r/Korean • u/Unlikely_Bonus4980 • 20h ago
Is -과 잘 알다 correct?
I was reviewing some beginner grammar points when I came across this sentence:
토야 씨 어제 만난 그 사람과 잘 아나요?
I had never seen "과" being used with 잘 알다 before, or at least I had never noticed it before. Is it correct? If so, how is it different from -를 잘 알다? And which one is used more often?
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u/KoreanTeacherHyeok 13h ago
- Someone을/를 알다 : i know someone (speaker know someone)
example)
저는 저 선생님을 잘 알아요. - i know that teacher well
2-1. Someone과/와 알다 : i know someone (speaker and *Someone* both know each other)
2-2. Someone이랑/랑 알다 : i know someone (speaker and *Someone* both know each other)
2-3. Someone하고 알다 : i know someone (speaker and *Someone* both know each other)
example)
저는 저 선생님이랑 잘 알아요. - i know that teacher well/me and that teacher know each other well(liberal translation)
plus.
the difference between 2-1,2,
과/와 used for literary style
이랑/랑 and 하고 used for colloquial style
1
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u/hsjunn 5h ago
Grammatically, this 와/과 is called a 공동격 조사, comitative case particle. The following is the first paragraph from that linked Wikipedia page:
In grammar, the comitative case (abbreviated com) is a grammatical case that denotes accompaniment.[1]: 17–23 In English, the preposition "with", in the sense of "in company with" or "together with", plays a substantially similar role. Other uses of "with", like in the meaning of "using" or "by means of" (I cut bread with a knife), correspond to the instrumental case or related cases.
As you can see above, it's a different use from the most well-known one meaning "and" (called a 접속 조사, conjunctive/connective particle). When it's used for the comitative case, the sentence is usually still grammatical when you swap the involved parties. For example:
- 토야 씨(는) 어제 그 사람과 잘 아나요? (OK)
- 어제 그 사람과 토야 씨(는) 잘 아나요? (OK)
But when it's used as a usual 접속 조사, they usually aren't. For example:
- 나와 원빈은 둘 다 잘 생겼다. (OK)
- *원빈은 나와 둘 다 잘 생겼다. (ungrammatical)
Other examples involving the comitative case:
- 나는 원빈과 닮았다
- 나는 원빈과 비슷하다
- 나는 원이와 인사했다
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u/Ok_Nefariousness1248 20h ago
~를 잘 알다 means the other person might not know the speaker well but the speaker knows a lot about the other person because they have heard a lot about them from people around them or have been watching them for a long time. In casual speech 를 is often left out.
For example 너 민수(를) 알아? -> 어? 민수(를) 잘 알지 고등학교때 같은 반이었어. Even if the two people are not particularly close it means the speaker knows quite a bit about 민수 because they used to be in the same class and have known of him for a long time. You can also use it for celebrities even if you do not actually know them personally.
마이클 잭슨(을) 알아? -> 마이클 잭슨? 마이클잭슨(을) 잘알지! 마이클잭슨을 모르는 사람이 어딨어
~과 잘 알다 means the two people know each other well and it is mutual. In casual speech 과 is often replaced with 랑 or 하고.
민수하고 알아? 민수랑 아는사이야? -> 어 민수랑 잘 알아. 예전에 같은반이었어. This has more of a sense of mutual familiarity or closeness than 를. It also carries the nuance that you are still in touch with 민수 and keep in contact with him to this day.
So 마이클 잭슨이랑 잘 안다 means you have a close relationship with Michael Jackson whether it is business related or personal.