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Questions & Answers about baega apayo.
What does the particle 가 do in 배가 아파요?
가 is the subject marker. It marks 배 (belly/stomach/abdomen) as the grammatical subject, so the sentence literally means “(The) stomach hurts.” In Korean, body parts often become the subject when talking about sensations or pain.
Can I drop the particle and just say 배 아파요?
Yes. In everyday speech, subject particles are often omitted, so 배 아파요 is very common and perfectly natural. Keeping 가 can sound a bit more careful or emphatic, but both are fine.
Why is it 아파요 and not 아퍼요?
The verb is 아프다. When conjugating ㅡ-final stems with -아요/어요, the ㅡ drops and you choose -아/-어 based on the vowel before ㅡ. Since the vowel before ㅡ is ㅏ (a), you add -아요 → 아파요. It’s not a ㅂ-irregular; it’s the ㅡ-drop rule (compare 쓰다 → 써요).
Why don’t we say “my” stomach? Shouldn’t it be 제 배가 아파요?
Korean usually omits possessives for body parts when the owner is obvious from context, especially in first person. 배가 아파요 is understood as “My stomach hurts.” If you need to be explicit or contrastive, you can say 제 배가 아파요 (polite) or 내 배가 아파 (casual).
How polite is 아파요? What are other levels?
- 아파요: polite informal/standard; most common in daily life.
- 아픕니다: formal polite; announcements, news, very formal settings.
- 아파: plain casual; friends, family, kids. You can also soften with 좀: 배가 좀 아파요 (“It hurts a bit/I’m not feeling well”).
How do I ask someone “Does your stomach hurt?” politely?
- Neutral polite: 배가 아파요? (rising intonation)
- More respectful (honorific): 배가 아프세요? (adds -시-)
- Formal: 배가 아프십니까? If you know it’s “their” stomach, the possessive is still usually omitted.
How do I talk about degree or frequency of pain?
- Degree: 조금/약간 (a little), 많이 (a lot), 너무/아주/정말/진짜 (very/really). Example: 배가 많이 아파요.
- Duration: 계속 배가 아파요 (It keeps hurting).
- Worry/guess: 배가 아플 것 같아요 (It seems it will/it might hurt), 배가 아플까 봐요 (I’m worried it’ll hurt).
How do I say it in the past, future, or negative?
- Past: 배가 아팠어요 (It hurt).
- Negative: 배가 안 아파요 / 배가 아프지 않아요 (It doesn’t hurt).
- Predicting: 배가 아플 거예요 (It will probably hurt), though for pain we often use “seems/feels like”: 배가 아플 것 같아요.
Is 배고파요 (“I’m hungry”) related to this?
Yes. 배고파요 is a fused form of 배가 고파요 (“the stomach is empty/hungry”). By contrast, 배가 아파요 never fuses into one word in standard writing; you keep it separate.
If I want to be more precise or sound medical, what can I say?
- Organ-specific: 위가 아파요 (my stomach/upper abdomen hurts; “stomach” as the organ).
- General medical: 복통이 있어요 or 복부 통증이 있어요 (abdominal pain).
- Upset stomach: 배탈 났어요 or 속이 안 좋아요.
- Menstrual cramps: 생리통이 있어요 or 생리 때문에 배가 아파요.
What’s the pronunciation and romanization?
Romanization: baega apayo. Syllables: 배-가-아-파-요. The ㅐ in 배 sounds like “eh,” and 아파요 sounds like “ah-pa-yo.” There’s no hidden consonant change here.
Can I use the topic marker 는 instead: 배는 아파요?
You can, but it adds contrast: 배는 아파요 implies “As for my belly, it hurts (but something else doesn’t / in contrast to something else).” The default, neutral statement is 배가 아파요.
Can I say “I” as a topic too, like 저는 배가 아파요?
Yes. 저는 배가 아파요 is very natural and common, especially when you’re talking about yourself among others. If you need strong contrast (“I, not someone else”), you can use 제가 배가 아파요.
Are there other body-part patterns I can copy?
Yes, same structure:
- 머리가 아파요 (I have a headache).
- 이가/치아가 아파요 (My tooth hurts).
- 허리가 아파요 (My lower back hurts).
- 목이 아파요 (My throat hurts).
Does 배 also mean “boat”? Is this ambiguous?
배 can mean “belly,” “boat/ship,” or “pear,” depending on context. In 배가 아파요, only “belly” makes sense. For boats, Koreans wouldn’t say 아프다; they’d use verbs like 고장 나다 or 부서지다.
I’ve heard 배 아파 used about jealousy. Is that true?
Colloquially, 배 아파(요) can mean “I’m jealous/bitter,” as if someone else’s good fortune makes your stomach hurt. For example: 월급 올랐다니 배 아파 (“Hearing your salary went up makes me jealous”). Context makes the meaning clear.
Any spacing or spelling gotchas?
Write particles attached: 배가 아파요 (not “배 가…”). Do not fuse it into one word: not “배아파요.” By contrast, 배고파요 is commonly written as one word today, though it historically came from 배가 고파요.