An Easy Mistake To Make in Korean - 어떻게 or 어떡해
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009Hyunwoo here. : )
Here is a very common mistake that a lot of Korean learners (and even some Korean people) make.
When you want to say, “what should I do?” or “what are we supposed to do?” you can say 어떡해?
But a lot of people write 어떻게?
What’s the difference?
어떡해? vs 어떻게?
어떡해 is a combination of 어떻게 +해.
So if you just write 어떻게, it means “how” or “using what kind of method” so it does not convey the complete meaning of “What am I supposed to do?”
Well, when you are SPEAKING, those two phrases sound the same, but when you write, it is important to be able to distinguish the two.
So remember : )
어떻게 = “how”
어떡해 = “What am I supposed to do?”
Thanks for reading!
- Hyunwoo
Posted by Hyunwoo in Learning Korean |
June 30th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Ahhh ok, thanks!
June 30th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
You’re welcome!
June 30th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
There was a lesson covering this topic: Intermediate L 1: http://www.koreanclass101.com/2007/12/13/intermediate-lesson-1-what-am-i-to-do/
June 30th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
oh! I didn’t even realise there was a difference. Thanks!
June 30th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Good explanation, very helpful!
Another thing to remember, is that the contraction 어떡해 is actually incorrect in written Korean, although I know lots of Koreans who write it all the time anyway. As long as it’s nothing that really needs to be grammatically correct, who cares, right? I’ve just found this site, I think it’s really good, I’ll definitely be coming back!
July 1st, 2009 at 4:06 am
Thank you Hyunwoo! I also didnt know there was a difference. and that is some really pretty writing. i havent figured out a nice style of writing and so i always just print exactly how it looks like on the computer or in the books =S
July 1st, 2009 at 11:51 am
Thanks everyone for the comments
I’m glad it was useful!
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:23 am
wow i didnt know that but i always wondered where the ㅎ went now i know! thanks hyunwoo!
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:37 am
Elemental
Thanks you!!!
July 8th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Thanks a lot for it!
I hope to read more and more…..
good luck for you.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
OOHHHHHH. Man, that clears so many things up!!! Thanks, 현우 씨!^^
July 25th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Thanks a lot for the explanation. I was a little confused when I saw this in some notes one of the Korean teachers at the academy had written.
July 28th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Thanks a lot, Hyunwoo…
Now I know the difference… ^^
July 29th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Owh… Komawo…
Really helpfull.
I love these kind of explainations.. coz I don’t find them on text books.
Again… thanks a lot.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Do they pronounce the same?