haru Korean › Grammar › Level 2B › N처럼 · N같이
N처럼 · N같이 — like N — comparing someone with someone else
Like N — comparing someone with someone else. Korean grammar for upper beginner learners — Level 2B, lesson 3: 저는 좀 조용한 편이에요 (I'm the quiet type — looks and personality).
What it means
처럼 and 같이 mean 'like, as … as': they compare a person or a thing with someone or something everybody knows. Add them straight to the noun — 받침 does not matter and nothing changes: 가수처럼, 배우처럼, 가족같이, 인형같이. Here 처럼 and 같이 mean the same; 처럼 is a little more common, and 같이 is pronounced [가치]. After them, say what is the same: 유나 씨는 가수처럼 노래를 잘해요 'Yuna sings well, like a singer'; 민수 씨는 모델처럼 키가 커요 'Minsu is as tall as a model'. Be careful with 같이 'together' from Level 1A: 친구하고 같이 가요 'I go with a friend' (with 하고, written apart), but 친구같이 다정해요 'he is as warm as a friend' (no 하고, written together). You can join it with the first grammar point: 배우처럼 멋있어 보여요 'he looks as cool as a film star'. The tense goes on the last verb: 어릴 때 가수처럼 노래를 잘했어요.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N처럼 | 명사 — 받침 O · 받침 X 모두 | 가수 + 처럼 → 가수처럼 |
| N같이 | 명사 — 받침 O · 받침 X 모두 · 소리 [가치] | 가족 + 같이 → 가족같이 |
Key points
- N처럼 = N같이 = like N: add it straight to the noun, with or without 받침 — 가수처럼 · 가족같이 (같이 sounds [가치])
- Then say what is the same: 가수처럼 노래를 잘해요. Don't mix it up with N하고 같이 'together with' (Level 1A): 친구하고 같이 가요 ↔ 친구같이 다정해요.
Examples
- 가수 → 가수처럼. 배우 → 배우처럼. 한국 사람 → 한국 사람처럼.
- 가족 → 가족같이. 친구 → 친구같이. (같이 = [가치])
- 유나 씨는 가수처럼 노래를 잘해요.
- 친구하고 같이 가요. ↔ 친구같이 다정해요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 2B, lesson 12; Ewha Womans University Korean 2-2, lesson 8; Yonsei University Korean 4-1, lesson 3; Hongik University Korean 2A, lesson 1; Hanyang University Korean 2-1, lesson 5.
Also in this lesson
- A-아/어 보이다 — look …, seem … — saying how something looks to you
- A-(으)ㄴ 편이다 · V-는 편이다 — rather …, on the … side — describing yourself and others softly
- A-게 — …ly, in a … way — saying how you do something