"누가 못생겼어요?"

Translation: Who is ugly?

[LiKenun]

Look deeper into the meaning of 생기다: to be formed, to appear, to happen.

The ugliness is a trait that emerged/happened in the past. Consider the expression: her face is disfigured. Disfigured is in the past tense. Although the trait of the disfigurement is ongoing, the statement is about a past event that caused it.

The Anglophone mentality is that the person is “uglying” (present continuous). The Korean mentality is that the person became ugly at a past point in time and that ugliness carries into the present where a person making an observation will simply say “hey that person became ugly at some point in the past!”

I wrote more here: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/24492618

[Ash-Fred]

I would also like to add that "못생기다" is a defective verb. It is never used in the present tense.

[tacosfever2000]

This is so helpful, thank you for this ! :')

[FirdausJuzup]

Thank you so much. It make sense now

[Skeleton_Bandito]

"No one is born ugly, we just live in a judgemental society" - Kim Namjoon

[FirdausJuzup]

Good looking people would never have said that

[FeygeleYefa]

Why is this translated as is ugly and not was ugly?

[LadyEmelyn]

It's in past tense. The sentence is asking who is ugly, but ugly is in past tense. When you are describing someone, you state their appearance in past tense because they are already handsome or ugly.
I hope that makes sense. It's a little confusing.

[angelsz230710]

Oh yeah is quite alike to say who is scared, ugly in the past tense it is the same ugly, so when we say who is ugly we are alredy making a past tense sentence, right?

[ElielF4]

You talking to me?

[scorp3a]

NO ONE!!! Everybody repeat after me NO ONE!!!!

[Fauziaaang]

두 눈에 피눈물 흐르게 된다 면
So sorry 누가 you are?

[Rav3n.90]

당신

[KanKanMikan]

I wonder how can a person become ugly at some point in the past, does it just refer when they are born? or it have something to do with plastic surgery? pretty sure that thing only make you look better.

[green_tidepods]

the verb "to be ugly" in korean translates better to "was poorly formed" as in the ugliness was present when you were formed, which is something that would make me cry if someone told me this in real life.

its just something koreans conjugate past tense without realizing it or paying it much attention.

[dullcheeto]

나.

[ayaszki]

나

[Shaxton]

So how would one say that someone WAS ugly (but no longer is)?

[Ash-Fred]

못생겼었어요

[Shaxton]

Many thanks. And I suppose context would make it clear whether the speaker means "was ugly" or "is ugly." For example: 어렸을 때는 못생겼는데 지금은 잘생겼어요.

[Ash-Fred]

No, 못생겼어요 is "is ugly". Your sentence would be "어렸을 때는 못생겼었는데 지금은 잘생겼어요."

[Blisterseer1]

Post Malone

[WooyunChoi]

(〰️ㅠ# )