매튜의 한국어 연습 블로그

Am I the only one that confuses these two? I shouldn't seeing as how they don't mean the same thing. Take a look:

의미 (意味)
meaning, sense, significance

You may not use 의미 a lot in spoken Korean because there's a natively Korean word that is much more widely used: 뜻. Take a look at 의미's more written nuance:

당신은 내 인생에 정말 큰 의미예요.
You mean a lot to my life.

추석은 우리의 가장 의미있는 명절이다.
Chuseok is our most meaningful holiday

이 단어는 여러 가지 의미로 해석될 수 있다.
This word can be interpreted in many different ways.

인생은 무 의미해.
Life is meaningless.



이유 (理由)
reason, cause, excuse
This word can be both conversational and written:

이유 없이 기분이 나쁜 것 같아.
For no reason I'm in a bad mood.

이렇게 늦게 온 이유가 뭐예요?
What's the reason why you came late?

무슨 이유가 있을 거야.
There must be some reason for it.

만화를 그렇게 좋아하는 이유가 뭐야?
Why do you like anime so much?

그 이유는 설명하기 어려워요.
The reasons are difficult to explain.

An incredibly easy to hear verb ending, this one was hard for me to pick up at first because it sounded so close to the ~찮아 in 괜찮아. So, at first I thought it meant "it's okay" but like most things, I was totally wrong.

~잖아요 is used when the both the speaker and listener are well aware of the topic. As we looked at ~거든 earlier, the speaker informs the listener of the reason that he/she doesn't know. In ~잖아, it's the opposite. Both the speaker and the listener already know the reason or event and this is just to confirm that both already know. I would also like to emphasize that this can be incredibly rude when used improperly. Use 요 when needed and avoid using altogether when speaking to a much higher person. Using this with a slightly socially higher person is okay, just use with care. Also, the examples I'm going to use take a bit of background context to fully understand. Any dialogue assumes the other person is fully aware of the fact.

Examples:

A: 이번주말에 가까운 곳으로 놀러 가는 게 어때요?
This weekend, how does hanging out a place nearby sound?

B: 그것보다는 주말에 집에서 공부하는 게 좋겠어요. 다음 주가 시험이잖아요.
How about studying at home instead? Next week, you know I have a test.


A: 인터넷 쇼핑으로 부츠를 사줄까요?
Can I buy you some boots over the internet?

B: 흠...직접 옷가게에 가서 쇼핑하자. 인터넷으로 사면 품질을 확인할 수 없잖아.
Hmm...Let's buy it directly at the store. If we buy from it off the internet, you know that there's no way to check the quality.


A: 승기 씨, 이 자료를 영어부터 한국어까지로 번역 해주시겠어요? 저 영어 자신 없는데요..
Hey Seungki, could you please translate these documents from English to Korean? I'm not really confident...

B: 무슨 소리야. 민기야, 10년 정도 호주 살았잖아. 영어 잘 하잖아!
What're talking about? Minki, you lived in Australia for 10 years. You know you can speak English well!

The "you know that..." doesn't really fully translate. It's just something that must be understood.

I really Schruted this one at first. Since I hear it from kids a lot (and my wife when she talks in a cute way) I thought it was a way of making the sentence sound cute. Like a built in grammar point for "Andy have a boo-boo tummy".

Instead, it gives the listener a reason for something. If the speaker is saying something that the listener doesn't know the reason behind the action, then this verb ending helps to clarify "this is why". It sounds cute when it's used cutely but it has a genuine meaning outside the baby world. It also is very context heavy so it's hard to give a single, one sentence explanation.

Examples:

A: 왜 전화 안 했어?
B: 어? 전화 했다고?....못 들었거든.
A: 아~ 그랬구나.

A: Why didn't you call?
B: Huh? You called? I didn't hear it...
A: Oh, okay. No biggie.

Careful because the same conversation can sound pretty coarse depending on the intonation.

A: 왜 전화 안 했어?
B: 전화기 소리가 안들렸다고!! 나보고 어떡하라고!!!
A: 뭐? !@$@%$#%$#%

More examples:

A: 왜 성당에서 결혼식을 올렸나요?
B: 신부가 천주교 신자이시거든요.

A: Why did you have the wedding at a cathedral?
B: Because the bride is Catholic (that's why)

A: 매튜형은 왜 지인이와 만날 때마다 다투나요?
B: 둘다 미국 사람이지만 나는 텍사스 출신이고 지인이는 캘리포니아 출신이거든요.

A: Why do you always bicker with Linda?
B: Both of us are Americans but I'm from Texas and she's from California (that's why).

"~거든" can feel friendly at times and cranky at other times. I didn't really leave the best examples but hopefully this will be enough to catch it in real life.

