KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Introductions & meeting people › 한국 친구를 사귀고 싶어서 왔어요

“I came because I want to make Korean friends” in Korean

한국 친구를 사귀고 싶어서 왔어요

hanguk chingureul sagwigo sipeoseo wasseoyo

Situation: Introductions & meeting peopleLevel: Intermediate (TOPIK 3–4)

Meaning

I came because I want to make Korean friends.

-고 싶어서 gives a reason: “because I want to ...”. 친구를 사귀다 is the natural way to say “make friends”; 만들다 is less idiomatic here.

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 14 · Words: 5

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
한국
한	ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ	han
국	ㄱ+ㅜ+ㄱ	guk
친구를
친	ㅊ+ㅣ+ㄴ	chin
구	ㄱ+ㅜ	gu
를	ㄹ+ㅡ+ㄹ	reul
사귀고
사	ㅅ+ㅏ	sa
귀	ㄱ+ㅟ	gwi
고	ㄱ+ㅗ	go
싶어서
싶	ㅅ+ㅣ+ㅍ	[시] si
어	ㅇ+ㅓ	[퍼] peo
서	ㅅ+ㅓ	seo
왔어요
왔	ㅇ+ㅘ+ㅆ	[와] wa
어	ㅇ+ㅓ	[써] sseo
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 싶어 → [시퍼]

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.

These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).

Korean	Part of speech	Meaning	Level
사귀다	verb	to make friends, to date	TOPIK level 2

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Question 1 What does “한국 친구를 사귀고 싶어서 왔어요” mean?

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Answer: I came because I want to make Korean friends

Question 2 How do you say “I came because I want to make Korean friends” in Korean?

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Answer: 한국 친구를 사귀고 싶어서 왔어요 hanguk chingureul sagwigo sipeoseo wasseoyo

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