Word Structure
A word is a single element of speech or writing that carries a meaning. It consists of one or more syllables and it is hard to find words that have more than six syllables unless it is proper nouns or conjugated verbs in Korean. Please check the box below to see how Korean words are formed.
The number of Syllables | Example |
One Syllable | 방 (Room), 물 (Water) |
Two Syllables | 의사 (Doctor), 경찰 (Police) |
Three Syllables | 코끼리 (Elephant), 거북이 (Turtle) |
Four Syllables | 동그라미 (Circle), 대한민국 (Republic of Korea) |
Five Syllables | 방울토마토 (cherry tomato), 거짓말하다 (to lie) |
Six Syllables | 고조할아버지 (great-great-grandfather) |
Word Building
You might have seen some compound words (two existing words combined together to create a new one) while studying Korean. This is achieved by attaching prefixes or suffixes to the initial word.
Word building | Example |
Prefix + Noun | 꽃+잎 (flower leaf), 외+길 (only path), 첫+사랑 (first love) |
Prefix + Verb | 덧+붙이다 (to add), 짓+누르다 (to press), 빗+나가다 (to miss) |
Suffix + Noun | 바느+질 (sewing), 말썽+꾸러기 (trouble maker), 나무+꾼 (woodcutter) |
Suffix + Verb | 명예+롭다 (to be honorable), 제공+합니다 (to provide), 깨+뜨리다 (to break) |
Compound Noun | 고등 (high) + 학교 (school) -> 고등학교 (high school) 눈 (snow) +사람 (man) -> 눈사람 (snowman) 시간 (time) + 표 (table) -> 시간표 (timetable) |
Compound Verb | 가지다 (to have) + 오다 (to come) -> 가져오다 (to bring) 갈다 (to replace) + 타다 (to ride) -> 갈아타다 (to change) 알다 (to know) + 듣다 (to listen) -> 알아듣다 (to understand) |
Parts of speech
Have you ever tried to find books you want to read in the library? Was it easy to find the one you need? You could find books you need easily in the library because the books are categorized by similar properties. Just like similar books can be grouped together to be found quickly and easily, words are also classified into different grammatical categories, which are called “parts of speech.” There are 9 parts of speech in Korean and each of them has a specific role when it is used in a sentence. If you can distinguish what they are, you can understand grammar quicker and better.
| Parts of speech | Examples |
| Nouns | A noun refers to the name of a person, animal, place, thing, or invisible thing (idea)
ex) 친구, 코끼리, 지우개, 사랑 |
| Pronouns | A pronoun is used as a substitute for nouns to point directly to a person, thing, place, or direction
ex) 나, 너, 그, 이것, 그것, 저것 |
| Numbers | A number refers to a number
ex) 하나(1) 둘(2) 셋(3) 넷(4) 다섯(5)
일(1) 이(2) 삼(3) 사(4) 오(5)
첫째(first) 둘째(second) 셋째(third) 넷째(fourth) 다섯째(fifth) |
| Adjectives | A adjective describes the shape, color, quality, size, or number, etc., of a noun
ex) 큰, 작은, 검은, 귀여운, 행복한, 외로운 |
State Verbs
Adjectives | A state verb or adjective describes one’s state of being
ex) 크다, 작다, 귀엽다
좋아하다(love), 맛있다(taste), 알다 (know) |
| Action Verbs | An action verb indicates the movement or action of a person or thing
ex) 듣다, 가다, 살다, 먹다, 말하다 |
| Adnominals | An adnominal is placed in front of a word (noun, pronoun) and decorates the word
ex) 새 책 (new book), 옛 이야기 (old story), 헌 신발(old shoes),
이 사람 (this person), 저 건물 (the building over there)
온갖 생각 (all kinds of thoughts), 모든 사람 (all people) |
| Adverbs | An adverb modifies and explain adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs in a sentence in more detail
ex) 빨리, 천천히, 늦게, 많이 |
| Exclamatives | An exclamative refers to one’s emotion (feeling, surprise, response, etc.)
ex) 아(ah), 아이구(oh no), 글쎄(well) |
| Particles | A particle indicates the grammatical relationship and helps the meaning of the word for other following words
A particle refers to a case marker or a meaning-carrying functional marker
ex) case marker: 이/가 (subject marker), 을/를 (object marker), etc.
meaning-carrying functional marker : 만(only), 도(also), 만큼(as much as), etc |
Note:
1. Numbers can be classified into cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers. There are Sino-Korean numbers and native Korean numbers in Cardinal numbers.
