TOPIK I Core Vocabulary · Core Words ②

People, places & sizes — 사람, 집, 크다, 작다, 많다

This lesson has two nouns and three descriptive words. 크다 and 작다 are opposites. The three descriptive words usually take 이/가, not 을/를.

01사람saram

person, people · a human being. Korean often does not mark the plural. You can use 사람들 when you want to stress the plural.

Note To count people, use 명. 세 명 means three people. Korean uses a special counting word for most things, and 명 is the one for people.

Examples 사람이 많다 (there are a lot of people) · 한국 사람 (a Korean person)

주말이라서 사람이 정말 많아요. It's the weekend, so there are a lot of people.  |  주말 = weekend  |  -라서 gives the reason. It is like because in English

02집jip

house, home · the building, or simply where you live.

Note Use 에 for the place you are going to: 집에 가다. Use 에서 for the place of an action: 집에서 쉬다.

Examples 집에 가다 (to go home) · 집에서 쉬다 (to rest at home)

일이 끝나면 바로 집에 가요. I go straight home when I finish work.  |  끝나면 = when something ends or when you finish something · 바로 = right away

03크다keudaㅡ drop

to be big · bigger than usual in size or level.

Forms 커요 (the ㅡ drops out) · 큽니다 · 컸어요

Examples 집이 크다 (the house is big) · 큰 가방 (a big bag)

이 가방은 생각보다 커요. This bag is bigger than I expected.  |  가방 = bag  |  크어요 is wrong. The correct form is 커요

04작다jakda🔊 [작따]

to be small · small in size, amount, or level. The opposite is 크다.

Pronunciation [작따]. After the final consonant ㄱ, you say ㄷ as a strong (tense) sound ㄸ. A similar rule for strong sounds also works in 있다 and 없다.

Examples 신발이 작다 (the shoes are small) · 작은 방 (a small room)

이 신발은 저한테 작아요. These shoes are too small for me.  |  한테 is the more casual form of 에게. You can use it with polite sentence endings  |  You can use this for clothes or shoes that do not fit

05많다manta🔊 [만타]

to be many, to be a lot · used when there is a large number or amount of something. The opposite is 적다.

Pronunciation [만타]. This word ends with two consonants, and one of them is ㅎ. That ㅎ joins the next ㄷ and makes a ㅌ sound.

Examples 사람이 많다 (there are many people) · 일이 많다 (there's a lot of work)

요즘 할 일이 너무 많아요. I have too much to do these days.  |  요즘 = these days · 너무 = too much  |  Use 이/가, not 을/를

Quick check3 questions

Put each word into the polite form.

1. 이 가방은 생각보다 __________. (크다 · bigger than I expected)
2. 이 신발은 저한테 __________. (작다 · too small for me)
3. 요즘 할 일이 너무 __________. (많다 · too much to do)

Show answers

1. 커요   2. 작아요   3. 많아요

Only 크다 loses its vowel

Study tip Descriptive words usually take 이/가, not 을/를: 집이 커요, 사람이 많아요. Before a noun, use forms like 큰 가방, 작은 방, and 많은 사람.