dcrazy wrote: i wanted to ask why does korean always seem to end their sentence with 'ida' eg 'ismida.. kamsanida.. chusoamida' what does ida mean?
That's the formal ending. Korea has two main formal tenses. One ends with ~pnida and the other with ~yo
For example,
1. 먹다 meokda- eat (noun form)
2. 먹어습니다 meogeoseupnida- I eat (most formal) (p sounds like an m when spoken)
3. 먹어요 meogeoyo- I eat (formal)
4. 먹어 meogeo- I eat (casual, informal)
1. Used when talking to yourself.
2. Used by store/restaurant workers when speaking to customers, used by machines, used when talking to bosses or people higher up in rank.
3. Used when talking to people older than you, or people you don't know well.
4. Used when talking to friends that are younger than you. Very casual
I used #3 most of the time, except when I was talking to children.
Of course, I've never studied Korean in a classroom setting, so I'm not sure how much this accurate. This is mostly just stuff I've learned by living in Korea and studying how people talk to each other.