Core sentence particles

Foundations

Particles are small words attached to nouns to show their job in a sentence, like who is doing what, to whom, or where.

How It Works

Particles (조사) are one of the most fundamental building blocks of the Korean language. They are suffixes that attach directly to the end of nouns, pronouns, and other words to indicate their grammatical function in a sentence.

Think of them as 'labels' or 'tags' that answer questions like:

  • Who or what is the main topic? (Topic Markers)
  • Who or what is doing the action? (Subject Markers)
  • Who or what is receiving the action? (Object Markers)
  • Where or when is the action happening? (Place/Time Markers)

Because particles clearly define each word's role, the order of words in a Korean sentence can be changed without losing the core meaning. This is very different from English, where word order is strict.

Key Particle Types:
Here are some of the most common particles you will learn first. Don't worry about the rules for choosing them now; focus on understanding their purpose. You can click on each one to learn its specific rules.

Learning which particle to use in which situation is a core skill in Korean. The first step is simply recognizing them and understanding their job.

Particles are often dropped in casual speech, as in 나 밥 먹어. You need them in writing, in careful speech, and whenever the roles would be unclear.

Examples (4)

  1. 저 (I) → 저는 (I, as the topic), 제가 (I, as the subject), 저를 (me, as the object)

    The particle attached to '저' (I/me) changes its role in the sentence.

    This shows how different particles (-는, -가, -를) can attach to the same pronoun ('저') to give it a different grammatical function.

  2. 고양이가 생선을 먹어요.

    The cat eats the fish.

    Word by Word: Cat (subject) fish (object) eats.

    Here, '가' marks '고양이' (cat) as the subject (the one doing the eating), and '을' marks '생선' (fish) as the object (the thing being eaten).

  3. 학생이 학교에 가요.

    The student goes to school.

    Word by Word: Student (subject) school (to) goes.

    The particle '이' marks '학생' (student) as the subject, and the particle '에' marks '학교' (school) as the destination.

  4. 생선을 고양이가 먹어요.

    The cat eats the fish. (Literally: The fish, the cat eats.)

    Word by Word: Fish (object) cat (subject) eats.

    Even though the word order is changed, the meaning is still clear because the particles '를' and '가' tell us which word is the object and which is the subject.

Common Mistakes

  • Marking the thing being acted on with the subject particle 이/가.

    Not Quite학생이 책이 읽어요.
    Better학생이 책을 읽어요.

    이/가 marks the one doing the action, so '책이 읽어요' says 'the book reads'. The thing being read needs the object particle 을/를: 책을 읽어요.

  • Placing the particle before the noun, like an English preposition.

    Not Quite에 학교 가요.
    Better학교에 가요.

    Korean particles are postpositions, which means they always come after the noun they modify. English uses prepositions, which come before the noun ('to school').

Related Patterns

Words in This Pattern

이가은는을를
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