WACE Korean Second Language cheat sheet

Formal vs informal register: 습니다/ㅂ니다 for presentations and interviews; 해요체 for classroom discussion; 반말 only with close peers of similar age.

Reported speech: -다고 하다 for statements, -냐고 하다 for questions, -자고 하다 for suggestions, -라고 하다 after 이다/아니다.

Experience marker -아/어 본 적이 있다/없다 attaches to the verb stem and states whether an action has ever been tried; time expressions take 에 (작년에, 두 번).

Reason connectors: -아서/어서 cannot precede a command or suggestion; use -기 때문에 or -므로 in those contexts.

Contrast: -지만 inside one sentence; 그러나/하지만 as sentence-initial adverbs; -는데 adds background or mild contrast.

Sequencing for recounts: 먼저 → 그다음 → 그 후에 → 마지막으로; past tense -았/었- is obligatory in narrative clauses.

Numbers: native Korean (한, 두, 세) with counters 명/개/시; Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼) with 원/년/월/분/층.

Politeness upgrades: 괜찮으시다, 드시다, 계시다, 말씀하시다 replace 있다/먹다/있다/말하다 for subjects who deserve respect.

Hedged opinion: -ㄴ/은 것 같다 (seems), -ㄹ/을 것 같다 (I think it will), -지 않을까 생각하다 (might it not be) soften assertions.

Strong stance: -아/어야 한다 (must), -지 않으면 안 되다 (must), -ㄹ/을 수밖에 없다 (no choice but to).

Agreement: 맞아요, 그렇죠, 저도 그렇게 생각해요; partial agreement: 그건 그런데, 말은 맞지만 followed by a counterpoint.

Disagreement politely: -ㄴ/은 것 같기는 한데…, 제 생각은 조금 다른데…; avoid blunt 아니에요 alone.

Emotion adjectives: 기쁘다, 속상하다, 답답하다, 부럽다, 짜증나다; -아/어하다 form when reporting a third person's feeling (슬퍼하다).

Cause of feeling: -아서/어서 + emotion (시험에 떨어져서 속상해요); reason noun 때문에 after nouns.

Desire: -고 싶다 (speaker), -고 싶어하다 (third person); negative 원하지 않다 rather than 싶지 않다 for others.

Emphasis and nuance: 정말, 진짜, 너무 (negative-leaning), 아주, 되게; -기는 하다 concedes a point while limiting it (좋기는 해요).

Identify text type from layout and ending style: diary = 반말 plain, notice = -ㅂ니다/습니다, advertisement = noun fragments plus -세요.

Purpose question: why did the writer produce this? Look for -기 위해, -려고, -도록 signalling intention.

Tone words to detect: 긍정적, 부정적, 비판적, 유머러스한, 진지한, 중립적; support with a quoted phrase, not a general impression.

Main idea sits in the first or last sentence of a Korean paragraph; supporting examples follow -예를 들어, -와 같이.

Inference: -ㄴ/은/는데, -겠- (speculation), -ㄹ/을 것이다, -모양이다, -나 보다 mark guesses about unstated facts.

Cause-effect chains: -기 때문에, -으로 인해, -아/어서, -(으)므로; result clauses typically end the sentence.

Comparison of two texts: tabulate 관점, 대상 독자, 근거, 결론 before writing a response.

Response structure: 요약 (one sentence) → 분석 (evidence) → 평가 (judgement) → 자신의 견해 (personal stance with reason).

Statistics in graphs: 증가하다/감소하다, -에 비해, 두 배로 늘다, 가장 높다/낮다; cite the figure and the year together.

Honorific suffix -시- appears in verbs whose subject is respected; the speaker never uses it for themselves.

Address terms: 선배/후배, 오빠/언니/형/누나 depend on the speaker's gender and relative age, not just closeness.

Age hierarchy shapes verb endings: first meeting uses -ㅂ니다/습니다 until the older party suggests 해요체.

식사 예절: elders lift the spoon first; alcohol is poured for others, received with two hands, and turned away when drinking.

Holidays: 설날 (lunar 1/1) - 세배, 세뱃돈, 떡국; 추석 (lunar 8/15) - 차례, 송편, 강강술래.

Speech levels are a system, not politeness words: 하십시오체, 해요체, 하오체, 하게체, 해라체, 반말 differ by ending.

Hanja-derived vocabulary creates synonyms: 생일 (native + 한자) vs 생신 (honorific); 이름 vs 성함; 나이 vs 연세.

Collectivism in phrasing: 우리 rather than 저의 for family, school, company (우리 학교, 우리 엄마).