A1
의 — of, and whose
How the Korean possessive particle 의 joins two nouns, why it is pronounced differently from how it is written, and when it is dropped.
의 joins two nouns, the first describing the second. The order is the same as English ’s and the opposite of of.
친구의 책.
Chinguui chaek.
My friend’s book.
한국의 역사.
Hangugui yeoksa.
The history of Korea.
Written 의, said e. As a particle it is pronounced 에, not 의 — one of the few places where Korean spelling preserves an older sound. The romanisation ui follows the spelling rather than the speech.
Usually dropped
Two nouns side by side already read as possessive, and leaving 의 in can sound stiff or bookish.
친구 책.
Chingu chaek.
My friend’s book.
한국 음식.
Hanguk eumsik.
Korean food.
한국의 음식 is not wrong, but 한국 음식 is what anyone would say.
Where it contracts
나의 → 내, 저의 → 제, 너의 → 네. These contracted forms are the normal ones; the full versions sound emphatic or literary.
제 이름은 민수예요.
Je ireumeun Minsuyeyo.
My name is Minsu.
저의 이름은 민수예요.
제 이름은 민수예요.
Grammatical, but nobody introduces themselves that way. 제 is the ordinary form.
Not for describing
의 links nouns. An adjective attaches to a noun by its own ending, with no particle: 큰 집, a big house, never 큰의 집.