beginner
들 (deul) is the Korean plural marker, and it's often left out.
Makes a noun plural. Often optional but clarifies multiple items.
Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language
- Same form after a consonant or a vowel.
- Optional. Korean often leaves the plural unmarked.
Build it
When to use it
Groups of people
The most natural place for it.
Pointing at a set
These ones, those ones.
Everyone
다 da plus 들 deul means "everyone".
Watch out
Things you can't count, like water, don't take 들 deul.
In context
8 examples- 1
학생들이 공부해요.
Haksaengdeuri gongbuhaeyo.
Students are studying.
- 2
새들이 날아요.
Saedeuri narayo.
Birds are flying.
- 3
친구들이랑 노래방에 갔어.
Chingudeurirang noraebange gasseo.
I went to karaoke with my friends.
- 4
사람들이 왜 이렇게 많아요?
Saramdeuri wae ireoke manayo?
Why are there so many people?
- 5
우리 아이들은 벌써 대학생이에요.
Uri aideureun beolsseo daehaksaengieyo.
Our kids are already in college.
- 6
다들 잘 지냈어?
Dadeul jal jinaesseo?
How have you all been?
- 7
선생님들께서 회의 중이세요.
Seonsaengnimdeulkkeseo hoeui jungiseyo.
The teachers are in a meeting.
- 8
길에 차들이 너무 많아.
Gire chadeuri neomu mana.
There are so many cars on the road.
Practice
8 questions친구 두 명이 왔어요.
Chingu du myeongi wasseoyo.
Two friends came.
들: the plural marker Korean mostly doesn't need
English forces you to choose. Every countable noun is either singular or plural and there's no way to dodge it. Korean doesn't work that way, and 들 is optional almost everywhere.
The default is no marker at all
- 펜을 샀어요. pen-eul sasseoyo — "I bought a pen." Or pens. Both.
Nothing is missing from that sentence. Korean leaves number unmarked and lets context handle it, the same way English leaves out politeness level and nobody complains.
When 들 shows up
Mostly with people, and mostly when the plurality matters.
- 학생들이 왔어요. haksaengdeur-i wasseoyo — "The students came."
- 사람들 saramdeul — "people"
- 친구들하고 갔어요. chingudeul-hago gasseoyo — "I went with my friends."
With objects it's rare and can sound clumsy. 책들 chaekdeul is grammatical but a Korean speaker would usually just say 책 chaek.
Where it's actually wrong
Don't use it with a number or counter. The number already tells you there's more than one, so 들 becomes redundant and sounds off.
- 학생 세 명이 왔어요. haksaeng se myeong-i wasseoyo — "Three students came." ✓
- 학생들 세 명이 왔어요 haksaengdeul se myeongi wasseoyo. (sounds redundant)
If you want more on the counter half of that sentence, the counters page covers all of them.
Don't use it with mass nouns. 물들 muldeul or 공기들 gonggideul makes as little sense as "waters" and "airs" do in English.
The strange one: 들 on things that aren't nouns
This catches people who are already fairly advanced. Korean can stick 들 onto adverbs, verb endings, even whole phrases, to signal that the listeners are plural.
- 안녕히 가세요들. annyeonghi gaseyo-deul — "Goodbye, all of you."
- 많이 드세요들. mani deuseyo-deul — "Eat up, everyone."
The 들 isn't making anything plural in that sentence. It's marking that you're addressing a group. You don't need to produce this, but recognizing it explains a lot of otherwise baffling sentences.
The short version
Leave it out unless you're talking about people and the plurality is the point. Korean tolerates ambiguity about number in a way English can't, and over-marking is a more obvious learner tell than under-marking.
Hanja in this lesson
Words from the examples that are written with Chinese characters. Tap a character to see its page.
Look it up in the dictionary
The entry for 들 in two trusted Korean dictionaries.
