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!

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 of Place – 장소부사

Korean Adverbs of Frequency – 빈도부사

Korean Adverbs of Degree – 정도부사

Korean Adverbs of Manner – 양태부사

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