"A lot" in Korean - Difference between 아주 and 너무
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Hi everyone! Did you know that Hills Learning has a twitter account? One follower tweeted to ask us the difference between Korean words ‘아주’ and ‘너무.’ I thought this information would be helpful to everyone’s studying Korean.
It’s not uncommon to get confused about adverbs. In a casual setting, many people focus on exchanging light information so they tend to use these two words interchangeably without realizing it. It is subtle but ‘아주’and ‘너무’ are different. In order to accurately grasp a speaker’s intent, it is important to know the correct usage of the words, particularly, if you are in a formal environment. Furthermore, choosing the right word is always beneficial in academic writing.
The Korean word ‘아주’ (pronounced as A-Ju), is an adverb that means very (much), extremely, exceedingly (formal) in English. In a Korean sentence, ‘아주’ comes before adjectives, verbs or other adverbs to describe the conditions or status are beyond the average. Look at the example in below.
• 즐거웠다 - I enjoyed the show
• 아주 즐거웠다 – I enjoyed the show very much
In the first sentence, a speaker plainly describes that she/he had a good time watching the show. By adding ‘아주’ to the sentence, the speaker indicates the level of enjoyment was more than the average or expected. This adverb is often used to emphasize the degree of the conditions the speaker feels or faces.
Next, the adverb ‘너무’ (pronounced as Neo-Mu) originally stems from the verb ‘넘다’ (pronounced as Neom-Da) and means (much/far/way) too, overly in English.
• 이 시계는 사기 비싸다 - This watch is expensive to buy
• 이 시계는 사기 너무 비싸다 - This watch is too expensive to buy
The first sentence is a statement indicating the price of watch is not cheap. When you add the adverb ‘너무,’ the statement suggests that the speaker cannot buy or probably will not buy the watch because it is too expensive. With this adverb, sentences often carry a negative connotations.
I hope this article clarifies the questions of when to use 아주 vs 너무. Please feel free to leave a comment below.