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Questions & Answers about oneul haesbichi johayo.
What role does the particle 이 serve in 햇빛이?
이 is the subject-marking particle in Korean. You attach 이 to nouns ending in a consonant (batchim) to mark them as the subject of the sentence. Since 햇빛 ends in the consonant ㅊ, you use 이 rather than 가.
Why is there no particle after 오늘?
Time expressions like 오늘 (today) often act as adverbs in Korean and don’t require a particle. If you do want to emphasize “today” as a topic, you can add the topic particle: 오늘은 햇빛이 좋아요 (“As for today, the sunlight is nice”). Without 은, it’s just a neutral time adverb.
How do we get 좋아요 from the dictionary form 좋다?
좋다 is a descriptive verb meaning “to be good” or “to be nice.” To make it polite present tense, you:
- Drop the final -다 → 좋-
- Since the stem ends in ㅗ, add -아요 → 좋아요
Can I say 오늘 햇빛이 좋다 instead of 좋아요?
You can, but 좋다 is the plain/dictionary form. It’s used in writing, informal notes, or very casual speech with close friends. In everyday polite conversation you’d choose 좋아요 (casual polite) or 좋습니다 (formal polite).
How is 햇빛이 pronounced when spoken quickly?
In fast speech, the final ㅊ in 햇빛 often links to the next 이, yielding something like [햅씨] or [핕씨]. The ㅊ sound tenses the following consonant, so you hear a stronger “pp” or “ss” effect.
How would you say “The weather is nice today” instead?
You can use 날씨 (“weather”) with the subject particle 가 (since 날씨 ends in a vowel):
오늘 날씨가 좋아요.
What’s the nuance between 햇빛이 좋아요 and 날씨가 좋아요?
햇빛이 좋아요 highlights that the sunlight itself is pleasant—bright, warm, etc. 날씨가 좋아요 is more general, saying the overall weather is nice (temperature, humidity, wind, etc.).