i chinguga gwiyeowoyo.

This friend is cute.

Breakdown of i chinguga gwiyeowoyo.

• 친구: friend
• 이: this
• ~가: subject particle
• 귀엽다: cute

Questions & Answers about i chinguga gwiyeowoyo.

Why do we use the subject marker -가 on 이 친구 instead of the topic marker -는?

In Korean, -가 marks the grammatical subject—what or who performs the action or possesses the property—while -는 marks the topic—what you’re talking about.

• 이 친구가 귀여워요 with -가 focuses on “this friend” as the one who is cute (e.g. among others, this one stands out).
• 이 친구는 귀여워요 with -는 would mean “As for this friend, (he/she) is cute,” often implying contrast or change of subject in the conversation.

What is the dictionary form of 귀여워요, and is it considered a verb or an adjective?

The dictionary form is 귀엽다, which is a descriptive verb (often called an adjective in English). In Korean grammar, adjectives behave like verbs: they conjugate and carry tense, mood, and politeness themselves.

Why does 귀여워요 end with -요, and what level of politeness does it convey?

The ending -요 is the polite informal declarative ending. It:

• Makes your statement polite enough for strangers or casual acquaintances.
• Is warmer and more conversational than the formal -습니다 ending.
• Is more polite than the plain ending (귀여워), which you’d use with very close friends or younger people.

How do we conjugate 귀엽다 into 귀여워요, and why does the 받침 ㅂ change to 우?

귀엽다 belongs to the ㅂ-irregular verbs. Conjugation steps:

1. Drop -다 ⇒ 귀엽-
2. The final ㅂ in the stem changes to 우 before a vowel ⇒ 귀여우-
3. Add the polite ending -요 ⇒ 귀여워요

This is why the ㅂ disappears and you hear ’귀여우’ instead of ’귀엽우’.

Why isn’t there a separate linking verb like 이다 (“to be”) in 이 친구가 귀여워요?

In Korean, descriptive verbs (which we call adjectives in English) inherently carry the meaning “to be _.” You don’t need an extra copula. So 귀엽다 itself means “to be cute,” and you simply conjugate it.

What is the word order in 이 친구가 귀여워요, and how does it differ from English?

Korean follows Subject–(Object)–Verb/Predicate order. With an adjective predicate there’s no object, so:

1. Subject: 이 친구가
2. Predicate: 귀여워요

In English you say “This friend is cute” (Subject–Verb–Complement), but in Korean the predicate (귀여워요) always comes last.

How would you turn 이 친구가 귀여워요 into a question meaning “Is this friend cute?”

Simply use rising intonation or add a question mark in writing:

• 이 친구가 귀여워요?
  If you want an even more formally polite question, you could say 이 친구가 귀여우세요? when showing extra respect to the friend.

How can you make 이 친구가 귀여워요 more casual or more formal?

– Casual/plain: 이 친구가 귀여워.
– Polite informal (standard): 이 친구가 귀여워요.
– Formal polite: 이 친구가 귀엽습니다.

How is 이 친구가 귀여워요 pronounced in everyday speech?

Phonetically it’s roughly:

• 이 [i]
• 친구가 [tɕʰinɡuɡa]
• 귀여워요 [ɡwi.jʌ.wʌ.jo]

All together: [i tɕʰinɡuɡa ɡwijʌwʌjo]. In fast, natural speech you might link words so it flows like “이친구가귀여워요.”