-들

-들

See also: 들

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Worin seokbo (月印釋譜 / 월인석보), 1459, as Middle Korean ᄃᆞᆶ〮 (Yale: -tólh). Beyond Korean, most likely related to Japanese 達(たち) (tachi, pluralizing morpheme); if so, the ancestral form may have been */tatVk/ or similar.[1]

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [tɯɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [들]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	deul
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	deul
McCune–Reischauer?	tŭl
Yale Romanization?	tul

Particle

들 • (-deul)

1. An auxiliary plural particle with an emphasis on the individuality of each item. See Usage notes for more.

   사람들 ― saramdeul ― people, persons

   기억들 ― gieokdeul ― memories

   빨리들 하세요. (when addressing multiple people)

   ppallideul haseyo.

   Get it done quickly.

   그 사람들은 가족이에요. ― geu saramdeulEun gajogieyo. ― Those people are family.

Usage notes

• Korean does not grammatically distinguish between singular and plural nouns. Thus, while 사람들 (saramdeul) means "people", 사람 (saram) can mean either "person" or "people", depending on context.
• 들 (deul) has a nuance of emphasizing the individuality of each item. Compare the following:

  아이가 공부만 해서는 안 된다.

  Ai-ga gongbu-man haeseo-neun an doenda.

  Children [a child in a generic sense; children as a collective group] should not just be studying.

  아이들이 공부만 해서는 안 된다.

  aideul-i gongbu-man haeseo-neun an doenda.

  The children [specific children, or simply emphasizing the individuality of children] should not just be studying.

  우리가 하는 말 좀 들어봐.

  Uri-ga haneun mal jom deureobwa.

  Listen for a bit to what we are saying.

  우리들이 하는 말 좀 들어봐.

  urideul-i haneun mal jom deureobwa.

  Listen for a bit to what we [each of us] are saying.

• 들 (deul) is not typically used for a quantified noun, except in a construction where the classifier precedes the quantified noun and is linked by the genitive particle 의 (ui).

  두 사람 ― du saram ― two people

  두 사람들 ― du saramdeul ― two people (but uncommon)

  사람 두 명 ― saram du myeong ― two people

  사람들 두 명 ― saramdeul du myeong ― two out of some larger group of people

  두 명의 사람 ― du myeong-ui saram ― two people

  두 명의 사람들 ― du myeong-ui saramdeul ― two people

• 들 (deul) is obligatory after the deictic determiners 이 (i, “this”), 그 (geu, “that”), 저 (jeo, “that”).

  저 사람 ― jeo saram ― that person

  저 사람들 ― jeo saramdeul ― those people

• 들 (deul) can used after an adverb or an object to pluralize the subject, especially when the subject has been omitted.

  빨리들 먹어라 (command to a group of people) ― ppallideul meogeora ― eat quickly

  밥들 먹어라 (command to a group of people) ― bapdeul meogeora ― eat some rice

References

1. Vovin, Alexander (2010) Koreo-Japonica: A Re-Evaluation of a Common Genetic Origin‎, University of Hawai’i Press, →ISBN, JSTOR j.ctt6wqz03, page 120