Korean Pronouns — 대명사

First & Second Person 1·2인칭

Korean Pronouns Overview 대명사 개요

Korean has two registers for first-person pronouns: polite and casual. 저 (jeo) is the polite 'I', used with strangers, seniors, and in formal settings. 나 (na) is the casual 'I', used with close friends and younger people. Crucially, Korean very often drops the subject pronoun entirely when context is clear — 어디 가요? can mean 'Where are you going?' without any pronoun at all. Mastering when NOT to use a pronoun is as important as knowing the pronouns themselves.

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Saying 'You' in Korean '당신'과 호칭

Korean avoids the direct pronoun 'you' (당신) in most everyday speech — it can sound cold, confrontational, or overly formal depending on context. Instead, Koreans use the person's name, title, or relationship term. A teacher would be called 선생님 (teacher), not 당신. A friend would be called by name. The pronoun 당신 appears in songs, poetry, and formal writing but is uncommon in daily conversation.

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Third Person & We 3인칭·우리

Third Person & We (그·그녀·우리)

Korean rarely uses he/she pronouns in speech. Instead, Koreans say the person's name or use demonstratives: 그 사람 (that person), 이 사람 (this person). 그 (geu) and 그녀 (geunyeo) do exist — he/she — but they appear mostly in writing and translation. 우리 (uri) means 'we' or 'our'. Interestingly, Koreans use 우리 where English uses 'my': 우리 엄마 (my mom, literally 'our mom') — this reflects a collectivist cultural sense of shared family.

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Demonstratives 지시대명사

Demonstrative Pronouns (이·그·저) 지시대명사 이·그·저

Korean has three levels of demonstratives based on spatial distance. 이 (i) = near the speaker. 그 (geu) = near the listener or previously mentioned. 저 (jeo) = far from both speaker and listener. These attach to 것 (geot, 'thing') to form pronouns: 이것 (this), 그것 (that), 저것 (that over there). In casual speech these are shortened: 이거, 그거, 저거. The same 이/그/저 roots also work with place words: 여기 (here), 거기 (there), 저기 (over there).

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Question Pronouns 의문대명사

Question Pronouns (의문대명사)

Korean question words are placed in the same sentence position as the word they replace — unlike English, which moves 'what' and 'where' to the front. Compare: 영화 봐요? (You watch a movie?) vs 뭐 봐요? (What do you watch?). The question word simply swaps into the original slot. The main question pronouns are: 누구 (who), 무엇/뭐 (what), 어디 (where), 언제 (when), 왜 (why), 어떻게 (how), 얼마 (how much).

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