Pronouns and related words
• ⽎㧎: means ‘person-in-question’ or ‘self.’ It can therefore be anyone me, you, he, her, but is often used to cleverly avoid the use of ‘you.’
⽎㧎㧊 㰗㩧 㡺⧒⓪◆㣪. They say that you the person-in-question should come yourself.
• ╗: used among older people to refer to an adult stranger.
╗㦖 ῂ㔶㰖㣪? May I ask who you are?
• 㠊⯊㔶: used for a very old person in a respectful way. • 㧦⍺: used by a superior to a much younger adult or to an adolescent of lower
status like a student, or by a parent-in-law to a son-in-law.
• 㩲ῆ [formal]: used by a superior to subordinates or followers GG 㡺⓮G㩲ῆ✺㠦ỢGⰺ㤆G㝎㝎䞲G㏢㔳G䞮⋮⯒G㩚䟊㟒Ỷ┺.G
I have to give you guys a piece of sad news today.
• 㡂⩂ [formal]: used toward a group of people
㔶㌂㑯⎖ 㡂⩂ Ladies and gentlemen…
䂲㞶䞮⓪ ῃ⹒ 㡂⩂ My dear fellow Koreans
㡂⩂㦮 ἓ䠮㦚 䚲䟊 ⽊㎎㣪. Try and talk about your own experiences.
3.2.3 Third person pronouns and their equivalents
Korean does not have a well-established category of true third-person pronouns such as English he and she. When it is necessary to refer back to a previously
mentioned person, several possibilities are available. One is to simply leave the person unmentioned, especially when he or she
has been the topic of the conversation. A: 䞶㞚⻚㰖 㡺㎾㠊㣪.
Grandpa came. B: 㠎㩲 㡺㎾㠊㣪?
When did he come? A: ⁎㩖℮㣪.
The day before yesterday. B: 㠊❪ ㌂㔲⓪◆㣪?
Where does he live? A: ㍲㤎㠦㣪.
In Seoul. A second option is to employ titles or kinship terms, which can be repeated as
many times as needed. A: 䞶㞚⻚㰖 㡺㎾㠊㣪.
B: 䞶㞚⻚㰖Ṗ 㠎㩲 㡺㎾㠊㣪? A: ⁎㩖℮㣪.
B: 䞶㞚⻚㰖Ṗ 㠊❪ ㌂㔲⓪◆㣪? A: ㍲㤎㠦㣪.
Yet another possibility is to use a compound consisting of 㧊⁎㩖 plus a general noun.
㧊: is used to point out someonesomething close to the speaker. ⁎: is used for someonesomething either away from the speaker and close to
the hearer or familiar to both the speaker and the hearer. 㩖: is used for someonesomething away from both the speaker and the hearer
but visible to both.
• 㧊⁎㩖 ₆㰖⺆, ⏞, 㧦㔳, ⎖㍳: may be used affectionately or neutrally to
refer to younger siblings or close friends, or by parents to refer to their own children.
㧊 ₆㰖⺆Ṗ 㢲 㧊⩝Ợ 㞞 㡺㰖? I wonder why this girl is still not coming. ⁎ ⎖㍳ 㺎 ‖㡓Ợ ㌳ἒ⍺.
The kid looks very cute. It otherwise is used angrily to mean something like ‘punk’ or ‘bastard.’
⼚ 㤙₆⓪ 㧦㔳 ┺ ⽊Ỷ⍺. What a ridiculous punk.
㧊⏞㦮 ㎎㌗㧊 㠊⠑Ợ ♮⩺ἶ… What’s going to happen to this damned world…
• 㧊⁎㩖 㞶, 㞶⍺✺: used to refer to a child, a close friend, or a sibling of
similar age or younger. 㞶 㞚㧊, 㟮 㧊 㞶, 㨺 㩖 㞶, Ẫ ⁎ 㞶 㟮 㧊 㞶 ⓪ 㩲 䂲ῂἶ 㨺⓪ Ẫ ☯㌳㧊㠦㣪.
This one is my friend and that one is that friend’s younger brother. ⁎⩒ 㨺⍺✺㦖 ῂ㟒? Ẫ⍺✺㦖 㟮䞮ἶ ṯ㦖 䞯㌳✺㧊⧮㣪.
Who are those kids then? They are the classmates of this guy, I heard.
• 㧊⁎㩖 ộỆ: may be used to refer to one’s own child or someone
extremely close. 㧊Ợ 㧊ộ㧊, ⁎Ợ ⁎ộ㧊 㧊Ợ 㠊❪Ṗ 㞚䝞 ⳾㟧㧊┺.
Seems like he’s sick. ⁎Ợ ⡦ Ⱖ㗓㦚 ⪎ῂ⋮.
Oh, that kid caused trouble again.
