Learn Hardcore Korean: chinguwa hamkke eumsigeul nanwo meogeoyo.

-와 is a particle meaning “with.” It attaches to a noun (here 친구) to show you’re doing something together with that person. Note: after a consonant you’d use -과, but since 친구 ends in a vowel, you use -와.

Can I replace 친구와 with 친구랑?

Yes. -랑 is a more casual spoken equivalent of -와/과.
• 친구와 함께 음식을 나눠 먹어요. (polite-neutral)
• 친구랑 함께 음식을 나눠 먹어요. (casual)
Both mean “I share and eat food with a friend,” but -랑 feels friendlier and less formal.

What’s the difference between 함께 and 같이?

Both mean “together,” but:
• 같이 is very common in everyday speech.
• 함께 sounds a bit more formal or literary.
You could say 친구와 같이 음식을 나눠 먹어요 without changing the meaning.

Why are there two verbs in 나눠 먹어요?

This is a verb‐verb compound.
• 나누다 = “to divide/share”
• 먹다 = “to eat”
Together, 나눠 먹다 means “to share and eat” (i.e. eat something by sharing it). It’s a common structure where the first verb sets up the action for the second.

Why is it 나눠 instead of 나누어?

나눠 is the contracted spoken form of 나누어. In everyday conversation Koreans often shorten -아/어 stems, so 나누어 먹어요 becomes 나눠 먹어요 for more natural speech.

What level of politeness is the ending -어요 in 먹어요?

The -아요/어요 ending (here -어요) is the polite informal style, called 해요체.
• It’s polite enough for strangers, colleagues, teachers, etc.
• It’s less formal than 존댓말 (e.g. 먹습니다) but more polite than casual 반말 (e.g. 먹어).

Why is 음식을 placed before 나눠 먹어요?

Korean is typically Subject–Object–Verb (SOV).
• 음식 (food) is the object.
• -을/를 (here -를) marks it as such.
So 음식을 나눠 먹어요 literally follows the order “food-object / share-eat-verb.”