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]

Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in Korean: this, that... [이 / 그 / 저]

In this course: 이 / 그 / 저

Demonstrative adjectives

There are three commonly used demonstrative adjectives in Korean:

• 이 which indicates an object / person close to the speaker
• 그 which indicates an object / person close to the other person or an object / person that was mentioned in the previous sentence
• 저 which indicates an object / person further away from the speaker and the other person

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.

Examples of use and variations

Here are some examples of the use of the demonstrative adjectives 이, 그 and 저.

Standard use

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 사람 (= this person, close to me)
• 그 사람 (= that person, close to you / that person we just talked about)
• 저 사람 (= that person over there)

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.

Attached prefix

This and that in Korean

Adverbs of place: "here" and "there" in Korean

Exercises

You already know some vocabulary and sentence structures… But when you listen to Koreans speak, do you ever feel like something is missing, the meaning behind the words, the cultural nuance that makes the language truly come alive?

That’s completely normal. In Korean, proverbs and idiomatic expressions are essential to understanding how Koreans think and communicate. Without them, you can speak, but your language will feel flat and overly literal.

With 100 Korean Proverbs - Illustrated and Explained, you’ll understand not only what Koreans say, but why they say it, and what each expression reveals about their mindset and culture.

Learn more

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