Preposition (으)로 in Korean

Noun + 로 / 으로

TO some place | BY MEANS OF something | BECAUSE OF something

-로/-으로 is a Korean grammar particle that can have different meanings depending on the context. It is attached to a noun. If the noun ends in a vowel or "ㄹ", use -로. And if the noun ends in a consonant except "ㄹ", use -으로.

-로/-으로 as preposition "to" (direction)

See examples,
(click on translation and grammar buttons)

사장님, 어디로 갑니까?

Korean

사장님

어디

가다

English

company president

where

to go

Director, where are you going?

사장님, 어디로 가+ㅂ니까?

우리가 모레 서울로 갑니다.

Korean

우리

모레

서울

가다

English

we

the day after tomorrow

Seoul

to go

We are going to Seoul the day after tomorrow.

우리가 모레 서울로 가+ㅂ니다.

할아버지가 밖으로 나갔습니다.

Korean

할아버지

밖

나가다

English

grandfather

outside

to go out

Grandfather went out.

할아버지가 밖으로 나가+았+습니다.

-로/-으로 as preposition "by means of" (tool, method)

See examples,
(click on translation and grammar buttons)

우리가 한국말로 이야기합니다.

Korean

우리

한국

말

한국말

이야기하다

English

we

South Korea

speech, language

Korean language

to converse

We're talking in Korean.

우리가 한국말로 이야기하+ㅂ니다.

저는 카드로 / 현금으로 계산합니다.

Korean

카드

현금

계산하다

English

card

cash

to pay

I pay by card / cash.

저는 카드로 / 현금으로 계산하+ㅂ니다.

할머니는 케이크를 밀가루로 만들었습니다.

Korean

할머니

케이크

밀

가루

밀가루

만들다

English

grandmother

cake

wheat

powder, flour

wheat flour

to make

Grandma made the cake with wheat flour.

할머니는 케이크를 밀가루로 만들+었+습니다.

-로/-으로 as preposition "because of" (reason)

See examples,
(click on translation and grammar buttons)

회사 일로 네팔에 갑니다.

Korean

회사

일

네팔

가다

English

company

work, task

Nepal

to go

I am going to Nepal because of company work/task.

회사 일로 네팔에 가+ㅂ니다.

Quick reference (click to open)

Vowels: a, e, i, o, u

Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j

Syllable: Bra-zil (2 syllables), Ar-gen-ti-na (4), In-di-a (3), Viet-nam (2), thin-king (2), beau-ti-ful (3), good (1)

Batchim: is a final consonant in a syllable. → Bra-zil (batchim: 'l'), Ar-gen-ti-na (batchims: 'r' and 'n'), In-di-a ('n'), Viet-nam ('t', 'm')

Romanization: is a conversion of text (not pronunciation ! ) from different writing system (Korean, Arabic, Russian, etc.) to the Roman (Latin) alphabet.

IPA: is an alphabetic system of phonetic (pronunciation) notation.

Noun: road, user, sister, table, sky

Pronoun: I, my, we, you, they, her

Verb: to go, to study, to think, to feel

Adjective: cold, kind, hungry, curious, expensive

Adverb: quickly, nicely, never, exactly, urgently

Preposition: from, to, on, in, with, till

Conjuction: and, because, if, but, while

Declarative sentence: I learn Korean.

Interrogative sentence: Do you learn Korean?

Imperative sentence: You must learn Korean!

Exclamative sentence: Wow, you learn Korean!

Verb / Adj. stem in Korean: part of a verb or adj. which is left after removing the last syllable -다 ( e.g. 가다 → 가, 예쁘다 → 예쁘, 듣다 → 듣 ).