ANSWER: Yes, according to the guy in the following video.
Once, when I flew from Busan to Japan, which I did not normally do, I remember two guys talking to each other on the plane in a language that I first thought was Japanese but gradually realized was Korean. I do not speak Japanese, but the intonation they were using sounded very much like that used by the Japanese, at least enough to make me first think it was Japanese.
I find the following video interesting because the intonation of the Busan dialect does sound somewhat similar to that of the few short British English examples that the guy in the video gives. In general, I do think that the high and low tones of the Busan dialect are much more pronounced than those used by Koreans in Seoul.
In the video below, the Korean guy from Busan also demonstrates how similar the intonation of Korea's Busan dialect is to that of the Japanese language.
The guy speaking Korean in the first video below does not sound like a foreigner, even though he is, and one of the reasons he does not sound like a foreigner is that he is using almost perfectly the intonation that most South Koreans use when they speak their language, which is a weak, wave-like rhythm intonation. Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice while speaking, and Korean intonation is usually flatter and much weaker than American English intonation.
When Koreans read or say their thought groups--which are usually the noun phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and verb phrases in a sentence--they usually alternate from a subtle rising intonation at the end of one thought group to a subtle falling intonation at the end of the next, resulting in a gentle wave-like rhythm. Inside each phrase, or thought group, the tone will remain pretty much flat and only rise or fall slightly at the end of the phrase or thought group.
I do not know much about this subject, but when I read out loud to myself in Korean or speak Korean to someone, I usually try to keep my intonation as flat as possible, without using a lot of the strong rising and falling tones we normally use in American English to try to sound more polite and interesting. For example, when I practice Korean intonation by reading out loud to myself, I often hold my hand flat in front of me and push down a little bit when I come to a part in a Korean sentence where an American might normally use a strong rising tone, reminding myself visually not to do that. However, I still need to practice more on alternating my tones between the Korean thought groups to get the subtle Korean wave-like rhythm. It is similar to learning to sing a song, something at which I am not very good.
An American student just beginning to learn Korean might say, "어디 가십니까?" by using a strong rising intonation on the 가, and maybe even the 까, to sound more polite, but, instead, they just sound like a foreigner speaking Korean, or maybe someone from the Gyeongsang region, where they also seem to use stronger intonation than Koreans in Seoul. Koreans do not normally need to use intonation to sound polite because they have polite words and affixes to show politeness in their language. Of course, some Koreans might use polite words and affixes but change the tone of their voices to show they are upset or angry.
Anyway, the first video below is a foreigner giving a great speech in Korean. The second video is a Korean teaching Korean intonation. One of the things the Korean says about intonation in his video is that intonation usually rises slightly at the end of a phrase with a number. The important things to remember about Korean intonation, I think, is that Korean intonation is much more subtle than English intonation and usually alternates slightly from high to low at the end of each of the thought groups in a sentence to create a subtle wave-like rhythm. Even at the end of a declarative Korean sentence, the intonation can rise if the previous thought group fell, which is different from English intonation. In other words, to keep the alternating waves flowing seems to be the main focus of Korean intonation.
So, if you want to sound like a Korean, you must not only learn the correct Korean pronunciation but also the weak wave-like rhythm of Korean intonation.
In the video below, a Korean is teaching intonation by reading a newspaper article.
The Chinese character 洋 (양) means sea or ocean, but it can also mean foreign and is usually used to describe things from Western foreign countries, which Koreans refer to as 서양국 (西洋國) or simply 서양 (西洋). When 양 (洋) is attached to the beginning of a Korean word, it usually means "Western-style." Here are some examples:
양궁 - Western-style archery
양동이 - Western-style jar or metal bucket
양말 - Western-style socks
양배추 - Western-style cabbage
양복 - Western-style clothes or suit
양산 - [Western-style] umbrella
양상추 - Western-style lettuce
양식 - Western-style food
양악 - Western-style music
양약 - Western-style medicine
양옥 - Western-style house
양주 - Western-style alcohol
양초 - Western-style candle
양탄자 - Western-style blanket or carpet
Besides the words listed above, there were many other words used to describe Western-style things when Korea first opened up to the West, but most of those words are now no longer used or rarely used, including 양표 (洋表), which literally means "Western-style (洋) display (表)" but referred to a clock or watch. Another word that is rarely used anymore is 양코배기, which essentially means big-nosed Westerner.
