Particles

Learn Korean Language: Particles 

Particles are functional words that do not have any meaning in themselves.

They are like helpers in that they are attached to the end of nouns to indicate what that noun is and 

how it functions in a sentence.

The following links show the list of most common particles used in Korean language.

● Particles -      는   /    은

● Particles -      가   /    이

● Subject Particles

● Particles -    도

● Particles -      를   /    을

● Particles -    에

Topic Particle -    는 / 은

Please refer to Korean Listening Exercise - Topic Particle    는   /   은    for the audio recording of the 

sentences found in this lesson.

Particles are functional words that do not have any meaning in themselves.

They are like helpers in that they are attached to the end of nouns to indicate what that noun is and 

how it functions in a sentence.

This particles section is divided into several parts.

These are:

•는   /   은      - Topic particle               ┐ Subject particles

•가   /   이      - Identifier particle         ┘

•도           - Additive particle

•를   /     을     - Object particle

•에           - Time/place particle

Note: 는/   은 and 가/   이 are 'Subject particles.' The explanations are given in the 'Subject 

Particles' section.

Please have a look at the following examples to learn how particles are used in sentences.

For example,

•   나는 학생이다 = I am a student

는, the topic particle, is attached to the end of 나, which means the pronoun "I", to show that the 

topic is about "I" or the subject is "I".

Here is another example,

•   나도 학생이다 = I am a student, too.

In this sentence, 도, the additive particle, is attached to    나 to show that in addition to a person or 

people who are students, "I", too, am a student.

Now, let us go through each of these particles.

는/   은 [Topic Particle]

The first particle, we'll learn, is 는/은, the topic particle. 는/   은 is used for a subject or topic of a 

sentence.    는 is used for nouns without a final consonant, and    은 for nouns with a final consonant.

Let me explain,

•   나는 = I am

•   사람은 = A person is

나 consists of ㄴ+ㅏ

•   ㄴ = n (an initial consonant)

•   ㅏ = a (a vowel)

As you can see,    나 is a word without a final consonant, therefore    는 is attached to it.

On the other hand,    사람 which means 'a person' has    람 as a final character, and    람 consists of ㄹ+ㅏ

+ㅁ

•   ㄹ = r,l (an initial consonant)

•   ㅏ = a (a vowel)

•   ㅁ = m (a final consonant)

사람 is a word with a final consonant. Therefore,    은 is attached to it.

The reason for these two different types of the topic particle, 는/은, is that for words with a final 

consonant, it is easier to pronounce them with    은 rather 는.

Compare these two pronunciations,

•   사람는 = sa-ram-nun

•   사람은 = sa-ram-un → sa-ra-mun [사라믄]

As you can see,    사람는 is more rigid and awkward to pronounce, whereas    사람은 is more fluid and 

easy to pronounce.    사람은 is actually pronounced 사라믄. The final consonant of 람, which is ㅁ, is

transferred to    은 to make it sound 믄.

(   사람은 sounds a bit like "Sarah Moon" whereas    사람는 may sound like "Saram Noon".)

Listen to the pronunciations for yourselves in the Google Translate.

The following are example sentences using 는/은, the topic particle.

•   나는 학생이다 = I am a student

•   그는 친절하다 = He is kind

•   이것은 연필이다 = This is a pencil

•   하늘은 높다 = The sky is high

•   그녀는 공부한다 = She studies

•   존은 갔다 = John went

•   영수는 먹었다 = Young-su ate

나 = I (pronoun)

학생 = a student

그 = he

친절하다 = kind

이것 = this

연필 = pencil

하늘 = sky

높다 = high

그녀 = she

공부하다 = study

존 = John

가다 = go

영수 = Young-su (a male name)

먹다 = eat

Use Google Translate to listen the pronunciations of these words.

Note: There are no articles in the parts of speech in Korean. "A, an and the" which are used to 

identify and specify a noun in English and other languages are absent in Korean grammar.

