Quiz: Sora and Nabi
Test your understanding of Korean vocabulary and grammar ('이다', '는') from the story 'Sora and Nabi'.
Sora and Nabi (이다)
Key Words
- child
- Korea
- next to
- cat
- white color
- very
- small
- here
- over there
- room
- window
- Korean language
- book
- today
- day
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so-ra-wa 소라와 na-bi 나비
i 이 a-i-neun 아이는 so-ra-da. 소라다.
so-ra-neun 소라는 han-guk 한국 sa-ram-i-da. 사람이다.
so-ra-neun 소라는 hak-saeng-i-da. 학생이다.
so-ra 소라 yeop-e-neun 옆에는 go-yang-i-da. 고양이다.
go-yang-i 고양이 i-reum-eun 이름은 na-bi-da. 나비다.
na-bi-neun 나비는 so-ra-ui 소라의 go-yang-i-da. 고양이다.
na-bi-neun 나비는 ha-yan-saek 하얀색 go-yang-i-da. 고양이다.
a-ju 아주 jak-eun 작은 go-yang-i-da. 고양이다.
yeo-gi-neun 여기는 so-ra-ui 소라의 bang-i-da. 방이다.
jeo-geot-eun 저것은 chang-mun-i-da. 창문이다.
i-geot-eun 이것은 han-guk-eo 한국어 chaek-i-da. 책이다.
o-neul-eun 오늘은 jo-yong-han 조용한 o-hu-da. 오후다.
o-neul-eun 오늘은 mak-eun 맑은 nal-i-da. 날이다.
Test Your Knowledge
Related Grammar Concepts
이다: The Verb "To Be"
In Korean to make a simple sentence like “I am a student”, you use the verb 이다 (ida). When the word before ends with a vowel, instead of 이다 it becomes 다 (da).
| English | Korean | Romanized |
|---|---|---|
| I am a girl | 나는 여자다 | na-neun yeoja-da |
| I am a student | 나는 학생이다 | na-neun haksaeng-ida |
이다 is the most basic form of “To be”. It is used often in factual writing and carries a neutral tone.
In speech, you will usually use one of the forms 이야 (informal), 이에요 (polite), or 입니다 (more polite).
은/는: Topic Particles
In Korean, 은 (eun) and 는 (neun) are topic particles. They attach to the end of a noun to mark it as the topic of the sentence. The topic is what the sentence is about.
- Use 은 (eun) when the preceding word ends with a consonant.
- Use 는 (neun) when the preceding word ends with a vowel.
It can be useful to think of it as translating to “as for…”, although in reality it simply indicates the topic, a concept which doesn’t exist in English.
| English | Korean | Romanized |
|---|---|---|
| I (as for me) am a student. | 나는 학생이야. | na-neun hak-saeng-iya |
| The teacher (as for the teacher) is an adult. | 선생님은 어른이야. | seon-saeng-nim-eun eo-reun-iya |
은/는 helps set the context for the listener, letting them know what you are going to talk about. It can sometimes imply a contrast with something else, but its primary role is to introduce or highlight the topic.