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You can already build sentences. Now you meet the part of Korean that no textbook translation survives: the little words that get attached to nouns.

English marks roles with word order — the dog bit the man is not the man bit the dog. Korean marks them with particles, so the order can move and the meaning stays.

Korean	Sound	Meaning
개가 사람을 물었어요	gaega sarameul mureosseoyo	The dog bit the man
사람을 개가 물었어요	sarameul gaega mureosseoyo	The dog bit the man

Same words, same meaning

1 · Which form goes on which word

Each particle has two shapes, and the final consonant decides. You already know how to tell: look at the bottom of the last block.

After a consonant	After a vowel	Role
은	는	topic — what this is about
이	가	subject — who or what does it
을	를	object — what it is done to

Consonant ending, vowel ending

Noun	Ends in	Topic	Subject
사람	ㅁ	사람은	사람이
친구	ㅜ	친구는	친구가
이름	ㅁ	이름은	이름이
나무	ㅜ	나무는	나무가

The same noun, both ways

2 · The difference nobody explains

은/는 puts the noun up as the theme: "as for this…". It often carries a quiet comparison with something else.

이/가 points at the noun as the one doing it, and it is what you use when the information is new, or when you are answering "who?".

Question	Answer	Why that one
누가 왔어요?	지훈이 왔어요	who came — new information
지훈 씨는요?	지훈은 집에 있어요	as for Jihoon — already the theme

Two answers, two particles

Listen for the switch

A

친구가 왔어요

chinguga wasseoyoA friend cameNew — 가 introduces them.

B

그 친구는 어디 있어요?

geu chinguneun eodi isseoyo?Where is that friend?Now we are both talking about them — 는.

A

친구는 지금 밖에 있어요

chinguneun jigeum bakke isseoyoThe friend is outside nowStill the theme.

Say this conversation out loud

Day 1 words

친구

chingufriend

noun

누가

nugawho (as the doer)

pronoun

제가

jegaI (polite, as the doer)

pronoun

집

jiphouse, home

noun

왔어요

wasseoyocame

verb

Attach the topic particle to 사람.

“sarameun”

Attach the subject particle to 친구.

“chinguga”

Answer "누가 왔어요?" with "Jihoon came."

“jihuni wasseoyo”

Twenty short notes on where beginners get stuckThe particle notes go one layer deeper than this lesson, with more examples.

Before the quiz

I can pick the right shape by looking at the final consonant.
I know which particle introduces something new.
I know which particle means "as for".
I know what 제가 is made of.