naega mannan chingu eolguri gieoknayo?

Do you remember the face of the friend I met?

Breakdown of naega mannan chingu eolguri gieoknayo?

• ~이: subject particle
• 친구: friend
• 만나다: to meet
• 나: I

Questions & Answers about naega mannan chingu eolguri gieoknayo?

Why is 만난 used before 친구 instead of just 만나다 친구?

만난 is the pre-nominal modifier form of the verb 만나다 (to meet). Attaching -ㄴ/은 turns the verb into an adjective that describes 친구. So 내가 만난 친구 literally means “the friend that I met.”

Why is there no 의 between 친구 and 얼굴 (as in 친구의 얼굴)?

In Korean, the possessive marker 의 is often dropped when the relationship is obvious—especially for body parts. Both 친구 얼굴 and 친구의 얼굴 are correct, but the shorter 친구 얼굴 sounds more natural in everyday speech.

Why is 얼굴 marked with the subject particle -이 instead of the object particle -을?

Because the verb here is 기억나다 (“to come to mind”)—an intransitive verb. The thing that “comes to mind” is its subject, so you use the subject particle -이/가. If you used 기억하다 (“to remember”), you would mark 얼굴 with -을 as its object.

What’s the difference between 기억나다 and 기억하다, and why do we use 기억나요 here?

• 기억하다 = “to remember” (active, transitive; you remember something).