KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean grammar › 단위 명사 (마리)
Korean Grammar “단위 명사 (마리)”: How to Use It (TOPIK 2)
Explanation
공원에 강아지 두 마리 있어요.
Animals are counted with the counter “마리.” The sentence means “There are two puppies in the park.” People take “명,” objects “개,” and books “권,” so the counter changes with the thing counted. Native Korean numerals (한, 두, 세, 네…) are used before it.
Pronouncing the example sentence
Example sentence: 공원에 강아지 두 마리 있어요.
Said aloud, it sounds like [공워네 강아지 두 마리 이써요].
| Syllable | Letters (consonant + vowel + final) | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 공원에 | ||
| 공 | ㄱ+ㅗ+ㅇ | gong |
| 원 | ㅇ+ㅝ+ㄴ | [워] wo |
| 에 | ㅇ+ㅔ | [네] ne |
| 강아지 | ||
| 강 | ㄱ+ㅏ+ㅇ | gang |
| 아 | ㅇ+ㅏ | a |
| 지 | ㅈ+ㅣ | ji |
| 두 | ㄷ+ㅜ | du |
| 마리 | ||
| 마 | ㅁ+ㅏ | ma |
| 리 | ㄹ+ㅣ | ri |
| 있어요 | ||
| 있 | ㅇ+ㅣ+ㅆ | [이] i |
| 어 | ㅇ+ㅓ | [써] sseo |
| 요 | ㅇ+ㅛ | yo |
A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.
Sound changes in this phrase
- Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 원에 → [워네]
Politeness level of the example
Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.
Words in the example sentence
These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).
| Korean | Part of speech | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 공원 | noun | park | TOPIK level 1 |
| 있다 | verb | to exist, to have | TOPIK level 1 |
Practice
Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.
Question 1 Choose the word that fits the blank: 공원에 강아지 두 ____ 있어요.
Show the answer
Answer: 공원에 강아지 두 마리 있어요.
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