🇺🇸 Translation
on standby
= waiting now
📙 Lesson point
How to say “on standby” in Korean
Hello, everyone! We’re going to learn two things today. First, we’ll learn about the word ‘대기,’ which is the keyword of today’s lesson. We’ll learn the verb form ‘대기하다,’ and take a look at a similar word ‘기다리다.’ Secondly, we’ll learn about two expressions that use the Chinese character ‘중,’ and learn how to use the sentence patterns ‘(Noun) + 중’ and ‘(Verb)-는 중.’
After reading today’s post, not only will you be able to learn how to say “on standby” in Korean, but you’ll also understand how this Korean expression is grammatically formed. Moreover, we’ll look into the actual expression that Sungchan of RIIZE used for his Instagram post. Let’s begin!
What does ‘대기하다’ mean?
First, let’s take a look the word ‘대기하다.’ It is a Korean verb that means “to wait for something, to be on standby.” The noun form of this word, ‘대기,’ means “waiting, standby.” Let’s take a look at some example sentences.
라이즈는 현재 음악방송 대기 중이다
= Riize is currently on standby for the music broadcasting program
플랫폼에서 대기하면 돼
= You can wait at the platform
나는 대기할 때 게임을 한다
= I play games when I am waiting
대기 시간이 너무 긴 것 같아
= I think the waiting time is too long
‘기다리다’ and ‘대기하다’
Now, let’s move a step further. Let’s learn about a word that has similar meanings with ‘대기하다.’ ‘기다리다’ also is a verb that means “to wait.” Actually, this word is more commonly used when people say “to wait” in Korean. This word is usually used in more casual situations, compared to ‘대기하다.’ The main difference is that ‘기다리다’ just generally means ‘to wait,’ whereas ‘대기하다’ can be used for situations where someone is ‘on standby.’ Let’s take a look at some examples.
나는 기다리는 것을 잘해
= I am good at waiting
나는 엄마가 나올 때까지 기다리고 있다
= I am waiting until my mom comes out
조금만 기다리면 갓 구운 빵을 먹을 수 있어
= You can eat freshly baked bread if you wait just a little
Korean expression ‘(Noun) + 중’
Now, we’re going to learn two very commonly used Korean expressions that use the Chinese character ‘중(中).’
‘중’ (which is written as ‘中’ in Chinese character) is a Chinese character pertaining to the meaning of ‘Middle.’
First, let’s learn how to conjugate this with nouns. ‘(Noun) + 중’ has the meaning of “in the middle of doing (Noun).” Note that it is most commonly used with nouns that can be used as ‘(Noun)하다’ type of verbs. Let’s take a look at some examples.
공부 (noun) : study
공부하다 (verb) : to study
공부 중 : in the middle of studying
쇼타로는 도서관에서 공부 중…
= Shotaro is studying in the library...
오늘도 한국어 공부 중이야
= I'm studying Korean again today
운전 (noun) : drive
운전하다 (verb) : to drive
운전 중 : in the middle of driving
미안! 운전 중이라 나중에 전화할 게
= Sorry! I'll call later because I'm driving now
운전 중에는 집중하세요
= Concentrate while you're driving
생각 (noun) : think
생각하다 (verb) : to think
생각 중 : in the middle of thinking
해결책을 생각 중이에요
= I'm thinking of a solution
결정했어? 아직도 생각 중?
= Did you decide? Are you still thinking?
샤워 (noun) : shower
샤워하다 (verb) : to take a shower
샤워 중 : in the middle of taking a shower
샤워 중이라 전화를 받을 수 없었어
= I couldn't answer the phone because I was in the middle of taking a shower
성찬에게 메세지 답장이 왔다: ‘샤워 중’
= A message came from Sungchan: 'in the middle of taking a shower'
Korean expression ‘(Verb)-는 중’
Next, let’s look at the expression ‘(Verb)-는 중.’ It has the same meaning as ‘(Noun) + 중,’ but we use this expression for verbs that aren’t used in the form of ‘(Noun)하다.’ Let’s take a look at some example sentences.
가다 (verb) : to go
가는 중 : in the middle of going
이제 집 가는 중…
= On my way home now…
어제 학교 가는 중에 소희를 만났어
= While going to the school yesterday, I met Sohee
오다 (verb) : to come
오는 중 : in the middle of coming
어디야? 오는 중이야?
= Where are you? Are you coming?
원빈이는 아직 도착하지 않았어요. 오는 중입니다.
= Wonbin didn't arrive yet. He's coming.
먹다 (verb) : to eat
먹는 중 : in the middle of eating
수지가 방 문을 열었을 때, 나는 피자를 먹는 중이었다
= When Suji opened the door, I was eating pizza
밥 먹는 중이니까 더러운 얘기는 하지 마
= Don't talk about dirty things since I'm in the middle of eating
Sungchan says: ‘대기 중’
To conclude, let’s take a look at the post Sungchan of RIIZE posted on Instagram. Sungchan used the expression ‘(Noun) + 중’ with the verb ‘대기하다,’ which means to wait. Therefore, he seems to be saying that he is in the middle of waiting for something!