Pronouns (He, She) - 그, 그녀, 걔, 그분

This is the second part of "Pronouns" lesson.

For the first part on "I and You - 나, 저, 너, 당신", please click on the link.

Before I start listing different forms of "He and She" I must say that they're very infrequently used in actual spoken Korean.

In Korean, when people refer to someone, they mostly use a person's name, their position or status in society, or omit it altogether if people talking to each other already know who they're talking about.

However, I include the following list for the sake of completeness. It is likely that the following are more frequently used in songs, dramas, and books.


  • Note: Among the pronouns listed below, one that is more frequently used in spoken Korean than others would be 걔 which means "he or she" depending on the context.

  • 걔 is a very informal form of "he and she," and so, it is usually used among close friends, and when referring to other people of similar age in a close social network.

  • Therefore, 걔 would probably never be used when referring to someone who is older or senior than you.

  • Even when you're referring to someone who is younger or junior than you, you would probably avoid using 걔 if some degree of respect is expected for each other in a given conversation. Alternatively, you'd use that person's name, or use the full version of 걔, which is 그 아이.

  • Note: 
    • 걔 = 그 아이
    • 걔 is a contracted form of 그애 which means "that guy/gal/boy/girl."
    • 애 is a contracted form of 아이 which means "a child." 


Informal form (그, He)

  • 그 = He
    • 걔 (usually in spoken Korean)
      • 걔 is a contracted form of 그 애 which means "that guy/gal/boy/girl" 

  • 그는 = He + 는 (Topic particle)
    • 걘 (usually in spoken Korean)
      • 걘 is a contracted form of 걔는




  • 그의 = his
    • 걔 (usually in spoken Korean)

  • 그의 것 = his (written Korean)
    • 걔 꺼 (usually in spoken Korean)


Informal form (그녀, She)

  • 그녀 = She
    • 걔 (usually in spoken Korean)
      • 걔 is a contracted form of 그 애 which means "that guy/gal/boy/girl" 

  • 그녀는 = She + 는 (Topic particle)
    • 걘 (usually in spoken Korean)
      • 걘 is a contracted form of 걔는



  • 그녀를 = She + 를 (Object particle)
    • 걜 (usually in spoken Korean)
      • 걜 is a contracted form of 걔를

  • 그녀의 = her
    • 걔 (usually in spoken Korean)

  • 그녀의 것 = hers (written Korean)
    • 걔 꺼 (usually in spoken Korean)


Polite form (그분, He/She)

  • 그분 = He/She

  • 그분의 = his/her
    • 그분 (의 is usually omitted in spoken Korean)

  • 그분의 것 = his/hers (written Korean)
    • 그분 꺼 (usually in spoken Korean)

6 comments:

  1. I have a question about pronounciation;
    Are both 그도 and 그도 pronounced how they are spelt here, the same for the female forms, too?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really love this site. It seems all in one packed together !! thanks for the makers of this site. This really helped me a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How about the word "그대"?
    I always hear this in a song titled Destiny - Lyn

    You are my destiny... 그대

    But I'm not sure if it's "그대" I just typed this while playing a part of this song from the drama "My Love From Another Star"

    If 그 = He
    Then what is 대?

    ReplyDelete
  4. is 그녀 therefore pronounced as 걔네? I saw in the next article it is when used with deul. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you so much for these lessons! :)
    But what about we and you (plural)?

    ReplyDelete

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