Korean word

들

Pronunciation

Romanizationteul

Meaning

  • particleplural marker

Example

학생들이 도서관에서 공부하고 있어요.hak ssaeng deu ri to seo gwa ne seo kong bu ha go i sseo yo

The students are studying in the library.

Illustration for 들 (plural marker)

More examples

친구들과 영화를 봤어요.chin gu deul gwa yeong hwa reul pwa sseo yo

I watched a movie with my friends.

Core concept

A noun's range widens from one referent to a collection of referents.

Common phrases

  • 학생들hak ssaeng deul

    students

  • 친구들chin gu deul

    friends

  • 사람들sa ram deul

    people

Similar words

끼리kkiri: A particle showing that members of the same group act or interact with one another.
마다mada: A particle marking each person or thing in a group separately.

Definition in Korean

명사 뒤에서 그 말이 가리키는 수를 하나 이상으로 넓혀 복수나 집단을 뜻하게 하는 조사myeong sa twi e seo keu ma ri ka ri ki neun su reul ha na i sang eu ro neol pyeo pok ssu na chip tta neul tteu ta ge ha neun cho sa

Word origin

The historical origin of 들 (deul, "plural marker") is uncertain, while its Korean grammatical formation is clear: it attaches to nouns to open their reference to more than one.

Usage tips

  • English usually marks plural nouns mechanically, but 들 (deul, "plural marker") appears mainly when marking the group matters in context.

Word lists with this word