1 · Particles
에: to a place, at a place, at a time
the particle of place and time
에 marks where something goes or is, and when something happens.
에 has one shape after both vowels and consonants: 학교에, 집에, 서울에. It has three jobs. With verbs of going and coming it marks the destination: 학교에 가요. With 있다 and 없다 it marks where something is: 집에 있어요. And it marks a point in time: 세 시에 만나요.
English uses "at" or "in" both for where something is and for where something is done; Korean does not. 에 is only for being somewhere or arriving somewhere. Where an action takes place is 에서: 도서관에 있어요, "I am at the library", but 도서관에서 공부해요, "I study at the library".
Clock times, days, months and seasons take 에: 월요일에, 아침에, 여름에. A handful of time words do not, because like English "today" they already name a point in time: 오늘, 내일, 어제, 지금, 매일 and 언제. So "see you tomorrow at three" is 내일 세 시에 만나요 — one time word without 에, one with.
Position words come after the noun, and 에 comes after them: "on the desk" is 책상 위에, literally "desk top-at", "in front of the house" is 집 앞에, "in the bag" is 가방 안에. The order is the reverse of English, and the position word is a noun of its own, written with a space.
The form
| going somewhere | 학교에 가요. |
| being somewhere | 집에 있어요. |
| a clock time | 세 시에 만나요. |
| a day or a season | 토요일에, 여름에 |
| position word, then the particle | 책상 위에 있어요. |
| no particle after tomorrow | 내일 만나요. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
With verbs of going and coming, 에 marks the destination.
저는 매일 회사에 가요.I go to the office every day.
With 있다 and 없다, 에 marks where something is.
고양이가 소파 위에 있어요.The cat is on the sofa.
Clock times, days, months and seasons take 에.
저는 일곱 시에 일어나요.I get up at seven o'clock.
오늘, 내일, 어제, 지금, 매일 and 언제 do not take 에.
내일 오후 두 시에 만나요.Let's meet tomorrow at two in the afternoon.
A position word comes after the noun, and 에 after the position word.
열쇠는 책상 위에 있어요.The key is on the desk.
A closer look
Living somewhere and going somewhere regularly
살다, "to live", can take either particle: 서울에 살아요 and 서울에서 살아요 are both correct. Living is a state of being somewhere, which calls for 에, and also something you do there, which calls for 에서; Korean accepts both views.
다니다, "to go regularly", takes 에 like any verb of going: 학교에 다녀요, "I go to school" in the sense of being a pupil, and 회사에 다녀요, "I work for a company". It is the usual way to say where someone works or studies.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the time word is 오늘, 내일, 어제, 지금, 매일, 언제 or 아까
it takes no 에.
언제 시간이 있어요?When do you have time?
These words already name a point in time, as "today" and "now" do in English, where nobody says "at today".
How to spot it
- 가요
- 와요
- 있어요
- 없어요
- 시에
- 위에
- 앞에
Example sentences
주말에 부산에 가요.I am going to Busan at the weekend.
화장실은 이 층에 없어요.There is no toilet on this floor.
저는 아침 여덟 시에 출근해요.I go to work at eight in the morning.
은행 앞에 버스 정류장이 있어요.There is a bus stop in front of the bank.
동생은 지금 방에 있어요.My younger sibling is in their room now.
겨울에 눈이 많이 와요.It snows a lot in winter.
8 more example sentences
저는 내년에 한국에 가요.I am going to Korea next year.
지갑이 가방 안에 있어요.The wallet is in the bag.
수업이 아홉 시에 시작해요.The class starts at nine.
우리 집 근처에 공원이 있어요.There is a park near our home.
언니가 다음 주에 서울에 와요.My older sister is coming to Seoul next week.
토요일에 시간이 있어요?Do you have time on Saturday?
저는 은행에 다녀요.I work at a bank.
냉장고에 물이 없어요.There is no water in the fridge.
Worth knowing (1)
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에 for "per"
With a price or a rate, 에 means "per" or "each": 한 개에 천 원, "a thousand won each", 하루에 세 번, "three times a day".
사과가 한 개에 천 원이에요.The apples are a thousand won each.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
내일, 오늘, 어제 and 지금 work like English "tomorrow" and "today": they need no particle. A clock time or a day of the week does: 세 시에, 금요일에.
E is the point: where you go, where something is, and when it happens — but never after today, tomorrow or now.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.