Learning Korean? If you’re studying the Korean language then you’ll need to have your Korean grammar down!
Today we’ll teach you the basics of Korean grammar so you can start forming sentences that mean exactly what you want to say.
Ready to become a grammar master? Let’s learn the basics of Korean grammar!
Here is a free PDF guide that you can download and take with you:
Contents
Below, we’ll explain Korean grammar using Hangeul (Korean Alphabet) and in romanized English. You can learn the Korean Alphabet in under an hour here.
Is Korean grammar difficult?
It wouldn’t be accurate to say that Korean grammar is difficult or easy. Like many Asian languages, the grammar is quite different from English. But like the grammar of any language, Korean grammar follows rules and sentence structure that makes sense. You just need to get used to the primary quirk of its grammar. You may know that English basic grammar follows the structure:
SUBJECT (S) + VERB (V) + OBJECT (O)
For example, I (subject) study (verb) Korean (object). Most languages have a SVO grammar structure like this. The action leads the object so you know what is happening before you know what it’s happening to.
How are Korean sentences structured?
Basic Korean grammar, on the other hand, uses the order:
SUBJECT (S) + OBJECT (O) + VERB (V).
For native speakers of languages that use the SVO grammar structure, such as English, this may sound confusing and incorrect.
Korean, Japanese, and to some extent German, all use SOV in their grammar. You’ll understand why this kind of grammar makes sense when forming a Korean sentence later in the lesson. For now, here are some examples of the sentence structure of Korean to help you get acquainted with the grammar:
- 나는 오렌지를 먹었어요 (naneun orenjireul meogeosseoyo) = I + orange + ate = I ate an orange
- 오빠가 축구를 해요 (oppaga chukgureul haeyo) = Big brother + football + to do = My big brother plays football
- 나는 친구를 만나요 (naneun chingureul mannayo) = I + friend + to meet = I meet my friend
To understand why the Korean language uses grammar like this, you need to understand a bit about Korean verbs and how they work.
Basic Korean Verbs
In Korean grammar, the verb needs to be conjugated based on the context. This means that Korean verbs follow certain grammar rules that control how they’re spelled.
You’ll conjugate the word depending on its tense, level of politeness and whether the connecting vocabulary ends in a vowel or consonant. However, the form does not change depending on the subject! So you don’t have to worry about the Korean particle changing (a topic for another article).
Let’s dive a bit further on this grammar point with some examples of conjugation. Note that we’ll mention Korean honorific verbs. Go here if you’re not familiar with them yet.
Korean Conjugation
One of the basic Korean grammar rules you need to learn is conjugation. In Korean grammar, there are 2 things you can conjugate. These are verbs and adjectives.
The conjugations of Korean verbs and adjectives help set the tense, tone, and mood in sentences. In this lesson, we’ll talk about conjugations of verbs 하다 (hada), 이다 (ida), and 있다 (itda). We’ll also have the opposite of 있다 (itda) which is 없다 (eopda).
Conjugation –
The verb 하다 (hada) generally means “to do” in English. It is usually attached to words to make them either action verbs or descriptive verbs. For example:
공부 (gongbu | study) + 하다 (hada | to do)= 공부하다 (gongbuhada | to study)
요리 (yori | cook)+ 하다 (hada | to do) = 요리하다 (yorihada | to cook)
Below are the conjugation examples of the verb 하다 (hada):
- 하다 (hada) = standard form
- 해요 (haeyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel or consonant, present
- 했어요 (haesseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel or consonant, past*
- 했었어요 (haesseosseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel or consonant, past perfect*
Conjugation –
The verb 이다 (ida) is the Korean equivalent of “to be” in English. It is usually used to identify people and objects. When using it to form sentences, it can be used with the following sentence structure:
Subject and particle + Noun입니다
Here are conjugation examples for the verb 이다 (ida) – to be.
- 입니다 (imnida) = honorific verb, present tense
- 입니까 (imnikka) = honorific question verb, present
- 이에요 (ieyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a consonant, present
- 예요 (yeyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel, present
- 이었어요 (ieosseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a consonant, past*
- 였어요 (yeosseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel, past*
- 야 (ya) = casual/informal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel, present
- 이야 (iya) = casual/informal ending verb for nouns ending in a consonant, present
*Note: if you wish to use the past tense for 이다 (ida) on a casual level, use this form and simply drop the 요 (yo) from its tail
You may be thinking, “that’s quite a bit of vocabulary to remember!”
It gets easier with practice, and this grammar rule allows sentences to be more specific. Read these example sentences for 이다 (ida) to see:
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- = I am Joana
- = How old are you?
- = I am a Vietnamese
- = I am a singer.
- = He was a soldier.
- = He was a good friend.
- = I am a man
- = I am a student
In the case of 이다 (ida), you only connect it to a noun, essentially emphasizing the statement.
Conjugation –
The verb 있다 (itda) means “to have” in English when used to express possession. It can also mean “to be” when expressing the existence of something and the existence of an object in a particular location. In other words, the verb 있다 (itda) is used to express existence, location, or possession.
