Meaning and Usage
The verb '젖다' means 'to become wet' or 'to be soaked.' It is commonly used to describe objects or body parts that have absorbed water or moisture. This verb is often used in everyday situations such as when clothes, hands, or towels get wet.
Common Collocations
- 젖은 옷 (wet clothes): describes clothes that have absorbed water.
- 물에 젖다 (to get wet in water): used when something or someone is soaked by water.
- 젖은 수건 (wet towel): a towel that is damp or soaked.
Usage Notes
'젖다' is an intransitive verb, so it does not take a direct object. Instead, it describes the state of the subject becoming wet. It is often used with particles like '이/가' to mark the subject that is wet.
Common Mistakes
Learners sometimes confuse '젖다' with '적시다,' which means 'to wet something' (a transitive verb). Remember, '젖다' describes the subject becoming wet by itself, while '적시다' means causing something else to become wet.
Register and Politeness
'젖다' is a neutral verb and can be used in both formal and informal contexts depending on the sentence ending.