What you'll learn
- Read a 12-sentence text aloud about a family.
- Choose 이에요 or 예요 from the last sound of the noun.
- Count people with a native number plus 명.
- Write two sentences about your own family from the model.
Before you start: you need to read Hangul blocks with final consonants. The lesson takes about 20 minutes. If a block like 족 or 명 slows you down, review Easy Korean Sentences to Read first.
What Happens in This Easy Korean Story about Family?
In this easy Korean story about family, the speaker says the family has four people, names the father, mother, a younger sibling and themselves, gives two jobs, describes the sibling and asks the reader about their own family. Play the narration once, then read along with the table.
우리 가족은 네 명이에요. 아버지, 어머니, 동생 그리고 저예요. 아버지는 선생님이고 어머니는 의사예요. 아버지는 학교에서 일해요. 어머니는 병원에서 일해요. 저는 동생이 한 명 있어요. 동생 이름은 지민이에요. 지민이는 학생이에요. 우리는 서울에서 살아요. 주말에는 가족과 같이 밥을 먹어요. 저는 우리 가족이 좋아요. 여러분은 동생이 있어요?
| # | Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 우리 가족은 네 명이에요. | Our family is four people. |
| 2 | 아버지, 어머니, 동생 그리고 저예요. | It is my father, mother, younger sibling and me. |
| 3 | 아버지는 선생님이고 어머니는 의사예요. | My father is a teacher and my mother is a doctor. |
| 4 | 아버지는 학교에서 일해요. | My father works at a school. |
| 5 | 어머니는 병원에서 일해요. | My mother works at a hospital. |
| 6 | 저는 동생이 한 명 있어요. | I have one younger sibling. |
| 7 | 동생 이름은 지민이에요. | My sibling's name is Jimin. |
| 8 | 지민이는 학생이에요. | Jimin is a student. |
| 9 | 우리는 서울에서 살아요. | We live in Seoul. |
| 10 | 주말에는 가족과 같이 밥을 먹어요. | On weekends we eat together with the family. |
| 11 | 저는 우리 가족이 좋아요. | I like our family. |
| 12 | 여러분은 동생이 있어요? | Do you have a younger sibling? |
The story gives no gender for the younger sibling, because 동생 does not show it. Sentence 12 is the yes-no question to answer aloud: 네, 있어요 (yes, I do) or 아니요, 없어요 (no, I do not). The next section explains why the text is easy and where it is not.
What Makes This Story Easy or Hard to Read?
The story is easy because the sentences are short and most end in 이에요, 예요, 일해요 or 있어요. It is harder in three places: choosing 이에요 or 예요, the counter 명, and the names of family members.
| Feature | In the story | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Copula | 네 명이에요, 의사예요, 저예요 | The form depends on the last sound |
| Counter | 네 명, 한 명 | Native number shortens before 명 |
| Possession | 동생이 있어요 | Literally "a sibling exists" |
| Place of action | 학교에서, 병원에서 | 에서 marks where an action happens |
| Name | 지민이는 | In friendly speech a name ending in a consonant takes the suffix 이; in 지민이에요 the 이 belongs to the copula |
The copula is the verb "to be", and it attaches to a noun: 학생 + 이에요 is "am, is or are a student". Sentence 3 has both forms next to each other, which is why it is the key sentence of the story.
Words to Preview before Reading
Preview the words in this table, because most appear in more than one sentence.
| Word | Revised Romanization | Meaning | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 가족 | gajok | family | 1, 10, 11 |
| 명 | myeong | counter for people | 1, 6 |
| 아버지 | abeoji | father | 2, 3, 4 |
| 어머니 | eomeoni | mother | 2, 3, 5 |
| 동생 | dongsaeng | younger sibling | 2, 6, 7 |
| 선생님 | seonsaengnim | teacher | 3 |
| 의사 | uisa | doctor | 3 |
| 병원 | byeongwon | hospital | 5 |
| 이름 | ireum | name | 7 |
| 주말 | jumal | weekend | 10 |
Romanization is only a reading aid. Two family words are worth hearing before you read.
Reading the Story in Three Passes
Read the story three times, each pass with a single job.
- Pass 1: read silently. Find the four family members and the two jobs. Do not look anything up.
- Pass 2: read with the table. Check only the words you could not guess. Then re-read each Korean sentence before looking at the English.
- Pass 3: read aloud with the narration. Play a sentence, pause and repeat it. Then read the whole story aloud without the audio and answer sentence 12 out loud.
Re-reading is the heart of an extensive reading routine.
