TTMIK nível 6 lição 18 (Brasil)
Welcome back to another TalkToMeInKorean lesson. Sometimes very simple words in English can become something more complicated in Korean and vice versa. Today’s key expression is an example of that. In this lesson, let us learn how to say “or” in Korean. The word “or” can be used to link nouns, adverbs, adjectives, verbs, or even sentences. You don’t need to use a different expression for all of these different usages in English, but in Korean, depending on what kind of word you are linking, the translations for “or” can be different. Noun + OR + noun In order to link two nouns, you need to use -(이)나. Ex) 공원이나 영화관 = a park or a movie theater 학생이나 선생님 = a student or a teacher 여기나 저기 = here or there You can also use the word 아니면, which originally literally means “if not”. Ex) - 공원 아니면 영화관 - 학생 아니면 선생님 - 여기 아니면 저기 Verb + OR + verb Since adjectives are essentially “descriptive verbs” in Korean, adjectives and verbs are linked in the same manner. After verb stems, you need to use -거나. Ex) 먹거나 = eat or ... 전화하거나 = make a phone call or ... 집에 가거나 = go home or ... The tense (present, past or future) is expressed through the last verb, so the last verb has to be conjugated accordingly to show the tense of the entire sentence. Ex) 집에 가거나 친구를 만날 거예요. = I will (either) go home or meet a friend. Sometimes people add -거나 to all of the sentences (Ex: 집에 가거나, 친구를 만나거나) and in that case, they use the verb 하다 (= to do) to finish the sentence. Ex) 집에 가거나 친구를 만나거나 할 거예요. In addition to using -거나 at the end of the sentence, you can add 아니면 as well between the two actions. Ex) 집에 가거나 아니면 친구를 만날 거예요.
- There are other ways of saying “or” with verbs, such as “-든지” and “-든가” but more on those in future lessons!
Sentence + OR + Sentence In the previous usages, we’ve seen that -(이)나 is used with nouns and -거나 is used with verbs. When you want to say “or” between two sentences, you simply use 아니면. 아니면 is broken down to “아니다 (= to be not) + -(으)면 (= if)”. 아니면 literally means “if not” or “if that’s not the case”. Ex) 집에 갈 거예요? 아니면 친구를 만날 거예요? = Are you going to go home? Or are you going to meet a friend? 이거 살 거예요? 아니면 다른 거 살 거예요? = Are you going to buy this? Or are you gong to buy something else?
