씩: Each, Apiece, Per (Distributive Rate)

씩 is the particle that turns a quantity into a rate. Attach it to an amount — a number-plus-counter phrase like 한 개 ("one item") or 세 번 ("three times"), or an amount word like 조금 ("a little") — and it means "that much each, apiece, per unit, at a time." 하나씩 is "one apiece / one at a time," 조금씩 is "bit by bit," 하루에 세 번씩 is "three times a day, each day." Where its cousin 마다 sweeps over a set of items ("every X"), 씩 hands out an amount — so-many to each recipient, or so-many on each occasion. Getting that contrast straight is the whole point of this page, and it hinges on one structural fact: 씩 attaches to a quantity, never to a bare noun. Like 마다, it has no allomorph and cliticizes directly onto the amount.

The core: an amount handed out per unit

The prototypical 씩 sits on a number-plus-counter and means "that many to each one" or "that many each time."

In 한 명씩 the amount "one person" is doled out per occasion (each person enters singly); in 하나씩 the amount "one" goes to each recipient; in 만 원씩 the amount "10,000 won" is what each of us contributed. English reaches for "each," "apiece," "at a time," or "per" — and 씩 is exactly the word behind all of those. Because 씩 rides on the quantity, it comes right after the counter (개, 명, 번, 원), not on the noun those things are counting.

조금씩 and 하나씩: bit by bit, one by one

Two 씩 phrases are so common they are worth memorizing as units. 조금씩 ("a little + 씩") means "little by little, bit by bit" — a small amount repeated over and over, building up gradually. 하나씩 ("one + 씩") means "one by one, one at a time." Both describe a process that advances in small, even installments.

The gradual, installment feel of 조금씩 is a good window onto what 씩 does everywhere: it takes an amount and spreads it out — across time, across people, across occasions — so that it lands in even portions rather than all at once.

씩 with a rate phrase: 에 … 씩

Very often 씩 teams up with a rate phrase built on 에 ("per") — or on 마다 — to spell out "so-much per so-much." 하루에 두 개씩 is "two per day (each day)": 하루에 gives the "per day" frame, and 두 개씩 gives the "two apiece" amount. This pairing is the standard way to state doses, schedules, and rations.

The reframing: 씩 (rate) vs 마다 (set)

Both 씩 and 마다 are "distributive," and both English-translate with "each" — which is why learners blur them. But they distribute different things:

• 마다 distributes over the set of items: it points at every member. 사람마다 = "each person (there is)." It answers which ones? — all of them, individually.
• 씩 distributes an amount across recipients or occasions: it says how much goes to each. 한 개씩 = "one apiece." It answers how many to each? — this many.

So 사람마다 사과를 한 개씩 받았어요 uses both, cleanly and without redundancy: 사람마다 ranges over the people ("each person"), and 한 개씩 states the ration ("one apple apiece"). The 마다 part covers the set; the 씩 part covers the rate.

Common Mistakes

1. Attaching 씩 to a bare noun. 씩 needs a quantity in front of it; it can't sit on the object noun itself.

2. Using 마다 where an amount ('apiece') is meant. 마다 ranges over a set; it can't state a per-recipient amount.

3. Using 씩 where a set ('every X') is meant. For "every person / every day," you range over the set with 마다, not 씩.

4. Dropping 씩 from a rate phrase. In 에 … 씩, the 씩 marks the per-unit amount; leaving it off loses the "each time" sense.

Key Takeaways

• 씩 attaches to a quantity (number + counter, or an amount word) to mean "each, apiece, per, at a time"; it has no allomorph and clips onto the amount.
• Memorize 하나씩 ("one by one") and 조금씩 ("bit by bit") as units — they capture 씩's "even installments" feel.
• The rate frame 에 … 씩 states doses and schedules: 하루에 세 번씩 ("three times a day").
• 씩 vs 마다: 마다 distributes over the set ("every X"); 씩 distributes an amount ("so-many apiece"). They combine cleanly — 사람마다 한 개씩.
• Never put 씩 on a bare noun (×사과씩) — it belongs on the quantity (한 개씩).