🇺🇸 Translation
Happy 7th anniversary which felt more precious as my 8 closest friends and ONCE were present together🎂
📙 Lesson point
How to say “precious” in Korean
Hello, everyone! Today, we’re going to learn about the Korean expression ‘값지다.’ To understand the meaning of this expression, we’ll take a look at the Korean noun ‘값.’ Next, we’ll look at the usages of ‘값지다’ to understand how this expression can be used.
After reading today’s post, not only will you be able to learn how to say “precious” in Korean, but you’ll also understand how this Korean expression is grammatically formed. Moreover, we’ll look into the actual expression that Jihyo of TWICE used for her Instagram post. Let’s begin!
Korean noun ‘값’
Here, we’re going to look at the Korean adjective ‘값지다.’ First, let’s look at the noun ‘값.’ ‘값’ means “price or value of something.” Let’s look at some examples.
이 드레스는 값이 싸다. = This dress has cheap price. 이 수학 문제에서 너는 x의 값을 찾아야 해. = In this math problem, you need to find the value of x.
Korean adjective ‘값지다’
Now, let’s look at the expression ‘값지다.’ It is an adjective that means “to be valuable, to be precious.” ‘값졌다’ is the past tense of ‘값지다,’ so it can be translated as “was valuable, was precious.”
In Korean language, adjectives are mainly used in two different forms. Let’s look at each of them and learn how the usage of ‘값지다’ changes depending on each.
Usage of ‘값지다’ (1)
The first case is where the adjective is used as a predicate for a sentence. In this case, it is used as the dictionary form or follows the usual verb form as it is. Let’s look at some examples.
이 경험은 나에게 무엇보다 값지다 = This experience is more valuable to me than anything else 함께하는 모든 순간이 값져요 = Every moment we're together is valuable 우리의 우정은 정말 값졌어 = Our friendship was really valuable
Usage of ‘값지다’ (2)
The second case is where adjectives are used as a word that modifies nouns. When using it as present tense, it is used as the form of ‘(adj.)-ㄴ (noun),’ adding the final consonant ‘ㄴ’ to the last syllable of the adjective. For the case of past tense, you just need to add ‘-던’ to the adjective stem. Let’s look at some examples.
- 값진 경험 (precious experience) 이것은 나에게 무엇보다 값진 경험이에요 = It's the most valuable experience for me - 값진 보석 (precious jewelry) 지효는 값진 보석을 다 팔았어 = Jihyo sold all the precious jewelry. - 값졌던 하루 (a day that was valuable) 올해 결혼 기념일은 특별히 값졌던 하루였어 = This year's wedding anniversary was a particularly valuable day
Jihyo says: “나의 가장 가까운 8명의 친구들과 원스들이 함께여서 더 값졌던 happy 7th anniversary”
To conclude, let’s look at the post Jihyo of TWICE posted on her Instagram. As she said, ‘더 값졌던 happy 7th anniversary,’ she seems to be saying “happy 7th anniversary that was more precious.”
It looks like the members of TWICE had a fan meeting with their fans for their seventh anniversary and Jihyo is saying that the day was more special because she spent it with them!