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Level 1 Lesson 7 / This, That, It / 이, 그, 저

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In this lesson, you can learn how to say “this” “that” “it” and “the” in Korean. In English, “this” and “that” can work as both modifiers and pronouns, but you need to use different words in Korean. This is because in Korean “this” as in “this is a book” is composed of two parts, 이 (this) + 거 (thing). Find out more about how to use these words in Korean by listening to the lesson and checking out the free PDF file attached to the lesson. If you have any question, as always, please feel free to leave them here! 감사합니다!


Lesson PDF in other languages (Participate in the translation!)

Discussion( leave a comment )

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  1. niita says: April 7, 2012

    im so sorry… actually im still quite confuse… about 이 and 이거… when we use only 이 as this and 이거 as this also? is it used when we want to emphasize something?
    감사합니다

  2. Cassandra says: April 9, 2012

    I always hear 그 when I listen to the Secret Garden OST 그 남자 (geu namja = that man). The song helps me remember this lesson. Gomawo!

  3. Erickson Zabal Magtangob says: April 12, 2012

    an nyeong haseyo!
    seon saeng nim, how will i say can’t help but love you in korean …
    kam sa hamnida!

  4. Erickson Zabal Magtangob says: April 12, 2012

    an nyeong hase yo!
    how will i say “can’t help but love you in korean?
    kamsa hamnida .. :))

  5. Sandra says: April 13, 2012

    This site is awesome. learning a lot from it.

    Anyways. in the PDF, in the example about adding ( i, jeo, geu) to geot, i think you made a mistake or not but it confused me.

    you wrote twice and you didn’t write i am not sure if that’s right
    please explain the confusion to me thank you

  6. Sandra says: April 13, 2012

    This site is awesome. learning a lot from it.

    Anyways. in the PDF, in the example about adding ( i, jeo, geu) to geot, i think you made a mistake or not but it confused me.

    you wrote twice and you didn’t write did you do it on purpose or by mistake?
    please explain the confusion to me. thank you

  7. EJ Varsovia says: April 13, 2012

    could you please explain why the T sound in geot resembles the symbol for S sounds? i keeps confusing me when i try to pronounce it without looking at the romanization

    • Jennifer says: April 24, 2012

      The symbol for ‘s,’ ㅅ, is pronounced as a “t” when it is placed at the end of the word. I learned that here: http://ryanestradadotcom.tumblr.com/post/20461267965

    • Saeyi Lee says: April 25, 2012

      When ᄉ/S is at the bottom of the character it is pronounced as ᄐ/T but if the next letter is a vowel ᄉ will be pronounce as an S again. Example: 있 = Itt 있어요 = Isseoyo . I hope that helped :)

  8. gemma says: April 15, 2012

    sorry but i’m confused… until now the lessons were easy but now it’s getting complicated…
    i don’t understand when i have to use 이 and 이거. i know that 거 means thing but e.g. if i hold up a book can i say
    이거 잭이에요 (this is a book)
    or do i say
    이 잭 (this book; but the sentence wouldn’t be complete right??)

  9. Emmanuel Jayson Varsovia says: April 15, 2012

    Hi! i just have one question. the T sound in Geot has the symbol that looks alot like the S sound. And when i try to find that T sound symbolized the way it is in the lesson i can never find it. Why is it symbolized like that?? It keeps confusing me on pronunciation

  10. Sheddlie says: April 18, 2012

    Annyeong!
    When you were ending your prodcast, You were asking how would you say that person or the person who is not there?
    I got confused when I heard that the answer to that was 그 사람. I see how it would be the answer for ‘That person’ but wouldn’t it be 그거 사람 for the person who isn’t there?
    Please help!
    P.S., I love this website^^

    • Mio Rafael says: May 5, 2012

      I think the translation for that person is 그 사람 not 그거 사람.

      Some example are :

      이 라면 – This ramyeon
      그 라면 – That ramyeon (near you)
      저 라면 – That ramyeon (away from you)

      그거 라면 이에요 ” That is a ramyeon”

      그거 사람 이에요 ” That is a person”

  11. Jennifer says: April 24, 2012

    I have a quick questions for the authors. I noticed you pronounce the word “저” like the name, Joe. Isn’t that the same pronunciation as “조?” Is the vowel “ㅓ” always pronounced like the “o” in Joe?

    • jinseokjin says: May 10, 2012

      Hi Jennifer,

      Joe sounds like [jo] but 저 sounds like [jeo]. Maybe it sounds similar the first letter of Justice.

      Thanks for your comment.

  12. Domi says: April 30, 2012

    Hi!

    My question is: in spoken language I can use 거 instead of 것, but is this acceptable in written language also?
    Thanks in advance!

    • jinseokjin says: May 13, 2012

      When it comes to written language, although 거 is also used sometime, 것 is often used.

  13. Rianne Pauline Revilla says: May 4, 2012

    annyong haseyo… i really love listening and learning with you guys… gamsahamnida for the wonderful teachings…however, may i ask more examples for the pronoun form of this (i geot), that (cho geot), and it (geu geot)… i will look forward for your reply, gamsahamnida…

  14. Maddy says: May 14, 2012

    안녕하세요!
    I have a question that I’m confused about.
    Could a person say 이 커피예요. for “this is coffee.” instead of saying 이거 커피예요? Basically just omitting the 거? Or is this completely incorrect. I’m not understanding the need for the 거.
    감사합니다!

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