In this post, you will learn how to express the plural form of a noun in Korean. At first glance, it seems like a straightforward grammar rule, but upon closer examination, it can be a confusing matter. I will guide you through it to help you understand the plural form in Korean.
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1. Korean Plural Form
In English, distinguishing singular and plural nouns is a very important matter. An apple and apples are very different! However, in Korean, you don't have to worry about it too much! The Korean language has a way to express plural nouns, but it is more of an optional matter.
Usually, you will just use a noun as you learned no matter if it is one or more than one. The word 사람[sa-lam] means a person or people. It can mean both! But, what if, you want to make sure to say "people" instead of "person"? Then, we will need a special word 들.
들 can be a suffix, an auxiliary marker, or a bound noun. Each one has a slightly different use, but since this lesson is for a beginner, we won't focus on these details. Mainly, you can think of it as a suffix.
2. Plural Word: 들
들 [deul] is attached to a noun and shows that nous is plural. You don't have to attach 들 to every plural noun.
a. 들 in the subject position
Let's take a look at the situation where 들 is attached to a subject.
친구가 교실에 있어요. My friend is in the classroom. / My friends are in the classroom.
친구들이 교실에 있어요. My friends are in the classroom.
↪ Can you see the difference from the examples above? In the first sentence, without the plural word 들, you can mean either "a friend" or "friends". If you add 들 to the subject, now you can definitely mean "friends."
책이 많아요. There are many books.
책들이 많아요. There are many books.
↪ Even if there is no 들, if the context is enough provided, you can tell the noun is plural. 많아요 means "a lot." So no matter whether you attach 들 to the book or not, we can tell 책 is more than one (actually many.)
b. 들 in the object position
들 is usually not used in the object part. It can be awkward or not acceptable. You may use it when the object is people, but still, you don't have to.
(O) 저는 사과를 먹었어요. I ate an apple. / I ate apples.
(X) 저는 사과들을 먹었어요.
↪ It sounds wrong if you say "사과들". Not only 사과, but other food-related words will sound not right with 들.
(O) 제 책을 돌려주세요. Please return my book/books.
(△) 제 책들을 돌려 주세요. Please return my books.
(O) 친구를 좀 불러 주세요. Please call my friend (friends).
(O) 친구들을 좀 불러 주세요. Please call my friends.
Using △ indicates that it is functional, but it may come across as unnatural in daily conversations. Since people tend to prefer brevity, adding 들 to extend a sentence may seem unnecessary. The examples provided demonstrate the lack of necessity for using 들.
c. 들 with 하고, (이)랑, 와/과
하고, (이)랑, and 와/과 are markers that are used to connect nouns. They can also mean "with". As a person, people or some sort of being that do action together. These markers actually sound very natural to be used with 들. Don't forget! You can still omit it, though.
친구들하고 영화를 봐요. I watch a movie with my friends.
수지 씨는 가족들하고 살아요. Suji lives with her family.
d. 들 with pronouns
Some pronouns already have meanings of plural. Yet, you can still attach the plural marker to it.
나 (I - not polite) → 우리 (we/our/us) = 우리들
저 (I - politer) → 저희 (polite we/our/us) = 저희들
너 (you - not polite) → 너희 (you, yours) = 너희들
여러분 (you all - politer) = 여러분들
Again, of course, it is optional. You don't have to use 우리들 to mean "we". 우리 itself is already "we".
3. Other ways to express the plural form
Remember that you can't say 사과들을 먹었어요? Then, how we can express the plural meaning in this situation? The answer is a "context." That means you may need to add an extra word. Here, check these out.
저는 사과를 조금 먹었어요. I had some apples.
저는 사과를 많이 먹었어요. I had a lot of apples.
저는 사과 두 개를 먹었어요. I had two apples.
By adding 조금 (a little, some), 많이 (a lot), or a specific number, you can add how much you ate. Those ways are more common than just adding the plural word 들.
친구 두 명을 만났어요. I met two friends.
친구들 두 명하고 만났어요. I met two friends.
Since 들 is an optional word, the examples above are also possible. You can attach 들 and numbers!
4. Examples
I'll show you natural Korean sentences with 들.
1
저는 친구들하고 여행을 갔어요.
I went to travel with my friends.
하고 is a marker, meaning "and" or "with". In this case, it means "with." To emphasize you went to travel with "friends" you can choose to add 들.
2
우리들은 대학생이에요.
= 우리는 대학생이에요.
We are university students.
우리 is already "we". You can add 들 to emphasize purpose. 은/는 is the topic marker. Depending on the last vowel, you'll choose either one!
3
학생들이 공원으로 소풍을 갔다.
The students went on a picnic in the park.
I want to make sure you know the "students," so I added 들.
4
와! 사람들이 정말 많아요.
Wow! There are so many people.
Since 많아요 already shows you that "there are many N." We can easily omit 들.
5
여러분들, 반갑습니다!
Nice to meet you, everyone!
여러분 is a polite version of the plural "you". When you talk in front of many people, you can call them 여러분 or 여러분들.
5. Wrap-up & Worksheet: Korean plural form(word)
들 is a word to make a noun into plural form.
It is an optional word, usually often omitted in daily life.
When it is used in the subject position or with the 하고 family, it sounds more natural.
When it is used in an object position, it can sound unnatural.
Let's review the lesson with the free and printable worksheet! Please print it out and solve it. The answers are already in this lesson. So, checking your answers will provide you with another review chance!
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