When literal translation doesn’t work

There are occasions where literal translation doesn't work even when the sentence is very short and easy. In this video lesson, learn some of the examples with Hyunwoo!
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[@ianpolitano07]

Agreeeeeeeed! I think I've mentioned this before, but the words 과일 and 채소 were definitely like that for me. 과일 just gets translated as fruit, and 채소 as vegetables. But the actual meaning in Korean is 과일 is something that grows from a tree and 채소 something that grows from the ground. This came about when my student once argued that watermelon was a vegetable, so is tomato, and pumpkin, and cucumber. Then I laid the rules that we impose scientifically that fruits have seeds and usually form from the flowers, while vegetables are leaves, stems, and roots. This was because we were talking about 2 different words that in the dictionary translated into one another but actually didn't carry the same meaning. That's why learning about the various words from a Korean context is important and not from just translating.

[@palmtree1958]

Thank you for this!! That's so interesting and I had no idea!

[@noutsakh.2135]

This is interesting! Thank you!

[@divinepride2264]

That's not correct. watermelon is fruit in Korean. Just that student knew wrong thing. 과일 is not something that grows from a tree.

[@busrasuheyla]

Scientificly all vegetables are fruits though. Its just diffrent forms of fruits. ^^

[@dave4148]

Büsra Halime Süheyla no... spinach is definitely not a fruit

[@bighominid]

I remember the first time a front-desk clerk asked me, "어떻게 오셨어요?" and, after a confused pause, I answered, "어... 택시로 왔어요."

[@user-bx2dz7nv3t]

ㅎㅎ 재미난 에피소드네요.

[@BtsArmy-ns2qe]

I know exactly what u two r talking bout...haha....yeah....definitely....😅

[@kimiyvs]

How was the first sentence meant to be translated? Would've probably answered the same lol

[@bighominid]

@@kimiyvs Kimi: 어떻게 오셨어요? actually is a polite way to ask, "Why did you come?" I mentally translated it literally as "How did you come here?", so when the lady asked for the reason for my visit, I replied that I had come by taxi. D'oh!

[@kimiyvs]

Ahh, I get it,, oh well thanks!

[@jupamoers]

I never heard anyone respond with "why?" when being called xD it's always "what?"

[@koo-core7274]

Eh, maybe they meant something like “why are you calling me?” Or something similar. Or when your parent says “hey, come here!” Sometimes i used to ask my parents why and what depending on what they needed, but I realized that it sounds disrespectful in English, so i made the habit of answering “yes?” Or just going to my parent because they typically can’t hear me lol.

[@sannytizer3586]

In our country we usually respond with "bakit?" which means "why?" or "Why are you calling me?" It may sound disrespectful in english but here, it depends on your tone or how you say it. If we say "Ano?" or "What?", it sounds disrespectful.

[@xoalisha4244]

Na but if ur mum says sumth like come down stairs ur usually gunna say why

[@vanessavargas8182]

I’m Hispanic and it’s considered rude in our culture to answer to an adult with ‘what’ (que). In Mexico we answer with ‘mande’ or ‘Mande usted’ which roughly translates to ‘tell me what to do’ or ‘what do you want me to do’ which is considered polite. But very interesting the different cultures.

[@tw6704]

If i respond "what" or "huh" to my mom she would get mad. I have to say "yes?" Instead lol

[@Panda2003]

This video basically shows Why Google translate or any translator software absolutely fails.

[@ekoi1995]

they should translate phrases and sentences and treat it as a whole word and the translation should also have an output of phrases or sentences that is nearly accurate in meaning. yeah they should develop a grammar algorithm in there

[@JasminAlvarez1]

For sure!

[@reinebautistamercado4286]

A good topic would be the Korean colloquial sentence endings. Learners always think that using -요 would be enough but then native speakers rarely use it. Instead one hears the following endings more: -ㄴ/는데요 -ㄴ/는가요 -나요 -지요 -니 And the explanation of their usage in grammar lessons seems to not match their colloquial usage.

[@zipadee.day.]

Agreed. Would love a lesson on this.

[@juls8242]

Exactly! I realized that a while ago and always try to catch the actual colloquial used meaning... A video on that topic would definitely be very useful, 현우선생님!

[@Ven_de_Thiel]

I'd love that too, it's true they're used a lot. Nowadays -nu too

[@RR-nx2ri]

+1

[@razzledazzle2789]

Yes!

