haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4B › N(으)로서
N(으)로서 — as … — speaking or acting in a role, a status or a qualification
As … — speaking or acting in a role, a status or a qualification. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4B, lesson 10: 졸업하면 무엇을 할까 (What next after graduation? — qualifications, examples and formal causes).
What it means
N(으)로서 marks the role, status or qualification in which someone speaks or acts — 'as': 선배로서 한마디 할게 'as your senior, let me say one thing'. After a noun with 받침 use 으로서 (학생으로서, 신입 사원으로서, 외국인으로서); after a vowel or ㄹ use 로서 (친구로서, 선배로서, 딸로서). The noun is almost always a person or a position — a student, a new employee, a class teacher, a friend, a daughter — so it is a natural fit for cover letters, interviews and speeches: 유학생으로서 두 나라 사이에서 일하고 싶습니다 'as an international student, I want to work between two countries'. Don't confuse it with N(으)로써 (Lesson 4B-1), which marks a means or a tool: 대화로써 문제를 풀었다 'they solved it through dialogue'. A quick test: if you could say 'being a …', use 로서; if you could say 'by using …', use 로써. Both sound formal; in everyday speech people often drop 서 and say just (으)로 (선배로 한마디 할게), and the listener works out the meaning. The fixed phrase 저로서는 means 'as far as I'm concerned, from where I stand' — a polite way to give a personal view: 저로서는 잘 모르겠습니다. As a particle it never changes; the tense goes on the verb at the end of the sentence.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N(으)로서 | 받침 O → 으로서 · 받침 X · ㄹ 받침 → 로서 (사람 · 자격 · 신분을 나타내는 명사) | 학생 + 으로서 → 학생으로서 |
Key points
- N(으)로서 = as (a role, a status, a qualification): 받침 O → 으로서 (학생으로서 · 신입 사원으로서), 받침 X and ㄹ 받침 → 로서 (친구로서 · 선배로서 · 딸로서). It goes on a noun for a person or a position.
- 로서 = who you are · 로써 = what you use (Lesson 4B-1: 대화로써). Both are formal; in speech plain (으)로 often does the job (선배로 한마디 할게). 저로서는 = as far as I'm concerned.
Examples
- 어떤 자격이나 신분으로 말하거나 일할 때 써요: 선배로서 한마디 할게.
- 받침이 있으면 으로서, 받침이 없거나 ㄹ 받침이면 로서: 학생으로서 · 친구로서 · 딸로서.
- 4B 1과의 (으)로써는 수단이에요: 대화로써 문제를 풀었다. (으)로서는 사람의 자격이에요.
- 자기소개서나 발표에서 많이 써요: 유학생으로서 두 나라 사이에서 일하고 싶습니다.
- 말할 때는 서를 빼고 (으)로만 쓰기도 해요: 선배로 한마디 할게.
- 「저로서는」은 「제 생각에는」이라는 뜻이에요: 저로서는 잘 모르겠습니다.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 15; Sogang University Korean 5A, lesson 2; Sogang University Korean 6, lesson 1; Hongik University Korean 5B, lesson 10; Hanyang University Korean 5-1, lesson 3.
Also in this lesson
- N은/는 … -다는 것이다 · -다는 점이다 — the point is that … — stating a strength, a problem or a feature in formal Korean
- A/V-다거나 · V-ㄴ/는다거나 · N(이)라거나 — things like … or … — giving examples in an interview (review and extension of Lesson 3B-2)
- N(으)로 인해(서) · N(으)로 인한 N — because of … · caused by … — formal causes in cover letters and reports (review and extension of Lesson 3B-11)