Topic and Subject Particles — 은/는 and 이/가

Korean puts a small word called a particle after a noun to show its job. 은/는 marks the topic, which is what you talk about, and it often shows contrast. 이/가 marks the subject, which is new information or the answer to who or what.

1. Why learn this

Almost every Korean sentence has a particle after its first noun. A wrong one still makes sense, but it sounds odd or changes the meaning. These four particles come first, and you will use them in every conversation.

English has no direct match. In English, word order shows who does what. In Korean, the particle does that job, so the nouns can move around more freely.

The good news is that the rules are small. First, pick the right form for the last sound of the noun. Second, decide if you are naming a topic or giving new information.