Relative Clauses in Korean: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Turn a full sentence into a clause that describes a noun.
• Remove the shared noun and its particle from the clause.
• Pick the right modifier ending for present, past and future.
• Avoid the classic errors 사람 어제 만난 and 제가 어제 그 사람을 만난 사람.

Prerequisites: the three basic modifier endings (-는 noun modifier, -(으)ㄴ adjective and past modifier and -(으)ㄹ future modifier). Time: about 15 minutes.

Listen to the two model sentences for this lesson.

The next section defines the clause and shows it in two sentences.

What Are Relative Clauses in Korean?

A relative clause is a group of words with its own verb that describes a noun. In English the group comes after the noun and starts with "who", "which" or "that": "the person who I met yesterday". Korean has no such word. A Korean relative clause is an ordinary clause whose verb takes a modifier ending (-는, -(으)ㄴ or -(으)ㄹ), and the whole clause is placed before the noun it describes.

Because the clause comes first, the noun that it describes is the last word of the phrase. This is why Korean grammar books call the noun the head noun: the clause hangs from it. The earlier lessons showed one-word modifiers such as 예쁜 꽃. A relative clause is the same pattern with more words inside the modifier.

A First Example

In both sentences the particle 이 or 가 is attached to the head noun, and it belongs to the main clause. The next section explains why the Korean order feels so different from English.

How Is a Korean Relative Clause Different from English?

A Korean relative clause comes before the noun, has no relative word, and leaves a gap where the noun would be. English does the opposite on all three points. The table sets the two languages side by side.

The gap is the key idea. In the full sentence 제가 어제 그 사람을 만났어요 ("I met that person yesterday") the noun 그 사람 has the particle 을. When the same noun becomes the head of a relative clause, it leaves the clause and its particle goes with it: 제가 어제 만난 사람. The clause now has a hole where 그 사람을 used to be, and the head noun fills that hole in meaning.

English speakers often try to find a word for "who". There is none to find. The next section turns the idea into steps.

How Do You Build a Relative Clause in Korean?

A relative clause is built in four steps: choose the noun, remove it with its particle, change the verb to a modifier, and put the noun last. The worked example uses the sentence 제가 어제 그 사람을 만났어요.

1. Pick the noun to describe. Here it is 그 사람 ("that person").
2. Remove it with its particle. Take away 그 사람을. What is left is 제가 어제 만났어요.
3. Change the verb. The clause is about something finished, so 만났어요 becomes the past modifier 만난. For other times use 만나는 (present) or 만날 (future).
4. Put the noun after the clause. 제가 어제 만난 사람 means "the person I met yesterday".

You'll know it worked when the finished phrase has one noun, the head noun, at the very end, and the clause has no particle left over. The subject 제가 can be dropped if it is clear: 어제 만난 사람. To use the phrase in a sentence, add the main clause: 어제 만난 사람이 제 친구예요.

Try the modifier forms of 만나다 yourself.

The next section shows which roles the head noun can play inside the clause.

What Roles Can the Head Noun Play inside the Clause?

The head noun can be the subject, the object, a place, a time or a reason inside its own clause. Each role has a particle in the full sentence, and the particle disappears when the noun becomes the head. The table gives one example for each role.

Three observations follow from the table.

One Korean pattern covers many English words. English needs "who", "which", "where", "when" and "why". Korean uses the same modifier ending for all five roles. The role is understood from the verb and the nouns.

The place and time particles go too. 에 in 도시에 and the time word in 그날 do not stay in the clause. Only the noun at the end remains.

Two verbs can look the same. 사는 is the present modifier of both 살다 ("live") and 사다 ("buy"). 사는 도시 is "the city where one lives", and 사는 책 is "the book one buys". The nouns around the verb show which verb is meant.

The next section covers the choice of ending inside the clause.

Which Modifier Ending Goes inside the Clause?

The ending inside the clause shows the time of the clause relative to the main verb: -는 for the same time, -(으)ㄴ for earlier, and -(으)ㄹ for later. Adjectives use -(으)ㄴ for a quality, and 이다 uses 인.

The adjective example 키가 큰 사람 is already a small relative clause, because 키가 큰 has its own subject, 키가 ("height"). The copula forms are in 이다 modifier 인 이었던 일, and the remembered past -던 is a later B2 topic. The full side-by-side comparison of the three basic endings is on -는 vs -(으)ㄴ vs -(으)ㄹ.

The next section looks at longer clauses and at two cases that need care.

How Do Long Clauses Stack, and When Are They Unclear?

Long clauses stack from left to right, with the head noun always last, and they can become ambiguous when a modifier could attach to two nouns. A longer phrase is built by adding words before the verb, or by putting one clause inside another.

Adding words. 제가 어제 서울에서 만난 사람 means "the person I met in Seoul yesterday". The place 서울에서 and the time 어제 both stay inside the clause, because they describe the meeting and not the person.

Nesting. 제가 어제 서울에서 만난 키가 큰 사람 means "the tall person I met in Seoul yesterday". The inner modifier 키가 큰 describes 사람, and the outer clause describes the whole phrase.

Ambiguity. 예쁜 친구의 동생 can mean "the pretty friend's younger sibling" or "the friend's pretty younger sibling", because 예쁜 can attach to 친구 or to 동생. Spoken Korean uses pauses to separate the two readings. In writing, reword the phrase: 친구의 예쁜 동생 puts the adjective unmistakably on the sibling.

Clauses without a gap. Some phrases have a clause that does not leave a hole. 비가 오는 소리 means "the sound of rain falling", and 고기 굽는 냄새 means "the smell of meat roasting". The head noun (소리, 냄새) is not a part of the clause, so nothing is removed. English has the same pattern in "the sound of rain falling".

