Korean for Dummies (43 page)

My guts have been hurting lately. I’ve been suffering

from an upset stomach for the last few days.

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Paul:

eolmankeum apayo? mani apeumyeon byeongwone

gayadoeneungeo anieyo?

ul-man-keum a-pa-yo? ma-nee a-peu-myun byoung-

won-ae ga-ya-dwae-neun-guh a-ni-ae-yo?

How bad does it hurt? If you’re in a lot of pain,

shouldn’t you go to the hospital?

Jane:

jom gidarimyeon gwenchaneulgeo gateyo. apatda

anapatda hageodeunyo.

jom gee-da-ree-myun gwencha-neul-gguh ga-tae-yo.

a-paht-da an-a-paht-da ha-guh-deun-yo.

I think I’ll be okay if I wait a little while. The pain

comes and goes.

Paul:

byeongwone hanbeon gabwayo. jega gachi

gajulkkeyo. itdaga byeongwone jeonhwa haeyo.

byoung-won-ae han-bun ga-bwa-yo. jae-ga ga-chi

ga-jool-kkae-yo. ee-tta-ga byoung-won-ae juhn-hwa

hae-yo.

Let’s go to the hospital. I’ll go with you. Call the hospital later.

Jane:

joayo. kkok gachi gayadoeyo. jeoneun byeongwoni

museowoseo silkeodeunnyo.

jo-a-yo. kkok ga-chi ga-ya-dwae-yo. juh-neun byoung-

wo-nee moo-suh-woh-suh shil-kuh-deun-yo.

Good. You have to come with me, though. I don’t like

hospitals because I’m afraid of them.

Paul:

geokjeong marayo. jega gachi gajultenikkayo.

byeongwon museoulkkeo hanado eopseoyo.

guk-jung ma-ra-yo. jae-ga ga-chi ga-jool-tae-nee-kka-

yo. byoung-won moo-suh-wool-kkuh ha-na-do uhp-

ssuh-yo.

Don’t worry. I’ll go with you. A hospital is nothing to

be afraid of.

Words to Know

an apayo

an-a-ppa-yo

It’s not hurting, it doesn’t hurt

apayo

a-ppa-yo

It’s hurting, it hurts

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byeongwon

byoung-won

Hospital

cheobangjeon

chuh-bang-juhn

Prescription

dokgam

dok-gam

Flu

dudeuregi

doo-deu-ruh-gee

Rashes

gamgi

gam-gee

Cold

gichim

gee-chim

Cough

gosaeng

gosaeng

Suffering

hanbeon gabwayo

han-bun ga-bwa-yo

At least go once,

please go

museowoyo

moo-suh-wo-yo

Afraid, scared

myeochildongan

myuh-chil-dong-an

Last few days

pyojeong

pyo-jung

Look, expression on

the face

sok

sohk

Gut, inside the

stomach

uisa

eui-sa

Doctor

yak

yak

Drugs

yeol

yuhl

Fever

Describing what ails you

When you go see the doctor, you’ll of course have to tell him or her exactly what is bothering you. The verb
apeuda
(
a-peu-da
) means “to hurt,” so you can use any of the words listed in Table 16-1 and Table 16-2, and say, “[some word]
-i or ga apayo
(
a-pa-yo
)” to say “[some word] hurts.” When do you use -
i
and
-ga
as the connecting syllable? Use the following guidelines:

If the word ends in a consonant, like
nun
(
noon;
eye) or
son
(
sohn;
hand), you use -
i.
For example, you’d say, “
nuni apayo
” (
noo-nee a-pa-yo;
my eye hurts) or “
soni apayo
” (
so-nee a-pa-yo;
my hand hurts).

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If the word ends in a vowel, like
meori
(
muh-ree;
head) or
ko
(
ko;
nose), you would use -
ga
as the connecting syllable. So you’d say, “
meoriga
apayo
” (
muh-ree-ga a-pa-yo;
my head hurts) or “
koga apayo
” (
ko-ga a-pa-yo;
my nose hurts).

Table 16-1 lists ailments that you may encounter in your travels.

Table 16-1

Basic Body Parts

Korean Word

Pronunciation

English Word

bae

bae

Stomach

bal

bal

Foot

balgarak

bal-ga-rahk

Toe

dari

da-ree

Leg

deung

deung

Back

eokke

uh-kkae

Shoulder

eolgul

ul-gool

Face

gan

gahn

Liver

gaseum

ga-seum

Chest

geunyuk

geu-nyook

Muscle

gwi

gwee

Ear

ip

eep

Mouth

jang

jahng

Intestines

ko

ko

Nose

meori

muh-ree

Head

mok

mohk

Neck

mom

mohm

Body

nun

noon

Eye

pal

pal

Arm

pe

pae

Lung

ppyeo

ppyuh

Bone

simjang

shim-jahng

Heart

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Korean Word

Pronunciation

English Word

singyeong

shin-gyoung

Nerves

son

sohn

Hand

songarak

sohn-ga-rahk

Finger

wi

wee

Stomach (organ)

