Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 4 - Intermediate Korean #1 (Lessons 91 to 120) ᚛ Lesson 119 - Everything, something in Korean [다 / 모두] [ㄴ가] [어느]

Everything, something in Korean [다 / 모두] [ㄴ가] [어느]

In this course: 다 / 모두 / 모든 / 전부 / 어느

This lesson and the next one aim to teach you how to express the following concepts:

• everything (everyone, everywhere, all the time, … etc.)
• nothing (nobody, nowhere, at no time, … etc.)
• something (someone, somewhere, at some point, … etc.)
• any (anyone, anywhere, anytime, … etc.)

Everything in Korean (everyone, everywhere, all the time, … etc.)

With 모든

The word 모든 is placed before a noun and would be translated into English as "all (the)" or "every", in the following manner:
모든 [Noun]

• 모든 책 = all the books
• 모든 핸드폰 = all the phones
• 모든 사진 = all the pictures
• …

Based on 모든, it is thus possible to derive the following vocabulary list:

• 모든 것 = all the things = everything
• 모든 사람 = all the people = everyone
• 모든 곳 = all the places = everywhere
• 모든 순간 = all the moments = all the time

성수기에는 제주도의 모든 호텔이 비싸.
→ During the high season, all the hotels on Jeju Island are expensive.

7월에 간 부산 여행은 모든 것이 완벽했다.
→ Everything was perfect on the trip to Busan I took in July.

너의 모든 면을 사랑해.
→ I love everything about you. (Lit: I love all your sides.)

전염병에 걸린 학생과 수업을 같이 들은 모든 학생들은 검사를 받아야 해.
→ All the students who attended class with the student who caught the infectious disease must get tested.

With 다

With 모두

With 전부

With question words

It is possible to create the words "everywhere", "all the time" and "everyone" respectively from the Korean question words 어디 (= where), 언제 (= when) and 누구 (= who) by adding the suffix -나 to them.

• 어디 (= where) → 어디나 (= everywhere / anywhere)
• 언제 (= when) → 언제나 (= all the time / anytime)
• 누구 (= who) → 누구나 (= everyone / anyone)

누구나 신청할 수 있습니다.
→ Anyone can apply.

너와 언제나 함께 할게.
→ I will always be with you.

지금 백신이 부족한 것은 세계 어디나 마찬가지이다.
→ Right now, the shortage of vaccines is the same everywhere in the world.

Something in Korean (someone, somewhere, at some point, … etc.)

With question words

It is possible to create the words "something", "somewhere", "at some point", "someone" respectively from the Korean question words 뭐 (= what), 어디 (= where), 언제 (= when) and 누구 (= who) by adding the suffix -ㄴ가 to them.

• 뭐 (= what) → 뭔가 (= something)
• 어디 (= where) → 어딘가 (= somewhere)
• 언제 (= when) → 언젠가 (= at some point, someday)
• 누구 (= who) → 누군가 (= someone)

오늘 민지 뭔가 이상해.
→ There is something strange about Minji today.

어딘가로 가고 싶다.
→ I want to go somewhere.

언젠가 엄마가 그 말씀하셨어.
→ At some point, Mom told me that.

방에서 소리가 나는 걸 보니 누군가 있는 것 같아.
→ Seeing that there is noise coming from the room, I think there is someone there.

Note that it is also common, when speaking, to use:

• 뭐 instead of 뭔가
• 어디 instead of 어딘가
• 누구 instead of 누군가

뭐 먹고 싶은 것 같아. (뭔가 먹고 싶은 것 같아.)
→ I think I feel like eating something.

문 앞에 누가 있어. (문 앞에 누군가 있어.)
→ There is someone in front of the door.

어디 가는 것 같아. (어딘가 가는 것 같아.)
→ It looks like you are going somewhere.

Be careful, when you use 뭐, 어디 or 누구 instead of 뭔가, 어딘가 and 누군가 in a question, the intonation rises much more sharply at the end of the question.

어디 가? (high intonation)
→ Are you going somewhere?

어디 가? (flatter intonation)
→ Where are you going?

Notice that this same phenomenon also occurs in English. Indeed, the final intonation is higher in the question "Did you eat something?" whereas it is flatter in the question "What did you eat?".

The other cases

Exercises

Traveling to South Korea can be an unforgettable experience. But when you don’t speak Korean, everything gets more complicated: ordering in a restaurant or café becomes stressful, you can’t understand signs or directions, asking for help in case of trouble is nearly impossible, and most importantly, you miss out on the very essence of a successful trip to Korea: connecting with the locals.

Since English - Korean machine translators can’t always be trusted (the two languages work in completely different ways), it’s essential to prepare yourself in advance to fully enjoy your trip to South Korea!

Learn more

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