3 · Sentence endings that add a stance
On the whole: -는 편이다
a tendency rather than a fact
-는 편이다 places something on a scale — “tends to”, “rather”, “on the … side” — instead of stating it flat.
편 means “side”, and the pattern says which side something falls on. It is a noun, so it takes the endings that stand before any noun, and a space: action verbs take -는 (많이 먹는 편이에요), adjectives -은, or only an n after a vowel (작은 편이에요, 조용한 편이에요), and 있다/없다 take -는 (재미있는 편이에요). The past is 편이었어요.
It describes a tendency compared with the usual: 저는 일찍 자는 편이에요, “I tend to go to bed early”; 이 동네는 조용한 편이에요, “this area is on the quiet side”. English uses “tend to”, “rather”, “fairly”, “quite”, or “on the … side”. Adverbs such as 좀, 꽤 and 아주 grade it further.
The pattern is also a tool of modesty. A flat 저는 성실해요, “I am diligent”, sounds like boasting; 성실한 편이에요, “I'd say I'm fairly diligent”, sounds like a fair self-assessment, which is why it is heard so often in introductions and interviews. About things and other people it softens a judgement: 좀 비싼 편이에요, “it's a bit on the pricey side”.
Two mistakes are typical. Adjectives do not take -는: 조용한 편이에요, not 조용하는 편이에요. And an action verb on its own cannot be on a scale — 먹는 편이에요, “I tend to eat”, says nothing — so it needs an adverb that can be more or less: 많이, 잘, 자주, 일찍.
The form
| action verb with an adverb | 많이 먹다 → 많이 먹는 편이에요 |
| adjective | 조용하다 → 조용한 편이에요 |
| 있다 and 없다 | 재미있다 → 재미있는 편이에요 |
| in the past | 작다 → 작은 편이었어요 |
| negative | 비싼 편이 아니에요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Action verbs take -는 편이다, usually with an adverb such as 잘, 많이 or 자주.
저는 아침을 잘 안 먹는 편이에요.I don't usually eat breakfast.
Adjectives take -은 편이다.
이 식당은 가격이 싼 편이에요.This restaurant is on the cheap side.
It places something on a scale, which makes a description sound measured.
제 동생은 성격이 밝은 편이에요.My younger sibling is fairly cheerful.
For the past, the copula goes into the past: 편이었어요.
어릴 때는 키가 작은 편이었어요.I was on the short side as a child.
A closer look
Describing yourself without boasting
Korean conversation is wary of plain self-praise. 저는 요리를 잘해요, “I'm good at cooking”, is not wrong, but 요리를 잘하는 편이에요, “I'd say I'm fairly good at cooking”, lets the listener agree rather than judge.
Compared with what? Usually with people in general, or with what the listener might expect. If the comparison matters, it can be said: 제 나이에 비해 건강한 편이에요, “I'm fairly fit for my age”.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
-
the word is 있다 or 없다, or ends in them (재미있다, 재미없다)
it takes -는 편이다, like an action verb: 재미있는 편이에요, 재미없는 편이에요.
그 수업은 생각보다 재미있는 편이에요.That class is fairly interesting, more than I expected.
Before a noun these words always take -는.
How to spot it
- -는 편이에요
- -은 편이에요
- 편이었어요
- 좀
- 꽤
- 자주
Example sentences
저는 매운 음식을 잘 먹는 편이에요.I'm fairly good with spicy food.
서울은 겨울에 꽤 추운 편이에요.Seoul is fairly cold in winter.
우리 회사는 퇴근이 이른 편이에요.At our company we finish work fairly early.
저는 영화를 자주 보는 편이에요.I watch films quite often.
이 동네는 밤에도 안전한 편이에요.This neighbourhood is fairly safe even at night.
제가 좀 꼼꼼한 편이에요.I'm rather meticulous.
8 more example sentences
저는 일찍 자는 편이에요.I tend to go to bed early.
이 옷은 사이즈가 좀 큰 편이에요.This one runs a bit large.
우리 아이는 채소를 잘 안 먹는 편이에요.My child doesn't really eat vegetables.
그 가게는 다른 가게보다 비싼 편이에요.That shop is on the expensive side compared with the others.
제 남편은 말이 없는 편이에요.My husband is on the quiet side.
학생 때는 공부를 열심히 하는 편이었어요.I studied fairly hard as a student.
이 지역은 비가 많이 오는 편이에요.It rains quite a lot in this region.
가격이 그렇게 비싼 편은 아니에요.The price isn't particularly high.
Worth knowing (1)
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Saying it is not on that side
The negative can sit on the verb — 잘 안 먹는 편이에요, “I tend not to eat much” — or on 편 itself, with 아니다: 비싼 편은 아니에요, “it isn't really on the expensive side”. The second is the gentler way to disagree.
그렇게 먼 편은 아니에요. 걸어서 십 분이면 가요.It isn't all that far. You can walk there in ten minutes.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
편 is a noun, so what stands before it takes the endings for nouns: -은 for an adjective, as in 조용한 동네, and -는 for an action verb. English speakers often copy the -는 of the pattern's name onto adjectives.
Put it on a scale: neun pyeonieyo for verbs with an adverb, eun pyeonieyo for adjectives.
Your turn
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