Korean postpositions
| Korean grammar |
|---|
Korean postpositions, or particles, are suffixes or short words in Korean grammar that immediately follow a noun or pronoun. This article uses the Revised Romanization of Korean to show pronunciation. The hangul versions in the official orthographic form are given underneath.
| Preceding syntactic element | Example sentence | Translation |
|---|---|---|
(n-)eun 은/는
|
Used as a topic particle or a subject particle. Eun 은 is used following a consonant, Neun 는 is used following a vowel. | |
| Nouns (topic) | Naneun haksaengida. 나는 학생이다. |
I am a student. |
| Nouns (topic) | Igeoseun yeonpirida. 이것은 연필이다. |
This is a pencil. |
| Nouns (genericized nominative) | Chitaneun ppareuda. 치타는 빠르다. |
Cheetahs are fast. |
| Nouns (topic) | Jeoneun jjajangmyeon juseyo. 저는 짜장면 주세요. |
I'd like a jajangmyeon. |
i/ga 이/가
|
Used as an identifier or subject particle to indicate the nominative case. I 이 is used following a consonant, Ga 가 is used following a vowel. | |
| Nouns (agent) | Naega masyeotda. 내가 마셨다. |
I drank. |
| Nouns (identifier) | Jeogeosi Han-gang-iya. 저것이 한강이야. |
That is the Han River. |
| Nouns (specific nominative) | Chitaga neurida. 치타가 느리다. |
This cheetah is slow. |
kkeseo 께서
|
The honorific nominative marker. It could be added to Neun, Do, and Man to form 께서는 (topic), 께서도 (too/also), and 께서만 (only), respectively, which are the respective honorific forms. | |
| Nouns | Seonsaengnimkkeseo osyeotda. 선생님께서 오셨다. |
(The) teacher arrived . |
(r-)eul 을/를
|
Used as an object particle to indicate the accusative case. Eul 을 is used following a consonant, Reul 를 is used following a vowel. | |
| Nouns (objective) | Naneun ramyeoneul meogeotda. 나는 라면을 먹었다. |
I ate ramen. |
ege/hante 에게/한테
|
Used as a dative particle. Ege 에게 is the literary form, and Hante 한테 is the colloquial form. | |
| Noun | Neohuiege hal mari itda. 너희에게 할 말이 있다. |
I have something to tell you. |
kke 께
|
Kke 께 is the honorific dative marker. | |
| Noun | Goyongjukke seonmureul deuryeotda. 고용주께 선물을 드렸다. |
I gave a gift to my employer. |
(eu)ro 으로/로
|
Used to mark the instrumental case, which can also denote destination or role. Euro 으로 is used following a consonant other than 'ㄹ', which is abbreviated to Ro 로 following a vowel or the consonant 'ㄹ'. | |
| Noun (means) | KTX-ro Seoureseo Busankkaji se sigan geollinda. KTX로 서울에서 부산까지 3시간 걸린다. |
It takes 3 hours to go from Seoul to Busan via KTX. |
| Noun (destination) | Naeil Hojuro tteonamnida. 내일 호주로 떠납니다. |
I am leaving for Australia tomorrow. |
| Noun (role) | Unjeonsaro chwijikhaeyo. 운전사로 취직해요. |
I'm going to be working as a driver. |
e 에
|
Used for any words relating to time or place. Sometimes used for cause. | |
| Time (noun) | Maikeureun parweore watda. 마이클은 8월에 왔다. |
Michael came in August. |
| Location (noun) | Jedongeun ilbone gatda. 제동은 일본에 갔다. |
Jedong went to Japan. |
| Cause (noun) | Jamyeongjong sorie kkaetta 자명종 소리에 깼다. |
Woke up by the sound of the alarm. |
eseo 에서
|
Translates to: "from" (ablative) when used with a motion verb. May also be used as "at", "in" (locative) when used with an action verb which is not motion related. | |
| Noun (from) | Junggugeseo wasseo. 중국에서 왔어. |
I came from China. |
| Noun (in) | Bang-eseo gongbu-reul haet-da. 방에서 공부를 했다. |
I studied in my room. |
buteo 부터
|
Translates to: Used to show when or where an action or situation started. (Egressive) | |
| Noun | Cheoeumbuteo kkeutkkaji 처음부터 끝까지 |
From beginning to end |
kkaji 까지
|
Translates to: Used to illustrate the extent of an action, either in location or time, generally meaning "until", "up to". (Terminative) | |
| Noun | Cheoeumbuteo kkeutkkaji 처음부터 끝까지 |
From beginning to end |
man 만
|
Translates to: "only", used after a noun. | |
| Noun | Ojik jeimseu-man hangugeo-reul gongbu-haet-da. 오직 제임스만 한국어를 공부했다. |
Only James studied Korean. |
ui 의
|
Functions as: possession indicator, noun link, topic marker. | |
| Noun: possession | Migugui daetongryeong 미국의 대통령 |
President of the United States |
do 도
|
Used as an additive particle. When dealing with additive qualities/descriptions of the same subject, see ttohan 또한. | |
| Nouns | Geunyeodo gongbuhanda. 그녀도 공부한다. |
She studies too. |
(g)wa/rang 과/와/랑
|
Translates to: "and" (conjunction); "with" or "as with" (preposition). Gwa 과 is used following a consonant, Wa 와 is used following a vowel. Wa 와 is the literary form, and rang 랑 is the colloquial form. | |
| Nouns: conjunction | Neowa na 너와 나 |
You and I |
(y)a 아/야
|
The vocative marker. A 아 is used following a consonant, Ya 야 is used following a vowel. | |
| Noun | Minsuya! 민수야! |
Minsu! |
(i)yeo 이여/여
|
The vocative marker, with added nuance of exclamation. Iyeo 이여 is used following a consonant, Yeo 여 is used following a vowel. | |
| Noun | Naui georukhasin gusejuyeo. 나의 거룩하신 구세주여. |
O my divine Redeemer. |
References
- Martin, Samuel E. (2006). Reference Grammar of Korean: A Complete Guide to the Grammar and History of the Korean Language. Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0804837712.
- Vincent, Mark & Yeon, Jaehoon (2010). Complete Korean (2nd ed.). Blacklick, OH: McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0071737586.
- Ihm, Ho Bin; Hong, Kyung Pyo & Chang, Suk In (2009). Korean Grammar for International Learners (New ed.). Seoul: Yonsei University Press. ISBN 9788971415542.
