I can say who is and isn't in my family, ask the other person about theirs, and name an older brother and sister correctly, as a man or as a woman.
There is and there isn't: 이 / 가 and 있어요 / 없어요
There is and there isn't: 이 / 가 and 있어요 / 없어요
What for: to say who is in your family and ask about it.
“There is / have” is 있어요, “there isn't / don't have” is 없어요; a question rises at the end: 있어요?
What exists or doesn't takes a particle: after a 받침, 이 (동생이 있어요); after a vowel, 가 (누나가 없어요). Same choice, by the last sound.
English “I have a husband” makes the husband an object; Korean says “as for me, a husband exists”: 저는 남편이 있어요. You can leave out 저는 when it's clear who you mean.
“Who” takes 이 / 가 too: 누구 + 가 → 누가 (누가 아빠예요?); “I” before 가 is 제가.
Koreans say “our” about their family: 우리 어머니 means “my mother”.
The words for an older brother and an older sister depend on whose brother or sister it is: about yourself, by your own sex; about someone else, by theirs (see the table). Younger siblings are 동생 for everyone.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “저는 학생 있어요” (“I'm a student”) → 저는 학생이에요: “there is” isn't “is”.
• NOT “언니가 있어요” from a man → 누나가 있어요.
• NOT “동생가 있어요” → 동생이 있어요; NOT “누구가”, “저가” → 누가, 제가.
• NOT “여자 친구” for a female friend → 친구 (여자 친구 means “girlfriend”).
There is and there isn't
What there is or isn't takes 이 or 가, by the last sound.
| Word | there is | there isn't | is there? |
|---|---|---|---|
| after a 받침: 동생 | 동생이 있어요 | 동생이 없어요 | 동생이 있어요? |
| after a vowel: 누나 | 누나가 있어요 | 누나가 없어요 | 누나가 있어요? |
Older brother and sister: chosen by whether they're a man's or a woman's
Younger siblings are 동생 for everyone: 남동생 (brother), 여동생 (sister).
| Whose brother or sister | Older brother | Older sister |
|---|---|---|
| man | 형 | 누나 |
| woman | 오빠 | 언니 |
Lesson notes
There is and there isn't: 이 / 가 and 있어요 / 없어요
What for: to say who is in your family and ask about it.
“There is / have” is 있어요, “there isn't / don't have” is 없어요; a question rises at the end: 있어요?
What exists or doesn't takes a particle: after a 받침, 이 (동생이 있어요); after a vowel, 가 (누나가 없어요). Same choice, by the last sound.
English “I have a husband” makes the husband an object; Korean says “as for me, a husband exists”: 저는 남편이 있어요. You can leave out 저는 when it's clear who you mean.
“Who” takes 이 / 가 too: 누구 + 가 → 누가 (누가 아빠예요?); “I” before 가 is 제가.
Koreans say “our” about their family: 우리 어머니 means “my mother”.
The words for an older brother and an older sister depend on whose brother or sister it is: about yourself, by your own sex; about someone else, by theirs (see the table). Younger siblings are 동생 for everyone.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “저는 학생 있어요” (“I'm a student”) → 저는 학생이에요: “there is” isn't “is”.
• NOT “언니가 있어요” from a man → 누나가 있어요.
• NOT “동생가 있어요” → 동생이 있어요; NOT “누구가”, “저가” → 누가, 제가.
• NOT “여자 친구” for a female friend → 친구 (여자 친구 means “girlfriend”).