Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 4 - Intermediate Korean #1 (Lessons 91 to 120) ᚛ Lesson 118 - The particle of abundance in Korean [(이)나]
The particle of abundance in Korean [(이)나]
In a previous lesson, we saw the particle (이)나 to express a choice between several nouns.
Here, we are going to see that (이)나 can be used with numerical values to convey a feeling of abundance.
Abundance with (이)나
When the particle
(이)나 is attached to a numerical value, it indicates that the value is high compared to the average or compared to what is considered normal, in a subjective way. It allows one to insist on the fact that the value is unusually high, in a positive as well as a negative way, and is used as follows:
[Value](이)나
- If the value ends with a vowel: [Value]나
- If the value ends with a consonant: [Value]이나
The particle (이)나 is very often used with numerical classifiers (counters).
In English, the particle (이)나 is difficult to translate. Indeed, this particle is more a matter of subjective interpretation to insist on a quantity than of a real meaning. The closest equivalents would be "as many as", "as much as" or "a whole...".
달걀을 다섯 개나 먹었니?
→ You ate five eggs? (That’s a lot!)
길이 막혀서 2시간이나 더 걸렸어요.
→ Because of the traffic jam, it took 2 more hours (that’s a lot).
지갑이 100만원이나 해요? 비싸네요.
→ The wallet costs as much as 1 million won? That’s expensive!
올해 벌써 반이나 지났네.
→ Oh, half of this year has already gone by.
벌써 1000만원이나 모았어요? 대단하네요.
→ You’ve already saved up 10 million won? That’s amazing!
많이 먹어서 5킬로그램이나 쪘어.
→ I gained a whole 5 kilograms because I ate too much.
일반 열차를 타면 5시간이나 걸려요. 고속 열차를 탑시다.
→ If we take the regular train, it takes as long as 5 hours. Let’s take the express train.
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