Must-Know Korean Adverbs to Boost Your Vocabulary

An adverb is used to describe a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Korean adverbs (부사) work in much the same way as adverbs in English. They are a very important component in forming a sentence in Korean.
To understand the basics of Korean adverbs, you probably want to first take a look at Korean verbs and adjectives as well as their basic uses. Before we introduce you the details of Korean adverbs, please note that just as in any other language, there are certain rules for forming regular Korean adverbs and there are also some irregular adverbs you just have to remember!
By the end of the article, you’ll be able to:
- Identify 3 types of regular adverbs in sentences easily
- Know the rules to form regular Korean adverbs
- Learn 50+ most commonly used Korean adverbs
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Forms of Korean Adverbs
The first type of adverb is formed by combining a word root with 이 (ee) or 히 (hee). This almost covers all the words ending in 하다 (hada).
Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Let’s take a look at them one by one.
이(ee) Adverb
The 이(ee) suffix is often added to the below 6 types of words to form an adverb:
(1) Word stem ending in ‘ㅅ’ + ‘하다’
ex:
깨끗하다 (kkaekkeuthada) clean → 깨끗이 (kkaekkeus-si) cleanly
따뜻하다 (ttatteuthada) warm → 따뜻이 (ttatteus-si) warmly
(2) Word stem ending in ‘ㄱ’ + ‘하다’
ex:
촉촉하다 (cokcok-kada) wet; moist → 촉촉이 (cokcok-ki) wetly; moistly
두둑하다 (dudukada) quiet thick → 두둑이 (duduk-ki) quiet thickly
(3) Irregular verbs with stem ending in ‘ㅂ’ + ‘다’
ex:
가갑다 (kagapda) → 가까이 (kaga-i)
즐겁다 (jeulgeopda) → 즐거이 (jeulgeo-i)
(4) Most of the adjectives ending in 다
ex:
같다 (gatda) same; equal → 같이 (ga-chi) together; with
높다 (nopda) high;tall → 높이 (no-pi) high; height; level
많다 (manhda) plentiful; many; a lot of→ 많이 (ma-ni) much; in large numbers;
(5) Superlative nouns
ex:
간간 (gangan) from time to time → 간간이 (gan-gani) occasionally, sometimes
겹겹 (gyeopkkyeop) being layered → 겹겹이 (gyeopkkyeobi) in layers; one over another
길길 (gilgil) long, lengthy→ 길길이 (gilgil-li) madly;to a great height
(6) Adverbs
ex:
곰곰 (gom-gom) pensively, musingly→ 곰곰이 (gom-gomi)
생긋 (saenggeut) with a smile → 생긋이 (saenggeusi) with a smile
Now you’ve know a rather complicated type of Korean adverbs. The following will get easier!
히(hee) Adverb
Now let’s see 히(hee) adverbs. Except for the special cases mentioned above (하다 words with a “ㅅ” or “ㄱ” stem), most words ending in 하다 (hada) replace 하다 with히 to form adverbs. For example:
특별하다 (teukppyeolhada) special → 특별히 (specially, particularly)
솔직하다 (soljjikada) frank; honest → 솔직히 (soljjiki) frankly; honestly
가만하다 (gamanada) be quiet→ 가만히 (gamani) quietly, motionlessly
게 (Ge) Adverb
게 (Ge) adverbs are more oftenly seen in converting adjectives into adverbs. In a sense, it’s quite like the “ly” suffix in English. We can change an adjective to an adverb by replacing the word ending 다(da) with -게(ge).
Check out when we should use 게(ge)!
1) To express purpose (translated as “in order to”)
Ex: 질서를 어지럽히지 않게 줄을 서세요.
→ (In order) to not cause disorder, please line up.
2) To express a state or degree
Ex: 집을 예쁘게 꾸미었어요.
→ The house is beautifully decorated.
(으)로 (Eu lo) Adverb
Another type of Korean adverbs is (으)로 (Eu lo) Adverbs. The rules of (으)로 adverbs are quite simple:
- If the noun ends in a consonant, then add -으로
- If the noun ends in a vowel or ㄹ, then add -로
- 으로 can only be added after a noun
There are roughly four ways to use (으)로 (Eu lo) adverbs:
1) To indicate the direction of the action (like “to” and “towards” in English)
Ex: 후문으로 가세요.
