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Grammar / Level 1 / Lesson 12

의, 도, 만 and 들: 's, also, only and plurals

By Daniel Buckley · 10 minute read · TOPIK 1

Vocabulary

  1. 제 - my (humble)
  2. 내 - my (plain)
  3. 우리 - we, our
  4. 엄마 - mum
  5. 물 - water
  6. 하나 - one
  7. 조금 - a little
  8. 수도 - capital city
  9. 아이 - child
  10. 야채 - vegetables

저도 is "me too". 물만 is "only water". 친구들 is "friends". Each is one noun with one small piece on the end.

These four sit on a noun the way the particles from lesson 3 do. What's new is how they get along with the others. 도 pushes out 은/는, 이/가 and 을/를, and 만 usually does too. 들 goes on first, and 의 often isn't said at all.

의: joining two nouns

의 joins two nouns, and the first one owns or describes the second. The order is the same as English 's, so 친구의 가방 is "friend's bag".

In speech people mostly leave it out. Two nouns side by side are enough, and 친구 가방 is what you'd normally say. You keep 의 when the link is more abstract or the tone more written, as in 한국의 수도 or 오늘의 날씨.

Using 의

  • Noun + 의 + noun.친구 + 가방 → 친구의 가방
  • In everyday speech, drop it.친구 가방선생님 이름

  1. 친구의 가방이에요.

    (It) is friend's bag.

  2. 선생님 이름이 어려워요.

    Teacher's name is difficult.

  3. 한국의 수도는 서울이에요.

    Korea's capital is Seoul.

  4. 오늘의 날씨입니다.

    (This) is today's weather.

※ As a particle, 의 is usually pronounced 에 rather than 의. Both are correct, and 에 is what you'll hear.

제, 내 and 우리: my and our

The words for I fuse with 의. 저의 becomes 제, and 나의 becomes 내. These are the forms to use: 제 친구 is ordinary Korean, and 저의 친구 is correct but sounds stiff.

너의 becomes 네, "your", but 네 and 내 sound the same in most people's speech. So in casual talk you'll usually hear 니 instead, even though it isn't the standard spelling.

Words that fuse with 의

  • 저 (humble): goes with 요 and 습니다.저의 → 제
  • 나 (plain): goes with 반말.나의 → 내
  • 너 (you, plain): only for 반말.너의 → 네

Korean often says "our" where English says "my". Family, home and country feel shared, so 우리 엄마 is "my mum", even from an only child. 우리 집 is "my place" whether or not anyone lives there with you. In polite speech you'll also hear the humble form, 저희 집.

  1. 제 친구예요.

    (This) is my friend.

  2. 제 이름은 민수예요.

    My name is Minsu.

  3. 내 가방이야.

    (It) is my bag.

  4. 우리 엄마는 의사예요.

    Our mum is doctor. (English: My mum.)

  5. 우리 집은 작아요.

    Our house is small. (English: My place.)

도: also

도 marks a noun as one more case of something already true. It takes the place of 은/는, 이/가 and 을/를, so those drop away. With a negative, English switches from "too" to "either", but Korean keeps 도.

도 replaces

  • 은/는, 이/가, 을/를: gone.저는 → 저도친구가 → 친구도커피를 → 커피도
  • Other particles: stay, and 도 goes after them. You'll see this in lesson 13.집에 → 집에도

  1. 저도 학생이에요.

    I too am student.

  2. 친구도 왔어요.

    Friend too came.

  3. 오늘도 추워요.

    Today too (it) is cold.

  4. 저도 안 먹어요.

    I too do not eat.

도 sticks to the word it's about, so moving it changes the meaning. And when the rest of the sentence is obvious, 저도 plus 요 is a full reply: 저도요, me too.

  1. 저도 커피를 마셔요.

    I too drink coffee. (Someone else drinks it, and so do I.)

  2. 저는 커피도 마셔요.

    I drink coffee too. (As well as other things.)

만: only

만 fences off one noun and leaves out everything else. It takes the same spot as 도, usually replaces the same particles, and goes after other particles too. Those particles can come back after 만 for emphasis, as in 너만을, only you, but you won't need that yet.

만 replaces

  • 이/가 and 을/를: usually gone.친구가 → 친구만커피를 → 커피만
  • 은/는: usually gone too.저는 → 저만

  1. 저는 물만 마셔요.

    I drink only water.

  2. 오늘은 저만 왔어요.

    Today only I came.

  3. 하나만 샀어요.

    (I) bought only one.

  4. 조금만 먹었어요.

    (I) ate only a little.

만 also softens a request. 하나만 주세요 and 조금만 주세요 ask for just one or just a little, and you'll use them in shops long before lesson 27 explains 세요.

※ Korean has a second word for "only", 밖에, which needs a negative verb. That's lesson 51.

Fill each gap.

  1. 저는 커피___ 마셔요. 물은 안 마셔요.

    I only drink coffee. I don't drink water.

  2. 민수 씨가 왔어요. 지연 씨___ 왔어요.

    Minsu came. Jiyeon came too.

  3. 오늘은 저___ 일해요.

    I'm the only one working today.

  4. 배고파요. 저___요.

    I'm hungry. Me too.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

들: more than one

Korean nouns don't need a plural. 사람 can be one person or fifty, and context usually settles it. 들 is there for when you want to make the group explicit, and it's mostly used on people.

Leave it off when a number already does the job: 학생 세 명 is three students. 들 comes straight after the noun, before any particle, so it's 친구들이, 친구들을, 친구들도 and 친구들만.

  1. 친구들이 왔어요.

    Friends came.

  2. 학생들은 바빠요.

    Students are busy.

  3. 아이들이 귀여워요.

    Children are cute.

  4. 제 친구들도 왔어요.

    My friends too came.

※ On things 들 is rare. 사과들 isn't wrong, but plain 사과 is what you'd normally say, however many apples there are.

A

제 친구들은 고기를 안 먹어요.

My friends do not eat meat.

B

저도요. 저는 야채만 먹어요.

Me too. I eat only vegetables.

A

생선도 안 먹어요?

Fish too do not eat?

B

네, 생선도 안 먹어요.

Right, fish too do not eat.

Common mistakes

  1. 저는 커피를도 마셔요.

    저는 커피도 마셔요.

    도 replaces 을/를. It doesn't stack on top of it.

  2. 제의 친구예요.

    제 친구예요.

    제 is already 저 plus 의.

  3. 학생 세 명들이 왔어요.

    학생 세 명이 왔어요.

    The number already says there's more than one.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

___ 학생이에요. (저) I'm a student too.

도 replaces 는.

Summary

Four small pieces

  • 의: joins two nouns, and speech usually drops it.친구의 가방제 친구우리 엄마
  • 도: also. Replaces 은/는, 이/가 and 을/를.저도커피도
  • 만: only. Usually replaces the same three.저만물만
  • 들: plural, optional, before any particle.친구들이친구들도

Now you can say

  1. 저도요.

    Me too.

  2. 저는 물만 마셔요.

    I drink only water.

  3. 제 친구들이 왔어요.

    My friends came.

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