만: Only, just

만: "only", and the rules that come with it

만 is one of the first particles that feels genuinely useful, because "only" is a thing you want to say constantly and Korean gives you a single syllable to do it with.

Where it goes

만 man attaches straight to the noun, and then one of two things happens depending on what particle was already there.

It replaces the case particles. 이/가, 은/는 and 을/를 step aside:

• 물을 주세요 mureul juseyo → 물만 주세요. mul-man juseyo — "Just water, please." Not 물을만 mureulman.
• 제가 갔어요 jega gasseoyo → 저만 갔어요. jeo-man gasseoyo — "Only I went." Not 제가만 jegaman.

It queues up behind the others. 에, 에서, 에게 and friends keep their place and 만 goes after them:

• 집에서만 공부해요. jib-eseo-man gongbuhaeyo — "I only study at home." Not 집만에서 jimmaneseo.
• 친구에게만 말했어요. chingu-ege-man malhaesseoyo — "I only told my friend."

The split is the same one 도 follows, so learning it once covers both particles. If the particle marks who or what, 만 takes its place. If it marks where or to whom, 만 lines up behind it.

만 vs 밖에

These both translate to "only" and they are not interchangeable. The difference is the verb.

밖에 must take a negative verb. 만 can take either.

• 천 원만 있어요. cheon won-man isseoyo — "I have only a thousand won."
• 천 원밖에 없어요. cheon won-bakke eopseoyo — "I have only a thousand won."

Both sentences describe the same wallet. The second one complains about it. 만 is neutral and just states the amount; 밖에 carries the feeling that it isn't enough, and it requires the negative verb 없다 rather than 있다.

Get this backwards and the sentence breaks rather than just sounding odd: 천 원밖에 있어요 cheon wonbakke isseoyo isn't a thing. There's a side-by-side page if you want more examples of the pair.

"Just" in the softening sense

만 also does the small social job that "just" does in English, taking the edge off a request.

• 잠깐만요. jamkkan-man-yo — "Just a moment."
• 이것만 보세요. igeot-man boseyo — "Just look at this one."

When 만 keeps a case particle

You'll occasionally meet 만이 mani or 만을 maneul in writing, which looks like it breaks the replacement rule.

• 너만이 할 수 있어요. neo-man-i hal su isseoyo — "Only you can do it."

What's happening is emphasis: the case particle is added back on top of 만 to press on the point. It sounds formal and literary, and it turns up in speeches, lyrics and formal writing far more than in conversation. Recognize it, don't reach for it.

만에: "after so long"

There's a second 만 that looks the same but is a noun about time. After a length of time, 만에 means "for the first time in" or "after":

• 일 년 만에 고향에 갔어요. il nyeon mane gohyange gasseoyo "I went back to my hometown for the first time in a year."
• 오랜만이에요. oraenmanieyo "Long time no see." This greeting is the same 만.

Because it's a noun, it gets a space after the number: 일 년 만에 il nyeon mane, not 일 년만에 il nyeonmane.

만 하다: "about the size of"

Add 하다 hada and 만 compares size:

• 주먹만 해요. jumeongman haeyo "It's about the size of a fist."
• 방이 손바닥만 해요. bangi sonbadangman haeyo "The room is tiny." Literally, "the size of a palm".

People use it a lot to exaggerate how big or small something is.