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Today let’s talk about getting mad. The basic Korean word for to get angry is 화나다. 화 is actually the Chinese character for fire, and 나다 can mean to appear, happen, grow or sprout depending on the noun and context. So, it’s like saying fire is coming out. But, I later realized I had been using it awkwardly when I first started learning Korean. I didn’t quite understand the differences.
There are three basic forms. 화나요, 화나 있어요(화가 나 있어요), and 화났어요.
And if you really want to find a difference, there are subtle grammatical differences that have to do with the stage of your anger.
So, 화나요 technically means that your anger is currently building, that “fire” is still burning bigger and bigger.
화나 있어요 means that you became angry and are in a neutral state of being angry. So that fire isn’t growing, but its burning at a constant rate of mad.
화났어요 means that you were mad, but aren’t currently feeling that burning anger. So that fire raged and then went out. Or, you might not be over it, but you aren’t currently feeling the anger building.
Here are some examples.
우와…다시 생각하니까 화나네요. Wow..thinking about it again, it still pisses me off. (anger is building again.)
아내가 아직 화나 있어? Is your wife still mad?
저는 언제나 화나 있어요. I’m always angry. (in a state of being angry)
어제 화났는데…이제는 괜찮아요. I was mad yesterday, but…now I’m okay.
미안해. 아까 화났던 거 아니야. 그냥 피곤했던 거야. I’m sorry. It wasn’t that I was angry earlier. It was that I was just tired.
화나? Are you angry?
어제 왜 화났어요? Why were you angry yesterday?
Tip:
화나요, 화나 있어요 and even 화났어요 can be translated to the present tense “I’m mad.” or “Are you mad?” in a question. And that makes this particularly hard to explain. The problem is actually that English can express all these states in the present tense. And since feelings are subjective, that makes it all the harder to talk about. It takes a bit of interpretation to understand.
Koreans typically specify the state of their anger in this way–often without realizing it, as native speakers often miss these things–and it definitely takes getting used to. But don’t worry too much. 화나요 and 화났어요 are all you need to use for the basics. Just know, that they can both express a current state of anger. 화나요 is when the anger is still building, and 화났어요 means you aren’t getting angrier, but you might still be mad. Or 화났어요 could be you’ve gotten over it and you “were mad.” And to signify anger that has passed, it’s easiest to attach a time marker like “yesterday” or “earlier.”
Bonus.
화(를) 내다 is to get angry at someone. Or in some cases it could be to take your anger out on someone.
아 왜 나한테 화를 내? 난 잘못이 없잖아! Ah why are you getting mad at me? I didn’t do anything wrong.
나한테 화내지 마! Don’t get angry at me.
저랑 싸웠잖아요. 왜 여자친구한테 화를 내요? You fought with me. Why are you getting mad at your girlfriend.
Please let me know if this is confusing. It makes sense to me because I understand it in Korean. That doesn’t mean I explained it well enough for you to understand. So, please leave a comment or send me a message if it was confusing!
And as always, good luck studying and follow me for Korean tips and lessons if you haven’t already!^^