-거나 Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

Before you start: you should know the connector -고 and how to make a simple polite sentence. You should also recognise a verb stem (the dictionary form without its final 다, such as 보 in 보다). Estimated time: 15 minutes.

What Does -거나 Grammar Mean?

-거나 grammar means "or": the ending offers two or more alternatives and says that one of them is, or will be, true. It joins actions (보거나 만나요), states (피곤하거나 아파요) or a mix of both. A state is a quality that a verb or adjective describes, such as "tired" or "sick". Grammar books call -거나 a connective ending (연결 어미, yeongyeol eomi): an ending that links one clause to the next.

The ending has two common jobs.

• Habits and choices. 주말에는 영화를 보거나 친구를 만나요. = "On weekends I watch a movie or meet friends." Each weekend is one or the other.
• Possible conditions. 피곤하거나 아프면 쉬세요. = "If you are tired or sick, rest." Either condition is enough.

Two Words for "or": (이)나 and -거나

Korean uses one "or" for nouns and a different "or" for verbs and adjectives. The particle (이)나 joins nouns, and -거나 joins verbs and adjectives. A particle is a short ending attached to a word to show its job in the sentence.

Both sentences describe the same drinks. The difference is the word class on the left of "or". The lesson on (이)나 or particle covers the noun version in full. The next section shows how to build the verb version.

How Do You Form -거나?

You form -거나 by adding it to the stem, with nothing in between and no change to the stem. Like -고, it has only one version, so there is no choice between -거나 and -으거나.

Revised Romanization (RR, the official Latin spelling) is only an aid. It shows the spelling and not the tense sound, so 먹거나 is written meokgeona even though it is said [먹꺼나].

Stems Ending in a Vowel

Add -거나 after the vowel and say it as written: 보거나, 가거나, 마시거나, 자거나. There is no tense sound, because the ㄱ comes right after a vowel.

Stems Ending in a Consonant

Add -거나 after the final consonant. The spelling stays, but the sound changes in the same way as for -고. A tense consonant is a sharper, tighter sound, written ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ or ㅉ when it has its own letter. The Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법, Articles 11, 12, 23 and 24) give the pattern:

• After the final sounds ㄱ, ㄷ and ㅂ, the ㄱ of -거나 becomes tense: 먹거나 [먹꺼나], 춥거나 [춥꺼나].
• After a stem ending in ㄴ or ㅁ, it also becomes tense: 앉거나 [안꺼나].
• After ㄺ, the ㄱ becomes tense: 읽거나 [일꺼나].
• After ㅎ, the two sounds merge into an aspirated ㅋ: 좋거나 [조커나].
• After ㄹ, nothing changes: 놀거나 [놀거나].

Irregular Stems and Nouns

Irregular stems do not change before -거나. Irregular verbs change their stem only before endings that start with a vowel (and, for ㄹ stems, before ㄴ, ㅂ or ㅅ). The ending -거나 starts with the consonant ㄱ, so 춥다 stays 춥거나 (not 추워), 듣다 stays 듣거나 (not 들어), and 모르다 stays 모르거나 (not 몰라).

For the copula 이다 ("to be"), use 이거나: 학생이거나 선생님이에요 means "He or she is a student or a teacher". After a noun that ends in a vowel, 이거나 stays in writing and is often shortened in speech.

Next, here is one full sentence built step by step.

Building a Sentence with -거나, Step by Step

You build it in five steps, working from the two options you want to offer. This example makes "On weekends I watch a movie or meet friends".

1. Write each option with its dictionary verb. 영화를 보다 and 친구를 만나다.
2. Find the stem of the first verb. Remove 다 from 보다. The stem is 보.
3. Add -거나. 보 + 거나 = 보거나.
4. Give the last verb its tense and politeness. 만나다 becomes the polite present 만나요. Only this verb carries them.
5. Add the time phrase and join. 주말에는 (on weekends) + 영화를 보거나 + 친구를 만나요.

Checkpoint. You have it when you can put the sentence in the past without touching 보거나. The answer is 주말에는 영화를 보거나 친구를 만났어요 [주마레는 영화를 보거나 친구를 만나써요]. Only 만났어요 changes.

