Korean: 나요 and 지요 (Questions About Your Target Languages) Language Learning Forum

Korean: 나요 and 지요
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Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages

Hollow Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States luelinks.netRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6472 days ago 179 posts - 186 votes Speaks: French, English, Spanish^B2 Studies: Korean	Message 1 of 6 19 January 2008 at 11:02am \| IP Logged
	Hi everyone, I'm studying Korean right now and have a question that even my Korean tutor cannot answer for me, and which does not figure in my textbook (perhaps a little too advanced? In some cases, I will hear or see a verb that I know, usually a -하다 verb, with an ending in 나요, but more often in 지요. I know that the 지요 is used for a sort of 'isn't it?' when used as a question, but what doe these mean when they are used as statements (in the indicative?). one example I can give is from a song that I heard a while back, in which the singer says: "계속 반복하죠." Why does she not say: "계속 반복해요"? Is there a nuance here that I'm not getting? thanks very much edit: writing troubles, as always with me. Edited by Hollow on 19 January 2008 at 11:03am 1 person has voted this message useful
Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6369 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: English^C2, Korean*, German^C1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map	Message 2 of 6 19 January 2008 at 11:55am \| IP Logged
	Technically they are both correct. The verb ending 지요 can both be used as a question and a statement depending on the way you say the sentence. If you raise the end, it will be a question as you said. If not, it would be a statement. The same is true for 해요. Take 그렇지요? and 그래요? The former would have the nuance of "That is so, isn't it?", while the latter would have the nuance of "Is that so?" So -지요? form assumes that your statement is correct, while the other has the tone of surprise and unawareness. They can both also be used as a suggestion or persuasion. In that case, 반복하죠 would sound slightly more compulsive than 반복해요. That being said, when used as a statement, 반복해요 sounds a bit more formal and report-like than 반복하죠 for me. The latter has a more poetic feel to it, in my opinion. However, most of the time, they would be interchangeable. I hope that helped, are there any bits you are not clear or cannot understand? 1 person has voted this message useful
Hollow Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States luelinks.netRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6472 days ago 179 posts - 186 votes Speaks: French, English, Spanish^B2 Studies: Korean	Message 3 of 6 19 January 2008 at 12:27pm \| IP Logged
	Thanks very much for your help Jiwon. One more question though, just for clarification: so the '하죠' formulation sounds slightly less formal, right? And what do you mean by 반복하죠 sounding more 'compulsive' than 반복해요? I think I understand the main gist of what you mean though! 1 person has voted this message useful
Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6369 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: English^C2, Korean*, German^C1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map	Message 4 of 6 19 January 2008 at 12:50pm \| IP Logged
	Yes, it does sound less formal, but could even sound "cheeky" at moments. The "compulsive" side comes from the fact that, as was with the question form, 반복하죠 tends to imply that you expect the listener to carry out the task (in the case, repeating). Is it clearer now? 1 person has voted this message useful
Hollow Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States luelinks.netRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6472 days ago 179 posts - 186 votes Speaks: French, English, Spanish^B2 Studies: Korean	Message 5 of 6 19 January 2008 at 1:24pm \| IP Logged
	Absolutely, thank you. Oh wait, one last thing -last, I swear! What if you use it with yourself as the subject of the sentence? Does it have the same connotation? 1 person has voted this message useful
Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6369 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: English^C2, Korean*, German^C1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map	Message 6 of 6 19 January 2008 at 1:42pm \| IP Logged
	You mean: "내가 반복하죠."? Yes, it still has more or less the similar connotation. You would normally expect this from a sophisticated aristocratic person in soap operas :) And don't worry, you are entitled to ask away as many questions about Korean as you want. 1 person has voted this message useful

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