KOREAN GRAMMAR

1- KOREAN ALPHABET

ㄱ g/k g in "go" (or k at end)

ㄴ n n in "no"

ㄷ d/t d in "dog"

ㄹ r/l between r and l

ㅁ m m in "man"

ㅂ b/p b in "bat"

ㅅ s s in "see"

ㅇ silent/ng silent at beginning, ng at end

ㅈ j j in "jump"

ㅊ ch ch in "church"

ㅋ k strong k

ㅌ t strong t

ㅍ p strong p

ㅎ h h in "hat"

ㄲ kk

ㄸ tt

ㅃ pp

ㅆ ss

ㅉ jj

ㅏ a a in "father"

ㅓ eo u in "sun" (not exactly)

ㅗ o o in "go"

ㅜ u oo in "food"

ㅡ eu no English equivalent

ㅣ i ee in "see"

ㅐ ae e in "bed"

ㅔ e similar to "eh"; many modern speakers pronounce it like ㅐ

ㅚ oe often pronounced like "we" in modern Korean

ㅟ wi "wee"

ㅑ ya

ㅕ yeo

ㅛ yo

ㅠ yu

ㅒ yae

ㅖ ye

ㅘ wa

ㅙ wae

ㅝ wo

ㅞ we

ㅢ ui

BUILDING SYLLABLES:

2- WORD ORDER

1 Basic S + V S + V 저는 자요. Jeoneun jayo. I sleep.

2 Direct object S + V + DO S + V + DO 저는 책을 읽어요. Jeoneun chaegeul ilgeoyo. I read a book.

3 Indirect object S + V + IO + DO S + V + IO + DO 저는 그에게 책 한 권을 줘요. Jeoneun geuege chaek han gwoneul jwoyo. I give him/her a book.

4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + 을/를 위해 S + V + DO + eul/reul wihae 저는 그를 위해 책을 사요. Jeoneun geureul wihae chaegeul sayo. I buy a book for him/her.

5 IO pronoun S + V + IO + DO S + V + IO + DO 저는 그에게 책 한 권을 줘요. Jeoneun geuege chaek han gwoneul jwoyo. I give him/her a book.

6 Adjective S + Adj S + Adj 이 책은 커요. I chaegeun keoyo. This book is big.

7 Adverb S + V + DO + Adv S + V + DO + Adv 그는 책을 빨리 읽어요. Geuneun chaegeul ppalli ilgeoyo. He/She reads the book quickly.

8 DO + adverb S + V + DO + Adv S + V + DO + Adv 저는 이 책을 빨리 읽어요. Jeoneun i chaegeul ppalli ilgeoyo. I read this book quickly.

9 Time S + Time + V S + Time + V 저는 오늘 일해요. Jeoneun oneul ilhaeyo. I work today.

10 Place S + Place + V S + Place + V 그는 거기에 있어요. Geuneun geogie isseoyo. He/She is there.

11 Location / "be at" N + Location + 에 있다 N + Location + e itda 책이 책상 위에 있어요. Chaegi chaeksang wie isseoyo. The book is on the table.

12 DO + location S + V + DO + Location S + V + DO + Location 저는 책을 책상 위에 놓아요. Jeoneun chaegeul chaeksang wie noayo. I put the book on the table.

13 Determiner + noun Det + N Det + N 이 책은 새 책이에요. I chaegeun sae chaegieyo. This book is new.

14 Det + adjective + noun Det + Adj + N Det + Adj + N 이 큰 책은 새 책이에요. I keun chaegeun sae chaegieyo. This big book is new.

15 Numeral + noun Num + N + Classifier Num + N + classifier 새 책 두 권이 있어요. Sae chaek du gwoni isseoyo. There are two new books.

16 Conjunction Clause + 그리고 + Clause Clause + geurigo + Clause 저는 책을 읽고 그는 편지를 써요. Jeoneun chaegeul ilg o geuneun pyeonjireul sseoyo. I read a book, and he writes a letter.

17 Conjunction + sequence Clause + 그리고 나서 + Clause Clause + geurigo naseo + Clause 저는 책을 읽고 나서 그는 편지를 써요. Jeoneun chaegeul ilgo naseo geuneun pyeonjireul sseoyo. I read a book, and then he writes a letter.

18 Present passive DO + 이/히/리/기 + V DO + i/hi/ri/gi + V 이 책은 사람들이 읽어요. I chaegeun saramdeuri ilgeoyo. This book is read by people.

19 Passive + agent DO + Agent + 에게 + V-passive DO + Agent + ege + V-passive 이 책은 그에게 읽혀요. I chaegeun geuege ilhyeoyo. This book is read by him/her.

20 Passive + IO DO + Agent + 에게 + V-passive DO + Agent + ege + V-passive 이 책은 선생님에게 학생에게 주어져요. I chaegeun seonsaengnim-ege haksaeng-ege ju-eojyeoyo. This book is given to the student by the teacher.

21 Passive + IO + agent DO + Agent + 에게 + IO + V-passive DO + Agent + ege + IO + V-passive 이 책은 선생님에 의해 학생에게 주어져요. I chaegeun seonsaengnime uihae haksaeng-ege ju-eojyeoyo. This book is given to the student by the teacher.

22 Passive + time DO + Time + Agent + 에게 + V-passive DO + Time + Agent + ege + V-passive 이 책은 오늘 그에게 읽혀요. I chaegeun oneul geuege ilhyeoyo. This book is read by him/her today.

23 Passive + location DO + Agent + 에 의해 + V-passive + Location DO + Agent + e uihae + V-passive + Location 이 책은 그에 의해 책상 위에 놓여요. I chaegeun geue uihae chaeksang wie nohyeoyo. This book is put on the table by him/her.

24 Passive + agent + time DO + Time + Agent + 에 의해 + V-passive DO + Time + Agent + e uihae + V-passive 이 책은 오늘 그에 의해 읽혀요. I chaegeun oneul geue uihae ilhyeoyo. This book is read by him/her today.

25 Passive + IO + agent + time DO + Time + Agent + 에 의해 + IO + V-passive DO + Time + Agent + e uihae + IO + V-passive 이 책은 오늘 선생님에 의해 학생에게 주어져요. I chaegeun oneul seonsaengnime uihae haksaeng-ege ju-eojyeoyo. This book is given to the student by the teacher today.

26 Past passive DO + Agent + 에게/에 의해 + V-passive + past DO + Agent + ege/e uihae + V-passive + past 이 책은 어제 그에게 읽혔어요. I chaegeun eoje geuege ilhyeosseoyo. This book was read by him/her yesterday.

27 Past passive + agent DO + Agent + 에 의해 + V-passive + past DO + Agent + e uihae + V-passive + past 이 책은 그에 의해 읽혔어요. I chaegeun geue uihae ilhyeosseoyo. This book was read by him/her.

28 Future passive DO + 이/히/리/기 + V + ㄹ 거예요 DO + i/hi/ri/gi + V + l geoyeyo 이 책은 그에게 읽힐 거예요. I chaegeun geuege ilhil geoyeyo. This book will be read by him/her.

29 Future passive + agent DO + Agent + 에 의해 + V-passive + ㄹ 거예요 DO + Agent + e uihae + V-passive + l geoyeyo 이 책은 그에 의해 읽힐 거예요. I chaegeun geue uihae ilhil geoyeyo. This book will be read by him/her.

30 Modal passive DO + 아/어야 하다 DO + a/eoya hada 이 책은 반드시 읽어야 해요. I chaegeun bandeusi ilgeoya haeyo. This book must be read.

31 Negative S + 안/지 않다 + V + DO S + an/ji anta + V + DO 저는 이 책을 읽지 않아요. Jeoneun i chaegeul ilgji anayo. I do not read this book.

32 Negative passive DO + 안/지 않다 + V-passive DO + an/ji anta + V-passive 이 책은 그에게 읽히지 않아요. I chaegeun geuege ilhiji anayo. This book is not read by him/her.

33 Yes/no question S + V + DO + ? S + V + DO + ? 이 책을 읽어요? I chaegeul ilgeoyo? Do you read this book?

34 Passive question DO + Agent + 에게 + V-passive + ? DO + Agent + ege + V-passive + ? 이 책은 그에게 읽혀요? I chaegeun geuege ilhyeoyo? Is this book read by him/her?

35 Agent question DO + 누구에게 + V-passive? DO + nugu-ege + V-passive? 이 책은 누구에게 읽혔어요? I chaegeun nugu-ege ilhyeosseoyo? Who read this book?

36 IO question S + V + DO + 누구에게? S + V + DO + nugu-ege? 이 책을 누구에게 줘요? I chaegeul nugu-ege jwoyo? Who do you give this book to?

37 Imperative V + DO! V + DO! 이 책을 읽으세요! I chaegeul ilgeuseyo! Read this book!

38 Imperative + IO DO + 을/를 + IO + 에게 + 주세요! DO + eul/reul + IO + ege + juseyo! 이 책을 그에게 주세요! I chaegeul geuege juseyo! Give this book to him/her!

39 Passive imperative / obligation DO + 을/를 + 반드시 + V-아/어야 하다 DO + eul/reul + bandeusi + V-a/eoya hada 이 책은 반드시 읽어야 해요! I chaegeun bandeusi ilgeoya haeyo! This book must be read!

40 Infinitive V V 책을 읽다 Chaegeul ilgda. to read a book

41 Infinitive + DO V + DO V + DO 이 책을 읽다 I chaegeul ilgda. to read this book

42 Passive infinitive V-아/어지다 / V-passive V-a/eojida / V-passive 읽히다 Ilhida. to be read

43 Purpose S + V + -(으)려고 / -기 위해 + V S + V + (eu)ryeogo / -gi wihae + V 저는 놀려고 먹어요. Jeoneun nollyeogo meogeoyo. I eat in order to play.

44 Relative clause [Clause + 는/ㄴ/은/을] + N [Clause + neun/n/eun/eul] + N 제가 읽은 책은 재미있어요. Jega ilgeun chaegeun jaemiisseoyo. The book that I read is interesting.

45 Passive relative [N + 이/가 + V-passive + ㄴ/은] + N [N + i/ga + V-passive + n/eun] + N 그가 쓴 책은 재미있어요. Geuga sseun chaegeun jaemiisseoyo. The book that was written by him/her is interesting.

46 Conditional -(으)면 + clause (eu)myeon + clause 제가 시간이 있으면 책을 읽을 거예요. Jega sigani isseumyeon chaegeul ilgeul geoyeyo. If I have time, I will read a book.

47 Conditional + passive DO + 이/히/리/기 + V + -(으)면, clause DO + i/hi/ri/gi + V + (eu)myeon, clause 이 책이 읽히면 그는 많이 배울 거예요. I chaegi ilhimyeon geuneun mani baeul geoyeyo. If this book is read, he/she will learn a lot.

48 Reported speech S + "Quote" + 고 말하다/하다 S + "Quote" + go malhada/hada 그는 "저는 책을 읽어요"라고 말했어요. Geuneun "Jeoneun chaegeul ilgeoyo"rago malhaesseoyo. He said, "I read a book."

49 Reported question S + Person + 에게 + Question + 냐고 묻다 S + Person + ege + Question + nyago mutda 그는 저에게 제가 이 책을 읽었냐고 물어봤어요. Geuneun jeoege jega i chaegeul ilgeonn-yago mureobwasseoyo. He asked me whether I read this book.

50 Reported command S + Person + 에게 + V-(으)라고 하다 S + Person + ege + V-(eu)rago hada 그는 저에게 책을 읽으라고 했어요. Geuneun jeoege chaegeul ilgeurago haesseoyo. He told me to read the book.

A few important Korean corrections

1. Korean commonly uses lexical passive verbs such as:

읽다 → 읽히다 (ilhida) = be read

쓰다 → 쓰이다 (sseuida) = be written

열다 → 열리다 (yeollida) = be opened

닫다 → 닫히다 (dadhida) = be closed

보다 → 보이다 (boida) = be seen

So for a natural Korean passive:

이 책은 그에게 읽혔어요.

I chaegeun geuege ilhyeosseoyo.

= This book was read by him/her.

2. For an explicit "by the agent," 에 의해 is more formal:

그에 의해 쓰인 책

Geue uihae sseuin chaek

= a book written by him

In ordinary Korean, the agent can often be marked with 에게 with certain passive verbs.

3. Relative clauses are especially important in Korean:

제가 읽은 책

Jega ilgeun chaek

= the book that I read

The entire modifying clause comes before the noun, with no separate word for who/which/that.

4. Reported commands use -(으)라고 하다:

그는 저에게 책을 읽으라고 했어요.

Geuneun jeoege chaegeul ilgeurago haesseoyo.

= He told me to read the book.

This is the natural Korean equivalent of the Khmer reported-command pattern in your original table.

INDIRECT OBJECT:

Indirect object S + V + 사람에게 + DO S + V + saram-ege + DO 저는 친구에게 책을 줘요. Jeoneun chinguege chaegeul jwoyo. I give my friend a book.

Person recipient S + V + 사람한테 + DO S + V + saram-hante + DO 저는 동생한테 선물을 줘요. Jeoneun dongsaenghante seonmureul jwoyo. I give my younger sibling a gift.

Honorific recipient S + V + 사람께 + DO S + V + saram-kke + DO 저는 선생님께 편지를 써요. Jeoneun seonsaengnimkke pyeonjireul sseoyo. I write a letter to the teacher.

Giving S + V + IO + DO S + V + IO + DO 저는 그에게 돈을 줘요. Jeoneun geuege doneul jwoyo. I give him/her money.

Sending S + V + IO + DO S + V + IO + DO 저는 친구에게 메시지를 보내요. Jeoneun chinguege mesijireul bonaeyo. I send my friend a message.

Showing S + V + IO + DO S + V + IO + DO 저는 그에게 사진을 보여 줘요. Jeoneun geuege sajineul boyeo jwoyo. I show him/her a picture.

Teaching S + V + IO + DO S + V + IO + DO 저는 학생들에게 한국어를 가르쳐요. Jeoneun haksaengdeurege hangugeoreul gareuchyeoyo. I teach Korean to the students.

Buying for someone S + V + IO + DO S + V + IO + DO 저는 어머니에게 꽃을 사 드려요. Jeoneun eomeoniege kkocheul sa deuryeoyo. I buy flowers for my mother.

The main particles

Particle Meaning Use Example

에게 ege to Standard / written 친구에게 책을 줘요. Chinguege chaegeul jwoyo. I give a book to my friend.

한테 hante to Conversational / informal 친구한테 책을 줘요. Chinguhante chaegeul jwoyo. I give a book to my friend.

께 kke to Honorific 선생님께 책을 드려요. Seonsaengnimkke chaegeul deuryeoyo. I give a book to the teacher.

에게 vs. 한테 vs. 께

에게 and 한테 usually mean the same thing:

친구에게 책을 줘요.

Chinguege chaegeul jwoyo.

= I give my friend a book.

친구한테 책을 줘요.

Chinguhante chaegeul jwoyo.

= I give my friend a book.

께 is honorific:

선생님께 책을 드려요.

Seonsaengnimkke chaegeul deuryeoyo.

= I give a book to the teacher.

Notice that with an honorific recipient, 주다 often becomes the honorific 드리다.

Word-by-word example

저는 친구에게 책을 줘요.

Jeoneun chinguege chaegeul jwoyo.

저는 = I + topic

친구에게 = to my friend

책을 = book + object marker

줘요 = give

Structure:

저는 + 친구에게 + 책을 + 줘요

S + IO + DO + V

= I + to my friend + a book + give.

Korean therefore commonly places the indirect object before the direct object.

GENITIVE:

Possession N + 의 + N N + ui + N 민수의 책 Minsuui chaek Minsu's book

Person's possession N + 의 + N N + ui + N 학생의 가방 Haksaengui gabang the student's bag

Relationship N + 의 + N N + ui + N 한국의 역사 Hangugui yeoksa Korea's history

Part of something N + 의 + N N + ui + N 책의 표지 Chaegui pyoji the cover of the book

Description N + 의 + N N + ui + N 오늘의 날씨 Oneurui nalssi today's weather

Place + noun N + 의 + N N + ui + N 서울의 사람들 Seourui saramdeul people of Seoul

INDEPENDENT:

Mine 내 것 nae geot 이것은 내 것이에요. Igeoseun nae geosieyo. This is mine.

Yours 네 것 ne geot 이것은 네 것이에요. Igeoseun ne geosieyo. This is yours.

His 그의 것 geuui geot 이것은 그의 것이에요. Igeoseun geuui geosieyo. This is his.

Hers 그녀의 것 geunyeoui geot 이것은 그녀의 것이에요. Igeoseun geunyeoui geosieyo. This is hers.

Ours 우리 것 uri geot 이것은 우리 것이에요. Igeoseun uri geosieyo. This is ours.

Theirs 그들의 것 geudeurui geot 이것은 그들의 것이에요. Igeoseun geudeurui geosieyo. This is theirs.

WAS GOING TO:

Was going to V + -(으)려고 했다 V + -(eu)ryeogo haetda 먹으려고 했어요. Meogeuryeogo haesseoyo. I was going to eat.

Was intending to V + -(으)려고 했다 V + -(eu)ryeogo haetda 먹으려고 했어요. Meogeuryeogo haesseoyo. I was intending to eat.

Was planning to V + -(으)ㄹ 계획이었다 V + -(eu)l gyehoekieotda 먹을 계획이었어요. Meogeul gyehoegieosseoyo. I was planning to eat.

Was scheduled/supposed to V + -(으)ㄹ 예정이었다 V + -(eu)l yejeongieotda 먹을 예정이었어요. Meogeul yejeongieosseoyo. I was scheduled/planned to eat.

Was supposed to V + -기로 했다 → -기로 했었다 V + -giro haetda → -giro haesseotda 먹기로 했었어요. Meokgiro haesseoyo. I was supposed to eat / I had agreed to eat.

Was about to V + -(으)려고 했다 V + -(eu)ryeogo haetda 먹으려고 했어요. Meogeuryeogo haesseoyo. I was about to eat / was going to eat.

