Korean Grammar - Conjunction Particle(접속 조사)
Hello everyone! This is Admin Sun here, today we’re going to talk about Conjunction particles! It’s the last category of the particles. Conjunction particles basically connect things. They are the particles that show that two words are the same status/state. It’s easy if you think of it as words like ‘and’.
Today I’m going to talk about basic conjunction particles that you need to know while learning Korean! Because in the end learning Korean is half learning all of our particles :D
There are three main conjunction particles I will talk about today! Just a warning though. All of them are translated into ‘and’. One is usually used in literary/Written style and the other two are mostly used in colloquial/spoken style. We’ll learn the literary style conjunction particle first!
1. 와/과 (usually used in literary style)
와/과 basically translates into ‘And’. For example, 책과 연필 translates into Book and Pencil. Like most particles this one has two forms, 와 being used after no final consonant and 과 being used if the word has a final consonant.
*Examples:
철수가 사과와 포도를 사요. (철수 buys apples and grapes)
식물이 잘 자라려면 물과 햇빛이 필요해. (For a plant to grow well it needs water and sunlight.)
*Differences from the adverbial marking particle 와/과
Noticing the difference from the adverbial marking particle 와/과 and the conjunction particle 와/과 can be hard. Even native speakers have a hard time. The adverbial particle 와/과 translates into ‘with’ and is usually used with words that mean together like 함께 or 같이. For example,
철수와 영희가 학교에 가다 (철수 and 영희 go to school)
In this sentence, the 와 is a conjunction particle.
철수가 영희와 함께 학교에 가다 (철수 goes to school together with 영희)
In this sentence, the 와 is NOT a conjunction particle but an adverbial particle.
Usually if there is no noun that comes after a 와/과 or if there is a 함께 or 같이 in the sentence it means it’s an adverbial particle and should be translated as ‘with’.
For more information on adverbial particles go to this post.
2.(이)랑 (Usually used in colloquial style)
(이)랑 also translates into ‘and’. If the word ends with a consonant then the form is 이랑, and if the word ends with a vowel the correct form is 랑. Unlike 와/과 which only sticks to the first noun, sometimes people stick (이)랑 to all the nouns as this one is usually used in conversation. For example,
나는 빵이랑 과일이랑 먹었다 (I ate bread and fruit)
3.하고 (Usually used in colloquial style)
This is also a particle that means ‘and’. It only has one form!
*Examples:
저기 그림하고 연필이 있다. (There is a drawing and a pen)
영희하고 민아가 걸어간다. (영희 and 민아 walk by)
That’s it for today’s lesson! I hope our lesson could help you learn Korean :D
- Written by Admin Sun
-Edited by Admin Yu

