Continue to the next section:

•Identifier Particle -      가   /    이

Identifier Particle -    가 / 이

Please refer to Korean Listening Exercise - Identifier Particle    가   /   이    for the audio recording of the 

sentences found in this lesson.

가/   이 is used similarly as 는/   은 in that they indicate a subject but 가/   이 is used when it is necessary 

to identify the person or thing that is talked about in a sentence.

For example,

•   나는 샀다 = I bought

•   내가 샀다 = I bought

Note:    나 is changed to    내 when it is used before 가.

Both of these two sentences mean "I bought" but    내가 샀다 puts more emphasis on the subject of 

the sentence, "I".

In the sentence,    내가 샀다, it is more concerned about 'who' bought rather than 'what' I did.

On the other hand,    나는 샀다, is more concerned about 'what' I did.

•   내가 샀다 = I bought [It wasn't anyone else but I who bought]

•   나는 샀다 = I bought [I bought rather than doing something else]

It is similar to the way in English where a person stresses a certain word to give it more emphasis or

importance.

For example,

•Who bought a new t-shirt?

•   내가 샀어 = I bought it.

Note: It is incorrect to say,    나는 샀어, because the person is asking about who bought a new t-shirt 

rather than asking about what they did.

•What did you do in the park?

•   나는 잤어 = I slept (I took a nap)

Note: The person may be asking to several people about what they did in the park. One person 

might say they took a stroll while another person may have had lunch there. But as for me, what I 

did was 'sleeping'.

Therefore,

•   나는 잤어 = I slept

It is wrong to say    내가 잤어 in this case because the person is not asking about who slept 

but what they did in the park. If the person asked me, 'Who slept in the park?', I would answer, 내

가 잤어 or    마크가 잤어 (Mark slept).

The identifier particle, 가/이, identifies the subject of a sentence. 가/   이 is concerned about who did 

the things asked.

Like the 는/   은 example above,    가 is used for words without a final consonant and    이 for words with

a final consonant.

Here are example sentences:

•   내가 마셨다 = I drank (It wasn't anyone else but me)

•   동생이 먹었다 = Younger brother/sister ate (It wasn't someone else but them)

•   민지가 왔다 = Min-ji came (It wasn't some other person but Min-ji)

•   안토니가 갔다 = Anthony went (It wasn't some other person but Anthony)

•   저것이 한강이야 = That is the Han River

•   빌딩이 높다 = The building is high

•   공원이 넓다 = The park is large/spacious

마시다 = drink

동생 = younger brother/sister

먹다 = eat

민지 = Min-ji (a female name)

오다 = come

안토니 = Anthony

가다 = go

저것 = that

한강 = the Han River (in Seoul)

빌딩 = a building

높다 = high

공원 = a park

넓다 = spacious, large

Use Google Translate to listen the pronunciations of these words.

Subject Particles -    는 /    은 and    가 / 이

는/   은 and 가/   이 both are used for the subject of a sentence but 는/   은 introduces a topic or a subject 

whereas 가/   이 identifies a subject.

In addition to their differences already explored above, here is another big difference between the 

two particles.

The topic particle, 는/은, is used in cases when we make a general or factual statement whereas 가/

이 is not.

For example,

•   치타는 빠르다 = A cheetah is fast

•   치타는 느리다 = A cheetah is slow (This would be a wrong statement)

However, if you visited a zoo and saw a cheetah who seems to move very slowly, you might say,

•   치타가 느리다 = (That) cheetah is slow

So the identifier particle, 가/이, indicates a certain person or thing that the speaker and listener 

know or are aware of. In this case, it would be that cheetah in the zoo.

Here is another example,

•   바다는 푸르다 = The sea is blue

•   바다는 까맣다 = The sea is black (In general, this is a wrong statement.)

But say, you saw the sea at night and you may exclaim,

•   바다가 까맣다! = The sea is black!

The sea in this sentence is identified as a particular sea at night, and both the speaker and listener 

know which sea is being talked about. This is not a general statement. Therefore the identifier 

particle, 가/이, is used in this case.

