Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 7 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #2 (Lessons 181 to 210) ᚛ Lesson 188 - Habit in Korean [-곤 하다]
Habit in Korean [-곤 하다]
In Korean, to express that an action is repeated regularly, whether it is an everyday habit or something we used to do in the past, we use the -곤 하다 structure. It translates as "to be in the habit of", "to usually do", or, in the past tense, "I would often", "I used to". We will look at how it is built, its value in the present and in the past, and then at what sets it apart from a simple adverb of frequency.
Habit with -곤 하다
The structure is used in the following manner:
[Stem]곤 하다
-곤 is the contraction of -고는, and 하다 carries the tense and the speech level: -곤 해요, -곤 합니다, -곤 해 in the present; -곤 했어요, -곤 했습니다, -곤 했다 in the past. The structure is neutral: it suits good habits as well as bad ones, for oneself as for others. It readily goes with an indication of frequency: 자주, 종종, 보통, 주로, 일주일에 한 번, -(으)ㄹ 때마다.
In the present: a current habit
미정이는 일주일에 한 번씩은 꼭 마사지를 받으러 가곤 해.
→ Mijeong makes a habit of going for a massage once a week, without fail.
신입사원들이 업무에 대해서 모르는 게 있으면 팀장님께 물어보곤 합니다.
→ When the new employees have a question about the work, they usually ask the team leader.
부부 사이 개선을 위해 남편과 시간이 날 때마다 대화를 하려고 시도하곤 해요.
→ To improve our marriage, whenever we have a moment, I try to start a conversation with my husband.
In the past: a former habit
In the past tense, -곤 했다 indicates that the habit belongs to the past and, most often, that it no longer exists: it is the equivalent of "I would often", "I used to". The double past -곤 했었다 is also found; it pushes the habit even further back in time, with a touch of nostalgia.
배고픈 고양이는 밥을 먹으러 시골집 마당에 찾아오곤 했어요.
→ The hungry cat used to come to the yard of the country house to eat.
현수랑 같이 살 때는 주로 배달 음식만 시켜 먹곤 했나요?
→ When you lived with Hyunsoo, did you usually just order delivery food?
주원이와 일주일에 한 번은 만나서 영화를 보러 가곤 했어.
→ I used to meet Juwon once a week and we would go see a movie.
저는 보통 저녁 시간마다 친구에게 전화를 걸어 수다를 떨곤 했습니다.
→ I used to call a friend every evening and chat.
친구가 한국에 있을 땐 항상 연락을 하곤 했지만 지금은 서로 연락이 뜸해졌습니다.
→ When my friend was in Korea we always used to keep in touch, but now we rarely contact each other.
클로에는 어릴 때부터 한국에 관심이 많아서 매일 잠들기 전에 한국어 공부를 하곤 했다.
→ Chloe had been interested in Korea since childhood, and she used to study Korean every night before going to sleep.
종종 학교 앞 분식점에서 주현이와 함께 떡볶이를 먹곤 했었다.
→ I would often eat tteokbokki with Joohyun at the little snack bar in front of the school.
-곤 하다 or a simple adverb?
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Particles are omnipresent in Korean. They indicate the role of words in a sentence, nuance meaning, and make it possible to understand who does what, where, how, and why.
Particles are also often the aspect that causes the most difficulty for Korean learners. In grammar books, they are usually presented in the middle of long sentences, with complex vocabulary, without being clearly highlighted.
With Korean Particles, we made the opposite choice:
taking the time to explain each particle, one by one, using very simple sentences, accessible even to beginners.