2- NOUNS

Subject: 학생이 [haksaeng-i] the student (as subject)

Topic: 학생은 [haksaeng-eun] as for the student

Object: 학생을 [haksaeng-eul] the student (as object)

Possession: 학생의 [haksaeng-ui] student's

Location: 학생에게 [haksaeng-ege] to the student

With: 학생과 [haksaeng-gwa] with the student

Action location: 학생에서 [haksaeng-eseo] at student (rare)

From person 학생에게서 [haksaeng-egeseo] from student

From place 학교에서 [hakgyo-eseo] from school

Instrument 학생으로 [haksaeng-euro] by/through student

Comparison 학생보다 [haksaeng-boda] than student

Calling 학생아 [haksaeng-a] hey student

Nominative: 학생들이 haksaengdeuri students (subject)

Topic: 학생들은 haksaengdeureun as for students

Accusative: 학생들을 haksaengdeureul students (object)

Genitive: 학생들의 haksaengdeul-ui students'

Dative: 학생들에게 haksaengdeurege to students

Locative: 학생들에 haksaengdeure at/to students

Action location: 학생들에서 haksaengdeureseo at students' place

From: 학생들에게서 haksaengdeuregeseo from students

With: 학생들과 haksaengdeulgwa with students

Instrument: 학생들로 haksaengdeullo by/through students

Comparison: 학생들보다 haksaengdeulboda than students

Calling: 학생들아 haksaengdeura hey students

3- ADJECTIVES:

Dictionary form stem + 다 stem + da 좋다 jota to be good

Predicate adjective (present) noun + 이/가 + stem + 아/어요 noun + i/ga + stem + a/eoyo 음식이 좋아요 Eumsigi joayo The food is good

Present stem + 아/어요 stem + a/eoyo 좋아요 joayo is good

Past stem + 았/었어요 stem + asseoyo/eosseoyo 좋았어요 joasseoyo was good

Future stem + (으)ㄹ 거예요 stem + (eu)l geoyeyo 좋을 거예요 joeul geoyeyo will be good

Attributive (before noun) stem + (으)ㄴ + noun stem + (eu)n + noun 좋은 사람 joeun saram a good person

Predicate adjective (past) noun + 이/가 + stem + 았/었어요 noun + i/ga + stem + asseoyo/eosseoyo 음식이 좋았어요 Eumsigi joasseoyo The food was good

Predicate adjective (future) noun + 이/가 + stem + (으)ㄹ 거예요 noun + i/ga + stem + (eu)l geoyeyo 음식이 좋을 거예요 Eumsigi joeul geoyeyo The food will be good

Dictionary Noun + 이다 학생이다 haksaengida to be a student

Present polite Noun + 이에요/예요 학생이에요 haksaengieyo am/is a student

Present formal Noun + 입니다 학생입니다 haksaengimnida am/is a student

Past polite Noun + 이었어요/였어요 학생이었어요 haksaengieosseoyo was a student

Past formal Noun + 이었습니다/였습니다 학생이었습니다 haksaengieotseumnida was a student

Future Noun + 일 거예요 학생일 거예요 haksaengil geoyeyo will be a student

Future formal Noun + 일 것입니다 학생일 것입니다 haksaengil geosimnida will be a student

Negative present Noun + 이/가 아니에요 학생이 아니에요 haksaengi anieyo am/is not a student

Negative past Noun + 이/가 아니었어요 학생이 아니었어요 haksaengi anieosseoyo was not a student

Negative future Noun + 이/가 아닐 거예요 학생이 아닐 거예요 haksaengi anil geoyeyo will not be a student

Would be Noun + 이라면 학생이라면 haksaengiramyeon if/were a student

Would have been Noun + 이었을 거예요 학생이었을 거예요 haksaengieosseul geoyeyo would have been a student

Dictionary adjective stem + 다 stem + da 좋다 jota to be good

Present polite stem + 아/어요 stem + a/eoyo 좋아요 joayo am/is good

Present formal stem + ㅂ/습니다 stem + seumnida 좋습니다 jotseumnida am/is good

Past polite stem + 았/었어요 stem + asseoyo/eosseoyo 좋았어요 joasseoyo was good

Past formal stem + 았/었/습니다 stem + asseotseumnida/eotseumnida 좋았습니다 joatseumnida was good

Future stem + (으)ㄹ 거예요 stem + (eu)l geoyeyo 좋을 거예요 joeul geoyeyo will be good

Future formal stem + (으)ㄹ 것입니다 stem + (eu)l geosimnida 좋을 것입니다 joeul geosimnida will be good

Negative present 안 + adjective an + adjective 안 좋아요 an joayo am/is not good

Negative past 안 + adjective + 았/었어요 an + adjective + asseoyo/eosseoyo 안 좋았어요 an joasseoyo was not good

Negative future 안 + adjective + (으)ㄹ 거예요 an + adjective + (eu)l geoyeyo 안 좋을 거예요 an joeul geoyeyo will not be good

4- PRONOUNS:

I 내가 naega

you 네가 nega

he 그가 geuga

she 그녀가 geunyeoga

we 우리가 uriga

they 그들이 geudeuri

내가 먹어요. Naega meogeoyo. I eat.

I 나는 naneun

I (polite) 저는 jeoneun

you 너는 neoneun

he 그는 geuneun

she 그녀는 geunyeoneun

we 우리는 urineun

they 그들은 geudeureun

me 나를 nareul

me (polite) 저를 jeoreul

you 너를 neoreul

him 그를 geureul

her 그녀를 geunyeoreul

us 우리를 urireul

them 그들을 geudeureul

my 나의 / 내 naui / nae

my (humble) 저의 / 제 jeoui / je

your 너의 / 네 neoui / ne

his 그의 geuui

her 그녀의 geunyeoui

our 우리의 uriui

their 그들의 geudeurui

to me 나에게 naege

to me (humble) 저에게 jeoege

to you 너에게 neoege

to him 그에게 geuege

to her 그녀에게 geunyeoege

to us 우리에게 uriege

A) Location (at/to)

Pronoun + 에

Example:

나에게 와요.

Naege wayo.

= Come to me.

B) From

Pronoun + 에게서 / 한테서

English Korean

from me 나에게서

from him 그에게서

Example:

그에게서 배웠어요.

Geuegeseo baeweosseoyo.

= I learned from him.

7. Instrumental Case — "with/by me"

Korean uses:

(으)로

Examples:

나로

naro

= by me / through me

Usually Korean prefers:

나 때문에

na ttaemune

= because of me

8. Vocative Case (Calling Someone)

Formation:

Name/pronoun + 아/야

Used when calling someone.

Examples:

너야!

Neoya!

= You!

친구야!

Chinguya!

= Friend!

9. Possessive Independent ("mine, yours")

Korean usually says:

pronoun + 것

= thing belonging to someone

English Korean Transliteration

mine 내 것 nae geot

yours 네 것 ne geot

his 그의 것 geuui geot

ours 우리 것 uri geot

Example:

이것은 내 것이에요.

Igeoseun nae geosieyo.

= This is mine.

10. Reflexive Case (myself, yourself, himself)

자기 (jagi) = oneself

Forms:

English Korean Transliteration

himself 자기 jagi

himself (object) 자기를 jagireul

his own 자기의 jagiui

Example:

그는 자기를 사랑해요.

Geuneun jagireul saranghaeyo.

= He loves himself.

DEMONSTRATIVE:

this 이것 igeot this thing

that 그것 geugeot that thing

that over there 저것 jeogeot that thing over there

This is a book. 이것은 책이에요. Igeoseun chaegieyo.

this book 이 책 i chaek

that book 그 책 geu chaek

that book over there 저 책 jeo chaek

here 여기 yeogi

there (near you) 거기 geogi

over there 저기 jeogi

this person 이 사람 i saram

that person 그 사람 geu saram

that person over there 저 사람 jeo saram

Topic 이것은 igeoseun as for this

Subject 이것이 igeosi this is

Object 이것을 igeoseul this

Possession 이것의 igeosui of this

6. Shortened Forms in Speech

In everyday Korean:

Full Form Common Form Transliteration

이것 이거 igeo

그것 그거 geugeo

저것 저거 jeogeo

7. Plural Demonstratives

Add:

들 (deul) = plural

English Korean Transliteration

these 이것들 igeotdeul

those 그것들 geugeotdeul

those over there 저것들 jeogeotdeul

near speaker 이것 igeot this thing

near listener/mentioned 그것 geugeot that thing

far from both 저것 jeogeot that thing over there

near speaker + noun 이 + noun i + noun this noun

near listener + noun 그 + noun geu + noun that noun

far + noun 저 + noun jeo + noun that noun over there

These are books. 이것들은 책이에요. Igeotdeureun chaegieyo.

REFLEXIVE:

myself 나 자신 na jasin

yourself 너 자신 neo jasin

himself/herself 자기 / 자신 jagi / jasin

ourselves 우리 자신 uri jasin

themselves 그들 자신 / 자기들 geudeul jasin / jagideul

oneself 자기 / 자신 jagi / jasin

one's own 자기의 / 자기 jagiui / jagi

by myself 혼자 honja

그는 자기를 봤어요. Geuneun jagireul bwasseoyo. He saw himself.

혼자 갔어요. Honja gasseoyo. I went by myself. (When the reflexive refers back to the subject, Korean commonly uses 자기:)

5- VERB TENSES:

to eat 먹다 meokda

eat 먹어요 meogeoyo

eat (formal) 먹습니다 meokseumnida

am eating 먹고 있어요 meokgo isseoyo

ate 먹었어요 meogeosseoyo

ate (formal) 먹었습니다 meogeosseumnida

was eating 먹고 있었어요 meokgo isseosseoyo

will eat 먹을 거예요 meogeul geoyeyo

will eat (formal) 먹겠습니다 meokgetseumnida

will be eating 먹고 있을 거예요 meokgo isseul geoyeyo

have eaten 먹어 본 적이 있어요 meogeo bon jeogi isseoyo

have been eating 먹어 왔어요 meogeo wasseoyo

had eaten 먹었었어요 meogeosseosseoyo

had been eating 먹고 있었어요 meokgo isseosseoyo

if I eat 먹으면 meogeumyeon

can eat 먹을 수 있어요 meogeul su isseoyo

want to eat 먹고 싶어요 meokgo sipeoyo

must eat 먹어야 해요 meogeoya haeyo

try eating 먹어 봐요 meogeo bwayo

eat! 먹으세요 meogeuseyo

let's eat 먹자 meokja

go 가요 gayo

go (formal) 갑니다 gamnida

am going 가고 있어요 gago isseoyo

went 갔어요 gasseoyo

went (formal) gago itsseumnida

was going 가고 있었어요 gago isseosseoyo

will go 갈 거예요 gal geoyeyo

will be going 가고 있을 거예요 gago isseul geoyeyo

have gone 가 본 적 있어요 ga bon jeok isseoyo

have been going 가 왔어요 ga wasseoyo

had gone 갔었어요 gasseosseoyo

had been going 가고 있었어요 gago isseosseoyo

if go 가면 gamyeon

can go 갈 수 있어요 gal su isseoyo

intend to go 가려고 해요 garyeogo haeyo

try going 가 봐요 ga bwayo

must go 가야 해요 gaya haeyo

want to go 가고 싶어요 gago sipeoyo

let's go 가자 gaja

go! 가세요 gaseyo

FORMATION:

아요 ayo present

어요 eoyo present

ㅂ니다 mnida formal present

습니다 seumnida formal present

고 있어요 go isseoyo present continuous

았어요 asseoyo past

었어요 eosseoyo past

고 있었어요 go isseosseoyo past continuous

(으)ㄹ 거예요 (eu)l geoyeyo future

겠습니다 getseumnida formal future

고 있을 거예요 go isseul geoyeyo future continuous

아/어 버리다 a/eo beorida completion

아/어 본 적 있다 a/eo bon jeok itda experience

아/어 오다 a/eo oda have been doing

았/었었어요 asseosseosseoyo past perfect

면/으면 myeon/eumyeon if

지 않다 ji anta not

(으)ㄹ 수 있다 (eu)l su itda can

(으)려고 하다 (eu)ryeogo hada intend

고 싶다 go sipda want

아야/어야 하다 aya/eoya hada must

아/어 보다 a/eo boda try

세요/으세요 seyo/useyo command

자 ja let's

6- PASSIVE TENSES:

Present: 아요/어요 ayo/eoyo

Formal present: ㅂ니다/습니다 mnida/seumnida

Progressive: 고 있어요 go isseoyo

Formal progressive: 고 있습니다 go itsseumnida

Past: 았어요/었어요 asseoyo/eosseoyo

Formal past: 았습니다/었습니다 atseumnida/eotseumnida

Past progressive: 고 있었어요 go isseosseoyo

Future: (으)ㄹ 거예요 (eu)l geoyeyo

Formal future: 겠습니다 getseumnida

Future progressive: 고 있을 거예요 go isseul geoyeyo

Perfect state: 어 있다 eo itda

Past perfect state: 어 있었다 eo isseotda

Conditional: 면/으면 myeon/eumyeon

Negative: 지 않다 ji anta

Ability: (으)ㄹ 수 있다 (eu)l su itda

7- NEGATION:

I do not eat 안 먹어요 an meogeoyo

I did not eat 안 먹었어요 an meogeosseoyo

I will not eat 안 먹을 거예요 an meogeul geoyeyo

I am not eating 안 먹고 있어요 an meokgo isseoyo

I have not eaten 먹지 않았어요 meokji anasseoyo

I cannot eat 못 먹어요 mot meogeoyo

I cannot eat (formal) 먹지 못합니다 meokji mothamnida

an joayo = not good

학생이 아니다 haksaeng-i anida = to not be a student (POSITIVE: 학생이다 haksaeng-ida = to be a student)

학생이 아니에요. Haksaeng-i anieyo. I am not a student.

안 an not

못 mot cannot

절대 jeoldae never (with negation)

전혀 jeonhyeo not at all (with negation)

별로 byeollo not particularly (with negation)

8- QUESTIONS:

YES/NO QUESTIONS:

The sentence stays the same, we just raise our intonation when speaking and add a question mark.

QUESTION WORDS:

누구 nugu who

무엇 / 뭐 mueot / mwo what

어디 eodi where

언제 eonje when

왜 wae why

어떻게 eotteoke how

어느 eoneu which

어떤 eotteon what kind of

얼마나 eolmana how much/how many

몇 myeot how many (before counters)

nugu-yeyo?

Who 누구 nugu 누가 먹어요? Nuga meogeoyo? Who is eating?

Whom 누구를 nugureul 누구를 만났어요? Nugureul mannasseoyo? Whom did you meet?

Whose 누구의 nuguui 누구의 책이에요? Nuguui chaegieyo? Whose book is it?

What 무엇 / 뭐 mueot / mwo 무엇을 먹어요? Mueoseul meogeoyo? What are you eating?

Which 어느 eoneu 어느 책을 읽어요? Eoneu chaegeul ilgeoyo? Which book are you reading?

Where 어디 eodi 어디에 가요? Eodie gayo? Where are you going?

Where (location) 어디에 eodie 어디에 있어요? Eodie isseoyo? Where is it?

Where (from) 어디에서 eodieseo 어디에서 왔어요? Eodieseo wasseoyo? Where did you come from?

When 언제 eonje 언제 와요? Eonje wayo? When are you coming?

Why 왜 wae 왜 먹어요? Wae meogeoyo? Why are you eating?

How 어떻게 eotteoke 어떻게 가요? Eotteoke gayo? How do you go?

How much 얼마 eolma 얼마예요? Eolmayeyo? How much is it?

How many 몇 myeot 몇 개 있어요? Myeot gae isseoyo? How many are there?

How long 얼마나 오래 eolmana orae 얼마나 오래 기다렸어요? Eolmana orae gidaryeosseoyo? How long did you wait?

How often 얼마나 자주 eolmana jaju 얼마나 자주 운동해요? Eolmana jaju undonghaeyo? How often do you exercise?

How old 몇 살 myeot sal 몇 살이에요? Myeot sarieyo? How old are you?

How many people 몇 명 myeot myeong 몇 명이 와요? Myeot myeongi wayo? How many people are coming?

What kind/type 어떤 eotteon 어떤 음식을 좋아해요? Eotteon eumsigeul joahaeyo? What kind of food do you like?

9- ADVERBS:

Korean Transliteration English

잘 jal well

못 mot badly / cannot

빨리 ppalli quickly

천천히 cheoncheonhi slowly

조용히 joyonghi quietly

크게 keuge loudly / greatly

작게 jakge quietly / in a small way

쉽게 swipge easily

어렵게 eoryeopge with difficulty

정확히 jeonghwakhi accurately

정확하게 jeonghwakhage accurately

똑바로 ttokbaro straight / correctly

제대로 jedaero properly

잘못 jalmot wrongly

열심히 yeolsimhi diligently

부지런히 bujireonhi diligently

게으르게 geeureuge lazily

조심히 josimhi carefully

조심스럽게 josimseureopge carefully

급히 geuphi urgently / hurriedly

서둘러 seodulleo hurriedly

느긋하게 neugeuthage leisurely

자연스럽게 jayeonseureopge naturally

이상하게 isanghage strangely

특별히 teukbyeolhi specially

직접 jikjeop directly

간접적으로 ganjeopjeogeuro indirectly

함께 hamkke together

같이 gachi together

따로 ttaro separately

서로 seoro mutually / each other

몰래 mollae secretly

슬쩍 seuljjeok stealthily / subtly

일부러 ilbureo intentionally

우연히 uyeonhi accidentally / by chance

솔직히 soljikhi honestly

진지하게 jinjihage seriously

간단히 gandanh-i simply

자세히 jasihi in detail

꼼꼼히 kkomkkomhi thoroughly

완전히 wanjeonhi completely

대충 daechung roughly / carelessly

충분히 chungbunhi sufficiently

자유롭게 jayurobge freely

2. Time adverbs — 시간

Korean Transliteration English

지금 jigeum now

이제 ije now / from now

현재 hyeonjae currently

오늘 oneul today

어제 eoje yesterday

내일 naeil tomorrow

모레 more the day after tomorrow

그제 geuje the day before yesterday

아까 akka a little while ago

방금 banggeum just now

곧 got soon

바로 baro immediately / right away

즉시 jeuksi immediately

당장 dangjang at once / immediately

곧바로 gotbaro immediately

나중에 najunge later

나중 najung later

먼저 meonjeo first / beforehand

이미 imi already

벌써 beolsseo already / so soon

아직 ajik still / yet

여전히 yeojeonhi still

계속 gyesok continuously

계속해서 gyesokhaeseo continuously

한동안 handongan for a while

잠시 jamsi briefly / for a moment

잠깐 jamkkan briefly

한때 hanttae once / at one time

예전에 yejeone formerly / in the past

과거에 gwageoe in the past

최근에 choegeune recently

요즘 yojeum these days

매일 maeil every day

매주 maeju every week

매달 maedal every month

매년 maenyeon every year

때때로 ttaettaero sometimes

때로 ttaero sometimes

종종 jongjong often

자주 jaju frequently

항상 hangsang always

늘 neul always / constantly

언제나 eonjena always

언제든지 eonjedeunji anytime

언젠가 eonjenga someday

한동안 handongan for some time

계속 gyesok continuously

영원히 yeongwonhi forever

잠시 jamsi temporarily

3. Frequency adverbs — 빈도

Korean Transliteration English

항상 hangsang always

늘 neul always

언제나 eonjena always

매번 maebeon every time

늘상 neulsang always / habitually

자주 jaju often

종종 jongjong often

흔히 heunhi commonly / often

가끔 gakkeum sometimes

가끔씩 gakkeumssik occasionally

때때로 ttaettaero sometimes

때로 ttaero sometimes

이따금 ittageum occasionally

드물게 deumulge rarely

거의 geoui almost / nearly

별로 byeollo not particularly

좀처럼 jomcheoreom hardly / rarely

결코 gyeolko never / by no means

전혀 jeonhyeo not at all

한 번도 han beondo not even once

다시 dasi again

또 tto again / also

재차 jaecha again

거듭 geodeup repeatedly

계속 gyesok continuously

반복해서 banbokhaeseo repeatedly

4. Degree adverbs — 정도

Korean Transliteration English

매우 maeu very

아주 aju very

정말 jeongmal really / very

참 cham very / really

너무 neomu too / very

무척 mucheok very

몹시 mopsi extremely

대단히 daedanhi greatly / extremely

상당히 sangdanghi considerably

꽤 kkwae quite / fairly

상당히 sangdanghi considerably

제법 jebeop fairly / quite

비교적 bigyojeok relatively

약간 yakkan slightly

조금 jogeum a little

좀 jom a little / somewhat

다소 daso somewhat

매우나 maeuna very

극히 geukhi extremely

지극히 jigeukhi extremely

한없이 han-eopsi endlessly / infinitely

거의 geoui almost

완전히 wanjeonhi completely

전부 jeonbu entirely / all

모두 modu all / entirely

몽땅 mongttang completely / all

모조리 mojori completely / every bit

전혀 jeonhyeo at all / completely not

너무나 neomuna extremely / very

훨씬 hwolssin much / far more

더욱 deouk more / increasingly

더 deo more

덜 deol less

가장 gajang most

제일 jeil most / best

최대한 choedaehan as much as possible

최소한 choesohan at least / minimally

5. Certainty adverbs — 확실성

Korean Transliteration English

확실히 hwaksilhi certainly

분명히 bunmyeonghi clearly / certainly

분명 bunmyeong clearly / certainly

틀림없이 teullimeopsi undoubtedly

반드시 bandeusi certainly / necessarily

꼭 kkok definitely / 반드시

필히 pilhi 반드시 / certainly

확실하게 hwaksilhage certainly

명백히 myeongbaekhi evidently

명확히 myeonghwakhi clearly

분명하게 bunmyeonghage clearly

정말로 jeongmallo really / truly

참으로 chameuro truly

실로 silro indeed / truly

틀림없이 teullimeopsi surely

의심할 여지없이 uisimhal yeojieopsi unquestionably

6. Probability / possibility adverbs — 가능성

Korean Transliteration English

아마 ama probably / perhaps

아마도 amado probably / perhaps

혹시 hoksi perhaps / by any chance

혹시나 hoksina perhaps / just in case

어쩌면 eojjeomyeon maybe

어쩌면은 eojjeomyeoneun perhaps

아마도 amado probably

대개 daegae generally / mostly

대체로 daeche-ro generally

거의 geoui almost

설마 seolma surely not / no way

혹시라도 hoksirado if perhaps / by any chance

7. Negation adverbs — 부정

These are especially important in Korean grammar.

