Learning Korean (한국어 배우기) [COMPLETE]

Unit 1.13 - Korean Particles 2 (3)

Doing something for somebody: ~을/를 위해(서)

If you want to say that you are doing something FOR  someone, you can add 를/을 to the person who you are doing something for, followed by 위해(서): 

나는 내 여자 친구를 위해(서) 꽃을 샀어
= I bought flowers for my girlfriend

나는 선생님을 위해(서) 이것을 썼어
= I wrote this for my teacher

There isn't much difference between 위해 and 위해서 but it sounds more natural to say 위해서

This form is usually used when you are doing something for a person, but can also be used sometimes when you are doing something for a non-person:

저는 회사를 위해 열심히 일할 거예요
= I will work hard for the company

The important thing - the 'thing' must be a noun. You can use 위해 to indicate that you are doing something for the purpose of a verb (I am going there to/for the purpose of see(ing) a movie) but that's a whole new lesson you have to learn to know how to change verbs into nouns.

Also make sure that you realize that 'for' can have many meanings in English. Just because you say 'for' in English, doesn't mean that it can be translated directly to ~를/을 위해. In Korean, ~를/을 위해 means for the benefit of. For example, in this sentence:

I am waiting for the bus – the 'bus' is the object in which you are waiting for, so, in Korean, you attach the particle 을/를 to 'bus' but not 을/를 위해:

나는 버스를 기다린다

About something ~에 대해

~에 대해 can also be attached to nouns like 를/을 위해, but this has the meaning of "about." It's very easy to understand when used in simple situations:

나는 너에 대해 생각했어
= I was thinking about you

나는 나의 아버지에 대해 말했어
= I was talking about my father

나는 그것에 대해 책을 쓸 거야
= I will write a book about it

Just like with ~을/을 위해서, there is very little (if any) difference between ~에 대해 and ~에 대해서. For example, the sentences above could all be written as:

나는 너에 대해서 생각했어
= I was thinking about you

나는 나의 아버지에 대해서 말했어
= I was talking about my father

나는 그것에 대해서 책을 쓸 거야
= I will write a book about it

One way that you cannot use ~에 대해 is in the following sentence:

My favorite thing about you is your eyes.

I'd love to teach you that sentence in Korean, but it is just a little bit too complicated for you right now. Ah, – I'll just show you – but don't expect to understand much of it:

너에 있어서 내가 가장 좋아하는 것은 너의 눈이야.

Too complicated for you right now..... Until then.... lol

End of Lesson 13!! (That was suppose to be the easiest chapter xD.. just memorizing nothing much ><)

Well... March Upload Done.. See you next month. Love you all!! <3 (I might come back again in March... but don't get your hopes too high.

Seeya!