Naneun

Naneun is the romanization of the Korean Hangul phrase 나는, which functions as the informal first-person pronoun meaning "I" or "as for me." It is formed by the pronoun 나 (I) plus the topic particle 는, which marks the phrase as the topic of the sentence. In English, it is often translated as "I," but its primary role is to establish the speaker as the topic of discussion.

Usage notes: 나는 is used in casual or intimate conversation to introduce or shift the topic to the speaker. It is less formal than 저는, which uses the humble form and is appropriate in polite or formal contexts. The contracted form 난, short for 나는, is common in spoken Korean and casual writing. In formal settings, speakers typically avoid 나는 in favor of 저는.

Pronunciation: The phrase is pronounced approximately as [na.nɯn], with 나 pronounced "nah" and 는 a teed tone marker attached to the phrase. The vowel ㅡ is the Korean sound transcribed as eu.

Examples: 나는 학생이다. I am a student. 나는 한국어를 공부한다. I study Korean. Informally, 난 한국에 산다. I live in Korea.

See also: Korean pronouns, topic particles (은/는), Hangul, Korean romanization.