Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 8 - Advanced Korean #1 (Lessons 211 to 240) ᚛ Lesson 230 - Adjective suffixes in Korean [-답다] [-스럽다]
Adjective suffixes in Korean [-답다] [-스럽다]
Korean builds adjectives from nouns with two suffixes that must not be confused. -답다, "worthy of", "true to what one expects of", says that a person or a thing lives up to what it is: 학생답다, "to behave like a real student", 여름답다, "to be a real summer". -스럽다, "that gives an impression of", says that something evokes a quality without necessarily being it: 사랑스럽다, "lovely", 자연스럽다, "natural", 부담스럽다, "burdensome". The pair 여자답다, "as a woman should be", and 여성스럽다, "feminine, womanly-looking", sums up the difference. Both suffixes conjugate like ㅂ-irregular adjectives.
"Worthy of", "like a true…" with [Noun]답다
-답다 attaches to a noun for a person, a role or a thing, and conjugates with the ㅂ dropping before a vowel:
[Noun]답다 → [Noun]다운 [Noun] (attributive) / [Noun]답게 (adverb) / [Noun]다워요 / [Noun]답지 않다
The noun is what the person already is (a student, a professional, a mother, a gentleman), and -답다 judges whether their behavior lives up to that status. The most frequent use is the adverb -답게, "as befits a…", and the negation -답지 않게, "in a way that is unlike them". With a first name or 너, -답다 means "to be like oneself": 너답지 않게, "that's not like you".
오늘 회사에서 대리님과 엄청 심하게 싸웠어요. 항상 다른 사람을 배려하고 친절한 재현 씨인데 오늘은 재현 씨답지 않았어요.
→ Today he had a huge fight with the assistant manager at work. Jaehyun is always considerate and kind to others, but today he wasn't himself.
짧은 교복 치마를 입은 저를 보자마자 엄마는 학생이 학생답지 않게 옷을 입었다고 잔소리했어요.
→ As soon as she saw me in a short uniform skirt, my mother nagged me that a student shouldn't dress in such an un-studentlike way.
첫 데이트에서 재현이는 하루 종일 신사답게 행동했어요.
→ On the first date, Jaehyun behaved like a true gentleman all day.
재현이가 전문가답게 일을 잘 처리해서 거래처 사람들은 재현이와 업무하는 걸 선호하는 편이에요.
→ Since Jaehyun handles matters like a true professional, business partners tend to prefer working with him.
재현이는 유명한 요리사답게 모든 음식의 간을 기막히게 잘 맞췄어요.
→ Like the famous chef he is, Jaehyun seasoned every dish to perfection.
설악산은 사람들이 많이 찾는 명산답게 사계절 내내 아름다운 절경을 자랑합니다.
→ As befits a famous, much-visited mountain, Seoraksan boasts beautiful scenery in all four seasons.
민지는 노련한 엄마답게 아이를 잘 돌보며 집안일도 척척 해내요.
→ Like the experienced mother she is, Minji takes good care of her child while briskly getting the housework done.
아이가 너무 어른스럽기보다는 아이답게 자라는 게 더 좋은 것 같아요.
→ Rather than a child who is too grown-up, I think it's better for a child to grow up like a child.
A few common forms to remember: 학생답다, 여자답다, 남자답다, 아이답다, 신사답다, "worthy of a gentleman", 숙녀답다, "worthy of a lady", 인간답다, "worthy of a human being", 너답다, "that's so you".
"That gives an impression of" with [Noun]스럽다
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