The 6 Most Common Korean Particles and How to

Use Them
fluentu.com/blog/korean/korean-particles/

Stevie D. October 20, 2020

You’ve surely heard of Korean nouns, verbs and adjectives, but have you heard of these
powerful little Korean particles?

If not, you’d best get started. They’ll come up over and over because practically
every Korean sentence has them.

Today, we’ll talk about six of the most common, useful particles in the language.

But first, let’s talk about what particles actually are!

Contents

What Are Korean Particles?

Particles themselves may be small, but, ironically, the topic of Korean particles is a rather big
one. That’s because Korean particles is a catch-all term.

In English, you have different terms like prepositions, possessives, negation, conjunctions,
counters and words that denote time, place, intensity, frequency or contrast. These subjects
belong to different chapters in an English grammar textbook.

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In Korean, they’re all lumped together as Korean particles and strung one after the other in a
series that takes a language learner’s breath away.

Depending on who you ask and how you count, there are more than 100 particles in the
language. In a Korean sentence, if the word isn’t a noun, verb or adjective, then it’s most
likely a particle.

Realistically, there are around 20 Korean particles in common usage. You’ll find them
after nouns. Here’s the thing: Korean nouns can’t live without particles. They always need a
particle by their side.

Think of particles like tags, or labels, suffixed to words. You usually check what comes after a
noun to understand what that noun is all about.

It’s like if you heard the number “two.” You’d be wondering, “Two, what?” But, if somebody
follows it with “o’clock,” you’ll understand that the number refers to time.

Particles act as indicators, or markers.

There are so many of them because they can indicate or mark practically anything… for any
purpose!

A particle can indicate many things. Here are a few examples of what particles can tell you:

“This noun right here beside me is the subject of the sentence.”

“Hey, this one right here is the object of the sentence. It gets acted upon, see?”

“This noun is related to this other noun over there.”

“This is the location of the speaker.”

“Hey, look, the apple is on the table.”

Korean particles identify, modify, qualify and distinguish nouns and their
function in a sentence.

Particles are so effective at communicating meaning that you could even change a sentence’s
word order and still understand what’s being said. Because nouns carry their identifying
particles with them, you can place a noun anywhere and, because of the particle, you’ll still
know, “Yup, that’s the object of the sentence.”

In fact, you often don’t even need to mention the subject in the sentence because everything
else is so delineated by particles that you know exactly what’s being talked about.

Now, let’s break down six of the most useful Korean particles!

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1. Topic Particle: 은 and 는
A topic particle tells everyone what’s being talked about. Any noun followed by 은 (eun) or 는
(neun) is being emphasized and elevated as the topic of conversation.

은 and 는 are the same. 은 (eun) is used if the noun preceding it ends in a consonant, and 는
(neun) is used for nouns that end in a vowel. This is for ease of pronunciation. Don’t believe
me? Try switching the rules!

For example, 책 (chaeg), which means “book,” and 집 (jip), which means “house,” both end
in consonants, so we use 은 for them:

책은 무겁다. (Chaeg-eun mu-geob-dda.) — The book is heavy.

집은 크다. (Jib-eun keu-da.) — The house is big.

On the other hand, 저 (jeo), the polite form of the Korean “I,” ends with the vowel ㅓ(eo). So,
we use 는 (neun) with it.

When you want to talk about yourself, you say 저는 (Jeo-neun), which means “I am.”

저는 미국인이에요. (Jeo-neun mi-gu-gi-ni-e-yo.) — I’m American.

저는 한국말을 못 합니다. (Jeo-neun han-gung-ma-reul mo-tam-ni-da.) — I don’t speak

Korean.

저는 스물네 살입니다. (Jeo-neun seu-mul-ne sal-im-ni-da.) — I’m 24 years old.

Again, marking the noun with 은 or 는 serves to highlight the topic of the
conversation. So, in the above examples, when you’re saying that you’re American or that
you’re 24 years old, you’re elevating yourself to the topic of conversation. When somebody
else introduces a noun with the topic marker, then it changes the focus of the conversation.

Another thing to know about the topic marker is that it implies a contrast. In the above
example, when you say 집은 크다 (Jib-eun keu-da), which means “the house is big,” you’re
contrasting the house to other things. You’re implying that the house is big and that other
things aren’t big.

So, besides the actual statement, the topic marker also conveys an unspoken contrast.

2. Subject Particle: 이 and 가

Another very important Korean particle is one that helps us identify the subject of the
sentence.