What this lesson does not cover. It does not cover clauses that report a fact with a noun such as 소문 ("rumour") or 사실 ("fact"), which use the quoting form -다는, or the full list of patterns that begin with -는.

An honest limit. Very long Korean clauses are legal but hard to read. Native writers break them into two sentences, and learners should do the same once a clause holds more than one verb.

The next section collects the errors that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Relative Clauses?

Learners make six predictable mistakes. Each one has a reason and a fix.

Learners often put the noun first, as in English. Actually the clause comes before the noun. Wrong: 사람 어제 만난. Right: 어제 만난 사람. Fix: finish the clause, then say the noun.

Learners often repeat the noun inside the clause. Actually the noun is removed from its own clause. Wrong: 제가 어제 그 사람을 만난 사람. Right: 제가 어제 만난 사람. Fix: say the noun once, at the end. The wrong version has no gap, so it does not say clearly who the person is. Without 제가, 어제 그 사람을 만난 사람 means "the person who met that person yesterday", which is a different phrase.

Learners often choose the wrong time ending. Actually the ending must fit the time of the clause. Wrong: 어제 만나는 사람 for "the person I met yesterday". Right: 어제 만난 사람. Fix: yesterday is finished, so use -(으)ㄴ.

Learners often put 는 on an adjective. Actually adjectives take -(으)ㄴ. Wrong: 키가 크는 사람 for "a tall person". Right: 키가 큰 사람. Fix: ask whether the clause word names an action or a quality. The form 크는 exists, but it means "growing".

Learners often attach 는 to the copula. Actually 이다 gives 인. Wrong: 학생는 친구. Right: 학생인 친구. Fix: use 인 after a noun.

Learners often give the head noun the particle of the inner clause. Actually the particle on the head noun belongs to the main clause. Wrong: 어제 만난 사람을 제 친구예요. Right: 어제 만난 사람이 제 친구예요. Fix: choose the particle for the main verb, not for the verb inside the clause.

Practice turns these rules into habits, as the next section shows.

Practice and Answers

Complete the four tasks, then compare your answers with the key.

Task 1: combine two sentences. Turn the first sentence into a relative clause and join it to the second.

1. 선생님이 한국어를 가르쳐요. 저는 그 선생님을 좋아해요.
2. 제가 어제 책을 샀어요. 그 책이 재미있어요.
3. 친구가 서울에 살아요. 저는 그 친구를 만나요.

Task 2: fix the error. Each phrase has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. 사람 어제 만난
2. 어제 만나는 사람
3. 키가 크는 사람

Task 3: translate. Write in Korean: "The person I met yesterday is my friend." and "The singer I like came."

Task 4: write your own. Describe one person or thing in your life with a relative clause, for example 제가 매일 마시는 커피 ("the coffee I drink every day").

Answer key

1. (1) 한국어를 가르치는 선생님을 좋아해요. (2) 제가 어제 산 책이 재미있어요. (3) 서울에 사는 친구를 만나요.
2. (1) 어제 만난 사람 (2) 어제 만난 사람 (3) 키가 큰 사람.
3. 어제 만난 사람이 제 친구예요. 제가 좋아하는 가수가 왔어요.
4. Sample answers: 제가 매일 마시는 커피, 제가 어제 본 영화 (the movie I saw yesterday), 제가 사는 동네 (the neighbourhood where I live). Any clause plus a head noun is correct.

If task 1 was correct, you can build relative clauses. If task 2 was hard, return to the section on mistakes. The next section points you to the lessons that follow.

Next Lessons after Relative Clauses in Korean

After relative clauses in Korean, learn how the copula describes a noun in 이다 modifier 인 이었던 일. The nouns that follow a modifier in patterns such as 할 수 있다 are the topic of Korean dependent nouns 것 수 때 줄 적.

The wider set is listed on the parent page, Noun-Modifying Forms. If the order of subject, object and verb is still new, read the Korean SOV sentence pattern first.

This lesson covers the order, the gap and the choice of ending. It does not cover reported-fact clauses or -던. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The Korean text and spoken forms on this page were generated with AI assistance. Romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are relative clauses in Korean? A Korean relative clause is a clause whose verb takes a modifier ending (-는, -(으)ㄴ or -(으)ㄹ) and which stands before the noun it describes. There is no word for "who" or "which". 어제 만난 사람 means "the person I met yesterday", and the clause 어제 만난 describes the head noun 사람.

How do I form a relative clause in Korean? Take a full sentence, remove the shared noun with its particle, and change the final verb to a modifier ending. 제가 어제 그 사람을 만났어요 becomes 제가 어제 만난, and then the noun follows: 제가 어제 만난 사람. Use -는 for the present, -(으)ㄴ for the past and -(으)ㄹ for the future.

What is the most common mistake with Korean relative clauses? The most common mistake is repeating the noun inside the clause, as in 제가 어제 그 사람을 만난 사람. That phrase has no gap, so it does not say clearly who the person is. The correct phrase for "the person I met yesterday" is 제가 어제 만난 사람. The noun and its particle must leave the clause.

How are Korean relative clauses different from English ones? English puts the clause after the noun and uses who, which or that: "the person who I met". Korean puts the clause before the noun and uses no linking word. The modifier ending joins the clause to the noun. The shared noun is removed from the clause, so the clause has a gap.

Do I use relative clauses in speech, writing or both? Both. Relative clauses are a core part of everyday speech and writing at every level. 제가 좋아하는 가수 and 어제 만난 사람 sound natural in conversation, in messages and in books. Only the sentence ending changes with politeness. The clause before the noun stays the same in casual, polite and formal speech.

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