Learn Korean (TTMIK)

Lesson 8

In this lesson, we are going to look at how to say that something is like or looks like something

else. (i.e. “You are like an angel,” “This looks like coffee,” or “You are like my teacher.”)

First, let’s look at how to say that something is similar to something else.

비슷하다 [bi-seu-ta-da] = to be similar

- Present tense: 비슷해요 [bi-seu-tae-yo] = it is similar

In order to say that A is similar to B, you need to use a particle that means “with” or “together

with”, which is -랑 or -하고. (Go back to Level 2 Lesson 4 to review.)

A랑 비슷해요. [A-rang bi-seu-tae-yo.] = It’s similar to A.

B하고 비슷해요. [B-ha-go bi-seu-tae-yo.] = It’s similar to B.

Examples:

도쿄는 서울하고 비슷해요? = Is Tokyo similar to Seoul?

참외는 멜론하고 비슷해요. = 참외 (a type of fruit) is similar to melon.

Now, let’s look at the word for “to be the same” in Korean.

같다 [gat-da] = to be the same

- Present tense: 같아요 [ga-ta-yo] = it’s the same, they are the same

A랑 같아요. [A-rang ga-ta-yo.] = It’s the same as A.

A하고 B는 같아요. [A-ha-go B-neun ga-ta-yo.] = A and B are the same.

Examples:

이거랑 이거랑 같아요? [i-geo-rang i-geo-rang ga-ta-yo?] = Are this and this the same?

우리는 나이가 같아요. [u-ri-neun na-i-ga ga-ta-yo.] = We have the same age. (lit. “For us, the

age is the same.”)

Now you know how to use that something is similar to or the same as something else in

Korean, using -랑 비슷하다 and -랑 같다.

But if you use the word 같다 [gat-da] which means “to be the same” without the

particle -랑 or -하고, it takes a different meaning.

Construction

Noun + 같다 = to be like + Noun / to look like + Noun / to seem to be + Noun

Examples:

커피 같아요. [keo-pi ga-ta-yo] = It’s like coffee. / It seems to be coffee. / It looks like coffee.

거짓말 같아요. [geo-jit-mal ga-ta-yo] = It seems to be a lie. / It sounds like a lie.

로봇 같아요. [ro-bot ga-ta-yo] = It’s like a robot. / It seems to be a robot. / It looks like a robot.

Sample sentences:

1. 저 사람은 로봇 같아요. [ jeo sa-ram-eun ro-bot ga-ta-yo.]

= That person is like a robot.

2. 경은 씨는 천사 같아요. [gyeong-eun ssi-neun cheon-sa ga-ta-yo.]

= Kyeong-eun is like an angel.

3. 현우 씨는 천재 같아요. [hyeo-nu ssi-neun cheon-jae ga-ta-yo.]

= Hyunwoo seems to be a genius.

4. 그 이야기는 거짓말 같아요. [geu i-ya-gi-neun geo-jit-mal ga-ta-yo.]

= That story sounds like a lie.

5. 이 강아지는 고양이 같아요. [i go-yang-i-neun go-yang-i ga-ta-yo.]

= This puppy is like a cat.

In this lesson, we looked at how to use 같아요 with nouns only. Let’s look at how to use

같아요 with verbs and say many more things in the next lesson. Stay tuned!