네가지 is slang for 싸가지, which is also slang. The 싸 in 싸가지 sounds similar enough to the Sino-Korean word for four (사) that it is replaced with the pure Korean word for four (네) to slyly hide its negative meaning, which is ill-mannered or ill-bred. Actually, 싸가지 comes from 싹수, which means good omen or promising, but Koreans almost always say 싸가지 없다, not 싸가지 있다, unless they are joking, so when they just say 싸가지, they mean 싸가지 없다, which is similar in meaning to 버릇없다 or 인정머리 없다.
The word 싹수 can be reduced to 싹, so 싹 can also mean good omen or promising, but 싹 is also the pure Korean word for sprout, so 싹 있다 can also mean, "There are sprouts," something a Korean farmer might say when he sees his crops sprouting in his field, which would be a promising sign or good omen, and this may be the origin of 싹수 있다.
The pure Korean suffix -아지 can be attached to certain nouns to degrade or belittle them, so if Korean farmers see their fields sprouting, they would likely be happy and might say, 싹 있다, "There are sprouts," but if they do not see their fields sprouting, they would likely be unhappy and might belittle their unsprouted sprouts by saying, "싹아지 없다," which is pronounced as /싸가지 없다/ and translated as "There are no damn sprouts."
딸바보 literally means "daughter's (딸) fool (바보)." It is a cute slang expression used to describe a father who loves his daughter so much that he often indulges her.
For a good list of Korean internet slang expressions, go HERE.
Here are a few more from the list. I may add more later.
검은 머리 외국인 "a black-haired foreigner": It refers to foreign nationals with Korean ancestry, such as Korean-Americans. For many Koreans, the stereotypical foreigner has blue eyes and blond hair, not the brown eyes and black hair that most Koreans have.
귀요미 "cute; cute person": 귀엽다 is an adjective that means cute or pretty, and 귀염 is a noun form of that adjective. When the pure Korean suffix 이--which can mean person, animal, or thing--is added to 귀염, it becomes 귀염이, which means 귀여운 사람 and can be translated as a cute person or a cutie, though Koreans would normally say 귀염둥이. When 귀염이 is pronounced, it is pronounced as /귀여미/, but for this slang term, the 여 is changed to the stronger 요 sound for greater emphasis, resulting in 귀요미. It can also be made into an adjective by adding -하다 to form 귀요미하다. Therefore, instead of using 귀여운 삼람 to refer to a cute person, you can also use either 귀요미 or 귀요미한 사람, but remember that the latter two are considered slang.
꿀잼 "sweet fun": 꿀 means honey or sweet, but here "sweet" is being used in a similar way that many Americans use "sweet" to mean very good or extremely good. 잼 is a reduced form of the pure Korean word 재미,which means fun or interesting, so 꿀쨈 literally means "extremely good (꿀) fun (잼)" or extremely interesting, which is usually expressed in Korean as 아주 재미있다, or by younger Koreans as 완전 재미있다. Younger Koreans seem to use 완전 as an adverb (완전히) meaning totally, similar to how some Americans use "totally" to mean very or extremely. By the way, 꿀잼 should be pronounced as /꿀쨈/ because of the influence of the preceding ㄹ.
네가지 "ill-mannered": 네가지 means 싸가지, which is also slang. The 싸 is 싸가지 sounds similar enough to the Sino-Korean word for four (사) that it is replaced with the pure Korean word for four (네) to slyly hide its negative meaning, which is ill-mannered or ill-bred. Actually, 싸가지 comes from 싹수, which means good omen or promising, but Koreans almost always say 싸가지 없다, not 싸가지 있다, unless they are joking, so when they just say 싸가지, they mean 싸가지 없다, which is similar in meaning to 버릇없다 or 인정머리 없다.
The word 싹수 can be reduced to 싹, so 싹 can also mean good omen or promising, but 싹 is also the pure Korean word for sprout, so 싹 있다 can also mean, "There are sprouts," something a Korean farmer might say when he sees his crops sprouting in his field, which would be a promising sign or good omen, and this may be the origin of 싹수 있다.
