Questions & Answers about beoseuga jeil ssayo.
What does 제일 mean? Can I say 가장 instead? Is there any difference?
제일 means “most” or “the most,” marking the superlative degree (e.g., “cheapest”). You can replace 제일 with 가장 without changing the basic meaning. The nuance is that 제일 is more colloquial and common in speech, while 가장 is slightly more formal or literary. Both are correct:
- 버스가 제일 싸요.
- 버스가 가장 싸요.
Why is it 싸요 instead of 싸다?
싸다 is the dictionary (infinitive) form meaning “to be cheap.” To make it present tense and polite (해요체), you drop -다 and add -요:
- 싸다 → 싸요
If you speak casually to close friends, you use 싸; in very formal situations (하십시오체), you’d say 싸합니다 or 싸습니다.
What kind of word is 싸다? It feels like a verb but means “cheap.”
In Korean, adjectives that end in -다 (like 싸다, 예쁘다, 많다) are called descriptive verbs (형용사). They behave like verbs in that they conjugate (싸다 → 싸요, 예쁘다 → 예뻐요) and serve as predicates without needing a separate “to be” verb.
Why is the particle 가 used in 버스가 제일 싸요 instead of 는?