착하다

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Gyechuk ilgi (癸丑日記 / 계축일기), c. 1600 , as Early Modern Korean 착ᄒᆞ다 (Yale: chak-hota), combining adjective-forming ᄒᆞ다 (Yale: hota), with cranberry morpheme 착 (chak). Equivalent to modern 착 (chak) +‎ 하다 (-hada, “to do”, light verb deriving adjectives).

Other than this unusually early attestation, the word only reappears after c. 1700. The original manuscript of the Gyechuk ilgi is lost and the versions that currently survive may have been subject to edits to the manuscript several decades to more than a century later, and Kim Yang-jin 2015 argues that this word is actually a late seventeenth-century loan-calque from Manchu ᠴᠠᡴ
ᠰᡝᡵᡝ (cak sere, “to be strict, to be orderly”), with ᠰᡝᡵᡝ (sere) being translated to its Korean equivalent 하다 (hada).

Alternatively, perhaps derived from the ideophone 착 (chak, “calmly, calmingly, tiredly”), or the homophonous ideophone 착 (chak, “sticking tight”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʰa̠kʰa̠da̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [차카다]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	chakhada
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	chaghada
McCune–Reischauer?	ch'akhada
Yale Romanization?	chak.hata

Adjective

착하다 • (chakhada) (infinitive 착해 or 착하여, sequential 착하니)

1. to be good-hearted, to be kind, to be nice [from the 19th century]

   Synonym: 선(善)하다 (seonhada)

   난 착한 사람이 좋아. ― Nan chakhan saram-i joa. ― I like nice people.

2. (colloquial) to be good, to be pleasing [after c. 2005]

   가격이 착해. ― Gagyeog-i chakhae. ― The prices are good [cheap].

3. (obsolete) to be smart, to be intelligent [chiefly 18th century]
4. (obsolete) to be correct [chiefly 18th century]
5. (obsolete) to be outstanding [chiefly 18th century]
6. (obsolete) to be fashionable [chiefly 18th century]

Conjugation

    Selected forms of the adjective 착하다 (chakhada): vowel-stem, 하(ha)-irregular

Sentence-final forms
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	착하다 chakhada	착해 chakhae	착해요 chakhaeyo	착합니다 chakhamnida
	Past	착했다 chakhaetda	착했어 chakhaesseo	착했어요 chakhaesseoyo	착했습니다 chakhaetseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	착하냐 chakhanya	착해 chakhae	착해요 chakhaeyo	착합니까 chakhamnikka
	Past	착했냐 chakhaennya	착했어 chakhaesseo	착했어요 chakhaesseoyo	착했습니까 chakhaetseumnikka
Assertive		착하겠다 chakhagetda	착하겠어 chakhagesseo	착하겠어요 chakhagesseoyo	착하겠습니다 chakhagetseumnida
Connective forms
Cause/Reason		착해 chakhae	착해서, 착하여서 chakhaeseo, chakhayeoseo	착하니 chakhani	착하니까 chakhanikka
Contrast		착하지만 chakhajiman	착한데 chakhande	착하더니 chakhadeoni
Conjunction		착하고 chakhago
Condition		착하면 chakhamyeon	착해야, 착하여야 chakhaeya, chakhayeoya
Noun and determiner forms
Verbal nouns		착함 chakham	착하기 chakhagi
Past-tense verbal nouns		착했음, 착하였음 chakhaesseum, chakhayeosseum	착했기, 착하였기 chakhaetgi, chakhayeotgi
Determiners	Present		착한 chakhan
	Future		착할 chakhal

Sentence-final forms with honorific
		Plain (해라체)	Informal (해체)	Polite (해요체)	Formal (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	착하시다 chakhasida	착하셔 chakhasyeo	착하세요, 착하셔요 chakhaseyo, chakhasyeoyo	착하십니다 chakhasimnida
	Past	착하셨다 chakhasyeotda	착하셨어 chakhasyeosseo	착하셨어요 chakhasyeosseoyo	착하셨습니다 chakhasyeotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	착하시냐 chakhasinya	착하셔 chakhasyeo	착하세요, 착하셔요 chakhaseyo, chakhasyeoyo	착하십니까 chakhasimnikka
	Past	착하셨냐 chakhasyeonnya	착하셨어 chakhasyeosseo	착하셨어요 chakhasyeosseoyo	착하셨습니까 chakhasyeotseumnikka
Assertive		착하시겠다 chakhasigetda	착하시겠어 chakhasigesseo	착하시겠어요 chakhasigesseoyo	착하시겠습니다 chakhasigetseumnida
Connective forms with honorific
Cause/Reason		착하셔 chakhasyeo	착하셔서 chakhasyeoseo	착하시니 chakhasini	착하시니까 chakhasinikka
Contrast		착하시지만 chakhasijiman	착하신데 chakhasinde	착하시더니 chakhasideoni
Conjunction		착하시고 chakhasigo
Condition		착하시면 chakhasimyeon	착하셔야 chakhasyeoya
Noun and determiner forms with honorific
Verbal nouns		착하심 chakhasim	착하시기 chakhasigi
Past-tense verbal nouns		착하셨음 chakhasyeosseum	착하셨기 chakhasyeotgi
Determiners	Present		착하신 chakhasin
	Future		착하실 chakhasil

References

• 김양진 (Kim Yang-jin) (2015) “'착하다'의 어휘사 [chakhada ui eohwisa, The lexical history of chak-hata]”, in Han'gugeo Eomunhak, volume 93, pages 33-54