그녀는 내 여자친구야
geunyeoneun nae yeojachingu-ya
The phrase "she is my girlfriend" in Korean is 그녀는 내 여자친구야 (geunyeoneun nae yeojachingu-ya).
This sentence is used to identify a female partner in a romantic relationship. You may also encounter the related terms 사랑 (love) and 이별 (breakup) when discussing romantic relationships.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 그녀 (she), the topic marker 는, 내 (my), 여자친구 (girlfriend) and the informal copula 야 (is).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For formal situations, you can use 그녀는 제 여자친구입니다 or the even more concise 저의 여자친구입니다.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the sentence polite, replace the informal ending 야 (ya) with the polite ending 예요 (ye-yo), resulting in 그녀는 내 여자친구예요.
How do you pronounce it?
geunyeoneun nae yeojachingu-ya
Did you know?
- In natural conversation, Koreans rarely use the word 그녀 (she) to refer to a person, even when speaking about a girlfriend. It is often considered a literary term used in books or songs rather than a word for spoken speech.
- The syllable 내 once functioned as the standard word for 'smoke' before it was replaced by the Sino-Korean word 연기 to avoid too many homophones.
- While 여자친구 (girlfriend) is the standard term, Korean couples often express their relationship by buying 'couple items', such as matching t-shirts or rings, to signal their status to the public.
Example conversation
Dohyun introduces his partner to Subin.
- 도현 Do-hyeon수빈아, 인사해. 그녀는 내 여자친구야.Subin-a, insahae. geunyeoneun nae yeojachinguya.Subin, say hello. She is my girlfriend.
- 수빈 Su-bin반가워요! 정말 예쁘시네요.bangagawoyo! jeongmal yeppeusineyo.Nice to meet you! You are really pretty.
- 도현 Do-hyeon고마워. 둘 다 친하게 지내.gomawo. dul da chinhage jinae.Thanks. I hope you two get along.
- 수빈 Su-bin그럼요, 당연하죠.geureomyo, dangyeonhajyo.Of course, certainly.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 내, CC BY-SA 4.0.
