Korean · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 5 of 12
Family and friends
가족과 친구Gajokgwa chingu
Talk about your family in Korean: brothers and sisters, “my” with 제 and 우리, having with 있어요, and saying and asking ages.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Say who is in your family and how many brothers and sisters you have
- Choose the right word for an older brother or sister
- Say “my” with 제 and 우리
- Ask and say someone's age
Listen
At their office in Daejeon, colleagues Jung Sujin and Han Jiho look at a family photo on her phone. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Jiho
수진 씨, 이거 가족 사진이에요?
Sujin ssi, igeo gajok sajinieyo?
Sujin, is this a family photo?
Sujin
네, 우리 가족이에요. 여기 우리 엄마, 아빠예요.
Ne, uri gajogieyo. Yeogi uri eomma, appayeyo.
Yes, it's my family. Here are my mum and dad.
Jiho
이 사람은 누구예요?
I sarameun nuguyeyo?
And who's this?
Sujin
우리 오빠예요. 오빠가 한 명 있어요.
Uri oppayeyo. Oppaga han myeong isseoyo.
That's my older brother. I have one older brother.
Jiho
동생도 있어요?
Dongsaengdo isseoyo?
Do you have a younger brother or sister too?
Sujin
아니요, 동생은 없어요. 지호 씨는요?
Aniyo, dongsaengeun eopseoyo. Jiho ssineunyo?
No, I don't have any younger siblings. What about you, Jiho?
Jiho
저는 누나가 두 명 있어요. 형은 없어요.
Jeoneun nunaga du myeong isseoyo. Hyeongeun eopseoyo.
I have two older sisters. I don't have an older brother.
Sujin
지호 씨는 몇 살이에요?
Jiho ssineun myeot sarieyo?
How old are you, Jiho?
Jiho
스물아홉 살이에요. 수진 씨는요?
Seumurahop sarieyo. Sujin ssineunyo?
I'm twenty-nine. And you, Sujin?
Sujin
저는 서른한 살이에요.
Jeoneun seoreunhan sarieyo.
I'm thirty-one.
Understand
I have: 있어요 and 없어요
You know (isseoyo) as “there is”. It also means “have”: (oppaga isseoyo), I have an older brother, literally “an older brother exists”. (eopseoyo) means “don't have”. The person or thing you have takes 이 after a consonant or 가 after a vowel: (dongsaengi isseoyo), (nunaga isseoyo).
To count people, use native numbers with the counter (myeong): (han myeong), one person; (du myeong), two. Contrast uses 은 / 는: (hyeongeun eopseoyo), an older brother, I don't have. To ask “and you?”, use the name + (ssineunyo?).
- 언니가 한 명 있어요.Eonniga han myeong isseoyo.I have one older sister. (a woman speaking)
- 동생은 없어요.Dongsaengeun eopseoyo.I don't have any younger siblings.
- 이 사람은 누구예요?I sarameun nuguyeyo?Who's this?
I, we and my: 저, 우리, 저희, 제
(jeo), the polite “I”, becomes (jega) before the subject particle 가: (nuga gyosayeyo?), who's the teacher? (jega gyosayeyo), I am. (je), short for (jeoui), “of me”, means “my”: (je ireum), my name; (je sajin), my photo.
“We” and “our” is (uri). For family, home and country, Koreans say even when they mean “my”: (uri eomma), my mum; (uri jip), my home. When you speak very politely about your own group to someone outside it, such as a customer or someone senior, use the humble (jeohui): (jeohui hoesa), our company.
For “he” and “she”, Korean uses the name, a family word, or / (i saram / geu saram), this / that person: (i sarameun nuguyeyo?), who's this? For “you”, use the name + (ssi), as in chapter 3. “'s” is 의 (pronounced e), usually left out in speech: (chingu dongsaeng), a friend's younger sibling. (chingu) is “friend”.
| Meaning | Polite: use these | Casual (A2), close friends only |
|---|---|---|
| I | (jeo); (jega) before 가 | (na); (naega) |
| my | (je) | (nae) |
| we, our | (uri); humble (jeohui) | (uri) |
| he, she | the name, (i saram), (geu saram) | the name |
| you | the name + (ssi), a title, or nothing | the name, (neo) |
Brothers, sisters and age
The words for an older brother and sister depend on whether the speaker is a man or a woman. Sujin, a woman, calls her older brother (oppa). Jiho, a man, calls his older sisters (nuna). For a younger brother or sister, everyone says (dongsaeng).
Age uses native numbers + (sal): (seumurahop sal), 29. (seumul), 20, becomes (seumu) right before (sal), like (han, du, se, ne): (seumu sal), 20. In longer numbers only the last part shortens: (seumulhan sal), 21; (seoreunhan sal), 31; (seumurahop sal), 29. The tens are (yeol) 10, (seumul) 20, (seoreun) 30, (maheun) 40, (swin) 50. Ask (myeot sarieyo?), how old are you?
| Meaning | A man says | A woman says |
|---|---|---|
| older brother | (hyeong) | (oppa) |
| older sister | (nuna) | (eonni) |
| younger brother or sister | (dongsaeng) | (dongsaeng) |
| 20 years old | (seumu sal) | (seumu sal) |
More in the grammar: More particles: 도, 만, 의, 하고, 보다, 부터/까지, 한테 · Numbers, counters, time and dates · Speech levels: 해요, 합니다, 반말 and 한다 · 은/는 and 이/가: topic and subject · 있다 and 없다: there is, to have
New words
- 가족gajokfamily
- 사진sajinphoto
- 우리uriwe, our; my (for family and home)
- 엄마eommamum · (eomeoni), mother, is more formal.
- 아빠appadad · (abeoji), father, is more formal.
- 누구nuguwho · (nuguyeyo?), Who is it?
- 오빠oppaolder brother (said by a woman)
- 명myeongperson (counter)
- 동생dongsaengyounger brother or sister
- 누나nunaolder sister (said by a man)
- 형hyeongolder brother (said by a man)
- 몇 살myeot salhow old · (myeot sarieyo?), How old are you?
- 살salyears old (counter)
- 언니eonniolder sister (said by a woman)
Practise
1.Jiho is a man. What does he call his older sister?
2.You show a new colleague a photo on your phone. How do you say “my photo” politely?
3.Put the words in order: say you have one older brother (a woman speaking).
Tap the words below in the right order.I have one older brother.
4.Match the Korean with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
5.Put the words in order: say you don't have a younger brother or sister.
Tap the words below in the right order.I don't have a younger brother or sister.
6.How do you say “I'm 21”?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
우리 가족 사진이에요.
Uri gajok sajinieyo.
It's a photo of my family.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.