Korean Adnominal: Describing People (키가 큰 사람)
The Korean present adnominal: put a description before the noun — 키가 큰 사람 (a tall person), 웃는 얼굴 (a smiling face). Adjectives take -(으)ㄴ, verbs take -는.
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)
To describe someone in Korean, you put the description BEFORE the noun by conjugating the describing word itself — 키가 큰 사람 (a tall person), 웃는 얼굴 (a smiling face), 친절한 사람 (a kind person). Adjectives take -(으)ㄴ and action verbs take -는. There’s no separate word like English “who” or “that” — the ending does all the work. This is the Korean adnominal (관형형), and it’s the gateway to Level 2.
This is one of the biggest steps in beginner Korean, so we’ll go slowly with plenty of examples. Once it clicks, you can describe any person, place, or thing — not just name it.
Ten words for looks and personality
To describe people you need words for appearance and character. Meet them first; we’ll turn each into a “describing” form below.
What is the Korean adnominal — and why does it matter?
In Level 1 you said what something is: 사람이 키가 커요 (the person is tall). Now you’ll pack that description onto the noun itself: 키가 큰 사람 (a tall person). That bundled-up describing word is the adnominal (관형형), and it’s how Korean builds rich noun phrases.
The good news for English speakers: the word order matches yours. We say a tall person, a kind teacher, a smiling baby — describer first, noun second. Korean does exactly the same: 큰 사람, 친절한 선생님, 웃는 아기. The one big difference is that Korean has no separate word like “who” or “that.” Instead of bolting on an extra word, Korean conjugates the describing word itself — and the ending you add depends on whether that word is an adjective or an action verb.
Adjectives before a noun: -(으)ㄴ
Descriptive verbs — what we call adjectives in English (크다, 작다, 좋다…) — take -(으)ㄴ to sit in front of a noun. Consonant stem adds 은; vowel stem adds ㄴ.
Vowel stem + ㄴ: 크다 → 큰 (big/tall), 예쁘다 → 예쁜 (pretty), 비싸다 → 비싼 (expensive). Consonant stem + 은: 작다 → 작은 (small), 좋다 → 좋은 (good), 많다 → 많은 (many), 높다 → 높은 (high). 키가 큰 사람 = a tall person · 작은 가방 = a small bag · 친절한 선생님 = a kind teacher 귀여운 아기 = a cute baby (귀엽다 is ㅂ-irregular → 귀여운) · 머리가 긴 여자 = a woman with long hair
The -하다 adjectives are everywhere in describing people, and they’re easy: just swap 하다 → 한. 친절하다 → 친절한, 똑똑하다 → 똑똑한, 조용하다 → 조용한, 활발하다 → 활발한. So 친절한 사람 = a kind person, 똑똑한 학생 = a smart student, 활발한 친구 = a lively friend.
⚠️ One important exception: adjectives built on 있다/없다 — like 맛있다 (tasty), 재미있다 (fun), 멋있다 (cool) — do not take -ㄴ. They behave like verbs and take -는: 맛있는 음식 (tasty food), 재미있는 영화 (a fun movie), 멋있는 사람 (a cool person). Memorize this small family separately.
Action verbs before a noun: -는
When the describing word is an action verb — 가다, 먹다, 웃다, 일하다 — the present adnominal is -는, attached straight onto the stem (no 으 needed). This is “a noun that is currently doing X.”
가다 → 가는: 학교에 가는 학생 = a student (who is) going to school 먹다 → 먹는: 밥을 먹는 사람 = a person (who is) eating 웃다 → 웃는: 웃는 얼굴 = a smiling face · 일하다 → 일하는: 일하는 사람 = a working person ⚠️ ㄹ drops: 살다 → 사는: 서울에 사는 친구 = a friend who lives in Seoul
Put the two halves together and you can describe almost anyone: 웃는 얼굴이 예쁜 사람 (a person whose smiling face is pretty), 한국어를 가르치는 친절한 선생님 (a kind teacher who teaches Korean). Notice you can even stack them — a -는 verb phrase and a -ㄴ adjective, both lining up before the noun, exactly like English “a kind teacher who teaches Korean.”
Quick contrast so the two endings stay separate in your mind: adjective → -(으)ㄴ (큰, 작은, 친절한), action verb → -는 (가는, 먹는, 웃는). Ask yourself “is this word describing a state (adjective) or an action (verb)?” — that single question picks the ending every time.
처럼 — “like / as”
To compare someone to a standard — handsome like an actor — Korean uses 처럼 (“like, as”), attached straight to a noun.
배우처럼 잘생겼어요 = (he’s) handsome like an actor 인형처럼 예뻐요 = (she’s) pretty like a doll 아기처럼 귀여워요 = cute like a baby · 가족처럼 친해요 = close like family
처럼 is a quick, natural way to pay a compliment, and it pairs beautifully with the adnominal: 배우처럼 잘생긴 사람 = a person who’s handsome like an actor.
Describing a friend in KakaoTalk
Watch the adnominal do its job across a quick chat — every description sits right before its noun:
Look at how the descriptions cluster before each noun: 키가 큰 사람, 웃는 얼굴, 배우처럼 잘생긴 사람. The adjective 큰 takes -ㄴ, the verb 웃는 takes -는, and 처럼 adds the comparison — exactly the toolkit from this lesson, working together to paint a full picture of a person.
FAQ
How do I put an adjective before a noun in Korean? Conjugate the adjective itself, then place it directly before the noun. Descriptive verbs (adjectives) take -(으)ㄴ: 크다 → 큰 사람 (a tall person), 작다 → 작은 가방 (a small bag), 예쁘다 → 예쁜 꽃 (a pretty flower). Korean has no separate linking word like English “who” or “that” — the ending does that job, and the description always comes before the noun, just like in English (a tall person).
What is the difference between -(으)ㄴ and -는 for the adnominal? It depends on the word type. Descriptive verbs (adjectives like 크다, 작다, 좋다) take -(으)ㄴ: 큰, 작은, 좋은. Action verbs (like 가다, 먹다, 웃다) take -는 for the present: 가는, 먹는, 웃는 — “a person who is going / eating / smiling.” One catch: 있다/없다-type adjectives (맛있다, 재미있다) behave like verbs and take -는: 맛있는, 재미있는.
Why does 살다 become 사는 and not 살는? Verbs whose stem ends in ㄹ drop that ㄹ before -는. 살다 → 사는, 알다 → 아는, 만들다 → 만드는. So “a friend who lives in Seoul” is 서울에 사는 친구, and “the food I make” is 제가 만드는 음식. This ㄹ-dropping is a regular sound rule you’ll see again with other endings.
Next: shopping for clothes — 한번 입어 보세요 and the past adnominal. Previous: offering and promising with -을게요. Full path: curriculum hub.