Lesson 3
싱겁다
1. to be bland
Ex)
이 김치찌개 좀 싱겁다. (casual language) = This kimchi stew is a little bland.
이 된장국 좀 싱거워요. (formal language) = This soybean paste soup is a little bland.
* 싱겁다 is one of the ㅂ irregular verbs. When it is conjugated with a suffix that starts with a vowel, the ㅂ changes to 오 or 우. Therefore, “싱겁다 = 싱거 + ㅂ + 다 → 싱거 + 우 + -어요 → 싱거워요”.
(Core Grammar Level 3 Lesson 11 “ㅂ irregular”)
2. to be uninteresting
(1) when someone stops talking after he/she bring it up
Ex)
뭐예요. 싱겁게!
싱겁게 왜 말을 하다 말아요! = Why would you stop talking after you bring it up?
* 싱겁게 is the adverb form of 싱겁다. To change adjectives in the infinitive form to the adverb form, simply drop -다, and add -게 to the verb stems. For example, “싱겁다 = 싱겁 + -다 → 싱겁 + -게 → 싱겁게”.
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(2) to describe uninteresting novels, sports matches, etc.
Ex)
이 소설 싱겁네요. = This novel is bland.
이 소설 참 싱겁게 끝나네요. = This novel ends so blandly.
싱거운 경기 = a bland game/(sports) match
어제 경기가 싱겁게 끝났어요. = Yesterday's match ended on a bland note.