안녕하세요? In this lesson, you will learn how to use pronouns such as "this" and "that," as well as some stationary words. You will also learn how to ask and answer questions like "What's this?" or "What's that?" in Korean. Are you ready? Let's begin!
<Table of Contents>
0. Words
Be prepared for your lesson! You'll need to know those words in this lesson. Please listen and repeat and try to memorize them!
책 | book | |
공책 | notebook | |
책상 | desk | |
의자 | chair | |
가위 | scissors | |
풀 | glue | |
뭐 | what |
1. Demonstrative pronouns
When we need to refer to something or someone, we use demonstrative pronouns. In Korean, there are three levels of these pronouns depending on the distance between the speaker and the listener. These pronouns can come before a noun and describe it. These three levels are like the ones below.
이 | This: To point someone or something close to the speaker. | |
그 | That: To point someone or something close to the listener. | |
저 | That (over there): To point someone or something far from the speaker and listener. |
For example, to point to the book, you add "이/그/저" in front of the word "책(book)." You'll need a space between "이/그/저" and "책" because they are two words.
이 책: this book
그 책: that book
저 책: that book (over there)
When you point to an object, you can add the word "것(thing)" to 이/그/저. One thing to pay attention to is 이것, 그것 and 저것 are each word. So there is no space between 이/그/저 and 것.
2. How to ask "What's this?" in Korean
Let's learn how to ask "What is this/that?" in Korean. "What" is 뭐 and "is" can be 이에요 or 예요. 뭐 consists of ㅁ(m) and ㅝ(wo). There is no final consonant! Therefore, we need to attach 예요 to it and make "뭐예요?"
Pronouns are a type of noun. Since they are nouns they require a proper marker to be used in a sentence. 이것, 그것 or 저것 are all subjects of a sentence, so let's use the subject marker. These three pronouns all end with 것. It has the first consonant ㄱ, the vowel ㅓ, and the last consonant ㅅ. So, which subject marker do we have to use? Yes, 이! If you are still unsure about it, please check out my post about the subject marker.
이것이 뭐예요? What is this?
그것이 뭐예요? What is that?
저것이 뭐예요? What is that over there?
However, when you use these expressions in daily conversation, they tend to be shortened. 이것이 shortens to 이게. 그것이 shortens to 그게. 저것이 shortens to 저게.
이것이 뭐예요? What's this? = 이게 뭐예요?
그것이 뭐예요? What's that? =그게 뭐예요?
저것이 뭐예요? What's that over there? = 저게 뭐예요?
If you click the expressions in the chart, you can listen to them. Please listen and repeat!
3. How to answer
You can use the expression "N1은/는 N2이에요/예요" to say N1 equals N2. (N1 am/are/is N2). For the place of noun1, we can use the pronouns you saw above and add the topic marker 은 or 는.
이것은: this thing
그것은: that thing
저것은: that thing over there
이것은, 저것은, 그것은 can be shortened like below. These shortened versions are usually used in daily conversations. However, when you answer, these pronouns can be easily omitted. It is because the speaker and the listener already know about this pronoun part.
this | ||
that | ||
that over there |
Here are some examples. The first ones are full grammar versions. The second and third ones are more often used in daily conversations. Look how the answer sentences are getting shorter.
This is a book.
이것은 책이에요.
이건 책이에요.
책이에요.
That is a chair.
그것은 의자예요.
그건 의자예요.
의자예요.
That (one over there) is a desk.
저것은 책상이에요.
저건 책상이에요.
책상이에요.
Did you notice? When we asked "What is this?" we attached the subject marker to the pronoun. 이것이 뭐예요? To answer those questions, we used the topic marker. 이것은 책상이에요.
Since they are concepts that do not exist in English, if you translate them, there is no difference. However, they are not the same thing! I'll give you a rule of thumb. When you talk about a new topic, you can start with the subject marker. When you talk about something that has already been mentioned, you can use the topic marker.
So, when you ask "What's this?", you are pointing to something that is not mentioned before. So, you'll say "이것이 뭐예요?" Now, you and the listener know about "이것(this)," so he or she will say the sentence with "이것은," such as "이것은 책상이에요."
It's not the absolute rule. There are other things to consider between the subject marker and the topic marker. But if you are a beginner, it is okay to learn further in the future. However, if you are still curious, please read my other post; Korean topic marker vs. subject marker.
4. Dialog Examples
1
가: 이게 뭐예요? What is this?
나: 공책이에요. This is a notebook.
가 and 나 are talking. So, they use the short, conversational versions of sentences. Omitting and shortening happen often in conversations!
2
가: 것이 뭐예요? What's that?
나: 이것은 풀이에요. This is a glue.
가 is asking something that close to 나. So, 가 used 그것. Since this glue(풀) is close to 나, 나 is using 이것은.
3
가: 이게 책이에요? Is this the book?
나: 아니요, 책이 아니에요. No, it's not the book.
To answer, "N1 is not N2," You can use "이/가 아니에요." Click the link if you want to learn more.
4
가: 이게 가위예요? Are these the scissors?
나: 네, 가위예요. Yes, they are scissors.
In the Korean language, you don't have to worry about using plural forms like in English. There is no strict rule regarding the usage of singular or plural nouns in Korean. Whether it's singular or plural, you just use the same word you have learned.
5. Wrap-up & Worksheet
In this lesson, you learned the pronouns "this" and "that". You also learned how to ask and answer "What's this?" in Korean. Let's see the summary of the lesson. You can download the free PDF printable worksheet to practice the lesson.
이것, 그것, 저것 are pronouns meaning this, that, that over there.
They depend on the distance between the object, speaker, and listener.
Short versions with the subject marker: 이것이 → 이게 / 그것이 → 그게 / 저것이 → 저게
Short versions with the topic marker: 이것은 → 이건 / 그것은 → 그건 / 저것은 → 저건
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