-는
-neun-
present adnominal ending
Attaches to a verb stem to turn it into a modifier describing a noun, showing an action happening in the present—like English '-ing' before a noun (e.g. '먹는 사람,' 'the person who is eating'); it is also used to report an action verb in indirect speech ('...는다고 하다').
Form
- Attaches to
- Verb, Adjective, Auxiliary
- Other shapes
- -은 · -ㄴ
Meanings
- 1
An ending of a word used when a certain event or action is happening in the present.
어떤 일이나 동작이 현재 일어남을 나타내는 어미.
※ ‘ㄹ’을 제외한 받침 있는 동사 또는 '-으시-' 뒤에, 다른 어미 앞에 붙여 쓰고, 주로 ‘-는다’, ‘-는다고’, ‘-는다나’, ‘-는구나’, ‘-는구먼’, ‘-는군’ 등으로 쓴다.
- 2
An ending of a word that makes the preceding statement function as an adnominal phrase and implies that an event or action is happening in the present.
앞말이 관형어의 기능을 하게 만들고 사건이나 동작이 현재 일어남을 나타내는 어미.
※ ‘있다’, ‘없다’, ‘계시다’나 ‘있다’, ‘없다’로 끝나는 형용사, 동사 또는 ‘-으시-’, ‘-겠-’ 뒤에 붙여 쓴다.
Examples
아버지는 아침에 항상 운동을 하신다.
My father always exercises in the morning.
지수는 요즘 취미로 비누를 만든다고 했다.
Jisu said she makes soap as a hobby these days.
나는 친구가 외국어 학원에 다닌다는 이야기를 들었다.
I heard that my friend attends a foreign language academy.
언니는 언제 온대요? 아까 친구를 만나러 나간다던데 잘 모르겠어.
When is my older sister coming? She said earlier she was going out to meet a friend, I'm not sure.
까꿍! 어서 온.
Peekaboo! Come here quick.
나비야, 이리 날아온.
Butterfly, fly on over here.
Examples: 한국어기초사전, CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.
Don’t confuse with
Forms with a close meaning — a favourite source of wrong answers on TOPIK.
Quick check
1. What does ‘-는’ mean?
2. Which form means “present adnominal ending”?