Lesson 27: 도

In this lesson, you will learn another useful Korean particle. 도 is a particle that means ‘too’ or ‘also’. By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to say things like “I am a teacher, too.“, “I also like BTS“, etc.

Lesson 27: 도

도 always follows a pronoun or a noun and is used to express ‘too’ or ‘also’. For example, in the sentence 저도 선생님이에요 (I am a teacher, too. / I am also a teacher.) the particle 도 follows the pronoun 저 (I/me). Let’s look at some more examples.

저도요. = Me too.
저도 좋아요. = I like it, too. / I also like it.
저도 미국 사람이에요. = I am an American, too. / I am also an American.
이거도 샀어요. = I bought this, too. / I also bought this.
오늘도 학교에 갔어요. = I went to school today, too. / I also went to school today.
오늘 학교에 갔어요. 그리고 도서관에도 갔어요. = I went to school today. And, I went to the library, too.

Common Mistake

There is a common mistake that beginner Korean learners often make when using 도 in sentences that usually have a subject/object/topic marking particle. These particles (이/가 = subject particle, 을/를 = object particle, 은/는 = topic particle) are dropped when using 도. See the examples below.

여동생이 있어요. 그리고 남동생이도 있어요. (X)
여동생이 있어요. 그리고 남동생도 있어요. (O)
= I have a younger sister. And I have a younger brother, too.

저는 한국 사람이에요. 그리고 제 친구는도 한국 사람이에요. (X)
저는 한국 사람이에요. 그리고 제 친구도 한국 사람이에요. (O)
= I’m Korean. And my friend is Korean, too.

사과를 좋아해요. 그리고 딸기를도 좋아해요. (X)
사과를 좋아해요. 그리고 딸기도 좋아해요. (O)
= I like apples. And I like strawberries, too.

도 can, however, be used together with other particles like 에, 에서, 하고, 한테, etc. See the examples below.

미국에 갔어요. 그리고 일본에도 갔어요. (O)
= I went to the US. And I went to Japan, too.

집에서 한국어를 공부해요. 그리고 도서관에서도 공부해요. (O)
= I study Korean at home. And I study at the library, too.

Example Sentences

어느 나라 사람이에요? = Where are you from?
저는 미국 사람이에요. = I’m American.
그래요? 저도 미국 사람이에요. = Really? I’m American, too.

요즘 뭐 배워요? = What are you learning these days?
한국어를 배워요. 그리고 프랑스어도 배워요. = I am learning Korean. And I am learning French, too.

이 식당에 뭐가 맛있어요? = What is delicious in this restaurant?
비빔밥이 맛있어요. 그리고 떡볶이도 맛있어요. = Bibimbap is delicious. And tteokbokki is good, too.

어제 어디에 갔어요? = Where did you go yesterday?
백화점에 갔어요. 그리고 커피숍에도 갔어요. = I went to the department store. And I went to a coffee shop, too.