도: Too, also, even

도: "too", "also", and a few things you wouldn't guess

Where it goes

도 do follows the same placement rule as 만, and it's the part learners get wrong most often.

It replaces 이/가, 은/는 and 을/를:

• 저도 갈게요. jeo-do galgeyo — "I'll go too." Not 저는도 jeoneundo.
• 피자도 먹고 싶어요. pija-do meokgo sipeoyo — "I want to eat pizza too."

It attaches after 에, 에서, 에게:

• 학교에도 가요. hakgyo-e-do gayo — "I go to school too." Not 학교도에 hakgyodoe.
• 친구에게도 말했어요. chingu-ege-do malhaesseoyo — "I told my friend too."

The shortcut: if the particle marks who or what, 도 takes its place. If it marks where or to whom, 도 lines up behind it.

Korean particle 도 vs 만

These two behave identically and mean opposite things, which is why it helps to learn them together. 도 adds something to what's already there. 만 man shuts everything else out.

• 저도 갈게요. jeo-do galgeyo — "I'll go too." Other people are going as well.
• 저만 갈게요. jeo-man galgeyo — "Only I'll go." Nobody else is.

Both replace 이/가 and 을/를, and both queue up behind 에 and 에서. Learn the placement rule once and it covers the pair.

"Even", when the thing is unexpected

도 stops meaning "too" and starts meaning "even" when what it's attached to is surprising.

• 물도 못 마셔요. mul-do mot masyeoyo — "I can't even drink water."
• 이름도 몰라요. ireum-do mollayo — "I don't even know his name."

Nothing changes grammatically. The particle is identical; the sense shifts because water and a name are things you'd expect someone to manage.

도...도 for "both"

Repeat it across two nouns and you get "both A and B", or with a negative, "neither".

• 커피도 차도 좋아해요. keopi-do cha-do joahaeyo — "I like both coffee and tea."
• 돈도 시간도 없어요. don-do sigan-do eopseoyo — "I have neither money nor time."

The fixed negatives

A few very common expressions are built from 도 plus a negative verb, and they're worth learning whole rather than assembling.

• 아무도 없어요. amu-do eopseoyo — "There's nobody."
• 아무것도 몰라요. amugeot-do mollayo — "I don't know anything."
• 하나도 안 매워요. hana-do an maewoyo — "It's not spicy at all."

Note that last one. 하나도 hanado literally reads "even one", but with a negative it means "not in the slightest", and it's everywhere in speech.

With numbers

On an amount, 도 says the number is surprisingly big. With a negative, it says it's surprisingly small:

• 두 시간도 넘게 기다렸어요. du sigando neomge gidaryeosseoyo "I waited over two hours."
• 한 시간도 안 걸려요. han sigando an geollyeoyo "It doesn't even take an hour."

It's the "even" meaning again: even that much, or not even that little.

도 on a verb: 기도 하다

To say "also" about an action rather than a thing, turn the verb into a noun with 기 gi, add 도, and finish with 하다 hada:

• 가끔 혼자 영화를 보기도 해요. gakkeum honja yeonghwareul bogido haeyo "Sometimes I go to the movies alone, too."
• 맛있기도 하고 싸기도 해요. masitgido hago ssagido haeyo "It's tasty, and cheap too."

The second shape, 기도 하고 gido hago … 기도 해요 gido haeyo, is a natural way to list two qualities at once.