Vocabulary: Similar Words
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ķģøģ!! Hey everyone! I have a fun vocab list for yāall today: itās about Korean words that translate to the same thing in English, but are used differently! A lot of these words can be very confusing for learners (I often forget the differences between these words lol), so I thought it might be helpful to make a (pretty long but prob not exhaustive) list of these words and try to explain the differences!Ā
Also, Talk to Me in Korean has a TON of videos explaining the differences between some of these words on their Q&A playlist, so I strongly recommend you check those out! Iāll also link some specific videos throughout my post since I cite them as a source! They also posted a video about how to distinguish between words that translate to the same thing in your native language a day after I started working on this lesson lol so be sure to check that out too! Letās begin!!
ģ“미 vs. ė²ģØ: Already
These two mean the same thing! However, ė²ģØ is used to mean that something happened sooner than expected. For example:Ā ģ, ė²ģØ ź°ģģ“ė¤ģ! = Wow, itās already fall! (as if the summer passed by really quickly and youāre surprised itās already fall)
ģ is used to describe something that is simply new and is the opposite of old: ģ ģ¤ėė 컓ķØķ°ź° ź³ ģ„ ėģ ģ 컓ķØķ°ė„¼ ģģ“ģ. = My old computer broke, so I bought a new one.
ģė”ģ“ (from ģė”ė¤) refers to something that is new and fresh, like something never done or heard of before. TTMIK uses the example of the computer ā if you were to say ģė”ģ“ ģ»“ķØķ°, that might mean that Apple released a new Macbook or something ā they created something new and never seen before.
ķėģ vs. ķøė„øģ: Blue
ķėģ can describe anything thatās blue.
ķøė„øģ can mean either blue or green because itās usually used to describe things in nature: ķøė„ø ķė means āblue sky,ā while ķøė„ø ģ² meansĀ āgreen forest,ā for example.Ā Ā
źø°ė¶ vs. ėė: Feeling
źø°ė¶ refers to emotions and moods: źø°ė¶ģ“ ģ¢ģģ. = Iām happy. (literallyĀ āI feel good,ā but refers specifically to your emotions)
ėė refers more to the atmosphere, or the kind of impression you get from something. Think vibes: ėėģ“ ģ“ģķ“ģ. = I feel weird / It feels weird. (maybe youāre walking in an old abandoned house and youāre getting weird vibes)
ź±±ģ is closer to the English word forĀ āworryā: ź±±ģ ķģ§ ė§! = Donāt worry!
ź³ ėÆ¼ is closer to something likeĀ āconcernā orĀ āwoesā orĀ ātroubles.ā It refers to something a little more general, like something that weighs on your mind that you might want to talk to a friend about, while ź±±ģ gives a more anxious and immediate feeling:Ā ź³ ėÆ¼ģ ķøģ“ėė¤ = to get something off your chest
ė묓ģ vs. ėė¶ģ: Because ofā¦
These two donāt really mean the exact same thing. ė문ģ meansĀ ābecause ofā¦ā: (from Naver Dictionary) ė ė문ģ ė“ź° ģ¼ģ ģ§ģ¤ģ“ ģ ė¼. = I canāt focus on my work because of you.
ėė¶ģ, however, meansĀ āthanks toā¦ā and is inherently more positive. I think ė문ģ can be used positively too, but it can also be negative. ėė¶ģ, on the other hand, is always positive: ģ°ė¦¬ ė¶ėŖØė ėė¶ģ ėķźµģ ė¤ėź² ėģ“ģ. = Thanks to my parents, I ended up going to college.
ģ¢ģķė¤Ā vs. ė§ģ ė¤ė¤: To Like
ģ¢ģķė¤ just meansĀ āto like.ā ė§ģ ė¤ė¤ literally meansĀ āto come into oneās heart.ā This is usually used when you see or experience something for the first time and you like it. For example, if you try on a dress in a store, you can say ė§ģ ė¤ģ“ģ to meanĀ āI like it.ā ģ¢ģķė¤, on the other hand, can be used for stuff that you just like in general: ģ¼ģ“ķ ģ¢ģķ“ģ. = I like K-pop.
ģ“ė µė¤Ā vs. ķė¤ė¤: Difficult
ģ“ė µė¤ refers to something that is difficult, like a math problem or something: ģ“ ģķ ė¬øģ ź° ģ“ė ¤ģģ. = This math question is difficult.
ķė¤ė¤ usually refers to a hard situation, like when youāre having a tough time doing something or going through a rough patch in your life. TTMIKās video uses this sentence: ģ ģģ¦ ķė¤ģ“ģ. = Iām having a hard time these days.
ķė¤ė¤ can also be used for things that are physically strenuous: ģ ź°ė°©ģ“ 묓거ģģ ė¤źø°ź° ķė¤ģ“ģ. = My bag is heavy, so itās hard to carry.
On itās own, the phrase ķė¤ģ“ģ can also meanĀ āIām tired.ā
ģ¶ģ²ķė¤Ā vs. ź¶ķė¤: To Recommend
ģ¶ģ²ķė¤ is used to recommend things like books, songs, and movies. Itās a pretty general word: NCTģ ģ ź³” ģ¶ģ²ķ“ģ. = I recommend NCTās new song.
ź¶ķė¤ gives the feeling of strongly recommending something, or advising someone to do or not do something: (from Naver Dictionary)Ā źµģė ėģź² ģ ķģ ź¶ķė¤ = The professor advised[encouraged] me to study abroad.