Korean Transliteration English

안 an not

못 mot cannot / unable to

아니 ani no / not

절대 jeoldae absolutely / never

결코 gyeolko never / by no means

전혀 jeonhyeo not at all

도저히 dojeohi absolutely cannot

별로 byeollo not particularly

좀처럼 jomcheoreom hardly

거의 geoui hardly / almost not

아직 ajik not yet / still

아직도 ajikdo still / even yet

다시는 dasineun never again

두 번 다시 du beon dasi never again

하나도 hanado not even one

전혀 jeonhyeo not at all

절대로 jeoldaero absolutely / never

결코 gyeolko by no means

Important distinction

안 an = ordinary negation:

안 가요.

an gayo

I don't go / I'm not going.

못 mot = inability:

못 가요.

mot gayo

I can't go.

8. Restriction / limitation — 제한

Korean Transliteration English

만 man only

단지 danji merely / only

오직 ojik only

겨우 gyeou only / barely

고작 gojak merely / only

단순히 dansunhi simply / merely

그저 geujeo just / merely

단 dan only / merely

단지 danji just / merely

다만 daman only / merely / however

겨우 gyeou barely

고작 gojak only / at most

만 is technically a particle rather than an adverb, but it is extremely important for Korean adverbial/grammatical meaning.

9. Emphasis adverbs — 강조

Korean Transliteration English

정말 jeongmal really

진짜 jinjja really

참 cham really / very

아주 aju very

너무 neomu very / too

특히 teukhi especially

더욱 deouk even more

더 deo more

바로 baro precisely / exactly

단연 danyeon decidedly / clearly

도대체 dodaeche on earth / the heck

대체 daeche on earth / exactly

과연 gwayeon indeed / as expected

심지어 simjieo even

설령 seollyeong even if / even supposing

하물며 hamulmyeo let alone / much less

무려 muryeo as many/much as

무려나 muryeona as much as

굳이 gudi deliberately / necessarily

일부러 ilbureo intentionally

10. “Even” — 심지어 / 조차 / 마저

Korean Transliteration English

심지어 simjieo even

조차 jocha even

마저 majeo even / also

까지 kkaji even / up to

도 do also / even

하물며 hamulmyeo let alone / much less

설령 seollyeong even supposing

Note: 도, 조차, 마저, 까지 are particles rather than pure adverbs, but they perform important grammatical adverbial/emphatic functions.

11. Question adverbs — 의문 부사

Korean Transliteration English

언제 eonje when

어디서 eodiseo where

어디에 eodie where / to where

어디로 eodiro where to

왜 wae why

어째서 eojjaeseo why

어떻게 eotteoke how

얼마나 eolmana how much / how

얼마큼 eolmakeum how much / to what extent

어느 정도 eoneu jeongdo to what degree

몇 번 myeot beon how many times

몇 번이나 myeot beonina how many times

언제까지 eonjekkaji until when

언제부터 eonjebuteo from when

어디까지 eodikkaji how far / to where

어디까지나 eodikkajina strictly / only insofar as

12. Place / location adverbs — 장소

Korean Transliteration English

여기 yeogi here

거기 geogi there

저기 jeogi over there

어디 eodi where

이곳 igot this place

그곳 geugot that place

저곳 jeogot that place over there

이쪽 ijjok this side / this direction

그쪽 geujjok that side / that direction

저쪽 jeojjok that side over there

어디든 eodideun anywhere

어디나 eodina everywhere / anywhere

어디에도 eodiedo anywhere / nowhere

어디서나 eodiseona anywhere / everywhere

곳곳에 gotgose everywhere / in various places

곳곳에서 gotgoses eo everywhere / in various places

안 an inside

밖 bak outside

위 wi above

아래 arae below

앞 ap in front

뒤 dwi behind

옆 yeop beside

주변 jubyeon around / nearby

근처 geuncheo nearby

가까이 gakkai closely / nearby

멀리 meolli far away

여기저기 yeogijeogi here and there

Many of these are technically nouns/place nouns or noun-based adverbial expressions, rather than pure adverbs.

13. Direction adverbs — 방향

Korean Transliteration English

앞으로 apeuro forward / from now on

뒤로 dwiro backward

위로 wiro upward

아래로 araero downward

안으로 aneuro inward

밖으로 bakkeuro outward

옆으로 yeopeuro sideways

왼쪽으로 oenjjogeuro to the left

오른쪽으로 oreunjjogeuro to the right

곧장 gotjang straight

똑바로 ttokbaro straight

이리 iri this way

그리 geuri that way

저리 jeori that way over there

이쪽으로 ijjogeuro this way

그쪽으로 geujjogeuro that way

저쪽으로 jeojjogeuro that way over there

14. Sequence / order adverbs — 순서

Korean Transliteration English

먼저 meonjeo first

우선 useon first / above all

처음에 cheoeume at first

처음으로 cheoeumeuro for the first time

우선적으로 useonjeogeuro preferentially / first

다음에 daeume next

다음으로 daeumeuro next

그다음에 geudaeume after that

이어서 ieoseo subsequently

계속해서 gyesokhaeseo continuing

마지막으로 majimageuro lastly

끝으로 kkeuteuro finally

결국 gyeolguk eventually / in the end

마침내 machimnae finally

드디어 deudieo finally / at last

끝내 kkeunnae finally / in the end

15. Result / consequence adverbs — 결과

Korean Transliteration English

그래서 geuraeseo so / therefore

그러므로 geureomeuro therefore

따라서 ttaraseo therefore / accordingly

그러니까 geureonikka therefore / so

그리하여 geuri-hayeo thus

결국 gyeolguk eventually / consequently

결과적으로 gyeolgwaejeogeuro consequently

따라서 ttaraseo accordingly

이에 ie therefore / accordingly

이로써 irosse o thereby

16. Contrast / transition adverbs — 대조·전환

Korean Transliteration English

그러나 geureona however

하지만 hajiman however / but

그렇지만 geureochiman however

그래도 geuraedo nevertheless / still

그런데 geureonde but / by the way

반면에 banmyeone on the other hand

한편 hanpyeon meanwhile / on the other hand

오히려 ohiryeo rather / instead

도리어 dorieo rather / instead

대신 daesin instead

한편으로는 hanpyeoneuroneun on the one hand

반대로 bandaero conversely

그럼에도 geureomedo nevertheless

그럼에도 불구하고 geureomedo bulguhago nevertheless / despite that

17. Addition adverbs — 추가

Korean Transliteration English

또한 ttohan also

역시 yeoksi also / likewise

또 tto also / again

게다가 gedaga moreover / besides

더구나 deoguna moreover

더욱이 deougi furthermore

아울러 aureo additionally

함께 hamkke together

동시에 dongsie simultaneously

마찬가지로 machangajiro likewise

더불어 deobureo together with / additionally

18. Purpose adverbs / adverbial expressions — 목적

Korean Transliteration English

일부러 ilbureo intentionally

고의로 gouiro deliberately

일부러라도 ilbureorado even intentionally

위해 wihae for / for the purpose of

위해서 wihaeseo in order to

그러려고 geureoryeogo intending to do so

그래서 geuraeseo so / in order that

일부러 ilbureo deliberately

위해 / 위해서 are constructions rather than simple adverbs.

19. Approximation — 대략

Korean Transliteration English

약 yak approximately

대략 daeryak roughly

대충 daechung roughly

대강 daegang roughly

대체로 daechero generally / roughly

거의 geoui almost

한 han about / approximately

정도 jeongdo about / approximately

쯤 jjeum approximately / around

가량 garyang approximately

남짓 namjit a little over

겨우 gyeou barely / only

불과 bulgwa merely / no more than

Some of these are particles, bound nouns, or nouns used adverbially rather than strict adverbs.

20. Comparison adverbs — 비교

Korean Transliteration English

더 deo more

덜 deol less

가장 gajang most

제일 jeil most / best

훨씬 hwolssin much / far

더욱 deouk even more

더욱더 deoukdeo even more

점점 jeomjeom gradually / increasingly

갈수록 galsurok increasingly / the more

차츰 chacheum gradually

점차 jeomcha gradually

마찬가지로 machangajiro likewise

똑같이 ttokgachi equally / identically

동일하게 dong-ilhage equally / identically

21. Change / progression adverbs — 변화·진행

Korean Transliteration English

점점 jeomjeom gradually

점차 jeomcha gradually

차츰 chacheum gradually

갈수록 galsurok increasingly

계속 gyesok continuously

계속해서 gyesokhaeseo continuously

점점 더 jeomjeom deo increasingly more

더욱 deouk increasingly / more

점차로 jeomcharo gradually

서서히 seoseohi slowly / gradually

조금씩 jogeumssik little by little

차차 chacha gradually

22. Repetition adverbs — 반복

Korean Transliteration English

다시 dasi again

또 tto again

다시금 dasigeum once again

재차 jaecha again

거듭 geodeup repeatedly

반복해서 banbokhaeseo repeatedly

되풀이해서 doepur-ihaeseo repeatedly

계속 gyesok continuously

연달아 yeondara consecutively

잇따라 ittara successively

번번이 beonbeoni every time / repeatedly

23. Suddenness adverbs — 갑작스러움

Korean Transliteration English

갑자기 gapjagi suddenly

문득 mundeuk suddenly / all of a sudden

불쑥 bulssuk suddenly / abruptly

별안간 byeorangan suddenly

갑작스럽게 gapjagseureopge suddenly

느닷없이 neodateopsi suddenly / unexpectedly

어느새 eoneusae before one knows it

어느덧 eoneudeot before one knows it

돌연 dolyeon suddenly

24. Already / still / yet — 완료·지속

Korean Transliteration English

이미 imi already

벌써 beolsseo already

아직 ajik still / yet

아직도 ajikdo still

여전히 yeojeonhi still

계속 gyesok continuously

여태 yeotae until now

여태껏 yeotaekkeot up to now

지금까지 jigeumkkaji until now

아직까지 ajikkkaji still / yet

여전히 yeojeonhi still

25. “Just / recently” — 방금·막

Korean Transliteration English

방금 banggeum just now

막 mak just / just now

이제 막 ije mak just now

갓 gat just / newly

금방 geumbang just now / soon

막상 maksang when it actually comes to it

이제야 ijeya only now / finally

겨우 gyeou only / barely

26. “Only / merely” — 오직·단지

Korean Transliteration English

오직 ojik only

단지 danji merely / only

그저 geujeo merely / just

겨우 gyeou barely / only

고작 gojak merely / only

단순히 dansunhi simply

다만 daman only / merely

오로지 oroji solely / exclusively

기껏해야 gikkeothaeya at most

고작해야 gojakhaeya at most / only

27. “At least / at most” — 최소·최대

Korean Transliteration English

적어도 jeogeodo at least

최소한 choesohan at least / at minimum

적어도 jeogeodo at least

적게는 jeokgeneun at the least

적어도 jeogeodo at least

많아야 manaya at most

최대한 choedaehan as much as possible

기껏해야 gikkeothaeya at most

고작해야 gojakhaeya at most

많아 봐야 mana bwaya at most

28. “Together / separately”

Korean Transliteration English

함께 hamkke together

같이 gachi together

다 같이 da gachi all together

함께해서 hamkkehaeseo together

서로 seoro mutually

따로 ttaro separately

각각 gakgak respectively / individually

각자 gakja each / individually

제각각 jegakgak each differently

별도로 byeoldoro separately

따로따로 ttaro-ttaro separately

함께 hamkke jointly

29. “Directly / indirectly”

Korean Transliteration English

직접 jikjeop directly

직접적으로 jikjeopjeogeuro directly

간접적으로 ganjeopjeogeuro indirectly

바로 baro directly / immediately

곧바로 gotbaro directly / immediately

우회적으로 uhoejeogeuro indirectly / by detour

간접적으로 ganjeopjeogeuro indirectly

30. “Carefully / thoroughly”

Korean Transliteration English

조심히 josimhi carefully

조심스럽게 josimseureopge carefully

신중히 sinjunghi carefully / prudently

신중하게 sinjunghage carefully

꼼꼼히 kkomkkomhi meticulously

철저히 cheoljeohi thoroughly

세심하게 sesimhage attentively / carefully

자세히 jasihi in detail

면밀히 myeonmilhi closely / thoroughly

주의 깊게 juui gipge carefully

주의해서 juuihaeseo carefully

31. “Secretly / openly”

Korean Transliteration English

몰래 mollae secretly

슬쩍 seuljjeok secretly / subtly

살짝 saljjak slightly / subtly

은밀히 eunmilhi secretly

남몰래 nammollae secretly

몰래몰래 mollae-mollae secretly

공개적으로 gonggaejeogeuro publicly

openly 공개적으로 gonggaejeogeuro

드러내놓고 deureonaenoko openly

공공연히 gonggongyeonhi openly / publicly

32. “Intentionally / accidentally”

Korean Transliteration English

일부러 ilbureo intentionally

고의로 gouiro deliberately

의도적으로 uidojeogeuro intentionally

일부러라도 ilbureorado even deliberately

우연히 uyeonhi accidentally / by chance

우연찮게 uyeonchanke by chance

뜻밖에 tteutbakke unexpectedly

무심코 musimko unintentionally / absent-mindedly

모르고 moreugo unknowingly

실수로 silsuro by mistake

33. “Well / badly / correctly / wrongly”

Korean Transliteration English

잘 jal well

못 mot badly / cannot

제대로 jedaero properly

올바르게 olbareuge correctly

정확히 jeonghwakhi accurately

정확하게 jeonghwakhage accurately

똑바로 ttokbaro correctly / straight

맞게 matge correctly

틀리게 teullige incorrectly

잘못 jalmot wrongly

엉뚱하게 eongttunghage wrongly / absurdly

올바로 olbaro correctly

훌륭하게 hullyunghage excellently

34. Manner-forming -이 / -히 / -게 adverbs

Korean can productively make adverbial forms from adjectives.

-게

Adjective Adverb Transliteration Meaning

빠르다 빠르게 ppareuge quickly

느리다 느리게 neurige slowly

쉽다 쉽게 swipge easily

어렵다 어렵게 eoryeopge with difficulty

조용하다 조용하게 joyonghage quietly

정확하다 정확하게 jeonghwakhage accurately

자연스럽다 자연스럽게 jayeonseureopge naturally

-히

Adjective Adverb Transliteration Meaning

정확하다 정확히 jeonghwakhi accurately

조용하다 조용히 joyonghi quietly

열심하다 열심히 yeolsimhi diligently

특별하다 특별히 teukbyeolhi specially

완전하다 완전히 wanjeonhi completely

안전하다 안전히 jeonhi safely

솔직하다 솔직히 soljikhi honestly

This is productive, so it is impossible to list every possible adverb formed this way.

35. Reduplicated adverbs — 반복형

Korean frequently creates adverbial meanings through repetition.

Korean Transliteration English

빨리빨리 ppalli-ppalli quickly / hurry up

천천히 cheoncheonhi slowly

조금씩 jogeumssik little by little

하나씩 hanassik one by one

하나하나 hana-hana one by one / individually

하나씩하나씩 hanassik-hanassik one by one

차근차근 chageunchageun step by step

꼼꼼히 kkomkkomhi meticulously

조용조용히 joyong-joyonghi quietly

살금살금 salgeumsalgeum stealthily

살짝살짝 saljjak-saljjak slightly / subtly

조금조금 jogeum-jogeum little by little

차차 chacha gradually

가만히 gamanhi quietly / still

이리저리 irijeori here and there

여기저기 yeogijeogi here and there

이곳저곳 igotjeogot various places

36. Important Korean grammatical adverbs

These are particularly important because they interact directly with tense, aspect, negation, modality, emphasis, and sentence structure.

Korean Transliteration English / Function

안 an not

못 mot cannot

이미 imi already

아직 ajik still / yet

벌써 beolsseo already

다시 dasi again

또 tto again / also

더 deo more

덜 deol less

가장 gajang most

제일 jeil most

매우 maeu very

아주 aju very

너무 neomu too / very

정말 jeongmal really

참 cham really / very

특히 teukhi especially

오직 ojik only

단지 danji merely

거의 geoui almost

전혀 jeonhyeo not at all

절대 jeoldae absolutely / never

결코 gyeolko never

반드시 bandeusi certainly / must

꼭 kkok definitely

아마 ama probably

혹시 hoksi perhaps

어쩌면 eojjeomyeon maybe

설마 seolma surely not

과연 gwayeon indeed / as expected

도대체 dodaeche on earth

대체 daeche on earth

심지어 simjieo even

역시 yeoksi also / likewise

또한 ttohan also

게다가 gedaga moreover

그래서 geuraeseo therefore / so

그러나 geureona however

하지만 hajiman however / but

그래도 geuraedo nevertheless

오히려 ohiryeo rather / instead

결국 gyeolguk eventually

마침내 machimnae finally

드디어 deudieo finally / at last

갑자기 gapjagi suddenly

계속 gyesok continuously

점점 jeomjeom gradually

차츰 chacheum gradually

함께 hamkke together

따로 ttaro separately

일부러 ilbureo intentionally

우연히 uyeonhi accidentally

몰래 mollae secretly

직접 jikjeop directly

자세히 jasihi in detail

제대로 jedaero properly

잘 jal well

못 mot badly / cannot

37. Korean adverbial particles that are important to learn

Some extremely important Korean “adverb-like” grammatical words are actually particles, not adverbs in the strict linguistic sense.

Korean Transliteration Function

도 do also / too / even

만 man only

까지 kkaji even / up to / until

조차 jocha even

마저 majeo even / also

뿐 ppun only / merely

씩 ssik each / per

쯤 jjeum approximately

만큼 mankeum as much as / as much as

밖에 bakke only / nothing but

라도 rado even / at least

이라도 irado even / at least

이나 ina or / as many as / even

나 na or / as much as

은커녕 eunkkeonyeong far from / let alone

마다 mada every / each

38. Korean adverbial sentence particles / endings

These are not ordinary adverbs, but they are essential to Korean grammar and often express meanings that English expresses with adverbs.

