Korean Position Words Vocabulary: 20 Words with Romanization and Audio

Key facts

Korean Position Words Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 20 words in five groups of four. It starts with the vertical and side words, adds front and back, then inside and outside, then between and among, and ends with distance words. It belongs to Shapes, Materials and Measurements in Korean and pairs with Korean Measurement Vocabulary. Every word has an example sentence, so the page doubles as a ready deck.

All twenty are nouns or adverbs. The grammar is small, because the same pattern works for every word: place + position noun + 에 + 있어요. The pattern is the main thing to learn, and the next section shows it.

How Does Korean Say "on the Desk" without a Preposition?

Korean puts the place first, then a position noun, then the particle 에. English says "on the desk" with a preposition and a noun. Korean says desk, top, at: 책상 위에. The position noun works like a place of its own, so it can take any particle that a place takes.

The particle after the position noun depends on the verb. With 있어요 (there is), use 에: 책상 위에 있어요. With an action verb, use 에서: 학교 앞에서 만나요. With a direction verb, 에 also works: 학교 앞에 가요. The full rules are on the location particles page. For now, remember that "where something is" takes 에 and "where an action happens" takes 에서.

Which Position Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 위 (above), 아래 (below), 앞 (front), 뒤 (behind) and 안 (inside) first. These five cover most everyday descriptions, and the pattern you practise with them works for all the other words. After those five, add 옆 (beside) and 밖 (outside) for giving directions.

• Words to say. 위, 아래, 앞, 뒤, 옆, 안, 밖. You use these in nearly every location sentence.
• Words to recognise. 맞은편, 건너편, 근처. These appear in directions and on maps.
• Words to understand when spoken. 가운데, 중간, 사이. A person giving directions says these, and you only need to follow them.

A box and a ball make a good study aid. Put a ball above, below, beside, in front of, behind, inside and outside a box, and say a sentence for each. The table below gives all seven, plus the "between two boxes" case.

Word · 8

1. 1

   위

   Play

   wi

   above; on top of

2. 2

   아래

   Play

   arae

   below; underneath

3. 3

   옆

   Play

   yeop

   beside; next to

4. 4

   앞

   Play

   ap

   front; in front of

5. 5

   뒤

   Play

   dwi

   back; behind

6. 6

   안

   Play

   an

   inside; in

7. 7

   밖

   Play

   bak

   outside

8. 8

   사이

   Play

   sai

   between; gap

Above, below and Beside

These four words answer the question "where is it?" when you describe things along the vertical line and the side. Each is a noun, so it follows the place it describes and takes the location particle 에. The first two are opposites, the third is close to the second, and the fourth is the neighbour on either side.

Example Sentences

All four sentences follow one frame: thing + 이/가 + place + position noun + 에 + 있어요. The thing being located takes the subject particle 이 or 가, the place stands alone with no particle, and 에 marks where something is. Korean needs no word for "the" or "of", so 책상 위에 means "on the desk" without any extra word. Say each sentence aloud after the audio clip, and swap in other nouns, such as 의자 (chair) or 침대 (bed), to make new ones.

How Do You Say in Front and behind in Korean?

Front and back words describe where you stand in a line, where a shop sits on a street and where two buildings face each other. Four words cover it. The first two are plain opposites. The last two describe the other side of a road or a space, and they are the ones English speakers mix up.

Note the particle in the first example: 학교 앞에서 만나요 uses 에서, not 에. The particle 에서 marks the place where an action happens (meeting), while 에 marks where something exists (is located). The difference is explained on the location particles page, and it is the most common slip in sentences with these words.

Inside and Outside

Inside and outside words are the position words you hear in everyday instructions, such as "put it in the bag" and "wait outside". Korean has two words for inside and two for outside. For inside, the choice depends on depth; for outside, on whether the space is physical.

The word 안 has two jobs. As a noun it means "inside" and follows the place: 가방 안에 (in the bag). As an adverb it means "not" and comes before a verb: 안 가요 (I do not go). The two look the same but sit in different places in the sentence. The same is true of 밖에, which means "outside" in 밖에 비가 와요, but means "only" when the sentence ends in a negative. The mistakes section below gives an example.