Table 16-2

Medical Ailments

Korean Word

Pronunciation

English Word

am

ahm

Cancer

boktong

boktong

Stomachache

byeonbi

byuhn-bee

Constipation

cheonshik

chun-shik

Asthma

dokgam

dok-gahm

Flu

dutong

doo-tong

Headache

gamgi

gahm-gee

Cold

gohyeorap

go-hyuh-rahp

High blood pressure

gwanjeolyeom

gwahn-juhl-lyuhm

Arthritis

A hyeong gannyeom

A hyoung ga-nyuhm

Hepatitis A

B hyeong gannyeom

B hyoung ga-nyuhm

Hepatitis B

C hyeong gannyeom

C hyoung ga-nyuhm

Hepatitis C

ijil

ee-jeel

Dysentery

jeohyeorap

juh-hyuh-rahp

Low blood pressure

kolera

kol-lae-ra

Cholera

momsal

mohm-sal

Fatigue

pyeryeom

pae-ryuhm

Pneumonia

seolsa

suhl-sa

Diarrhea

simjang mabi

shim-jahng ma-bee

Heart attack

yeol

yuhl

Fever

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Discussing your medical history

When you go see the doctor, he or she will ask you several questions regarding you and your
gajik
(
ga-jok;
family)’s medical history. Like I mentioned earlier, most major hospitals will have staff that speak English, but in case you’re at a hospital that doesn’t have one, you’ll have to remember a few sentences.

As a
hwanja
(
hwan-ja;
patient), you’ll have to describe your symptoms and medical history correctly. “
gajokbundeul junge [some word] areusinbun
gyeshimnikka?
” (
ga-jok-boon-deul joong-ae [some word] a-reu-shin-boon gyeshim-nee-kka?,
Has anyone in your family ever suffered from [some word]?) might be a question that a doctor may ask you. “
eodiga eotteoke
apeushimnika?
” (
uh-dee-ga uh-ttuh-kae a-peu-shim-nee-kka;
Where and how does it hurt?) might be another question a doctor may ask. You’ll have to describe your symptoms correctly, and answer the questions your doctor asks you correctly. Don’t be afraid to ask the doctor to repeat himself. He will be more than happy to slow things down and use hand signals and body language to ask you the questions again.

Making a diagnosis

Once you’re in the doctor’s office, he or she will want to run some tests on you. They may want your
pi
(
pee;
blood), your
sobyeon
(
so-byuhn;
urine), or your
daebyeon
(
dae-byuhn;
bowel movement). I’m sure they’ll want to measure your
ki
(
kee;
height), your
chejung
(
chae-joong;
weight), and your
hyeorap
(
hyuh-rahp;
blood pressure). Depending on the situation, further tests may be required for the doctor to make a
jindan
(
jeen-dahn;
diagnosis). You may need a
simjeondo
(
shim-juhn-do;
electrocardiogram, EKG), or an
ekseurei gigye
(
ehk-sseu-rae-ee gee-gye;
X-ray machine) to correctly diagnose your ailment. Once your ailment is properly diagnosed, proper
yak
(
yahk;
medicine) will be prescribed. Then you’ll have to go to the
yakguk
(
yahk-gook;
pharmacy) to get your
yak
so that you can take it. Table 16-3 gets you acquainted with medical-related terms that can you help in the face of an emergency.

Korea does have excellent hospitals and offer top notch medical care, so you need not be worried about the
wisaeng sangtae
(
wee-saeng sangtae;
sanitary conditions) or the quality of care you’ll be receiving should you find yourself there. Especially in large urban areas like Seoul or Busan, there are many reputable hospitals both independent and university affiliated, leading the world in research fields such as genetics and robotics. They are also very knowl-edgeable in Eastern medicine, such as
chim
(
cheem;
acupuncture),
hanyak
(
han-yahk;
herbal remedies),
buhang
(
boo-hwang;
cupping) and
ddeum
(
ddeum;
moxibustion) to name a few. Koreans are indeed quite fortunate in this manner that they receive best medical care from both the Western and the Eastern world.

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Table 16-3

Medical and Emergency Terms

Korean Word

Pronunciation

English Word

byeongwon

byoung-won

Hospital

cheon

chae-on

Body temperature

chim

cheem

Acupuncture

eunggeupsil

eunggeup-shil

Emergency room

gugeupcha

goo-geup-cha

Ambulance

hangsaengje

hangsaeng-jae

Antibiotics

hannyak

han-yahk

Herbal medicine

hyeorap

hyuh-rahp

Blood pressure

jusa

joo-sa

Syringe

maekbak

maekbak

Pulse

ondogi

on-do-gee

Thermometer

pi

pee

Blood

susul

soo-sool

Surgery

uisa

eui-sa

Doctor

yak

yahk

Medicine

yakguk

yahk-gook

Pharmacy

yaksa

yahk-sa

Pharmacist

Following the prescription

Once you get your medicine, you’ll have to know whether to take it once a day, or twice a day. You’ll have to know which medicine is which also, so that you don’t take the wrong
bogyongnyang
(
bogyong-yang;
dosage), or the wrong medication. The best thing to do is to find a person who can read Korean and have that person explain the proper dosage to you, write them down and put them on the bottles. If you’re at a
yakguk
(
yahk-gook;
pharmacy) where the pharmacy tech speaks English, you can ask the tech and she will be more than happy to explain the proper dosage to you. She may even be able to print you out the drug information and dosage information in English. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about your drug information regardless of what country you’re in. You should always have as much information 22_037188-ch16.qxp 6/24/08 11:15 PM Page 274

on the medication you take.
haru
(
ha-roo
) is the Korean word for a single day.

hwe
(
hwae
) or
beon
(
bun
) means the number of times. So, if the directions read, “
harue dubeon
” (
ha-roo-ae doo-bun;
twice daily), or “
harue 2hwe
”