Korean Transliteration Meaning

-도 -do also / even

-만 -man only

-까지 -kkaji even / up to

-조차 -jocha even

-마저 -majeo even / also

-밖에 -bakke only / nothing but

-라도 -rado even / at least

-마다 -mada every

-씩 -ssik each / per

-쯤 -jjeum about / approximately

-처럼 -cheoreom like / as

-같이 -gachi like / together

-대로 -daero as / according to

-만큼 -mankeum as much as

10- CONJUNCTIONS:

Korean Transliteration English

그리고 geurigo and

또한 ttohan also / and

또 tto also / and / again

및 mit and / as well as

아울러 aureo additionally / along with

더불어 deobureo together with / and

혹은 hogeun or

또는 ttoneun or

아니면 animyeon or / if not

혹시 hoksi or perhaps

내지 naeji or / up to

그리고 나서 geurigo naseo and then

그뿐만 아니라 geuppunman anira not only that, but also

2. “And” conjunctions

Korean Transliteration English

그리고 geurigo and

및 mit and / as well as

또한 ttohan also

또 tto also / and

아울러 aureo additionally

더불어 deobureo together with

함께 hamkke together with

동시에 dongsie at the same time

뿐만 아니라 ppunman anira not only...but also

게다가 gedaga moreover / besides

더구나 deoguna moreover

더욱이 deougi furthermore

뿐 아니라 ppun anira not only...but also

그뿐 아니라 geuppun anira not only that

Example

저는 한국어를 공부하고 그리고 영어도 공부해요.

Jeoneun hangugeoreul gongbuhago geurigo yeongeodo gongbuhaeyo.

I study Korean, and I also study English.

More naturally, Korean commonly uses the connective ending -고:

저는 한국어를 공부하고 영어도 공부해요.

Jeoneun hangugeoreul gongbuhago yeongeodo gongbuhaeyo.

I study Korean and English.

3. “Or” conjunctions

Korean Transliteration English

또는 ttoneun or

혹은 hogeun or

아니면 animyeon or / if not

혹시 hoksi perhaps / by any chance

내지 naeji or / up to

아니면 말고 animyeon malgo or not / if not, never mind

그렇지 않으면 geureochi aneumyeon otherwise

그렇지 아니하면 geureochi anihamyeon otherwise

아니면은 animyeoneun or

Correlative “either...or”

Korean Transliteration English

A나 B A-na B A or B

A이나 B A-ina B A or B

A거나 B A-geona B A or B

A든지 B든지 A-deunji B-deunji either A or B

A든 B든 A-deun B-deun whether A or B

A 아니면 B A animyeon B A or B

4. “But / however”

Korean Transliteration English

그러나 geureona however / but

하지만 hajiman but / however

그렇지만 geureochiman but / however

그런데 geureonde but / however / by the way

그래도 geuraedo nevertheless / still

그렇지만도 geureochimando even so

그럼에도 geureomedo nevertheless

그럼에도 불구하고 geureomedo bulguhago nevertheless / despite that

반면에 banmyeone whereas / on the other hand

반대로 bandaero conversely

오히려 ohiryeo rather / instead

도리어 dorieo rather / instead

한편 hanpyeon meanwhile / on the other hand

대신 daesin instead

다만 daman however / only

5. “Because / since”

Korean normally expresses this with connective endings or connective expressions rather than one simple conjunction.

Korean Transliteration English

왜냐하면 waenyahamyeon because

-아서 / -어서 -aseo / -eoseo because / so

-라서 -raseo because it is

-니까 -nikka because / since

-으니까 -eunikka because / since

-기 때문에 -gi ttaemune because

-기 때문에 -gi ttaemune due to the fact that

-는 까닭에 -neun kkadage because / on the grounds that

-므로 -meuro because / since

-으므로 -eumeuro because / since

-기에 -gie because / since

-길래 -gillae because / since

-느라고 -neurago because / due to

-는 바람에 -neun barame because / due to

-탓에 -tase because of / due to

-덕분에 -deokbune thanks to / because of

-때문에 -ttaemune because of

Example

비가 와서 집에 있었어요.

Biga waseo jibe isseosseoyo.

I stayed home because it rained.

6. “So / therefore / thus”

Korean Transliteration English

그래서 geuraeseo so / therefore

그러므로 geureomeuro therefore

따라서 ttaraseo therefore / accordingly

그러니까 geureonikka so / therefore

그리하여 geurihayeo thus

이에 따라 ie ttara accordingly

그 결과 geu gyeolgwa as a result

결과적으로 gyeolgwaejeogeuro consequently

이로 인해 iro inhae because of this / as a result

이로써 irosse o thereby

따라서 ttaraseo accordingly

7. “If”

Korean Transliteration English

만약 manyak if

만일 manil if

-면 -myeon if / when

-으면 -eumyeon if / when

-다면 -damyeon if / supposing that

-라면 -ramyeon if it is / if

-ㄴ다면 -ndamyeon if

-는다면 -neundamyeon if

-거든 -geodeun if / when

-으면 좋겠다 -eumyeon joketda if only / I wish

-는 한 -neun han as long as

-는다면 -neundamyeon if / supposing

Example

시간이 있으면 같이 가요.

Sigani isseumyeon gachi gayo.

If you have time, let's go together.

8. “Unless”

Korean Transliteration English

-지 않으면 -ji aneumyeon unless

-지 않는 한 -ji anneun han unless / as long as not

-지 않는다면 -ji anneundamyeon unless

그렇지 않으면 geureochi aneumyeon otherwise / if not

아니면 animyeon if not / otherwise

Example

서두르지 않으면 늦어요.

Seodureuji aneumyeon neujeoyo.

You will be late unless you hurry.

9. “Although / even though”

Korean Transliteration English

비록 birok although / even though

-지만 -jiman although / but

-는데도 -neundedo even though

-는데 -neunde although / but

-더라도 -deorado even if / even though

-아도 -ado even if / although

-어도 -eodo even if / although

-여도 -yeodo even if

-더라도 -deorado even if

-ㄹ지라도 -ljirado even if

-을지라도 -euljirado even if

-기는 하지만 -gineun hajiman although / admittedly

아무리 ... -아도 amuri ... -ado no matter how

아무리 ... -어도 amuri ... -eodo no matter how

아무리 ... -더라도 amuri ... -deorado no matter how / even if

Example

비가 오지만 갈 거예요.

Biga ojiman gal geoyeyo.

Although it is raining, I will go.

10. “Even if”

Korean Transliteration English

-아도 -ado even if

-어도 -eodo even if

-여도 -yeodo even if

-더라도 -deorado even if

-ㄹ지라도 -ljirado even if

-을지라도 -euljirado even if

설령 seollyeong even supposing

설사 seolsa even if / even supposing

아무리 amuri no matter how

가령 garyeong for example / supposing

혹시라도 hoksirado even if by chance

11. “When”

Korean Transliteration English

언제 eonje when

-을 때 -eul ttae when

-ㄹ 때 -l ttae when

-ㄴ 때 -n ttae when

-는 때 -neun ttae when

-자마자 -jamaja as soon as

-자 -ja as soon as

-는 동안 -neun dongan while

-는 사이에 -neun saie while / during

-는 동안에 -neun dongane while

-고 나서 -go naseo after

-ㄴ 후에 -n hue after

-은 후에 -eun hue after

-고 나면 -go namyeon after / once

-ㄴ 다음에 -n daeume after

-은 다음에 -eun daeume after

12. “Before”

Korean Transliteration English

-기 전에 -gi jeone before

전에 jeone before

이전에 ijeone previously / before

먼저 meonjeo first / beforehand

미리 miri beforehand

-기 전에는 -gi jeoneneun before

-기 앞서 -gi apseo before / prior to

Example

자기 전에 책을 읽어요.

Jagi jeone chaegeul ilgeoyo.

I read a book before going to bed.

13. “After”

Korean Transliteration English

-고 나서 -go naseo after

-ㄴ 후에 -n hue after

-은 후에 -eun hue after

-ㄴ 다음에 -n daeume after

-은 다음에 -eun daeume after

-고 난 뒤에 -go nan dwie after

이후에 ihu-e afterward

나중에 najunge later

뒤에 dwie afterward / behind

14. “While”

Korean Transliteration English

-는 동안 -neun dongan while

-는 동안에 -neun dongane while

-는 사이에 -neun saie while

-면서 -myeonseo while

-으면서 -eumyeonseo while

-는 가운데 -neun gaunde amid / while

-는 중에 -neun junge while / during

Example

음악을 들으면서 공부해요.

Eumageul deureumyeonseo gongbuhaeyo.

I study while listening to music.

15. “As soon as”

Korean Transliteration English

-자마자 -jamaja as soon as

-자 -ja as soon as

-는 즉시 -neun jeuksi immediately after

-는 대로 -neun daero as soon as / according to

-자 곧 -ja got immediately after

Example

집에 오자마자 잤어요.

Jibe ojama-ja jasseoyo.

I slept as soon as I came home.

16. “Until”

Korean Transliteration English

-을 때까지 -eul ttaekkaji until

-ㄹ 때까지 -l ttaekkaji until

-을 때까지는 -eul ttaekkajineun until

-ㄹ 때까지는 -l ttaekkajineun until

-도록 -dorok until / so that

-을 때까지 -eul ttaekkaji until

-ㄹ 때까지 -l ttaekkaji until

17. “Since”

Korean Transliteration English

-은 후로 -eun huro since

-ㄴ 후로 -n huro since

-고 나서부터 -go naseobuteo since after

-은 이래 -eun irae since

-ㄴ 이래 -n irae since

-은 이래로 -eun iraero ever since

-ㄴ 이래로 -n iraero ever since

-부터 -buteo from / since

18. “As / while / simultaneously”

Korean Transliteration English

-면서 -myeonseo while

-으면서 -eumyeonseo while

동시에 dongsie simultaneously

함께 hamkke together

동시에 dongsie at the same time

-는 동시에 -neun dongsie while / at the same time

-자마자 -jamaja as soon as

19. “So that / in order that”

Korean Transliteration English

-도록 -dorok so that / in order to

-게 -ge so that

-기 위해 -gi wihae in order to

-기 위해서 -gi wihaeseo in order to

-도록 하다 -dorok hada make sure to / so that

-게 하다 -ge hada make / cause to

-려고 -ryeogo in order to / intending to

-으려고 -euryeogo in order to

-고자 -goja in order to / with the intention of

-기 위한 -gi wihan for the purpose of

20. “Instead / rather”

Korean Transliteration English

대신 daesin instead

오히려 ohiryeo rather

도리어 dorieo rather / instead

차라리 charari rather

반대로 bandaero conversely

거꾸로 geokkuro conversely / backwards

그 대신 geu daesin instead

대신에 daesine instead of

21. “As if / as though”

Korean Transliteration English

마치 machi as if / as though

-처럼 -cheoreom like / as if

-듯이 -deusi as if / as though

-듯 -deut as if

-듯하다 -deuthada seem as if

-는 것처럼 -neun geotcheoreom as if

-는 듯이 -neun deusi as if

-는 양 -neun yang as if / pretending that

-는 것같이 -neun geotgachi as if / like

Example

마치 꿈처럼 느껴졌어요.

Machi kkumcheoreom neukkyeojyeosseoyo.

It felt as if it were a dream.

22. “Not only...but also”

Korean Transliteration English

뿐만 아니라 ppunman anira not only...but also

-을 뿐만 아니라 -eul ppunman anira not only...but also

-ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 -l ppunman anira not only...but also

-는 데다가 -neun dedaga in addition to

게다가 gedaga moreover

더구나 deoguna moreover

더욱이 deougi furthermore

뿐 아니라 ppun anira not only...but also

23. “Either...or / whether...or”

Korean Transliteration English

-거나 -거나 -geona -geona either...or

-든지 -든지 -deunji -deunji either...or / whether...or

-든 -든 -deun -deun whether...or

-나 -나 -na -na either...or

-이나 -이나 -ina -ina either...or

A 아니면 B A animyeon B A or B

A든 B든 A-deun B-deun whether A or B

A거나 B거나 A-geona B-geona either A or B

24. “Both...and”

Korean Transliteration English

A도 B도 A-do B-do both A and B

A와 B 모두 A-wa B modu both A and B

A하고 B 모두 A-hago B modu both A and B

A뿐만 아니라 B도 A-ppunman anira B-do not only A but also B

A나 B나 A-na B-na both A and B / whichever

A며 B며 A-myeo B-myeo A as well as B

25. “Neither...nor”

Korean Transliteration English

A도 B도 아니다 A-do B-do anida neither A nor B

A도 B도 없다 A-do B-do eopda there is neither A nor B

A도 B도 못하다 A-do B-do mothada can do neither A nor B

A도 아니고 B도 아니다 A-do anigo B-do anida it is neither A nor B

A도 B도 않다 A-do B-do anta neither A nor B

26. “The more..., the more...”

Korean Transliteration English

-을수록 -eulsurok the more...

-ㄹ수록 -lsurok the more...

-면 -을수록 -myeon -eulsurok the more...the more

-으면 -을수록 -eumyeon -eulsurok the more...the more

갈수록 galsurok increasingly / the more it goes

볼수록 bolsurok the more one sees

하면 할수록 hamyeon halsurok the more one does

Example

공부하면 할수록 재미있어요.

Gongbuhamyeon halsurok jaemiisseoyo.

The more I study, the more interesting it becomes.

27. “No matter how / whoever / whatever”

Korean Transliteration English

아무리 amuri no matter how

누구든지 nugudeunji whoever

누구나 nuguna everyone / anyone

무엇이든지 mueosideunji whatever

뭐든지 mwodeunji whatever

어디든지 eodideunji wherever

언제든지 eonjedeunji whenever

어느 것이든지 eoneu geosideunji whichever

어떤 것이든지 eotteon geosideunji whatever / whichever

무슨 ...이든지 museun ...ideunji whatever kind of

어느 ...든지 eoneu ...deunji whichever

아무 ...나 amu ...na any ...

28. “Whether”

Korean Transliteration English

-는지 -neunji whether

-은지 -eunji whether

-ㄴ지 -nji whether

-을지 -eulji whether

-ㄹ지 -lji whether

-는지 아닌지 -neunji aninji whether or not

-을지 말지 -eulji malji whether to or not

-ㄹ지 말지 -lji malji whether to or not

-든지 -deunji whether / whichever

-든 -deun whether / whichever

29. “Otherwise”

Korean Transliteration English

그렇지 않으면 geureochi aneumyeon otherwise

아니면 animyeon otherwise / or

그렇지 아니하면 geureochi anihamyeon otherwise

안 그러면 an geureomyeon otherwise / if not

그렇다면 geureotamyeon if so / then

그러지 않으면 geureoji aneumyeon if you don't / otherwise

30. “And then / after that”

Korean Transliteration English

그리고 geurigo and

그리고 나서 geurigo naseo and then

그다음에 geudaeume after that

다음으로 daeumeuro next

이어서 ieoseo subsequently

그 후에 geu hue after that

그 뒤에 geu dwie afterward

그러고 나서 geureogo naseo and then

이어 ieo subsequently

31. Formal/written conjunctions

These are especially common in formal writing, academic Korean, news, and official texts.

Korean Transliteration English

그러나 geureona however

그러므로 geureomeuro therefore

따라서 ttaraseo therefore

또한 ttohan furthermore / also

및 mit and

혹은 hogeun or

또는 ttoneun or

반면에 banmyeone whereas

한편 hanpyeon meanwhile

이에 ie accordingly

이와 같이 iwa gachi in this way

그리하여 geurihayeo thus

즉 jeuk namely / that is

다시 말해 dasi malhae in other words

즉, jeuk that is / namely

요컨대 yokkeondae in short

결국 gyeolguk ultimately

결과적으로 gyeolgwaejeogeuro consequently

아울러 aureo additionally

더불어 deobureo together with

게다가 gedaga moreover

더구나 deoguna furthermore

32. Connective endings — 연결 어미

This is the most important part of Korean conjunction grammar. English uses separate conjunction words such as “and,” “but,” “because,” and “although”; Korean very often attaches the relationship directly to the verb/adjective.

Formation Transliteration Meaning

-고 -go and / and then

-며 -myeo and / while

-면서 -myeonseo while / and

-아서 -aseo because / so / and then

-어서 -eoseo because / so / and then

-여서 -yeoseo because / so

-라서 -raseo because it is

-니까 -nikka because / since

-으니까 -eunikka because / since

-지만 -jiman but / although

-는데 -neunde but / while / although

-은데 -eunde but / although

-ㄴ데 -nde but / although

-아도 -ado even if / although

-어도 -eodo even if / although

-여도 -yeodo even if / although

-더라도 -deorado even if

-ㄹ지라도 -ljirado even if

-을지라도 -euljirado even if

-면 -myeon if / when

-으면 -eumyeon if / when

-다면 -damyeon if / supposing

-라면 -ramyeon if it is

-거든 -geodeun if / when

-자마자 -jamaja as soon as

-면서 -myeonseo while

-는 동안 -neun dongan while

-기 전에 -gi jeone before

-고 나서 -go naseo after

-ㄴ 후에 -n hue after

-은 후에 -eun hue after

-ㄴ 다음에 -n daeume after

-은 다음에 -eun daeume after

-도록 -dorok so that / until

-게 -ge so that

-려고 -ryeogo in order to

-으려고 -euryeogo in order to

-고자 -goja in order to

-기 위해 -gi wihae in order to

-기 때문에 -gi ttaemune because

-느라고 -neurago because / due to

-기에 -gie because / since

-길래 -gillae because / since

-므로 -meuro because

-으므로 -eumeuro because

-을수록 -eulsurok the more...

-ㄹ수록 -lsurok the more...

-든지 -deunji whether / whichever

-거나 -geona or

-든 -deun whether / whichever

-든가 -deunga or / whether

-거나 말거나 -geona malgeona whether or not

-든지 말든지 -deunji maldeunji whether or not

33. Correlative conjunction patterns

These are extremely important because Korean often expresses conjunctions through paired structures.

Korean formation Transliteration English

A도 B도 A-do B-do both A and B

A뿐만 아니라 B도 A-ppunman anira B-do not only A but also B

A거나 B거나 A-geona B-geona either A or B

A든지 B든지 A-deunji B-deunji either A or B

A든 B든 A-deun B-deun whether A or B

A나 B나 A-na B-na both/either A and B

A이며 B이며 A-imyeo B-imyeo A as well as B

A도 아니고 B도 아니다 A-do anigo B-do anida neither A nor B

A도 B도 않다 A-do B-do anta neither A nor B

A면 B면 A-myeon B-myeon whether A or B

A는 물론 B도 A-neun mullon B-do A as well as B

A는 말할 것도 없고 B도 A-neun malhal geotdo eopgo B-do let alone A, also B

A는커녕 B도 A-neunkeonyeong B-do far from A, even B

A는 물론이고 B도 A-neun mullon-igo B-do not only A but also B

A도 그렇고 B도 그렇고 A-do geureotgo B-do geureotgo both A and B / A as well as B

11- POSTPOSITIONS:

Korean Transliteration English

으로 euro toward

로 ro toward

쪽으로 jjogeuro toward the direction of

방향으로 banghyangeuro toward / in the direction of

향해 hyanghae toward

향하여 hyanghayeo toward

을 향해 eul hyanghae toward

를 향해 reul hyanghae toward

Example

서울로 가요.

Seoullo gayo.

I am going to/toward Seoul.

집 쪽으로 걸어갔어요.

Jip jjogeuro georeogasseoyo.

I walked toward home.