The sentence built here is a statement about a habit. The next section shows which tenses and sentence types can follow -거나.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -거나?

Most sentences put the tense and the sentence type on the final verb only, because -거나 itself carries neither. The result is "one or the other", so the final verb describes whichever option is true. The exception is a past marker inside the first clause, which appears when each option is a completed event.

Pronunciation: 있을 거예요 is said [이쓸꺼예요]. In 그 사람은 늦게 일어났거나 길이 막혔을 거예요 the first past clause sounds like [이러낟꺼나], with the final ㅆ said as ㄷ before the tense ㄱ. The past tense is explained in the lesson on past tense -았/었-.

The honorific -(으)시- (the ending that shows respect for the subject) is usually repeated on each verb when the same respected person does both things: 선생님은 책을 읽으시거나 음악을 들으세요 means "The teacher reads a book or listens to music". See honorific -(으)시- for the ending itself.

A question that asks the listener to pick one needs a different word. 영화를 볼래요, 아니면 쇼핑을 할래요? means "Do you want to watch a movie, or go shopping?", and 아니면 ("or else") marks the second choice. A -거나 sentence says that one of them happens, and 아니면 asks which.

Next comes the pattern that learners confuse with -거나 most often.

How Is -거나 Different from -든지?

-거나 lists alternatives, while -든지 says that it does not matter which one you pick. Both can translate as "or", and in a plain list of two options native speakers often use either. The lesson on -든지 gives the full rules.

Compare three sentences:

• 커피를 마시거나 차를 마셔요. = "I drink coffee or tea." This describes what the speaker does.
• 커피를 마시든지 차를 마시든지 마음대로 하세요. = "Drink coffee or tea, as you like." The speaker lets the listener decide.
• 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요. = "I don't mind what we eat." -든지 is the natural choice here, because a question word (뭘, "what") calls for "any one will do".

The other neighbour is -고. -고 joins both actions, and -거나 chooses one: 영화를 보고 친구를 만나요 means "I watch a movie and I meet friends", and 영화를 보거나 친구를 만나요 means "I do one or the other". A side-by-side rule is on the page -거나 vs -든지. The next section lists the useful variations.

What Variations and Edge Cases Does -거나 Have?

-거나 has three useful variations: the repeated pattern, longer lists and the set phrase -거나 말거나. All of them use the same ending.

• Repeated -거나 with 하다. 영화를 보거나 쇼핑을 하거나 해요 means "I do things like watch movies or go shopping". The final 해요 sums up the list, and the sentence suggests that there are other options too.
• Three or more options. 걷거나 뛰거나 자전거를 타요 means "I walk, run or ride a bike" (said [걷꺼나 뛰거나 자전거를 타요]). Each option takes -거나, and the last verb carries the polite ending.
• -거나 말거나. 그 사람이 오거나 말거나 상관없어요 means "I don't mind whether he comes or not". The verb 말다 here means "not do it", and the phrase works like -든지 말든지.

Adjectives work in the same way as verbs: 피곤하거나 아프면 쉬세요 (shown at the top) joins two adjectives. For more neighbours of this pattern, see And / But Connectors. Next are the errors that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -거나?

Learners make five common mistakes with -거나. Each one follows the pattern "learners often assume X; actually Y, because Z".

1. Using the noun particle (이)나 between verbs. Learners write 영화를 보나 친구를 만나요. Actually (이)나 joins nouns, and 보나 reads as a different ending. Use 보거나.
2. Asking someone to choose with -거나. Learners write 영화를 보거나 쇼핑을 해요? to mean "movie or shopping?". Actually -거나 states that one of the options happens. Use 아니면 to ask which.
3. Putting a past marker on both clauses of a habit. Learners write 영화를 봤거나 친구를 만나요. Actually the tense stays on the final verb unless each option is a separate completed event.
4. Using -거나 for "no matter which". Learners write 뭘 먹거나 상관없어요. Actually, with a question word, -든지 is the natural choice: 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요.
5. Saying 먹거나 with a plain ㄱ. Learners follow the spelling. Actually the ㄱ is tense after a consonant, so say [먹꺼나].

