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- "Korean is like that."
"Korean is like that."
Translation:한국어는 저래요.
12 Comments
Use 저 when talking about "that" which is far from both the speaker and listener.
Use 그 either when talking about something far from the speaker and close to the listener or when talking about "that" which is being talked about.
Is 저래요 the default if not referring to something close to the listener? Because in this sentence it refers to Korean which is not an object that can be close or far from someone.
Hmm the default would be 그 not 저 I believe. I think in the provided sentence 저 is something visual both the speaker and listener can see but is far from them.
I also do not understand what you mean by "when talking about 'that' which is being talked about." Just trying to understand, thanks for explaining!
What I mean is "that" referred to in conversation. E.g.
Person A: A singer is coming tonight.
Person B: When does that singer come?
You'd use 그 here.
151
No.
"Korean is like that".
• "Korean" (한국어) acts as the subject in this sentence; and
• "Is like that" (저래요) the adjectival verb.
=> 2 possibilities:
한국어가 저래요
[subject marker identifies "Korean" as the language with the indicated behaviour, "like that" ]
Or
한국어는 저래요 [topic marker sets up "Korean" as a topic for discussion, with "like that" as a characteristic of this language (& not of some other)]
"를" (as you suggested) is an object marker.
To tack on, the 저 that means "that over there" in words like 저렇다 is only ever used if you're referring to something visibly far from both the speaker and listener. Otherwise the 그 form (e.g. 그렇다) is used.
