나 잠들었어
na jamdeureosseo
In Korean, "I fell asleep" is said as 나 잠들었어 (na jamdeureosseo).
This phrase is used to say that someone transitioned from being awake to sleeping.
What does it mean word for word?
The verb 잠들다 (to fall asleep) is a compound of 잠 (sleep) and 들다 (to enter), literally meaning "to enter sleep".
Which one should you use?
While 잠들었어 emphasizes the transition of falling asleep, 잤어 simply means "slept" and describes the state or action of sleeping.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form 나 잠들었어 uses the informal 나 (I) and the casual verb ending -어, making it suitable for friends or people younger than you. To make the phrase polite, change the pronoun 나 to 저 and add the polite ending -어요 to the verb, resulting in 저 잠들었어요.
How do you pronounce it?
na jamdeureosseo
Did you know?
- The pronouns for 'I' 나, 'you' 너 and 'who' 누 may have all evolved from a single ancient root through a process called ablaut, where vowels change to alter meaning.
- Because Korean uses different levels of politeness, using the pronoun 나 in this phrase with a stranger or a boss can be perceived as aggressive or rude.
Examples in context
- 저는 잠들었어요I fell asleep
- 저는 회의 중에 잠들었어요.I fell asleep during the meeting.
- 나 영화 보다가 잤어.I fell asleep while watching a movie.
- 나 잠들어서 버스를 놓쳤어.I fell asleep and missed my bus.
- 나 잠들었어.na jamdeureosseo.I fell asleep.
- 어제 너무 피곤해서 나 잠들었어.eoje neomu pigonhaeseo na jamdeureosseo.I fell asleep yesterday because I was so tired.
- 책을 보다가 나 잠들었어.chaekul bodaga na jamdeureosseo.I fell asleep while reading a book.
Example conversation
Subin and Dohyun are talking on the phone after she missed his call.
- 수빈 Su-bin미안해, 어제 나 잠들었어.mianhae, eoje na jamdeureosseo.Sorry, I fell asleep yesterday.
- 도현 Do-hyeon괜찮아, 많이 피곤했구나.gwaenchana, mani pigonhaetguna.It's okay, you must have been very tired.
- 수빈 Su-bin응, 정말 빨리 잠들었어.eung, jeongmal ppalli jamdeureosseo.Yes, I fell asleep really quickly.
- 도현 Do-hyeon푹 잤으니 이제 괜찮겠네.puk jasseuni ije gwaenchanketne.Since you slept well, you should be fine now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 나, CC BY-SA 4.0.
