About This Lesson
Use Talking About the Teacher to practice Korean conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
만나서 반가워요.
MAHN-na-suh bahn-ga-WUH-yoh. Nice to meet you.
B
여기서 받는 첫 수업이에요?
yuh-gi-suh BAHN-neun CHUHT ssoo-UH-bee-eh-yoh? Is this your first lesson here?
A
전에 여기 왔었어요.
JUH-neh yuh-gee wah-ssuh-ssuh-yoh. I came here before.
B
여기 온 지 좀 됐어요.
yuh-gee OHN-jee johm dwae-ssuh-yoh. I have been here for a while.
A
선생님은 어때요?
SUHN-seng-nee-meun uh-TTAE-yoh? What is the teacher like?
B
선생님은 아주 친절해요.
SUHN-seng-nee-meun AH-joo chin-JUHL-hae-yoh. The teacher is very kind.Word by Word
만나서
In 만나서 반가워요, 만나서 presents meeting as the circumstance for the speaker’s pleasure; the full expression means “Nice to meet you.” It comes from 만나다 and is a form used before the following expression. Use 만나서 when greeting someone you have just met.
반가워요
반가워요 expresses that the speaker is glad or pleased to meet someone, as in 만나서 반가워요. It is a polite conversational form used in a greeting. Use it when meeting someone or being happy to see them.
여기서
여기서 means “here” as the place where an action happens, referring to the lesson location in 여기서 받는 첫 수업이에요? The ending 서 marks the place connected with the action. A reliable pattern is 여기서 followed by an action, meaning that the action happens here.
받는
받는 means “taking” or “receiving” in 여기서 받는 첫 수업, linking the action to the noun 수업. It is the form of 받다 used before a noun. Use 받는 before a noun when describing something someone is taking or receiving.
첫
첫 means “first” and identifies 수업 as the first lesson in 첫 수업. It comes directly before the noun it describes. Use 첫 before a noun when referring to the first one in a series, such as a first lesson or first visit.
수업이에요
수업이에요 politely identifies something as a lesson or class in 여기서 받는 첫 수업이에요? The noun 수업 is followed by 이에요 to make a polite noun statement or question. Use this pattern when identifying an event or thing as a particular noun.
전에
전에 means “before” or “previously” and places the coming in 전에 여기 왔었어요 before the current conversation. It functions as a time expression for an earlier event. Use 전에 before an action or event when referring to an earlier time, such as a previous visit.
여기
여기 means “here” and identifies the place the speaker had come to in 여기 왔었어요. It points to the place being discussed in the current situation. Use 여기 when referring to the place where the speaker and listener are or the place under discussion.
왔었어요
왔었어요 says that the speaker had come here before, as in 전에 여기 왔었어요. It comes from 오다 and presents the coming as a prior experience being recalled. Use 여기 왔었어요 to say that you had come to this place before.
온
In 여기 온 지 좀 됐어요, 온 supplies “coming here” as the event from which elapsed time is counted. It is the form of 오다 used before 지. A reusable pattern is an event in this form followed by 지, a time expression, and 됐어요 to describe time since that event.
지
In 온 지 좀 됐어요, 지 marks the point since the coming happened, so the expression says that some time has passed since coming here. It works as part of the elapsed-time construction rather than meaning “since” independently here. Use an event followed by 지 and a duration before 됐어요 when describing how long it has been since something happened.
좀
좀 makes the elapsed period in 여기 온 지 좀 됐어요 intentionally vague, giving the meaning “for a while” or “some time.” Here it softens the exact length of time instead of stating a precise duration. Use 좀 with a time or amount when it is relatively small or is not being specified exactly.
됐어요
In 온 지 좀 됐어요, 됐어요 completes the elapsed-time expression and means that some time has passed since coming here. It comes from 되다 and is a polite conversational form. Use an event followed by 지, a duration, and 됐어요 to say how long it has been since that event.
선생님은
선생님은 sets the teacher as the topic in both 선생님은 어때요? and 선생님은 아주 친절해요. The ending 은 marks the topic being asked about or described. Use a person or thing followed by 은 when directing a question or statement to that topic.
어때요
어때요 asks “How is it?” or “What is it like?” and in 선생님은 어때요? asks for a description or impression of the teacher. It is a polite question form. Use a topic followed by 어때요? when asking someone to describe a person, thing, or situation.
아주
아주 means “very” and strengthens the positive description in 아주 친절해요. It comes before the descriptive expression it intensifies. Use 아주 before a descriptive word when emphasizing a strong degree of a quality.
친절해요
친절해요 describes the teacher as kind or considerate in 선생님은 아주 친절해요. It is the polite form of 친절하다 used to describe someone’s manner. Use a person or topic followed by 친절해요 when telling someone that the person is kind.
Grammar Points
V-(으)ㄴ 지 ... 되다
온 지 좀 됐어요.
OHN-jee johm dwae-ssuh-yoh.It has been a little while since I came.
‘-ㄴ/은 지 ... 되다’ expresses how much time has passed since an action.
-았/었었어요
전에 왔었어요.
JUH-neh wah-ssuh-ssuh-yoh.I came before.
‘-았/었었어요’ describes a past action or state that occurred before now.
Korean Vocabulary
됐어요
verb
dwae-ssuh-yoh
has been; became
만나서
verb
mahn-na-suh
to meet; meeting
반가워요
adj
bahn-ga-WUH-yoh
glad; nice
받는
verb
bahn-neun
taking; receiving
선생님
noun
SUHN-seng-neem
teacher
수업
noun
soo-UHP
lesson; class
여기
adv
YUH-gee
here
온 지
phrase
OHN-jee
since coming
왔었어요
verb
wah-ssuh-ssuh-yoh
came before
전에
adv
JUH-neh
before; previously
좀
adv
johm
a little; somewhat
첫
det
CHUHT
first
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Nice to meet you.
Show Answer
만나서 반가워요.Is this your first lesson here?
Show Answer
여기서 받는 첫 수업이에요?I came here before.
Show Answer
전에 여기 왔었어요.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
came before
Show Answer
왔었어요glad; nice
Show Answer
반가워요before; previously
Show Answer
전에here