969 words
5 minutes

살다: Vocabulary #44

2026-03-19
2026-05-31

Example Sentences#

  1. 하린: 너 정말 치맥 없이는 못 사는구나.1
    Harin: You really can’t live without chicken and beer, can you?
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -는구나 is a casual exclamatory ending expressing an introspective reaction, often reflecting understanding, realization, or an internal conclusion drawn from processing new information or recognizing a fact.
  2. 길 위엔 뜻이 살아 있어2
    The road still holds its meaning
    • 살다 means ‘to live’ or ‘to be alive’.
    • 아 is part of the pattern -아 있다 used to express a continuing state of a completed action, often used with intransitive verbs or passive verbs.
  3. 앨리스: “여기에는 어떤 사람들이 살고 있나요?”3
    Alice: “What kind of people live here?”
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
  4. 다들 힘들게 사는데, 서로 도와주고 이해하면서 조금씩 변해가는 게 너무 좋았어.4
    While everyone lives with difficulty, I really liked how they help each other, understand each other, and gradually change.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -는데 is a connective ending that links clauses by providing circumstances or context for the following statement, whether as background information or as a subtle contrast. It developed through grammaticalization of the modifier suffix -는 (which marks a clause as modifying the following noun) and the dependent noun 데 (meaning ‘place’ or ‘situation’), originally conveying ‘in such a situation…’.
  5. 그저 나비로 사는 것이 즐거웠고, 마음이 편했습니다.5
    Simply living as a butterfly was enjoyable, and he felt at ease.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
  6. 우리는 끝없는 검은 바다 한가운데 있는 고요한 무지의 섬에 살고 있으며, 멀리 나가는 것은 우리에게 맞지 않았습니다.6
    We live on a quiet island of ignorance in the middle of an endless black sea, and it was not meant for us to venture far.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
  7. 오래오래 행복하게 살아줘7
    Live long, long happy lives.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -아 주다 is a grammar pattern where 주다 (to give) is used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that the action is done for someone else’s benefit.
    • 어 is a casual imperative ending used in informal speech.
  8. 고요한 마을에는 타로라는 성실한 돌을 다듬는 사람이 살고 있었습니다.8
    In a quiet village, there lived a diligent stone carver named Taro.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
  9. 산에는 무서운 호랑이가 살고 있었습니다.9
    In that mountain lived a fearsome tiger.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
  10. 너 진짜 밥 안 먹고 사는 거 아니야?10
    Are you really living without eating proper meals?
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
  11. 체셔 고양이: “저쪽에는,” 고양이는 한쪽 발을 흔들며, “모자 장수가 살고 있어.3
    Cheshire Cat: “In that direction,” waving one paw, “lives a Hatter.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.
  12. 그리고 저쪽에는,” 다른 쪽 발을 흔들며, “3월 토끼가 살고 있어.3
    And in that direction,” waving the other paw, “the March Hare lives.
    • 살다 means ‘to live’.
    • -고 is a connective ending used to link two actions or states, meaning ‘and’, or to join the main verb to auxiliary verbs.

Footnotes#

  1. Sentence from A Fun Weekend Ahead. ↩

  2. Sentence from A New Beginning. ↩

  3. Sentence from Alice And The Cheshire Cat Story. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Sentence from Exploring K Drama Favorites. ↩

  5. Sentence from The Butterfly Dream Story. ↩

  6. Sentence from The Call Of Cthulhu Opening Story. ↩

  7. Sentence from The Red Ribbon. ↩

  8. Sentence from The Stonecutter Journey Story. ↩

  9. Sentence from The Tiger And The Dried Persimmon. ↩

  10. Sentence from What Is On The Menu Tonight. ↩

살다: Vocabulary #44
https://koreanstorylab.com/posts/vocabulary/살다/
Author
Korean Story Lab
Published at
2026-03-19
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0