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- Topic: Korean >
- "계산했습니까?"
11 Comments
계산 is the word for calculation, sum, or bill. Literally, this question would translate to "Have you done the bill?"
what's the difference between did you pay (wrong) vs have you paid(correct) ?
Both are correct translations, since Korean was newly added, it seems that they haven't yet added all correct answers. If something like that happens again, flag the question for them so they can add your answer!
151
Here's a long story question!
In a Western country, if someone's Korean father-in-law is at the dinner, and the father in law disappears for a bit, is this an appropriate thing to whisper/sidebar in his ear? Or would it be more polite to ask something else/less to the point?
The end goal being: not paying twice, and avoid not paying at all
On a broader scale, are there customs about children/younger persons paying in Korea? Or in Western countries where you're trying to respect your Korean elders?
- 329
The short answer is "No, but in many cases you would use the Korean past tense."
Generally, tense-aspect doesn't translate cleanly between languages. This is because different languages handle tense-aspect in different ways. A sentence in present perfect in English can be conveyed using a basic past tense Korean sentence or using a grammatical formation. For example:
- 나는 내 열쇠를 잃어버렸어요 = "I have lost my keys." or "I lost my keys."
- As in English, the simple past tense conveys most of the meaning.
- 나는 서울에 가 본 적이 있어요. = "I have visited Seoul before."
- Using the grammar ~어/아 적이 있다 ("Have you ever experienced...") on the compound verb 가 보다.
- 나는 한국어 공부해 왔어요 = "I have been studying Korean."
- Using the ~어/아 오다 formation is similar to the English present perfect for a past continuous action.
