Lesson 11
Now in this lesson, we are going to look at how to do self-introductions in Korean. Through our previous lessons, we have looked at various tenses, sentence patterns, and grammar points. By using what you have already learned, you can already express a lot about yourself. Here in this lesson, we will introduce more vocabulary words and phrases that are specific and absolutely necessary for introducing oneself.
자기소개 self-introduction
There are hundreds and thousands of different situations in which you would need to introduce yourself but to generalize the self-introduction process by a great deal, you normally deliver these pieces of information:
- name
- age
- place of living
- work
- school
- family members
- hobby
- greetings
You don’t have to try to memorize all the expressions necessary for introducing yourself in Korean as the situation might vary and you might have a lot of information and stories unique to yourself, no single detailed chapter on self-introductions can cover everything you need to know.
But basically, the sentence patterns that you get to use a lot are the following:
1. ABC은/는 XYZ이에요. [ABC-eun/neun XYZ-i-e-yo.] = ABC is XYZ.
Ex)
저는 학생이에요. = I am a student.
[jeo-neun hak-ssaeng-i-e-yo.]
저는 선생님이에요. = I am a teacher.
[jeo-neun seon-saeng-ni-mi-e-yo.]
저는 제임스예요. = I am James.
[jeo-neun je-im-sseu-ye-yo.]
제 이름은 스티븐이에요. = My name is Stephen.
[je i-reu-meun seu-ti-beu-ni-e-yo.]
제 여동생 이름은 탈리아나예요. = My sister’s name is Taliana. [je yeo-dong-saeng i-reu-meun tal-li-a-na-ye-yo.]
저는 30살이에요. = I am 30 years old.
[jeo-neun seo-reun-sa-ri-e-yo.]
2. ABC은/는 XYZ이/가 [ABC-eun/neun XYZ-i/ga] + VERB = As for ABC, XYZ + VERB.
Ex)
저는 여동생이 있어요. = I have a younger sister. (lit. “As for me, a younger sister exists.”)
[jeo-neun yeo-dong-saeng-i i-sseo-yo.]
저는 남동생이 있어요. = I have a younger brother.
[jeo-neun nam-dong-saeng-i i-sseo-yo.]
저는 언니가 있어요. = I have an older sister.
[jeo-neun eon-ni-ga i-sseo-yo.]
저는 취미가 없어요. = I do not have any hobbies. (lit. “As for me, the hobby does not exist.”) [jeo-neun chwi-mi-ga eop-sseo-yo.]
저는 취미가 수영이에요. = My hobby is swimming. (lit. “As for me, the hobby, swimming is.”) [jeo-neun chwi-mi-ga su-yeong-i-e-yo.]
3.) ABC은/는 XYZ에/에서 [ABC-eun/neun XYZ-e/e-seo] + VERB = ABC + VERB + in XYZ.
Ex)
저는 서울에 살아요. = I live in Seoul.
[jeo-neun seo-u-re sa-ra-yo.]
저는 은행에서 일해요. = I work in a bank.
[jeo-neun eun-haeng-e-seo il-hae-yo.]
저는 대학교에서 중국어를 가르쳐요. = I teach Chinese in college. [jeo-neun dae-hak-kkyo-e-seo jung-gu-geo-reul ga-reu-chyeo-yo.]
저는 미국에서 태어났어요. = I was born in the USA.
[jeo-neun mi-gu-ge-seo tae-eo-na-sseo-yo.]
Important and useful vocabulary words:
나이 [na-i] = age
취미 [chwi-mi] = hobby
직장 [jik-jjang] = workplace
직업 [ji-geop] = job = 하는 일 [ha-neun il]
사는 곳 [sa-neun got] = place of living
가족 [ga-jok] = family
친척 [chin-cheok] = relatives, extended family
대학생 [dae-hak-ssaeng] = university student
고등학생 [go-deung-hak-ssaeng] = high school student
중학생 [jung-hak-ssaeng] = middle school student
초등학생 [cho-deung-hak-ssaeng] = elementary school student
Useful greetings:
처음 뵙겠습니다. [cheo-eum boep-kket-sseum-ni-da.] = How do you do?
반갑습니다. [ban-gap-sseum-ni-da.] = It is nice to meet you.
제 명함이에요. [je myeong-ha-mi-e-yo.] = It is my business card.
다음에 또 뵐게요. [da-eu-me tto boel-kke-yo.] = See you again next time.
이야기 많이 들었어요. [i-ya-gi ma-ni deu-reo-sseo-yo.] = I have heard a lot about you.