Easy Korean - Unit 9: Advanced Situational Expressions (Making Excuses)

πŸ‰ Level 10 Β· Professional Mastery

Easy Korean Level 10 - Unit 9: Advanced Situational Expressions (Making Excuses)

In the previous lesson, we learned how to clear up misunderstandings. Today, we will learn how to make excuses (λ³€λͺ…) when you are actually at fault but want to soften the blow or explain why it happened.

1. "I was out of my mind." / "I was distracted."

When you made a silly mistake or forgot something. - μ œκ°€ 정신이 μ—†μ–΄μ„œ κ·Έλž¬λ‚˜ λ΄μš”. (I guess I did that because I was out of my mind/distracted.) - κΉœλΉ‘ν–ˆμ–΄μš”. (I completely forgot. / It slipped my mind.) - μš”μ¦˜ μ œμ •μ‹ μ΄ μ•„λ‹ˆμ—μš”. (I'm not in my right mind lately. -> I'm super stressed/distracted.)

2. Blaming traffic or weather (Classic Excuses)

  • μ°¨κ°€ λ„ˆλ¬΄ λ§‰ν˜€μ„œμš”. (Because the traffic was too jammed.)
  • λΉ„κ°€ μ™€μ„œ 길이 λ―Έλ„λŸ¬μ› κ±°λ“ μš”. (Because it rained, the roads were slippery, you see.)

3. "It took longer than expected."

  • 생각보닀 μ‹œκ°„μ΄ 였래 κ±Έλ Έλ„€μš”. (It took a longer time than I thought.)
  • 일이 μ’€ κΌ¬μ˜€μ–΄μš”. (Things got a bit tangled up/complicated.)

4. The Ultimate Apology + Excuse

Koreans often combine the apology with the excuse, using -느라고 (because of doing [action], which caused a negative result). - 회의λ₯Ό ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  μ „ν™”λ₯Ό λͺ» λ°›μ•˜μ–΄μš”. (I couldn't answer the phone because I was having a meeting.) - μˆ™μ œλ₯Ό ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  늦게 μž€μ–΄μš”. (I slept late because I was doing homework.) - μ€€λΉ„ν•˜λŠλΌκ³  λŠ¦μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ£„μ†‘ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. (I was late because I was preparing. I'm sorry.)

Example Dialogue

A: μ™œ μ΄λ ‡κ²Œ λŠ¦μ—ˆμ–΄μš”? (Why are you so late?) B: μ£„μ†‘ν•΄μš”. μ°¨κ°€ λ„ˆλ¬΄ λ§‰ν˜€μ„œμš”. 그리고 λ‚˜μ˜€κΈ° 전에 지갑을 찾느라고 더 λŠ¦μ—ˆμ–΄μš”. μ œκ°€ μš”μ¦˜ 정신이 μ—†λ„€μš”. (I'm sorry. The traffic was too bad. And I was late because I was looking for my wallet before I came out. I'm so distracted lately.)

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