[@ProduCiera]

I got so genuinely excited when he said "this is along the lines of oh languages are so interesting" cuz YES they are!!!! Ok,lemme actually learn something lol

[@schuuichiminamino]

This happens all the time between Portuguese x English. In English you say "I am 15 years old". In Portuguese "I have 15 years" (be x have) In English you ask "What's this in English?".In Portuguese more naturally "How do you say this in English?". (what x how)

[@isobel7945]

schuuichiminamino How do you say this in English? (alternative way)

[@asmaabdelkader2574]

My boyfriend and I fight a lot because of this. He's Korean I speak Arabic (for reference Arabic and English are pretty similar in expression and logic) so I would be like say something very important or that I am really upset about something and he would reply with "so what?" which would make me super angry. Later on I realized that they say "그래서?" as in "okay so what can we do now?".. and so many other similar situations.

[@LoveYoutube12418]

Wow

[@birbiri4255]

Oh, that’s why bts sings “how you think about that?” In the song Mic Drop korean version🥺so cute♥️

[@noahmyg]

Omg I always wondered why they changed it from how to what

[@najmomohamed8768]

Me tooo, hahaaa

[@cyanariesdw04]

That's literally what I was thinking when he said "what do you think..." was said like "how do you think..." in Korean, makes so much more sense now, especially since for the Remix in English, they changed it to what

[@razzledazzle2789]

That's so cuuuute

[@rapperjungkook4639]

Omg same exact thoughts! Great minds think alike 😂

[@sitin5667]

Translation is always like that. Sometimes it’s so puzzling and interesting in such a way that makes me keeps on learning. Thanks for the video ❤️

[@MorseCodeStutters]

I noticed this already but good to have the explanations to why really drives it home for me.

[@ofsanchongbangofsanchongba4494]

wow very beautifull i like it

[@peytonsharp6159]

hiii Orbit!💫

[@GR4V3SC4L3]

chuu stans rise

[@JJPKnits]

I wonder if when answering a (parent's) call in Korean would be better translated as a shortened version of, "Why did you call me?" That was how my parents explained their answer when I asked why they answered with, "왜?"

[@marialuisaachille9608]

...and this is just as true for the English equivalent answer "what?" which is short for "what is it?", that in turns is an other way to say: "why did you call me?" =)

[@btsausus2820]

I love the fact that HyunWoo and the TTMIK team understands how we think and the nuances of the challenges we have, with accurate and specific examples

[@RoxasLov3r4Ev3r]

Your videos are the most helpful thing on the Internet 😭😭😭😭 You guys cover so many extensive topics that wouldn't be taught otherwise, it's so useful if you can't surround yourself with native speakers!!

[@1anna1]

I guess this situation is also an example for this: I was watching BTS RUN (😛) and the guys were in a shop and started giggling and laughing and saying things like "wow haha how amazing" etc. Then Hobi turned around and asked multiple times "왜? 왜? 왜?" I can't remember what the subtitles says but i believe it also said "why" which didn't makes sense to me, because usually someone would reacted with a what-related question like "what's going on there?" but now hearing this explanation i believe 왜 doesn't mean "why" here but rather "what" in the sense of "what are you laughing about" ? Am i somewhat right ? 🤓

[@ProduCiera]

I love! I always enjoy the lessons that kinda compare Korean and English! Especially because I do it a lot whether I'm studying or just going over stuff in my head. This was very informative! Great job!!

[@CSS916]

You always answer the questions I've been thinking about. Thanks Hyunwoo!

[@marialuisaachille9608]

선현우 선생님 안녕하세요! 또 다른 재미있는 레슨을 가르쳐 주셔서 감사합니다.^^ .....interestingly in Italian we can ask the " how/what" question in both ways: we can say "cosa ne pensi di...." = " what do you think of/about...." or we can also say " come ti sembra....." = "....어떤 것 같아요?" ( "cosa"= 뭐 and "come"= 어떻게 ) 😊..구리고 칠문이 있어요. The phrase "뭘 그렇게 놀라요?" could be also translated as "what is surprising (you) like that?" too?

[@jeff__w]

This was a great video! There seems to be a preference in English for thinking in noun forms (things) so we say "What are you thinking?" or "What?" for "What are you calling me about?" whereas in Korean there's a tendency for thinking in terms of adverbs-maybe because the verb is the most important part of the sentence-so we ask 어떻게 생각해요? In English we'll say "Why are you always late?" but in Korean we'll say 왜 이렇게 항상 늦으세요? (lit. "Why are you always late in this way?)-the addition of 이렇게 makes the sentence feel, to me, more" adverbial"-you're not just late, you're late "like this." Or, in English in a restaurant, we might ask to "make it [the food] less spicy" but in Korean we say "덜 맵게 해주세요," so, again, literally, the focus is not on the food but the _way_ it's made (lit. "less spicily"). I'm not sure if that's a real linguistic distinction-it just feels that way too me as a native speaker of English.

