Basic Health and Temperature | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 너무 더워요.

   It is too hot.

   너무

   too

   더워요

   hot

   More detail

   너무 means “too” here, marking an excessive degree: “more hot than is comfortable or suitable.” It can also mean “very” in some Korean usage, but in this sentence the fixed translation supports the excessive meaning. A reusable pattern is 너무 + adjective: 너무 추워요 means “It is too cold.” 더워요 is the polite present form of the descriptive adjective 덥다, “to be hot.” The form changes because 덥다 is a ㅂ-irregular adjective: before the polite ending, the ㅂ changes and the form becomes 더워요. This describes the current temperature or conditions; it is not the noun “heat.” The related contrast in the supplied context is 추워요, “to be cold,” from 춥다. Together, 너무 더워요 means “It is too hot.” Korean commonly leaves the subject unstated when the situation makes it clear; the sentence therefore expresses that the current conditions or temperature are excessively hot without naming a subject.

2. 너무 추워요.

   It is too cold.

   너무

   too; excessively

   추워요

   it is cold

   More detail

   너무 means “too” here: it marks a degree that is excessive for the speaker’s situation. It comes before the word it modifies. In Korean, 너무 can also mean “very” in some contexts, but in this sentence the fixed translation supports the excessive meaning “too.” 추워요 is the polite present form of 춥다, “to be cold.” The adjective stem changes from 춥- to 추워- before the polite ending -요; this is a common ㅂ-irregular pattern. For comparison, 더워요 in the preceding example comes from 덥다, “to be hot.” Korean commonly omits a subject when the situation makes it clear. Thus 추워요 can express that the relevant surroundings or weather are cold; the translation naturally supplies “it.” The ending -요 makes the statement polite in ordinary conversation. Together, 너무 + 추워요 gives “It is too cold.” The reusable pattern is 너무 + adjective + -요, meaning that something has an excessively high or low degree, as in 너무 피곤해요 (“I am too tired”).

3. 저는 아주 피곤해요.

   I am very tired.

   저는

   as for me; I

   아주

   very

   피곤해요

   am tired

   More detail

   저는 presents the speaker as the topic: 저 means “I” in a modest/polite form, and 는 marks the topic. The form 저 is used when the speaker refers to themself; it is different from 나, which is the less-polite first-person form. Example: 저는 학생이에요. — “I am a student.” 아주 means “very” and strengthens the description that follows. It can be reused before an adjective-like predicate: 아주 바빠요. — “I am very busy.” The nearby sentence uses 너무 for “too,” so 아주 is the straightforward intensifier in this utterance, without adding the idea that the degree is excessive. 피곤해요 is the polite present form meaning “am tired” here. Its base form is 피곤하다 (“to be tired”); the 하다 ending changes to 해요 in this polite style: 피곤하다 → 피곤해요. Korean descriptive predicates can express a state without a separate word corresponding to English “am.” Example: 저는 지금 피곤해요. — “I am tired now.” Together, 저는 sets up “as for me,” 아주 adds the intensity “very,” and 피곤해요 states the tired condition. The whole utterance therefore means “I am very tired.”

4. 저는 아주 배고파요.

   I am very hungry.

   저는

   I / as for me

   아주

   very

   배고파요

   am hungry

   More detail

   저는 means “as for me” or simply “I” here. 저 is the humble first-person pronoun, and 는 marks the topic. A useful contrast is 나는, which also means “I” but uses the less-formal pronoun 나. 아주 is an adverb meaning “very” or “quite.” It strengthens the following description: 아주 배고파요 means “am very hungry.” 배고파요 is the polite present form of 배고프다, “to be hungry.” Korean commonly expresses this kind of state with a descriptive predicate rather than a separate word equivalent to English “am.” The form changes from 배고프- to 배고파요 because 배고프다 follows the ㅂ-irregular pattern; ㅂ is not retained before this ending. The ending -요 adds a polite conversational tone. Example: 저는 피곤해요. — “I am tired.” Together, 저는 sets “I” as the topic, 아주 intensifies the state, and 배고파요 states that the speaker is hungry politely. The complete meaning is “I am very hungry.”

5. 저는 아주 목말라요.

   I am very thirsty.

   저는

   I / as for me

   아주

   very

   목말라요

   am thirsty

   More detail

   저는 combines 저, a polite/humble first-person pronoun meaning “I,” with 는, a topic marker. The topic marker presents the speaker as the topic; it does not itself add a numeric meaning. 저는 is a reusable way to say “as for me, …” in a polite sentence. The less-polite first-person pronoun is 나, used with different speech-level choices. 아주 is an adverb meaning “very” here. It intensifies the following description: 아주 목말라요 means “am very thirsty.” 목말라요 is the polite present form of the Korean descriptive predicate 목마르다, “to be thirsty.” Korean uses this descriptive predicate directly; it does not need a separate word meaning “am.” The form changes through the 르 irregular pattern: 목마르다 → 목말라요. The ending -요 marks the polite style used here. For example, 지금 목말라요. means “I am thirsty now,” and the subject can be omitted when it is clear from context. Together, 저는 sets the speaker as the topic, 아주 intensifies the description, and 목말라요 states the speaker’s present condition. Thus 저는 아주 목말라요. means “I am very thirsty.”

6. 저는 몸이 안 좋아요.

   I am feeling sick.

   저는

   as for me; I

   몸이

   body

   안 좋아요

   is not good; feels unwell

   More detail

   저는 introduces the speaker as the topic: “as for me” or naturally “I.” 저 is the humble first-person pronoun used in polite speech, and 는 marks the topic. A useful contrast is 나는, which also means “I” but is less humble and is not the form observed here. 몸이 means “the body” with 이 marking it as the subject. In this expression, Korean describes the speaker’s physical condition through the body; the fixed translation therefore naturally gives “I am feeling sick.” The 이 ending is used after a noun ending in a consonant; after a vowel, the corresponding subject marker is 가. 안 좋아요 means “is not good” here, idiomatically “feels unwell.” The base adjective is 좋다 (“to be good”); its polite present form is 좋아요, and placing 안 before it makes the simple negation 안 좋아요. This is different from 나빠요 (“is bad”): 안 좋아요 directly negates “good” and is a common way to describe a condition as not good. Together, 저는 몸이 안 좋아요 has the structure “as for me, the body is not good.” In natural English, it means “I am feeling sick,” without specifying a particular illness.