You've learned the Korean adjectives in the previous lesson. In this lesson, you will learn "How are you?" or "How have you been?" and answer those questions using the different feeling adjectives.
<Table of Contents>
1. Question: How are you?
There are many ways to ask after somebody. 지내다 [ji-nae-da] means a person lives as time passes. 지내요 [ji-nae-yo] is the present tense and 지냈어요 [ji-nae-sseo-yo] is the past tense. So, you can ask like below. 어떻게 [eo-ddeo-kae] means how.
어떻게 지내요? [eo-ddeo-kae ji-nae-yo?] How are you?
어떻게 지냈어요? [eo-ddeo-kae ji-nae-sseo-yo?] How have you been?
<The pronunciation tip> When you read out the word "어떻게", you should not read it as it looks. The second syllable 떻 has the final consonant ㅎ and after that, the ㄱ comes. When ㅎ and ㄱ meet they become ㅋ. So, when you read it, you have to read it like /어떠케/ [eo-ddeo-kae].
2. Answers
Here are some feeling-related adjectives you can use. For "어떻게 지내요? How are you?" you can use the present tense 아/어/여요 ending. For "어떻게 지냈어요? How have you been?" you can use the past tense 았/었/였어요. With the past tense, you can say both the simple past tense and the present perfect. I will show you the basic forms, present, and past tense forms of possible answers you can use!
잘 지내다 [jal ji-nae-da] to stay well / to do well
잘 지내요. [jal ji-nae-yo] I'm doing well.
잘 지냈어요. [jal ji-nae-sseo-yo] I've been doing well.
좋다 [jo-ta] to be good
좋아요. [jo-ah-yo] I'm good.
좋았어요. [jo-ah-sseo-yo] It was good.
행복하다 [haeng-bo-ka-da] to be happy
행복해요. [haeng-bo-kae-yo] I'm happy.
행복했어요. [haeng-bo-kae-sseo-yo] I was happy.
괜찮다 [gwaen-chan-ta] to be okay / to be fine
괜찮아요. [gwaen-cha-na-yo] I am okay. / I am fine.
괜찮았어요. [gwaen-cha-na-sseo-yo] I was okay. I've been okay.
그저 그렇다 [geu-jeo jeu-leo-ta] to be so so
그저 그래요. [geu-jeo geu-lae-yo] I feel so so.
그저 그랬어요. [geu-jeo geu-lae-sseo-yo] I've been so so.
슬프다 [seul-peu-da] to be sad
슬퍼요. [seul-peo-yo] I am sad.
슬펐어요. [seul-peo-sseo-yo] I was said.
화나다 [hwa-na-da] to be angry
화났어요. [hwa-na-sseo-yo] I'm angry.
화났었어요. [hwa-na-sseo-sseo-yo] I was angry.
↪ Watch out for 화나다 [hwa-na-da]. 화나다 is a little bit special. To say "I'm angry", you use the past tense for "화났어요 [hwa-na-sseo-yo]." To say "I was angry", you say "화났었어요. [hwa-na-sseo-sseo-yo]" Also, 화나다 can be used as 화가 나다.
화났어요 = 화가 났어요.
화났었어요. = 화가 났었어요.
배고프다 [bae-go-peu-da] = 배가 고프다 [bae-ga go-peu-da] to be hungry
배고파요. [bae-go-pa-yo] = 배가 고파요. [bae-ga go-pa-yo] I'm hungry.
배고팠어요. [bae-go-pa-sseo-yo] = 배가 고팠어요. [bae-ga go-pa-sseo-yo] I was hungry.
↪ 배 [bae] is a stomach.
목마르다 [mok-ma-leu-da] = 목이 마르다 [mo-gi ma-leu-da] to be thirsty
목말라요. [mok-mal-la-yo] = 목이 말라요. [mo-gi mal-la-yo] I'm thirsty.
목말랐어요. [mok-mal-la-sseo-yo] = 목이 말랐어요. [mo-gi mal-la-sseo-yo] I was thirsty.
↪ 목 [mok] is neck or throat.
