~ 중 하나
~ jung hana
In Korean, "one of" is expressed as ~ 중 하나 (~ jung hana).
~ 중 하나 is used to refer to a single person or thing from a larger group.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the particle ~ 중, meaning "among" or "of" and 하나, meaning "one".
How does it change in a sentence?
As a postpositional noun phrase, ~ 중 하나 must follow the noun or noun phrase it is quantifying. If you wish to use the phrase at the end of a sentence to mean "is one of", you add the polite ending -예요 to 하나, resulting in 중 하나예요.
How do you pronounce it?
~ jung hana
What mistakes should you avoid?
When using this phrase, do not place the noun after it as is common in English. In Korean, the noun must always come before ~ 중 하나.
Did you know?
- The word 중 can also be used to describe an action currently in progress, similar to the English 'ing' ending, as in 회의 중 meaning 'in the middle of a meeting'.
- The word 중 in this phrase is a Sino-Korean reading of the character 中, which literally means 'middle' or 'center'.
- While 하나 is the standard word for 'one', Korean uses a completely different set of numbers called Sino-Korean numbers for dates and money, but native numbers like 하나 are almost always used for counting specific items in a group.
Examples in context
- 이 가게는 내가 자주 가는 가게 중 하나야.This store is one of the places I frequently visit.
- 저 커피는 제가 좋아하는 거 중 하나예요.That coffee is one of the things I like.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 중, 하나, CC BY-SA 4.0.
