Talking About the Teacher | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 만나서 반가워요.

   Nice to meet you.

   만나서

   to meet; upon meeting

   반가워요

   nice to meet you; glad to see you

   More detail

   만나서 comes from 만나다 (“to meet”) plus -아서, a connective meaning “and then” or “because,” depending on context. Here it links the meeting situation to the speaker’s feeling: “having met you” or “upon meeting you.” The ending is not a separate word meaning “you”; the person being met is understood from the situation. 반가워요 is the polite present form of 반갑다, meaning “to be glad” or “to be pleased.” 반갑다 is a ㅂ-irregular adjective: before the polite ending -어요, it becomes 반가워요, not 반갑어요. In this expression, it conveys pleasure at meeting someone, so it is naturally translated as “nice to meet you.” Together, 만나서 반가워요 literally presents the meeting as the reason or occasion for feeling pleased: “I’m glad to meet you.” Korean commonly omits the subject here because the context makes the speaker’s feeling clear. The polite ending -요 makes the expression suitable for a courteous introduction.

2. 여기서 받는 첫 수업이에요?

   Is this your first lesson here?

   여기서

   here

   받는

   taking; receiving

   첫

   first

   수업

   lesson; class

   이에요?

   is it?

   More detail

   여기서 means “here” as the place where an action takes place. It is 여기 (“here”) plus -에서, a location marker used with an action or event. For example, 학교에서 공부해요. means “I study at school.” 받는 is the form of 받다, “to receive” or, in this context, “to take” a lesson. The ending -는 puts a verb in front of a noun and describes an ongoing or generally applicable action: 받는 수업 means “a lesson someone takes.” Here, 받는 describes 첫 수업, rather than functioning as the main verb. 받았어요 means “received/took” in the past, while 받아요 is the polite present form. 첫 means “first.” It is a determiner used directly before a noun: 첫 수업 means “the first lesson.” In this sentence, the surrounding wording specifies the first lesson here; it does not by itself say that this is the learner’s first lesson ever. 첫 만남 is another example, meaning “first meeting.” 수업 means “lesson” or “class.” It can refer to the lesson as an instructional session or to a class in a broader sense. In 첫 수업, it is the noun modified by 첫 and by the preceding phrase 받는. 이에요? is the polite question form of the noun-predicate copula, meaning “is it?” or “is ...?” after a consonant-final noun such as 수업. After a vowel-final noun, the corresponding polite form is 예요, as in 학생이에요? (“Are you a student?”) versus 의사예요? (“Is [someone] a doctor?”). The question asks whether the described lesson is the learner’s first one here; the subject is understood from the fixed translation and context rather than stated as a separate Korean word. Together, 여기서 받는 identifies “being taken here,” 첫 marks it as the first, and 수업이에요? asks whether it is that lesson. The whole utterance therefore means, “Is this your first lesson here?”

3. 전에 여기 왔었어요.

   I came here before.

   전에

   before

   여기

   here

   왔었어요

   came before

   More detail

   전에 means “before” or “previously.” It places the coming earlier than the relevant reference time. For example, 전에 만났어요. means “I met [someone] before.” 여기 means “here,” referring to the place understood in the situation. The place word can also combine with particles: 여기는 means “as for here,” while 여기에 means “to/at here” depending on the verb. 왔었어요 is the polite past form of 오다, “to come,” with an additional earlier-past layer. The basic useful chain is 오다 “to come” → 와요 “come/comes” → 왔어요 “came” → 왔었어요 “had come” or “had been here before.” In this utterance, 전에 makes the natural meaning “came here before.” The subject is omitted; Korean commonly leaves it unspoken when the situation makes it clear, and the supplied translation identifies it as “I.” The ending -어요 makes the sentence polite. Example: 여기에 왔어요. means “I came here.” The form 왔었어요 instead presents that coming as an earlier past event, often with a sense of looking back on a prior visit or state. Together, 전에 (“before”) + 여기 (“here”) + 왔었어요 (“came here previously,” with an earlier-past perspective) gives: “I came here before.”

4. 여기 온 지 좀 됐어요.

   I have been here for a while.

   여기

   here

   온 지

   since coming

   좀 됐어요

   it has been a while

   More detail

   여기 means “here,” referring to the speaker’s current location in this utterance. It is a location word and can be reused with other location expressions, such as 거기 (“there”) when referring to a place farther from the speaker. 온 지 uses 오다 (“to come”) in the form 온 plus the dependent noun 지. In the pattern 동사-(으)ㄴ 지 + time expression, 지 marks the amount of time that has passed since an action or event: 한국에 온 지 일 년 됐어요. means “It has been a year since I came to Korea.” Here, 온 지 means “since coming,” with the coming understood as coming here. 좀 됐어요 combines 좀 (“somewhat; a little”) with 됐어요, the polite form of 되다 (“to become; to pass”). In the elapsed-time pattern, 시간이 되다 expresses that a period of time has passed. Thus 좀 됐어요 means that a little time has passed or that it has been a while. 좀 softens the amount rather than asserting a precise measurement. Together, 여기 온 지 좀 됐어요 follows the reusable pattern 장소에 온 지 + 기간 + 되다: “It has been [a period of time] since [someone] came to [a place].” With the fixed translation, the utterance means “I have been here for a while.”

5. 선생님은 어때요?

   What is the teacher like?

   선생님

   teacher

   은 … 어때요?

   as for ..., what is it like?

   More detail

   선생님 means “teacher.” It is a noun and is the person being asked about here. A useful pattern is N은/는 ..., where 은 follows a noun ending in a consonant and 는 follows one ending in a vowel. The choice marks the noun as the topic; it is not a numeric marker. 은 marks 선생님 as the topic: “as for the teacher.” The topic particle is attached directly to the noun, so 선생님은 is one reusable topic phrase. 어때요? asks about the nature or condition of something: “what is it like?” or “how is it?” It is the polite present form of 어떻다 (“to be how / to be what kind of”), with the irregular form changing to 어때요. The same question pattern can be reused: 학생은 어때요? — “What is the student like?” Together, 선생님은 sets “the teacher” as the topic, and 어때요? asks for an evaluation or description of that person. The whole utterance therefore means “What is the teacher like?”

6. 선생님은 아주 친절해요.

   The teacher is very kind.

   선생님

   teacher

   아주

   very

   친절해요

   is kind

   More detail

   선생님 means “teacher.” It is a noun; the respectful title 님 is part of this form. In 선생님은, 은 marks 선생님 as the topic of the sentence. The topic marker is attached after a noun ending in a consonant; after a noun ending in a vowel, 는 is used. Example: 학생은 바빠요. — “The student is busy.” 아주 means “very” and strengthens the descriptive word that follows it. Example: 아주 좋아요. — “It is very good.” 친절해요 means “is kind” here. Its base form is 친절하다, “to be kind.” The ending 해요 gives a polite, nonformal-present style; 친절해요 describes the teacher’s current quality. Korean descriptive predicates such as 친절하다 can function as the predicate without a separate word meaning “is.” Example: 그 사람은 친절해요. — “That person is kind.” Together, 선생님은 sets “the teacher” as the topic, 아주 intensifies the description, and 친절해요 states the teacher’s quality: “The teacher is very kind.”