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