Have you ever learned the suffix ‘-짜리’? Don’t think of it as too difficult. It’s actually way easier than you think! If you look up ‘-짜리’ in a dictionary, it says something like: “something of such a number, amount, or value.” That sounds so complicated, right?
But simply put, we use ‘-짜리’ to refer to a specific item that is characterized by a certain number, amount, or value. To make it even simpler, think of it as the English hyphenated modifier, like ‘a one-dollar…’ or ‘a ten-year-old…’
Let me show you how easy it is with some real-life examples:
- 달러스토어에서 진짜 1달러짜리 물건만 팔아요? (Do they really only sell one-dollar items at the dollar store?)
Here, ‘1달러짜리 물건’ is a “one-dollar item.”
- 집에 열 살짜리 고양이가 있어요. (I have a ten-year-old cat at home.)
‘열 살짜리 고양이’ is a “ten-year-old cat.”
- 500cc짜리 맥주 두 잔 주세요. (Two 500cc beers, please.)
‘500cc짜리 맥주’ means “a beer that is 500cc.”
- 요즘 천원짜리로 아무 것도 못 사요. (You can’t buy anything with a 1,000-won bill these days.)
Here, ‘천원짜리’ just means “a 1,000-won bill” or “a 1,000-won item.”
You might have already known this, or maybe not, but I felt like I had to share this with you at least once!