Lesson 1

맵다
Having a tangy taste like red peppers or mustard, which causes a sharp sensation at the tip of the tongue.

1. to be spicy

Ex)
이거 맵다. (casual language) = It’s spicy.
* Verb ending -다 is used when you want to react to or express your impression of a present action or situation. (Core Grammar Level 5 Lesson 16 “Narrative Present Tense in Korean”)

매워요. (formal language) = It’s spicy.
* 맵다 is a ㅂ irregular verb. ㅂ irregular means that if a verb has ㅂ at the end of the verb stem, and it is followed by a suffix that starts with a vowel, the ㅂ part will change to 오 or 우.
(Core Grammar Level 3 Lesson 11 “ㅂ irregular”)

Synonym:
매콤하다
A smell or taste that is hot in a pleasing way.

맵다 vs. 매콤하다
맵다 is neutral, but depending on the situation it can have a negative connotation. On the other hand, 매콤하다 always has a positive connotation.

2. when a toothpaste is too strong

Ex)
이 치약 맵다. = This toothpaste burns.
그 치약 매워요? = Is that toothpaste too strong?

3. when smoke and smells are too harsh

Ex)
담배 연기가 매워요. = This cigarette smoke is harsh.
양파 냄새가 매워요. = This onion smells strong.
눈이 매워요. = My eyes are burning.
양파 냄새 때문에 눈이 매워요. = My eyes are burning because of that onion smell.
* 때문(에) means “because of”. 때문에 is used with a noun, the “cause or reason”, and is followed by 때문에(cause/reason + 때문에 + result). For example, 날씨 때문에 (= because of weather), 날씨 때문에 못 갔어요. (= Because of the weather, we couldn’t go.)

4. when you hit someone lightly but it hurts

Ex)
주연 씨 손 진짜 매워요.
각오하세요. (= prepare yourself.) 저 손 진짜 매워요.