๐งฑ The Structure of a Korean Sentence (SOV)
Learn How Korean Sentences Are Built (It's Simpler Than You Think!)
One of the biggest differences between Korean and English is the sentence structure.
While English follows a SVO (Subject – Verb – Object) order, Korean follows SOV (Subject – Object – Verb) order.
This means in Korean, the verb always comes at the end of the sentence. Let’s break it down together! ๐
๐ Basic Word Order
| Subject (S) | Object (O) | Verb (V) |
|---|---|---|
| ์ ๋ (I) | ๋ฐฅ์ (rice) | ๋จน์ด์ (eat) |
| ์ ๋ ๋ฐฅ์ ๋จน์ด์. = I eat rice. | ||
See how the verb ๋จน์ด์ (eat) comes at the end? That’s the key to Korean sentence structure!
๐ More Examples
| Korean Sentence | English Meaning |
|---|---|
| ๊ทธ๋ ์ฑ ์ ์ฝ์ด์. | He reads a book. |
| ์ฐ๋ฆฌ๋ ์ํ๋ฅผ ๋ด์. | We watch a movie. |
| ํ์์ด ์ง๋ฌธ์ ํด์. | The student asks a question. |
In every case, the verb comes last. Even if the subject or object changes, the verb stays at the end.
๐ก Why This Matters
Understanding the SOV structure will help you:
- Form correct Korean sentences
- Understand Korean subtitles and dialogues
- Improve your listening skills by expecting the verb at the end
๐ Practice Time!
Try to create your own Korean sentence using this order:
- Subject: ๋๋ (I)
- Object: ์ปคํผ๋ฅผ (coffee)
- Verb: ๋ง์ ์ (drink)
Your sentence: ๋๋ ์ปคํผ๋ฅผ ๋ง์ ์. = I drink coffee.
Now you try with:
- ์ฑ (book) + ์ฝ๋ค (to read)
- ๋ ธ๋ (song) + ๋ฃ๋ค (to listen)
Leave your sentence in the comments — I’ll check and correct it for you! ๐
๐ฏ Ready to Practice Speaking?
Sentence structure gets easier with real conversation. Want to practice live?
๐ Book a 1:1 lesson with me on italki and master Korean sentence patterns with feedback and fun topics!