The pure Korean suffix -아지 can be attached to certain nouns to degrade or belittle those nouns, so if Korean farmers see their fields sprouting, they would likely be happy and say, 싹 있다, "There are sprouts," but if they do not see their fields sprouting, they would likely be unhappy and might belittle their unsprouted sprouts by saying, "싹아지 없다," which is pronounced as /싸가지 없다/ and translated as "There are no damn sprouts."
노잼 "boring": 노잼 is a combination of the sound of the English word "no" and a reduced form of the Korean word "재미," which means fun or interesting, so 노잼 literally means "no (노) fun (잼)" or not interesting. Koreans would normally say, 재미 없다.
몸짱 "the best body": 몸 means body, and 짱 supposedly comes from the Chinese character 將 (장), which means general or leader. Supposedly, 장 was changed to 짱 just to give it more force or emphasis. Therefore, 몸짱 would literally translate as "body (몸) leader (짱)."
Personally, I wonder if 짱 may have come from 가장, which means the most, so 몸짱 in Korean would mean 몸이 가장, just the first part of the intended phrase. Listeners would be expected to complete the phrase in their minds, which would be 몸이 가장 예쁜 여자, "a woman with the most beautiful body." And maybe the 장 in 가장 changed to 짱 to compensate for dropping the 가.
Anyway, regardless of its origin, the suffix -짱 means something like the best or the leader. 짱 can also be attached to certain other words, including 싸움짱 or 쌈짱 (the best fighter), 힘짱 (the strongest person), or 공부짱 (the best studier / the best student).
반품남 / 반품녀 "divorced man / divorced woman": 반품 means returned merchandise, so 반품남 literally means a man who is returned merchandize, which means his wife no longer wanted him and got a divorce. 반품녀 literally means a woman who is returned merchandise, which is slang for a divorced woman.
양이집사 / 양집사 "a cat butler": These two slang words are shortened versions of 고양이 집사, which literally means "cat (고양이) butler (집사)." It refers to a person with a pet cat that often seems more like the master of the house than its owner, who seems more like the "cat's butler."
품절남 / 품절녀 "married man / married woman": 품절 means sold-out or out-of-stock, such as a product in a store, so 품절남 literally means "an out-of-stock (품절) man (남)," which refers to a man who is already married and, therefore, unavailable for a romantic relationship. 품절녀 literally means "an out-of-stock (품절) woman (녀)," which is slang for a married woman.
핵꿀팁 "very good tip": 핵 means nuclear, 꿀 means honey, and 팁 comes from the English word "tip," which means a piece of advice. Honey is sweet and very good, so 꿀팁 can be translated as a sweet tip or a very good tip. Koreans seem to use 꿀 the same way many Americans use "sweet" to mean very good or extremely good. A nuclear explosion is an extreme event, so 핵 is being used here as an adverb meaning extremely or very. Therefore, 핵꿀팁 can translate as "extremely (핵) good (꿀) tip (팁). On your Facebook page, for example, if you wanted to list in Korean ten great tips for doing something, you could title the list as "핵꿀팁 10개."
When servants and officials would address the royal family during the Joseon Dynasty, they would often address them by attaching the word 마마 (媽媽) to the name of the building on the palace grounds where the different members of the royal family resided. The Chinese character 媽 (마) means mother, so 마마 literally means mother, mother. The Chinese character 殿 (전) means house, building, or palace, and the Chinese character 宮 (궁) also means palace.
The king resided in the "Big (대 大) House or Palace (전 殿)," so he was addressed as "대전마마" (大殿媽媽) by the servants in the palace. The queen apparently resided in a building referred to as 중전 (中殿), which literally means "Middle (中) Palace (전 殿)" or "Medium-sized Palace," so servants addressed her as 중전마마 (中殿媽媽) or 내전마마 (內殿媽媽). 내전 (內殿) literally means "Inner (內) Palace (殿)."
