Hangul 108: 이에요/예요 — How to Say “It Is” in Korean

오늘은 한국어로 “~이에요 / ~예요”라고 말하는 방법을 배워볼 거예요. 아마 자주 듣는 표현이라 재미있을 거예요.

영어의 “It is,” “I am,” “You are”와 비슷한 역할을 하는 아주 중요한 표현이에요.

“저는 학생이에요.”
“이건 김치예요.”
“제 이름은 수진이에요.”

한국에서는 하루에도 정말 많이 사용하는 표현이죠.

지난 시간에 -아요/-어요를 배웠다면 오늘 수업은 조금 더 쉽게 느껴질 거예요.

Let’s get started!

What are 이에요 and 예요?

이에요 (ieyo) and 예요 (yeyo) are polite endings used after a noun.

They can mean:

• am
• is
• are

depending on the sentence.

For example:

저는 학생이에요.
Jeoneun haksaeng-ieyo.
I am a student.

이것은 커피예요.
Igeoseun keopi-yeyo.
This is coffee.

Unlike English, Korean doesn’t use separate words for “am,” “is,” and “are.”

Instead, you choose between 이에요 and 예요.

And fortunately, the rule is very simple.

Rule #1: After a Consonant → 이에요

If the noun ends in a consonant (받침), use:

이에요

Remember the 받침 we learned in Hangul 103?

Now you’re going to use it in a real sentence.

학생 + 이에요

→ 학생이에요.
Haksaeng-ieyo.
I am a student.

학생 ends with ㅇ, so it has a final consonant.

Another example:

책 + 이에요

→ 책이에요.
Chaeg-ieyo.
It’s a book.

책 ends with ㄱ, so we use 이에요.

One more:

한국 사람 + 이에요

→ 한국 사람이에요.
Hanguk saram-ieyo.
I am Korean.

사람 ends with ㅁ, so we use 이에요.

Rule #2: After a Vowel → 예요

If the noun ends in a vowel, use:

예요

For example:

커피 + 예요

→ 커피예요.
Keopi-yeyo.
It’s coffee.

피 has no 받침, so we use 예요.

Another example:

의사 + 예요

→ 의사예요.
Uisa-yeyo.
I am a doctor.

사 ends in a vowel.

So we use 예요.

Easy Way to Remember

받침 있음 → 이에요
받침 없음 → 예요

That’s it!

Let’s Use Your Name

This is one of the first sentences I would want my children or grandchildren to be able to say when visiting Korea.

제 이름은 ___예요/이에요.

It means:

My name is ___.

For example:

제 이름은 소피아예요.
Je ireumeun Sophia-yeyo.
My name is Sophia.

Because 소피아 ends in a vowel, we use 예요.

But:

제 이름은 수진이에요.
Je ireumeun Sujin-ieyo.
My name is Sujin.

진 ends with ㄴ, so we use 이에요.

Notice something else?

We already learned 은/는 in Hangul 105.

제 이름은 수진이에요.

You are now combining grammar from previous lessons to make a complete Korean sentence.

That’s real progress.

Talking About Your Family

Now let’s use words that may be especially useful for Korean-American families.

우리 엄마예요.
Uri eomma-yeyo.
This is my mom.

우리 아빠예요.
Uri appa-yeyo.
This is my dad.

우리 할머니예요.
Uri halmeoni-yeyo.
This is my grandmother.

우리 할아버지예요.
Uri harabeoji-yeyo.
This is my grandfather.

Notice the word 우리 (uri).

Literally, 우리 means “we” or “our.”

But Koreans often say:

우리 엄마

rather than:

내 엄마

even when they mean “my mom.”

This is one of those little expressions that tells you something about Korean culture as well as the Korean language.

We’ll come back to 우리 in a future lesson.

What Is This?

Here’s another extremely useful sentence.

이게 뭐예요?

Ige mwoyeyo?

What is this?

You will hear 뭐예요? constantly in everyday Korean.

Imagine visiting Korea and seeing a food you don’t recognize.

You can simply point and ask:

이게 뭐예요?

Someone might answer:

김치예요.
It’s kimchi.

떡이에요.
It’s rice cake.

잡채예요.
It’s japchae.

미역국이에요.
It’s seaweed soup.

Suddenly one small grammar rule gives you a conversation.

Asking “Is It…?”

You can also use 이에요/예요 as a question.

The words don’t need to change.

Your intonation does the work.

학생이에요?
Are you a student?

한국 사람이에요?
Are you Korean?

커피예요?
Is it coffee?

김치예요?
Is it kimchi?

This makes 이에요/예요 especially useful for beginners.

Try These Yourself

Choose 이에요 or 예요.

1. 책 ___.

책 ends with a consonant.

책이에요.
It’s a book.

2. 커피 ___.

커피 ends with a vowel.

커피예요.
It’s coffee.

3. 학생 ___.

학생 ends with a consonant.

학생이에요.
I am a student.

4. 의사 ___.

의사 ends with a vowel.

의사예요.
I am a doctor.

5. 김치 ___.

김치 ends with a vowel.

김치예요.
It’s kimchi.

A Tiny Conversation

Let’s put everything together.

A: 안녕하세요?
Hello.

B: 안녕하세요?
Hello.

A: 제 이름은 소피아예요.
My name is Sophia.

B: 저는 민준이에요.
I’m Minjun.

A: 한국 사람이에요?
Are you Korean?

B: 네, 한국 사람이에요.
Yes, I’m Korean.

You can already understand quite a lot of this conversation using what we’ve learned in Hangul 101–108.

Today’s Korean Challenge

Today, try introducing three people or things around you in Korean.

For example:

우리 엄마예요.
This is my mom.

제 친구예요.
This is my friend.

커피예요.
It’s coffee.

Then look around your kitchen and ask:

이게 뭐예요?

Even if you already know the answer, say it in Korean.

사과예요.
It’s an apple.

물이에요.
It’s water.

밥이에요.
It’s rice/a meal.

Learning Korean doesn’t have to begin with long conversations.

Sometimes it begins by naming the ordinary things and people already around us.

Remember This

There are only two rules to remember today:

Consonant ending (받침 있음) → 이에요

Vowel ending (받침 없음) → 예요

And one very useful question:

이게 뭐예요?
What is this?

In the next lesson, we’ll learn another expression you’ll hear every day in Korea:

있어요 / 없어요

“There is.”
“I have.”
“There isn’t.”
“I don’t have.”

See you in Hangul 109!

다음 시간에 만나요! 오늘도 공부 참 잘했어요!