Grammar Patterns in the Story
Five patterns carry the story.
| Pattern | Example | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + 이에요/예요 | 선생님이에요, 의사예요 | says what someone or something is |
| Place + 에서 + verb | 학교에서 일해요 | where an action happens |
| Subject + 이/가 + 있어요 | 동생이 있어요 | someone has or there is |
| Number + 명 | 한 명, 네 명 | counts people |
| Noun + 과/와 | 가족과 | together with |
The word order is subject, object, then verb at the end, which the Korean sentence structure page explains. The counter is covered under Korean counter for people. To say the same things about yourself aloud, use introduce yourself in Korean.
Worked Example: Choosing 이에요 or 예요
Sentence 3 is 아버지는 선생님이고 어머니는 의사예요. Work through the choice in three steps.
- Find the noun before the ending. In the first half it is 선생님. In the second half it is 의사.
- Look at the last sound of the noun. 선생님 ends in the consonant ㅁ. 의사 ends in the vowel ㅏ.
- Pick the form. After a consonant the copula starts with 이: 선생님이에요, and with the linking ending -고 it becomes 선생님이고. After a vowel the copula is 예요: 의사예요.
The pair 선생님이에요 / 의사예요 is the same choice as 학생이에요 / 저예요. In sentence 3 the speaker links the two halves with -고, so the first half ends in 이고 and only the last half ends in 예요.
아버지는 선생님이고 어머니는 의사예요.
abeojineun seonsaengnimigo eomeonineun uisayeyo
My father is a teacher and my mother is a doctor.
저는 동생이 한 명 있어요.
jeoneun dongsaengi han myeong isseoyo
I have one younger sibling.
You can now say the same thing about your family by swapping the nouns.
What Mistakes Do Learners Make with This Story?
Learners often make four mistakes here.
| Learners often assume | Actually | Because |
|---|---|---|
| 나의 가족 is the natural way to say my family | 우리 가족 is the normal phrase | Korean uses 우리 for family and home |
| 의사이에요 is correct | Say 의사예요 | 예요 follows a vowel |
| 하나 명 is one person | Say 한 명 | The number shortens before a counter |
| 동생 means brother | It means a younger sibling of any gender | 동생 does not show gender |
The first row is the most useful to learn early. Native speakers say 우리 엄마 and 우리 집 for a single person's mother and home.
Practice and Answer Key
Part A: true or false.
- The family has three people.
- The mother works at a hospital.
- The speaker has two younger siblings.
- Jimin is a student.
- The family lives in Busan.
Part B: choose 이에요 or 예요. 가수 ___ (singer), 학생 ___ (student), 회사원 ___ (office worker), 어머니 ___ (mother).
Part C: write two sentences about your own family. Use the model: 우리 가족은 ( ) 명이에요. 저는 ( ) 이/가 있어요.
Answers
- Part A: 1 false (네 명), 2 true, 3 false (한 명), 4 true, 5 false (서울).
- Part B: 가수예요, 학생이에요, 회사원이에요, 어머니예요. Vowel-final nouns (가수, 어머니) take 예요. Consonant-final nouns (학생, 회사원) take 이에요.
- Part C: for example, 우리 가족은 세 명이에요. 저는 언니가 한 명 있어요. Check that the number is native and that 명 follows it.
Where to Go Next
Read the next story, Easy Korean Story About a School Day, where 에 and 에서 appear side by side. For more levelled texts, see the full set of Korean short stories for beginners. The earlier story Easy Korean Story at the Cafe uses counters for drinks.
This easy Korean story about family covers close family and two jobs. It does not teach the full set of relatives (grandparents, uncles, in-laws), and it avoids honorific verbs for elders. Re-read it once a week to keep the 이에요/예요 choice fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does Korean Say 'Our Family' Instead of 'My Family'?
Korean speakers usually say 우리 for things they share with a group, such as family, house and country. 우리 가족 literally means our family, even when the speaker is one person. 내 가족 is grammatical but sounds unusual for your own household. The same habit gives 우리 집 (my home) and 우리 엄마 (my mom).
Is It 이에요 or 예요 after 의사?
Use 예요 after 의사, because the word ends in a vowel. Use 이에요 after a word that ends in a consonant, such as 선생님 or 학생. So 의사예요 means I am, he is or she is a doctor, and 선생님이에요 means someone is a teacher. Pronouns work the same way: 저예요 is I am.
How Do I Count People?
Use a native number plus the counter 명: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명, 네 명. The numbers shorten before the counter, so 하나 becomes 한 and 둘 becomes 두. From five the full form returns (다섯 명, 여섯 명), except that 스물 shortens to 스무 명. For a question, ask 몇 명이에요? The word 몇 means how many.
What Is the Difference between 동생 and 형?
동생 means a younger brother or sister of any gender. 형 means an older brother, said by a male speaker. A female speaker calls her older brother 오빠, and her older sister 언니. A male speaker calls his older sister 누나. Korean family words depend on the speaker's gender and on age order.
