What Are Korean Spacing Rules?
Korean spacing rules (띄어쓰기, ttuieosseugi) are the official rules for placing a space between words in written Korean. They are part of the 한글 맞춤법 (Hangeul Orthography), the spelling rules of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원). The rules apply to everything you write by hand or type: essays, exam answers, emails and forms.
The section has seven lessons, and six rules sit behind them. Ask the six questions in this order for any sentence.
- Is it a particle? Attach it to the word before it.
- Is it a dependent noun? Put a space before it.
- Is it a number and a counter? Space the Hangul form, and attach the digit form.
- Is it a helper verb? Space it, or attach it only where the rule allows.
- Is it a name? Write the family name and given name together, and space the title.
- Is it a 하다 verb? Write it as one word unless a particle, 안 or 못 comes between the noun and 하다.
After this hub you will be able to apply these six questions to a short text. The section is for learners at the A2 level who can already read Hangul and write simple sentences. It is not an exam-prep course, and it does not cover handwriting, spelling or punctuation, which have their own sections.
Where to Start with Korean Spacing Rules
Start with the basic spacing unit, then go through the six rules in the order below. Every lesson takes 25 to 30 minutes and ends with a practice set and an answer key.
| If you are... | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to spacing | Spacing in Korean | It defines the unit that spaces separate and the six decisions |
| Unsure about 은/는, 이/가, 에 | Korean particles spacing | The simplest rule: particles attach |
| Writing 할 수 있다 or 먹을 것 | Korean dependent nouns spacing | These nouns need a space |
| Writing quantities or prices | Korean counter spacing | 한 개 versus 3개 |
| Writing 먹어 보다 or 가고 싶다 | Korean auxiliary verb spacing | Which pairs allow both forms |
| Writing a name or a title | Korean name spacing | 김민수 씨 and titles |
| Unsure about 공부하다 or 공부를 하다 | Korean hada verbs spacing | One word or two |
The sections below summarise each rule. They help you decide which lesson to open.
What Is the Basic Spacing Principle?
The basic principle is that a space separates an eojeol (어절, eojeol), a unit of text made of one word plus any particles or endings attached to it. A space is not placed between every word, in the way English places it. It is placed between units.
The same sentence shows the difference. Compare a sentence with the wrong spaces and the same sentence with the right ones.
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| 저는 학교 에서 한국어 를 공부 할수 있어요. | 저는 학교에서 한국어를 공부할 수 있어요. |
In the right version, the particles 에서 and 를 attach to their nouns, 공부할 is a verb with its ending, and 수 is a dependent noun with a space. The sentence means "I can study Korean at school."
저는 학교에서 한국어를 공부할 수 있어요.
jeoneun hakgyoeseo hangugeoreul gongbuhal su isseoyo.
I can study Korean at school.
Spoken Korean gives no cue for these spaces. The sentence is said as a smooth stream, and the spoken form [공부할쑤 이써요] has the tense ㅅ of 수 after the ending -ㄹ, which the spelling does not show. This is why spacing has to be learned as a rule.
Does a wrong space change the meaning? Sometimes. 아버지가 방에 들어가신다 means "Father enters the room", but 아버지 가방에 들어가신다 reads as "Father goes into the bag".
The next two sections group the rules by what they do to the space.
Which Words Attach to the Previous Word?
Particles, verb endings and the suffix 하다 attach to the word before them. These pieces have no separate life, so they join the word they belong to. The three most important cases are these.
- Particles attach: 학교에, 한국어를, 저는, 책도. Double particles stack with no space: 학교에서는. The lesson Korean particles spacing gives ten sentences.
- Verb endings attach: 먹었어요, 갈수록, 먹는데. Look-alikes of dependent nouns are the usual trap.
- 하다 as a suffix attaches to its noun when the verb is a dictionary word: 공부하다. See Korean hada verbs spacing.
If a piece is attached, you cannot slide a word between it and the previous word. If you can, it is a separate word.
Which Words Need a Space?
Dependent nouns, counters and helper verbs are separate words, so they need a space. They share one feature: they depend on a word before them for their meaning, but they are still written apart.
| Piece | Example | Rule | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent noun | 먹을 것, 할 수 있다 | space before it | Dependent nouns |
| Counter after Hangul | 한 개, 두 명 | space between number and counter | Counters |
| Counter after a digit | 3개, 10살 | usually attached | Counters |
| Helper verb | 먹어 보다 | space, or attached where allowed | Helper verbs |
Two of these four rules allow a second spelling. After -아/어, 먹어 보다 and 먹어보다 are both correct, and for counters, 3개 is the usual attached digit form. The dependent noun rule has no second spelling, and the particle rule has none either.
How Are Names and Titles Written?
A family name and a given name are written together, and a title, 씨 or another term of address follows after a space. So 김민수 is one unit, and 김민수 씨 is two. The lesson Korean name spacing covers family names, given names, titles and 씨 with ten examples.
Names bring back the particle rule, since a name takes its particle with no space: 민수가, 김민수 씨를.