Of course,    바다가 푸르다 is also perfectly acceptable. However, the difference is that the sea in this

sentence is also a particular sea that is known by both the speaker and the listener.

•   바다는 푸르다 = The sea is blue (A general statement)

•   바다가 푸르다 = The sea is blue (The sea is identified and known by the speaker and 

listener)

It's similar to the way articles are used in English.

For example,

•An apple is red =    사과는 빨갛다  (A general or factual statement about an apple)

•The apple is red =    사과가 빨갛다 (A particular apple that the speaker identifies and 

indicates to the listener)

Additive Particle – 도

Please refer to Korean Listening Exercise - Additive Particle    도    for the audio recording of the 

sentences found in this lesson.

The additive particle, 도, is similar to subject particles 는   /   은    and 가   /   이    in that it is used for a subject

(or topic). However,    도 adds the meaning of 'too' or 'also' to a subject.

Here are example sentences:

•   나도 학생이다 = I am a student, too

•   그도 친절하다 = He is kind, too

•   이것도 연필이다 = This is a pencil, too

•   하늘도 높다 = The sky is high, too

•   그녀도 공부한다 = She studies, too

•   존도 갔다 = John went, too

•   영수도 먹었다 = Young-su ate, too

As a further explanation, please have a look at the following example:

•   윗은 왕이었다 = David was a king

•   솔로몬도 왕이었다 = Solomon was a king, too

도 always refers to the subject. For example,    솔로몬도 왕이었다 describes Solomon in terms of the

fact that he was a king, too. Not only was David a king but Solomon was also a king.

윗 = David

왕 = a king

솔로몬 = Solomon

Here is another example,

•   제니는 나갔어 = Jenny went outside

•   유리도 나갔어 = Yuri went outside, too

제니 = Jenny

나가다 = go outside, leave

유리 = Yuri

As you can see,    도 is used when one wants talk about the same quality or description about a 

different subject.

When we want to talk about additive qualities and/or descriptions about the same subject,    또한 is 

used.

For example,

•   윗은 양치기였다 = David was a shepherd.

•    윗은 또한 왕이었다 = David was also a king.

The two sentences above both describe a certain thing about the same subject, 윗, and    또한 refers

to the rest of the sentence rather than the subject.    또한 왕이었다 describes a fact that David "was 

also a king." Therefore David was both a shepherd and king.

또한 is used to give an additive quality or description about the same subject.

Here is one more example,

•   제니는 대학생이다 = Jenny is a college (university) student

•     제니는 또한 음악 선생님이다 = Jenny is also a music teacher

Jenny is both a college student and music teacher.

Note: In spoken Korean,    또 is usually used instead of 또한.

•   제니는 대학생이야 = Jenny is a college (university) student

•     제니는 또 음악 선생님이야 = Jenny is also a music teacher

Object Particle -    를 / 을

The object particle, 를/을, is attached to an object which the verb describes.

Here are example sentences:

•    나는 라면을 먹었다 = I ate noodles [Literally, noodles   을 ate]

•   책을 읽었다 = read a book

•   콜라를 마셨다 = drank coke

•TV   를 봤다 = watched TV

•   옷을 입었다 = wore clothes

•   집을 지었다 = built a house

•   케잌을 만들었다 = made a cake

나 = I

라면 = noodles

먹다 = eat

책 = a book

읽다 = read

콜라 = coke

마시다 = drink

보다 = see, watch

옷 = clothes

입다 = wear

집 = house

짓다 = build

케잌 = a cake

만들다 = make

The usage difference between    를 and    을 is that    를 is used for nouns without a final consonant, and 

을 for nouns with a final consonant for the pronunciation's sake.

