Introducing Yourself: N이에요/예요
Introduce yourself in Korean: say your name, country and job with N이에요/예요, and ask other people the same questions.
Mr. Gaon · Grammar, vocabulary & TOPIKWhat you will learn in this lesson
- Say your name, nationality and job
- Choose 이에요 or 예요 by looking at the last letter
- Ask questions with 이에요?/예요? and the question words 뭐 and 어느
- Use 저 and 제 to talk about yourself politely
Hello, I’m Gaon. I will guide you through Korean grammar step by step. Today we learn one small ending that lets you say “I am a student” or “This is coffee.” It is the first real grammar of Korean, and you will use it every day.
Korean word order: the verb comes last
In English, we say “I am a student.” In Korean, the order is different: “I student am.” The word that works like “am / is / are” comes at the very end of the sentence.
For nouns, this ending is 이에요 or 예요. You attach it directly to the noun. There is no space between them.
학생 (student) + 이에요 → 학생이에요. “(I) am a student.”
Notice that there is no word for “I” in that sentence. In Korean, when the person is clear from the situation, people often leave it out. If you are talking about yourself, 학생이에요 already means “I am a student.”
to be N (polite, 해요체)
- Look at the last syllable of the noun.
- If it ends in a consonant (has batchim), add 이에요: 학생 → 학생이에요.
- If it ends in a vowel (no batchim), add 예요: 의사 → 의사예요.
- For a question, keep the same form and raise your voice at the end: 학생이에요? ↗
- In speech, 예요 often sounds like [에요].
- 학생이에요. [학쌩이에요] haksaengieyo.I am a student.
- 선생님이에요. [선생니미에요] seonsaengnimieyo.I am a teacher.
- 의사예요. uisayeyo.I am a doctor.
- 가수예요? gasuyeyo?Are you a singer?
- 한국 사람이에요. [한국 싸라미에요] hanguk saramieyo.I am Korean.
이에요 or 예요?
| Noun | Last letter | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 학생 | consonant ㅇ | 학생이에요 | am a student |
| 회사원 | consonant ㄴ | 회사원이에요 | am an office worker |
| 미국 | consonant ㄱ | 미국이에요 | is the USA |
| 의사 | vowel ㅏ | 의사예요 | am a doctor |
| 주부 | vowel ㅜ | 주부예요 | am a homemaker |
| 커피 | vowel ㅣ | 커피예요 | is coffee |
When you are not sure, write the word in Hangul and check the bottom of the last block.
Talking about yourself: 저 and 제
The polite word for “I” is 저. When you want to say “my”, use 제. For example, 제 이름 means “my name”.
After 저, we usually add the topic particle 는, which you will study in a later lesson. For now, remember the chunk 저는, “as for me”.
저는 마리아예요. “I am Maria.”
제 이름은 마리아예요. “My name is Maria.”
Both are natural. In a real conversation, many people simply say their name with 이에요/예요 and nothing else.
Ad
Names follow the same rule. 민수 ends in a vowel, so it is 민수예요. 지민 ends in ㄴ, so it is 지민이에요. Your own name works the same way once you write it in Hangul.
Countries and nationality
To say your nationality, add 사람 (person) after the country name. 미국 사람 is “an American person”, and 중국 사람 is “a Chinese person”. In formal writing you may also see -인, as in 미국인, but 사람 is more common in speech.
To ask “Which country are you from?”, say 어느 나라 사람이에요? Literally: “Which country person are you?”
Countries and jobs
- 한국 hanguk Korea
- 미국 miguk the United States
- 중국 jungguk China
- 일본 ilbon Japan
- 베트남 beteunam Vietnam
- 프랑스 peurangseu France
- 브라질 beurajil Brazil
- 학생 [학쌩] haksaeng student
- 회사원 hoesawon office worker
- 의사 uisa doctor
- 요리사 yorisa cook, chef
- 간호사 ganhosa nurse
- 이름 ireum name
- 나라 nara country
- 직업 [지겁] jigeop job
asking what or which
- 뭐 means “what”. It ends in a vowel, so it becomes 뭐예요?
- 어느 means “which” and always comes before a noun.
- To ask a name politely, say 이름이 뭐예요? A more respectful form is 성함이 어떻게 되세요?
- 이름이 뭐예요? [이르미 뭐예요] ireumi mwoyeyo?What is your name?
- 직업이 뭐예요? [지거비 뭐예요] jigeobi mwoyeyo?What is your job?
- 어느 나라 사람이에요? [어느 나라 사라미에요] eoneu nara saramieyo?Which country are you from?
- 성함이 어떻게 되세요? [성하미 어떠케 되세요] seonghami eotteoke doeseyo?May I ask your name? (very polite)
Easy to mix up
- 저는 요리사예요. jeoneun yorisayeyo. I am a cook. 요리사 ends in a vowel → 예요.
- 저는 회사원이에요. jeoneun hoesawonieyo. I am an office worker. 회사원 ends in ㄴ → 이에요.
- 저는 학생이 아니에요. jeoneun haksaengi anieyo. I am not a student. For “not”, use N이/가 아니에요. You will practice this more later.
Meeting a classmate
Calling people: 씨
In the dialogue, you saw 다니엘 씨 and 지민 씨. 씨 is a polite title added after a person’s name, a bit like Mr. or Ms. Never use 씨 with your own name. Also, it is not polite enough for teachers, bosses or much older people. For them, people use titles like 선생님.
Koreans often use the other person’s name or title instead of “you”. So 지민 씨는 학생이에요? is the natural way to ask “Are you a student?”
A short self-introduction
- 안녕하세요. 제 이름은 안나예요. [안녕하세요. 제 이르믄 안나예요] annyeonghaseyo. je ireumeun annayeyo. Hello. My name is Anna.
- 저는 독일 사람이에요. [저는 도길 사라미에요] jeoneun dogil saramieyo. I am German.
- 저는 대학생이에요. [저는 대학쌩이에요] jeoneun daehaksaengieyo. I am a university student.
- 잘 부탁드려요. [잘 부탁뜨려요] jal butakdeuryeoyo. I look forward to getting along with you. A set phrase at the end of an introduction. No exact English match.
Check quiz
Q1. Choose the correct sentence for “I am a doctor.”
Q2. Choose the correct form for 선생님.
Q3. How do you ask “Which country are you from?”
Q4. What does 제 mean?
제 이름은 유키예요. je ireumeun yukiyeyo.Q5. Which is NOT correct?
Well done! Now write three sentences about yourself: your name, your country and your job. Check 이에요 or 예요 for each one. Small steps like this build real Korean.
Key points
- N이에요/예요 means “to be N” and goes at the end of the sentence.
- After a consonant use 이에요; after a vowel use 예요.
- 저 means I, 제 means my; 저는 is “as for me”.
- Add 사람 to a country for nationality: 한국 사람.
- Ask with 뭐예요? (what) and 어느 나라 사람이에요? (which country).
- 씨 is a polite title for others, never for yourself.
Recommended official free resources
- Korean Basic Dictionary (11 languages) — National Institute of Korean Language
- Everyone’s Korean (모두의 한국어) — Ministry of Education
Ad