LEARN + KOREAN / 55 of 125 TOPIK I
If It Were Better ㅅ Irregular
a
You’re talking about getting better after a cold: 감기가 나았어요. Some verb stems ending in ㅅ drop ㅅ before a vowel-starting ending: 낫다 becomes 나아요, and the change carries into the past as 나았어요.
i saegi deo naayo.
This color is better.
saenggangchareul masimyeon gamgiga ppalli naayo.
If you drink ginger tea, your cold will get better quickly.
Hint · 힌트
Not every ㅅ-stem is irregular. 씻다 keeps its ㅅ before a vowel: 씻어요, 씻었어요. Learn the common irregular verbs individually; the spelling alone doesn’t tell you which group a verb belongs to.
gangaji ireumeul mworago jieul geoyeyo?
What are you going to name the puppy?
In Real Life
In real life, 낫다 often comes up in everyday check-ins about health: 감기가 나았어요? means “Has your cold gotten better?” Keep its meaning in context, since 낫다 can also mean “to be better” when comparing two choices.
Vocabulary
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
natda | to recover; to be better |
butda | to swell |
jitda | to build; name; make rice |
jeotda | to stir |
geutda | to draw a line |
ssitda | to wash |
saenggangcha | ginger tea |
mitjureul geutda | to underline |
geongang | health |
mom | body |
gibun | mood |
gamgi | cold illness |
jeungsang | symptom |
meori | head |
mok | throat or neck |
bae | stomach |
apeuda | to hurt or be ill |
byeongwon | hospital or clinic |
uisa | doctor |
yak | medicine |
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