Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 6 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #1 (Lessons 151 to 180) ᚛ Lesson 167 - The particles "even" in Korean [조차] [마저]
The particles "even" in Korean [조차] [마저]
In previous lessons, we saw that it is possible, to a certain extent, to express "even" with:
In this chapter, we are going to study two more specific particles, 조차 and 마저.
Even with the particle 조차
In English, the most common translation of the particle 조차 is the word "even". 조차 is most often used with negative verbs or in negative situations, even though this is not mandatory, in the following manner:
[Noun]조차 [Rather negative situation]
우리 부모님은 나의 의견조차 물어보지 않으셔.
→ My parents don’t even ask for my opinion.
지유와 몇 년을 같은 부서에서 일했지만 서로의 나이조차 몰랐습니다.
→ Jiyu and I worked in the same department for several years, but we didn’t even know each other’s age.
수잔은 한국어를 매일 공부하고 있지만 아직은 읽기조차 어렵다고 했어요.
→ Susan said that she studies Korean every day, but that even reading is still difficult.
그는 기념일조차 기억하지 못하고 한 시간이나 늦어 헐레벌떡 뛰어왔다.
→ He didn’t even remember the anniversary and came running, out of breath, a whole hour late.
그때 너는 내가 슬퍼서 울고 있을 때조차 위로 한마디 하지 않았어.
→ Back then, you didn’t say a single word of comfort, even when I was sad and crying.
이제는 너와의 추억조차 잘 생각이 나지 않아. 다 잊은 것 같아.
→ Now I can’t even really remember my memories with you. I think I’ve forgotten everything.
매번 덤벙거리고 실수투성이인 내 모습조차 사랑스럽다고 이야기해 줘서 너무 고마워.
→ Thank you so much for telling me that even the clumsy, mistake-ridden side of me is lovable.
Even with the particle 마저
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마저 as an adverb
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Exercises
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You already know some vocabulary and sentence structures… But when you listen to Koreans speak, do you ever feel like something is missing, the meaning behind the words, the cultural nuance that makes the language truly come alive?
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