What is your favorite color and clothing item? Talk with your classmates about your clothes shopping experiences. What seems to be happening in the following dialogue?

In this lesson, you will learn how to ask and answer questions and share opinions about clothes and colors while shopping.

-(으)ㄴ데/는데

The -(으)ㄴ데/는데 ending is very useful in Korean. It is used as a sentence connector indicating the background for the second clause. It translates to something like and, so, but, ellipses (…), or semicolon (;).

신발이 마음에 드는데 사이즈가 없어요.       I like the shoes, but they don’t have my size.

배 고픈데 뭐 먹자.                                         I’m hungry; let’s eat something.

지금 시간 없는데 내일 만나요.                      I don’t have time now, so/but let’s meet tomorrow.

-(으)ㄴ데/는데 Conjugation

So far, you have seen that verbs and adjectives act almost the same. There are some differences, however. There is an important difference when you use the -(으)ㄴ데/는데background ending:

With verbs, add –는데 regardless of the last sound in the stem:

가: 뭐 찾으세요?                                            May I help you (What are you looking for)?

나: 하얀색 운동화 찾는데 어디 있을까요?     I’m looking for a pair of white sneakers. Where can I find them?

With adjectives add –은데 to consonant-ending stems, and –ㄴ데 to vowel-ending stems. Here are some examples:

가: 이 온라인 쇼핑몰 어때요?                      How about this online shopping mall?

나: 옷 값은 싼데, 서비스가 안 좋아요!        Clothes are cheap, but the service is bad!

나: 옷 값은 좋은데, 서비스가 안 좋아요!     Clothes are good, but the service is bad!

Since 있다and 없다are verbs, “adjectives” that use them take the -는데ending like verbs:

모자가 멋있는데 너무 커요.             That hat is cool, but it’s too big.

Also remember that there are 하다 verbs as well as 하다 adjectives

– they will conjugate differently for this ending

(-는데 for verbs and –(으)ㄴ데 for adjectives):

구두가 한 켤레⁴ 필요한데 어디에서 사지요? I need a pair of dress shoes; where should I buy them>

Korean has multiple ‘wear’ and ‘take off’ verbs that go with different clothing items. Let’s take a look at the examples below.

Clothing items		Put on, Wear	Take off
티셔츠		입다 to wear clothes	벗다 to take off
(청)바지
치마
양말		신다 to wear shoes or socks
신발
운동화
모자		쓰다 to put on a hat or glasses or open an umbrella.
우산
안경/선글라스
안경/선글라스		끼다 to put on a ring or glasses (when the action is difficult to do)	빼다 to take off (or out)
반지

까만색 드레스를 입고 파티에 갔어요.              I wore a black dress (and went) to the party.

흰색 운동화를 신고 있어요.                               She is wearing white sneakers.

비가 오네요! 우산 쓰세요.                                  It’s raining! Please put up/use an umbrella.

안에서는 신발을 벗으세요.                                Please take off your shoes inside.

 

Typically, clothing verbs are used in the past tense because the “past tense” ㅆ어요 in Korean expresses the completion of an event more so than an activity that took place in the past. Another way to think of it is that the “wearing” verbs actually mean “to put on,” and so to “be wearing” you have to “have put something on.” You may also use -고 있다 to describe what people are wearing.

오늘은 날씨가 더워서 반바지를 입었어요.               I am wearing/put on shorts because it is hot today.

내 동생은 오늘 코트를 입고 운동화를 신고 있어요. My younger sibling is wearing a coat and sneakers today.

The sentence ending -(으)ㄹ게요 corresponds to the English “I will VERB,” but has a strong promissory sense to it along with the indication of a future action. For example, 할게요 I’ll do it indicates a promise or an offer or seeks the listener’s approval in some way. Therefore, it cannot be used to talk about someone else’s actions (you can’t promise for them) or about inanimate subjects such as the weather or falling objects!

Here are some examples:

엄마: 얘, 빨리 방 청소해!                               Hey you, hurry and clean your room!

아이: 조금 이따 할게요.                                  I’ll do it in a bit.

점원: 뭐 찾으세요?                                         What are you looking for?

세영: 그냥 구경 좀 할게요.                             I will just take a look around.

You can also use -(으)ㄹ게 when you are seeking agreement on your plan.

동생:    언니, 이 치마 좀 입을게 .                   Sis, I’m going to wear this skirt today, O.K.?

언니:    응, 그래.                                                Okay.

은비:    엄마, 저 친구 집에 갈게요.                Mom, I’m going to my friend’s house, O.K.?

엄마:    그래?  너무 늦게 오지 마!                   Oh, are you?  Don’t come back too late!

One mnemonic for this ending is to think of it as “I’ll (do it), okay” for -(으)ㄹ게.

-(으)ㄹ게요 Conjugation

Verbs before the ending -(으)ㄹ게요conjugate like they normally would before other -(으) endings:

-(으)ㄹ게(요) vs. -(으)ㄹ래(요)

연습 1. 질문에 답하세요.

Listen to the conversation and answer the following questions in Korean.

1) Where is this conversation most likely taking place?

2) Write a summary of this conversation in complete sentences.

1) __________________________________________________

2) __________________________________________________

3) __________________________________________________

Helpful Vocabulary

Read the following poster and answer the questions in English. You may use a dictionary.

Your friend needs a suit for a job interview. Write an email message to share the information you just found on the poster.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Helpful Vocabulary

동아리 바자회

Your Korean club is hosting a charity event—a tag sale. Donate your items and add price tags on them. Then, sell and buy items using shopping-related expressions and vocabulary you have learned in this lesson.

For example, asking for price; bargaining; complimentary phrases (looks good on you); asking and answering about the item; just looking around; paying, etc.

Complete the inventory for your club and list your purchased items as well.

Once the event is done, describe each item you sold/bought to the class. (e.g., how much is it/why you bought the item, etc.)

Shopping and Fashion

Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dongdaemun_Design_Plaza_at_night,_Seoul,_Korea.jpg

Fashion is an important subject in Korean culture and Korean people’s lives, especially because Seoul is such a big and modern metropolis. There are numerous places to shop, including 백화점 (department stores), 고속터미널 (a.k.a. 고터, express bus terminals), 지하상가 (subway/underground malls), and the famous 동대문 시장 (East Gate market). You can find everything in these places: shoes, bags, scarves, cosmetics, “fast fashion” and famous international clothing brands. Like anywhere, some Koreans are keen on specific name brands and some just go for looks they like; some like activewear looks, some like haute couture, and some mix and match! There are also social group trends, of course, but perhaps fewer choose a “rebel” or “outlaw” look than in other countries.

Nowadays, more and more Korean people buy clothes online due to the convenience. Search 온라인 쇼핑몰 on the internet and find some stores that you like!