haru Korean › Grammar › Level 1A › N은/는
N은/는 — the topic marker 은/는 — 'as for me …'
The topic marker 은/는 — 'as for me …'. Korean grammar for beginner learners — Level 1A, lesson 3: 저는 학생이에요 (I am a student — who you are, where you are from).
What it means
은/는 marks the topic — what the sentence is about — and starts almost every self-introduction: 저는 … 'as for me, …'. After a consonant 은, after a vowel 는 (the same 받침 check as 이에요/예요). 씨 ends in a vowel, so a name with 씨 always takes 는: 마크 씨는. When you introduce two people in a row, both take 은/는 and the second sentence reads as a contrast: I am a student; Mark is an office worker.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N은 | 받침 O | 선생님 + 은 → 선생님은 |
| N는 | 받침 X | 저 + 는 → 저는 |
Key points
- N은/는 — 은 after a consonant, 는 after a vowel
- 저는 N이에요 · ___ 씨는 N이에요 — two people in a row
Examples
- 저는 학생이에요. 선생님은 한국 사람이에요.
- 받침 O → 은 (선생님은 · 학생은). 받침 X → 는 (저는 · 유나는).
- 씨 → 는 (마크 씨는 · 유나 씨는 · 민수 씨는).
- 저는 학생이에요. 마크 씨는 회사원이에요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 1A, lesson 1; Yonsei University Korean 1-1, lesson 1; Ewha Womans University Korean 1-1, lesson 2; Hongik University Korean 1A, lesson 2.