Sino-Korean numbers are 일, 이, 삼, 사, 오, etc. (originally from the Chinese system)
Native Korean numbers are 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯, etc.
Ordinal numbers are 첫째,둘째, 셋째, 넷째, 다섯째, etc.
2. Stative verbs are often confused with adjectives in Korean because the verbs and adjectives in Korean are used differently than in English. So it is not easy to distinguish between stative verbs and adjectives.
A stative verb expresses a state rather than an action (describing thoughts, emotions, or senses).
For example,
(a) 저는 아이스크림을 좋아해요 (I love ice cream) / stative verb
(b) 스프가 맛있습니다 (The soup tastes good) / stative verb
(c) 답을 알아요 (I know the answer) / stative verb
(d) 꽃이 예쁘네요 (The flower is pretty) / adjective
(e) 내 동생은 키가 커요 (My brother/sister is tall) / adjective
There are some methods to distinguish between a verb and an adjective. Since it is going to be a long lecture, I will explain it in another book or through video. I think it would be important for the TOPIK exam as well.
Functional Categories
Functional Categories | Examples |
Subject | 톰이 병원에 갑니다 (Tom is going to hospital) 제리가 집에 옵니다 (Jerry is coming home) |
Object | 톰이 점심을 먹습니다 (Tom is eating lunch) 제리가 한국어를 공부합니다 (Jerry is studying Korean) |
Predicate | 톰이 일기를 씁니다 (Tom is writing a diary) 제리는 키가 작습니다 (Jerry is short) |
Modifier | Numerals | 톰이 물 한 병을 삽니다 (Tom is buying a bottle of water) |
Adnominals | 제리가 새 차를 탑니다 (Jerry is driving a new car) |
Adverbials | 제시가 빨리 뜁니다 (Jessy is running fast) |
Exclamatives | 아, 제리가 정말 친절해요 (Ah, Jerry is really kind) |
Functional Markers | Case Markers | Subject Case Marker | 경찰이 옵니다 (The police is coming) 친구가 때렸다 (My friend hit me) |
Object Case Marker | 톰이 책을 샀습니다 (Tom bought a book) 제리가 부산에 편지를 보냈습니다 (Jerry sent a letter to Busan) |
Possessive Case Marker | 톰이 제리의 집에서 잤습니다 (Tom slept at Jerry’s house) |
Adverbial Case Marker | 톰은 학교에 있습니다 (Tom is at home) 제리는 방에서 쉽니다 (Jerry is taking a rest in his room) 제리가 톰에게 돈을 줍니다 (Jerry is giving money to Tom) 제리는 미국으로 간다 (Jerry is going to US) 톰은 버스로 학교에 갑니다 (Tom goes to school by bus) |
Meaning-Carrying Functional Marker | 톰은 매일 책을 읽습니다 (As for Tom, he reads books every day) 제리는 학교에 다닙니다 (As for Jerry, he goes to school) 톰은 제리만 싫어합니다 (Tom only hates Jerry) 제리도 톰을 싫어합니다 (Jerry also hates Tom) |
Note:
A predicate is a grammatical term that covers all the elements in a sentence except for the subject.
Words are categorized into their corresponding parts of speech and have certain grammatical functions when used in sentences.
Nouns and pronouns can act as the subject or the object in a sentence.
Verbs (stative and action verbs) or adjectives can be used as the predicate or be part of predicates.
Numbers, adnominals, and adverbs can serve as modifiers to limit the scope of the elements involved.
Adverbs modify verbs or other adverbs, while adnominals modify the following nouns.
Exclamatives generally express one’s emotion independently at the beginning of a sentence.
Finally, the case marker represents the grammatical function of the preceding element and the meaning-carrying marker is a semantic transmission function that limits the scope of the preceding element.
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