것

• 거 (geo) (dominant form in colloquial speech)

First attested in the Seokbo sangjeol (釋譜詳節 / 석보상절), 1447, as Middle Korean 것 (Yale: kès), from Old Korean 物叱 (*KAs).

The now colloquially dominant contraction 거 (geo) is first attested in the nineteenth century.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kʌ̹t̚]

  • (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [걷]

• South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: 것의 / 것에 / 것까지

  Syllables in red take high pitch. This word takes low pitch only before consonant-initial multisyllabic suffixes.

것 • (geot)

1. thing; something; that which; what; used to designate any object, action, or phenomenon, forming noun phrases.

   이 중에서 제일 큰 게 뭐야?

   I jung-eseo jeil keun ge mwoya?

   What's the biggest one out of these?

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

   이 곳에는 바위 같은 것이 정말 많습니다.

   I gos-e-neun bawi gateun geos-i jeongmal manseumnida.

   Here, there are very many things that look like rocks.

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

   적군이 서울에 진입한 것으로 판단됩니다.

   Jeokgun-i Seour-e jiniphan geos-euro pandandoemnida.

   We judge that the enemy has entered Seoul.

   (literally, “We judge it as the thing that the enemy has entered Seoul.”)

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

   Synonym: 바 (ba, for abstract nouns, formal)

2. an object belonging to an owner; forms constructions equivalent to English possessive pronouns. Colloquially pronounced 꺼 (kkeo) with initial tensing.

   이 세상은 우리들의 것이었지만, 이제는 너희들의 것이다.

   I sesang-eun uri-deur-ui geos-ieotjiman, ije-neun neohui-deur-ui geos-ida.

   This world was ours, but now it’s yours.

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

   이 연필 친구 건데?

   I yeonpil chin'gu geonde?

   But this pencil is my friend's.

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

   저 집도 우리 거야.

   Jeo jip-do uri geo-ya.

   That house is ours, too.

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

3. (after the suffix ㄴ (-n)) Emphasizes the speaker's certainty about the preceding verb or adjective.

   인생은 원래 헤어지는 거야.

   Insaeng-eun wollae heeojineun geo-ya.

   Life is always about saying goodbye.

   (literally, “Life is always a thing where you say goodbye.”)

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

   걔는 태어날 때부터 그런 거야.

   Gyae-neun taeeonal ttae-buteo geureon geo-ya.

   He must have been like that since he was born.

   (literally, “He is a thing like that since he was born.”)

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

4. Used as an element in a number of verbal suffixes; see the "Derived terms" section.

As a dependent noun, 것 (geot) and its colloquial variant cannot occur in isolation, but must always be attributed by a verb, an adjective, a determiner, or a possessor.

In colloquial Korean, 거 (geo) is the generally accepted form of this important dependent noun, to the point that the use of the uncontracted form may feel awkward and artificial. In formal language, 것 (geot) remains preferred.

In the colloquial language, 거 (geo) changes somewhat based on noun case, which is unusual for Korean:

• The nominative form is almost always 게 (ge), instead of the expected 거가 (geoga)
• The instrumental form is generally 걸로 (geollo) rather than the expected 거로 (georo), although the latter form is also common
• As mentioned, the possessed form is always 꺼 (kkeo).

See also the very common short forms 건 (geon) instead of 거는 (geoneun) and 걸 (geol) instead of 거를 (georeul), although the full forms are also widely found.

• 이것 (igeot, “this”)
• 그것 (geugeot, “that”, medial)
• 저것 (jeogeot, “that”, distal)

(verbal forms)