아프다 [ah-peu-da] to be sick
아파요. [ah-pa-yo] I'm sick.
아팠어요. [ah-pa-sseo-yo] I was sick.
졸리다 [jol-li-da] to be sleepy
졸려요. [jol-lyeo-yo] I'm sleepy.
졸렸어요. [jol-lyeo-sseo-yo] I was sleepy.
3. More to read
1) Using 잘 지내다 [jal ji-nae-da] to do well, we can ask yes or no questions as well. They are other ways to ask "How are you?"
잘 지내요? [jal ji-nae-yo?] Are you doing good/well?
잘 지냈어요? [jal ji-nae-sseo-yo?] Have you been doing good/well?
2) You can answer with 네, 아니요. Here are possible answers you can choose. 네 [nae] is a polite yes, 아니요 [ah-ni-yo] is a polite no.
네, 잘 지내요. [nae, jal ji-nae-yo] Yes, I am doing good.
네, 잘 지냈어요. [nae, jal ji-nae-sseo-yo] Yes, I've been doing good.
아니요, 잘 못 지내요. [ah-ni-yo, jal mot ji-nae-yo] No, I am not doing good.
아니요, 잘 못 지냈어요. [ah-ni-yo, jal mot ji-nae-sseo-yo] No, I've been not doing well.
↪못 is an adverb of negative, especially when the negative happens because of a situation, not because of your will.
4. Examples
Let's combine what you've seen and see how we can ask and answer about feelings!
1
가: 어떻게 지내요? [eo-ddeo-kae ji-nae-yo?] How are you?
나: 잘 지내요. [jal ji-nae-yo] I'm doing well.
↪ 잘 [jal] means well.
2
다: 어떻게 지냈어요? [eo-ddeo-kae ji-nae-sseo-yo?] How have you been?
라: 잘 지냈어요. [jal ji-nae-sseo-yo] I've been doing well.
↪ With the past tense ending 았/었/였어요, you can ask "How have you been?"
3
미나: 로이 씨, 어떻게 지내요? [ro-ee ssi, eo-ddeo-kae ji-nae-yo?] Roy, how are you?
로이: 좋아요. 미나 씨는요? [jo-ah-yo, mi-na ssi-neun-yo?] I'm good. What about you, Mina?
미나: 저도 잘 지내요. [jeo-do jal ji-nae-yo] I'm doing good, too.
↪ You can call someone of similar social status with the word 씨 [ssi]. The second sentence 미나 씨는요? in this case is a shortened version of 미나 씨는 어떻게 지내요?. Some words are missing, because it is obvious. 도 [do] means also, as well, too. You can attach it to nouns.
4
존: 젠 씨, 왜 화가 났어요? [jen ssi, wae hwa-ga na-sseo-yo?] Jen, why are you angry?
젠: 친구가 컴퓨터를 고장냈어요. [chin-gu-ga keom-pu-teo-leul go-jang-nae-sseo-yo] My friend broke my computer.
↪ 왜 [wae] means why. Even though Jen is currently angry she uses the past tense to talk about it because 화나다 is a special adjective. 고장내다 [go-jang-nae-da] means to break, with the past tense it becomes 고장냈어요 [go-jang-nae-sseo-yo].
5
준: 유나 씨, 잘 지냈어요? [yu-na ssi, jal ji-nae-sseo-yo?] Yuna, have you been well?
유나: 네, 잘 지냈어요! 준 씨는요? [nae, jal ji-nae-sseo-yo. jun ssi-neun-yo?] Yes, I have! What about you, June?
준: 저도 잘 지냈어요. [jeo-do jal ji-nae-sseo-yo] I've been doing good too.
5. Quiz
Please check out your understanding using the quizzes below!
6. Wrap-up: "How are you?" in Korean
To ask after someone, you can use expressions like the ones below.
"어떻게 지내요? How are you?"
"어떻게 지냈어요? How have you been?"
"잘 지내요? Are you doing well?"
"잘 지냈어요? Have you been doing well?"
You can use feeling/emotion-related adjectives to answer.
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