[@blackheart66v73]

Actually that is helpful now i can think in a different way, because im trying to make the noun the attention instead of the verb...omg now i really gotta think backwards even more😖 어떻게 한국어가 더 어려워졌어요 ....미안해, 한국어 잘 못해요, 내가 배우고 있어요.

[@itskkajijikook6560]

Omg this is all i wanted~ ❤❤❤ were glad you are here~

[@b.j.andtheaffordables4979]

Very helpful! Thank you

[@cheryldailey5310]

Korean is so interesting. I learn something new every day. Thank you!

[@learnkoreanwithmejinnyday1316]

Awesome! He explained it clearly Thank you so much!💜

[@mariat3277]

This is really helpful! Thanks for posting. That’s why sometimes the translation apps can cause confusion.

[@doketong5161]

I'm a korean but why I'm watching this..😂

[@JeonJungkook-lf4jm]

Molla XD

[@eshikaessain8731]

난 몰라 I'm not korean looool

[@Gyu_and_Agata]

Thank you Hyunwoo! It is super helpful indeed!

[@ninidagul805]

Love this! I also get to learn about the cultural/ tranlating nuances that other sources can't explain.

[@kayeflorita6422]

I love your videos and your website .. ❤❤ I hope there is a lesson for topik exam. Like exam instructions or more. Im about to take an exam maybe next year to work in Korea.

[@mayvlogsofficial]

This is sooo helpful and informative!!! Thanks for the quality content. 🌸🌸👍keep up the good work

[@KoreanDramaLuvHer]

Very good video as always. Extremely informative.

[@HeyItsNicky]

Really helpful as always, thank you!

[@robertazelari2876]

Thank you! Very useful. By the way the pink background is awesome and the overall image quality of the video is really good. Kudos!

[@recyclersrealm2alaska926]

Thank You!

[@njuvanrui2951]

Yes? = Why ( did you have me called )? What do you think? = How do you think about ( it / what you are thinking )? Why are you so surprised? = By what are you so surprised? ...... It seems to me having nothing to do with language spoken respectively by English and Korean nation's being so different, but, rather, the Internet...Without internet having connected all the English speakers of different dialects densely together, thus having all dialectal differences analogized into one more-or-less standard form, some regional variations of English would eventually develop that latter way of 'Koreanish' speaking sooner or later...

[@vicki36]

This is so helpful👍

[@noutsakh.2135]

It was very insightful! Thank you for the video! ^^

[@christinalee3047]

Thank you for the video it's really helpful on how I make a short conversation in Korean and I noticed I've been using 뭐 a lot not knowing in certain circumstances it's 어떻게 or 왜요 and when I can actually use them. 감사합니다.

[@nasynoor4105]

بحبكن❤️❤️ Your videos are the most helpful on the web ❤️❤️ thank u for making it free for us to use ❤️❤️

[@Sharpgeared]

Super helpful. I always wondered about times when 뭐 gets translated as why.

[@JustLuke69]

This is the channel I have been searching for

[@rajeshwaridubey1250]

Hyunwoo you are awesome explainer, 😄you explain things very clearly 👍specially the pronunciation and sounds of the words , love you man😚❤😊

[@MichelleP]

감사합니다 😊

[@Abby-pe2dc]

Ahh thankss this was helpful

[@aprilrojo8106]

Thank you.

[@metricrl_]

really helpful!!

[@invincibleenglish]

Great to know about “how you think about”.....Great way to correct my ESL learners.

[@nadiasaby2541]

oh my god thank you so much for making this video! I always got so confused when "왜" was subbed as "what" in k-dramas 😂 thanks a lot for all your hard work ❤️️

[@eucelgarcia1162]

Wow....I'm really enjoying and I got educated...I learn a lot....

[@Saadet-jp6lr]

감사합니다 👌

[@emilyvbr1878]

Thank you

[@morganeobregon2637]

감사합니다

[@abbie9879]

So interesting!

[@faultycommodity]

Very interesting! Thanks for this :-)

[@user-kw5lm9ix1u]

So helpful

[@pulleyd5196]

I so appreciate you

[@teacherkimskoreanclass]

선현우 선생님. 한국어 책에서 다루어주지 못하는 부분을 시원하게 긁어주시는 선생님의 통찰력 있는 강의에 감사드립니다. 많이 배우겠습니다. This lesson is awesome. I have never seen like this explanation before. That is because it is not from the book but your own insight. We are blessed to have such a wonderful teacher like you. Thank you.

