Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 7 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #2 (Lessons 181 to 210) ᚛ Lesson 207 - Among ourselves in Korean [끼리]
Among ourselves in Korean [끼리]
To say "among ourselves", "among friends", "among themselves", Korean attaches the suffix 끼리 to the noun: 우리끼리, "just us, among ourselves", 친구들끼리, "among friends". It refers to a group of people or things of the same kind doing something together, without the others.
Among ourselves with [Noun]끼리
끼리 comes directly after the noun, with no particle in between:
[Group]끼리 [Action done among the group]
The noun is always plural in meaning: 우리, 가족, 친구들, 아이들, 커플. The group is closed on itself, and 끼리 often implies "without the others": the adults on one side, the children on the other. 끼리 can be followed by a particle (끼리만, "only among", 끼리는, 끼리도) and combines with 같이 or 모이다, "to gather".
이번 여름휴가 때 고등학교 친구들끼리 제주도로 2박 3일 여행을 가기로 했어요.
→ For the summer holidays, we decided to go on a three-day, two-night trip to Jeju among high school friends.
우리끼리만 이렇게 먹어도 괜찮아? 다른 사람들 하고 나눠 먹어야 하는 거 아니야?
→ Is it okay to eat this just among ourselves? Shouldn't we share it with the others?
처음으로 가족끼리 해외여행을 가려고 했는데 아빠가 편찮으셔서 이번 여행은 취소됐어요.
→ We were going to travel abroad as a family for the first time, but Dad fell ill and the trip was canceled.
어른들은 평상에 앉아서 이야기하고 아이들끼리 물놀이하러 계곡으로 내려갔어요.
→ The adults sat on the wooden platform to talk, and the children went down to the stream among themselves to play in the water.
제발 부탁인데 다음부터는 커플끼리 모이는 자리에 나까지 부르지 말고 그냥 너희들끼리 놀면 안 돼?
→ Please, from now on, do not invite me to your couples' get-togethers and just hang out among yourselves, okay?
처음 한국에 온 외국인들끼리 한국을 여행하는 유튜브 영상을 봤는데 정말 재미있더라고요.
→ I watched a YouTube video of foreigners who came to Korea for the first time traveling around the country among themselves, and it was really fun.
여러분 오늘은 같은 동호회끼리 모여 있지 말고 다 함께 어울려서 인사도 하고 친목을 쌓으면 좋겠어요.
→ Everyone, today I would like you not to stay among members of the same club, but to mingle all together, say hello and build friendships.
Things of the same kind and 끼리끼리
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