Pronouns

In Korean, language expression varies based on the age, position, or relationship between the listener and speaker, and this rule applies to personal pronouns too. Use the informal(casual) form when speaking with close friends or younger people, and the polite(honorific) form when addressing adults or people you've just met.

• We do have pronouns for '(polite)you(당신), he(그), she(그녀), and they(그들)', but these words are typically found only in books or novels. Instead, in real conversations, Koreans refer to people by their names or by terms that indicate the person's role or relationship, as shown in the examples below.

by name +씨/님	by age	by job
수지 씨 수지 님	오빠 (older man for woman) 형 (older man than man) 언니 (older woman than woman) 누나 (older woman than man) 아주머니(middle-aged woman) 아저씨(middle-aged man) 할아버지(grandfather, old man) 할머니(grandmother, old woman)	선생님(teacher) 사장님(boss, owner) 학생(student)

'(name) 씨' is similar to Mr/Miss in English, but it's not a very formal expression. It's used to respectfully address someone who is not very close to you, such as a casual friend, colleague, or someone around your age. On the other hand, '(name) 님' is a more polite and formal expression.

Possessive

1. -의 + belongings

’의' is a marker that indicates possession.

선생님의 컴퓨터.

Teacher’s computer.

엄마의 아이패드.

Mom’s iPad.

저의 커피. (= 제 커피)

[polite] My coffee.

→ '저의' is correct, but when speaking, it's usually shortened to '제' for simplicity.

나의 커피. (=내 커피)

[informal] My coffee.

너의 커피. (=네 커피)

[informal] Your coffee.

→ Since '네' sounds similar to '내', it's commonly written or pronounced as '니' in informal speech. (ex. 니 커피)

• However, the possessive marker ‘의’ is often omitted. If we were to summarize possessive pronouns in a table, it would look like this:

	informal I	polite I	informal You	informal You
single	내	제	네(니)	X
plural	우리	저희	너희	X

• Please note that the plural words '우리' or '저희' are also used to indicate something related to family or country, even though these are expressed as "my"(singular) in English. This reflects Korea's community-centered cultural tradition.

저희 집(우리 집). My house.

저희 엄마(우리 엄마). My mom.

우리나라. My country.

2. -의 것

To express possessive pronouns like mine or yours, add -것 to the end of a possessive expression. The term -것 means thing. (The word ‘-것’ cannot stand alone. It must always be attached to a word or used with a modifier.)

선생님의 것.

Teacher’s.

엄마의 것.

Mom’s.

제 것.

[polite] Mine.

내 것

[informal] Mine.

네 것

[informal] Yours.

• The possessive marker ‘의’ is often omitted, and ‘것’ is commonly pronounced as ‘꺼’ in casual speech. So, just adding ‘-꺼’ to a noun is enough.

선생님 꺼. Teacher’s.

엄마 꺼. Mom’s.

제 꺼. Mine.

내 꺼. Mine.