Korean word

면

Pronunciation

Romanizationmyeon

Meaning

  • particleif

Example

약속을 취소하면 연락해.yak sso geul chwi so ha myeon yeol la kae

If you cancel the appointment, contact me.

Illustration for 면 (if)

More examples

혼자라면 언제든 연락해.hon ja ra myeon eon je deun yeol la kae

If you're alone, contact me anytime.

Core concept

One clause sets a condition, and the next clause shows what happens under that condition.

Common phrases

  • 혼자라면hon ja ra myeon

    if you're alone

  • 늦으면neu seu myeon

    if you're late

  • 시간이 남으면si ga ni na meu myeon

    if you have time left

Similar words

으면eumyeon: An ending used after a consonant-final verb or adjective stem to express a condition.
이면imyeon: An ending after a noun or state expression meaning if something is of that type or in that state.

Definition in Korean

동사 또는 형용사 어간에 붙어 어떤 조건을 제시하고 그 조건이 이루어질 때의 결과나 상황을 연결하는 기능을 하는 어미tong sa tto neun hyeong yong sa eo ga ne pu teo eo tteon cho geo neul che si ha go keu cho geo ni i ru eo jil ttae ui kyeol gwa na sang hwang eul yeon gyeol ha neun ki neung eul ha neun eo mi

Word origin

The ending is a grammaticalized clause-linking form whose earlier history is not certain.

Usage tips

  • English often uses a separate word for a condition, but Korean places this ending right after the relevant verb or adjective stem.

Other meanings

  • noodlesnoun
  • cottonnoun
  • surfacenoun

Word lists with this word