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im4ginary
Different ways of saying 'cute' in Korean?
I've noticed that there are different ways of saying 'cute' in Korean, but somehow I've gotten curious what is the difference, or when should each term be used, or are they all basically the same?
So far I have heard
귀여워
귀여운데
귀엽다
Are there other ways of using this term (and when should they be used) and are there other examples of words that are used like these?
(Sorry, I'm learning Korean but admittedly, in a somewhat haphazard manner. Currently I know roughly how to read Hangul but grammar, sentence construction and knowing the meanings are an altogether different issue :P )
Mar 27, 2011 12:57 PM
Answers · 1
3
The verb 'to be cute' is '귀엽다'. The different ways of saying it that you mentioned above have various grammatical endings, the usage of which totally depends on the context. '귀엽다' is both the dictionary form of the verb and the plain formal style of the word. '귀여워' is the colloquial spoken style. '귀여운데' sounds like one is commenting on someone or something being cute. The ''-ㄴ/는데' verb ending is generally a way of introducing background information or providing some context or explanation for something.
March 27, 2011
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im4ginary
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, Korean
Learning Language
Chinese (Mandarin), Korean
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