How to make exclamatory expressions in Korean
여러분 안녕하세요! SLS에서 한국어를 가르치고 있는 Ashley선생님 입니다!
Oops! , Oh my God!, Auch! , Help! , Fire!…….
Sometimes you encounter the situations that you feel frightened, happy and surprise. Do you know how to speak those exclamatory expressions in Korean? Let’s learn some key sentences by situations.
Situation A: You were swimming at Haeudae Beach (Busan) with friends. Suddenly you went too far due to the unexpected current and big waves. You can’t find any friends around you. You need to ask for Surf Lifesaver’s help. What do you need to say? Answer: 살려주세요 (Sal lyeo Ju se yo!)!/ 사람 살려 (saram sal lyo!)!
Situation B: You were invited to your friend’s 21st birthday party. Actually you are not very close to this person so you still need to make comments politely. What would you like to say? Answer: 생일 축하해요: Happy birthday! (saengil chukka haeyo)! / 초대해 줘서 고마워요: Thanks for inviting me to the party! (chodae hae jua seo go ma wo yo).
Situation C: You have fallen down on George street. What do you say ‘oops’ in Korean? Answer: 아이구 (aigoo) / 어머 (eo meo).
Situation D: You accidently touched a very hot oven. What do you say? Answer: 앗 (at)! 뜨거워 (ddeu geo wo)! : Auch, hot!
Situation E: Fire! What do you need to say? Answer: 불이야 (buriya)!: Fire!
These expressions are very useful when you have some emergency and when you are not sure how to act/say properly to make sure you are being polite in some situations. Try to use it properly and become a native-life Korean speaker!

Ashley Jang (Korean Teacher)