Korean Grammar Bank

HOW TO USE KOREAN PREPOSITIONS

Korean prepositions are nouns used to describe an object’s position.

To use them we need to attach particles such as 에서, 으로 and more. We teach you how to do just that in this free lesson.

INTRODUCTION

Unlike in English where the preposition comes before a noun, in Korean it is placed between a noun and an article.

Or in case of using it without a noun, it is simply used with an article.

Preposition can be used with a few different articles in Korean, mostly typically with ~에, ~(으)로부터, ~ (으)로, and ~ 에서.

  • 에 is used when describing the position of a noun, equivalent to “at” in English.
  • (으)로부터 is used when describing the source of location, equivalent to “from” in English.
  • ~(으)로 has an equivalent meaning of “towards”.
  • 에서” is used when describing a place where an action is happening.
PATTERN

(noun) + preposition + article

NOTE || 에서 and 에 have similar meanings, but a slight difference, as explained below:

  • 그녀는 집에 있다 (she is at home): Here, the expression “집에” is simply referring to the position of where she is.
  • 그녀는 집에서 밥을 먹고 있다 (she is eating at home): Here, the expression “집에서” is referring to the place where she is eating.

LIST OF THE MOST COMMON PREPOSITIONS

The table below lists the most common prepositions in Korean:

안In, inside
밖Outside
앞In front
옆Next to
위Over, on, above
뒤Behind
아래Below, under
밑Bottom, base of
속Inside, amongst
가운데In the middle
사이Between
근처Near
건너편Across from
왼쪽, 좌측*Left
오른쪽, 우측*Right

NOTE || *좌측 and 우측 are based on Chinese roots and they are frequently used in Korean.

USING PREPOSITIONS WITH 에

Let’s see how to use prepositions with the article 에:

내 동생은 학교안에 있다.My brother is inside the school.
개는 밖에 있어야 한다.The dog should stay outside.
병원은 박물관 앞에 있다.The hospital is in front of the museum.
나는어린소녀 옆에 앉아있다.I am sitting next to a little girl.
책은 테이블 위에 있다.The book is on the table.
자동차는 울타리 뒤에 있다.The car is behind the fence.
책은 테이블 아래에 있다.The book is under the table.
레스토랑은 산밑에 위치해있다.The restaurant is at the bottom of the mountain.
나는 꽃을 잘 말리려고 책속에 넣었다.I placed the flower inside a book, so it dries nicely.
그녀는 모두의 가운데에 앉는 것을 좋아한다.She likes to sit in the middle of everyone.
병원은 학교와 박물관 사이에 있다.The hospital is between the school and the museum.
그녀는 그녀 아이들 학교의 근처에 있다.She is near her children’s school.
병원은 박물관 건너편에 있다.The hospital is across the museum.
병원은 왼쪽에 있다.The hospital is on your left.
병원은 오른쪽에 있다.The hospital is on your right.

USING PREPOSITIONS WITH 에서

Let’s see how to use prepositions with the article 에서:

내 동생은 학교안에서 공부하고 있다.My brother is studying inside the school.
개는 밖에서 기다리고 있다.The dog is waiting outside.
그들은 박물관 앞에서 만날 계획이다.They will meet in front of the museum.
누군가 내 옆에서 노래하고 있다.Someone is singing next to me.
이웃이 위에서 피아노를 치고 있다.My neighbour is playing piano above.
나는 버스 뒤에서 운전하고 있다.I am driving behind a bus.
그들은 산밑에서 점심을 먹고 있다.They are eating lunch at the bottom of the mountain.
그들은 아직도 텐트안에서 자고 있다.They are still sleeping inside the tent.
그녀는 모두의 가운데서 연설을 하고 있었다.She was making a speech in the middle of everyone.
두 이웃 사이에서 갈등이 있다.There is an argument between the two neighbours.
콘서트는 내집 근처에서 진행되고 있다.The concert is going on near my house.
그녀는 박물관 건너편에서 손을 흔들고 있었다.She was waiving her hand across the museum.
그녀는 왼쪽에서 기다리고 있었다.She is waiting at the left.
아이들은 오른쪽에서 놀고 있다.Children are playing at the right.

NOTE || Learn more about place and time particles in Korean here.

USING PREPOSITIONS WITH (으)로부터

Let’s see how to use prepositions with the article (으)로부터:

내 동생은 학교로부터 오고 있었다.My brother is coming from the school.
개는 집안으로부터 격리 되었다.The dog is kept away from inside the house.
나는 위로부터 피아노 소리를 들을수 있었다.I could hear piano coming from above.
뒤로부터 운전해오는 버스는 상당히 난폭했다.The bus driving from behind was quite aggressive.
그것을 산밑으로부터 가져와야 할 것이다.You will have to bring it from the bottom of the mountain.
나는 건물안으로부터 아무 소리도 듣지 않았다.I did not hear anything from inside the building.
연못에 돌을 던지면 가운데로부터 파장이 퍼져간다.When you throw a stone to the pond, the wave propagates from the centre.
길 건너편으로부터 큰충돌 소리를들을수 있었다.You could hear the large sound of clash from across the street.
차가 왼쪽으로부터 오고 있었다.The car was coming from the left.
바람이 오른쪽으로부터 불고 있었다.The wind was blowing from the right.

USING PREPOSITIONS WITH (으)로

Let’s see how to use prepositions with the article (으)로:

내 동생은 학교로 걸어가고 있었다.My brother is walking towards the school.
개는 정원안으로 달려가고 있었다.The dog was running towards inside the garden.
연기는 위로 피어오르고 있었다.The smoke travelled towards the sky.
뒤로 주차하는 것은 쉽지 않다.It is not easy to park towards the back.
우리는 산밑으로 속도를 내기 시작할 것이다.We will start speeding up towards the bottom of the mountain.
건물안으로 담배를 피는 것은 허가되지 않는다.It is not allowed to smoke towards inside a building.
모든 개미는 음식이 있는 가운데로 움직이고 있었다.All ants were moving towards the middle where the food was.
당신은 건너편으로 움직여야 한다.You will have to move this towards across the street.
차는 왼쪽으로 운전하고 있었다.The car was driving towards left.
바람이 오른쪽으로 불고 있었다.The wind was blowing towards the right.

NOTE || Learn more about direction particles in Korean here.

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FAQs

What are some common Korean prepositions?

Some of the most common Korean prepositions are:

안 In, inside

밖 Outside

앞 In front

옆 Next to

위 Over, on, above

뒤 Behind

아래 Below, under

밑 Bottom, base of

왼쪽 Left

오른쪽 Right

What is the difference between 밑 and 아래 ?

Both of them are used in similar manners.

However, 밑 means bottom, base, whereas 아래 means below.

What is the difference between 에 and 에서?

The particle 에 can be use for either time and place.

-에서 and -까지 are used in the same sentence in many cases.

It can be used in the form of ‘A에서 B까지’ which means ‘from A to B’.

You can replace A and B with words that indicate places or times. At the same time, both can be used separately from each other for other meanings, as well. 

‘-에서’ : from, at, in

‘-까지’ : to, until/till, by, up to

What are -로 and -으로?

The Korean direction particles are -로 and -으로.

The particle needs to be added after the noun in a sentence.

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