- Let’s take a closer look at the verb, 있다 (itda) – to have. Here are its basic conjugations in Korean grammar:
- 있습니다 (itseumnida) = honorific verb, present
- 있습니까? (itseumnikka) = honorific verb, present
- 있었습니다 (isseotseumnida) = honorific verb, past
- 있어요 (isseoyo) = polite/formal verb, present*
- 있었어요 (isseosseoyo) = polite/formal verb, past*
*Note: to create the casual/informal form, simply use these without the 요 (yo) at the end
You’ll notice that 있다 (itda) conjugates much like 이다 (itda), with only slight changes in the letters because of the word itself.
있다 operates more like an adjective than a verb, changing how it works with particles. Hopefully, these examples will help illustrate that:
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- = I have a question
- = Do you have a question?
- = I had a girlfriend
- = I have a little brother
- = I have a bag
- = I had a boyfriend
- = I had an appointment
Conjugation –
Next, 없다 (eopda) is the opposite of 있다(itda), meaning “to not have”. It is conjugated the same as 있다 (itda). Here are some grammar examples:
- = I don’t have a big sister
- = I don’t have a car
- = I didn’t have time
- = I don’t have cash
Korean grammar takes some getting used to, but with enough study and practice, you’ll be a grammar master in no time!
Korean Verb Tenses
We’ve already mentioned tenses in the previous sections, here’s a quick rundown of some of them in Korean.
- Verb + ㅂ니다/습니다 (ㅂ nida/seumnida) = honorific verb, present
- Verb + 아요/어요 (ayo/eoyo) = polite/formal verb, present
- Verb + 야/이야 (ya/iya) = casual/informal verb, present
- Verb + 았어요/었어요 (asseoyo/eosseoyo) = polite/formal verb, past
- Verb + 았어/었어 (asseo/eosseo) = casual/informal verb, past
- Verb + 겠어요 (gesseoyo) = polite/formal verb, future
- Verb + ㄹ/을 거예요 (ㄹ/eul geoyeyo) = polite/formal verb, future
- Verb + 겠어 (gesseo) = casual/informal verb, future
- Verb + ㄹ/을 거야 (ㄹ /eul geoya) = casual/informal verb, future
One plus about Korean verbs is that they generally stick to their conjugation rules, which makes it easier to know the correct grammar structure to follow in a given situation. This helps with deciding what to include in your grammar and vocabulary studies.
Korean Negative Verb Form
Turning sentences into negatives was already mentioned when we introduced you to 없다 (eopda). Let’s briefly go over some other negative verb forms in Korean grammar.
By adding 안 (an) in front of the verb, excluding 있다 (itda), you are creating a negative. For example:
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- = I don’t have class today
- = I am not going to the US
By adding ~지 않다 (~ji anta) to the verb stem, you are also creating a negative. Like this:
- = I don’t have class today
- = I am not going to the US
*Note: This is not typically the most natural way to express it, although it is grammatically correct.
These two grammar forms are identical in their meaning. With practice, you’ll learn which situations 안 (an) and ~지 않다 (~ ji anta)sound most natural for.
One note before you finish is their use with the verb 하다. With 안, you will add the negative right in front of 하다, breaking it into an object + verb, like this:
- → = to cook → did not cook
With ~지 않다 (~ ji anta) you will keep the it intact and instead add the negative at the end, like this:
- → = to cook → did not cook
Again, both grammar forms are correct so practice to get a feel for what sounds most natural for you!
Congratulations! You have now learned the basics of Korean grammar. It's not that hard to learn Korean after all. This is an essential first step in learning Korean and we've got lots more great Korean lessons to help you learn Korean. You might be interested in these topics as well:
- Get a plan for learning Korean here
- If you're thinking of living, traveling, or moving to Korea, go here
- Head over here if you are interested in K-Pop, K-Dramas, or Korean movies
- Check out this page for lots of useful Korean phrases
- Get some of the most common Korean words here
- Go here to learn about Korean culture
Stick with us and we'll make Korean language learning fun and easy!
How will you use your new Korean grammar knowledge?
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60 replies to "Korean Grammar for Beginners"
The verb 하다 (hada) has no honorific form?
Hi, Carlos! It changes to ‘하시다’ in honorific form. ^^
있습니다 (itseumnida) = honorific verb, present
있습니까? (itseumnikka) = honorific verb, present
is 있습니까? honorific verb same as 있습니다, i’m thinking that 있습니까? is honorific question verb, present i was thinking that you forgot to type the word *question* or they really the same?? thanks
That’s right, Yanna! “있습니까” is a question and it’s the honorific verb form. ^^
This is all super helpful, but I was just wondering: All of the conjugations for ‘없다’ are the exact same as the ones for ‘있다’? You just change one part of the word?
That’s correct, Carmella! ^^
This is so helpful!! It makes much more sense now when reading and when I want to form simple verb sentences. I’ve already used some of the example sentences as templates and just replaced the object (and made sure the ending verb was the correct one for it based on consonant/vowel ending) and I’m doing it right so far. Thank you!!
That’s great. We’re glad that it has been valuable to you. ^^
In the “Korean Verb Tenses” this blog post says “We’ve already mentioned tenses in the previous sections, here’s a quick rundown of some of them in Korean.”
Could you send the link to where tenses are taught? Thank you!
Hi, Minsu! Tenses are only taught in this post, and what we meant by “We’ve already mentioned tenses in the previous sections” is that we have listed the examples of tenses for the words ‘이다’, ‘있다’, and ‘없다’. ^^