→ Please go to the back door.
2) To indicate the means or method of behavior
Ex: 영어로 쓰세요.
→ Please write in English.
3) To follow a noun to express a person’s status or qualification
Ex: 저는 교장으로 이번 개교 기념식에 참석하였다.
→ I attended this school anniversary as the president.
4) To express a reason or cause, equivalent to “because; due to”
Ex: 그는 독감으로 죽었다.
→He died from the flu.
Check out this video to learn more examples of (으)로 (Eu lo) adverbs!
List of most used Korean adverbs
In this part, we’ll present to you 5 groups of commonly used Korean adverbs. Some of them are irregular adverbs that do not follow the rules we mentioned before, just like “well” or “little” in English. So save this article and take notes to remember them!
Korean Adverbs of Time – 시간부사
Korean Adverbs |
Romanized Hangul |
English Meaning |
어제 |
eo je |
yesterday |
오늘 |
o neul |
today |
내일 |
nae il |
tomorrow |
지금 |
ji geum |
now |
그때 |
geu ttae |
then |
나중에/후에 |
na jung ei/ hu e |
later |
오늘밤 |
o neul bam |
tonight |
바로 지금 |
ba ro ji geum |
right now |
지난 밤 |
ji nan bam |
last night |
오늘 아침 |
o neur a chim |
this morning |
다음 주 |
da eum ju |
next week |
Korean Adverbs of Place – 장소부사
Korean Adverbs |
Romanized Hangul |
English Adverbs |
여기 |
yeo gi |
here |
저기/거기 |
jeo gi geo gi |
there |
저기/저쪽에 |
jeo gi / jeo jjog e |
over there |
모든곳/어디나 |
mo deun go(s) / eo di na |
everywhere |
어디든/아무데나 |
eo di deun / a mu de na |
anywhere |
안에 |
ane |
inside |
밑에 |
mitte |
below |
뒤에 |
dwiye |
at the back |
위에 |
wiy e |
above |
앞에 |
a pe |
in front |
밖에 |
bakk e |
outside |
Korean Adverbs of Frequency – 빈도부사
Korean Adverbs |
Romanized Hangul |
English Adverbs |
항상 |
hang sang |
always |
가끔 |
ka keum |
sometimes |
자주 |
ja joo |
often |
한번씩 |
han beon shik |
once in a while |
절대 |
jeol te |
never |
때때로 |
tte ttero |
occasionally |
규칙적으로 |
kyoo chik jeog eu ro |
regularly |
보통으로 |
bo tong eu ro |
normally |
습관적으로 |
seup gwan jeog eu ro |
habitually |
드물게 |
deumulge |
rarely |
항상 |
hangsang |
always |
Korean Adverbs of Degree – 정도부사
Korean Adverbs |
Romanized Hangul |
English Adverbs |
아주, 매우 |
a ju / mae u |
very |
완전히 |
wan jeon hi |
perfectly |
단순히 |
dan sun hi |
simply |
엄청 |
eom cheong |
enormously |
불과 |
bool gwa |
only |
절대로 |
jeol dae lo |
Absolutely, completely |
정말(로) / 진짜(로) / 참(으로) |
jeong mal (lo) / jin jja (lo) / cham eu (lo) |
really |
특히 |
teu ghi |
in particular |
상당히 |
sSang dang hi |
fairly |
Korean Adverbs of Manner – 양태부사
Korean Adverbs |
Romanized Hangul |
English Adverbs |
좋게 |
joh ke |
well |
나쁘게 |
na pue ge |
badly |
귀엽게 |
kwe yeop ke |
cutely |
아름답게 |
a ruem dap ke |
beautifully |
비싸게 |
bi ssa ge |
expensively |
맛있게 |
ma shi ke |
deliciously |
크게 |
keu ge |
largely |
길게 |
kil ge |
lengthily |
짧게 |
dzab ge |
shortly |
넓게 |
neolb ge |
widely |
작게 |
jak ge |
little |