Learn Korean (TTMIK)

Lesson 5

After studying with this lesson, you will be able to say things like “A is B (noun).” or “I am

ABC (noun).” in polite/formal Korean.

i-e-yo / ye-yo

i-e-yo and ye-yo have a similar role to that of the English verb “to be”. The fundamental

difference, however, is the sentence structure that they are used in.

English sentence structure:

 ABC + [be] + DEF.

 ** DEF is a noun here.

Ex)

 ABC is DEF.

 I am ABC.

 You are XYZ.

Korean sentence structure:

 ABC + DEF + [be]

 ** DEF is a noun here.

Ex)

i-geo ABC-ye-yo = This is ABC.

In English, the verb “to be” is changed to “am” “are” or “is” depending on the subject of the

sentence, but in Korean, you decide whether to use i-e-yo or ye-yo depending

on whether the last letter in the previous word ended in a consonant or a vowel. I-e-yo and ye-yo are very similar and also sound similar so it is not such a big problem if you mix up these two, but it is better to know the correct forms.

When you want to say that ABC “is” DEF in Korean, if the word for “DEF” has a final consonant

in the last letter, you add i-e-yo, but if it doesn’t have a final consonant and ends in a vowel, you add ye-yo. This is just to make the pronounciation of the connected part easier, so it will come naturally if you practice with some sample sentences.

Final consonant + i-e-yo

No final consonant (Only vowel) + ye-yo

Sample sentences

mul + i-e-yo = (It’s) water.

ga-bang + i-e-yo = (It’s) a bag.

sa-mu-sil + i-e-yo = (It’s) an office.

hak-gyo + ye-yo = (It’s) a school.

jeo + ye-yo = (It’s) me.

As you can see from the examples above, in Korean, you don’t have to use articles like “a/an”

or “the” as in English. So when you look up a noun in your Korean dictionary, you can add i-e-yo

 or ye-yo and then it means “It is ABC.” “That is DEF.” “I am XYZ.”

You can also make this a question simply by raising the tone at the end of the sentence.

mul-i-e-yo = It’s water.

mul-i-e-yo? = Is that water? Is this water?

hak-gyo-ye-yo = It’s a school.

hak-gyo-ye-yo = Is it a school? Are you at school now?

mwo = what

mwo-ye-yo? = What is it? What’s that?