liked the sound of it)
�θ� = Parents (I like the weight it carries)
�� = Rice (we're in Asia)
�ѱ���� = Korean person (Under my breath)
���󿡼� = In the world (Sounds good)
�󸶳��� = (Really common)
�� = Why (Repeat it to aggravate my fiance)
���� = Yesterday (Funny how it sounds like O.J.)
���� = Now (everyday day on the subway)

���ܸ� �� = I word I invented (Meaning married lady + royal female) This is used for the women who think thier shit doesn't stink.

[thorin]

�־�, ����, ��ƾ�...

[Summer Wine]

Korean swear words

[canuckistan]

Hyuga!!!

[Hater Depot]

[Cedar]

I'm leaving the errors in the above Korean... but please, you all, do not use the above as a study guide, there are multiple errors but at nearly 5 a.m. I cannot be bothered to correct them.

First to invade my dialogue? I cannot remember at all.... but it's too early/late to think clearly.

Okay, I have a problem with conversations that I can't do well in English... things I always talk about in Korean, and then I have to switch, that can be hard. What about the others with higher Korean, do you get this? Things you can express easier in Korean?

I have multiple words that I use almost exclusively in Korean, on a daily basis. In fact, some of those are words that now even my mom knows. Actually she's known things like ü���� (exercise place, like what you call your Hapkido studio) for years. (My mom's so smart!).

Precisely because I say these in Korean habitually I am not even going to go through and define them all, besides they are mostly very specialized vocab words... not useful for 99.9% of foreigners...

The words I say most often in Korean in my life these days:
�ΰ���ȭ�� (a word I use for my thesis
����ȸ (thesis
���� (thesis
���� (thesis
����� (thesis and my life
���� (�Ǵ�) (thesis
�̼��� (thesis
�Ŀ��� (I'm looking for sponsorship
�ű��ϴ� (this translating job I do, they use this word OVER and OVER)
������ (thesis
�μ� (my life, my thesis
���� (thesis
���� (I have to record people for my thesis research)
���� (my new favorite word- an old version of very)
���� (thesis
������ (thesis
������ (my life...
��Ȯ (when translating)
��å (thesis)
���� (my stairs were destroyed and are being rebuilt)
������� (cause it describes my husbands people

I think that precisely NONE of the above words are useful to you all, except maybe ���� (construction).

[Grotto]

Gamsahamnida

Chuseyo

Yogeyo

Aishh!!!!

Anja!!

IP!

[coffeeman]

Eye Shopping. It comes out of my mouth automatically when I go shopping. I don't translate from window shopping anymore. Scary!

[Newbie]