When you guess something and you're really sure about it, you use ~테니까. It conveys a slightly different feeling than 인니까 as they both explain the reason behind something but 테니까 is more like 75-80% sure while 인니까 is closer to 100% sure.

Comparison example:

비가 올테니까 우산을 가지고 가요
Since it's probably going to rain, take an umbrella with you.

비가 온니까 우산을 가져가요
Since it will definitely rain, take an umbrella with you.


Normal examples:

주말에는 명동이 붐빌테니까 다음 주 화요일에 쇼핑 할래요?
Since Myeongdong is probably be crowded on the weekend, do you want to go shopping next Tuesday?

걸어서 가면 시간이 많이 걸릴테니까 지하철을 타고 갈까요?
Since it's probably going to take a long time on foot, should we take the subway?

퇴근하는 대로 우리 외이프가 오면 피곤할 테니까 제가 집에서 저녁 식사를 차릴게요.
Because right after she gets off work my wife will probably be tired, I'll cook dinner home for her.

오늘 추울테니까 두꺼운 옷을 입으세요.
Since it'll likely be cold today, please wear thick clothes.

내일 도울테니까 반바지를 좀 사주세요.
Since tomorrow will probably be hot, can you buy me some shorts?

일본에 한동안 살아서 일본어 수업 들으면 쉬울테니까 걱정하지마요
Since you lived in Japan for a long time, if you take a Japanese class it'll probably be easy so don't worry.

자막이 없는 한국 영화를 보면 어려울테니까 미국 영화 볼래요?
Since watching a Korean movie without subtitles will probably be difficult, do you want to watch an American movie?


On a side note, there's a Kpop song that has this grammar point in the hook (or was it the bridge?) but I can't find it. The song sounded like 다라 from 2NE1 but I don't think it was one of her singles. Anyways, if you know it, leave a comment.
UPDATE: found it. It was 2NE1 not just Dara and it was "In da club". The bridge has the following lyrics:

니가 다짐했던 약속 다 가져가줄래
사소한 습관까지 작은 기억까지
모두 태울테니까
내 안에 살아있는 널 잠재울꺼야
니가 여태알던 내 모습은 이제 없는거야

Stay with me because this one is a bit tricky.

As you know, ~어/아서 is a connection to show order with reason.
"Because A happened, B happens" as in:
늦어서 미안해.
Because I'm late, I'm sorry.

But, so does ~으니까/인니까 show cause and effect order with reason.
"Because A happened, B happened" as in:
어제 피자를 먹었으니까 오늘 냉면을 먹자.
Because yesterday I ate pizza, today let's eat noodles.

So, why not flip them? Why can't I say these:

(x) 늦으니까 미안해.
(x) 어제 피자를 먹어서 오늘 냉면을 먹자.

Here's why. If you're asking for a:
favor or a request (blah blah해 주세요),
an order (blah blah 해라/blah blah으세요)
or a suggestion (blah blah을래?/blah blah을까?)

then you use ~으니까. Examples:

추우니까 따뜻한 옷을 입어봐.
Because it's cold, wear warm clothes.

자기야, 비가 오니까 우산을 가져 가요.
Honey, since it's raining take an umbrella with you.

감기 걸렸으니까 푹 쉬세요.
Since you caught a cold, rest well

몸이 안 좋으니까 일찍 가세요
Since you're not feeling well go (home) early.

여러분 금요일이니까 외식 하자!
Everyone, Since it's Friday, let's go out to eat!

시간이 없으니까 우리 택시 타는게 어때?
Since we're running late, should we take a taxi?

제가 외국인이니까 이해 주십시오.
Since I'm a foreigner, please try to understand me


So when does one use ~어/아서? Most commonly when it's an apology. Also, past tense is never reflected in the first verb. One would never say "늦었어서". Instead, "늦어서".

~어/아서 examples:

너무 늦어서 죄송합니다
(lit) Because I'm too late, I'm terribly sorry.
Sorry I'm so late.

연락을 못 드려서 미안해요
(lit) Because I didn't hear your call, I'm sorry.
Sorry I didn't hear your call

늦게 일어나서 밥을 못 먹었어요.
(lit) Because I lately woke up, I could not eat food.
I didn't eat breakfast because I woke up late.

시간이 없어서 숙제 못 했어요.
(lit) Because time did not exist, I could not do my homework.
Because I didn't have enough time, I didn't do my homework.

작년 여름에 한 반도 운동을 못 해서 살이 쪘어요
(lit) Because last year's summer I couldn't exercise not even once, I gained flesh.
I gained some weight because I didn't work out at all last summer.

So, in review:
when suggesting/requesting/ordering someone to do something, use ~으니까
When simply stating cause and effect or offering an apology, use ~어/아서

Bonus! Here's my teacher's response to my question. Her explanation is awesome and should help those still with questions as well as serve as a review.