what is the meaning of 의?
Definition of Korean grammar 의
Basic Korean grammar 의 communicates the possessive relationship of the thing being the owner of the subsequent thing. It can be used as for, own, of in English. This is 의 뜻 in English. 의 shows the relation between two nouns.
It tends to be articulated as either (의) or 에. The particle 의 is mostly discarded in everyday discourse.
When pronouns like나, 저 and 너 combined with 의 they become 나- 나의 = 내，저 – 저의 = 제 and 너 – 너의 =네. In a sentence, 의 is set between the owner or possessor and the ownership or possessions.
Pronunciation of 의
Many students are confused about How to pronounce vowel 의? There are some rules to pronounce it. Now let’s learn how 의 sound like in different circumstances?
1. When vowel ‘의’ is placed on the first syllable of a word, it is pronounced as (EUI). when it’s at the beginning of the word, it’s pronounced as 의 /ui. Let’s see some examples-
- 의자 (means chair) – EUIJA
- 의학 (means medicine or medical science) – EUIHAK
- 의사 (means Doctor) – EUISA
- 의도 (means intention or purpose) – EUIDO
- 의미 (means meaning) – EUIMI
- 의견 (means opinion) – EUIGYEN
- 의원 (means clinic or member of parliament) – EUIWON
- 의심 (means doubt or suspicion) – EUISIM
- 의지력 (means willpower) – EUIJIRYAK
- 2. When vowel ‘의’ is placed on the second or the latter syllable, it is pronounced as (i or ee)
- 거의 – pronounced as 거이
- 문의 – pronounced as무니
- 여의도 – pronounced as 여이도
- 부주의 – pronounced as 부주이
- 탈의실 – pronounced as 타리실
- 고의로 – pronounced as고이로
- 한의원 – pronounced as 하니원
3. When ‘의’ vowel is located as postposition it is pronounced as (E)
- 친구의 친구에 (ㅡ means of a friend)
- 일반 개업의 – pronounced as 일반 개어베 (ㅡ means of a general practitioner)
- 서울의 – pronounced as 서우레
- 전문의 – pronounced as 전무네 (ㅡ means of specialist)
- 한국의 – pronounced as 한구게
- 4. When vowel ‘의’ is combined with consonants, it is pronounced as (i)
- 희망 – pronounced as 히망
- 무늬 – pronounced as 무니
- 띄어 읽기 – pronounced as 띠어 일끼
- 씌우세요 – pronounced as 씨우세요
How to use Korean grammar 의?
In daily life, when Korean people refer to some kind of gathering or group with which one is related (home, family, organization, nation, or school), they normally use pronouns 우리/저희 instead of 나.
Likewise, Korean use 우리 instead of 제 and 내 when alluding to one’s family members. But for 동생, 내 동생 and 제 동생 are used frequently than 우리 동생 (our brother, sibling/sister).
When demonstrating appreciation to the audience or listener, 저희，the humble from of 우리 is utilized. For example 저희 할머니 and 저희 할아버지. But when speaking about one’s country, just 우리 나라 is used, not 저희 나라 is not used. Let’s see some examples.
- 내 가족 (my family) = 우리 가족(my/our family)
- 내 어머니(my mother) = 우리 어머니 (my/our mother)
- 제 아버지 (my father) = 우리 아버지(my/our father)
- 제 누나 (my big sister) = 우리 누나 (my big sister)
- 제 남편 (my husband) = 우리 남편 (my husband)
- 제 아내 (my wife) = 우리 아내 (my wife)
- 제 아들 (my son) = 우리 아들 (my/our son)
- 제 딸 (my daughter) = 우리 딸 (my/our daughter)
- 제 나라 (my country) = 우리나라 (my/our country)
- 내 회사 (my company) = 우리 회사 (my/our company)
- 제 회사 (my company) = 우리 회사(my/our company)
- 제 대학교 (my university) = 우리 대학교 (my/our university)
Korean phrases
Naun: 이름이 뭐에요? What’s your name?
Jinu: 제 이름은 진우예요. My name is Jinu.
Jinu: 이것은 누구의 가방입니까? Whose bag is this?
Kyangju: 나은 씨의 우산입니다. It’s Naun’s umbrella.
Jinu: 그 분은 누구예요? Who is that person?
Naun: 경주 씨의 어머니예요. (She’s) kyangju’s mother.
나의 차, 내 차 =my car.
너의 차, 네 차 / 니 차 = your car.
그의 차, 그녀의 차= his car, her car.
