Lesson 6 -> What’s this? / This is _____.
Time for Lesson 6 fam. We’re doing great so far! ✨
Today we’re going to learn how to say the word “this,” and ask what something is in polite and formal Korean.
Everyone remembers what we went over last time, right?
(noun ending in a consonant) + -이에요 = It is _____.
(noun ending in a vowel) + -예요 = It is _____.
Ex #1: 책 + -이에요 = 책이에요. (It’s a book.)
Ex #2: 저 + -예요 = 저예요. (It’s me.)
Okay! With that in mind, let’s add a new word to the mix: 이거
이거 (pron. i-geo) is actually compromised of two words combined to be one concept that means “this” or “this one,” and it has two different ways to be written and pronounced: traditional and modern.
Traditional: 이것 (pron. i-geot) -> 이 (”this”) + 것 (”thing/item/stuff”)
Modern: 이거 (pron. i-geo) -> 이 (”this”) + 거 (”thing/item/stuff”)
While both forms are used, you’re more likely to hear 이거 due to ease of pronunciation.
Now let’s have a look at TTMIK’s sample sentences to compare what we learned last time to how it relates to this lesson! 🥳
책이에요. = It’s a book.
이거 책이에요. = This is a book. (책 = “chaek”)
카메라예요. = It’s a camera.
이거 카메라예요. = This is a camera. (카메라 = “ka-me-ra’’)
커피예요. = It’s coffee.
이거 커피예요. = This is coffee. (커피 = “keo-pi”)
사전이에요. = It’s a dictionary.
이거 사전이에요. = This is a dictionary. (사전 = “sa-jeon”)
Alright? We’re halfway there!
In the last lesson we learned that “뭐예요?” by itself means “what is it?” Like the above examples, you can add our target word 이거 to change the meaning to “what is this?” specifically! Now, if someone asks you what something is, you can answer, and vice versa! Let’s get some practice in.
Some more examples in dialogue form (from TTMIK):
A: 이거 뭐예요? (What is this?)
B: 이거 마이크예요. (This is a microphone.) (마이크 = “ma-i-keu”)
A: 이거 뭐예요? (What is this?)
B: 이거 핸드폰이에요. (This is a cellphone.) (핸드폰 = “haen-deu-pon”)
A: 이거 뭐예요? (What is this?)
B: 이거 물이에요. (This is water.) (물 = “mul”)
A: 이거 뭐예요? (What is this?)
B: 이거 커피예요. (This is coffee.) (커피 = “keo-pi”)
B)) Pretty cool am I right? We’re only on Lesson 6 and you’re already on your way to small/basic conversation!! <3
Now then. Do y’all remember how to say “no,” or rather, that you disagree with something?
Remember, often times if you want to ask a question, all you do is raise the intonation of your voice, much like English. So:
A: 이거 커피예요? (Is this coffee?/This is coffee?)
B: 아니요, 이거 물이에요. (No, this is water.)
Or, vice versa, we could say:
A: 이거 물이에요? (Is this water?/This is water?)
B: 네, 맞아요. 이거 물이에요. (Yes, that’s right. This is water.)
Yeehaw!! Sample Dialogue time B))
A: 이거 볼펜이에요? (Is this a ballpoint pen?)
B: 아니요. 샤프예요. (No. It’s a mechanical pencil.)
A: 이거는요? 볼펜이에요? (How about this?/This one? Is it a ballpoint pen?)
B: 네. 볼펜 맞아요. (Yes, that is a ballpoint pen.)
Next time we’ll expand more on this, and differentiate the words for “this” and “that” specifically. Until then, 안녕히 계세요!
