LEARN KOREAN (한국어) [GRAMMAR] #1

ㄹ IRREGULAR

As you know, there are times when you must choose between two things to add to a stem. For example:

~아/어 means you must choose between adding ~아 or ~어
~ㄴ/은 means you must choose between adding ~ㄴ or ~은
~ㅂ/습 means you must choose between adding ~ㅂ or ~습
~ㄹ/을 means you must choose between adding ~ㄹ or ~을

As you know, you choose the correct addition based on the stem.

If the final letter of a stem is ㄹ AND you add any of the following:

~ㄴ/은
~ㄴ/는
~ㅂ/습
~ㄹ/을

The first option (~ㄴ/ ~ㅂ / ~ㄹ ) should be chosen. In addition, the ㄹ is removed from the stem and the ~ㄴ / ~ㅂ / ~ㄹ is add directly to the stem. Let's look at each one individually.

ㄹ Irregular: Adding ~ㄴ/은 to words
You have learned about adding ~ㄴ/은 to adjective stems when describing nouns. Usually, you add ~ㄴ directly to the stem of an adjective ending in a vowel, and ~은 to the stem of an adjective ending in a consonant, for example:

크다 = 큰 남자
작다 = 작은 남자

When adding ~ㄴ/은 to a stem which ends in ㄹ, the ㄹ is removed and ㄴ is added to the stem:

길다 - long
길 + ㄴ = 긴
저는 긴 거리를 건넜어요 - I crossed the long street

멀다 - far away
멀 + ㄴ = 먼
저는 먼 병원에 갔어요 - I went to a far away hospital (a hospital that is far away)

There will be times when you have to add ~ㄴ/은 to verbs stems as well, but you haven't learned about this yet. I don't want you to think about this too much, but just so you know, the concept is the same as adding ~ㄴ/은 to an adjective. For example:

열다 - to open
열 + ㄴ = 연

Although you haven't learned about adding ~ㄴ/은 to stems, you have learned about adding ~ㄴ/는다 to verb stems. Normally, you add ~ㄴ다 to the stem of a verb ending in a vowel, and ~는다 to the stem of a verb ending in a consonant. For example:

나는 집에 간다 - I go home
나는 밥을 먹는다 - I eat rice

But when adding ~ㄴ/는다 to a verb stem that ends in ㄹ, you must remove ㄹ and add ~ㄴ다 to the verb stem:

나는 문을 연다 - I open the door
나는 케이크를 만든다 - I make a cake

ㄹ Irregular: Adding ~ㅂ/습 to words
You have also learned about adding ~ㅂ/습니다 to verb and adjective stems when conjugating in the Formal high respect form: Normally, you add ~ㅂ니다 to the stem of a word ending in a vowel, and ~습니다 to the stem of a word ending in a consonant. For example:

Verbs:
저는 집에 갑니다 - I go home
저는 밥을 먹습니다 - I eat rice

Adjectives:
그 여자는 예쁩니다 - That girl is pretty
이 방은 넓습니다 - This room is big/wide

But when adding ~ㅂ니다 to the stem of a word that ends in ㄹ, you must remove ㄹ and add ~ㅂ directly to the stem. For example:

Verbs:
저는 문을 엽니다 - I open the door
저는 케이크를 만듭니다 - I make a cake

Adjectives:
그 병원은 멉니다 - That hospital is far
그 여자의 머리카락은 깁니다 - That girls hair is long

머리 can mean 'head' or 'hair' depending on the context. If you want to specifically mention your hair, you can say 머리카락, which always means the hair on one's head. 머리 or 머리카락 does not refer to the hair on an animal, or the body hair of a human. This hair is referred to as "털" and extends to most of the hair that can be found on animals (fur, the wool on a sheep, etc)