Korean -어 있다 vs -고 있다: Describing a Room and Old Photos

Korean -어 있다 describes a resulting STATE that lingers — 벽에 사진이 걸려 있어요 (a photo is hanging on the wall) — while -고 있다 describes an action in progress (사진을 찍고 있어요 — I’m taking a photo). And -기 turns a verb into a noun: 사진 찍기가 취미예요 (taking photos is my hobby). These let you describe a room exactly as it sits, and name the things you love doing.

In the last lesson you booked a table. Now you’ll describe a scene — a quiet room, a shelf of old photos — and talk about your hobbies. The trick is one contrast Korean cares about deeply: a state that persists versus an action happening right now.

Words for describing a room

These come up when you look around and say what’s where.

-어 있다: a state that stays

When something has been put into a state and stays that way, Korean uses -어/아 있다. It pairs with intransitive verbs of position or change — 걸리다, 놓이다, 열리다 — and the subject takes 이/가.

Each one names a result you can see: the hanging, the openness, the light being on. The action is over; what remains is the state. That’s why you say 걸려 있어요 (it hangs there), built on 걸리다 (to be hung) — not 걸다 (to hang something).

How is this different from -고 있다?

This is the contrast to nail. -고 있다 marks an action in progress — someone is doing it right now. -어 있다 marks the state left behind. Same scene, two very different meanings:

Picture the room: 사진이 걸려 있어요 (a photo hangs there — a still scene) versus 사진을 찍고 있어요 (I’m in the middle of taking one — motion). State uses the intransitive verb + -어 있다 with 이/가; action uses the transitive verb + -고 있다 with 을/를. Get this right and your descriptions instantly sound native.

Naming activities with -기

To name an activity itself, add -기 to the verb stem: 찍다 → 찍기, 여행하다 → 여행하기. Now it works like a noun — a subject or object.

So 찍다 becomes 찍기 (taking photos), and you can love it, list it, or rank it: 제 취미는 사진 찍기하고 여행하기예요. It’s the lightest way to talk about hobbies.

Looking through old photos

Here both ideas meet — describing a wall of memories and naming a hobby:

See the two jobs side by side: -어 있다 paints the still scene (사진이 걸려 있어요, 창문이 열려 있어요), and -기 names the hobby behind it (사진 찍기, 여행하기). One describes the room as it rests; the other tells you what the person loves to do.

FAQ

What is the difference between -어 있다 and -고 있다? -어 있다 describes a resulting STATE that lasts after an action finishes — usually with verbs of position or change: 문이 열려 있어요 = the door is (standing) open; 사진이 걸려 있어요 = a photo is hanging. -고 있다 describes an action IN PROGRESS: 문을 열고 있어요 = I’m opening the door; 사진을 찍고 있어요 = I’m taking a photo. So 걸려 있어요 = it hangs there (state), but 걸고 있어요 = someone is hanging it (action). State versus motion is the whole contrast.

Why is it 걸려 있다, not 걸어 있다? Because -어 있다 attaches to the INTRANSITIVE (or passive) form of the verb — the version with no object. 걸다 (to hang something) is transitive, so its state form uses the passive 걸리다 (to be hung): 걸려 있어요. Same pattern: 열다 → 열리다 → 열려 있어요; 켜다 → 켜지다 → 켜져 있어요; 닫다 → 닫히다 → 닫혀 있어요. The subject is the thing in that state, marked with 이/가, not 을/를.

When do I use -기 to make a noun? -기 turns a verb into a noun naming the activity: 사진 찍기 = taking photos, 여행하기 = traveling, 읽기 = reading. Use it as a subject or object: 여행하기를 좋아해요 = I like traveling; 사진 찍기가 취미예요 = taking photos is my hobby. It’s the everyday way to talk about hobbies and activities — lighter and more general than -는 것, which points at a specific instance.

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Next: invitations and visiting — 집들이에 오세요 and -는군요. Previous: making reservations — -을래요. Full path: curriculum hub.