2 · Particles
Direction, means and change: (으)로
the particle of direction and means
(으)로 marks the direction you head in, the tool or way you use, what something is made of, and what it turns into.
으로 follows a consonant and 로 a vowel: 집으로, 손으로, 학교로, 버스로. One consonant behaves like a vowel here: a word ending in l takes 로 — 지하철로, 연필로, 칼로. It is the one particle where this matters, and the slip it invites stays with learners for a long time.
With movement, (으)로 marks the direction, "towards": 오른쪽으로 가세요, "go to the right", 집으로 돌아가요, "I am going back home". With a place, 에 and (으)로 are often both possible — 에 names the end point, (으)로 the way there — but with words like "left", "up" or "forward" only (으)로 will do: 왼쪽으로, 위로, 앞으로.
It marks the tool, the means and the language: 젓가락으로 먹어요, 버스로 가요, 이메일로 보내요, 한국어로 말해요. And it marks the material something is made of — 나무로 만든 의자, "a chair made of wood" — as well as what something is changed into or chosen as: 달러로 바꿔요, "I change it into dollars", 커피로 할게요, "I will have coffee".
Where English speakers go wrong. In everyday Korean "on foot" is not a means: it is 걸어서, "by walking". The l rule is forgotten under pressure — 지하철로, never with 으. And "in English" is 영어로: a language is treated as a means, so it takes (으)로, not 에 or 에서.
The form
| after a consonant | 집으로, 손으로 |
| after a vowel | 학교로, 버스로 |
| after a word ending in l | 지하철로, 연필로 |
| direction | 오른쪽으로 가세요. |
| means or language | 한국어로 말해요. |
| choosing, changing into | 커피로 할게요. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
으로 follows a consonant and 로 a vowel — and a word ending in l, which behaves like a vowel here.
저는 지하철로 출근해요.I commute by underground.
With movement, (으)로 marks the direction; with words like "left" or "up", only (으)로 is possible.
저기에서 왼쪽으로 가세요.Turn left over there.
It marks the tool, the way or the language used.
이름을 한국어로 써 주세요.Please write your name in Korean.
It marks what something is made of, and what it is changed into or chosen as.
저는 녹차로 할게요.I'll have green tea.
A closer look
In a taxi, and on paper
Giving a destination, Koreans usually say (으)로: 시청으로 가 주세요, "to City Hall, please". 에 would be correct too, but (으)로 names the way the driver should head, which is exactly what the driver wants to know.
In formal writing two longer forms appear. (으)로서 means "as, in the role of": 교사로서 말씀드립니다, "I speak as a teacher". (으)로써 means "by means of": 대화로써 해결합시다, "let us solve it through talking". In speech the short (으)로 does both jobs.
Exceptions and special cases (2)
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the word ends in l
it takes 로, as if it ended in a vowel.
칼로 사과를 잘라요.I cut the apple with a knife.
으로 exists to keep two consonants apart, and an l flows straight into the r of 로, so the extra vowel is not needed.
-
you go on foot
say 걸어서, "by walking".
학교까지 걸어서 가요.I walk to school.
(으)로 marks a tool or a vehicle. Korean describes walking as an action, not as a means of transport; the formal 도보로 belongs to signs and notices.
How to spot it
- 으로
- 로
- 쪽으로
- 로 하다
- 로 바꾸다
Example sentences
이 버스는 시청으로 가요.This bus goes to City Hall.
저는 젓가락으로 국수를 먹어요.I eat noodles with chopsticks.
이 떡은 쌀로 만들어요.This rice cake is made from rice.
사진을 이메일로 보내 주세요.Please send the photos by email.
이 돈을 달러로 바꾸고 싶어요.I would like to change this money into dollars.
엘리베이터를 타고 위로 올라가세요.Take the lift and go up.
8 more example sentences
이 길로 쭉 가세요.Go straight along this road.
저는 친구에게 문자로 연락해요.I contact my friend by text message.
비 때문에 약속을 다음 주로 미뤘어요.Because of the rain we put our plans off until next week.
이 의자는 나무로 만들었어요.This chair is made of wood.
창문 밖으로 바다가 보여요.You can see the sea out of the window.
이 사진을 흑백으로 바꿔 주세요.Please change this photo to black and white.
한국어로 뭐라고 해요?How do you say it in Korean?
손으로 먹어도 돼요.You can eat it with your hands.
Worth knowing (1)
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Ordering with (으)로 하다
In a café or a restaurant, (으)로 할게요 is the natural way to choose — "I will make it …". The particle marks what you have chosen out of the menu.
저는 냉면으로 할게요.I'll have the cold noodles.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
지하철 ends in a consonant, but that consonant is an l, and before this particle an l counts as a vowel: 지하철로, 연필로, 칼로. Every other consonant takes 으로: 손으로, 집으로.
Euro after a consonant, ro after a vowel or an l — towards, by, from and into.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.