날이 많이 춥습니다
— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) December 18, 2021
감기 조심하세요!#JIMIN
📙 Lesson point
How to say “The weather is really cold” in Korean
Hello, everyone! We’re going to learn about four things today. First, we’ll learn about the expression ‘춥다’ and ‘차갑다.’ Next, we will learn how to say these adjectives in dialect style. The third lesson point will be about how to use these adjectives to modify nouns. Lastly, we’ll take a look at the expression ‘날이 춥다.’
After reading today’s post, you’ll be able to understand the meanings and differences of the adjectives ‘춥다’ and ‘차갑다.’ Also, you’ll be able to use expressions related to saying the temperature of the day. Moreover, we’ll look into the actual expression that Jimin of BTS used for his X post. Let’s begin!
Korean adjectives ‘춥다’ and ‘차갑다’
First, we’re going to learn about the expression “춥다.”
“춥다” is an adjective that has the meaning of “to be cold.”
However, there is also a Korean adjective that has the meaning of “to be cold.” It is “차갑다.” Let’s look at how their meanings differ.
“춥다” is usually used to express that the weather or temperature is cold. On the other hand, “차갑다” is used to express that an object is cold.
Let’s look at some examples.
오늘 날씨가 정말 춥다. = The weather is really cold today. 저번주에 파리는 정말 추웠어. = Last week, Paris was really cold. 나의 손은 항상 차갑다. = My hands are always cold. 겨울에 금속은 정말 차갑다. = In the winter, metal is really cold.
How to say ‘춥다’ and ‘차갑다’ in dialect style
Now, let’s learn how to say these adjectives in dialect style.
In Korean, there are various ways to say a certain adjective in dialect style depending on informal/formal situations and non-polite/polite manners.
First, to say an adjective in an informal situation in a non-polite manner, you need to remove ‘-다’ and add ‘-아/어’ to the end of the adjective. Next, to say an adjective in an informal situation but in a polite manner, you need to add the ending honorific ‘-요’ to the end of the previous form. Lastly, to use an adjective in a formal situation and in a polite manner, you just need to remove ‘-다’ from the original form and add the ending honorific ‘-습니다’ to the end.
Now, let’s look at how to adjust these rules to “춥다” and “차갑다”
First, let’s look at “춥다.”
| 추워 | informal | non-polite |
| 추워요 | informal | polite |
| 춥습니다 | formal | polite |
Advanced examples for ‘춥다’
선생님, 날이 추워요. = Teacher, the weather is cold. 앤디, 오늘 날씨 추워? = Andy, is the weather today cold? Rawel씨, 창고 안이 정말 춥습니다. = Mr. Rawel, inside the storage room is really cold.
Next, let’s look at “차갑다.”
| 차가워 | informal | non-polite |
| 차가워요 | informal | polite |
| 차갑습니다 | formal | polite |
Advanced examples for ‘차갑다’
정민아, 그 칼 정말 차가워. = Jungmin, that knife is really cold. 매리양, 그 물 꽤 차가워요. = Ms. Mary, that water is quite cold. 로버트씨, 저 문 정말 차갑습니다. = Mr. Robert, that door is really cold.
How to use ‘차갑다’ and ‘춥다’ to modify nouns
Now, let’s move a step further. How can we use the adjectives ‘차갑다’ and ‘춥다’ to modify nouns?
To use these adjectives to modify a noun, you just need to remove ‘-ㅂ다’ from each of the original forms and add ‘-운’ to the end.
춥다 → 추운 + noun 차갑다 → 차가운 + noun
Let’s look at some examples.
추운 날씨: cold weather 추운 나라: a country with cold weather 차가운 주스: cold juice 차가운 바닥: cold floor
The Korean expression ‘날이 춥다’
Next, let’s learn about the expression “날이 춥다,” which is an expression that is commonly used.
“날씨” is a noun that means “weather,” and “날” is a noun that means “day.”
Therefore, “날이 춥다” means “the day is cold,” or “the weather today is cold.”
If we put other adjectives in the place of “춥다,” the meanings can change. Let’s look at some examples.
날이 덥다 = The day (the weather today) is hot 날이 좋다 = The day (the weather today) is good 날이 따뜻하다 = The day (the weather today) is warm 날이 선선하다 = The day (the weather today) is cool and breezy
Jimin says: “날이 많이 춥습니다”
To conclude, let’s look at what Jimin of BTS said in his X post. “날이 많이 춥습니다” is a dialect form of “날이 춥다.” Therefore, we can see that it means “the day (the weather today) is good” and is said in formal situations in a polite manner. He is also telling his fans to be careful not to catch a cold!