마다: Every, each

마다: every single one, no exceptions

마다 attaches to a noun and means "every" or "each". It's mechanically simple — no 받침 batchim rule, nothing changes — so the interesting part is what it does that English "every" doesn't.

Time expressions

This is the most common use by a distance.

• 날마다 운동해요. nal-mada undonghaeyo — "I exercise every day."
• 주말마다 만나요. jumal-mada mannayo — "We meet every weekend."
• 세 시간마다 se sigan-mada — "every three hours"

That last pattern, number plus counter plus 마다, is how you say intervals. It's worth drilling because it comes up in instructions and schedules constantly.

Things and people

• 사람마다 달라요. saram-mada dallayo — "It differs from person to person."
• 나라마다 문화가 달라요. nara-mada munhwa-ga dallayo — "Every country has a different culture."

Notice how naturally 마다 pairs with 다르다 dareuda · "to be different". "X마다 달라요 mada dallayo" is a set phrase you can lean on: whatever varies, that's the frame.

The emphasis it carries

마다 insists on the without exception part in a way English "every" doesn't always. Saying 날마다 nalmada is closer to "every single day" than to a loose "daily" — it rules out the gaps.

That's why it sounds slightly strong in casual conversation about small things, and why 매일 maeil · "every day", from Sino-Korean often shows up instead when nobody is making a point of it.

마다 vs 매 mae

Korean has two ways to say "every", and they come from different places.

• 마다 is native Korean and attaches to any noun: 날마다 nalmada, 주말마다 jumalmada, 사람마다 sarammada.
• 매 (*mae*) (每) is Sino-Korean and forms fixed compounds: 매일 maeil · "every day", 매주 maeju · "every week", 매년 maenyeon · "every year".

매 mae forms compounds like 매일 maeil and 매주 maeju, and also stands before some nouns with a space (매 순간 mae sungan, 매 경기 mae gyeonggi). It doesn't go with every noun, though: 매 사람 mae saram isn't used, while 사람마다 sarammada is perfectly normal. When there's a 매 mae compound available, it tends to sound more neutral; 마다 leans on the exhaustiveness.

매일 maeil is built from Sino-Korean 매 mae (every) and 일 il (day), while 날마다 nalmada is native Korean 날 nal (day) plus 마다.

때마다: every time something happens

마다 can't attach to a verb directly. To say "every time I do X", put the verb in the ㄹ form and add 때마다 ttaemada, literally "every time":

• 한국에 갈 때마다 떡볶이를 먹어요. hanguge gal ttaemada tteokbokkireul meogeoyo "I eat tteokbokki every time I go to Korea."
• 만날 때마다 싸워요. mannal ttaemada ssawoyo "We fight every time we meet."

It works the same with adjectives and the past: 바쁠 때마다 bappeul ttaemada, "whenever I'm busy".