내 친구와 나
nae chingu-wa na
The English phrase 'my friend and I' is translated into Korean as 내 친구와 나 (nae chingu-wa na).
This phrase is used to refer to a group consisting of the speaker and one friend.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 내 (my), 친구 (friend), 와 (and/with) and 나 (I).
Which one should you use?
Using 랑 instead of 와 in the phrase 내 친구랑 나 makes it sound more casual and conversational.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Use 제 친구와 저 in polite or formal settings, where 내 changes to 제 and 나 changes to 저 to show respect to the listener. For informal situations, you can use 친구랑 나.
How does it change in a sentence?
When the phrase is the subject of a sentence, you must add the subject marker 가 to 나 to get 내 친구와 내가. When the phrase is the object of a verb, you must add the object marker 를 to 나 to get 내 친구와 나를.
How do you pronounce it?
nae chingu-wa na
Did you know?
- In Korean, the word 친구 (chingu) is often used strictly for people of the exact same age or year of birth, whereas English speakers use 'friend' for anyone they like.
- The word for 'smoke' was once 내, but it was replaced by the Sino-Korean word 연기 because 내 had too many homophones and caused confusion.
Examples in context
- 친구랑 나 오늘 영화 볼 거야.My friend and I are going to watch a movie today.
- 내 친구와 나는 서울에 살아.nae chin-gu-wa na-neun Seo-ul-e sal-a.My friend and I live in Seoul.
- 내 친구와 나는 숙제를 끝냈어.nae chin-gu-wa na-neun suk-je-reul kkeut-naet-seo.My friend and I finished the homework.
Example conversation
Minjun and Seoyeon are talking about their weekend plans.
- 민준 Min-jun이번 주말에 뭐 해요?i-beon ju-mal-e mwo hae-yo?What are you doing this weekend?
- 서연 Seo-yeon내 친구와 나, 둘이 여행 가요.nae chin-gu-wa na, dul-i yeo-haeng ga-yo.My friend and I are going on a trip.
- 민준 Min-jun와, 정말 재미있겠어요!wa, jeong-mal jae-mi-i-ge-sseo-yo!Wow, that sounds really fun!
- 서연 Seo-yeon네, 기대돼요.ne, gi-dae-dwae-yo.Yes, I'm looking forward to it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 내, CC BY-SA 4.0.
