LinguaThe verb that names things
Korean has no separate words for am, is and are. One ending, attached straight to a noun, does the whole job: 이에요 after a noun that ends in a consonant, 예요 after a noun that ends in a vowel. 학생 ends in ㅇ, so I am a student is 학생이에요; 의사 ends in a vowel, so I am a doctor is 의사예요. The ending never changes for person or number – 이에요 is I am, you are, she is and they are, and the sentence around it tells you which. There is no space between the noun and the ending.
The topic particle 은/는
Before you say what something is, you name what you are talking about and mark it with 은/는: the topic. The same consonant rule chooses the form – 은 after a consonant (선생님은, 동생은), 는 after a vowel (저는, 친구는). 저 is the humble I, used with anyone you are not close to, so nearly every introduction begins 저는. Once the topic is set it can be left out of the following sentences; Koreans do not repeat I the way English does.
| Noun | Ends in | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| 학생 | consonant | 학생이에요 |
| 선생님 | consonant | 선생님이에요 |
| 의사 | vowel | 의사예요 |
| 친구 | vowel | 친구예요 |
| 회사원 | consonant | 회사원이에요 |
저는 회사원이에요I am an office worker.
김민수 씨는 선생님이에요Kim Minsu is a teacher.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 학생 | student | 동생은 학생이에요 My younger sibling is a student. |
| 선생님 | teacher | 김 선생님이에요 This is teacher Kim. |
| 의사 | doctor | 아버지는 의사예요 My father is a doctor. |
| 회사원 | office worker, company employee | 형은 회사원이에요 My older brother is an office worker. |
| 한국 사람 | Korean (person) | 한국 사람이에요? Are you Korean? |
| 친구 | friend | 제 친구예요 This is my friend. |
| 저 | I (humble) | 저는 안나예요 I am Anna. |
| 사람 | person | 좋은 사람이에요 He is a good person. |
| 나라 | country | 한국은 좋은 나라예요 Korea is a good country. |
| 은/는 | topic particle | 친구는 선생님이에요 My friend is a teacher. |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 4
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 2
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which is the correct way to say *is a student*?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.