Billy Go's Blog, page 46

Korean Test Practice with Billy [Ep. 31] – Intermediate Korean (Listening Practice)

If you're preparing for the TOPIK, or just any sort of Korean test, then this series is for you. In my "Korean Test Practice" series you can practice a variety of questions ranging from Beginner to Advanced. This week's question is for Intermediate level learners.

There are currently 31 episodes in this series, so if you'd like to really challenge yourself (and if you're advanced level), then why not try practicing all 31 of them in a row?

Here is the listening example:

여러분 안녕하세요. 저는 지금 가족과 소풍을 와 있어요. 여기 어디인지 아세요? 네, 맞아요. 요즘 인기 있는 곰의 스카프 공원이에요. 앗! 안돼 까치! 언니 지금 방송 중이잖아. 까치야 인사해. 아, 뭐야. 인사하라니까 바로 가버렸네. 네. 까치는 저희 집 막내예요. 지난달에 2살 됐어요. 원래 여기 애견 운동장이 같이 있다고 해서 까치도 데리고 왔는데 다른 강아지들이랑 잘 못 놀길래 그냥 저희랑 같이 놀고 있어요. 저기 뒤에 보이는 두 분이 저희 엄마랑 아빠예요. 2시간째 낚시 중이신데 아빠는 아직 한 마리도 못 잡으셨어요. 네, 맞아요. 여기 텐트도 설치할 수 있고 바비큐 그릴도 쓸 수 있어서 정말 좋은 것 같아요. 네. 텐트 쓰려면 무조건 예약해야 돼요. 다음 주에 또 예약 오픈하니까 그때 성공하세요! 앗, 저는 언니가 저녁 혼자 준비한다고 화내고 있어서 이만 가볼게요. 여러분 안녕!

Here is the English translation:

Hello everyone. Now I am on a picnic with my family. Do you know where we are? Yes, that’s right. This is the recently popular Bear’s Scarf Park. Ah! No, Magpie! I’m broadcasting (streaming) right now. Say hi, Magpie. Ah, come on. I asked it to say hi and she just left right away. All right. Magpie (dog) is the youngest in our family. She turned 2 last month. Originally one of the reasons I brought Magpie here is because there’s a dog playground at the park, but she didn’t get along well with other dogs so she’s just playing with us. The two people you see behind are my mom and dad. My dad’s been fishing now for 2 hours but he hasn’t caught even one fish yet. Yes, that’s right. You can put up tents here and use a barbecue grill, so I think it’s really nice. Yes. If you want to use a tent, you must make a reservation. Next week, reservations open again so get it (reservation) then! Ah, I should go now because my older sister said she’s preparing dinner all by herself, and is getting mad. Bye everyone!

The post Korean Test Practice with Billy [Ep. 31] – Intermediate Korean (Listening Practice) appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

Grading your Korean – Mastering pronouns | Billy Go

It's time for a new "Grading your Korean" episode, where I grade the Korean of some of my subscribers. I'm still accepting new submissions, and there are instructions for how you can send in your video for me to grade in this video's description.

In this episode, we'll talk in detail about using Korean politeness levels, as well as using pronouns in Korean.

Special thanks to Grant for sending me his video to grade.

The post Grading your Korean – Mastering pronouns | Billy Go appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

You (probably) should stop asking 잘 지내세요 | Korean FAQ

Two common phrases that are taught early on are 잘 지내세요 and 어떻게 지내세요 - as well as variations on each of those.

However, 잘 지내세요 and others can actually sound awkward in many situations. One of the most common places they can sound awkward is when used to strangers. This is because these phrases actually mean "How are you?" and are used when you actually want to ask someone how they're doing. They're not used as casual ways to say "Hello" to strangers you meet.

This is not to say that 잘 지내세요 isn't used commonly, or that it's an awkward phrase. But it's important to know when and how to use it, in order to avoid sounding awkward in Korean.

The post You (probably) should stop asking 잘 지내세요 | Korean FAQ appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

Learn Korean Ep. 121: “And then” ~서

It's Keykat's turn to do some cleaning for a change. I hope she can do a good job, as there's dust everywhere and the floors are dirty.

The ~서 form is commonly used to mean "because," but it also has another common usage when combined with action verbs to mean "and then." This form can be used to mean that the second action (whatever is used after this form) happens immediately after the first action (whatever this form is attached to).

Also make sure to get your free PDF version of this lesson (and every lesson in the "Learn Korean" series) by clicking the download link right below this video~!

Click here to download a free PDF of this lesson!

The post Learn Korean Ep. 121: “And then” ~서 appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

Korean Table Etiquette | Korean FAQ

When I first went to Korea I new nothing about table etiquette. I barely knew much about American table etiquette either, but that's another story.

Korean table etiquette isn't difficult to learn, but it is different than what I grew up with. While most things are obvious (don't jump on the table), some things can be less expected and require learning and practicing.

