beginner
Says what something is: "I'm a student", "it's a book". It goes right after the noun.
Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language
- After a consonant: 이에요 ieyo. After a vowel: 예요 yeyo.
- The dictionary form is 이다 ida. It attaches to the noun with no space.
Build it
The forms you need
Formal
학생입니다haksaengimnidaI am a studentCasual
학생이야haksaengiyaI'm a student (to friends)Past
학생이었어요haksaengieosseoyoI was a studentNot
학생이 아니에요haksaengi anieyoI'm not a studentWhen to use it
Saying what something is
Noun + 이에요/예요.
Introducing yourself
Your name + 이에요/예요.
Asking
Same form, with a question mark.
Watch out
After a consonant, use 이에요 ieyo.
The negative is always spelled 아니에요 anieyo.
In context
9 examples- 1
저는 학생이에요.
Jeoneun haksaengieyo.
I'm a student.
- 2
이건 제 친구 차예요.
Igeon je chingu chayeyo.
This is my friend's car.
- 3
여기가 우리 집입니다.
Yeogiga uri jibimnida.
This is our house.
- 4
오늘은 제 생일이에요.
Oneureun je saengirieyo.
Today's my birthday.
- 5
화장실이 어디예요?
Hwajangsiri eodiyeyo?
Where's the restroom?
- 6
이거 얼마예요?
Igeo eolmayeyo?
How much is this?
- 7
우리 형은 요리사예요.
Uri hyeongeun yorisayeyo.
My older brother is a chef.
- 8
그때 저는 대학생이었어요.
Geuttae jeoneun daehaksaengieosseoyo.
Back then, I was a college student.
- 9
그건 제 우산이 아니에요.
Geugeon je usani anieyo.
That's not my umbrella.
Practice
8 questions책 + 이에요/예요
Is 이다 really a particle?
Most English textbooks call 이에요 "the verb to be" or "the copula," so it can be surprising that Korean grammar puts it with the particles. Korean dictionaries call it a 서술격 조사 seosulgyeok josa, a "predicate particle," because it attaches straight onto a noun the way 은/는 eun/neun or 을/를 eul/reul do. But unlike other particles, it changes its ending like a verb: 이에요, 입니다 imnida, 이었어요 ieosseoyo. I wrote more about how Korean counts its particles in How Many Korean Particles Are There?.
"Not": 이/가 아니에요
The negative isn't 이다 with "not" added. It's a separate word, 아니다 anida, and the noun before it takes the subject particle 이/가 i/ga:
- 저는 학생이 아니에요. jeoneun haksaengi anieyo "I'm not a student."
- 이건 커피가 아니에요. igeon keopiga anieyo "This isn't coffee."
이에요 and 예요 aren't for adjectives
이에요 only goes after nouns. Words like "happy" or "busy" are adjectives in Korean, and they're already complete without it: 행복해요 haengbokaeyo, "I'm happy," and 바빠요 bappayo, "I'm busy."
Look it up in the dictionary
The entry for 이에요 in two trusted Korean dictionaries.