LEARN + KOREAN / Note 30 TOPIK I
A Big Bag (큰 가방)
a
Every adjective you’ve used has been a predicate: 가방이 커요, “the bag is big.” To describe a noun the way English does, “a big bag,” attach -ㄴ (vowel-ending stems) or -은 (consonant-ending stems) straight to the dictionary stem instead: 크다 becomes 큰, 높다 becomes 높은. Note this attaches to the plain stem, not the conjugated -아요/-어요 form.
In Real Life
있다 and 없다 break the pattern. They take -는, the same modifier ending verbs use, not -ㄴ/은, because Korean treats them as more verb-like than purely descriptive. 맛있는 (delicious) and 재미있는 (interesting) are both built on 있다, so they inherit this.
anna ssineun jaemiinneun yeonghwareul bogo sipeo haeyo.
Anna wants to watch an interesting movie.
In Real Life
The ㅂ-irregular adjectives from 무거워요 keep their irregularity here too: ㅂ becomes 우, which then contracts with -ㄴ into -운. 무겁다 becomes 무거운, not 무겁은. 맵다 becomes 매운, following the same shift.
Vocabulary
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
dosi | city |
san | mountain |
nopda | to be high, tall |
gajang | the most (superlative) |
yumyeonghada | to be famous |
ingi itda | to be popular |
jungyohada | to be important |
teukbyeolhada | to be special |
saeropda | to be new |
oraedoeda | to be old (things, not people) |
yeppeuda | to be pretty |
meositda | to be cool, good-looking |
pyeonhada | to be comfortable |
bulpyeonhada | to be uncomfortable |
neopda | to be spacious |
jopda | to be narrow, cramped |
kkaekkeutada | to be clean |
deoreopda | to be dirty |
hwaryeohada | to be flashy, splendid |
sobakhada | to be simple, modest |