{"id":79542,"date":"2020-10-20T01:48:20","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T05:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/korean-particles\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T07:09:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T11:09:23","slug":"korean-particles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/korean\/korean-particles\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Most Common Types of Korean Particles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Korean particles may be small, but the topic is a rather big one\u2014particles act as<\/strong> tags or labels suffixed to nouns<\/strong> to help you understand what that noun is all about.<\/p>\n

So Korean particles can tell you, “This noun is the subject of the sentence,” “This noun is related to that noun over there” and many other things. Let me break down the most common and useful Korean particles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]
\n<\/p>\n

The Most Common Korean Particles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Type of Particle<\/th>Korean Particle(s)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Topic<\/td> \uc740 <\/a>\n
\n \ub294 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Subject<\/td> \uc774 <\/a>\n
\n \uac00 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Object<\/td> \uc744 <\/a>\n
\n \ub97c <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Linking<\/td> \uc640 <\/a>\n
\n \uacfc <\/a>\n
\n \ub791 <\/a>\n
\n \uc774\ub791 <\/a>\n
\n \ud558\uace0 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plural<\/td> \ub4e4 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Possessive<\/td> \uc758 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

1. Korean Topic Particles: \uc740 and \ub294<\/h2>\n

A topic particle tells everyone what’s being talked about. Any noun followed by \uc740<\/strong> (eun) <\/em>or \ub294<\/strong> (neun)<\/em> is being emphasized and elevated as the topic of conversation.<\/p>\n

\uc740<\/strong> and \ub294<\/strong> are the same.<\/p>\n

\uc740<\/strong>\u00a0is used if the noun preceding it ends in a consonant, and \ub294<\/strong>\u00a0is used for nouns that end in a vowel. This is for ease of pronunciation. Don\u2019t believe me? Try switching the rules!<\/p>\n

For example, \ucc45<\/strong> (chaeg),\u00a0<\/em>which means “book,” and \uc9d1<\/strong> (jip),<\/em> which means “house,” both end in consonants, so we use \uc740<\/strong> for them:<\/p>\n

\ucc45\uc740<\/strong> \ubb34\uac81\ub2e4.
\n(Chaeg-eun<\/strong> mu-geob-dda.)
\n<\/em>The book is heavy.<\/p>\n

\uc9d1\uc740<\/strong> \ud06c\ub2e4.
\n(Jib-eun<\/strong> keu-da.)
\n<\/em>The house is big.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, \uc800<\/strong> (jeo),<\/em> the polite form of the Korean \u201cI,\u201d ends with the vowel \u3153<\/strong>(eo).<\/em> So, we use \ub294<\/strong>\u00a0with it.<\/p>\n

When you want to talk about yourself, you say \uc800\ub294<\/strong>\u00a0(Jeo-neun),<\/em> which means “I am.”<\/p>\n

\uc800\ub294<\/strong> \ubbf8\uad6d\uc778\uc774\uc5d0\uc694.
\n(Jeo-neun mi-gu-gi-ni-e-yo.)
\n<\/em>I’m American.<\/p>\n

\uc800\ub294<\/strong> \ud55c\uad6d\ub9d0\uc744 \ubabb \ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4.
\n(Jeo-neun han-gung-ma-reul mo-tam-ni-da.)
\n<\/em>I don\u2019t speak Korean.<\/p>\n

\uc800\ub294<\/strong> \uc2a4\ubb3c\ub124 \uc0b4\uc785\ub2c8\ub2e4.
\n(Jeo-neun seu-mul-ne sal-im-ni-da.)
\n<\/em>I’m 24 years old.<\/p>\n

Again, marking the noun with \uc740 or \ub294<\/strong> serves to highlight the topic of the conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, in the above examples, when you\u2019re saying that you\u2019re American or 24 years old, you’re elevating yourself to the topic of conversation. When somebody else introduces a noun with the topic marker, it changes the conversation’s focus.<\/p>\n

Another thing to know is that the topic marker implies a contrast.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the above example, when you say \uc9d1\uc740 \ud06c\ub2e4<\/strong> (Jib-eun keu-da),<\/em> which means “the house is big,” you’re contrasting the house to other things. You’re implying that the house is big and<\/em> that other things aren’t big.<\/p>\n

So, besides the actual statement, the topic marker also conveys an unspoken contrast.<\/p>\n

2. Korean Subject Particles: \uc774 and \uac00<\/h2>\n

Another very important Korean particle is one that helps us identify the subject of the sentence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here, the subject is often in relation to the verb or adjective. The marker helps answer the following questions:<\/p>\n