Learn Hardcore Korean: oneureun keopiga byeollo masi eobseo. - Today the coffee isn’t particularly tasty.

오늘은: 은/는 marks the topic. Here it frames “as for today,” often with a contrastive feel (implying other days might be different).
커피가: 이/가 marks the grammatical subject that the comment is about within that topic.
Nuance: 오늘은 커피가… ≈ “Today, it’s the coffee (in particular) that’s not very tasty.”

Why is it 가 after 커피 but 이 after 맛?

The subject marker is 이 after a consonant and 가 after a vowel.
- 커피 ends in a vowel → 커피가
- 맛 ends in a consonant → 맛이
Pronunciation tip: 맛이 is pronounced like [마시].

Could I use 커피는 instead of 커피가 here?

커피는 sets “coffee” as a broad topic (often generalizing or contrasting with other drinks).
커피가 picks out coffee as the specific subject/new information in this sentence.
With 오늘은, using 커피가 sounds natural and contrastive (“Today, the coffee in particular…”). 오늘은 커피는… is possible but sounds heavy/over-contrasted unless you’re strongly contrasting coffee with something else.

What does 맛이 없다 literally mean? How is it different from 맛없다?

맛이 없다 literally: “taste does not exist,” idiomatically “to not be tasty / to lack flavor.”
맛없다 is the single-word adjective “to be not tasty.”
Nuance: tiny. 맛이 없다 can feel like “there’s not much taste,” while 맛없다 can sound a bit more blunt/direct. Both are widely used and interchangeable in most contexts.

It looks like there are two subjects (커피가 and 맛이). Is that okay?

Yes. This is a common “double-subject” structure in Korean: outer subject + inner noun subject of 없다.
- 커피가 [맛이 없다] ≈ “The coffee (its taste) doesn’t exist.”
You can also say 커피는 맛이 없어 (topic + inner subject), or simply 커피가 맛없어.

How does 별로 work, and why is there a negative?

별로 means “particularly/especially,” and in standard usage it pairs with a negative to mean “not particularly/very.”
Typical patterns:
- 별로 + negative adjective/verb: 별로 안 비싸요 (“not particularly expensive”), 별로 재미없어요 (“not very fun”).
- Noun + 이/가 + 별로 없다: 시간이 별로 없어요 (“I don’t have much time”).

Can I say 별로 맛있어 or just 별로야?

별로 맛있어 is not standard; use a negative: 별로 맛있지 않아 or 별로 안 맛있어.
Colloquially people sometimes say things like 오늘 커피 별로야. This is elliptical; it implies a negative (short for “별로 좋지 않다/맛있지 않다”). It’s casual and can sound blunt.

Where can I put 별로 in this sentence?

Natural options:
- 오늘은 커피가 별로 맛없어.
- 오늘은 커피가 맛이 별로 없어.
Both mean “not very tasty.” Placing 별로 before 커피 (e.g., 별로 커피가…) is not natural in this meaning.

What politeness level is 없어? How do I make it polite?

Can I drop particles in conversation?

What’s the difference between 오늘은 커피가… and 오늘 커피가… (or 오늘의 커피가…)?

오늘은 커피가…: “As for today, the coffee …” (topic “today,” contrastive).
오늘 커피가…: “Today’s coffee …” (attributive “today coffee” = the coffee we have today).
오늘의 커피가…: “today’s coffee” in a more bookish/formal style (less common in speech).

Any pronunciation tips for the whole sentence?

How can I say this more gently to a barista/friend?

Can I use 안 here? What’s the difference between 안 맛있어 and 맛없어?

맛없어 is the most natural negative for taste.
안 맛있어 is common in speech and okay, but some find it less natural than 맛없어.
With 별로, both occur:
- 별로 맛없어.
- 별로 안 맛있어.
Avoid 맛이 안 있어; use 맛이 없어 instead.

Does 커피가 mean “the coffee” or just “coffee”?

Korean has no articles. 커피가 can mean “coffee” or “the coffee,” depending on context. Often it refers to the specific coffee at hand; 이/가 tends to introduce or highlight the subject as specific/new information.

Is the spacing/spelling correct? 맛없다 vs 맛이 없다

Both are correct forms:
- Single-word adjective: 맛없다 / 맛없어 / 맛없어요
- Analytic noun + verb: 맛이 없다 / 맛이 없어 / 맛이 없어요
Use either. With 별로, you’ll hear both 별로 맛없어요 and 맛이 별로 없어요.