8. “From...to”

Korean Transliteration English

A에서 B까지 Aeseo Bkkaji from A to B

A부터 B까지 Abuteo Bkkaji from A to B

A로부터 B까지 Arobuteo Bkkaji from A to B

A에서 B로 Aeseo B-ro from A to B

Example

서울에서 부산까지 가요.

Seoureseo Busankkaji gayo.

I go from Seoul to Busan.

9. “Until / up to”

Korean Transliteration English

까지 kkaji until / to / as far as

때까지 ttaekkaji until

까지는 kkajineun up to / until

에 이르기까지 e ireugikkaji up to / until reaching

에 달하기까지 e dalhagi kkaji until reaching

Example

다섯 시까지 일해요.

Daseot sikkaji ilhaeyo.

I work until five o'clock.

10. “Since / from”

Korean Transliteration English

부터 buteo from / since

로부터 robuteo from

에서부터 eseobuteo from

지금부터 jigeumbuteo from now

오늘부터 oneulbuteo from today

어제부터 eojebuteo since yesterday

처음부터 cheoeumbuteo from the beginning

오늘부터 공부할 거예요.

Oneulbuteo gongbuhal geoyeyo.

I will study from today.

11. “About / concerning”

Korean Transliteration English

에 대해 e daehae about / concerning

에 대해서 e daehaeseo about / concerning

에 관해 e gwanhae concerning

에 관해서 e gwanhaeseo concerning

에 관한 e gwanhan concerning

에 대한 e daehan about / concerning

관련하여 gwallyeonhayeo regarding

관련해서 gwallyeonhaeseo regarding

관련된 gwallyeondoen related to

Example

한국 역사에 대해 공부해요.

Hanguk yeoks a-e daehae gongbuhaeyo.

I study about Korean history.

12. “For”

Korean uses different constructions depending on the meaning of for.

Korean Transliteration English

을 위해 eul wihae for

를 위해 reul wihae for

을 위해서 eul wihaeseo for

를 위해서 reul wihaeseo for

을 위한 eul wihan for

를 위한 reul wihan for

에게 ege for/to someone

한테 hante for/to someone

용으로 yong-euro for the purpose/use of

용 yong intended for

Example

가족을 위해 일해요.

Gajogeul wihae ilhaeyo.

I work for my family.

13. “Because of / due to”

Korean Transliteration English

때문에 ttaemune because of

으로 인해 euro inhae due to

로 인해 ro inhae due to

으로 인하여 euro iny eohayeo due to

로 인하여 ro inhaeyeo due to

탓에 tase because of / due to

덕분에 deokbune thanks to

까닭에 kkadage because of

이유로 iyuro because of

원인으로 wonineuro due to the cause of

Example

비 때문에 늦었어요.

Bi ttaemune neujeosseoyo.

I was late because of the rain.

14. “Thanks to”

Korean Transliteration English

덕분에 deokbune thanks to

덕분으로 deokbuneuro thanks to / by virtue of

덕택에 deoktaege thanks to

덕택으로 deoktaegeuro thanks to

여러분 덕분에 성공했어요.

Yeoreobun deokbune seonggonghaesseoyo.

I succeeded thanks to you all.

15. “Because of / blame”

Korean Transliteration English

탓에 tase because of / due to

탓으로 taseuro because of

때문에 ttaemune because of

때문으로 ttaemuneuro because of

16. “According to / according as”

Korean Transliteration English

에 따르면 e ttareumyeon according to

에 의하면 e uihamyeon according to

에 의거하여 e uigeohayeo based on / according to

대로 daero according to / as

에 따라 e ttara according to / depending on

에 따라서 e ttaraseo according to / depending on

에 의거해 e uigeohae based on

에 준하여 e junhayeo in accordance with

Example

뉴스에 따르면 내일 비가 와요.

Nyuseu-e ttareumyeon naeil biga wayo.

According to the news, it will rain tomorrow.

17. “Like / as / similar to”

Korean Transliteration English

처럼 cheoreom like / as

같이 gachi like / as

마냥 manyang just like / as if

듯이 deusi as if / like

듯 deut as if

양 yang as if

모양으로 moyangeuro in the form of

비슷하게 biseutage similarly

유사하게 yusahage similarly

Example

아이처럼 행동해요.

Aicheoreom haengdonghaeyo.

He acts like a child.

18. “Than”

The principal comparative particle is 보다 (boda).

Korean Transliteration English

보다 boda than

보다 더 boda deo more than

보다 훨씬 boda hwolssin much more than

에 비해 e bihae compared with

에 비해서 e bihaeseo compared with

와 비교해서 wa bigyohaeseo compared with

와 비교하면 wa bigyohamyeon compared with

형보다 키가 커요.

Hyeongboda kiga keoyo.

I am taller than my older brother.

19. “As much as / as ... as”

Korean Transliteration English

만큼 mankeum as much as

만큼이나 mankeumina as much as

처럼 cheoreom like / as

같이 gachi like / as

만큼의 mangeumui of as much as

정도로 jeongdoro to the extent of

만큼은 mankeumeun as much as / at least as much as

너만큼 잘해요.

Neomankeum jalhaeyo.

I do it as well as you.

20. “Between”

Korean Transliteration English

사이에 saie between / among

사이에서 saies eo between / among

간에 gane between / among

가운데 gaunde among / in the middle of

중간에 jung-gane in the middle of

양쪽 사이에 yangjjok saie between both sides

두 건물 사이에 있어요.

Du geonmul saie isseoyo.

It is between the two buildings.

21. “Among”

Korean Transliteration English

가운데 gaunde among

사이에 saie among

중에서 jungeseo among / of

중에 junge among

중 jung among

속에서 sogeseo among / within

학생들 중에서 가장 키가 커요.

Haksaengdeul jungeseo gajang kiga keoyo.

He is the tallest among the students.

22. “Inside / within”

Korean Transliteration English

안에 ane inside / in

안에서 aneseo inside / within

속에 soge inside

속에서 sogeseo inside / within

내부에 naebue inside / within

내부에서 naebues eo inside

이내에 inaee within

내에 naee within

방 안에 있어요.

Bang ane isseoyo.

It is inside the room.

23. “Outside”

Korean Transliteration English

밖에 bakke outside

밖에서 bakkeseo outside

외부에 oebue outside

외부에서 oebues eo outside

바깥에 bakate outside

바깥에서 bakateseo outside

24. “Above / on / over”

Korean Transliteration English

위에 wie on / above

위에서 wies eo on / above

위로 wiro upward / onto

상에 sange on / above

위쪽에 wijjoge above

위쪽으로 wijjogeuro upward

책상 위에 책이 있어요.

Chaeksang wie chaegi isseoyo.

There is a book on the desk.

25. “Below / under”

Korean Transliteration English

아래에 araee below / under

아래에서 araeseo below

아래로 araero downward

밑에 mite under / below

밑에서 miteseo underneath

하에 hae under

아래쪽에 araejjoge below

26. “In front of”

Korean Transliteration English

앞에 ape in front of

앞에서 apeseo in front of

앞쪽에 apjjoge toward/in front

앞쪽으로 apjjogeuro toward the front

전면에 jeonmyeone in front of

전방에 jeonbang-e in front / forward

27. “Behind”

Korean Transliteration English

뒤에 dwie behind

뒤에서 dwies eo behind

뒤로 dwiro backward / behind

뒤쪽에 dwijjoge behind

후방에 hubang-e behind / in the rear

후면에 humyeone behind / at the rear

28. “Beside / next to”

Korean Transliteration English

옆에 yeope beside

옆에서 yeopeseo beside

곁에 gyeote beside

곁에서 gyeoteseo beside

옆으로 yeopeuro to the side

옆쪽에 yeopjjoge beside

29. “Near / close to”

Korean Transliteration English

근처에 geuncheoe near

근방에 geunbang-e near / in the vicinity

가까이에 gakkaie near

가까이 gakkai near

주변에 jubyeone around / near

인근에 ingeune nearby

곁에 gyeote near / beside

30. “Far from”

Korean Transliteration English

멀리 meolli far

멀리서 meolliseo from far away

멀리 떨어져 meolli tteoreojyeo far away from

로부터 멀리 robuteo meolli far from

31. “Around / surrounding”

Korean Transliteration English

주변에 jubyeone around

주위에 juwie around

둘레에 dulle-e around

근처에 geuncheoe around / near

사방에 sabang-e all around

사방으로 sabangeuro in all directions

주위를 juwireul around

32. “Against”

Korean Transliteration English

에 맞서 e matseo against

에 대항하여 e daehanghayeo against

에 반대하여 e bandaehayeo against / in opposition to

에 반해서 e banhaeseo against / contrary to

에 거슬러 e geoseulleo against / contrary to

33. “With”

Korean Transliteration English

와 wa with / and

과 gwa with / and

하고 hago with / and

랑 rang with / and

이랑 irang with / and

함께 hamkke together with

같이 gachi together with

더불어 deobureo together with

아울러 aureo along with

Examples

친구와 갔어요.

Chingwa gasseoyo.

I went with my friend.

친구하고 갔어요.

Chinguhago gasseoyo.

I went with my friend.

친구랑 갔어요.

Chingurang gasseoyo.

I went with my friend.

34. “Without”

Korean Transliteration English

없이 eopsi without

없이도 eopsido even without

-지 않고 -ji ango without doing

-지 않은 채 -ji aneun chae without / while not

-지 않은 채로 -ji aneun chaero without

-지 않고서 -ji angoseo without doing

Example

아침을 먹지 않고 학교에 갔어요.

Achimeul meokji ango hakgyoe gasseoyo.

I went to school without eating breakfast.

35. “Except / excluding”

Korean Transliteration English

외에 oe-e besides / except

이외에 io-e besides / other than

제외하고 jeoehago excluding

제외하면 jeoehamyeon excluding / except

빼고 ppaego except / excluding

빼면 ppaemyeon if excluding

밖에 bakke except / only

외에는 oeneun except for

제외한 jeoehan excluding

36. “Including”

Korean Transliteration English

포함하여 pohamhayeo including

포함해서 pohamhaeseo including

포함해 pohamhae including

비롯하여 biros-hayeo including / beginning with

비롯해 biros-hae including

포함된 pohamdoen included

37. “Instead of”

Korean Transliteration English

대신 daesin instead

대신에 daesine instead of

대신하여 daesinhayeo instead of

대신해서 daesinhaeseo instead of

대신 daesin in place of

을 대신해 eul daesinhae instead of

를 대신해 reul daesinhae instead of

커피 대신 차를 마셨어요.

Keopi daesin chareul masyeosseoyo.

I drank tea instead of coffee.

38. “Regarding / concerning / with respect to”

Korean Transliteration English

에 관해 e gwanhae regarding

에 관해서 e gwanhaeseo regarding

에 관한 e gwanhan concerning

에 대해 e daehae about

에 대해서 e daehaeseo about

에 대한 e daehan regarding

에 대하여 e daehayeo concerning

에 관하여 e gwanhayeo concerning

관련하여 gwallyeonhayeo regarding

관련해서 gwallyeonhaeseo regarding

39. “Depending on”

Korean Transliteration English

에 따라 e ttara depending on / according to

에 따라서 e ttaraseo depending on

에 달려 e dallyeo depending on

에 달려서 e dallyeoseo depending on

에 의해서 e uih aeseo depending on / by

에 따라서는 e ttaraseoneun depending on

사람에 따라 달라요.

Sarame ttara dallayo.

It differs depending on the person.

40. “Per / each”

Korean Transliteration English

마다 mada every / each

당 dang per

씩 ssik each / per

에 한해 e hanhae limited to / per

당 dang per

Examples

사람마다 달라요.

Sarammada dallayo.

It differs from person to person.

하루에 세 번씩 먹어요.

Harue se beonssik meogeoyo.

I eat three times per day.

41. “Through / via”

Korean Transliteration English

을 통해 eul tonghae through / via

를 통해 reul tonghae through / via

을 통해서 eul tonghaeseo through

를 통해서 reul tonghaeseo through

통하여 tonghayeo through

통해 tonghae through

경유하여 gyeong-yuhayeo via

경유해서 gyeong-yuhaeseo via

인터넷을 통해 정보를 찾았어요.

Inteoneseul tonghae jeongboreul chajasseoyo.

I found the information through the internet.

42. “By means of”

Korean Transliteration English

으로 euro by / with

로 ro by / with

을 통해 eul tonghae through

를 통해 reul tonghae through

으로써 eurosseo by means of

로써 rosseo by means of

에 의하여 e uihayeo by means of / by

43. “As / in the role of”

Korean Transliteration English

으로서 eoroseo as

로서 roseo as

으로써 eurosseo by means of

로써 rosseo by means of

자격으로 jagyeogeuro in the capacity of

입장에서 ipjangeseo from the standpoint of

Example

선생님으로서 말씀드리겠습니다.

Seonsaengnimeuroseo malsseumdeurigetseumnida.

I will speak as a teacher.

44. “From the perspective of”

Korean Transliteration English

입장에서 ipjangeseo from the standpoint of

관점에서 gwanjeomeseo from the perspective of

측면에서 cheungmyeoneseo from the aspect of

면에서 myeoneseo in terms of

차원에서 chawoneseo at the level of / from the perspective of

입장에서는 ipjangeseoneun from the standpoint of

45. “In terms of”

Korean Transliteration English

면에서 myeoneseo in terms of

측면에서 cheungmyeoneseo in terms of / from the aspect of

관점에서 gwanjeomeseo from the perspective of

차원에서 chawoneseo in terms of

에 있어서 e isseoseo in terms of / with regard to

에 있어 e isseo in regard to

46. “At the time of / during”

Korean Transliteration English

때 ttae when / at the time

때에 ttaee at the time

동안 dongan during

동안에 dongane during

중 jung during / in the middle of

중에 junge during

사이에 saie during / between

당시 dangsi at that time

당시에 dangsie at that time

47. “On / on a particular day”

Korean Transliteration English

에 e on / at

에는 eneun on / at

날에 nare on the day

때에 ttaee at the time

당시 dangsi at that time

월요일에 만나요.

Woryoire mannayo.

Let's meet on Monday.

48. “About / approximately”

Korean Transliteration English

쯤 jjeum about / around

정도 jeongdo approximately / about

가량 garyang approximately

약 yak approximately

정도로 jeongdoro approximately / to the extent

쯤에 jjeume around/about

경 gyeong approximately / around

세 시쯤 만나요.

Se si-jjeum mannayo.

Let's meet around three o'clock.

49. “Against / contrary to”

Korean Transliteration English

에 반하여 e banhayeo contrary to

에 반해 e banhae contrary to

에 반해서 e banhaeseo contrary to

에 거슬러 e geoseulleo against

에 맞서 e matseo against

에 대항하여 e daehanghayeo against

에 위배되어 e wibaedoeeo contrary to / in violation of

50. “Despite / in spite of”

Korean Transliteration English

에도 불구하고 edo bulguhago despite

에도 불구하고 edo bulguhago in spite of

에도 edo despite / even with

에 반하여 e banhayeo contrary to

-는데도 -neundedo even though

-아도 -ado even if

-어도 -eodo even if

-더라도 -deorado even if

비에도 불구하고 갔어요.

Biedo bulguhago gasseoyo.

I went despite the rain.

51. “Without regard to / regardless of”

Korean Transliteration English

관계없이 gwangye-eopsi regardless of

상관없이 sanggwaneopsi regardless of

관계없이 gwangyeeopsi irrespective of

상관없이 sanggwaneopsi regardless

막론하고 mangnonhago regardless of

불문하고 bulmunhago regardless of

-든지 -deunji regardless of which

-든 -deun whichever / regardless

52. “Along with”

Korean Transliteration English

함께 hamkke together with

같이 gachi together with

더불어 deobureo along with

아울러 aureo along with

와 함께 wa hamkke together with

과 함께 gwa hamkke together with

와 더불어 wa deobureo along with

과 더불어 gwa deobureo along with

53. “Opposite / across from”

Korean Transliteration English

맞은편에 majeunpyeone opposite

건너편에 geonneopyeone across from

맞은쪽에 majeunjjoge opposite

건너에 geonneoe across

맞은편에서 majeunpyeoneseo opposite/from across

54. “Next to / beside”

Korean Transliteration English

옆에 yeope beside

곁에 gyeote beside

바로 옆에 baro yeope right beside

옆에서 yeopeseo beside

곁에서 gyeoteseo beside

55. Important compound postpositional expressions

Korean Transliteration English

에 대하여 e daehayeo about / regarding

에 관하여 e gwanhayeo concerning

에 의하여 e uihayeo by / through

에 따라서 e ttaraseo according to

에 비해서 e bihaeseo compared with

에 비해 e bihae compared with

에 따라 e ttara according to

에 의하면 e uihamyeon according to

에 따르면 e ttareumyeon according to

에 관해서 e gwanhaeseo concerning

에 대해서 e daehaeseo concerning

을 위해서 eul wihaeseo for

를 위해서 reul wihaeseo for

을 통해서 eul tonghaeseo through

를 통해서 reul tonghaeseo through

을 제외하고 eul jeoehago excluding

를 제외하고 reul jeoehago excluding

을 포함하여 eul pohamhayeo including

를 포함하여 reul pohamhayeo including

에도 불구하고 edo bulguhago despite

와 관계없이 wa gwangyeeopsi regardless of

과 관계없이 gwa gwangyeeopsi regardless of

와 상관없이 wa sanggwaneopsi regardless of

과 상관없이 gwa sanggwaneopsi regardless of

12- DETERMINERS

Korean Transliteration English

이 i this

그 geu that / the

저 jeo that over there

이런 ireon this kind of

그런 geureon that kind of / such

저런 jeoreon that kind of over there

이와 같은 iwa gateun like this / of this kind

그와 같은 geuwa gateun like that / of that kind

저와 같은 jeowa gateun like that over there / of that kind

이같은 igateun this kind of

그같은 geugateun that kind of

저같은 jeogateun that kind of over there

Examples:

이 책 — i chaek — this book

그 사람 — geu saram — that person

저 집 — jeo jip — that house over there

이런 문제 — ireon munje — this kind of problem

그런 사람 — geureon saram — such a person / that kind of person

2. Interrogative determiners

Korean Transliteration English

어느 eoneu which

무슨 museun what kind of / what

어떤 eotteon what kind of / which

몇 myeot how many / several

얼마나 많은 eolmana maneun how many / how much

얼마만한 eolmanahan how large / of what size

어떠한 eotteohan what kind of / whatever kind of

어느 정도의 eoneu jeongdoui of what degree / extent

어느 쪽의 eoneu jjogui which side's / which one’s

Important distinction

Korean Transliteration Meaning

어느 책 eoneu chaek which book

무슨 책 museun chaek what kind of book

어떤 책 eotteon chaek what kind of / which book

몇 권 myeot gwon how many books

몇 사람 myeot saram how many people

3. Universal determiners

Korean Transliteration English

모든 modeun all / every

온 on all / entire / whole

온갖 ongat all sorts of / every kind of

갖가지 gatgaji various kinds of

각 gak each / every

각각의 gakgagui each

각종 gakjong various kinds of

각각의 gakgagui each respective

전 jeon all / entire

전부의 jeonbui of all / entire

전체의 jeoncheui entire / whole

일체의 ilcheui all / any and all

일절의 iljeorui any at all (usually with negation)

온갖 ongat every kind of / all sorts of

온전한 onjeonhan whole / complete

Examples

모든 사람 — modeun saram — everyone / all people

각 학생 — gak haksaeng — each student

모든 책 — modeun chaek — all books

온 나라 — on nara — the whole country

온갖 문제 — ongat munje — all kinds of problems

4. Indefinite determiners

Korean Transliteration English

어떤 eotteon some / a certain / any kind of

어느 eoneu a certain / some

한 han one / a certain

한 가지 han gaji one kind / one particular

어떤 한 eotteon han a certain

어느 한 eoneu han a certain / one particular

아무 amu any / no (with negation)

아무런 amureon any / any kind of

아무 amu any

모종의 mojongui a certain / some kind of

소정의 sojeongui prescribed / specified

특정한 teukjeonghan specific / particular

특정의 teukjeongui specific

Examples:

어떤 사람 — eotteon saram — some person / a certain person

어느 날 — eoneu nal — one day / a certain day

한 사람 — han saram — one person / a person

아무 사람 — amu saram — any person

아무런 문제 — amureon munje — any problem

5. Negative/“no” determiner

Korean Transliteration English

아무 amu any / no

아무런 amureon any / no

단 한 dan han even a single / one single

그 어떤 geu eotteon any whatsoever / any kind of

어떠한 ...도 eotteohan ...do any ... whatsoever

Usually these occur with negation:

아무 문제도 없다 — amu munjedo eopda — There is no problem.

