Have you ever wondered how to express a possessive form of a noun in the Korean language? This post is about the function of “-의” in Korean.

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In the English language, adding an “apostrophe + s” or “apostrophe” to a 명사 (noun) is one of the frequently used ways to indicate 관계 (relation) or 소유 (ownership)   of something or someone.

ex)    Madison’s computer

  Today’s menu

  Students’ duties

In the Korean language, this Korean particle “-의” is frequently used to mark the 소유격형태 (possessive form) of a noun. When you need to indicate a  소유 관계 (possessive relationship) between two nouns, you can simply add “-의” as a 접미사 (suffix) of the first noun in Korean.

Noun+의   Noun

ex)      Madison’s computer  매디슨의 컴퓨터

            Today’s menu             오늘의 메뉴

    Students’ duties         학생의 의무

“-의”  also used with  대명사 (pronouns) such as 나 (I) and 너 (you)in Korean.

ex)      나의 집 (my  house) – casual

   너의 학교 (your  school) – casual

   저의 가족 (my family) – honorific

However, in spoken Korean, “these pronouns + 의” are frequently simplified as follows:

   내 (나 + 의)  집 (my house) – casual

   네 (너 + 의)  학교  (your school) – casual

    * “네” is usually pronounced as “니”

    제 (저 + 의) 가족(my family) – honorific

Korean learners occasionally express that “-의” is difficult to pronounce. Here is a useful tip for you to remember. Although this possessive particle is spelled as “-의”, it is commonly pronounced as “–에” except for news anchors’ speech or more formal occasions.

감사합니다! (Thank you!)

***Related Vocabulary***

1. 명사 (noun)
2. 관계 (relation)
3. 소유 (ownership)
4. 소유격형태 (possessive form)
5. 소유 관계 (possessive relationship)
6. 접미사 (suffix)
7. 매디슨의 컴퓨터  (Madison’s computer)                  
8. 오늘의 메뉴     (Today’s menu)
9. 학생의 의무     (Students’ duties)
10. 나의 집  (my house) – casual
11. 너의 학교  (your school) – casual
12. 저의 가족  (my family) – honorific
13. 내  (나 + 의) 집  (my house) – casual
14. 네(너+ 의) 학교  (your school) – casual
15. 제(저+ 의) 가족 (my family) – honorific