I'll share what I think are the most important parts of Korean table etiquette in my latest "Korean FAQ" episode right below.

The post Korean Table Etiquette | Korean FAQ appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

I wish I knew these before learning Korean

I really wish I knew a few of these things before I started learning Korean.

Specifically, I wish I knew I should immediately learn Hangul and sound change rules, avoid pronouns, learn about politeness levels, avoiding translating things literally, practicing more, making friends right away, and knowing that everyone speaks Korean differently.

What about you? What do you wish you knew before you started learning Korean?

The post I wish I knew these before learning Korean appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

Korean Test Practice with Billy [Ep. 30] – Intermediate Korean (Listening Practice)

Preparing for a Korean test? Want to see what a test question is like? I made this series for practicing test style questions that you could see in any Korean test. There are various levels, from Beginner to Advanced.

Today's test question is for intermediate level or above, but you can give it a try no matter your level. Let me know how you did in the comments!

Here is the listening example with its English translation.

여러분 안녕하세요. 오늘 제가 소개해 드릴 제품은 선풍기예요. 여기 이걸 보세요. 선풍기처럼 보이시나요? 정말 작죠? 이렇게 작아도 아주 시원해서 에어컨과 함께 사용하시면 방이 금방 시원해진답니다. 에이컨이 없으시다고요? 그래도 문제없습니다. 추가로 구매 가능한 미스트 수건과 함께 사용하신다면 에어컨처럼 시원한 바람을 만들어 낼 수 있습니다. 어떻게 이게 가능하냐고요? 이 선풍기의 특별함은 이 날개에 있습니다. 여기 이 선풍기 날개 보이세요? 이 선풍기 날개가 1초에 200번을 회전하며 강력한 바람을 만들어 낸다고 하네요. 정말 빠르지 않나요? 구매를 원하신다면 지금 방송에 나오는 이 번호로 전화 걸어주세요. 정상 가격 159,000원에서 오늘 하루만 특별한 가격, 99,000원으로 모시겠습니다. 시원한 여름을 보내고 싶으시다면 서둘러주세요!

Hello everyone. The product I will introduce to you today is a fan. Look here. Does this look like a fan? It’s really small, isn’t it? Even though it’s so small, it’s very cool, so if you use it together with an air conditioner the room will become cool right away. You don’t have an air conditioner? No problem. If you use it together with a misting towel, which you can purchase in addition to this, it can create cool air like an air conditioner. How is this possible, you ask? The specialty of this fan is in these blades. You see these fan blades here? These fan’s blades rotate 200 times per second, creating a strong wind. Isn’t it fast? If you’d like to make a purchase, please call this phone number in the broadcast. From the normal price of 159,000 Won, today only there’s a special price – it can be yours at 99,000 Won.

The post Korean Test Practice with Billy [Ep. 30] – Intermediate Korean (Listening Practice) appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

Removing markers when speaking | Korean FAQ

I often see Korean learners making sentences without adding all of the markers - removing the topic marker or removing the subject marker. This is usually fine. After all, native Korean speakers themselves do this sort of thing all the time. However, just because native speakers can remove markers when speaking, that doesn't mean markers aren't necessary in speech. In fact, removing markers isn't as easy as it seems - removing them can also sound less natural. It's unfortunately not as simple as "it's okay to remove markers." And removing too many markers can even sound awkward, or at the least sound less like a native.

I talk about how native Korean speakers do this, and what things to consider when you want to do this. I also give some advice for how you can sound more natural while removing the topic and subject marker.

The post Removing markers when speaking | Korean FAQ appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

Grading your Korean – Making longer, complex sentences | Billy Go

I've received so many submissions from you asking me to grade your Korean in my series, and it's been great to see how many of you can speak Korean.

Please keep sending me your submissions! In the video description you'll find information with the criteria for how you can do that (click the video below to see it).

In this video I'll give tips for how you can make longer and more natural sounding sentences. We'll also talk a bit about Korean names, and more tips for intermediate learners.

The post Grading your Korean – Making longer, complex sentences | Billy Go appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

Double Passive Verbs (이중 피동사) | Korean FAQ

I've often seen native speakers use verbs such as 닫아지다, 보여지다, and others ending with 지다 as passive verbs. Did you know that these sorts of verbs are technically incorrect? However, since they're so common, I recommend knowing what they are and how they work.

These sort of verbs are known as Double Passive Verbs, since they're made by taking a verb that's already passive, and attaching the passive 지다 ending - thus making them double passive. However, since there is no such thing as a double passive, they should be avoided in any sort of academic setting (such as on your next Korean test, or when giving a speech).

Are there any other double passive verbs you've learned about? Let me know here, or in the comments below the video~!

The post Double Passive Verbs (이중 피동사) | Korean FAQ appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.