Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 1 - My First Steps in Korean (Lessons 1 to 30) ᚛ Lesson 28 - Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in Korean: this, that... [이 / 그 / 저]
There are three commonly used demonstrative adjectives in Korean:
이 가방은 예뻐요.
→ This bag (this one, next to me) is pretty.
그 사람은 이상해.
→ That person (that one, next to you) is weird.
→ That person (the one we just talked about) is weird.
저 건물은 매우 커요.
→ That building (over there, far away) is very tall.
Here are some examples of the use of the demonstrative adjectives 이, 그 and 저.
In general, the demonstrative adjectives 이, 그 and 저 are placed before the noun they refer to, with a space.
For example, when talking about people (사람 in Korean), the use of demonstrative adjectives is normally:
이 사진은 소중해.
→ This photo (near me) is precious.
그 아파트는 새 건물이야.
→ That building (which we just talked about) is a new building.
저 캐릭터는 귀여워요.
→ That person (over there) is cute.
이 친구의 이름은 지민이야.
→ The name of this friend (near me) is Jimin.
Note: although in English the wording may seem risky, it is common in Korean to refer to the friend we are talking about as "this" friend, even if he is present next to us.