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N(이)며 N(이)며 — A and B and all the rest — listing examples, with feeling
A and B and all the rest — listing examples, with feeling. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4B, lesson 8: 옛날이야기와 신화 (Folk tales and myths — telling a story in written Korean).
What it means
N(이)며 N(이)며 puts two or three nouns side by side as examples of a bigger whole: 할머니 댁에는 떡이며 과일이며 먹을 게 정말 많아요 'at Grandma's there are rice cakes, fruit — so much to eat'. The speaker names a few things and leaves the rest to the listener's imagination, so the sentence usually goes on with a word that gathers everything up: 다 'all', 모두 'every one', 정말 많다 'so many', 없는 게 없다 'there's nothing missing'. After a 받침 use 이며 (그림이며, 의상이며), after a vowel use 며 (사과며, 목소리며). It is used both in conversation and in writing — reviews, essays, stories — and it nearly always carries a feeling: amazement at how much there is, delight that all of it was good, or irritation at having too much to do (숙제며 발표며 정신이 없어요). Don't mix it up with N(이)면 N(이)면 from Lesson 4B-6, which praises each thing in turn (경치면 경치, 음식이면 음식), or with N(이)고 N(이)고 from Lesson 3B-10, which means 'no matter which' (어른이고 아이고 모두 웃었어요). A plain list with no feeling is still N하고 N or N(이)랑 N. (이)며 is a particle, so the tense goes on the verb at the end: 그림이며 내용이며 다 좋았어요.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N(이)며 N(이)며 | 받침 O → 이며 · 받침 X → 며 (명사 두세 개 + 다 · 모두 · 정말 많다) | 떡 + 이며 → 떡이며 |
Key points
- N(이)며 N(이)며 = A, B and so on: two or three nouns as examples of 'all of it' — 받침 O → 이며 (떡이며 · 그림이며), 받침 X → 며 (사과며 · 목소리며). It is usually followed by 다 · 모두 · 정말 많다 · 없는 게 없다.
- Used in speech and in writing, and it carries a feeling — 'so much!' or 'all of it was great'. Compare N(이)면 N(이)면 (4B-6: each one is excellent) and N(이)고 N(이)고 (3B-10: no matter which). The tense goes on the verb at the end.
Examples
- 여러 가지를 예로 들면서 「다 · 모두」라고 말할 때 써요: 할머니 댁에는 떡이며 과일이며 먹을 게 정말 많아요.
- 받침이 있으면 이며, 없으면 며: 그림이며 · 의상이며 / 사과며 · 목소리며.
- 보통 두세 가지를 말하고 뒤에 「다 · 모두 · 정말 많다 · 없는 게 없다」가 와요.
- 말할 때도 쓰고 글에서도 써요. 「정말 많아요!」 「다 좋았어요!」 하는 마음이 들어 있어요.
- 4B 6과 N(이)면 N(이)면은 하나하나가 다 좋다는 뜻이에요: 경치면 경치, 음식이면 음식.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 18; Yonsei University Korean 3-2, lesson 12.