Visuals: Pretty, Cool, Beautiful

🎯 Big Picture

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 예쁘다 (pretty)

• 이 꽃이 정말 예뻐요. (This flower is really pretty.)

• 그 옷이 너한테 예뻐 보여요. (Those clothes look pretty on you.)

2. 멋있다 (cool / stylish / awesome)

• 저 가수는 정말 멋있어요. (That singer is really cool.)

• 그 자동차 디자인이 멋있어요. (That car's design is cool.)

3. 아름답다 (beautiful)

• 한강의 야경이 정말 아름다워요. (The night view of the Han River is really beautiful.)

• 이 노래는 가사가 아름다워요. (This song's lyrics are beautiful.)

4. 귀엽다 (cute)

• 이 강아지는 너무 귀여워요. (This puppy is so cute.)

• 동생이 웃을 때 정말 귀여워요. (My younger sibling is really cute when they smile.)

5. 잘생기다 (handsome)

• 저 배우는 정말 잘생겼어요. (That actor is really handsome.)

• 제 친구 남자친구는 잘생겼어요. (My friend's boyfriend is handsome.)

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

1. 그 배우는 멋있고 잘생겼어서 인기가 많아요. (That actor is cool and handsome, so he's very popular.)

2. 이 공원은 꽃도 예쁘고 풍경도 아름다워요. (This park has pretty flowers and a beautiful view.)

3. 새로 산 강아지가 너무 귀여워서 사진을 많이 찍었어요. (My newly-bought puppy is so cute that I took a lot of pictures.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

• 예쁘다 is ㅡ-irregular: drop ㅡ, then add 아/어 based on the preceding vowel — 예쁘 → 예뻐요.

• 멋있다 is regular: stem + 어요 → 멋있어요 (already ends in 있다).

• 아름답다 and 귀엽다 are ㅂ-irregular: ㅂ → 우 + 어요 → 아름다워요, 귀여워요.

• 잘생기다 is normally used as 잘생겼어요/잘생긴 (past tense / modifier) even for present description — its opposite, 못생기다 (ugly), follows the same pattern (못생겼어요).

• Modifier forms: 예쁜, 멋있는, 아름다운, 귀여운, 잘생긴 (all + noun, e.g., 예쁜 꽃 = pretty flower).

🔁 Synonym Alert

• 예쁘다 vs 귀엽다 — 예쁘다 describes something pretty or elegant (a refined kind of attractiveness), while 귀엽다 describes something cute or adorable (a softer, more playful kind of charm). A flower is usually 예쁘다; a puppy is usually 귀엽다.

• 멋있다 vs 잘생기다 — 멋있다 describes overall coolness or style (and can apply to people, actions, clothes, or objects), while 잘생기다 refers specifically to a person's (usually a man's) handsome facial appearance.

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

1. Don't conjugate 잘생기다 as 잘생겨요 — Korean speakers use 잘생겼어요 (past form) to describe someone's current looks.

2. Remember 예쁘다 is ㅡ-irregular: 예쁘어요 is incorrect — the correct form is 예뻐요.

3. Don't forget 아름답다 and 귀엽다 are ㅂ-irregular: 아름답어요/귀엽어요 are incorrect — use 아름다워요/귀여워요.

4. 멋있다 vs 멋지다 — both mean "cool," but 멋있다 is slightly more common in casual speech; either is fine.

5. 예쁘다 and 아름답다 can both mean "beautiful," but 아름답다 sounds more elevated/poetic — calling a person 아름다워요 is a strong, formal compliment, while 예뻐요 is more everyday.

Exercise 1 — Word Recall: Korean → English 🇰🇷➡️🇬🇧

Exercise 2 — Word Recall: English → Korean 🇬🇧➡️🇰🇷

Exercise 3 — Conjugation Practice 🔧

Exercise 4 — Sentence Translation: English → Korean ✍️

Exercise 5 — Mixed Review: Opposite Pairs ↔️