• 㧊⁎㩖 ㌂⧢: may be used to refer to one’s husband or wife or to any stranger in a neutral manner.
㧊 ㌂⧢㦖 ₖ䂮㹢ṲⰢ 㧞㦒Ⳋ ♒㣪. Kimchitchigye is all he my husband needs.
Ỏ㠊 Ṗ⓪◆ ⁎ ㌂⧢㧊 ṧ㧦₆ Ⱖ㦚 Ỏ㠊 㢪㠊㣪. I was walking and he started talking to me all of a sudden.
• 㧊⁎㩖 㡂㧦, ⋾㧦: used to refer to a stranger in a neutral manner; if used
for an older or unfamiliar person to his or her face, this expression can be extremely insulting.
㠊㩲 ⁎ ⋾㧦 ῂ┞? Who was that guy yesterday?
A: 㧊 㡂㧦Ṗ 㢲 㧊⧮, 㩫Ⱖ?
What’s wrong with this woman, really? B:
㧊 㡂㧦⧒┞? Are you calling me ‘this woman’?
• 㧊⁎㩖 : used to refer to a stranger in a formal and respectful way.
㠊㩲 ⁎ 㧊 ῂ㎎㣪? Who was that person yesterday?
㧊 㦖 㩲 ἶ❇䞯ᾦ This is my former high school teacher.
㦖㌂┮㧊㕃┞┺ .
• 㧊⁎㩖 㧊: may be used to refer to one’s husband or wife usually among older couples.
Thanks to the influence of English, the following forms are employed in literary writing and song lyrics.
• ⁎, ⁎✺: used as a third person equivalent of ‘she’ and ‘they’ only in rather
formal speech or writing as well as in translations of pronouns in Western languages. In its literal use, it has the meaning of ‘that’ and is impersonal.
• ⁎⎖: used in writing by authors for ‘she.’ • ⁎┮: used in song lyrics or in poems.
The following items can also be used as pronoun substitutes. • ㌂⧢: ‘she [the person]’
㌂⧢㧊 㺎 㹿䞲 Ệ ṯ㞚㣪. She seems really nice
. • ㌂⧢✺: ‘they’
㌂⧢✺㧊 ⁎⩂⓪◆ ⁎ 㦢㔳㩦㧊 㧻㌂Ṗ 㞞 ♒㍲ ⶎ㦚 ╁㞮╖. They say that the restaurant closed because its business wasn’t good.
• Ṗ, ῆṖṖ: ‘someone’ Ṗ ⁎⩂⓪◆, 㧊 ☯⍺⓪ 㠦 ┺⎖☚ 㞞㩚䞮╖㣪.
Someone says that this neighborhood is safe to go around in even at night.
• ₖ⳾㝾: ‘one Mr. Kim’ usually used in news report ἓ㺆㦖 㑮䚲 㥚㫆⻪ ₖ⳾㝾 ❇ 㧒╏ 4 ⳛ㦚 ỖỆ䟞㔋┞┺.
The police arrested a gang of four people including a Kim so-and-so for forgery of checks
.
3.2.4 Reflexive pronouns
The following expressions are used as reflexive pronouns roughly equivalent to ‘myself,’ ‘himself,’ ‘oneself,’ and so on.
• 㩖㰖 [spokencolloquial]: See 8.3 for the 㩖㰖 alternation.
⌊ ☯㌳㦖 㩖Ⱒ 㞢㠊, 㩲㩖㦮 ㌳ṗⰢ 䞮⓪ Ệ 㧞㰖. My younger brother is self-centered. He only cares about himself.
㧊 ㎎㌗㠦㍲ 㰖Ṗ 㩲㧒 㧮⋲ 㭚 㞞┺┞₢. He thinks he’s the best in the world, you know.
• 㧦₆: used for reference to a third party. 䡲㑮⓪ 㧦₆Ṗ 㰗㩧 ṖỶ┺ἶ Ⱖ䟞┺.
Hyesu said that she would go herself. 㧦₆ 㧒㦖 㧦₆Ṗ 㞢㞚㍲ 䟊㟒㰖.
One should take care of one’s own work. ⁎ 㡂㧦⓪ 㧦₆⯒ ⹎㧎㧊⧒ἶ ㌳ṗ䞲┺.
She considers herself beautiful. • 㧦㔶: can be used in combination with a personal pronounnoun,
or by itself for emphasis.
⁎ 㡂㧦⓪ 㧦₆㧦㔶㦚 ⹎㧎㧊⧒ἶ ㌳ṗ䞲┺. She considers herself beautiful.
㧦㔶Ⱒ ㌳ṗ䞮㰖 Ⱖ㞚㣪. Don’t just think about yourself.
• 㧦㼊: used in an emphatic manner for any person or thing.
Ịⶒ 㧦㼊⓪ 䔒䔒䞲 Ệ ṯ㔋┞┺. The
building itself seems solid. • ╏㔶: can be used for an honored third person referent.
