Particles 은/는 and 이/가

What You Will Learn in This Unit

You will learn the particles 은/는 and 이/가, which attach after a noun to show the role that noun plays in a sentence. You will decide whether to use 은 or 이, or 는 or 가, according to whether the last syllable of the noun has a final consonant. Even for the same noun, 은/는 marks the topic and contrast, while 이/가 marks new information and the subject. You will also learn the forms that 저 and 나 take when they combine with particles.

Forms According to the Final Consonant

은/는 and 이/가 form pairs depending on whether the last syllable of the preceding noun has a final consonant (받침). If it has one, attach 은 or 이. If it does not, attach 는 or 가. Particles are written attached to the preceding noun. When the final consonant of the preceding noun changes the sound of the particle, the actual pronunciation is written in square brackets.

A noun ending in a final consonant takes 은 or 이, and a noun without one takes 는 or 가. This rule is the same whether the noun has one syllable or several. Before deciding which particle follows a noun, check the final consonant first, before thinking about meaning.

은/는 Marks Topic and Contrast

은/는 marks the topic, the thing the sentence is about. Use 은/는 when the listener already knows the referent, or when you bring back into focus something already mentioned in the previous sentence. When you compare two things, attach 은/는 to each of them to mark contrast. For example, if you compare a bag and a book and say 가방은 책이 아니에요 — The bag is not a book, the bag is the topic and is distinguished from the book.

이/가 Marks New Information and the Subject

이/가 marks what the sentence newly reports, especially what something is or who someone is. When you answer a question asking who someone is, the subject of the answer takes 이/가. In other words, the target of the question is presented with 이/가 in the answer. To a question asking what is a fruit, you also answer with 이/가, as in 사과가 과일이에요 — An apple is a fruit. Learning question and answer pairs together makes the role of 이/가 clear.