LESSON NOTES

Newbie #14
I'm Sorry. I'm So Sorry.

CONTENTS
2 Korean Hangul
2 Pronunciation
2 Romanization
2 English
3 Alternative Transcript
3 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Grammar
7 Cultural Insight

# 14
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 KOREAN HANGUL

1. (1)류지: 엄마! 엄마! 죄송합니다. 잘못 했습니다.

2. (2)류지의 엄마: 괜찮아… 괜찮아…

3. (3)류지: 엄마… 나 미안해… 진짜 미안해…

PRONUNCIATION TIPS

In the word 잘못했습니다 (jalmothaesseumnida) - I was wrong to

do it, ㅅ (s) of 못 (mot) is pronounced as (t). However, when
there is a syllabic block, where ㅇ (nil) is the first consonant,
which immediately follows 못 (mot), the pronunciation of ㅅ
changes to (s). This property is not displayed in this
conversation.

ROMANIZATION

1. (1)RYUJI: eomma! eomma! joesonghamnida. jalmot haesseumnida.

2. (2)RYUJI'S gwenchanha... gwenchanha...

MOTHER:

3. (3)RYUJI: eomma... na mianhae... jinjja mianhae...

ENGLISH

1. (1)RYUJI: Mom! Mom! I'm sorry. I made a mistake.

CONT'D OVER

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2. (2)RYUJI'S It's okay. It's okay.
MOTHER:

3. (3)RYUJI: Mom... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.

ALTERNATIVE TRANSCRIPT

1. (1)류지: 어머니! 어머니! 죄송합니다. 잘못했습니다.

2. (2)류지의 엄마: 괜찮습니다… 괜찮습니다…

3. (3)류지: 어머니… 죄송합니다… 진짜 죄송합니다…

VOCABULARY

Hangul R omanization English

죄송합니다 joesonghamnida I'm sorry. (polite)

괜찮다 gwaenchanhta to be okay, to be all right

I did wrong. I've made a

잘못했습니다 jalmothaesseumnida mistake.

엄마 eomma mother

미안해. mianhae I'm sorry. (casual)

잘못 jalmot fault, mistake, error

SAMPLE SENTENCES

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죄송합니다. 지금 수업 중이에요. 제 그림인데, 괜찮아요?
joesonghamnida. jigeum sueop jung-ieyo.
"This is my drawing, but is it ok?"
"Sorry, I'm in a class now."

창문 열어도 괜찮아요? 괜찮아. 어렵지 않아.

gen-chan-a. eo-ryeop-ji an-a.
"May I open the window?"
"It's okay. It's not hard."

엄마, 안녕히 주무세요. 어제 일은 미안해.

eomma, annyeong-hi jumuseyo. eoje ireul mianhae.

"Mom, good night." "Sorry about yesterday."

모두 제 잘못입니다. 이것은 제 잘못입니다.

igeos-eun je jalmos-imnida.
"It's all my fault."
"This is my fault."

GRAMMAR

This conversation introduces a few different ways to say "I'm Sorry," each with their own
different nuance. Also we go over an indispensable word in Korean - 괜찮아 (gwenchanha).

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Vocabulary Focus #1 - I'm Sorry - 죄송합니다
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In Korean, there are a number of different ways to express "I'm Sorry."

The most polite way to apologize is to say 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida). Generally, when one
is sorry, it is usually fitting to be as polite as possible. This can be used in any situation where
the English term "I'm Sorry" can be used. The word in its infinitive form is 죄송하다
(joesonghada) - to be sorry. 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida) is conjugated into the formal
politeness level - the most polite form. Here it is conjugated into the standard politeness level,
and intimate politeness level.

죄송해요 (joesonghaeyo) - Standard politeness level

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죄송해 (joesonghae) - Intimate politeness level

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☞ remember ☜
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It is not common to see this word conjugated into these 2 politeness levels (standard,
intimate) because, once again, when one apologizes, they generally try to be as polite as
possible. This is used with people who deserve respect, and especially when someone
wishes to apologize respectfully. And as is the case with many sentences in Korean, the
subjects/topics of the sentence can be dropped. By simply using the phrase 죄송합니다
(joesonghamnida), without including a subject or topic, it can be inferred from context that the
speaker is sorry.

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Vocabulary Focus #2 - I'm Sorry - 미안해
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because the former phrase 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida) is used for polite situations and is
not used commonly for people that do not require respect from the listener, there is another
phrase used to apologize for closer relationships. 미안해 (mianhae) is the same as 죄송합니다
(joesonghamnida), except that it isn't as respectful. 미안해 (mianhae) is in the intimate
politeness level, and can be used among people who are very close in relationship.

Here are some different forms of the word:

-----------------------------
▷ Construction
-----------------------------
미안하다 (mianhada) - infinitive
미안해요 (mianhaeyo) - standard politeness level
미안합니다 (mianhamnida) - formal politeness level

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Note that the standard and formal politeness levels are not commonly heard. This is because
when one apologizes, they tend to be as polite as possible. 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida)
conveys more respect than this phrase. And as the standard and formal politeness levels do

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convey respect, 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida) also conveys respect. So 죄송합니다
(joesonghamnida) is used to convey the utmost respect.

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Vocabulary Focus #3 - I Did Wrong - 잘못했습니다
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This phrase can be broken down into two different words. The first word is 잘못 (jalmot), which
means "mistake," "error," or "wrongdoing," and 했습니다 (haesseumnida), which is the past
tense of the verb 하다 (hada), "to do." Literally, the phrase 잘못했습니다 (jalmothaesseumnida)
means, "mistake, did"; "wrongdoing, did"; or "error, did." And as this is true, the nuance of this
phrase is to admit to a wrong doing. When one has made a mistake, or done wrong, and
wishes to acknowledge their mistake, this phrase is used for that purpose. This can typically
be seen when a mother scolds her child for doing something wrong or for not behaving well.

잘못 (jalmot) is a noun which comes from the compound 잘 (well) + 못 (cannot).

잘못했어 (jalmothaesseo) means "I couldn't do it well." Here 잘 (jal) and 못 (mot) are two
separate words: "well" and "cannot."
잘못했어요 (jalmothaesseoyo) means "I'm sorry," "It was my bad" because 잘못 (jalmot) in this
instance, is a noun.
잘못했습니다 (jalmothaesseumnida) is conjugated into the formal politeness level.
Here are a few conjugations:

잘못했어요 (jalmothaesseoyo) - standard politeness level

잘못했어 (jalmothaesseo) - intimate politeness level

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Unlike 죄송합니다 (joesonghamnida), this phrase is commonly heard in these two other
politeness levels. This is because even when apologizing to a friend, and speaking in the
intimate politeness level, it is still common to acknowledge fault, and admit a mistake.

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Vocabulary Focus #4 - Ok, It's Alright - 괜찮아
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is one of the most rudimentary phrases in Korean. This phrase means "it's ok" or "it's
alright." It is generally used in the same contexts as the English version "ok" or "alright."

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괜찮아 (gwenchanha) is in the intimate politeness level. Here are a few different forms of the
word:

괜찮다 (gwenchanta) - infinitive

괜찮습니다 (gwenchanhseumnida) - formal politeness level
괜찮아요 (gwenchanhayo) - standard politeness level

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Even if children use casual language with their parents (intimate politeness level) on a
regular basis, they may raise their speech levels when they are apologizing in order to show
as much respect as possible. When one raises their speech levels, it shows the listener that
the speaker wants to convey a true and candid apology.

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