Making Adverbs with '게'

01

Forming It

Remove 다 (dadadata) from the dictionary form and add 게 (kegekekey). The ending is the same after a vowel and after a consonant, and there is no vowel harmony to think about.

• 늦다 → 늦게

  nŭt·da → nŭt·geneut·da → neut·genŭt·da → nŭt·genut·ta → nut·key

  to be late → late

• 크다 → 크게

  kʰŭ·da → kʰŭ·gekeu·da → keu·gek'ŭ·da → k'ŭ·gekhu·ta → khu·key

  to be big → loudly, in a big way

• 싸다 → 싸게

  ssa·da → ssa·gessa·da → ssa·gessa·da → ssa·gessa·ta → ssa·key

  to be cheap → cheaply

• 맛있다 → 맛있게

  ma·sit·da → ma·sit·gema·sit·da → ma·sit·gema·sit·da → ma·sit·gema·sit·ta → ma·sit·key

  to be tasty → deliciously

• 조용하다 → 조용하게

  cho·yong·ha·da → cho·yong·ha·gejo·yong·ha·da → jo·yong·ha·gecho·yong·ha·da → cho·yong·ha·geco·yong·ha·ta → co·yong·ha·key

  to be quiet → quietly

Irregular adjectives stay regular here. 쉽다 (swip·daswip·dashwi·dasuip·ta) becomes 쉬워요 (swi·wŏ·yoswi·wŏ·yoshwi·wŏ·yosui·wŏ·yo) in the present tense, because its ㅂ changes before a vowel. 게 (kegekekey) starts with a consonant, so nothing changes.

• 쉽다 → 쉽게

  swip·da → swip·geswip·da → swip·geshwi·da → shwi·gesuip·ta → suip·key

  to be easy → easily

02

Using It in a Sentence

The adverb goes right before the verb it describes.

• 버스가 늦게 와요.

  pŏ·sŭ·ga nŭt·ge wa·yo.beo·seu·ga neut·ge wa·yo.pŏ·sŭ·ga nŭt·ge wa·yo.pe·su·ka nut·key wa·yo.

  The bus is coming late.

• 크게 말해 주세요.

  kʰŭ·ge mal·hæ ju·se·yo.keu·ge mal·hae ju·se·yo.k'ŭ·ge mal·hae ju·se·yo.khu·key mal·hay cu·sey·yo.

  Please speak up.

• 이 가방을 싸게 샀어요.

  i ka·bang·ŭl ssa·ge sa·ssŏ·yo.i ga·bang·eul ssa·ge sa·sseo·yo.i ka·bang·ŭl ssa·ge sa·ssŏ·yo.i ka·pang·ul ssa·key sa·sse·yo.

  I bought this bag cheaply.

• 맛있게 드세요!

  ma·sit·ge dŭ·se·yo!ma·sit·ge deu·se·yo!ma·sit·ge dŭ·se·yo!ma·sit·key tu·sey·yo!

  Enjoy your meal! (literally "Eat deliciously!")

03

Words Built with 게

A few 게 (kegekekey) forms are so common that they are learned as words of their own.

• 이렇게 (i·rŏ·kʰei·reo·kei·rŏ·k'ei·le·khey) - like this, from 이렇다 (i·rŏ·tʰai·reo·tai·rŏ·t'ai·le·tha) - to be like this. 그렇게 (kŭ·rŏ·kʰegeu·reo·kekŭ·rŏ·k'eku·le·khey) - like that works the same way.
• 되게 (twæ·gedwae·getwae·getway·key) - very, in casual speech. It comes from a different 되다 (tœ·dadoe·datoe·datway·ta), an adjective meaning "to be hard, severe", not from 되다 (tœ·dadoe·datoe·datway·ta) - to become.

• 이렇게 하면 돼요.

  i·rŏ·kʰe ha·myŏn twæ·yo.i·reo·ke ha·myeon dwae·yo.i·rŏ·k'e ha·myŏn twae·yo.i·le·khey ha·myen tway·yo.

  You can do it like this.

• 되게 맛있어요.

  twæ·ge ma·si·ssŏ·yo.dwae·ge ma·si·sseo·yo.twae·ge ma·si·ssŏ·yo.tway·key ma·si·sse·yo.

  It's really tasty.

04

Not the Same 게

Two other endings are also spelled with 게 but have nothing to do with adverbs:

• -ㄹ게요 (l·ge·yo) on a verb is a promise: 볼게요 (pol·ge·yobol·ge·yopol·ge·yopol·key·yo) - I'll take a look.
• 에게 (e·gee·gee·geey·key) after a noun means "to (someone)": 친구에게 (chʰin·gu·e·gechin·gu·e·gech'in·gu·e·gechin·ku·ey·key) - to a friend.