Exclamation particles -군-, -네- & -잖아- (Day 1)

One of the biggest differences between Korean and European languages is the use of particles or endings where a European language speaker would use intonation to give an added meaning to the word or phrase.

Just try saying this: “it’s raining”. That’s just a statement of fact. But what if you say “it’s raining” in a surprised tone of voice? Does the meaning change? Perhaps it means you’ve just looked outside and seen the rain. Or you’ve just woken up in your tent and your friend looks very wet. Try saying it in a disappointed tone of voice. What does it mean now? When you say this word using different intonation, you’re definitely not just imparting the fact that it is raining.

When we write, all intonation is lost, so as Europeans, we invented punctuation to help the reader understand. So when you see this: “it’s raining!” you understand surprise or happiness. When you see this “it’s raining?” you understand disappointment or disbelief (obviously not limited to these meanings, context helps you understand exactly what’s going on).

Koreans never needed punctuation because the words themselves change as well as the intonation. To better understand their function, see these endings as a spoken form of punctuation.

First let's look at the most common one:–는군--neungun- (on verbs) and –군--gun- (on descriptive verbs). In the past it’s always –았/-었군--at/-otgun, regardless of the type. You use this ending when you realise something you didn’t know already (surprise). The important thing to remember about this is that you only say it when you see it:

• 비가 오는군요!biga oneun-gun-yo / wow! it's raining! (you are looking out the window)
• 아직도 안왔군!ajikdo anwadgun-yo / damn, she still hasn't arrived(you look around the room, and see that she is not there yet)
• 사람이 많군요!saram-i man-gun-yo / There are lots of people here!(you've just arrived and there are more people than you expected)

Remember these endings are used in speaking or reported speaking, just like question marks and exclamation marks. It has no place in an essay or newspaper article.

Coming up tomorrow, -네--nae-