The crown prince, usually the eldest son of a king and queen, apparently lived in a building called the "East (동 東) Palace (궁 宮)," so servants addressed him as 동궁마마 (東宮媽媽) or simply 동마마 (東媽媽) . If the crown prince was married, the building or palace his wife lived in was called 빈궁 (嬪宮, which literally means "Wife's (嬪) Palace (宮)," so servants addressed her as 빈궁마마 (嬪宮媽媽).
Finally, the widowed mother of a king, also called the queen mother, lived in a building called 자전 (慈殿), which literally means "The Love (慈) Palace (殿)," so servants addressed her as either 자전마마 (慈殿媽媽) or 대비마마 (大妃媽媽). The word 대비 (大妃) literally means "the big (大) queen (妃)."
ANSWER: Yes, according to author and former Korean language teacher Mr. Lee Su-yeol (이수열), who has also contributed regularly to Korean newspapers.
I have received pushback from some Koreans and others about an article I posted in 2009 entitled "Do you think 잘 부탁합니다 is silly, too?," so I decided to translate the Korean newspaper article from which I got my information. Actually, it is a similar but different article since the original article I had used has apparently been deleted. This article appeared in the October 10, 2002 edition of the online version of the Korean newspaper 한겨레 and was written by Mr. Lee Su-yeol (이수열), who is an author, regular newspaper contributor, and a former teacher, who taught the Korean language for 47 years to Korean elementary, middle school, and high school students. You can find the article HERE, but I have copied the relevant portion of the article below with my translation. I have also included a Chosun Ilbo (조선일보) Media video report on Mr. Lee, who is now 90 years old:
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잘 부탁합니다is a ridiculous translation of the Japanese expression “よろ(宜)しくねが(願)います,” which the Japanese use to request someone to deal
appropriately with a certain issue.
“よろ(宜)しく” is an adverb meaning appropriately (적당히/적절히). The
underlying intention of this part of the expression is to limit/restrict the
actions of the person receiving the request. It has been translated as “잘,” so when someone says “잘부탁한다,” the speaker ends up ridiculously praising himself
with “I’m good at asking for favors.”
Therefore,
correct it by using “부디잘돌보아주십시오” ("Please take good care of me") or “아무쪼록잘이끌어주십시오” ("As much as you can, please guide me well"). If you
do not do this, then it will sound like a request from a corrupt businessperson seeking unfair advantages from authorities at such places as administrative
offices or the National Assembly, which would be extremely disgusting.
Answer: either the blossom of a Japanese apricot tree or a royal dump
매화 (梅花) literally means "Japanese apricot tree (梅) flower (花)," but, apparently for those who do not know that the Chinese character 花 (화) already means flower, Koreans usually add the pure Korean word for flower (꽃) to it and say 매화꽃 for clarification.
Interestingly, however, during the Joseon Dynasty, the word 매화 was also used in the royal palace to mean poop, apparently because the pure Korean word for poop (똥) was not regal enough.
So, if you feel like you must announce the reason for your going to the bathroom, you could try softening the language by using the royal expression:
매화를 보러 간다.
"I'm going to go see the Japanese apricot blossoms."
Both 감옥 (監獄) and 교도소 (矯導所) can be translated as prison, but 교도소 sounds better and is considered a euphemism for prison and, therefore, would be better translated as correctional institution, which is the English euphemism for prison. The Chinese characters that make up 교도소 (矯導所) literally translate as "correction (矯) and guidance (導) place (所)."
형무소 (刑務所) is a slightly outdated term for prison and literally translates as "punishment (刑) affairs (務) place (所),"which does not sound as pleasant as "correction and guidance place."
So, if you want to sound mean, use 감옥; if you want to sound compassionate, use 교도소.
늙다 is a verb that means grow old, not an adjective that means be old, so you cannot use 사람 늙다 to say, "He is old"; you have to use the past tense form of the verb and say, 사람 늙었다, which literally translates as, "He has grown old." 사람 늙는다 is the present tense form of the verb and translates as, "He is growing old."
젊다, on the other hand, is an adjective that means be young, so since it is an adjective, you write 사람은 젊다, not 사람은 젊었다, to mean, "He is young."
늙은 사람 (past tense verb form): a man who has grown old
An online Google definition of lichen is as follows:
a simple slow-growing plant that typically forms a crust-like, leaf-like, or branching growth on rocks, walls, and trees
The Sino-Korean word for lichen is 지의 (地衣), which literally translates as "land (地) clothes (衣)." It can also be referred to as 지의류 (地衣類), which can be translated as "a kind of lichen."
