haru Korean › Grammar › Level 2B › 명사형 -음/-기 + 한자어 접사
명사형 -음/-기 + 한자어 접사 — making nouns with -음 and -기, and Sino-Korean word endings — stretching your vocabulary
Making nouns with -음 and -기, and Sino-Korean word endings — stretching your vocabulary. Korean grammar for upper beginner learners — Level 2B, lesson 11: 무거운 짐, 가벼운 짐 (Heavy load, light load — stretching your vocabulary).
What it means
Korean makes nouns from verbs and adjectives in two ways. -음 (just ㅁ after a vowel) gives a noun for a thing, an act or a feeling: 웃다 → 웃음 'a laugh', 울다 → 울음 'crying', 자다 → 잠 'sleep', 꾸다 → 꿈 'a dream', 기쁘다 → 기쁨 'joy', 슬프다 → 슬픔 'sadness' — and 춤, 그림, 모임 and 느낌, which you already know, are made the same way. Learn these as words: not every verb has one. On notices and in short notes -음 can also end a line: 쓰기 없음 'no writing'. -기 gives the name of an activity: 읽기 'reading', 쓰기 'writing', 듣기 'listening', 말하기 'speaking' — the four skills — and you used it in V-기(가) A (Lesson 2B-4): 살기 좋아요. Sino-Korean words are built from parts in the same way, and the last syllable often tells you what kind of thing a word is: -실 a room (교실, 회의실), -장 a place for doing something (운동장, 주차장), -비 money you spend on something (학비, 식비, 교통비), -료 a fee (입장료, 수수료), -원 a person who works or belongs somewhere (회원, 직원), -점 a shop (서점, 편의점). You met -어 'language' in Lesson 2A-10 (영어, 한국어). So when you see a new word such as 배달비 or 강의실, you can already guess it.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -음 · -ㅁ | 받침 O → 음 · 받침 X → ㅁ (낱말로 외워요) | 웃다 → 웃음 |
| -기 | 하는 일의 이름 — 받침 O · X 모두 | 읽다 + 기 → 읽기 |
Key points
- -음 (after a vowel just ㅁ) makes a noun for a thing or a feeling: 웃음 · 울음 · 잠 · 꿈 · 기쁨 · 슬픔 — learn them as words. -기 makes the name of an activity: 읽기 · 쓰기 · 듣기 · 말하기
- Sino-Korean words are built from parts, and the last part often tells you the meaning: -실 room · -장 place · -비 cost · -료 fee · -원 person · -점 shop
Examples
- 웃다 → 웃음. 울다 → 울음. (받침 O → 음)
- 자다 → 잠. 꾸다 → 꿈. 기쁘다 → 기쁨. 슬프다 → 슬픔. (받침 X → ㅁ)
- 읽다 → 읽기. 쓰다 → 쓰기. 듣다 → 듣기. 말하다 → 말하기.
- 교실 · 회의실 (-실) 운동장 · 주차장 (-장) 학비 · 식비 (-비)
- 입장료 (-료) 회원 · 직원 (-원) 서점 · 편의점 (-점)
Also in this lesson
- ㅎ 불규칙 — ㅎ adjectives — the colours, 그렇다 and 어떻다
- V-는 동안(에) — while … — one thing happens during another
- A/V-(으)ㄹ까 봐(요) — in case … · I'm worried that … — doing something because of a worry