Pronouns in Korean language : Can we really use them ? (그 / 그녀 / 그들)

 Hello!

In this post, let’s talk about the correct use of personal pronouns:

• 그 (he/she)
• 그녀 (she)
• 그들 (they)

Actually, Korean is a language where personal pronouns are used very sparingly. In spoken language, they are almost never used.

And if you ever hear one of these pronouns in everyday conversation, it’s usually intended as a joke or to convey a certain nuance, which is quite unusual in itself.  

For example, if you say:

*그녀한테 나 늦는다고 말해줘 (tell her…) or *오늘 그들을 만날 거예요 (I’ll see them…),

your Korean listener will most likely find it strange and a bit funny.

So how do Koreans usually do it instead?

You either repeat the name, or you use a title—whether professional or family/relationship based. (This is also where cultural aspects come into play)

Examples:

• 지혜한테 나 늦는다고 말해줘 (using the person’s name)
• 그 여자한테 / 그 사람한테 나 늦는다고 말해줘 (that woman / that person)
• 누나한테 나 늦는다고 말해줘 (family/relationship title “older sister” when said by a man; can also be used for an older female friend, by a man)
• 오늘 그 사람들을 만날 거예요 (those people)
• 오늘 아이들을 만날 거예요 (the children)

Another important point is that Korean allows you to leave out a lot of elements in a sentence—so it’s even easier to communicate without having to resort to personal pronouns.

So, when can we use them?

Mostly in literary language. In that context, pronouns are completely fine.

If you pick up a Korean novel and skim through it, you’ll see them everywhere. But I’ve noticed they tend to appear much more often in books translated into Korean than in books originally written in Korean.

결국 과일들을 일단 내려놓고, 그는 휴대폰 폴더를 열어 그녀의 전화번호를 눌렀다. 꼭 열 번의 신호음이 울릴 때까지 그녀는 전화를 받지 않았다. 그는 과일들을 들고 계단을 오르기 시작했다.

(Excerpt from The Vegetarian, Han Kang)

On the other hand, in the excerpt below, we see the word 아내 (“wife”) repeated several times within the same paragraph, instead of using the pronoun 그녀:

…아내는 천성적으로 참을성이 많은 편이었다. 그에게 일요일 하루만 시간을 비워달라는 것은 아내의 거의 유일한 요구사항이었다. “나도 좀 쉬고 싶어요. ……당신에게도 아이와 보내는 시간이 필요하지 않아요?” 아내의 수고를 덜어줄 사람이 자신뿐이라는 것을 그는 알고 있었다. 한마디 불평도 없이 안팎의 살림을 혼자 해내는 아내가 고맙기도 했다. 그러나 이즈음, 아내를 볼 때마다 겹쳐 떠오르는 처제의 얼굴 때문에 그의 마음은 집에서는 한순간도 편치 않았다. …

(Ibid)

☝️Let’s go a bit further:

Even in literary style, 그/그녀 are almost never used to refer to a very young person. They’re usually reserved for adults.

☝️Another interesting point: 

The pronoun 그 doesn’t necessarily mean “he.” It can also refer to a woman! You’ll often come across this in essays or newspaper columns, for example.

That said, depending on the context, if using 그 for a woman could create confusion, people won’t use it—because the reader might lose track of who is being referred to 😅. If there’s only one character in the narrative, then it works fine… but in most cases, it’s really important to keep the pronouns for each character clearly distinct.

See you next time !