Learn Korean Parts Of Speech

When you’re learning Korean, it’s important to understand the different parts of speech. Learning the Korean parts of speech will give you a better understanding of the parts that make up the Korean language and help you comprehend Korean lessons. In this lesson, you will learn the different Korean parts of speech and what each of them means.

Korean Parts Of Speech

Here is a table detailing the ten Korean parts of speech. You’ll find the Korean word plus the meaning in English.

English	Korean	Pronunciation
noun	명사	[myeong-sa]
verb	동사	[dong-sa]
adjective	형용사	[hyeong-yong-sa]
pronoun	대명사	[dae-myeong-sa]
adverb	부사	[bu-sa]
ending	어미	[eom-i]
particle	조사	[jo-sa]
determiner	관형사	[gwan-hyeong-sa]
interjection	감탄사	[gam-tan-sa]
numeral	수사	[su-sa]

If you’re not sure what these grammatical terms mean, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered! Let’s take a look at each of these Korean parts of speech one by one.

명사 = Noun

Noun in Korean is 명사. 명사 (nouns) are words used to refer to the name of people, places, or things. Here are some examples of common 명사 (nouns):

가방 [ga-bang] = bag
부산 [bu-san] = Busan
미국인 [mi-gu-gin] = American

동사 = Verb

Verb in Korean is 동사. 동사 (verbs) are words that describe an action, state, or occurrence. Here are some examples of common 동사 (verbs):

하다 [ha-da] = to do
먹다 [meok-da] = to eat
만나다 [man-na-da] = to meet
Learn More Korean Verbs For Beginners

형용사 = Adjective

Adjective in Korean is 형용사. 형용사 (adjectives) are words that describe something. You may hear Korean adjectives referred to as ‘descriptive verbs’. This is because when you look up Korean adjectives in a dictionary they are written in the infinitive verb form (i.e. to be hot, to be beautiful, etc). Here are some common examples of 형용사 (adjectives):

좋다 [jo-ta] = to be good
비싸다 [bi-ssa-da] = to be expensive
크다 [keu-da] = to be big
Learn More Korean Adjectives

대명사 = Pronoun

Pronoun in Korean is 대명사. 대명사 (pronouns) are words that replace a noun that has been mentioned before or is already known. In English, these are words like ‘me‘, ‘you‘, ‘it‘, etc. Here are some examples of Korean pronouns:

나 [na] = I/me (informal)
저 [jeo] = I/me (polite)
이것 [i-geot] = this

부사 = Adverb

Adverb in Korean is 부사. 부사 (adverbs) are words that modify the meaning of an adjective, verb, or another adverb. In English, these are words like ‘very’, ‘happily’, etc. Here are some examples of common Korean adverbs:

매우 [mae-u] = very
많이 [ma-ni] = a lot of
항상 [hang-sang] = always

어미 = Ending

어미 are known as ‘endings’. These are partial words that are attached to words to change their tense or politeness level. For example, to make the present tense in Korean the ending 아/어/여요 is attached to a verb stem. Here are some examples of 어미 (endings):

습니다 [sum-ni-da] = formal ending
아/어/여요 [a/eo/yeo-yo] = present tense ending
고 싶다 [go sip-da] = ending meaning ‘want’

조사 = Particle

조사 are a Korean part of speech known as ‘particles’. These are short words that immediately follow a noun or pronoun. Here are some examples of 조사:

가 [ga] / 이 [i] = subject particle
과 [gwa] / 와 [wa] = with
에 [e] = location particle

관형사 = Determiner

Determiner in Korean is 관형사. 관형사 (determiners) are words that are placed in front of nouns to modify them. They can describe the quality (new/old), quantity (some, each) or show which object is being referred to (this/that).

감탄사 = Interjection

Interjection in Korean is 감탄사. 감탄사 (interjections) are words that are abrupt remarks or interruptions. In English, these are words like ‘wow’, or ‘ouch’. Here are some examples of common Korean injections:

아야 [a-ya] = ouch
우와 [u-wa] = wow
아이고 [a-i-go] = omg

수사 = Numeral/Number

When talking about Korean parts of speech, numbers are referred to as 수사. 수사 are used to talk about the quantity of something. Here are some examples:

일 [il] = one (Sino-Korean Number)
하나 [ha-na] = one (Native Korean Number)
첫째 [cheot-jae] = first
Learn Korean Numbers