Basic Prices, Weather, and Discoveries | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 이거 얼마예요?

   How much is this?

   이거

   this

   얼마

   how much

   예요?

   is it?

   More detail

   이거 means “this” or “this thing” here. It is a conversational shortened form of 이것, used as a demonstrative pronoun. Its grammatical form does not identify a particular object by itself; the object is understood from the situation. 얼마 asks about an amount, and in this sentence the amount is the price. It is useful for asking “how much?” without stating a currency or unit. Example: 얼마예요? — “How much is it?” 예요? is the polite present form of the Korean copula, used here with the question intonation to ask what the price is. The copula form is 예요 after a vowel-ending preceding form and 이에요 after a consonant-ending one. Here, 얼마 ends in a vowel sound, so 예요 is used. This ending expresses a polite “is”; it is not the word meaning “how much.” Together, 이거 + 얼마 + 예요? asks for the price of the indicated item: “How much is this?” The phrasing is a common polite way to ask about an item’s price.

2. 어디에 살아요?

   Where do you live?

   어디

   where

   에

   at/in; to (location)

   살아요

   live

   More detail

   어디 means “where” and asks about a place. It is a question word for location, not a word meaning “what.” For example, 어디에 가요? means “Where are you going?” 에 marks a location associated with the verb. Here it marks the place where someone lives. The same particle can mark a destination with movement verbs, as in 학교에 가요 (“I go to school”), so the verb helps determine whether the location is a place of residence or a destination. 살아요 is the polite present form of 살다, “to live.” The stem 살- combines with the polite -아요 ending to form 살아요. The subject is omitted; the fixed translation identifies the intended subject as “you.” A useful contrast is 살아요 (“live”) versus 가요 (“go”): the first describes residence, while the second describes movement. Together, 어디 + 에 asks for a location, and 살아요 supplies the meaning “live.” Thus 어디에 살아요? means “Where do you live?” The polite ending makes this a polite question, while the person being asked is understood from the situation rather than stated in the sentence.

3. 날씨가 좋아요.

   The weather is nice.

   날씨

   weather

   좋아요

   is nice

   More detail

   날씨 means “weather.” It is a noun, and 날씨가 marks it as the subject with 가. The subject marker does not mean “the”; the intended meaning here is identified by the sentence as a whole. 좋아요 means “is nice” here. Its base form is 좋다 (“to be good/nice”), and 좋아요 is the polite present-style form used in ordinary conversation. Korean descriptive words such as 좋다 can function as the predicate directly, so Korean does not need a separate word equivalent to “is” in this sentence. The form 좋아요 can describe something as good or pleasant; for example, 날씨가 나빠요. means “The weather is bad.” Here 나쁘다 is the contrasting base form, changing to 나빠요 in the same polite pattern. Together, 날씨가 좋아요 means “The weather is nice.” The topic being evaluated is the weather, and 좋아요 gives the positive evaluation. This is a natural polite conversational sentence.

4. 지금 비가 와요.

   It is raining now.

   지금

   now

   비

   rain

   와요

   comes; falls

   More detail

   지금 means “now,” marking the time of the event. It is a useful time word that can usually be placed near the beginning of a Korean sentence. 비 means “rain.” It is a noun. In 비가 와요, the particle 가 marks 비 as the subject, so the sentence literally presents rain as coming or falling. 와요 is the polite present form of 오다, “to come.” The verb changes from 오다 to 와요 in this form. Korean commonly uses 비가 오다 (“rain comes”) to express that it is raining; here, 와요 does not mean that a person is coming. Together, 지금 비가 와요 means “It is raining now.” The time word 지금 identifies when the weather event is happening, and 비가 와요 expresses the event itself. This is a polite, reusable way to describe current rain.

5. 휴대폰을 잊어버렸어요.

   I forgot my phone.

   휴대폰

   cell phone

   잊어버렸어요

   forgot

   More detail

   휴대폰 means “cell phone” and is a noun. The following 을 marks it as the object of the action; 을 is used after a noun ending in a consonant, while 를 is used after a vowel. For example, 책을 읽어요 means “I read a book.” 잊어버렸어요 means “forgot” here. Its base form is 잊어버리다, formed from 잊다 (“forget”) plus 버리다; together, this commonly presents the forgetting as completed or regrettable. 잊어버렸어요 is the polite past form. The ending -었어요 marks a completed past event in this polite style. For example, 이름을 잊어버렸어요 means “I forgot the name.” Together, 휴대폰을 (“the cell phone” as the object) and 잊어버렸어요 (“forgot”) produce the complete meaning: “I forgot my phone.” Korean commonly omits the subject when it is understood from the situation, so the sentence does not separately state “I”; the fixed translation supplies that intended subject.

6. 찾았어요.

   I found it.

   찾았어요

   found it

   More detail

   찾았어요 is the polite past form of 찾다, “to find.” The ending -았어요 shows that the finding is completed, while -어요 gives a polite conversational style. Korean often omits the subject when it is understood; here, the fixed translation identifies the subject as “I,” and it refers to the thing found. The object is also omitted in the Korean sentence because it is recoverable from context. The same verb can describe looking for something in another context, but here the completed form and the fixed translation give the meaning “found.” Example: 책을 찾았어요. — “I found the book.” Together, 찾았어요 means “I found it”: the verb expresses finding, the past marking presents the action as completed, and the omitted subject and object are supplied by the established context.