Language/Korean/Grammar/Comparatives-and-Superlatives
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◀️ Describing Things — Previous Lesson | Next Lesson — Food and Ingredients ▶️ |
Comparatives and superlatives are essential in describing people and things in more detail and with more complexity. In this lesson, I will teach you how to compare two or more things using comparatives and superlatives in Korean.
Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Connecting Verbs & Describing People.
Comparatives[edit | edit source]
Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns (people, things, or ideas) or two groups of nouns. In Korean, comparative adjectives can be formed in two ways:
1. When the stem ends with a vowel or ㄹ, add -보다 (-boda) to the end of the stem. For example:
Korean | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
작다 | jakda | small |
크다 | keuda | big |
예쁘다 | yeppeuda | pretty |
Examples:
- 제임스는 미리보다 작아요. (James-neun miri-boda jakayo) - James is smaller than Miri.
- 소녀는 소년보다 예쁘다. (Sonyeo-neun sonyeon-boda yeppeuda) - The girl is prettier than the boy.
- 선생님은 학생들보다 똑똑하다. (Seonsaengnim-eun haksaeng-deul-boda ttokttokhada) - The teacher is smarter than the students.
2. When the stem ends with a consonant (except ㄹ), replace the final consonant with -ㄴ/은 (-n/eun) and add -보다 (-boda) to the end of the stem. For example:
Korean | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
좋다 | jota | good |
싸다 | ssada | cheap |
빠르다 | bbareuda | fast |
Examples:
- 이 책은 그 책보다 더 좋아요. (I chaekeun geu chaek-boda deo johayo) - This book is better than that book.
- 그 신발은 이 신발보다 더 싸요. (Geu shinbareun i shinbal-boda deo ssayo) - Those shoes are cheaper than these shoes.
- 미국은 한국보다 더 크다. (Miguk-eun Hanguk-boda deo keuda) - The United States is bigger than Korea.
Superlatives[edit | edit source]
Superlative adjectives are used to compare one noun with all the other nouns in the same group. In Korean, superlative adjectives can be formed in two ways:
1. Add -중에서 가장 (-jung-eseo gajang) to the end of the stem. For example:
Korean | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
가장 좋다 | gajang jota | the best |
가장 싸다 | gajang ssada | the cheapest |
가장 예쁘다 | gajang yeppeuda | the prettiest |
Examples:
- 이렇게 맛있는 음식은 내가 먹어본 음식 중에서 가장 좋아요. (Ireohge masinneun eumsik-eun naega meog-eobon eumsik jung-eseo gajang johayo) - This delicious food is the best food I've ever eaten.
- 그 옷은 이 쇼핑몰에서 팔고 있는 옷 중에서 가장 싸요. (Geu oseun i syopingmol-eseo palgo issneun ot jung-eseo gajang ssayo) - That clothes is the cheapest among the ones sold in this shopping mall.
- 나는 우리 반에서 가장 예쁜 여자라고 생각해요. (Naneun uri ban-eseo gajang yeppeun yeojara-go saenggakhaeyo) - I think I am the prettiest girl in our class.
2. Replace the final consonant with -ㄴ/은 (-n/eun) and add -중에서 가장 (-jung-eseo gajang) to the end of the stem. For example:
Korean | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
바쁘다 | bappeuda | busy |
빨리 | ppalli | fast |
높다 | nopda | high |
Examples:
- 이 시간대에 바쁜 회사 중에서 우리 회사가 가장 바쁘다. (I sigandaee bappeun hoesa jung-eseo uri hoesaga gajang bappeuda) - Among the busy companies at this hour, our company is the busiest.
- 이 비행기는 이 공항에서 출발하는 비행기 중에서 가장 빨리 도착해요. (I bihaenggi-neun i gonghang-eseo chulbalhaneun bihaenggi jung-eseo gajang ppalli dochakhaeyo) - This
Videos[edit | edit source]
Learn Korean Ep. 101: More Than & Less Than (Comparatives ...[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Gender
- Past Tense
- Nouns
- Question Words
- Reading and writing Korean Alphabets
- Conjunctions
- How to Use Have
- Describing People
- Conditional Sentences
- Conditional Mood
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Lesson 19: Korean Comparatives and Superlatives: 더, 보다, 가장/제일
- Korean/Comparatives and superlatives - Wikibooks, open books for ...
- Comparatives & Superlatives | Learn Korean
◀️ Describing Things — Previous Lesson | Next Lesson — Food and Ingredients ▶️ |