geu gasuneun noraereul deureulsurok moksoriga deo joha.

Questions & Answers about geu gasuneun noraereul deureulsurok moksoriga deo joha.

What does -을수록 mean in 들을수록?

-을수록 means the more..., the more... or as... more and more.

So:

  • 노래를 들을수록 = the more (someone) listens to the songs
  • 목소리가 더 좋아 = the voice gets better / sounds better

Put together, the sentence means something like:

The more you listen to that singer’s songs, the better their voice sounds.

This pattern is very common in Korean:

  • 보면 볼수록 재미있어요. = The more I watch it, the more interesting it is.
  • 생각할수록 이상해요. = The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.
Why is it 들을수록 and not 듣을수록?

This is because 듣다 is an irregular ㄷ verb.

When a vowel follows the stem, often changes to :

  • dictionary form: 듣다
  • stem before a vowel-based ending: 들-

So:

  • 듣다 + -을수록 becomes 들을수록

You see the same change in other forms too:

  • 듣다 → 들어요
  • 듣다 → 들으면
  • 듣다 → 들을게요

This is a very common point learners ask about.

Why is there 노래를? Is it the song or songs?

노래를 is the object of 듣다 (to listen to).

  • 노래 = song / songs
  • = object marker

In Korean, nouns often do not show singular/plural unless the speaker wants to make it explicit. So 노래를 can mean:

  • the song
  • songs
  • the singer’s songs (depending on context)

In this sentence, English often sounds most natural as that singer’s songs or the singer’s singing.

Why is it 목소리가 and not 목소리를?

Because 좋다 usually describes the subject, not the object.

Here:

  • 목소리가 = the voice is the subject of 좋아
  • 좋아 = is good / gets better / sounds better

So the structure is:

  • 노래를 들을수록 = the more you listen to the songs
  • 목소리가 더 좋아 = the voice is better

You would not normally say 목소리를 더 좋아 here, because that would make 목소리 the object, which does not fit this grammar.

Why are both and used in the same sentence?

This is a very common Korean question.

  • 그 가수는: marks that singer as the topic
  • 목소리가: marks voice as the subject of 좋아

So the sentence is roughly:

As for that singer, the more you listen to the songs, the voice gets better.

More natural English: That singer’s voice sounds better the more you listen.

Korean often has:

  • a topic marked with 은/는
  • and inside the sentence, another noun marked as the subject with 이/가

That is completely normal.

Why doesn’t it say 그 가수의 목소리?

It could, but Korean often leaves possession implied when it is obvious from context.

So:

  • 그 가수는 ... 목소리가 더 좋아
    already naturally suggests
    As for that singer, their voice is better...

You could also say:

  • 그 가수의 목소리는 들을수록 더 좋아.

That sounds a bit more explicit:
That singer’s voice gets better the more you listen.

Both are possible, but the original sentence is very natural because Korean often avoids unnecessary possessive forms.

What is doing here?

means more.

In this sentence, it works with -을수록 to create the the more..., the more... meaning:

  • 들을수록 = the more you listen
  • 더 좋아 = more good / better

So helps show the increase in quality:

The more you listen, the better it is.

Sometimes is omitted if the meaning is already clear, but keeping it makes the comparison clearer and more natural here.

Why is 좋아 used? Doesn’t 좋다 mean to like?

좋다 can be confusing because it can mean different things depending on context.

Here it means:

  • to be good
  • to sound good
  • to be nice / better

So 목소리가 좋아 means:

  • The voice is good
  • The voice sounds good

It does not mean to like the voice in this sentence.

Compare:

  • 나는 그 목소리가 좋아. = I like that voice.
  • 그 가수는 목소리가 좋아. = That singer has a good voice.

So in your sentence, 좋아 is describing the quality of the singer’s voice.

Is there an omitted subject like I or you in 들을수록?

Yes. Korean often omits subjects when they are understood from context.

노래를 들을수록 does not explicitly say who is listening. Depending on context, it could mean:

  • the more I listen
  • the more you listen
  • the more one listens
  • the more people listen

In English, we usually have to choose a subject, but Korean often leaves it unsaid if it is obvious or not important.

So the sentence could be understood as:

  • The more I listen to that singer’s songs, the better the voice sounds.
  • The more you listen to that singer’s songs, the better the voice sounds.
Does this mean the singer’s voice is objectively getting better, or just that it seems better the more you listen?

Usually it means it seems better the more you listen.

That is, repeated listening changes the listener’s impression:

  • at first, maybe the voice does not stand out
  • but the more you listen, the better it sounds

So this is often a subjective impression, not a claim that the singer’s voice is literally changing over time.

That nuance is very common with -을수록.

Is 그 가수는 노래를 들을수록 목소리가 더 좋아 casual speech?

Yes. The final 좋아 is a casual/plain informal style often used in conversation.

More polite versions would be:

  • 그 가수는 노래를 들을수록 목소리가 더 좋아요.
  • 그 가수는 노래를 들을수록 목소리가 더 좋습니다.

So the original sentence sounds natural in casual speech, such as between friends.

Could the sentence be rearranged as 그 가수는 목소리가 노래를 들을수록 더 좋아?

Not naturally.

노래를 들을수록 works best as a unit meaning the more you listen to the songs. It naturally comes before the result clause:

  • 노래를 들을수록 목소리가 더 좋아

That order makes it easy to understand:

  1. condition/change in degree: the more you listen
  2. result: the voice is better

Korean word order is flexible, but not every rearrangement sounds natural. The original order is the most standard and smooth.

Could this sentence also be said with 들으면 instead of 들을수록?

Yes, but the meaning changes.

  • 노래를 들으면 목소리가 좋아.
    = When you listen to the song(s), the voice sounds good.

  • 노래를 들을수록 목소리가 더 좋아.
    = The more you listen, the better the voice sounds.

So:

  • 들으면 = when/if you listen
  • 들을수록 = the more you listen

The second one specifically expresses gradual increase or stronger impression with repeated listening.

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How do speech levels work in Korean?
Korean has multiple speech levels that indicate formality and politeness. The most common are the formal polite (‑습니다/‑ㅂ니다), informal polite (‑아요/‑어요), and casual (‑아/‑어) forms. Which level you use depends on who you're speaking to and the social context.

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