Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 4 - Intermediate Korean #1 (Lessons 91 to 120) ᚛ Lesson 115 - Emotions in Korean, feelings [-아/어하다]

Emotions in Korean, feelings [-아/어하다]

In this course: 아하다 / 어하다 / 해하다 / 아해 / 어해 / 해해 / 아해요 / 어해요 / 해해요

General rule

Verbs in -아/어하다 are generally used to express the emotion, the opinion or the feelings of another person.

Indeed, in Korea, it is considered that one cannot be 100% sure of what someone else thinks or feels, and this is reflected in the verb endings through the -아/어하다 structure, which is used in the following manner:
[Descriptive verb conjugated to the present tense casual style]하다

피곤하다 (= to be tired) → 피곤해하다 (= to be tired (for someone else))
무섭다 (= to be scared) → 무서워하다 (= to be scared (for someone else))
슬프다 (= to be sad) → 슬퍼하다 (= to be sad (for someone else))
부끄럽다 (= to be embarrassed) → 부끄러워하다 (= to be embarrassed (for someone else))
기쁘다 (= to be happy) → 기뻐하다 (= to be happy (for someone else))
배고프다 (= to be hungry) → 배고파하다 (= to be hungry (for someone else))
심심하다 (= to be bored) → 심심해하다 (= to be bored (for someone else))
...

The -아/어하다 form only attaches to adjectives (descriptive verbs) relating to a person’s emotions and feelings. For example, the adjective 잘생기다 (= to be handsome) cannot be turned into 잘생겨하다, since it is simply a physical attribute that has nothing to do with what someone else thinks or feels.

In English, 피곤하다 and 피곤해하다 are both translated the same way, "to be tired". However, in Korean, it is not possible to use the adjective 피곤하다 to say that someone else is tired.

When we use 피곤해하다, we are clearly stating that the person is tired; using the -아/어하다 form does not change the meaning of the verb, but it is a grammatical rule that is required when talking about someone else’s feelings or emotions. If we want to say that a person looks tired or seems to be tired, then the -(으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ 것 같다 and -아/어 보이다 structures seen in the lesson on to seem in Korean are more suitable.

민지가 부끄러워하네요.
→ Oh, Minji is embarrassed.

재현이는 그 소식을 듣고 속상해해요.
→ Jaehyeon heard the news and is upset.

민철이가 두통 때문에 괴로워하는데 약 있나요?
→ Mincheol is suffering from a headache, do you have any medicine?

슬퍼하지 마.
→ Don't be sad.

재현이가 많이 피곤해해서 집에 일찍 보냈어.
→ Since Jaehyeon was very tired, I sent him home early.

민지가 너 때문에 많이 섭섭해해.
→ Minji is really hurt because of you.

Note that the new verbs obtained this way, in the -아/어하다 form, are no longer adjectives in the grammatical sense but action verbs, even though this cannot really be rendered in English.

슬프다 (= to be sad) is a descriptive verb (adjective) whereas 슬퍼하다 (= to be sad (for someone else)) is an action verb (verb).
피곤하다 (= to be tired) is a descriptive verb (adjective) whereas 피곤해하다 (= to be tired (for someone else)) is an action verb (verb).

In addition, the -아/어하다 form is also used when expressing someone else’s wishes with the -고 싶다 structure. In that case, the verbs end in -고 싶어하다.

보고 싶다 (= to want to see) → 보고 싶어하다 (= to want to see (for someone else))
가고 싶다 (= to want to go) → 가고 싶어하다 (= to want to go (for someone else))

언니는 칼국수를 먹고 싶어해요.
→ My older sister wants to eat kalguksu.

학생들은 집에 가고 싶어합니다.
→ The students want to go home.

철수는 이번 주말에 쉬고 싶어해.
→ Cheolsu wants to rest this weekend.