Comparing the Korean Spacing Rules Lessons
The table compares the seven lessons. Each ends with a practice set and an answer key, and each takes 25 to 30 minutes.
| Lesson | Level | What you can do afterwards | Two forms allowed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spacing in Korean | A2 | Explain what an eojeol is and space a short sentence | no |
| Particles | A2 | Attach particles correctly in ten sentences | no |
| Dependent nouns | A2 | Space ten sentences by finding the dependent noun | no |
| Counters | A2 | Write 12 number-plus-counter phrases in Hangul and digits | yes: Hangul or digit |
| Helper verbs | A2 | Space eight main-plus-helper pairs | yes: after -아/어 |
| Names | A2 | Write ten names with titles and 씨 | only for two-syllable family names (남궁서진 or 남궁 서진) |
| Hada verbs | A2 | Space ten sentences with 하다 and 되다 verbs | no |
The seven descriptions that follow say what each lesson contains.
- Spacing in Korean: the unit that spaces separate (the eojeol), the basic rule, and the six decisions that fix most spacing.
- Korean particles spacing: why 저는, 학교에, 책을 are written without a space before the particle, and how double particles stack.
- Korean dependent nouns spacing: why 것, 수, 줄, 번 and 지 are spaced, and how to tell them from look-alike endings.
- Korean counter spacing: 한 개 versus 3개, dates, times and money.
- Korean auxiliary verb spacing: 먹어 보다 or 먹어보다, and the helper pairs that must be spaced.
- Korean name spacing: why 김민수 is one unit while 씨 and titles are separate words, and how particles attach after them.
- Korean hada verbs spacing: when 공부하다 is one word and when 공부를 하다 needs a space.
How Do You Practise Korean Spacing Rules?
Practise by correcting short sentences, first with the rule list in front of you and then without it. Follow this route.
- Read the lesson and say the examples aloud with the audio.
- Do the practice set without looking at the rules, then check the answer key.
- Copy a paragraph from your own writing and mark every particle, dependent noun, counter and helper verb.
- Use a spell checker as a second pair of eyes. A checker fixes many spacing slips, but it cannot know what you meant, and it may accept a space that changes the shade of meaning. See the Korean spell checker page for how to use one well.
- For longer texts, try the Korean writing prompts, and read more Korean to see the rules at work in read Korean faster.
Exam writing has its own conventions, such as the manuscript paper (원고지) used in the TOPIK writing section, where spacing is shown by leaving a square empty.
Study Order at a Glance
Follow the lessons in the order in the table. Together they take about three hours.
| Step | Lesson | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spacing in Korean | about 30 minutes |
| 2 | Korean particles spacing | about 30 minutes |
| 3 | Korean dependent nouns spacing | about 25 minutes |
| 4 | Korean counter spacing | about 25 minutes |
| 5 | Korean auxiliary verb spacing | about 25 minutes |
| 6 | Korean name spacing | about 25 minutes |
| 7 | Korean hada verbs spacing | about 25 minutes |
Audio, Review Status and Scope
Spacing is a spelling topic, so it does not change the sound of a sentence. Every example has audio so that you can hear the whole sentence while you look at the spaces.
This section covers the main spacing rules for learners. It does not cover every exception in the 한글 맞춤법, specialised terms or foreign words, or the spacing of poetry. The rules come from the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원).
Related Sections
- Korean spelling rules: the other half of written accuracy, from 되 versus 돼 to 사이시옷.
- Korean punctuation: periods, commas, quotation marks and chat marks.
- Korean writing: the whole route from typing to a short email.
In short, the Korean spacing rules ask six questions in order: particle, dependent noun, counter, helper verb, name, 하다 verb.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Are Korean Spaces Confusing?
Korean spaces mark phrases, not single words, and the units are made of a word plus attached endings. The rules also have exceptions that allow two spellings, such as 먹어 보다 and 먹어보다. Six rules cover most cases, and learning them one lesson at a time removes most of the guessing.
Why Do Native Speakers Also Ask about Spacing?
Spacing is one of the hardest parts of Korean spelling, even for Koreans, because the rules have many exceptions and speech gives no cue for where a space goes. The National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) answers many spacing questions online. Native speakers use spell checkers for the same reason.
Does a Wrong Space Change Meaning?
Sometimes. 아버지가 방에 들어가신다 means that father enters the room, but 아버지 가방에 들어가신다 reads as father goes into a bag. Most wrong spaces only look careless without changing the sense, yet a few pairs, such as 잘하다 and 잘 하다, do change the shade of meaning.
How Do I Check Spacing?
First apply the six rules, then use a spell checker as a second pair of eyes. A checker fixes many spacing slips, but it cannot know what you meant, so it may accept a space that changes the meaning. Read the sentence aloud and ask which words are single units.
Which Spacing Rule Should I Learn First?
Start with particles, because they appear in every sentence and the rule is the simplest: attach them to the word before. Then learn dependent nouns, since 것 and 수 are very common. The lessons below follow this order, from the basic unit of spacing to the rules for 하다 verbs.