The Korean name makes sense since, according to Wikipedia, an estimated 6 percent of the earth's land surface is covered with lichen, which grows even in the artic. And I would guess that more than 6 percent of Korea's land surface is dressed in "land clothes."
By the way, the pure Korean word for lichen or moss is 이끼, and the pure Korean word for rock moss is 돌옷, which literally translates as "rock (돌) clothes (옷)."
a silkworm (누에) in the process of metamorphosis to become
a silkmoth (누에나망).
Many Koreans, and some naïve non-Koreans, eat 번데기, which is often collected after
the cocoon (고치) of the silkworm (누에)
is unwound and twisted into thicker silk thread (비단실).
The silk thread is then weaved into silk cloth (비단).
In the 1960s and 70s, Korea's 번데기 came mainly from Korea's big textile mills, but these days most of it is imported from China. I think Koreans started eating 번데기 because they were hungry, but now I think many eat it just to gross out friends and foreigners.
며느리 means "daughter-in-law," and 밑씻개 literally means "a bottom (밑) wipe (씻개)," which these days means toilet paper.
In Korea, there are many old stories about mothers-in-law being cruel to their daughters-in-law, and a mother-in-law forcing a daughter-in-law to wipe her bottom with a thorny plant would be especially cruel, so the name of this plant suggests that it is not a good one to wipe one's bottom with.
Donga's Prime Korean-English Dictionary (1998) defines 파랗다 as both "blue" and "green," and it also defines 푸르다 as both "blue" and "green." These definitions, needless to say, suggest that there is some confusion between the meanings of 파랗다 and 푸르다 among Koreans.
A 2006 article HERE, on Korea's 한겨례 newspaper Web site, says that 파랗다 should be defined as "sky blue," and 푸르다 as "grass green." It also mentions that the green light on Korean traffic lights used to be referred to as "파란 신호등" but is now referred to as "푸른 신호등."
In my Korean-Korean dictionary, the first definition for 오른쪽 (right) is as follows:
동쪽을 향하였을 때, 남쪽에 해당하는 방향
the direction corresponding to south when facing east
The problem with the above definition is that it assumes a person already knows which way is east. If a person does not know right from left, can we really assume he or she would know east from west?
The first definition for 남쪽 (south) in my Korean-Korean dictionary is as follows:
해돋는 쪽을 향하여 오른쪽이 되는 방향
the direction that becomes the right side when facing the direction of the rising sun
The problem with the definition for south is that it assumes a person already knows right from left.
So what is my point? My point is that the people who wrote the definitions seem to have written them for children who cannot read. Children who can read the definitions would most likely already know right from left and north from south and not need such explanations.
내 is the pure Korean word for stream, which is wider than a 시내, the pure Korean word for brook or smallstream. The 시 in 시내 is most likely a reduction of the pure Korean word 실, which means thread, yarn, or string. That would mean 시내 would literally translate as thread-like stream.
The Sino-Korean word for stream or brook is 계천 (溪川), which is a combination of the characters 溪 (계), which means brook (시내), and 川 (천), which means stream (내). In downtown Seoul, for example, there is a stream named Cheonggyecheon (청계천 淸溪川 ), which literally means clear (淸) stream (溪川).
The characters 溪 (계) and 川 (천) are not normally used by themselves but rather as part of other words, such as in the names of streams, or in such words as 개천 (開川), which literally means open (開) stream (川) but generally refers to man-made ditches or open sewers. The pure Korean word for ditch or open sewer is 도랑. Also, a very narrow ditch or stream is called 실개천 (실開川), which literally means thread-like (실) ditch (開川). By the way, notice that 계천 (溪川) and 개천 (開川) sound similar, so just remember that the first one means stream and the second one is more of a ditch.
Finally, 개울 is another pure Korean word that can translate as either brook (시내) or ditch (도랑). You would have to consider the context of the sentence or writing to decide which translation to use. 실개울 means small stream or ditch. Again, 실 is the pure Korean word for thread, yarn, or string.