[@razzledazzle2789]

Thank you so much for pointing this out! YOU ARE MY SAVIOUR

[@sz4930]

So funny that you mention 어떻게 생각해요 cause I was just listening to Suga's 어떻게 생각해 right before I watched this... Now I'm going to remember this for sure

[@Verbalaesthet]

Yeah, Im sure no-one ever says "why" in English after getting called. In German you dont say "What is that called" but you would say "How is that called".

[@JeonJungkook-lf4jm]

Noch ein deutsches Kartöffelchen hier😊

[@emma2.067]

That’s a great explanation. Maybe the closest parallel in English would be “How do you find this?” To 어떻게 ☺️

[@nanda1163]

안녕하세요 my favorite teacher 🖐 You're video is always clear for all. 거맙습니다 난다

[@cserannie80]

It’s like 친구. Every one says it means friend but it only means that you have the same age with him/her so you are using 반말. Never heard older says it to a younger one although of course they can be friends. I don’t think there is a proper word for it maybe 좋아하는 사람

[@juls8242]

Indeed! This and when 현/오빠 is translated as « bro » in English.. when it doesn’t carry the same connotation!

[@AKADriver]

I think 동무 used to be more of an age-neutral version of "friend" but it became associated with communism (like "comrade") and fell out of use in South Korea.

[@daitona]

Great video. I picked up on this last year. Now I know why. 😂

[@eyzamiz6157]

Perfect lesson for me today! Well, we cannot just direct translate each word. ㅋㅋ 감사합니다 쌤 ^^

[@eyzamiz6157]

That's why when i dont know certain words i dont use translator instead i will ask my friends to help /correct my Korean ^^

[@dmark1922]

Question words are tricky in Korean; nothing is at it appears! One of the first phone calls I made in Korean, I was asked 어디세요? "where" instead of "who". But I find that most east Asian languages, not just Korean, present problems to Eurolinguists in the use of question words, if you think too literally that is.

[@stina263]

Yes I’ve always wondered why in dramas the person says “뭐” but the translation says why. Lol now I understand thank you!!

[@peunn3407]

I can already tell this is going to be extremely helpful. I’m less then 4 minutes in, yet I have already begun to better understand korean😕

[@Iamavale]

왜 is such a normal response when someone calls me now.

[@renitar]

when you explained they ask "how do you think about this?" it's not different than asking in english, "how do you feel about this?" It's another way to ask "what do you think" or "what are your thoughts on this"... so it's not really a foreign concept imo :) this is a good video.

[@1shot2soju]

This lesson is dope 우리한테 가르쳐줘서 감사합니다

[@asmaabdelkader2574]

They would also think the word "jealous" can only mean jealous of and not jealous for. Like if you tell a korean guy "Are you jealous?" they would scream "no of course not why would I be jealous lol" because they think jealousy only means wanting to be like someone. So in their minds of course they don't wanna be like that guy I'm talking about, but in my mind I mean "are you jealous for me?" which makes me feel bad when he says he is not jealous. Cuz in Arabic jealousy is sometimes a pretty thing. Means "I love you and I am jealous for your love"

[@ann.a3415]

Soo interesting I’ve kinda realised this before but didn’t think too much of it, even when some of my korean mates say ‘how’ instead of ‘what’ but then again I didn’t think too much of it 😅

[@user-dz1ny9sz1z]

that's why it's really important to familiarize yourself with the locals in learning a foreign language. literal translation doesn't always work.

[@kelvinbonglee8400]

The first one is "why" but i think koreans would say "네 엄마?" more often. Since Americans say "what do you think?" more often, people translate it to that when "어떻게 생각해요"'s literal translation is "how do you think about this?". You can translate "뭘 놀래?" to "what are you suprised about?" instead of "why are you suprised?" which is what Americans are used to saying. I personally think there are words that are untranslateable but these words are replaced with other words.

[@nesmahamdy1829]

God I love those people so much!

[@shrutishetty2309]

Hi #TTMIK, your videos are very informative. Could you please help me with the usage of 이에요/ 입니다 /이십니다 / 있어요 / 있습니다 / 겨ㅣ십니다 (gyeshimnida) I find it confusing, can this be used interchangeably or every word is different suffix?

