When you first started learning Korean, didn’t you ever think, “Wow, there are so many adverbs that mean ‘very’ in this language”? I certainly felt that way. Since Korean is a heavily verb-oriented language, it’s natural to have many adverbs. Today, we’re going to talk about “very” in Korean.
- 와, 이거 되게 맛있다! (Wow, this is very delicious!)
The word 되게 comes from the adjective 되다, which means “to be thick.” It was formed by combining the verb stem 되- with the adverb-forming ending -게.
Even the 된 in 된장 shares this same root. By the way, 장 refers to any kind of sauce or seasoning used to flavor food. So, if we were to translate 되게 literally based on its origin, it carries the nuance of “densely” or “intensively.”
- 오늘 엄청 힘들었어! (Today was extremely exhausting!)
In the word 엄청, the syllable 엄 is an old native Korean word that means “big.” (I’m actually not sure where the 청 came from!)
You can find this same 엄 in 엄마 (mother) and 엄지 (thumb). Interestingly, the 지 in 엄지 is a Sino-Korean word for “finger,” so 엄지 is actually a mix of two different linguistic roots. You can also find traces of this root in the word 어금니 (molar).
- 이번 여행 너무 좋았어요! (This trip was so great!)
너무 is a very old native Korean word. It evolved from the verb stem 넘- of the verb 넘다, which means “to exceed” or “to go beyond.” So when you say 너무, you are literally saying something has gone beyond the limit.
- 제게 베풀어 주신 친절에 매우 감사드립니다. (Thank you very much for the kindness you have shown me.)
The word 매우 actually developed from the adjective 맵다 (to be spicy). Regardless of its origin, we rarely use 매우 in casual daily life anymore. It sounds a bit old-fashioned and is mostly used in formal speech or writing. That being said, it sounds beautiful and polite when you hear it.
Finally, we have 아주. This one also has such a long history that it’s hard to trace exactly when it was created. It shares the same meaning of “very,” but it feels a bit more formal.
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