3EmailTV dramas1 min

자막 모임 안내

A university club announces its next meeting: translating one drama scene into English subtitles.

A club e-mail to members. It mixes polite -아요/-어요 with the formal -(스)ㅂ니다 in the opening and closing, as Korean group e-mails often do. Read it for the facts: when, where, what to bring and what to do.

From 정하린

To 자막 동아리

Subject 목요일 자막 모임 안내

드라마 자막 동아리 회원 여러분, 안녕하세요?

이번 학기 두 번째 모임을 안내해 드립니다. 이번 주 목요일 저녁 일곱 시에 학생회관 3층 작은 회의실에서 만나요.

이번에는 오래된 가족 드라마의 한 장면을 영어 자막으로 바꿔 볼 거예요. 엄마와 딸이 부엌에서 싸우는 3분짜리 장면이에요. 짧지만 반말과 존댓말이 계속 바뀌어서 번역하기가 쉽지 않아요.

특히 엄마가 딸에게 "밥은 먹고 다니니?" 하고 묻는 부분이 있어요. 이 말을 영어로 그대로 옮기면 이상해요. 그래서 어떻게 번역할지 같이 이야기해 보려고 해요.

노트북이 있는 분은 가져오세요. 없어도 괜찮아요. 종이와 연필로도 충분해요. 간식은 동아리에서 준비할게요.

못 오시는 분은 수요일까지 답장 부탁드립니다. 그럼 목요일에 뵙겠습니다.

동아리 회장 정하린 드림

More sentences on this in “Language in use”: Korean in TV dramas

Words: 100
Sentences: 17
Words per sentence: 5.9
in the vocabulary: 100 %
measured level: 3
Reading time: 1 min

Grammar in this text

These forms appear in the text in real use. Switch on “Show grammar” above the text to highlight them.

바꿔 볼 거예요 · 이야기해 보려고
-아/어 보다: to try something out — we will try turning the scene into English subtitles. Trying out: -아/어 보다 →
이야기해 보려고 해요
-(으)려고 하다: to intend to, to plan to. About to: -(으)려고 하다 →
번역하기가 쉽지 않아요
-기 + adjective: how hard something is to do — 번역하기가 쉽지 않아요. The nominaliser -기: 읽기 쉬워요, 자기 전에 →

The words from 3 up in this text

Not the hard words in general, but those at your level: all 15 of the 81 words in this text are at 3 or above. You will know everything else by the time you get here.

간식
snack
3
계속
continuously; on and on
3
그대로
as it is; unchanged
3
답장
reply (to a message or letter)
3
바뀌다
to change; to be changed
3
번역하다
to translate
3
부분
part
3
안내하다
to guide, show the way; to inform
3
이상하다
to be strange, odd
3
자막
subtitles
3
장면
scene
3
충분하다
to be enough, sufficient
3
특히
especially; particularly
3
학생회관
student union building
3
회장
chairperson; president (of a club or company)
3

The word lists for this text

The words in this text appear in 41 lists on this site; the number after each says how many come from that list. Having read the text, you have just needed these very words — and can practise exactly them.

The first verbs 9 The clock and the calendar 6 Honorific words 4 Adverbs of attitude and degree 3 The first adjectives 3 Talking and being understood 3 Media and entertainment 3 Native numbers: 하나, 둘, 셋 3 I and you, this and that, who and what 3 Studying Korean 3 Describing things 2 The first adverbs 2 The first counters 2 Greetings and set phrases 2 The wider family and the people around you 2 School life 2 Verbs for getting things done 2 Verbs of motion 2 Everyday adjectives 1 Linking words and everyday adverbs 1 The body 1 Jobs and careers 1 Linking sentences 1 Education and school 1 Food culture 1 Food and drink 1 Free time and hobbies 1 At home 1 Loanwords of daily life 1 Numbers from Chinese: 일, 이, 삼 1 Opinions and reasons 1 People and family 1 Relationships 1 School subjects and study 1 Buying as a consumer 1 Everyday shopping 1 Time words 1 Travel and hotels 1 하다-verbs for effort, plans and experience 1 Everyday verbs with 하다 1 Work and the office 1

Comprehension questions

4 questions on the text. With each answer the sentence it comes from appears — a question whose answer you cannot find in the text tests nothing.

1. When and where is the meeting?

2. Why is the scene hard to translate?

3. What should members bring?

4. What should members who cannot come do?