[@MrJason300]

감사합니다 선생님 선현우

[@vanessaloyola8454]

When i started to learn korean and there are words that I can't pronounce in English like literally when i pronounce literally i sound like korean

[@bolu5781]

This was really helpful, Thank you so much 👌🏻 Also if anyone would like to study together I think that would be fun. Sometimes I don’t have any motivation studying alone

[@ananat8093]

It is very lonely studying a language in complete isolation. What TTMIK level would you say you are on?

[@bolu5781]

Ananat I agree 😞 I’m on level four at the moment, what about you ?

[@ananat8093]

@@bolu5781 I'm about to start level 5. I just got my books :)

[@0lunoire1]

About 왜, the funny thing is that in France (my country :) ), it is also very common when someone close calls your name to answer with "ouais?". Basically, it means "yeah" and is pronounced exactly like 왜. Talk about a happy coincidence ^^

[@someonewithgummysmile7768]

Wow same like bahasa, we use why than what to respond, or how do you think than what do you think

[@boeuffromagelover4930]

Hello, I’m learning korean with your very usefull grammar lesson (so first, thank you for that) and, in the 3rd dialogue in the 21st lesson, there is 맹워요 which surely means « be spicy » in the present tense but I can’t find on the web what is the infinitiv form of this verb. Thanks in advance for your answer and Have a good day :)

[@user-np5lu7pp1y]

맵다 (dictionary form) 활용형은 '매워요' 입니다.

[@lindsaynicole4812]

This makes so much more sense to me! BTS changed their lyrics in Mic Drop from "how you think bout that?" In the Korean version to "What you think bout that?" In the English remix. That's so cute!!! I totally understand why now!

[@akaNaz1]

Gold

[@afsanafunbox9500]

Your so nice I love you so much

[@chickpeapeace]

뭘 그렇게 놀라요? makes sense to me in english because we would also say "what are you surprised for?" or (more formally) "for what are you surprised?" (but most ppl dont talk like that lol). why basically means for what/what for anyway

[@helgaseele6203]

Could somebody give a a link to the drama mentioned in this video? Please~

[@suryakanthi1428]

한 우 씨 , 감사합니다 Your shirt suits you well. Ofcourse you are awesome in teaching. I am 46 so I think I can call you 한우 야 as Unni . I am sorry if I am out of line. I am just learning. 😊

[@katieewatkinss2]

What's the drama called? And is it on Netflix?

[@haylz27]

Does TTMIK have any videos about lip, tongue, mouth placement etc when saying vowels and consonants? My Korean understanding is good but when I actually try to talk and mimic speakers then it's just....

[@audreywoods7316]

Like “that is what we see” or “that is what we think” or “that is what I think.”

[@ayutonk2127]

In indonesian we also often say "gimana menurutmu?". Gimana = how (in english it means "what do you think?")

[@fluffysugakookies9580]

2:14 let's not pretend hyunwoo didn't just spit barsss!!!

[@moroccanexolinkorea8451]

Teacher I love you

[@RoxasLov3r4Ev3r]

😊😊💗💖💗💗💖

[@moroccanexolinkorea8451]

@@RoxasLov3r4Ev3r ❣️❣️❣️😍 I can see my bias over here haha

[@RoxasLov3r4Ev3r]

@@moroccanexolinkorea8451 OMG, YOUR BIAS IS LUHAN TOO?!?! 😆😆😆🥰🥰🥰

[@moroccanexolinkorea8451]

@@RoxasLov3r4Ev3r haha actually it's Chogiwa park Chanyeol 😂😍😍

[@RoxasLov3r4Ev3r]

@@moroccanexolinkorea8451 😂😂😂😂 My first bias!!! 💕💕💕

[@najmomohamed8768]

감사합니다 선생님 이거 나 도와주는 많이.

[@ekoi1995]

In Filipino, we also use 'why? (bakit?)' to respond when a person calls us. :'D Quite shocking for English speakers and might perceive it as. "Why are you calling me?"

[@Mikalino13]

In the drama example it sounds like she's being a bit sassy or teasing with the question. If that's the case a closer English translation that does use 'what' could be: "What? You're surprised?" It has a pretty natural sarcastic tone in English if that is the feeling you're going for ^^

[@DinosourousRexx]

Yes! Or maybe, “what are you surprised for?” There’s so many ways to translate things 😊

[@phammond2392]

Hyunwoo, how many languages do you know? Just curious.

[@unibefsi5559]

왜요~~~ with CHEN'S voice

[@willymh4986]

This thing was always hard for me to learn from english. As a native spanish speaker, there are a lot of words like this that have different meaning but are used in the same situation.