아무런 이유도 없다 — amureon iyudo eopda — There is no reason at all.

단 한 사람도 없다 — dan han saramdo eopda — There isn't even a single person.

6. Quantifier determiners

Korean Transliteration English

많은 maneun many / much

적은 jeogeun few / little

여러 yeoreo several / various

수많은 sumaneun countless / numerous

수많은 sumaneun a great many

상당한 sangdanghan considerable / substantial

상당수의 sangdangsuui a considerable number of

다수의 dasuui numerous / a majority of

소수의 sosuui a small number of / minority of

소량의 soryangui a small amount of

대량의 daeryangui a large quantity of

충분한 chungbunhan sufficient / enough

부족한 bujokhan insufficient / lacking

약간의 yakganui a little / some

소량의 soryangui a small amount of

다량의 daryangui a large amount of

수십의 susibui dozens of

수백의 subaegui hundreds of

수천의 sucheonui thousands of

수만의 sumanui tens of thousands of

Examples:

많은 사람 — maneun saram — many people

여러 나라 — yeoreo nara — several countries

수많은 사람 — sumaneun saram — countless people

소수의 학생 — sosuui haksaeng — a small number of students

충분한 시간 — chungbunhan sigan — sufficient time

7. Large/small quantity

Korean Transliteration English

많은 maneun much / many

적은 jeogeun little / few

상당한 sangdanghan considerable

엄청난 eomcheongnan enormous / tremendous

막대한 makdaehan enormous / huge

거대한 geodaehan gigantic

큰 keun large / big

작은 jageun small

약간의 yakganui a little / some

소량의 soryangui a small amount of

다량의 daryangui a large amount of

8. “Every / each” determiners

Korean Transliteration English

모든 modeun every / all

각 gak each

매 mae every

매일의 maeirui every day's

매년의 maenyeonui every year's

매번의 maebeonui every time's

각각의 gakgagui each

하나하나의 hanahanaui each individual

한 사람 한 사람의 han saram han saramui each person’s

하나하나 hanahana each / one by one

매 (mae) is especially important:

매일 — maeil — every day

매주 — maeju — every week

매달 — maedal — every month

매년 — maenyeon — every year

매번 — maebeon — every time

9. “Whole / entire” determiners

Korean Transliteration English

모든 modeun all

온 on whole / entire

전 jeon entire / all

전체 jeonche whole / entire

전체의 jeoncheui entire

온전한 onjeonhan whole / intact

완전한 wanjeonhan complete

전부의 jeonbui entire / all

일체의 ilcheui all / any and all

Examples:

온 세상 — on sesang — the whole world

전 세계 — jeon segye — the entire world

전체 학생 — jeonche haksaeng — the entire student body

모든 사람 — modeun saram — everyone

10. “Various / different” determiners

Korean Transliteration English

여러 yeoreo several / various

다양한 dayanghan diverse / various

각종 gakjong various kinds of

온갖 ongat all kinds of

갖가지 gatgaji various kinds of

여러 가지 yeoreo gaji various kinds of

여러 종류의 yeoreo jongnyuui various types of

다양한 종류의 dayanghan jongnyuui various types of

별의별 byeol-uibyeol all sorts of

가지가지의 gajigajiu i various kinds of

11. “Other / another” determiner-like forms

Korean Transliteration English

다른 dareun other / different

또 다른 tto dareun another / another different

다른 어떤 dareun eotteon some other

또 하나의 tto hanaui another / one more

또 한 tto han another one

나머지 nameoji remaining / the rest

여타의 yeotaui other / various other

기타의 gitaui other / miscellaneous

Examples:

다른 사람 — dareun saram — another person / other person

또 다른 방법 — tto dareun bangbeop — another method

나머지 사람들 — nameoji saramdeul — the remaining people

12. “Same” determiner

Korean Transliteration English

같은 gateun same / same kind of

동일한 dong-ilhan identical / same

동일의 dong-ilui of the same

똑같은 ttokgateun exactly the same

한결같은 hangyeolgateun consistent / unchanging

Examples:

같은 사람 — gateun saram — the same person

같은 책 — gateun chaek — the same book

동일한 방법 — dong-ilhan bangbeop — the same method

13. “Certain / particular / specific” determiners

Korean Transliteration English

특정한 teukjeonghan specific / particular

특정의 teukjeongui specific

일정한 iljeonghan certain / fixed

일정의 iljeongui a certain

어떤 eotteon a certain

어느 eoneu a certain

소정의 sojeongui specified / prescribed

특정 teukjeong specific

특정한 한 teukjeonghan han one particular

14. “Any / whatever” determiner-like forms

Korean Transliteration English

아무 amu any

아무런 amureon any

어떤 ...든 eotteon ...deun any kind of

어느 ...든 eoneu ...deun whichever

어떤 ...라도 eotteon ...rado any kind of

어느 ...라도 eoneu ...rado whichever / any

어떤 ...든지 eotteon ...deunji any kind of

어느 ...든지 eoneu ...deunji whichever

어떠한 ...도 eotteohan ...do any whatsoever

Examples:

어떤 사람이든 — eotteon saramideun — any person

어느 책이든 — eoneu chaegideun — any book / whichever book

어떠한 문제도 — eotteohan munjedo — any problem whatsoever

15. Numeral determiner-like forms

Korean normally uses number + counter rather than an English-style determiner.

Korean Transliteration English

한 han one / a

두 du two

세 se three

네 ne four

다섯 daseot five

여섯 yeoseot six

일곱 ilgop seven

여덟 yeodeol eight

아홉 ahop nine

열 yeol ten

몇 myeot how many / several

Examples:

한 사람 — han saram — one person / a person

두 책 — du chaek — two books

세 권의 책 — se gwonui chaek — three books

몇 사람 — myeot saram — how many people

16. Approximate quantity determiners

Korean Transliteration English

약 yak approximately / about

대략적인 daeryakjeogin approximate

대략 daeryak approximately

몇몇 myeotmyeot several / a few

수십 susip dozens

수백 subaek hundreds

수천 sucheon thousands

수만 suman tens of thousands

수십만 susipman hundreds of thousands

수백만 subaengman millions

Examples:

약 열 명 — yak yeol myeong — about ten people

수십 명 — susip myeong — dozens of people

몇몇 사람 — myeotmyeot saram — several people

17. “Half / part / whole” determiner-like expressions

Korean Transliteration English

절반의 jeolbanui half of

반 ban half

일부의 ilbui some / part of

일부분의 ilbubunui partial / part of

전부의 jeonbui all of

전체의 jeoncheui entire / whole

대부분의 daebubunui most of

대부분 daebubun most

나머지 nameoji remaining / the rest

Examples:

절반의 사람 — jeolbanui saram — half of the people

일부 학생 — ilbu haksaeng — some students

대부분의 사람 — daebubunui saram — most people

18. Possessive determiner-like constructions

Korean does not have a separate possessive-determiner class like English my, your, his. It uses noun/pronoun + 의 (ui).

Korean Transliteration English

나의 naui my

내 nae my

저의 jeoui my (humble)

제 je my (humble)

우리의 uriui our

우리 uri our

너의 neoui your

네 ne your

당신의 dangsinui your

그의 geuui his

그녀의 geunyeoui her

그들의 geudeurui their

누구의 nuguui whose

자기의 jagiui one's own

자신의 jasinui one's own

Examples:

내 책 — nae chaek — my book

네 집 — ne jip — your house

그의 친구 — geuui chingu — his friend

그녀의 이름 — geunyeoui ireum — her name

누구의 책? — nuguui chaek? — whose book?

19. Material/type/purpose modifier constructions

These are not strict determiners, but they function as noun modifiers.

Korean Transliteration English

나무로 된 namuro doen made of wood

금속으로 된 geumsogeuro doen made of metal

어린이용 eorini-yong for children

여행용 yeohaeng-yong for travel

가정용 gajeong-yong for household use

업무용 eomu-yong for work/business

전용 jeonyong dedicated/exclusive

공용 gongyong public/shared

일회용 ilhoeyong disposable / one-use

재사용 가능한 jaesayong ganeunghan reusable

20. Strict Korean 관형사 (gwanhyeongsa)

If by “determiner” you mean the strict Korean grammatical category, the most important category is 관형사 (gwanhyeongsa).

These words directly modify nouns and do not behave like ordinary adjectives.

Core 관형사

Korean Transliteration English

이 i this

그 geu that

저 jeo that over there

어느 eoneu which / a certain

무슨 museun what kind of

어떤 eotteon what kind of / which

이런 ireon this kind of

그런 geureon that kind of

저런 jeoreon that kind of over there

다른 dareun other / different

온갖 ongat all kinds of

모든 modeun all / every

각 gak each

여러 yeoreo several / various

매 mae every

한 han one / a

두 du two

세 se three

네 ne four

첫 cheot first

둘째 duljjae second

셋째 setjjae third

몇 myeot how many

어느 eoneu which / a certain

온 on whole / entire

웬 wen what kind of / what unexpected

웬만한 wenmanhan ordinary / decent / most

별 byeol special / particular

별의별 byeol-uibyeol all sorts of

온전한 onjeonhan whole / intact

갖은 gajeun all sorts of / various

온갖 ongat all kinds of

모 mo certain / some

모종의 mojongui a certain / some kind of

소위 sowi so-called

이른바 ireunba so-called

소위 말하는 sowi malhaneun so-called

해당 haedang relevant / corresponding

당 dang each / per

전 jeon entire / all

각종 gakjong various kinds of

약간의 yakganui some / a little

수많은 sumaneun numerous

Important: some items in this last table are strict 관형사, while others are adjective-derived or noun-based modifier constructions. Korean grammars do not always classify all of these identically.

13- IF CONDITIONAL

STANDARD:

If the verb stem ends in a vowel:

Verb stem + 면

myeon

If the verb stem ends in a consonant:

Verb stem + 으면

eumyeon

WITH PAST ACTIONS:

If I eat 내가 먹으면 naega meogeumyeon

If I ate 내가 먹었으면 naega meogeosseumyeon

If I will eat 내가 먹을 거라면 naega meogeul georamyeon

If I am eating 내가 먹고 있으면 naega meokgo isseumyeon

If I was eating 내가 먹고 있었으면 naega meokgo isseosseumyeon

If I will be eating 내가 먹고 있을 거라면 naega meokgo isseul georamyeon

If I have eaten 내가 먹었으면 naega meogeosseumyeon

If I had eaten 내가 먹었었으면 naega meogeosseosseumyeon

If I don't eat 내가 안 먹으면 naega an meogeumyeon

If I cannot eat 내가 못 먹으면 naega mot meogeumyeon

If I suppose I eat 내가 먹는다면 naega meongneundamyeon

If I had eaten (regret) 내가 먹었더라면 naega meogeotdeoramyeon

Even if I eat 내가 먹어도 naega meogeodo

Only if I eat 내가 먹어야 naega meogeoya

If I don't eat 내가 안 먹으면 naega an meogeumyeon

If I didn't eat 내가 안 먹었으면 naega an meogeosseumyeon

If I will not eat 내가 안 먹을 거라면 naega an meogeul georamyeon

If I am not eating 내가 안 먹고 있으면 naega an meokgo isseumyeon

If I was not eating 내가 안 먹고 있었으면 naega an meokgo isseosseumyeon

If I will not be eating 내가 안 먹고 있을 거라면 naega an meokgo isseul georamyeon

If I have not eaten 내가 먹지 않았으면 naega meokji anasseumyeon

If I had not eaten 내가 먹지 않았었으면 naega meokji anasseosseumyeon

If I cannot eat 내가 못 먹으면 naega mot meogeumyeon

If I hypothetically do not eat 내가 먹지 않는다면 naega meokji anneundamyeon

Even if I don't eat 내가 먹지 않아도 naega meokji anado

Only if I don't eat 내가 먹지 않아야 naega meokji anaya

If it is eaten 먹히면 meokhimyeon

If it was eaten 먹혔으면 meokhyeosseumyeon

If it will be eaten 먹힐 거라면 meokhil georamyeon

If it is being eaten 먹히고 있으면 meokhigo isseumyeon

If it was being eaten 먹히고 있었으면 meokhigo isseosseumyeon

If it will be being eaten 먹히고 있을 거라면 meokhigo isseul georamyeon

If it has been eaten 먹혔으면 meokhyeosseumyeon

If it had been eaten 먹혀 있었으면 meokhyeo isseosseumyeon

If it is not eaten 먹히지 않으면 meokhiji aneumyeon

If it were eaten 먹힌다면 meokhindamyeon

If it had been eaten (regret) 먹혔더라면 meokhyeotdeoramyeon

Even if it is eaten 먹혀도 meokhyeodo

Only if it is eaten 먹혀야 meokhyeoya

If it is not eaten 먹히지 않으면 meokhiji aneumyeon

If it was not eaten 먹히지 않았으면 meokhiji anasseumyeon

If it will not be eaten 먹히지 않을 거라면 meokhiji aneul georamyeon

If it is not being eaten 먹히고 있지 않으면 meokhigo itji aneumyeon

If it was not being eaten 먹히고 있지 않았으면 meokhigo itji anasseumyeon

If it will not be being eaten 먹히고 있지 않을 거라면 meokhigo itji aneul georamyeon

If it has not been eaten 아직 먹히지 않았으면 ajik meokhiji anasseumyeon

If it had not been eaten 먹혀 있지 않았으면 meokhyeo itji anasseumyeon

If it cannot be eaten 먹을 수 없으면 meogeul su eopseumyeon

If it were not eaten 먹히지 않는다면 meokhiji anneundamyeon

If it had not been eaten (regret) 먹히지 않았더라면 meokhiji anatdeoramyeon

Even if it is not eaten 먹히지 않아도 meokhiji anado

Only if it is not eaten 먹히지 않아야 meokhiji anaya

would eat 먹을 것이다 meogeul geosida

would eat (spoken) 먹을 거예요 meogeul geoyeyo

would be eating 먹고 있을 것이다 meokgo isseul geosida

would have eaten 먹었을 것이다 meogeosseul geosida

would have been eating 먹고 있었을 것이다 meokgo isseosseul geosida

would like to eat 먹고 싶다 meokgo sipda

would prefer to eat 먹는 게 좋겠다 meongneun ge jokgetda

would probably eat 먹을 것 같다 meogeul geot gatda

would be able to eat 먹을 수 있을 것이다 meogeul su isseul geosida

would not eat 안 먹을 것이다 an meogeul geosida

would not have eaten 안 먹었을 것이다 an meogeosseul geosida

used to eat 먹곤 했다 meokgon haetda

would not eat 안 먹을 것이다 an meogeul geosida

would not eat (spoken) 안 먹을 거예요 an meogeul geoyeyo

would not eat (formal negative) 먹지 않을 것이다 meokji aneul geosida

would not be eating 안 먹고 있을 것이다 an meokgo isseul geosida

would not have eaten 안 먹었을 것이다 an meogeosseul geosida

would not have eaten 먹지 않았을 것이다 meokji anasseul geosida

would not have been eating 안 먹고 있었을 것이다 an meokgo isseosseul geosida

would not be able to eat 먹을 수 없을 것이다 meogeul su eopseul geosida

would not want to eat 먹고 싶지 않을 것이다 meokgo sipji aneul geosida

if I did not eat, would... 먹지 않으면 ... 것이다 meokji aneumyeon ... geosida

if I had not eaten, would have... 먹지 않았더라면 ... 것이다 meokji anatdeoramyeon ... geosida

would be eaten 먹힐 것이다 meokhil geosida

would be eaten (spoken) 먹힐 거예요 meokhil geoyeyo

would have been eaten 먹혔을 것이다 meokhyeosseul geosida

would be being eaten 먹히고 있을 것이다 meokhigo isseul geosida

would have been being eaten 먹히고 있었을 것이다 meokhigo isseosseul geosida

would already have been eaten 먹혀 있을 것이다 meokhyeo isseul geosida

would have been eaten by then 먹혀 있었을 것이다 meokhyeo isseosseul geosida

would be able to be eaten 먹힐 수 있을 것이다 meokhil su isseul geosida

if it were eaten, would... 먹힌다면 ... 것이다 meokhindamyeon ... geosida

if it had been eaten, would have... 먹혔더라면 ... 것이다 meokhyeotdeoramyeon ... geosida

would not be eaten 먹히지 않을 것이다 meokhiji aneul geosida

would not be eaten (spoken) 먹히지 않을 거예요 meokhiji aneul geoyeyo

would not have been eaten 먹히지 않았을 것이다 meokhiji anasseul geosida

would not be being eaten 먹히고 있지 않을 것이다 meokhigo itji aneul geosida

would not have been being eaten 먹히고 있지 않았을 것이다 meokhigo itji anasseul geosida

would not already have been eaten 먹혀 있지 않을 것이다 meokhyeo itji aneul geosida

would not have been eaten (state) 먹혀 있지 않았을 것이다 meokhyeo itji anasseul geosida

would not be able to be eaten 먹힐 수 없을 것이다 meokhil su eopseul geosida

if not eaten, would... 먹히지 않으면 ... 것이다 meokhiji aneumyeon ... geosida

if it had not been eaten, would have... 먹히지 않았더라면 ... 것이다 meokhiji anatdeoramyeon ... geosida

if -(으)면 -(eu)myeon

when -(으)ㄹ 때 -(eu)l ttae

whenever -(으)ㄹ 때마다 -(eu)l ttaemada

only if -아야/어야 -aya/eoya

unless -지 않으면 -ji aneumyeon

even if -아도/어도 -ado/eodo

even if (strong) -더라도 -deorado

supposing if -다면 -damyeon

if it is (noun) -(이)라면 -(i)ramyeon

what if -(으)면 어떡해 -(eu)myeon eotteokhae

in case -(으)ㄹ 경우에 -(eu)l gyeongue

just in case -(으)ㄹ까 봐 -(eu)lkkabwa

as if 것처럼 geotcheoreom

as though 듯이 deusi

whether -(으)ㄴ지/는지 -(eu)n ji/neun ji

no matter whether -든지 -deunji

Zero Conditional (general truth) -(으)면 + present tense 먹으면 건강해요 Meogeumyeon geonganghaeyo If you eat, you are healthy / When you eat, you are healthy

First Conditional (real future possibility) -(으)면 + -(으)ㄹ 거예요 먹으면 좋아질 거예요 Meogeumyeon joajil geoyeyo If you eat, you will get better

Second Conditional (unreal / imaginary present) -(으)면 / -(이)라면 + -(으)ㄹ 거예요 부자라면 살 거예요 Bujar amyeon sal geoyeyo If I were rich, I would buy it

Third Conditional (unreal past) -았/었더라면 + -았/었을 거예요 먹었더라면 좋았을 거예요 Meogeotdeoramyeon joasseul geoyeyo If I had eaten, it would have been good

Mixed Conditional (past condition → present result) -았/었더라면 + present result + -(으)ㄹ 거예요 먹었더라면 지금 괜찮을 거예요 Meogeotdeoramyeon jigeum gwaenchanheul geoyeyo If I had eaten, I would be okay now

14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

More adjective 더 + adjective deo + adjective 이 차가 저 차보다 더 빨라요. I chaga jeo chaboda deo ppallayo. This car is faster than that car.