Here, the subject is often in relation to the verb or adjective. The marker helps answer the
following questions:

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 Who is the doer of the action?
Who/what is being described?

The subject particle is either 이 (i) or 가 (ga). They’re basically the same thing. We use 이
when the preceding noun ends in a consonant and 가 when the noun ends in a vowel.

For example, we use 가 after a noun like 날씨 (nal-ssi), which means “weather,” because it
ends in a vowel. And, we use 이 for nouns like 가방 (ga-bang), which means “bag” and ends
with a consonant.

For example:

날씨가 좋다. (Nal-ssi-ga jo-ta.) — The weather is nice.

가방이 낡았다. (Ga-bang-i nal-ga-dda.) — The bag is old.

As you can see, the subject particle marks the noun that acts as the subject of the sentence.
Unlike topic particles that imply contrast, subject particles don’t infer beyond what’s
actually said. So, in the example above, when you say that a bag is old, it’s exactly just that.
You’re not implying that some other thing isn’t old. It’s a simple statement about the bag and
nothing more.

In addition to marking the subject, 이 and 가 are also used when you want to say that you
have something. For example, if you want to communicate that you have a ball or a dog,
you’d say:

저는 공이 있어요. (Jeo-neun gong-i-i-ssuh-yo.) — I have a ball.

저는 개가 있어요. (Jeo-neun gae-ga i-ssuh-yo.) — I have a dog.

이 and 가 immediately follow the thing that you have.

Language learners often have a hard time deciding between a topic particle and a subject
particle. That’s because they can pretty much be used in the same places. There are plenty of
cases where a topic and subject particle are both correct and the meaning of the sentence is
unaffected no matter which you use.

But there are also times when topic and subject particles bring different
nuances or subtleties to a statement. We’ve already talked about how topic particles
imply a contrast while a subject particle doesn’t. They also differ in where they direct the
focus of the sentence. For example:

나는 파리를 죽였다. (Na-neun pa-ri-reul ju-gyuh-dda.) — I killed the fly.

내가 파리를 죽였다. (Nae-ga pa-ri-reul ju-gyuh-dda.) — I killed the fly.

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Both sentences generally mean the same thing. But in the first one, with the topic particle,
the focus is on the verb. So, the emphasis is on the action. (What did I do? I killed the fly.)

In the second sentence, the spotlight is on the subject. (Who did it? Who killed the fly? It was
me! I did it! I killed the fly.)

The focus and emphasis in this sentence are on the subject, on who did the killing.

In English, this change in emphasis can be achieved through tone, volume and stress:

I killed it.

I… killed it.

Instead, in Korean, there are markers.

The best way to get a handle on topic and subject particles is to learn their uses “in vivo,” that
is, in the natural context of a conversation (or many, many conversations). The
circumstances will often be your guide to which particle to use.

Learners should listen to how native speakers use these particles and, along with the
immediate context, notice patterns of usage.

If you don’t have access to a large local Korean community, you can listen to the language in
use through authentic content, like the type that you’ll find on FluentU, for instance. This
language learning program uses authentic Korean videos on a wide variety of topics, as well
as multimedia flashcards, personalized quizzes and interactive subtitles.

Learning programs like FluentU that are based in authentic content can be an efficient way to
hear Korean particles in use and learn more about Korean culture at the same time.

Listening to native speakers is not only important when learning when to use particles but
also when learning when not to use them. For example, when no emphasis is needed, native
speakers simply skip using these particles. Often, they even skip mentioning the subject
altogether. Again, the context will clear everything up and save the day.

By the way, this context-gives-meaning thing is something that happens not just in Korean
but in all languages:

Sister: So?

Me: Killed it.

‘Nuff said.

3. Object Particle: 을 and 를

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The name gives it away: This particle tags the object of the sentence.

In grammar, you know that the object of the sentence refers to the person/object that is acted
upon by the subject. In a sentence like “Jenny threw the ball,” the ball is acted upon by the
subject Jenny. So, “ball” is the object of that statement.

In English, the object often comes after the verb:

Tim ate pizza.

She locked the door.

In Korean, sentences follow the S-O-V (Subject-Object-Verb) pattern. The sentences above,
written in a Korean pattern, would literally be:

Tim pizza ate.

She the door locked.

In the SOV sentence pattern, you’ll find the object before the verb.

You use either 을 (eul) or 를 (leul) to tag the object. Use 을 when the preceding noun ends in
a consonant, and use 를 if the preceding noun ends in a vowel.

