Introduction
안녕하세요! Hello! This is Daily Hangul, here to upgrade your Korean skills! 🌟
Have you ever watched a K-Drama where the main characters are in a heated argument? One person is shouting, “I really didn’t do it!” while the other screams, “You definitely did it!”?
To sound like a native, you can’t just use “said” (말했어요) all the time. Today, we are going to learn Advanced Reporting Verbs. We will learn how to add drama and nuance by saying someone “insisted” or “denied” something. This is key to mastering complex sentences in Korean!
Ready to be a drama queen/king? Let’s go! 🎬✨
Core Expressions
Here are 3 ways to report speech with strong nuances!
1. -다고 우기다
- Pronunciation: [dago ugida]
- English Meaning: To insist (stubbornly)
- Detailed Explanation: This is a very common expression in arguments! Instead of just saying someone “said” something, you use 우기다 (ugida) when they are stubbornly insisting on their opinion, even if they might be wrong. It implies they are being a bit unreasonable or very strong-willed.
- Grammar Note: Attach -다고 (indirect speech marker) to the verb/adjective stem, then add 우기다.
2. -이/가 아니라고 하다 (부인하다)
- Pronunciation: [i/ga anirago hada]
- English Meaning: To deny / To say it is not
- Detailed Explanation: When someone accuses you of being the culprit in a mystery drama! Use this to report that someone denied a fact. You are quoting them saying, “It’s not me!” (아니에요).
- 💡 Pronunciation Tip: When pronouncing 아니라고 [anirago], the ‘r’ sound is soft, like a flap ‘d’ or the Spanish ‘r’. It flows quickly from ‘ni’ to ‘ra’.
3. -자고 조르다
- Pronunciation: [jago joreuda]
- English Meaning: To beg / To pester (to do something together)
- Detailed Explanation: This is used when someone keeps asking to do something together, like a child asking for candy or a friend begging to go to a karaoke bar. It adds the nuance of “pestering” or “nagging cute-ly.”
Real Conversation
Situation: Minji thinks Soo-ho ate her special cake. Soo-ho is defending himself.
Minji: 너 아까 배고프다고 했잖아! 솔직히 말해.
[Neo akka baegopeudago haetjana! Soljiki malhae.]
(You said you were hungry earlier! Tell me the truth.)
Soo-ho: 내가 안 먹었다고 우기면 믿을 거야?
[Naega an meogeotdago ugimyeon mideul geoya?]
(If I insist that I didn’t eat it, will you believe me?)
Minji: 아니, 네 입에 크림 묻었어.
[Ani, ne ibe keurim mudeosseo.]
(No, there is cream on your mouth.)
Soo-ho: 앗… 사실 너무 맛있어 보여서 한 입만 먹자고 졸랐는데 네가 없어서…
[At… sasil neomu masisseo boyeoseo han imman meokjago jollanneunde nega eopseoseo… ]
(Oops… Actually, it looked so tasty. I wanted to beg you to let me eat just one bite, but you weren’t here…)
Culture Tip & Drama Scene 📺
“Playing the Chicken Foot?” (오리발)
In Korean culture, when someone denies something they clearly did (like Soo-ho above!), we use a funny idiom: “오리발 내밀다” (Oribal naemilda).
It literally means “sticking out a duck’s foot.” 🦆
Imagine a duck that eats a fish on land and then jumps into the water, sticking out its flippers as if to say, “Look at my feet! I’m a duck, I can’t catch fish! It wasn’t me!”
If you see a character in a K-Drama lying clumsily, you can say: “와, 오리발 내밀고 있네!” (Wow, they are sticking out a duck foot / feigning innocence!)
Conclusion & Quiz
Today we learned how to add spice to your sentences using 우기다 (insist), 아니라고 하다 (deny), and 조르다 (beg/pester). Try using these instead of the boring “말하다”!
📝 Mini Quiz
- Fill in the blank: The suspect stubbornly _____ that he was innocent.
(용의자는 무죄라고 우겼어요.) - True or False: “오리발 내밀다” means to admit your mistake honestly.
See you next time! 안녕! 👋
Answer Key:
1. insisted (ugyeosseoyo)
2. False (It means to feign innocence/deny strongly)