Less adjective 덜 + adjective deol + adjective 이 차가 저 차보다 덜 빨라요. I chaga jeo chaboda deol ppallayo. This car is less fast than that car.

Most adjective 가장/제일 + adjective gajang/jeil + adjective 이 차가 가장 빨라요. I chaga gajang ppallayo. This car is the fastest.

Least adjective 가장/제일 덜 + adjective gajang/jeil deol + adjective 이 차가 제일 덜 빨라요. I chaga jeil deol ppallayo. This car is the least fast.

More verb 더 + verb deo + verb 나는 동생보다 더 많이 먹어요. Naneun dongsaengboda deo mani meogeoyo. I eat more than my younger sibling.

Less verb 덜 + verb deol + verb 나는 동생보다 덜 먹어요. Naneun dongsaengboda deol meogeoyo. I eat less than my younger sibling.

Most verb 가장/제일 많이 + verb gajang/jeil mani + verb 민수가 반에서 제일 많이 먹어요. Minsuga baneseo jeil mani meogeoyo. Minsu eats the most in the class.

Least verb 가장/제일 적게 + verb gajang/jeil jeokge + verb 지수가 반에서 제일 적게 먹어요. Jisuga baneseo jeil jeokge meogeoyo. Jisu eats the least in the class.

More noun 더 많은 + noun deo maneun + noun 나는 너보다 더 많은 책을 가지고 있어요. Naneun neoboda deo maneun chaegeul gajigo isseoyo. I have more books than you.

Less noun 더 적은 + noun deo jeogeun + noun 나는 너보다 더 적은 책을 가지고 있어요. Naneun neoboda deo jeogeun chaegeul gajigo isseoyo. I have fewer books than you.

Most noun 가장 많은 + noun gajang maneun + noun 민수가 반에서 가장 많은 책을 가지고 있어요. Minsuga baneseo gajang maneun chaegeul gajigo isseoyo. Minsu has the most books in the class.

Least noun 가장 적은 + noun gajang jeogeun + noun 지수가 반에서 가장 적은 책을 가지고 있어요. Jisuga baneseo gajang jeogeun chaegeul gajigo isseoyo. Jisu has the fewest books in the class.

Equality — "as...as"

Type Formation Formation transliteration Example Example transliteration Translation

As adjective as B만큼 + adjective B-mankeum + adjective 나는 너만큼 키가 커요. Naneun neomankeum kiga keoyo. I am as tall as you.

As much as (verb) B만큼 + verb B-mankeum + verb 나는 너만큼 먹어요. Naneun neomankeum meogeoyo. I eat as much as you.

As many nouns as B만큼 + noun + 이/가 B-mankeum + noun + i/ga 나는 너만큼 책이 있어요. Naneun neomankeum chaegi isseoyo. I have as many books as you.

Negative Equality — "not as...as"

Type Formation Formation transliteration Example Example transliteration Translation

Adjective B만큼 + adjective + 지 않다 B-mankeum + adjective + ji anta 나는 너만큼 키가 크지 않아요. Naneun neomankeum kiga keuji anayo. I am not as tall as you.

Verb B만큼 + 많이 + verb + 지 않다 B-mankeum + mani + verb + ji anta 나는 너만큼 많이 먹지 않아요. Naneun neomankeum mani meokji anayo. I do not eat as much as you.

Noun B만큼 + 많은 + noun + 이/가 없다 B-mankeum + maneun + noun + i/ga eopda 나는 너만큼 많은 책이 없어요. Naneun neomankeum maneun chaegi eopseoyo. I do not have as many books as you.

15- RELATIVE CLAUSES

Present verb stem + 는 + noun stem + neun + noun 먹는 사람 Meongneun saram person who eats

Past verb stem + -(으)ㄴ + noun stem + (eu)n + noun 먹은 사람 Meogeun saram person who ate

Future verb stem + -(으)ㄹ + noun stem + (eu)l + noun 먹을 사람 Meogeul saram person who will eat

Present adjective stem + -(으)ㄴ + noun stem + (eu)n + noun 좋은 사람 Joeun saram good person / person who is good

Noun noun + 인 + noun noun + in + noun 학생인 사람 Haksaengin saram person who is a student

Present progressive stem + 고 있는 + noun stem + go inneun + noun 먹고 있는 사람 Meokgo inneun saram person who is eating

Past progressive stem + 고 있던 + noun stem + go itdeon + noun 먹고 있던 사람 Meokgo itdeon saram person who was eating

Negative present stem + 지 않는 + noun stem + ji anneun + noun 먹지 않는 사람 Meokji anneun saram person who doesn't eat

Negative past stem + 지 않은 + noun stem + ji aneun + noun 먹지 않은 음식 Meokji aneun eumsik food that wasn't eaten

Negative future stem + 지 않을 + noun stem + ji aneul + noun 먹지 않을 음식 Meokji aneul eumsik food that won't be eaten

Experiential stem + 아/어 본 + noun stem + a/eo bon + noun 먹어 본 음식 Meogeo bon eumsik food that someone has tried

Past/experienced state stem + 았/었던 + noun stem + at/eotdeon + noun 먹었던 음식 Meogeotdeon eumsik food that someone has eaten / used to eat

REDUCED:

Present active stem + 는 + noun stem + neun + noun 먹는 사람 Meongneun saram person who eats / eating person

Past active stem + -(으)ㄴ + noun stem + (eu)n + noun 먹은 사람 Meogeun saram person who ate

Future stem + -(으)ㄹ + noun stem + (eu)l + noun 먹을 사람 Meogeul saram person who will eat

Present adjective adjective stem + -(으)ㄴ + noun adjective stem + (eu)n + noun 좋은 사람 Joeun saram good person / person who is good

Noun noun + 인 + noun noun + in + noun 학생인 사람 Haksaengin saram person who is a student

Present progressive stem + 고 있는 + noun stem + go inneun + noun 먹고 있는 사람 Meokgo inneun saram person who is eating

Past progressive stem + 고 있던 + noun stem + go itdeon + noun 먹고 있던 사람 Meokgo itdeon saram person who was eating

Negative present stem + 지 않는 + noun stem + ji anneun + noun 먹지 않는 사람 Meokji anneun saram person who doesn't eat

Negative past stem + 지 않은 + noun stem + ji aneun + noun 먹지 않은 음식 Meokji aneun eumsik food that wasn't eaten

Negative future stem + 지 않을 + noun stem + ji aneul + noun 먹지 않을 음식 Meokji aneul eumsik food that won't be eaten

Experiential stem + 아/어 본 + noun stem + a/eo bon + noun 먹어 본 음식 Meogeo bon eumsik food that someone has tried

Past/experienced stem + 았/었던 + noun stem + at/eotdeon + noun 먹었던 음식 Meogeotdeon eumsik food that someone ate / used to eat

16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH

Direct Speech: Speaker + 이/가 [i/ga] + 말하다 [malhada] + : + "Exact words"

Reported Speech:

Present verb ㄴ/는다고 하다 n/neundago hada 민수가 먹는다고 했어요. Minsuga meongneundago haesseoyo. Minsu said that he eats.

Past verb 았/었다고 하다 asseotdago/eotdago hada 민수가 먹었다고 했어요. Minsuga meogeotdago haesseoyo. Minsu said that he ate.

Future verb -(으)ㄹ 거라고 하다 (eu)l georago hada 민수가 먹을 거라고 했어요. Minsuga meogeul georago haesseoyo. Minsu said that he will eat.

Adjective 다고 하다 dago hada 맛있다고 했어요. Masitdago haesseoyo. He said it is delicious.

Noun (이)라고 하다 (i)rago hada 학생이라고 했어요. Haksaengirago haesseoyo. He said he is a student.

Present question 는지 묻다 neunji mutda 먹는지 물어봤어요. Meongneunji mureobwasseoyo. I asked whether he eats.

Past question 았/었는지 묻다 asseonneunji/eonneunji mutda 먹었는지 물어봤어요. Meogeonneunji mureobwasseoyo. I asked whether he ate.

Future question -(으)ㄹ지 묻다 (eu)lji mutda 먹을지 물어봤어요. Meogeulji mureobwasseoyo. I asked whether he would eat.

WH-question 는지 묻다 neunji mutda 무엇을 먹는지 물어봤어요. Mueoseul meongneunji mureobwasseoyo. I asked what he was eating.

Command -(으)라고 하다 (eu)rago hada 먹으라고 했어요. Meogeurrago haesseoyo. He told me to eat.

Negative command -지 말라고 하다 ji mallago hada 먹지 말라고 했어요. Meokji mallago haesseoyo. He told me not to eat.

Request -아/어 달라고 하다 a/eo dallago hada 도와 달라고 했어요. Dowa dallago haesseoyo. He asked me to help.

Negative request -지 말아 달라고 하다 ji mara dallago hada 가지 말아 달라고 했어요. Gaji mara dallago haesseoyo. He asked me not to leave.

Suggestion -자고 하다 jago hada 먹자고 했어요. Meokjago haesseoyo. He suggested eating.

Negative suggestion -지 말자고 하다 ji maljago hada 먹지 말자고 했어요. Meokji maljago haesseoyo. He suggested not eating.

17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS

to eat Verb + 기 먹기 meokgi

eating Verb + 는 것 먹는 것 meongneun geot

I like eating Verb + 는 것을 좋아하다 먹는 것을 좋아해요 meongneun geoseul joahaeyo

I like to eat Verb + 기를 좋아하다 먹기를 좋아해요 meokgireul joahaeyo

want to eat Verb + 고 싶다 먹고 싶어요 meokgo sipeoyo

decide to eat Verb + 기로 하다 먹기로 했어요 meokgiro haesseoyo

before eating Verb + 기 전에 먹기 전에 meokgi jeone

after eating Verb + 은 후에 먹은 후에 meogeun hue

without eating Verb + 지 않고 먹지 않고 meokji ango

in order to eat Verb + 기 위해 먹기 위해 meokgi wihae

I am happy seeing you 너를 봐서 행복해요 Neoreul bwaseo haengbokhaeyo Verb + 아/어서 + emotion

FORMATION:

나/저 na/jeo I

너를 neoreul you (object)

봐서 bwaseo seeing / because I see

행복해요 haengbokhaeyo am happy

Literal meaning: "Because I see you, I am happy."

I am happy to see you 너를 보게 되어 행복해요 Neoreul boge doeeo haengbokhaeyo Verb + 게 되다

FORMATION:

너를 neoreul you (object)

보게 boge to see / get to see

되어 doeeo become / come to

행복해요 haengbokhaeyo am happy

Literal: "I became happy by getting to see you."

I plan to eat 먹을 계획이에요 Meogeul gyehoek-ieyo Verb + (으)ㄹ + 계획

먹을 meogeul to eat / will eat

계획 gyehoek plan

이에요 ieyo is / am

Literal: "It is a plan to eat."

I plan eating 먹는 것을 계획해요 Meongneun geoseul gyehoekhaeyo Verb + 는 것 + plan

먹는 meongneun eating

것 geot thing / act

을 eul object marker

계획해요 gyehoekhaeyo plan

Literal: "I plan the act of eating."

I see him run 그가 달리는 것을 봐요 Geuga dallineun geoseul bwayo Verb + 는 것 + 보다

FORMATION:

나는 naneun I (topic)

그가 geuga he (subject)

달리는 dallineun running

것 geot thing / action

을 eul object marker

봐요 bwayo see

Literal: "I see the thing of him running."

I see him running 그가 달리고 있는 것을 봐요 Geuga dalligo inneun geoseul bwayo Verb + 고 있다

Word-by-word:

나는 naneun I

그가 geuga he

달리고 dalligo running and

있는 inneun being / currently doing

것 geot thing/action

을 eul object marker

봐요 bwayo see

Literal: "I see the action of him being running."

I eat to play 놀기 위해 먹어요 Nolgi wihae meogeoyo Verb + 기 위해 + verb

FORMATION:

놀기 nolgi to play / playing

위해 wihae for the purpose of / in order to

먹어요 meogeoyo eat

Literal: "I eat for the purpose of playing."

18- SUBJUNCTIVE

If I do -(으)면 가면 gamyeon

If I were (noun) (이)라면 왕이라면 wangiramyeon

If it were the case -ㄴ/는다면 간다면 gandamyeon

If I had done -았/었더라면 갔더라면 gatdeoramyeon

I wish -았/었으면 좋겠다 갔으면 좋겠다 gasseumyeon joketda

Would -(으)ㄹ 거예요 할 거예요 hal geoyeyo

Would have -았/었을 거예요 했을 거예요 haesseul geoyeyo

If I could -(으)ㄹ 수 있다면 할 수 있다면 hal su itdamyeon

19- TAG QUESTIONS

It is big, right? 크지? Keuji?

It is beautiful, right? 예쁘지? Yeppeuji?

It is good, right? 좋지? Jotji?

right? -지? -ji? confirmation

right? (polite) -죠? -jyo? confirmation

isn't it? 그렇지? geureochi? isn't that so

correct? 맞지? matji? correct

don't you think? 안 그래? an geurae? isn't it

Don't you eat? 안 먹어요? An meogeoyo? 안 + verb

Don't you eat? 먹지 않아요? Meokji anayo? -지 않다

Didn't you eat? 안 먹었어요? An meogeosseoyo? 안 + past

Didn't you eat? 먹지 않았어요? Meokji anasseoyo? -지 않았다

Won't you eat? 안 먹을 거예요? An meogeul geoyeyo? 안 + future

Isn't it good? 안 좋아요? An joayo? 안 + adjective

Aren't you a student? 학생 아니에요? Haksaeng anieyo? noun + 아니다

Can't you eat? 못 먹어요? Mot meogeoyo? 못 + verb

20- MODAL WORDS

Korean Transliteration English

할 수 있다 hal su itda can / be able to

할 수 있다 hal su itda be able to do

할 수 없다 hal su eopda cannot / be unable to

가능하다 ganeunghada be possible / be capable

가능해지다 ganeunghaejida become possible

가능성이 있다 ganeungseongi itda there is a possibility

능력이 있다 neungnyeogi itda have the ability

능하다 neunghada be skilled/capable

잘하다 jalhada be good at / can do well

못하다 mothada cannot / be unable to

할 줄 알다 hal jul alda know how to do

할 줄 모르다 hal jul moreuda not know how to do

Example:

나는 한국어를 말할 수 있어요.

naneun hangugeoreul malhal su isseoyo.

= I can speak Korean.

2. Permission — “may / be allowed to”

Korean Transliteration English

~아도 되다 ~ado doeda may / be allowed to

~어도 되다 ~eodo doeda may / be allowed to

~해도 되다 ~haedo doeda may / be allowed to

허락하다 heorakhada allow

허용하다 heoyonghada permit / allow

허가하다 heogahada authorize / permit

허락받다 heorakbatda receive permission

허용되다 heoyongdoeda be permitted

허가되다 heogadoeda be authorized

~면 되다 ~myeon doeda it is enough/okay to

~도 괜찮다 ~do gwaenchantda it is okay to

Negative permission

Korean Transliteration English

~으면 안 되다 ~eumyeon an doeda must not / may not

~면 안 되다 ~myeon an doeda must not

금지하다 geumjihada prohibit

금지되다 geumjidoeda be prohibited

금하다 geumhada prohibit

허용되지 않다 heoyongdoeji anta not be permitted

3. Possibility — “may / might / could”

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ 수 있다 ~l su itda may / can / could

~을 수 있다 ~eul su itda may / can / could

~ㄹ지도 모르다 ~ljido moreuda might / may

~을지도 모르다 ~euljido moreuda might / may

아마 ama probably / perhaps

아마도 amado probably / perhaps

어쩌면 eojjeomyeon perhaps / maybe

혹시 hoksi perhaps / by any chance

혹시라도 hoksirado if perhaps / by any chance

혹은 hogeun perhaps / or

가능하다 ganeunghada be possible

가능성이 있다 ganeungseongi itda there is a possibility

가능성이 높다 ganeungseongi nopda be highly possible

가능성이 낮다 ganeungseongi natda be unlikely

~ㄹ 가능성이 있다 ~l ganeungseongi itda there is a possibility of

~을 가능성이 있다 ~eul ganeungseongi itda there is a possibility of

4. Probability — “probably / likely”

Korean Transliteration English

아마 ama probably

아마도 amado probably

아마 ~일 것이다 ama ~il geosida probably will be

아마 ~할 것이다 ama ~hal geosida probably will

~ㄹ 것 같다 ~l geot gatda seem likely / probably

~을 것 같다 ~eul geot gatda seem likely

~ㄹ 듯하다 ~l deuthada seem / appear likely

~을 듯하다 ~eul deuthada seem likely

~ㄹ 듯싶다 ~l deutssipda seem likely

~을 듯싶다 ~eul deutssipda seem likely

~ㄹ 법하다 ~l beophada be likely to

~을 법하다 ~eul beophada be likely to

가능성이 높다 ganeungseongi nopda likely

가능성이 크다 ganeungseongi keuda highly possible

십중팔구 sipjungpalgu in all likelihood

5. Necessity — “must / have to / need to”

Korean Transliteration English

~아야 하다 ~aya hada must / have to

~어야 하다 ~eoya hada must / have to

~해야 하다 ~haeya hada must / have to

~아야 되다 ~aya doeda have to / must

~어야 되다 ~eoya doeda have to

~해야 되다 ~haeya doeda have to

반드시 bandeusi 반드시 / certainly / 반드시 must

꼭 kkok 꼭 / 반드시 / 꼭 반드시 = definitely / must

필히 pilhi 반드시 / 반드시 해야 = 반드시 must

필요하다 piryohada be necessary

필요로 하다 piryoro hada require / need

필요가 있다 piryoga itda there is a need

~ㄹ 필요가 있다 ~l piryoga itda need to

~을 필요가 있다 ~eul piryoga itda need to

~ㄹ 필요가 없다 ~l piryoga eopda do not need to

~을 필요가 없다 ~eul piryoga eopda do not need to

6. Obligation — “must / be required to”

Korean Transliteration English

~아야 한다 ~aya handa must

~어야 한다 ~eoya handa must

~해야 한다 ~haeya handa must

~아야 되다 ~aya doeda have to

~어야 되다 ~eoya doeda have to

~해야 되다 ~haeya doeda have to

반드시 ~해야 하다 bandeusi ~haeya hada must definitely

꼭 ~해야 하다 kkok ~haeya hada must

의무가 있다 uimuga itda have an obligation

의무이다 uimui-da be an obligation

의무적으로 uimujeogeuro obligatorily

의무화되다 uimuhwadoeda become mandatory

요구되다 yogudoeda be required

요구하다 yoguhada require

7. Strong necessity / “absolutely must”

Korean Transliteration English

반드시 bandeusi 반드시 / 반드시 = 반드시 must / certainly

꼭 kkok 반드시 / definitely / 반드시 must

필히 pilhi 반드시 / 반드시

무조건 mujogeon unconditionally / absolutely

기필코 gipilko by all means / definitely

반드시 ~해야 한다 bandeusi ~haeya handa must

꼭 ~해야 한다 kkok ~haeya handa absolutely must

~지 않으면 안 되다 ~ji aneumyeon an doeda must / cannot avoid doing

~지 않을 수 없다 ~ji aneul su eopda cannot help but / must

8. Advice — “should / ought to”

Korean Transliteration English

~는 게 좋다 ~neun ge jota should / it is better to

~는 것이 좋다 ~neun geosi jota should

~는 게 낫다 ~neun ge natda it would be better to

~는 것이 낫다 ~neun geosi natda it would be better to

~아야 좋다 ~aya jota should

~어야 좋다 ~eoya jota should

~해야 좋다 ~haeya jota should

~는 게 좋겠다 ~neun ge joketda should / would be good to

~는 것이 좋겠다 ~neun geosi joketda should

~는 게 어떻다 ~neun ge eotteotda how about / would it be good to

~도록 하다 ~dorok hada make sure to / try to

권하다 gwonhada recommend / advise

권장하다 gwonjanghada recommend

추천하다 chucheonhada recommend

Negative advice

Korean Transliteration English

~지 않는 게 좋다 ~ji anneun ge jota should not

~지 않는 것이 좋다 ~ji anneun geosi jota should not

~지 않는 게 낫다 ~ji anneun ge natda better not

~지 말다 ~ji malda don't / should not

9. Desire — “want / wish”

Korean Transliteration English

~고 싶다 ~go sipda want to

~고 싶어하다 ~go sipeohada want to (third person)