•   사진을 찍었다 = took a photo

•   나무를 심었다 = planted a tree

•   빵을 샀다 = bought some bread

•   차를 팔았다 = sold a car

•   강을 건넜다 = crossed a river

•   리를 지났다 = passed a bridge

•   숙제를 했다 = did homework

사진 = a photo

찍다 = take (a photo)

나무 = a tree

심다 = plant (verb)

빵 = bread

사다 = buy

차 = a car

팔다 = sell

강 = a river

건너다 = cross (verb, motion)

리 = bridge

지나다 = pass (verb, motion)

숙제 = homework

하다 = do

Time / Place Particle - 에

Please refer to Korean Listening Exercise - Time/Place Particle    에    for the audio recording of the 

sentences found in this lesson.

The Time/Place Particle, 에, is used for any words related to time and place.

The    에 particle phrase is usually placed at the beginning of a sentence after a subject.

샘 = Sam

한국 = Korea

가다 = go

준수 = Jun-su

5   월 = May

오다 = come

•    샘은 한국에 갔다 = Sam went to Korea [Sam, to Korea, went]

•   준수는 5   월에 왔다 = Jun-su came in May [Jun-su, in May, came]

Note: 1   월 is January, 2   월 is February and so on.

You can also make long sentences like the following examples:

•    샘 은 작년 10     월 가을에 한국에 갔다 = Sam went to Korea last year in October during the 

autumn season [Sam, last year, in October, in Autumn, to Korea, went]

•   준수는 2000     년도 여름에 호주에 왔다 = Jun-su came to Australia in summer 2000. [Junsu, in 2000, in summer, to Australia, came]

작년 = last year

10   월 = October

가을 = autumn

2000   년도 = in the year 2000

여름 = summer

호주 = Australia

Note:    에 is used for words both with or without a final consonant.

•   학교에 = to school

•   병원에 = to hospital

Please note also that when    에 is used as a Place Particle, it is usually used with 'go' and 'come' to 

indicate a place to which you're going or coming, and    에 functions like 'to' in English. For example, 

공원에 = to a park,    영국에 = to Britain and    공항에 = to the airport.

When you want to say you did something at a particular place 'for a certain period of time,'    에서

is used for that location or place. In this case, the function of    에서 is similar to "in, at or on" in 

English. For example,

•   공원에서 놀았다 = played (had fun) at the park [At the park, (we) played (had fun)]

•   영국에서 지냈다 = stayed in Britain [In Britain, (I) stayed]

•   공항에서 기다렸다 = waited at the airport [At the airport, (we) waited]

공원 = a park

놀다 = play, have fun

영국 = Britain

지내다 = stay

공항 = airport

기다리다 = wait

However, in the case of 'was', you can use    에 instead of    에서 for some strange reason I do not 

know. The following two sentences mean exactly the same.

•   영국에서 있었다 = I was in Britain

•   영국에 있었다 = I was in Britain

But in the case of other verbs,    에 is not allowed.

•   공원에 놀았다

•   영국에 지냈다

•   공항에 기다렸다

Here are a few more examples:

•   시골에 갔다 = went to a countryside

•    친구가 병원에 방문왔다 = A friend of mine came (to visit me) to hospital

•   집에 있었다 = was home

•    대학에서 강의를 들었다 = listen to a lecture at the university

•      많은 사람들이 놀이 공원에 왔다 = A lot of people came to the theme park

•    아침에 시리얼을 먹었다 = I ate cereal in the morning [In the morning, I ate cereal]

•   오후 2    시에 비가 내렸다 = It started raining at 2 o'clock in the afternoon [Lit. The rain fell]

시골 = countryside

가다 = go

친구 = a friend

병원 = a hospital

방문 = a visit

오다 = come

방문오다 = came to visit

집 = home, house

있다 = be

대학 = college, university

강의 = a lecture

듣다 = listen, hear

많다 = a lot, many

사람 = a person

사람들 = people (   들 is attached to a noun to make it plural)

놀이 공원 = a theme park

28

아침 = morning

시리얼 = cereal

먹다 = eat

오후 = afternoon, pm

2   시 = 2 o'clock (1   시 is 1 o'clock, 7   시 is 7 o'clock and so on)

비 = rain

내리다 = fall down