안녕하세요! It’s been so long since I last made a vocab post huh lol. Today we have a list that’s pretty important – we’re going to learn about pronouns in Korean! Let’s start!
Also, if you want to learn about interrogative pronouns, which are words like “what” and “where,” check out my lesson about them here! For info about indefinite pronouns (things like “anyone” and “somewhere”), click here!
이것 (이거, 이건, 이게, 이걸) = This
그것 (그거, 그건, 그게, 그걸) = That
저것 (저거, 저건, 저게, 저걸) = That (used for when you’re talking about something far away – farther away than what you would use 그것 for)
저기 = There (more like “over there.” You also hear 저기요 used a lot when someone is trying to politely get a stranger’s attention.)
You may also hear 이곳, 그곳, 저곳, which literally mean “this/that place.” These are less common, though.
All of these translate to “this/that thing” literally. If you want to say something like “this/that house,” then you would drop the -것 and add the noun: 이 집, 그 집, 저 집
You might also be wondering about how to say “it.” In Korean, there isn’t really a word for “it.” In situations where you may need to say “it,” there probably won’t be a subject at all since it is understood what you are talking about. For example:
가: 고양이 어디 있어요? = Where is the cat?
나: 제 방에 있어요. = It is in my room.
Personal pronouns are nice in Korean since the most common ones are gender-neutral, so you don’t have to memorize different words for different genders. That said, there are gendered pronouns that you might hear in songs and poetry, but you rarely if ever use them in regular conversation – it sounds unnatural. Let’s talk about those unnatural ones just so you can recognize them!
당신 = You -> You’ll probably hear this one more than the other two, but only in specific situations. You might hear it in an argument or when someone is talking to someone they love. In general though, don’t worry about this – it’s rarely ever used.
Here’s what you’re more likely to use and hear:
너 / 네가 (pronounced 니가) = You (informal) -> Be careful with this one! Only use it when referring to your friends who are the same age as you or younger!
걔 = He / She / They (singular) -> Short for 그 애, which means “that kid.” You can, however, use this for adults too (just not when referring to someone older than you!).
쟤 = He / She / They (singular) -> Short for 저 애
얘 = He / She / They (singular) -> Short for 이 애
걔들 / 쟤들 / 얘들 = They (plural) -> When you add -들 to a noun, it makes it plural!
그 사람 = He / She / They (singular) -> This literally means “that person,” but is another term to use as a pronoun and can be translated as such.
저희 = We / Us -> more formal than 우리
As for the distinctions between 걔, 쟤, and 얘 in terms of position, I don’t really think it matters. I’ve heard people say 얘들 for people who are not even in the same room as them, so it’s not like the people you’re talking about have to be close to you for you to say “these kids” if that makes sense.
What if you want to say “you,” “he” or “she” or something when talking to or about someone older than you? In that case, it’s best to use their title or their name with the proper suffix. For example:
가: 선생님이 어디예요? = Where is the teacher?
나: 선생님이 교실에 계셔요. = He is in the classroom.
If these two people are students, they would have to use the teacher’s proper title when referring to him.
You could even just say 교실에 계셔요 since it is understood that you’re talking about the teacher.
계시다 is a more formal version of 있다 btw, so use it when you’re talking about people who deserve respect!
The same goes for when saying “you”:
백현 씨 어떻게 생각하세요? = What do you think? (when talking to someone named Baekhyun)
Again, you could just say 어떻게 생각하세요? since Baekhyun can probably tell you’re talking to him.
우리 = My -> In some cases, this can mean “my” when you’re talking about a person, particularly someone you’re related to. You would say 우리 엄마 instead of 제 엄마, for example. That gives the nuance of your mother being a part of your family – hence the use of the word that means “we” – rather than your mother being an object that you own.
네 (pronounced 니) / 너의 = Your (informal)
Notice how a lot of these end in -의. When you attach -의 to a noun, it makes it possessive. For example, 언니의 옷 means “my older sister’s clothes.” It may also be translated as “of” (like “the clothes of my older sister”) if that sounds more natural.
But what if you wanted to say something like “her clothes”? You can use the word 자기, which means “oneself” and is often used as a possessive pronoun. Let’s look at this sentence:
언니가 자기 옷을 빌려 줬어요. = My older sister let me borrow her clothes.
However, I would say that I don’t hear 자기 super often (but someone let me know if it’s more common than I think it is!). You could also just say 언니가 옷을 빌려 줬어요, with no possessive pronoun, since it is understood that the clothes that your sister lent are hers.
I think that’s about it for this list! I hope it gave you all a better understanding of how Korean pronouns work – I know they’re quite different from English ones! 다음에 또 봐요!
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