How Do You Say between and Among in Korean?

Between and middle words describe the space in the middle of two or more things. They are useful for giving directions, because shops and stations often sit between landmarks. One of them, 중, is a different kind of word and shows up in many fixed expressions.

The pattern A와/과 B 사이에 uses 와 after a vowel and 과 after a consonant. 은행과 우체국 사이에 is correct because 은행 ends in a consonant. Notice that 사이 needs two named things, while 가운데 needs only one place. Ask yourself whether there is one thing or two before you choose between them.

Far and Near

Distance words finish the set. They tell you how close something is, and the last one, 저쪽, points in a direction. Used with the question 어디에 있어요?, they let you ask where something is and understand the answer.

How Do You Ask Where Something Is?

The question is 어디에 있어요? (where is it?). The answer uses the pattern you have just learned, and it can be as short as one word. Distance words and direction words let you answer without naming the place twice.

The words 이쪽, 그쪽 and 저쪽 point in a direction: 이쪽 is this side, near me, 그쪽 is that side, near you, and 저쪽 is that side, far from both. These three use the same ㅈ and ㅉ sounds you saw in the group above. Answers that sound short are normal in Korean, because the context already holds the rest of the sentence.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Position words end in many consonants, and they change sound when 에 follows. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which records some sound changes and ignores others.

Without the particle, a final consonant is not released. 옆 alone is [엽], 앞 alone is [압], and 밖 alone is [박]. This is why the same word looks different in the audio when it stands alone. The doubled ㄹ in 멀리 is one long l sound, held a little longer than a single l.

Audio and Slow Playback

Every headword and every example sentence has its own audio. The five clips below replay the trickiest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Position Words?

These five mistakes come up often with position words.

1. Dropping 에. 책상 위 있어요 is incomplete. Add the particle: 책상 위에 있어요.
2. Using 에 for an action. 학교 앞에 만나요 is wrong. Use 에서 for where an action happens: 학교 앞에서 만나요.
3. Adding 의 between the place and the position noun. 책상의 위에 is possible but stiff. In speech, say 책상 위에.
4. Confusing 밖에 (outside) with 밖에 (only). 밖에 비가 와요 means "it is raining outside". But 하나밖에 없어요 means "there is only one": here 밖에 is a particle that must be followed by a negative. The spelling is the same, so the end of the sentence decides.
5. Mixing up the noun 안 and the negative 안. In 가방 안에, 안 is a noun that follows the place. In 안 가요, 안 is a negative adverb that comes right before the verb. Position in the sentence tells you which one you have.

A habit that avoids most of these: say the place, the position noun and 에, then the verb. Do not add anything between them.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you know each of the 20 words. Second, switch to listening mode and answer from the audio alone. Third, take the quiz. The deck covers all 20 words with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, put real objects around your room and say one sentence for each: 컵이 책상 위에 있어요, 신발이 문 옆에 있어요. Saying the sentence while you look at the object fixes both the word and the pattern.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Quantity Words Vocabulary, which teaches words for how much and how many, or Korean Measurement Vocabulary. For the grammar behind the sentences, see location particles. To move up a level, return to Shapes, Materials and Measurements in Korean.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say above in Korean?

Above is 위 (wi). It also means "on top of", so it covers both "on the desk" and "above the desk". Say 책상 위에 (on the desk) with the particle 에. The opposite is 아래 (arae), meaning below. If something touches the surface, 위 is still the right word.

How Do You Pronounce 아래 (arae)?

Say a-rae, with two short syllables. The ㄹ between vowels is a light tap, like the "tt" in the American "butter". The final ㅐ is open, like the vowel in "bed". Press the audio button on this page for the normal and slow versions.

How Many Position Words Should I Learn First?

Five first: 위, 아래, 앞, 뒤 and 안. At five new words a day, the whole list of 20 takes four days plus review. Add 옆 and 밖 on day two, since you need them to give directions.

Where Can I Practise Position Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. The deck for this page holds all 20 words with Hangul, romanization and audio, and it offers recognition and listening modes. Your progress stays in your browser, so return daily and review the cards you missed.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Position Words?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, copy the tables on this page by hand or use the flashcard deck, which carries the same 20 words.

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