I can name Korean dishes, say how they taste — 매워요, 싱거워요 — and explain that I eat only one thing: 채소만 먹어요.
Korean food: 만 and taste
Korean food: 만 and taste
Korean food: 김치, 불고기, 비빔밥… Taste is expressed with adjectives (table): 맵다 → 매워요 and 싱겁다 → 싱거워요 change ㅂ, like 덥다; 쓰다 “bitter” → 써요: ㅡ drops; it's spelled the same as 쓰다 “to write”.
만 is “only”. It comes after the word, in place of 을 / 를 and 이 / 가: 빵만 먹어요, 잡지만 있어요. English puts “only” before the verb; Korean attaches 만 to the thing itself.
은 / 는 sets one thing against another: 빵은 안 팔아요 — “bread, they don't sell here” (other things, they do). English does this with stress on “bread”.
At the table: before eating, 잘 먹겠습니다; after, 잘 먹었습니다; these are set phrases, always said this way. “I'm hungry” is 배가 고파요. 맛있어요 is pronounced [마시써요] or [마디써요]: both are correct.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “김치가 맵어요” → 김치가 매워요.
• NOT “라면을만” → 라면만.
• NOT “매워이에요” → 매워요.
How it tastes
Familiar rules: ㅂ before a vowel → 우, ㅡ drops, the vowels merge.
| Dictionary form | 해요체 | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 맵다 | 매워요 | ㅂ → 우 |
| 싱겁다 | 싱거워요 | ㅂ → 우 |
| 달다 | 달아요 | — |
| 짜다 | 짜요 | ㅏ + 아 → ㅏ |
| 시다 | 셔요 | ㅣ + 어 → ㅕ |
| 쓰다 (bitter) | 써요 | ㅡ drops |
만 instead of a particle
만 takes the place of 을 / 를 and 이 / 가. 은 / 는 sets one thing against another.
| Before | With 만 / with 는 | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 빵을 먹어요 | 빵만 먹어요 | I eat only bread |
| 잡지가 있어요 | 잡지만 있어요 | there's only a magazine |
| 빵을 팔아요 | 빵은 안 팔아요 | but bread isn't sold (here) |
Lesson notes
Korean food: 만 and taste
Korean food: 김치, 불고기, 비빔밥… Taste is expressed with adjectives (table): 맵다 → 매워요 and 싱겁다 → 싱거워요 change ㅂ, like 덥다; 쓰다 “bitter” → 써요: ㅡ drops; it's spelled the same as 쓰다 “to write”.
만 is “only”. It comes after the word, in place of 을 / 를 and 이 / 가: 빵만 먹어요, 잡지만 있어요. English puts “only” before the verb; Korean attaches 만 to the thing itself.
은 / 는 sets one thing against another: 빵은 안 팔아요 — “bread, they don't sell here” (other things, they do). English does this with stress on “bread”.
At the table: before eating, 잘 먹겠습니다; after, 잘 먹었습니다; these are set phrases, always said this way. “I'm hungry” is 배가 고파요. 맛있어요 is pronounced [마시써요] or [마디써요]: both are correct.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “김치가 맵어요” → 김치가 매워요.
• NOT “라면을만” → 라면만.
• NOT “매워이에요” → 매워요.