원하다 wonhada want / desire

바라다 barada wish / hope

희망하다 huimanghada hope / wish

소망하다 somanghada wish / hope

열망하다 yeolmanghada strongly desire

갈망하다 galmanghada yearn / crave

염원하다 yeomwonhada earnestly wish

~기를 바라다 ~gireul barada hope that

~기를 원하다 ~gireul wonhada want someone/something to

10. Intention — “intend to”

Korean Transliteration English

~려고 하다 ~ryeogo hada intend to / be about to

~으려고 하다 ~euryeogo hada intend to

~고자 하다 ~goja hada intend to / seek to

~ㄹ 생각이다 ~l saenggagida intend to

~을 생각이다 ~eul saenggagida intend to

~ㄹ 예정이다 ~l yejeongida be scheduled/intend to

~을 예정이다 ~eul yejeongida be scheduled to

계획하다 gyehoekhada plan

계획이 있다 gyehoegi itda have a plan

계획이다 gyehoekida plan/intention

작정하다 jakjeonghada resolve/intend

마음먹다 ma-eummeokda make up one's mind

11. Future / prediction — “will”

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ 것이다 ~l geosida will / be going to

~을 것이다 ~eul geosida will

~겠다 ~getda will / intend to / probably

~ㄹ 거예요 ~l geoyeyo will / going to

~을 거예요 ~eul geoyeyo will / going to

~ㄹ 예정이다 ~l yejeongida be scheduled to

~을 예정이다 ~eul yejeongida be scheduled to

~기로 하다 ~giro hada decide to

~기로 되어 있다 ~giro doeeo itda be arranged/scheduled to

Important: -겠- (-get-) is highly multifunctional. It can express future intention, prediction, supposition, willingness, or determination depending on context.

12. “Be going to”

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ 것이다 ~l geosida be going to / will

~을 것이다 ~eul geosida be going to

~려고 하다 ~ryeogo hada be about to / intend to

~으려고 하다 ~euryeogo hada be about to

~ㄹ 예정이다 ~l yejeongida be scheduled to

~을 예정이다 ~eul yejeongida be scheduled to

~기로 하다 ~giro hada decide to

~기로 되어 있다 ~giro doeeo itda be scheduled/arranged to

13. “Would”

Korean does not have one word equivalent to English “would.”

Korean Transliteration English function

~ㄹ 것이다 ~l geosida would / would be

~을 것이다 ~eul geosida would

~겠- ~get- would / would probably

~ㄹ 텐데 ~l tende would / would be expected

~을 텐데 ~eul tende would

~ㄹ 것 같다 ~l geot gatda would seem / would probably

~고 싶다 ~go sipda would like to

~면 좋겠다 ~myeon joketda would be nice if

~면 좋을 텐데 ~myeon joeul tende I wish / it would be nice if

~려고 했다 ~ryeogo haetda was going to / intended to

14. “Could”

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ 수 있다 ~l su itda could / can

~을 수 있다 ~eul su itda could

~ㄹ 수도 있다 ~l sudo itda could / may

~을 수도 있다 ~eul sudo itda could / may

~ㄹ지도 모르다 ~ljido moreuda could / might

~을지도 모르다 ~euljido moreuda could / might

~면 좋겠다 ~myeon joketda could / it would be nice if

~할 수 있었을 것이다 ~hal su isseosseul geosida could have

15. “Might”

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ지도 모르다 ~ljido moreuda might

~을지도 모르다 ~euljido moreuda might

아마 ama perhaps / probably

아마도 amado perhaps

어쩌면 eojjeomyeon perhaps / might

혹시 hoksi perhaps / by any chance

~ㄹ 수도 있다 ~l sudo itda might / may

~을 수도 있다 ~eul sudo itda might / may

~ㄹ 가능성이 있다 ~l ganeungseongi itda might be possible

~을 가능성이 있다 ~eul ganeungseongi itda might be possible

16. “May”

Korean Transliteration English

~아도 되다 ~ado doeda may / be allowed to

~어도 되다 ~eodo doeda may

~해도 되다 ~haedo doeda may

~ㄹ 수도 있다 ~l sudo itda may / might

~을 수도 있다 ~eul sudo itda may

~ㄹ지도 모르다 ~ljido moreuda may / might

~을지도 모르다 ~euljido moreuda may / might

아마 ama probably / perhaps

어쩌면 eojjeomyeon perhaps

17. “Shall”

Korean has no exact single equivalent to English shall.

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ까요? ~lkkayo? shall we...? / shall I...?

~을까요? ~eulkkayo? shall we...?

우리 ~할까요? uri ~halkkayo? shall we...?

제가 ~할까요? jega ~halkkayo? shall I...?

~겠습니다 ~getseumnida I/we will

~자 ~ja let's

Examples:

같이 갈까요? — gachi galkkayo? — Shall we go together?

제가 도와드릴까요? — jega dowadeurilkkayo? — Shall I help you?

18. “Let's”

Korean Transliteration English

~자 ~ja let's

~읍시다 ~eupsida let's

~ㅂ시다 ~bsida let's

우리 ~하자 uri ~haja let's

우리 ~할까요? uri ~halkkayo? shall we...?

같이 ~하자 gachi ~haja let's do ... together

19. Willingness — “be willing to”

Korean Transliteration English

~고 싶다 ~go sipda want to

기꺼이 gikkeoi willingly / gladly

기꺼이 ~하다 gikkeoi ~hada willingly do

흔쾌히 heungkwaehi willingly / readily

선뜻 seontteut readily / willingly

마다하지 않다 madahaji anta not hesitate/refuse

기꺼이 받아들이다 gikkeoi badadeurida willingly accept

동의하다 donguihada agree

동의할 의향이 있다 donguihal uihyang-i itda be willing to agree

의향이 있다 uihyang-i itda be willing/intend

20. Refusal / unwillingness

Korean Transliteration English

거부하다 geobuhada refuse

거절하다 geojeolhada refuse / decline

사양하다 sayanghada decline / politely refuse

~기를 거부하다 ~gireul geobuhada refuse to

~기를 거절하다 ~gireul geojeolhada refuse to

~고 싶지 않다 ~go sipji anta do not want to

~기 싫다 ~gi silta dislike/want not to

~지 않으려고 하다 ~ji aneuryeogo hada be unwilling/not intend to

21. “Supposed to”

Korean Transliteration English

~기로 되어 있다 ~giro doeeo itda be supposed to

~도록 되어 있다 ~dorok doeeo itda be supposed to

~게 되어 있다 ~ge doeeo itda be supposed to

~아야 한다 ~aya handa be supposed to / must

~어야 한다 ~eoya handa be supposed to

~해야 한다 ~haeya handa be supposed to

~기로 하다 ~giro hada decide/intend to

22. “Ought to”

Korean Transliteration English

~아야 한다 ~aya handa ought to / must

~어야 한다 ~eoya handa ought to

~해야 한다 ~haeya handa ought to

~는 것이 좋다 ~neun geosi jota ought to / should

~는 게 좋다 ~neun ge jota should

~는 것이 낫다 ~neun geosi natda ought to / better to

~는 게 낫다 ~neun ge natda ought to / better to

23. Dare

Korean Transliteration English

감히 gamhi dare / dare to

감히 ~하다 gamhi ~hada dare to

~ㄹ 용기가 있다 ~l yonggiga itda have the courage to

~을 용기가 있다 ~eul yonggiga itda have the courage to

~ㄹ 엄두를 내다 ~l eomdureul naeda dare / venture to

~을 엄두를 내다 ~eul eomdureul naeda dare to

감히 ~하지 못하다 gamhi ~haji mothada dare not

24. Need / “need to”

Korean Transliteration English

필요하다 piryohada need / be necessary

필요가 있다 piryoga itda need to

~ㄹ 필요가 있다 ~l piryoga itda need to

~을 필요가 있다 ~eul piryoga itda need to

~ㄹ 필요가 없다 ~l piryoga eopda do not need to

~을 필요가 없다 ~eul piryoga eopda do not need to

~아야 할 필요가 있다 ~aya hal piryoga itda need to

~어야 할 필요가 있다 ~eoya hal piryoga itda need to

25. Certainty — “must / surely / definitely”

Korean Transliteration English

반드시 bandeusi certainly / definitely

꼭 kkok definitely / surely

분명히 bunmyeonghi clearly / certainly

틀림없이 teullimeopsi without a doubt

확실히 hwaksilhi certainly / definitely

분명 bunmyeong certainly / clearly

확실하다 hwaksilhada be certain

틀림없다 teullimeopda be certain / there is no doubt

당연히 dangyeonhi naturally / of course

분명하다 bunmyeonghada be clear/certain

26. Uncertainty / doubt

Korean Transliteration English

아마 ama probably / perhaps

아마도 amado probably

어쩌면 eojjeomyeon perhaps

혹시 hoksi perhaps / by any chance

혹시라도 hoksirado perhaps / if by any chance

~ㄹ지도 모르다 ~ljido moreuda might

~을지도 모르다 ~euljido moreuda might

불확실하다 bulhwaksilhada be uncertain

확실하지 않다 hwaksilhaji anta be uncertain

의심스럽다 uisimseureopda be doubtful

의심하다 uisimhada doubt

27. “Apparently / seemingly”

Korean Transliteration English

보아하니 boahani apparently / judging from

보기에 bogie apparently / judging by

보니까 bonikka apparently / seeing that

~나 보다 ~na boda apparently / seems

~는가 보다 ~neunga boda apparently seems

~ㄴ가 보다 ~nga boda apparently seems

~인가 보다 ~inga boda apparently seems

~ㄹ 것 같다 ~l geot gatda seem / appear

~을 것 같다 ~eul geot gatda seem

~듯하다 ~deuthada seem / appear

~듯싶다 ~deutssipda seem / appear

28. Probability expressions with “seem”

Korean Transliteration English

~는 것 같다 ~neun geot gatda seems to

~ㄴ 것 같다 ~n geot gatda seems to have/be

~은 것 같다 ~eun geot gatda seems to have/be

~ㄹ 것 같다 ~l geot gatda seems likely to

~을 것 같다 ~eul geot gatda seems likely to

~나 보다 ~na boda apparently

~ㄴ가 보다 ~nga boda apparently

~는가 보다 ~neunga boda apparently

~인가 보다 ~inga boda apparently

29. Prohibition — “must not”

Korean Transliteration English

~으면 안 되다 ~eumyeon an doeda must not

~면 안 되다 ~myeon an doeda must not

~아서는 안 되다 ~aseoneun an doeda must not

~어서는 안 되다 ~eoseoneun an doeda must not

~해서는 안 되다 ~haeseoneun an doeda must not

~지 말다 ~ji malda don't

금지하다 geumjihada prohibit

금지되다 geumjidoeda be prohibited

금하다 geumhada prohibit

금지 geumji prohibition

출입금지 churipgeumji no entry

사용금지 sayonggeumji prohibited from use

30. “Don't have to / needn't”

Korean Transliteration English

~지 않아도 되다 ~ji anado doeda don't have to

~지 않아도 괜찮다 ~ji anado gwaenchanta don't need to

~ㄹ 필요가 없다 ~l piryoga eopda don't need to

~을 필요가 없다 ~eul piryoga eopda don't need to

~ㄹ 필요 없다 ~l piryo eopda don't need to

~을 필요 없다 ~eul piryo eopda don't need to

31. “Can't / impossible”

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ 수 없다 ~l su eopda cannot

~을 수 없다 ~eul su eopda cannot

불가능하다 bulganeunghada be impossible

불가능 bulganeung impossible

~ㄹ 리가 없다 ~l riga eopda cannot possibly

~을 리가 없다 ~eul riga eopda cannot possibly

~ㄹ 수가 없다 ~l suga eopda cannot

~을 수가 없다 ~eul suga eopda cannot

어쩔 수 없다 eojjeol su eopda cannot help it / have no choice

32. “Can't possibly / surely not”

Korean Transliteration English

~ㄹ 리가 없다 ~l riga eopda cannot possibly

~을 리가 없다 ~eul riga eopda cannot possibly

~ㄹ 리 없다 ~l ri eopda there is no way

~을 리 없다 ~eul ri eopda there is no way

절대 ~지 않다 jeoldae ~ji anta absolutely not

결코 ~지 않다 gyeolko ~ji anta never / absolutely not

도저히 ~할 수 없다 dojeohi ~hal su eopda simply cannot

33. Likely / unlikely

Korean Transliteration English

가능성이 높다 ganeungseongi nopda likely

가능성이 크다 ganeungseongi keuda likely

가능성이 낮다 ganeungseongi natda unlikely

가능성이 적다 ganeungseongi jeokda unlikely

~ㄹ 가능성이 높다 ~l ganeungseongi nopda likely to

~을 가능성이 높다 ~eul ganeungseongi nopda likely to

~ㄹ 가능성이 낮다 ~l ganeungseongi natda unlikely to

~을 가능성이 낮다 ~eul ganeungseongi natda unlikely to

~ㄹ 법하다 ~l beophada likely to

~을 법하다 ~eul beophada likely to

좀처럼 ~지 않다 jomcheoreom ~ji anta be unlikely to / rarely

34. “Almost / nearly”

These are not strictly modal, but are important grammatical adverbial expressions.

Korean Transliteration English

거의 geoui almost / nearly

거의 ~하다 geoui ~hada almost do

하마터면 hamateomyeon almost / nearly

자칫 jacit nearly / easily

자칫하면 jacithamyeon if not careful / might nearly

~ㄹ 뻔하다 ~l ppeonhada almost did

~을 뻔하다 ~eul ppeonhada almost did

Example:

죽을 뻔했어요.

jugeul ppeonhaesseoyo.

= I almost died.

35. “Indeed / really” modal-like certainty

Korean Transliteration English

정말 jeongmal really

참 cham really / indeed

진짜 jinjja really

확실히 hwaksilhi certainly

분명히 bunmyeonghi clearly / certainly

사실 sasil in fact

사실상 sasilsang in fact / effectively

과연 gwayeon indeed / as expected

틀림없이 teullimeopsi undoubtedly

36. Speaker attitude / modality

Korean Transliteration English

다행히 dahaenghi fortunately

불행히 bulhaenghi unfortunately

다행스럽게도 dahaengseureopgedo fortunately

불행하게도 bulhaenghage-do unfortunately

아쉽게도 aswipgedo unfortunately / regrettably

유감스럽게도 yugamseureopgedo regrettably

당연히 dangyeonhi naturally / of course

물론 mullon of course

설마 seolma surely not / no way

제발 jebal please / for goodness' sake

부디 budi please / hopefully

아무쪼록 amujjorok hopefully / by all means

37. “Hopefully”

Korean Transliteration English

바라건대 barageondae hopefully / I hope

제발 jebal please / hopefully

부디 budi hopefully / please

아무쪼록 amujjorok hopefully

~기를 바라다 ~gireul barada hope that

~면 좋겠다 ~myeon joketda I hope / it would be nice if

38. Request / polite modality

Korean Transliteration English

~아 주세요 ~a juseyo please do

~어 주세요 ~eo juseyo please do

~해 주세요 ~hae juseyo please do

~아 주시겠어요? ~a jusigesseoyo? would you please...?

~어 주시겠어요? ~eo jusigesseoyo? would you please...?

~해 주시겠어요? ~hae jusigesseoyo? would you please...?

~아 주실래요? ~a jusillaeyo? would you...?

~어 주실래요? ~eo jusillaeyo? would you...?

~해 주실래요? ~hae jusillaeyo? would you...?

~주시겠습니까? ~jusigetseumnikka? would you please...?

부탁하다 butakhada request

요청하다 yocheonghada request

39. “Let / allow”

Korean Transliteration English

~게 하다 ~ge hada let / make

~도록 하다 ~dorok hada let / make sure

허락하다 heorakhada allow

허용하다 heoyonghada permit

허가하다 heogahada authorize

~도록 허락하다 ~dorok heorakhada allow someone to

~게 허락하다 ~ge heorakhada allow someone to

~게 두다 ~ge duda let/leave someone do

40. “Have to” — the most common Korean constructions

Formation Transliteration English

V-아야 하다 V-aya hada have to / must

V-어야 하다 V-eoya hada have to / must

V-해야 하다 V-haeya hada have to / must

V-아야 되다 V-aya doeda have to

V-어야 되다 V-eoya doeda have to

V-해야 되다 V-haeya doeda have to

V-(으)ㄹ 필요가 있다 V-(eu)l piryoga itda need to

V-지 않으면 안 되다 V-ji aneumyeon an doeda must

V-지 않을 수 없다 V-ji aneul su eopda cannot avoid / must

21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE

There is a book 책이 있어요 Chaegi isseoyo

There are books 책들이 있어요 Chaekdeuri isseoyo

There is no book 책이 없어요 Chaegi eopseoyo

Is there a book? 책이 있어요? Chaegi isseoyo?

I have a book 나는 책이 있어요 Naneun chaegi isseoyo

I don't have a book 나는 책이 없어요 Naneun chaegi eopseoyo

I have a book 나는 책이 있어요 Naneun chaegi isseoyo

I have money 나는 돈이 있어요 Naneun doni isseoyo

I have a friend 나는 친구가 있어요 Naneun chinguga isseoyo

I don't have money 나는 돈이 없어요 Naneun doni eopseoyo

Do you have a car? 차 있어요? Cha isseoyo?

I have to eat 먹어야 해요 Meogeoya haeyo

IMPERATIVES:

Eat! 먹어! Meogeo!

Please eat 먹으세요 Meogeuseyo

Please eat (formal) 먹으십시오 Meogeusipsio

Don't eat! 먹지 마! Meokji ma!

Please don't eat 먹지 마세요 Meokji maseyo

Please eat for me 먹어 주세요 Meogeo juseyo

Let's eat 먹자 Meokja

Be opened! 열리세요 Yeolliseyo

Be closed! 닫히세요 Dadhiseyo

Be heard! 들리세요 Deulliseyo

Be seen! 보이세요 Boiseyo

Don't be seen! 보이지 마세요 Boiji maseyo

Make sure it is opened 열리도록 하세요 Yeollidorok haseyo