haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › N(이)란
N(이)란 — N is … · what is N? — defining a word or an idea in general terms
N is … · what is N? — defining a word or an idea in general terms. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4A, lesson 11: 행복이란 무엇일까요 (What is happiness? — defining, conceding and saying what you think).
What it means
N(이)란 introduces a word or an idea so that you can say what it is — like a dictionary, or like someone thinking aloud: 친구란 힘들 때 옆에 있어 주는 사람이에요 'a friend is someone who stays by you when things are hard'. Use 이란 after a 받침 (행복이란, 사랑이란, 인생이란) and 란 after a vowel (친구란, 공부란). The topic marker 은/는 talks about one particular thing — 제 친구는 친절해요 is about one friend — but N(이)란 talks about the thing in general, so the second half is a definition or a general truth, usually ending in N이에요 or -는 거예요 (in writing, -는 것이다: 행복이란 작은 일에 감사하는 것이다). It is the natural way to ask the big question in a discussion — 행복이란 무엇일까요? — and, with 저한테 or 저에게 in front, to give your own definition without claiming it is the only one: 저한테 행복이란 하고 싶은 일을 하는 거예요. Because it sounds thoughtful and a little formal, you will meet it in speeches, essays, quotes and the titles of books and songs. Don't confuse it with (이)야말로 (Lesson 4A-10), which stresses 'this one, above all'.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N(이)란 | 명사 뒤 — 받침 O 이란 · 받침 X 란 | 행복 + 이란 → 행복이란 |
Key points
- N(이)란 = N as a thing in general — what N means, or what it really is: after a 받침 이란 (행복이란 · 사랑이란), after a vowel 란 (친구란 · 공부란). It is about every N, not one particular N: 제 친구는 친절해요 (one friend) ↔ 친구란 … (friends in general).
- The sentence ends with what N is: …(이)에요 · -는 거예요 (in writing -는 것이다). Ask with N(이)란 무엇일까요?, answer for yourself with 저한테 N(이)란 …. It sounds thoughtful — at home in discussions, speeches, essays and quotes.
Examples
- 어떤 말의 뜻, 또는 그 말에 대한 생각을 말할 때 써요: 친구란 힘들 때 옆에 있어 주는 사람이에요.
- 받침 O → 이란: 행복이란 · 사랑이란 · 인생이란. 받침 X → 란: 친구란 · 공부란 · 엄마란.
- 한 사람이 아니라 모든 N에 대한 말이에요: 제 친구는 친절해요. (한 사람) ↔ 친구란 … (모든 친구)
- 끝은 보통 「N이에요 · -는 거예요」, 글에서는 「-는 것이다」: 행복이란 작은 일에 감사하는 것이다.
- 묻기: 행복이란 무엇일까요? · 내 생각: 저한테 행복이란 하고 싶은 일을 하는 거예요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Sogang University Korean 5B, lesson 7; Hongik University Korean 5A, lesson 2; Seoul National University Korean 5A, lesson 5.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-더라도 · N(이)더라도 — even if … — conceding a point and imagining the hardest case
- V-(으)ㄴ 채(로) — with … still on · just as it was — keeping one state while something else happens
- A/V-(으)ㄹ 따름이다 · -(으)ㄹ 뿐이다 — only … · nothing more than … — modest words for speeches, thanks and replies to praise