동사가 맨 뒤로 가요
English lines its words up as Subject-Verb-Object. Korean saves the verb for last — Subject-Object-Verb. Once that clicks, a lot of Korean starts making sense.
영어랑 순서가 달라요
English: I eat pizza. Korean: I pizza eat. Same meaning, different order — the verb always waits until the end.
어순이 바뀌어도, 조사가 알려줘요
The verb always stays at the end, but the words before it can sometimes shuffle — usually to add emphasis or drama. The particle attached to each word travels with it, so you can still tell who's doing what.
Why change the order? Moving "사과를" up front adds a bit of emphasis — like saying "an apple (specifically)." Since the particles (는/를) stay attached to their words, the roles stay clear no matter how the order shifts.
조사, 문장의 이정표
Particles are little tags that stick to a word and say what role it plays in the sentence. English doesn't really have these — Korean leans on them a lot.
| 역할 | 받침 없음 | 받침 있음 | 예시 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 주제 (topic) | 는 | 은 | 저는, 잭슨은 |
| 주어 (subject) | 가 | 이 | 제가, 잭슨이 |
| 목적어 (object) | 를 | 을 | 커피를, 밥을 |
| 장소·시간 (to/at) | 에 | 학교에, 세 시에 | |
| 장소 (at/from) | 에서 | 집에서, 학교에서 | |
| ~도 (also/too) | 도 | 저도, 이것도 | |
는/은 vs 가/이 — what's the difference? Both mark the subject, but they shift the emphasis. 는/은 puts weight on the verb ("what happened"), while 가/이 puts weight on the subject ("who did it"). Don't worry about mastering the nuance yet — just knowing they exist is enough for now.
주어는 생략해도 괜찮아요
If it's clear from context, Korean drops the subject — sometimes even the object too. Fewer words, same meaning.
기본 문장 패턴 4가지
Four building blocks cover most beginner sentences. Mix and match as you learn more words.
문장 뜯어보기
A few full sentences, color-coded by role, so you can see the particles doing their job in context.
~이에요 / ~이 아니에요 · to be / not to be
These two patterns let you say what something is — or isn't.
저는 vs 나는? 저는 is the more polite "I," 나는 is the casual one. When you're starting out, defaulting to 저는 is a safe bet.
QUIZ · 어순 맞히기
Guess the correct SOV order.