Korean grammar '-은/는'

 

1. Explanation

 : '-은/는' is used with nouns. It's attached after a noun, indicating that the noun is the subject or topic of the sentence. It helps identify which noun is the subject when there are multiple nouns in a sentence. Also you should choose between '-은' and '-는'. The choice of form depends on the noun. When nouns ends with a final consonant, it conjugates with '-은'. However when words ends with a vowel, it conjugates with '-는'. Let's look at example together.

 

*Source : National Institute of the Korean Langugae

 

2. Examples

 정국은 가수예요. (Jungkook is a singer.)

 *정국 a name of a person

  1) A word '정국' is a noun

  2) It ends with a consonant 'ㄱ'

  3) It conjugates with '-은'

  4) 정국은

 

 승민은 한국 사람이에요. (Seungmin is Korean.)

 *승민 a name of a person

  1) A word '승민' is a noun

  2) It ends with a consonant 'ㄴ'

  3) It conjugates with '-은'

  4) 승민은

 김밥은 한국 음식이에요. (Gimbap is a Korean food.)

 *김밥 gimbap

  1) A word '김밥' is a noun

  2) It ends with a consonant 'ㅂ'

  3) It conjugates with '-은'

  4) 김밥은

 

 오늘은 월요일이에요. (Today is Monday.)

 *오늘 today

  1) A word '오늘' is a noun

  2) It ends with a consonant 'ㄹ'

  3) It conjugates with '-은'

  4) 오늘은

 

 내일은 화요일이에요. (Tomorrow is Tuesday.)

 *내일 tomorrow

  1) A word '내일' is a noun

  2) It ends with a consonant 'ㄹ'

  3) It conjugates with '-은'

  4) 내일은

  

 지금은 3시예요. (Now it's 3 o'clock.)

 *지금 now

  1) A word '지금' is a noun

  2) It ends with a consonant 'ㅁ'

  3) It conjugates with '-은'

  4) 지금은

 

 사과는 과일이에요. (An apple is a fruit.)

 *사과 apple

  1) A word '사과' is a noun

  2) It ends with a vowel 'ㅘ'

  3) It conjugates with '-는'

  4) 사과는

 

 그는 학생이에요. (He is a student.)

 *그 he

  1) A word '그' is a noun

  2) It ends with a vowel 'ㅡ'

  3) It conjugates with '-는'

  4) 그는

 

 그녀는 선생님이에요. (She is a teacher.)

 *그녀 she

  1) A word '그녀' is a noun

  2) It ends with a vowel 'ㅕ'

  3) It conjugates with '-는'

  4) 그녀는

 

 엄마는 회사원이에요. (My mom is an office worker.)

 *엄마 mom

  1) A word '엄마' is a noun

  2) It ends with a vowel 'ㅏ'

  3) It conjugates with '-는'

  4) 엄마는

 

 아빠는 간호사예요. (My father is a nurse.)

 *아빠 father

  1) A word '아빠' is a noun

  2) It ends with a vowel 'ㅏ'

  3) It conjugates with '-는'

  4) 아빠는

 

 저는 브라질 사람이에요. (I'm a Brazilian.)

 *저 I

  1) A word '저' is a noun

  2) It ends with a vowel 'ㅓ'

  3) It conjugates with '-는'

  4) 저는

 

3. Practice

 He is a teacher.

 그(은/는) 선생님이에요. ( *그 he ) 

 

 Bangchan is a singer.

 방찬(은/는) 가수예요. ( *방찬 a name of a person )

 

 Orange is a fruit. 

 오렌지(은/는) 과일이에요. ( *오렌지 orange )

 

 Older sister is an engineer.

 누나(은/는) 엔지니어예요. ( *누나 older sister )

 

 Today is a weekend.

 오늘(은/는) 주말이에요. ( *오늘 today )

 

 Park seojun is an actor.

 박서준(은/는) 배우예요. ( *박서준 a name of a person )

 

 Now it's 4 o'clock.

 지금(은/는) 4시예요. ( *지금 now )

 

4. Vocabulary

 가수 singer / 한국 사람 Korean / 김밥 gimbap / 한국 Korea / 음식 food / 오늘 today / 월요일 Monday / 내일 tomorrow / 화요일 Tuesday / 지금 now / 시 counter units - hour / 사과 apple / 과일 fruit / 그 he / 학생 student / 그녀 she / 선생님 teacher / 엄마 mom / 회사원 office worker / 아빠 father / 간호사 nurse / 저 I(polite) / 오렌지 orange / 누나 older sister(male -> female) / 언니 older sister(female -> female) / 엔지니어 engineer / 주말 weekend / 배우 actor 

 

5. Answer

   그는 / 방찬은 / 오렌지는 / 누나는 / 오늘은 / 박서준은 / 지금은