-습네다

Korean

Etymology

See the main entry.

Suffix

습네다 • (-seumneda)

1. (Pyongan, Northern Hwanghae, areas of Hamgyong, potentially dated) Alternative form of 습니다 (-seumnida, formal polite declarative suffix)
   • 1939, 김남천, 대하(大河) [Daeha, Great River]:
     천만에 말씀이올세다, 퍽이나 바쁘시겠습네다. (평안남도 성천군)

     Cheonman-e malsseumi-olseda, peog-ina bappeu-si-get-seumneda.

     You're welcome, you must be quite busy.

     • As the novel is set in the writer's hometown, the author, future North Korean writer Kim Namcheon, presumably is writing in his native dialect.

Usage notes

While some North Korean defectors claim that this is an exaggerated or even a made-up form, this is probably because the majority of defectors come from northern areas of the Korean peninsula, and are speakers of Yukjin or Northern Hamgyong variants, which instead use the 으꾸마 (-eukkuma), 습꾸마 (-seupkkuma) or 슴다 (-seumda) forms. Among defectors from Pyongan speaking areas, some appear to consider this form old fashioned or quaint.