Whenever you reach for "or", check what you are joining first. Now test yourself.

Practice and Answers

These four exercises check the main skills: joining options, repairing a mistake and choosing the right word. Try each one before you read the answers.

Exercise 1: Join the options. Make one sentence with -거나: 주말에는 집에서 쉬어요 + 친구를 만나요. ("On weekends I rest at home" + "I meet friends".)

Exercise 2: Fix the error. A learner writes 책을 읽나 음악을 들어요. Correct it.

Exercise 3: Choose the right word. You want to ask a friend, "Do you want to watch a movie, or go shopping?" Which word marks the second choice: -거나 or 아니면?

Exercise 4: Translate. "At home I watch a drama or sleep." (drama = 드라마, at home = 집에서)

Answer Key

• Exercise 1: 주말에는 집에서 쉬거나 친구를 만나요. [주마레는 지베서 쉬거나 친구를 만나요] The polite ending sits on the last verb only.
• Exercise 2: 책을 읽거나 음악을 들어요. [채글 일꺼나 으마글 드러요] Verbs take -거나, and the ㄱ after 읽 is tense.
• Exercise 3: 아니면. The question 영화를 볼래요, 아니면 쇼핑을 할래요? asks the listener to pick.
• Exercise 4: 집에서 드라마를 보거나 자요. [지베서 드라마를 보거나 자요] 보거나 and 자요 are two verb alternatives.

If you missed Exercise 1 or 2, return to the five building steps. If you missed Exercise 3, reread the section on tenses and sentence types. Next, plan where to go from here.

What Should You Learn Next after -거나 Grammar?

The best next lesson is -든지, the "whether ... or" and "any one will do" pattern, because it builds directly on -거나. Then review -고 to keep "and" and "or" apart. The full set of patterns for listing and contrasting clauses is on And / But Connectors. To see where -거나 sits in a study plan, use the Beginner Grammar list.

What this lesson does not cover. It does not cover "or" between nouns in detail (see the lesson on (이)나 or particle), the wider -거나 patterns such as -거나 하다 used as a softener, or the written style. The level given here, A2, is an editorial estimate based on common textbook order and TOPIK I, not an official grading.

In short, -거나 grammar joins verbs or adjectives as alternatives with one unchanging ending, puts tense and politeness on the last verb, and leaves "any one will do" to -든지.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does -거나 mean? -거나 means "or". It joins two or more actions or states as alternatives, and the sentence says that one of them is or will be true. 주말에는 영화를 보거나 친구를 만나요 means "On weekends I watch a movie or meet friends". It is the "or" for verbs and adjectives.

How do I attach -거나 to a verb or adjective? Remove 다 from the dictionary form and add -거나 to the stem: 보다 becomes 보거나, 먹다 becomes 먹거나, 크다 becomes 크거나. Nothing else changes, even for irregular stems such as 춥다 (춥거나) and 듣다 (듣거나). For the copula use 이거나: 학생이거나 선생님이에요.

Can -거나 be used in the past tense? Usually the tense goes on the final verb only: 영화를 보거나 친구를 만났어요. A past marker also appears inside the first clause when each option is a separate completed event or a guess about one, as in 늦게 일어났거나 길이 막혔을 거예요, "either he got up late or the road was jammed".

Is -거나 used in speech or only in writing? -거나 is used in both. It is neutral in tone, so it fits casual speech, polite speech, essays and instructions. Its sound is the main spoken point: after a consonant stem the ㄱ is tense, so 먹거나 is said [먹꺼나]. The written style does not need a different ending.

What is the most common mistake with -거나? Learners often use the noun particle (이)나 between verbs, writing 보나 or 읽나 where -거나 is needed. The particle (이)나 joins nouns: 커피나 차. Verbs and adjectives take -거나: 커피를 마시거나 차를 마셔요. A second mistake is using -거나 to ask someone to choose, where 아니면 is better.

What is the difference between -거나 and -든지? -거나 lists alternatives, and one of them is true. -든지 says that the choice does not matter, so it is often paired with question words, as in 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요. In plain lists of two options the two endings overlap in speech. Use -든지 when you want to say "any one will do".