Level 4 · Unit 9 · Part 5 of the letter
Words and proverbs
A tiger with wide feet
This unit is part of the Level 4 Pass — opening soon.
Until then, you can find your level with the level test, or start at the beginning of Level 1.
What you’ll learn
- N조차 · N마저 (and N까지, N도)Even — four particles, four feelings
- -기는커녕 · N은/는커녕Far from …, let alone … (the opposite, or not even the smaller thing)
- -곤 하다 · V-아/어 오다 · V-아/어 가다Again and again, and on and on through time
- -(으)ㄹ 게 아니라 · -(으)ㄴ/는 게 아니라 · N이/가 아니라Not X, but Y
Sori’s tips in this unit
- More on 조차: -기조차, and 마저 as a plain adverb
- Idioms with a body word: 발이 넓다 is not about your feet
- How to quote a proverb, and the wording of the tiger proverb
- 사자성어: four characters, one idea
The scene opens
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호야 씨, 오늘은 속담을 배워 볼까요? 한국어를 오래 공부해 온 사람들도 속담은 어려워해요.
Hoya, shall we learn some proverbs today? Even people who have studied Korean for a long time find proverbs hard.
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속담이요? 저는 속담은커녕 신문 제목조차 제대로 못 읽어요.
Proverbs? Far from proverbs, I can't even read newspaper headlines properly.
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걱정 마세요. 어렵게 생각할 게 아니라 짧은 이야기처럼 읽으면 돼요. 먼저 이 속담이에요. “호랑이 없는 골에 토끼가 왕 노릇 한다.”
Don't worry. Don't treat it as something hard; just read it like a short story. First, this proverb: “In a valley with no tiger, the rabbit plays king.”
Inside the unit
- 1SceneA short scene with Sori, Hoya and the people around them, every line with its English
- 2Grammar4 patterns: why you need it now, the rule, a table and examples
- 3Sori’s tipsExceptions, reasons and easily confused pairs
- 4Hoya’s notebookLife in Korea, in Hoya’s own words
- 5Words29 words, which go into your spaced review
- 6PracticeFill the gap, build the sentence, pick the reply — and fix Hoya’s mistakes
- 7Review roomQuestions from this unit and earlier ones, each marked with where it comes from
- 8Read & writeA short reading with questions, and a writing task with a model answer
- 9Cheat sheetThe whole unit on one printable card