䞶㞚⻚㰖 ╏㔶㧊 ㏦㑮 ⊩㡂㍲ ✲㎾┺. Grandfather cooked it himself and ate it.
NOTE: ╏㔶 is not used that often except for grandparents.
3.2.5 Indefinite pronouns
Korean has a series of words that can be used as either interrogative pronouns question words or indefinite pronouns.
Word As question word
As indefinite pronoun ῂṖ
who someone ⶦ
what something 㠊❪
where somewhere 㠊⠑Ợ
how somehow 㠊ⓦ
which somecertain 㠊⟺
whichwhat type of somecertain ⳝ
whathow many several
㠊❪ Ṗ㎎㣪? Where are you going? or Are you going somewhere?
ⶦ ⲏ㦚₢ ? What shall we eat? or Shall we eat something?
Ṗ 㢪㠊? Who came? or Did someone come?
When used with the special particles -㧊⋮, -☚, -✶㰖, or -⧒☚, indefinite pronouns as well as 㞚ⶊ and 㠒Ⱎ can take on interpretations equivalent to
English everyone, anything, nothing, etc.
• Everyone, anyone
ῂ⋮ 䞶 㑮 㧞⓪ 㧒㦖 㞚┞┺. It’s not something that everyone can do.
㞚ⶊ⋮ 䞶 㑮 㧞⓪ 㧒㦖 㞚┞┺. It’s not something that anyone can do.
ὖ㕂㧞⓪ ㌂⧢㦖 ῂ✶㰖 㡺㎎㣪. Anyone who is interested is welcome. • Everything, anything
⁎ ㌂⧢ 㧒㧊⧒Ⳋ ⶦ✶㰖 ┺ 㞢㞚. I know everything about him.
㞚ⶊỆ⋮ ὲ㺄㞚. Anything will do.
• Everywhere, anywhere 䦊Ṗ㻶㠦⓪ 㠊❪⋮ ゞ┺.
It’s crowded everywhere during vacation season.
㠊❪✶㰖㞚ⶊ ◆⧒☚ Ṗἶ 㕌㠊㣪. I want to go just about anywhere.
⁎⩆ ㌂⧢㦖 㠊❪㍲✶㰖 䢮㡗㦚 㦚 ỗ┞┺. That kind of person will be welcome anywhere.
• Always, every time
㠎㩲⋮ 䢮䞮Ợ 㤙㦒㎎㣪. Always have a bright smile
. 㺛Ⱒ ⽊Ⳋ 㠎㩲⋮ 㫎㦢㧊 㡾┺.
I get drowsy every time I read.
• Any time
㠎㩲✶㰖㠎㩲⧒☚ 㩚䢪 䞮㎎㣪.
Call me any time.
㞚ⶊ ➢⋮ ✺⯊㎎㣪.
Drop by any time. • Every way, any way
㞚ⶊ⧮☚ ὲ㺄㞚㣪. Any way is fine with me.
• No matter what
ⶊ㓾 㧒㧊 㧞㠊☚ 㩞╖ 䙂₆䞮㰖 Ⱎ㎎㣪.
Don’t give up no matter what happens.
㠊⠑Ợ䟊㍲✶㰖 㧊 㠊⩺㤊 ㌗䢿㦚 㧮 㧊Ỿ⌊ ⽛㔲┺.
Let’s try to overcome this difficult situation no matter what it takes. • As much as one likes
䗮┞₢ 㠒Ⱎ✶㰖 ✲㎎㣪. It’s a buffet, so eat as much as you like.
The following forms must be used in combination with a negated verb. • No one, anyone
㞚ⶊ☚ 㧻╊ ⴑ䞲┺. No one can guarantee it.
㞚ⶊ䞲䎢㍲☚ 㡆⧓㧊 㠜㠊㣪. There’s no word from anyone.
• Nothing, anything
㠊ⓦ ộ☚ 㕒 Ợ 㠜⍺㣪. Nothing is cheap.
㞚ⶊ ộ☚ 㞞 ㌖┺. I didn’t buy anything.
• Nowhere, anywhere
㞚ⶊ ◆☚ 㞞 Ṫ┺.
I didn’t go anywhere.
㞚ⶊ ◆⋮ 㞟㰖 Ⱖἶ 㡂₆ 㞟㞚. Don’t sit just anywhere; sit here.
• Not many, not much ⋶㰲Ṗ 㠒Ⱎ 㞞 ⋾㞮┺.
There aren’t many days left. Ṩ㧊
㠒Ⱎ 㞞 ♒㣪. It’s not very expensive.
4 Language for daily situations
Like every language, Korean has a large number of formulaic and fixed expressions for use in common everyday situations. This chapter focuses on
frequent expressions of this type that you should find particularly useful.