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Level 5 · Unit 11

Nunchi and jeong

The debate in the advanced class, then the house New Year party

A debate about jeong in the advanced class, then the house New Year party.

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What you’ll learn

  • A-기 그지없다 · A-기 짝이 없다Beyond words · Utterly — adjectives pushed to their limit
  • V/A-고말고(요) · N(이)고말고(요)Of course! — warm, emphatic agreement
  • V-(으)ㄴ 채(로) · V-지 않은 채(로)Still in that state — keeping a state while something else happens
  • V/A-(으)ㄹ망정 · N일망정It may be so, but … · I'd sooner … than — accepting the worse to keep what matters

Sori’s tips in this unit

  • Four ways to accept the worse: -(으)ㄹ망정, -는 한이 있더라도, -(으)ㄹ지라도, -기에 망정이지
  • Heart words with -심 (心)
  • Reading 1930s fiction: dialect lines and the narrator's voice
  • Also in this unit: -답시고 and -(으)ㄹ세라

The scene opens

  1. Sori

    오늘 토론 주제는 ‘정은 부담인가’예요. 안나 씨부터 의견을 말해 볼까요?

    Today's debate topic is ‘Is jeong a burden?’. Anna, shall we start with your view?

  2. A

    Anna

    네. 저는 정이 부담이 될 때가 많다고 생각합니다. 처음 만난 사람이 제 나이와 월급을 묻는 것은 무례하기 짝이 없는 일이었습니다.

    Yes. I think jeong is often a burden. When people I had only just met asked my age and my salary, it struck me as utterly rude.

  3. A

    Anna

    제가 자란 곳에서는 도움이 필요하면 먼저 부탁하고, 필요 없으면 정중하게 거절합니다. 거절당해도 서운해하지 않습니다.

    Where I grew up, you ask for help first if you need it, and politely say no if you don't. Nobody is hurt at being turned down.

Inside the unit

  1. 1
    SceneA short scene with Sori, Hoya and the people around them, every line with its English
  2. 2
    Grammar4 patterns: why you need it now, the rule, a table and examples
  3. 3
    Sori’s tipsExceptions, reasons and easily confused pairs
  4. 4
    Hoya’s notebookLife in Korea, in Hoya’s own words
  5. 5
    Words39 words, which go into your spaced review
  6. 6
    PracticeFill the gap, build the sentence, pick the reply — and fix Hoya’s mistakes
  7. 7
    Review roomQuestions from this unit and earlier ones, each marked with where it comes from
  8. 8
    Read & writeA short reading with questions, and a writing task with a model answer
  9. 9
    Cheat sheetThe whole unit on one printable card