Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 6 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #1 (Lessons 151 to 180) ᚛ Lesson 154 - Simultaneity and listing in Korean [-(으)며]
Simultaneity and listing in Korean [-(으)며]
The -(으)며 structure has several use cases in Korean.
Simultaneity with -(으)며
In Korean, it is possible to express the simultaneity of two actions with the -(으)며 structure in the following manner:
[Action 1: ... Present stem](으)며 [Action 2]
Used this way, the -(으)며 structure is similar to the -(으)면서 structure to express phrases such as "while", "when" or "[verb]-ing", which indicate that two actions take place at the same time.
철수랑 커피를 마시며 이야기했어.
→ I talked with Cheolsu while we were drinking coffee.
티비를 보며 밥을 먹었어요.
→ I ate while watching TV.
노래를 들으며 따라서 불렀어.
→ I sang along while listening to the song.
민성이는 아침을 못 먹고 출근해서 빵을 먹으며 업무를 했어요.
→ Since Minseong went to work without being able to eat breakfast, she did her work while eating some bread.
현아는 항상 아침마다 BTS 노래를 들으며 샤워를 해요.
→ Every morning, Hyuna always takes a shower while listening to BTS songs.
현우는 여자친구가 오기를 기다리며 카페에 들러서 커피를 샀어요.
→ While waiting for his girlfriend to arrive, Hyunwoo stopped by a cafe and bought a coffee.
저는 조용한 카페에서 책을 읽으며 혼자 시간을 보내는 걸 제일 좋아해요.
→ What I like most is spending time alone reading books in a quiet cafe.
오늘은 하루 종일 조카랑 놀아 주며 짐 정리도 해야 해서 정신이 없었어요.
→ Today, I was swamped because I had to organize my luggage while playing with my nephew all day long.
Listing actions with -(으)며
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Exercises
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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.
