Korean Sentence Structure: Word Order Made Simple

English relies on word order to show who did what: “the cat chased the dog” and “the dog chased the cat” mean different things. Korean labels each word with a particle instead, then saves the verb for the end. Tap any word below to see its job.

1. The verb goes last

The object particle is 을 after a consonant and 를 after a vowel: 밥을 먹어요 (I eat rice), 커피를 마셔요 (I drink coffee). For the topic particle 은/는 and the subject particle 이/가, see 은/는 vs 이/가.

2. Time and place come early

A comfortable default order is topic, time, place, object, verb. Time takes 에, and the place where something happens takes 에서.

3. The middle can move

Because the particles carry the meaning, you can move words around for emphasis and the sentence still makes sense. Whatever comes first tends to feel like the thing you are talking about.

4. The subject disappears

If everyone knows who you mean, you don’t say it. Questions between friends almost never include “you,” and answers rarely include “I.” In casual speech the particles drop too.

5. Describing words go before the noun

In English, “the book I bought” puts the description after the noun. Korean always puts it before, so the noun lands at the end of the phrase.

6. Questions keep the same order

To ask a question, keep the order, put the question word where the answer will go, and raise your voice at the end. In polite speech the verb ending often stays the same.

Try it on a sentence you saw today

Paste a line from a song, a drama or a text message. Hanbok marks every particle and explains each word.

Break it down

See it in songs

Song lyrics bend these rules for rhythm, which makes them great practice. Open a song in Hanbok Lyrics, tap a line, and look for where the verb landed.