For example:

나는 김치를 먹었다. (Na-neun gim-chi-leul muh-guh-dda.) — I ate kimchi.

그녀는 물을 마신다. (Geu-nyeo-neun mul-eul ma-sin-da.) — She drinks water.

저는 개를 봤어요. (Jeo-neun gae-leul bwa-ssuh-yo.) — I saw a dog.

4. Linking Particles: 와, 과, 하고 and 랑

The next particles are equivalent to the English “and.” They’re used to indicate the
grouping or pairing of nouns. For example:

apples and oranges

salt and pepper

dogs, cats and birds

There are several particles that can do the trick. There’s 와 (wa),과 (gwa), 랑 (rang),이랑 (i-
rang) and 하고 (ha-go).

와 and 과 work well with speeches, presentations and written forms while 랑,이랑 and 하고
are used in daily conversation.

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와 is used when the preceding noun ends in a vowel. 과 is used when the preceding noun
ends in a consonant.

For the other pair, 랑 is used when the preceding noun ends in a vowel, and 이랑 is used
when the noun ends in a consonant.

하고 can be used freely, with both vowels and consonants.

For example:

사과와 오렌지 (sa-gwa-wa o-len-ji) — apples and oranges

소금과 후추 (so-geum-gwa hu-chu) — salt and pepper

개, 고양이하고 새 (gae, go-yang-i-ha-go sae) — dogs, cats and birds

The particles can also be used like the English “with,” such as when you want to do
something with someone:

오늘 동찬이랑 놀거야. (O-neul dong-chan-i-lang nol-guh-ya.) — I’m going to play with

Dongchan today.

난 친구랑 영화보는 걸 좋아해. (Nan chin-gu-rang yeong-hwa-bo-neun-geol jo-a-hae.) — I

like to watch movies with friends.

5. Plural Particle: 들
Learners often ask, “How do I make things plural in Korean?”

In English, we add an “s” or “es” to the end of nouns. In Korean, we add 들 (deul) after the
noun. Simple, right?

However, making nouns plural is really not as common in Korean as it is in English. Korean
doesn’t really make a difference between singular and plural nouns. So, a sentence like 나는
펜을 샀다 (Na-neun pen-eul sa-dda) can mean “I bought a pen” or “I bought pens.” Native
speakers have no problem with this because context is often enough to inform the listener
whether the noun is singular or plural.

You use 들 when you want to erase any ambiguity in your statement, or when you want
to emphasize that there’s more than one thing. And even then, 들 is really only used
for people or living things—it’s rarely used for objects.

Here are some examples:

사람 (sa-ram) — person → 사람들 (sa-ram-deul) — people

학생 (hag-saeng) — student → 학생들 (hag-saeng-deul) — students

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학생들은 집에 갔다. (Hag-saeng-deul-eun ji-be ga-dda.) — The students went home.

6. Possessive Particle: 의
This last one is the equivalent of the English apostrophe + s and is about
expressing ownership or possession.

의 (ui) moderates the relationship between two nouns and is found between them. The order
of the nouns is crucial here. The first noun will be the owner, and the second noun, the one
following 의, will be the thing owned. Let’s look at the example 형의 차 (hyeong-ui cha). 형
means “older brother” and 차 means “car.” So, it means “older brother’s car.”

Here are some more examples:

오늘의 게임 (oneul-ui ge-im) — today’s game

메리의 머리카락 (me-li-ui muh-li-ka-lag) — Mary’s hair

우리 아버지의 친구가 왔다. (U-li a-buh-ji-ui chin-gu-ga wa-dda.) — My father’s friend

came.

In speech, 의 is often pronounced as 에 (e).

With pronouns like 나 (na) and 저(jeo), which both mean “I” or “me,” and 너 (neo), which
means “you,” adding 의 to get the possessive forms “my” and “your” results in a contraction:

나의 becomes 내 (nae) — my

저의 becomes 제 (je) — my

너의 becomes 네 (ne) — your

Here are some more examples:

오늘은 내 생일이야. (O-neul-eun nae saeng-il-i-ya.) — Today is my birthday.

네 생일은 언제야? (Ne saeng-il-eun eon-je-ya?) — When is your birthday?

So, you now have a couple of Korean particles under your belt. You know the topic, subject,
object, linking, plural and possessive particles in Korean sentences. You’re well on your way
to mastering these important Korean markers!

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