ź¶ķė¤ could also be used when youāre offering something: 맄주넼 ź¶ķģ“ģ. = I offered beer.
-ź³ ģ¶ė¤ vs. ģķė¤: To Want
-ź³ ģ¶ė¤ can be attached to verbs to meanĀ āto want to [verb]ā: ģ ė°°ź³ ķģ ėØ¹ź³ ģ¶ģ“ģ. = I want to eat because Iām hungry.
ź°ź³ ģ¶ė¤ can be used to mean that you want a noun ā it literally meansĀ āto want to haveā: ģ ģģ“ķ°ģ ź°ź³ ģ¶ģ“ģ. = I want a new iPhone.
You really donāt hear ģķė¤ that much in regular spoken Korean. Itās more of a poetic word, hence why you hear it a lot in K-pop and stuff, such as in BTSāsĀ āBlood Sweat and Tearsā: ģķ“ ė§ģ“ ė§ģ“ = I want you a lot
ė°ė¤ vs. 미ģķė¤ vs. ģ«ė¤ vs. ģ«ģ“ķė¤: To Hate / To Dislike
ė°ė¤ and 미ģķė¤ can only be used when talking about people: ź·ø ģ¬ė 미ģģ. / ź·ø ģ¬ė 미ģķ“ģ. = I hate him.
ģ«ė¤ and ģ«ģ“ķė¤, however, can be used for both objects and people: ź·øź±° ģ«ģ“ģ. / ź·øź±° ģ«ģ“ķ“ģ. = I donāt like that. / I hate that.Ā
The difference between the verbs ending in -ķė¤ and the ones that donāt is a little more complicated. ė°ė¤ and ģ«ė¤ are more passive and describe just you finding something unlikable according to TTMIK. They describe the feeling of not liking something.Ā
미ģķė¤ andĀ ģ«ģ“ķė¤, on the other hand, are more active and stronger. They can be used to meanĀ āhating onā someone/something, if that makes sense. Rather than describing the feeling of not liking something, they describe the action of not liking something.
ģ¬ė¬ė¶ vs. ėŖØė: Everybody
ģ¬ė¬ė¶ meansĀ āeveryone,ā but can only be used when youāre addressing the crowd. At the beginning of all my lessons, for instance, I say ģė
ģ¬ė¬ė¶ to meanĀ āhi, everyoneā because Iām talking to all of you.Ā
ėŖØė, by contrast, can be used otherwise. Rather than using it to address people, you would use it to talk about āeverybodyā in the third person: ėŖØėź° ķķ°ģ ź°ģ“ģ. = Everyone went to the party.Ā
ģ meansĀ āinsideā and is typically used to describe something enclosed in something else: ģ ģ±
ģ ź°ė°© ģģ ģģ“ģ. = My books are inside of my bag. (maybe your books are inside of your zipped-up backpack)
ģ, on the other hand, doesnāt necessarily refer to things that are enclosed. It can be used to talk about things like rooms: ģ ė°© ģģģ ģ¬ź³ ģģ“ģ. = Iām resting in my room.Ā
This rule doesnāt always apply though. TTMIK mentions the example of ģ°ģģ which meansĀ āin the mountains.ā This doesnāt mean youāre literally trapped inside of the mountain; it means that youāre living in mountains or something. The rule I mentioned is generally speaking, but keep in mind there are exceptions!
ģ ķķė¤ vs. ģ°ė½ķė¤: To Call
ģ ķķė¤ simply meansĀ āto call,ā as in to call someone on the phone.Ā
ģ°ė½ķė¤ can also meanĀ āto call,ā but can also meanĀ āto contactā more generally. If someone says to you āģ°ė½ķ“ 주ģøģ,ā theyāre asking you to get in touch them somehow, be it by text, phone, email, etc.
ģ¬ģ„ vs. ź°ģ“ vs. ė§ģ: Heart
I answered an ask about this a while ago, so I just stole from that lol:
ė§ (shortened version of ė§ģ) refers to feelings. Think of it as meaning āmind.ā (ex. From Naver Dictionary: ė§ģģ“ ė°ė»ķė¤ = to be warm-hearted; ė§ģģ ė¤ė¤ = to like (literally āto come into oneās heart))
ģ¬ģ„ is used to refer to the organ the heart. (ex. ģ¬ģ„ė³ = heart disease)
ź°ģ“ means āheart,ā either metaphorically as in feelings or literally as in the organ depending on the context. But it can also mean āchestā or ābreastā as well. (ex. ź°ģ“ģ“ ķė³µģ ź°ė ģ°Ø ģģ“ģ. = My heart is filled with happiness. ź°ģ“ģ“ ė°ģ“ģ. = My heart is racing. ė°ė°ķ ź°ģ“ (from Naver Dictionary) = flat chest)
ģ¶„ė¤ vs. ģ°Øź°ė¤: Cold
ģ¶„ė¤ is used only to describe the weather: ģ¤ėģ ė ģØź° ģ ė§ ģ¶ģģ. = The weather is really cold today.
ģ°Øź°ė¤ is typically used to describe objects that are cold: ģ°Øź°ģ“ 물ģ ė§ģź³ ģ¶ģ“ģ. = I want to drink cold water.
ģ§źø just meansĀ ānowā: ģ§źøģ 5ģģģ. = Itās 5 oāclock right now.
ģ“ģ is used to show some sort of contrast between then and now: ģ“ė øģ ė ķźµģ ģ“ģģ§ė§ ģ“ģ ė 미źµģ ģ“ģģ. = I lived in Korea when I was young, but now I live in the US.Ā
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