그는 내 친구예요
geuneun nae chinguyeyo
The English phrase "he is my friend" is translated into Korean as 그는 내 친구예요 (geuneun nae chinguyeyo).
This phrase is used to identify a male person as a friend of the speaker. In natural spoken Korean, people often omit the subject or use the person's name instead of the pronoun 그는.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase breaks down into 그 (he), 는 (topic marker), 내 (my), 친구 (friend) and 예요 (is).
How does it change in a sentence?
The ending 예요 is the polite informal form of the verb 'to be' used when the preceding noun ends in a vowel.
How do you pronounce it?
geuneun nae chinguyeyo
Did you know?
- The word 친구 is derived from Chinese characters meaning 'thick' and 'friend', implying a strong or deep relationship.
- If the 'friend' is older than the speaker, Koreans typically use terms like 형 for a male or 언니 for a female instead of 친구.
- In a natural introduction, a Korean speaker might refer to their friend as 제 친구예요 instead of 내 친구예요 to show more respect to the listener.
Examples in context
- 그는 제 친구입니다.He is my friend.
Example conversation
Minji asks Dohyun about a man standing nearby.
- 민지 Min-ji저 사람이 누구예요?jeo sa-ram-i nu-gu-ye-yo?Who is that person?
- 도현 Do-hyeon그는 내 친구예요.geuneun nae chin-gu-ye-yo.He is my friend.
- 민지 Min-ji아, 그렇군요. 반가워요.a, geu-reot-gun-yo. ban-ga-wo-yo.Oh, I see. Nice to meet him.
- 도현 Do-hyeon나중에 같이 인사해요.na-jung-e ga-chi in-sa-hae-yo.Let's say hello together later.
