Korean Noun Modifiers -는, -(으)ㄴ, -(으)ㄹ: "The Person Who..."
Learn to describe nouns in Korean: 예쁜 꽃, 먹는 사람, 어제 본 영화, 내일 할 일. See which ending to use for adjectives and verbs, and how to say "the person who...".
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The short answer
In Korean, the describing words go before the noun, and the verb or adjective changes its ending. Adjectives take -(으)ㄴ (예쁜 꽃, a pretty flower). Verbs take -는 for now (먹는 사람), -(으)ㄴ for the past (어제 본 영화) and -(으)ㄹ for the future (내일 할 일).
In English, we say “the person who is eating” or “the movie that I saw”. Korean has no word for “who” or “that” here. Instead, the whole description comes first, and a small ending on the verb ties it to the noun. Once you see the pattern, you will spot it in almost every sentence. Tap the chips to see each part.
1. Adjectives: -(으)ㄴ
In Korean, adjectives like “pretty” and “small” work like verbs: they end in 다. To put one in front of a noun, drop 다 and:
- After a vowel, add ㄴ under the last letter: 예쁘다 to 예쁜, 크다 to 큰
- After a consonant, add 은: 작다 to 작은, 좋다 to 좋은
- Stems ending in ㄹ drop it: 길다 to 긴, 멀다 to 먼
- ㅂ irregulars change to 운: 맵다 to 매운, 춥다 to 추운
예쁘 ends in a vowel, so ㄴ joins the last syllable: 예쁜.
2. Verbs happening now: -는
For an action that happens now or regularly, add -는 to the verb stem. It is the same after a vowel or a consonant. Stems ending in ㄹ drop it: 살다 becomes 사는.
살다 drops its ㄹ before 는: 사는.
3. The 있다 / 없다 exception
Words that end in 있다 or 없다 always take -는, even when they mean something like an adjective. This catches almost every learner at first.
- 맛있다 to 맛있는 (delicious), 맛없다 to 맛없는 (not tasty)
- 재미있다 to 재미있는 (fun), 재미없다 to 재미없는 (boring)
- 멋있다 to 멋있는 (cool, stylish)
4. Verbs in the past: -(으)ㄴ
For an action that already happened, verbs use the same ending as adjectives: ㄴ after a vowel, 은 after a consonant.
Inside the description, the person who did the action takes 가 (here 제가), not 는.
만들다 drops its ㄹ: 만든.
5. Verbs in the future: -(으)ㄹ
For something that has not happened yet, add ㄹ after a vowel or 을 after a consonant. It often means “to do” or “to eat”, as in “things to do”.
| Verb | Past (did) | Now (does) | Future (will do) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 보다 (see) | 본 | 보는 | 볼 |
| 하다 (do) | 한 | 하는 | 할 |
| 먹다 (eat) | 먹은 | 먹는 | 먹을 |
| 만들다 (make) | 만든 | 만드는 | 만들 |
| 듣다 (listen) | 들은 | 듣는 | 들을 |
| 있다 (be, have) | 있던 | 있는 | 있을 |
듣다 is irregular: its ㄷ turns into ㄹ before a vowel, so you get 들은 and 들을. For 있다 in the past, Koreans use 있던 (“that used to be there”).
6. Building “the person who...”
Now you can describe anything. Build the little sentence first, change its last verb, and put the noun at the end. Compare these two:
- 저를 도와준 사람: the person who helped me
- 제가 도와준 사람: the person I helped
The verb is the same. Only the particle tells you who did what: 를 marks the object, 가 marks the subject. You can swap 사람 for any noun: 우리가 처음 만난 곳 (the place where we first met), 제가 좋아하는 노래 (a song I like).
Keep going
Song titles and lyrics are packed with these: “the person I love”, “the day we met”, “the words I couldn’t say”. Open a song in Hanbok Lyrics and tap a line to see every ending explained. For the vowel and ㄹ rules behind these endings, see the present tense. The future -(으)ㄹ is also the first half of -(으)ㄹ 거예요 (will) and -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 (can).
Check yourself
Quick check · 1 of 4크다 (big) + 집 (house) = "a big house"
Questions learners ask
How do you say "the person who" in Korean?
Put the whole description before 사람 (person) and change the verb ending. 커피를 마시는 사람 is "the person who is drinking coffee". 어제 만난 사람 is "the person I met yesterday". Korean has no separate word for "who" or "that".
What is the difference between 는, 은 and 을 before a noun?
With verbs, they show time. -는 is now (먹는 음식, food I eat), -(으)ㄴ is past (먹은 음식, food I ate) and -(으)ㄹ is future (먹을 음식, food I will eat). With adjectives, -(으)ㄴ simply describes: 작은 가방 (a small bag).
Why is it 맛있는 and not 맛있은?
맛있다 feels like an adjective, but all words ending in 있다 or 없다 take -는 before a noun: 맛있는, 재미있는, 맛없는, 재미없는.
How do you turn a Korean adjective into a describing word?
Drop 다 and add ㄴ after a vowel or 은 after a consonant: 예쁘다 becomes 예쁜, 크다 becomes 큰, 작다 becomes 작은. Then put it right before the noun: 예쁜 꽃 (a pretty flower).