(35-37)Karl : Wow! Shin, your lunch looks so good. Did you make it yourself?
Shin : No, our wife made it.
Karl : What?!
Shin : Oh, sorry. I meant “my” wife. That’s a mistake we Koreans sometimes make when
speaking English. In Korean, we often say uri to mean “my,” although the word
really means “our.”
Karl : Interesting!
Shin : In Korea, people use the word uri to talk about a common thing they have and don’t
share with others.
Karl : So, you don’t feel comfortable saying “my” wife? But you are the only person who is
married to her.
Shin : Well, saying “my wife” would sound like I’m the only person who has a wife. But of
course that’s not true — many people have wives.
Karl : I see. How about things like cellphones? You don’t feel comfortable saying “my
cellphone” either?
Shin : Well, no. However, we also use uri when something’s shared by a group of people,
just like in English. When we Koreans speak English, we would say “our country”
because, for us, saying “my country” sounds like I own the country myself.
Karl : So, there isn’t a word for “my” in Korean?
Shin : Yes, we have the word nae, but we seldom use it — if you say nae, it sounds like you
only think about yourself.
Karl : Then, I guess the English world isn’t very friendly to you. Everything is “my, my, my.”
Shin : Yeah . . . maybe a little.
Karl : But you know I’m not like that when I say “my,” right? You’re “my” friend and I care
about you.
Shin : I know.