Lesson 29
In this lesson, we are going to look at how to say, “Sometimes I do this, sometimes I do that” or “Sometimes it is like this, other times it is like that” in Korean.
In order to say this, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, you need to know how to use the -(으)ㄹ 때 ending, which means “when + Subject + Verb”. You also need to know how the topic marker -는 is used to show contrast.
How to Say “sometimes” in Korean
When the word “sometimes” is used just to show the frequency of an action, you can say 가끔, 가끔씩, or 때때로. 가끔 and 가끔씩 are more common in spoken Korean than 때때로. 때때로 is very formal and used in written language.
When you want to literally say “sometimes” and “other times”, you can use the expression, 어떨 때. 어떨 때 comes from 어떻다 + -(으)ㄹ + 때.
어떻다 means “to be how” or “to be in what kind of state”, -(으)ㄹ marks a future action or state, and 때 means “time” or “when”. So literally, 어떨 때 means “when what state will happen” or “when things are how”. Therefore, when more naturally translated, 어떨 때 means “in what kind of situation”, “in what kind of times”, or even just “when”.
Ex)
어떨 때 영화 보고 싶어요?
= When do you (usually) feel like watching a movie?
어떨 때 제일 힘들어요?
= When do you (usually) have the hardest time?
As you can notice from the examples above, 어떨 때 is commonly used when you are asking about a general pattern or habit, whereas 언제 has a simpler meaning of “when”.
어떨 때 can also be used to mean “sometimes”, but this is when you want to show contrast between “sometimes” and “other times”. Therefore, you usually use 어떨 때 with the topic marker, -는.
어떨 때는 = sometimes + certain state/action
+
어떨 때는 = other times + another state/action
Like shown above, you can repeat 어떨 때는. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Ex)
커피요? 어떨 때는 마시는데, 어떨 때는 안 마셔요.
= Coffee? Sometimes I drink it, but other times, I do not drink it.
어떨 때는 혼자 있는 것이 좋은데, 어떨 때는 싫어요.
= Sometimes I like being alone, but other times, I do not like it.
If you want to be more specific and say “other times” in Korean as well, you can use the expression 다른 때는 with the verb 다르다; however, 어떨 때는 is used more than 다른 때는 (Although 어떨 때는 is more commonly used, some people also use 어떤 때는, since it is in the present tense).
Sample Sentences
그 사람은 어떨 때는 친절한데, 어떨 때는 정말 불친절해요.
= Sometimes he is kind, but other times, he is very unkind.
어떨 때는 일을 그만두고 싶은데, 어떨 때는 일하는 게 좋아요.
= Sometimes I feel like quitting my job, but other times, I like working.
You can also use the ending -(으)ㄹ 때도 있어요 after the second 어떨 때는 clause. For example, the above sentence can be changed to, “어떨 때는 일을 그만두고 싶은데, 어떨 때는 일 하는 게 좋을 때도 있어요.”
-(으)ㄹ 때 means “a time when...” and -도 있어요 means “There are also...”. Therefore, this is to express the meaning “There are also times when...”.
Ex)
어떨 때는 운동하는 게 재미있는데, 어떨 때는 운동하고 싶지 않을 때도 있어요.
= Sometimes working out is fun, but other times, there are also times when I do not feel like doing exercise.
You can also make this shorter.
어떨 때는 운동하는 게 재미있는데, 운동하고 싶지 않을 때도 있어요.
어떨 때는 운동하는 게 재미있는데, 어떨 때는 운동하고 싶지 않아요.