# How does 죠 change word meaning?



## AccioJo

Can somebody tell me how the word meaning changes when 죠 is added at the end of the verb stem?What is the difference between
가메라 있어 and 가메라 있죠 ?

감사합니다!


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## kenjoluma

죠 is originally a shortened term for "-지요". 

When you put '-지', it means you expect something to be true, or you think it is a given fact that you take it for granted.


1. 카메라 있어? 
2. 카메라 있지?


Both of them mean "Do you have a camera?". However, No.1 implies a neutral question that you are asking that question because you are really curious and unsure.
However, No.2 implies you think he/she has a camera. And it is expected and taken for granted that they have a camera. It can roughly be translated into "You have a camera, right?"


Please note that "-지" can also indicate someone's habitual or daily routine so you expect someone to do it over again, also someone has done it for a long time.

"AccioJo는 WordReference.com에서 한국어 공부를 하지."
"AccioJo studies Korean on WordReference.com"

It means AccioJo studies Korean online but it is not only for one-time, it is a habitual behaviour that one can figure out AccioJo has done it for a long time.


PS. 가메라 -> 카메라


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## AccioJo

Oh ,so it's like the Japanese "ne"!
Thank you so much for explaining so well )
Can you tell me if I can use it in past and future tense?Will it become  카메라 있었지? ( i don't think so .. ;p )


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## kenjoluma

It's slightly different from Japanese 'ne'. Umm... You know, there is also '-네' in Korean, and it can be equivalent to Japanese 'ne', sometimes...


And, yes, '-지' can be used with past tense, as well. You adapt very well! 


'카메라 있었지?'
(You had a camera, right?)

'카메라 있었죠?'
(You had a camera, right?) (A little bit polite and nicer but not completely polite)


And, it can be used in future tense, but in this case, you can't directly put '-지' with verbs. It is a bit complicated... so I'll skip the explanation and show you some of examples. Hope it helps.


카메라 살 거지?
(You'll purchase a camera, right?)

카메라 살 거지요(거죠)?
(a bit nicer)


Understood?


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## wildsunflower

As in 카메라 살 거지, "ㄹ거" makes the future tense. You can compare  "카메라 살 거지?" (future) with "카메라 사지?" (present).


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## AccioJo

kenjoluma said:


> It's slightly different from Japanese 'ne'. Umm... You know, there is also '-네' in Korean, and it can be equivalent to Japanese 'ne', sometimes...
> 
> 
> And, yes, '-지' can be used with past tense, as well. You adapt very well!
> 
> 
> '카메라 있었지?'
> (You had a camera, right?)
> 
> '카메라 있었죠?'
> (You had a camera, right?) (A little bit polite and nicer but not completely polite)
> 
> 
> And, it can be used in future tense, but in this case, you can't directly put '-지' with verbs. It is a bit complicated... so I'll skip the explanation and show you some of examples. Hope it helps.
> 
> 
> 카메라 살 거지?
> (You'll purchase a camera, right?)
> 
> 카메라 살 거지요(거죠)?
> (a bit nicer)
> 
> 
> Understood?


Oh ,yeah ,I add the ending for the future tense without the "예요" part  And 지요 is the most polite version , 죠 is shortened for that and 지 is less polite.Got it!Thanks a lot to everybody!


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## kenjoluma

You're really good!


But one reminder:

지요 and 죠 have no difference at all. The level of politeness has absolutely nothing to do with it. Sorry for causing any misunderstandings. 

If you want to make it more polite than '지요' or '죠', you additionally need to put '-시-' or something in front of '-지요'. Putting only '요' makes it a bit nicer but not completely polite.

I'm hesitant to explain this because I'm not sure how good your Korean is. But for a beginner (I think you're better than that, but anyway) you can just say '-죠' or '-지요' without any further modification to verbs. 

Don't try too hard to be polite.  Korean language is suffering enough from the inflation of politeness, in my opinion.


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## ms291052

Since you seem familiar with Japanese, I think that the best translation for 지(요) / 죠 is Japanese だろう/でしょう.

카메라 있어? カメラある?
카메라 있지? カメラあるでしょう?

どう思うのでしょうか?


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## AccioJo

*kenjoluma*,thanks for the advice!The grammar seems pretty logical to me so I understand most of the things.I am planning to learn how to speak politely after I learn the teenage slang ,so I hope that If I am rude I will just get away with it because Im a foreigner 

*ms291052 ,*ありがとうございます、that completely cleared it up for me )))


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## wildsunflower

As kenjoluma mentioned, there are different levels of politeness. The ending of "지요/죠" still renders the sentence polite, but you don't want to say it to the elderly or a group of public people. I.g. a flight attendant would use "~님 ~시지요/죠" in a form of great politeness. I can say "~지요/죠" to a child on the street. (I am nice to her/him by being polite.) But, I won't say that to my friends (at my age or younger) or my sister. However, I may use "~지(요) / 죠" with senior friends, 형 or 오빠, even though I feel close to them. But, after a certain age, when I become more mature, I may say "~시지요/죠" to them. By the way, to me "지요" is a bit more polite and less formal than "죠".


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## hana20

wildsunflower said:


> As in 카메라 살 거지, "ㄹ거" makes the future tense. You can compare  "카메라 살 거지?" (future) with "카메라 사지?" (present).



is -지 can be used as a statement? 
e.g. 남자 친구를 있어? 

      없지.


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## kenjoluma

hana20 said:


> is -지 can be used as a statement?
> e.g. 남자 친구를 있어?
> 
> 없지.



남자 친구가(or 는, not 를) 있어?

없지.


Yes. You can. It implies you have no boyfriend and you take it for granted.


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## hana20

kenjoluma said:


> 남자 친구가(or 는, not 를) 있어?
> 
> 없지.
> 
> 
> Yes. You can. It implies you have no boyfriend and you take it for granted.



thanks for the response.Gosh,I often commit mistake in subject and object particle.Anyway,I know the use of it,I'm just sometimes forgetful or I second guess myself.ㅋㅋㅋ


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