이것은 → 이건, 무엇을 → 뭘: 10 Korean Contractions That Swallow the Particle

In spoken Korean, a short word and its particle usually melt into one syllable: 이것은 becomes 이건, 무엇을 becomes 뭘, 저는 becomes 전. The particle isn't dropped. It survives as the last sound of the word — ㄴ for the topic, ㄹ for the object, 게 for the subject — so you decode these by how the word ends.

That makes them a different animal from the verb contractions in grammar tables (보아요 → 봐요), which you can learn by reading. These ten you have to hear. They're also a different family from connector words that wear away in the middle, like 그런데 → 근데 — that one has its own post.

What does the difference sound like?

Here is one short exchange at a café counter, someone pointing at the menu. First at textbook speed, then the way it's actually said.

Textbook

• 무엇을 먹을 거예요? [무어슬 머글 꺼예요] mueoseul meogeul geoyeyo — What are you going to have?
• 저는 이것을 먹을게요. [저는 이거슬 머글께요] jeoneun igeoseul meogeulgeyo — I'll have this.

Natural

• 뭘 먹을 거예요? [뭘 머글 꺼예요] mwol meogeul geoyeyo
• 전 이걸 먹을게요. [전 이걸 머글께요] jeon igeol meogeulgeyo

Seventeen syllables became thirteen. Four syllables vanished, and not one particle did. Listen to the ends of the short words again: 뭘 still finishes on ㄹ, 이걸 still finishes on ㄹ, 전 still finishes on ㄴ. That final sound is the particle. If you were waiting to hear 을 or 는 as its own little syllable, it had already gone past, folded into the word in front of it.

What's actually happening to the particle?

The particle's consonant slides onto the word before it, and the rest falls away. 저 + 는 loses the vowel of 는 and keeps its ㄴ: 전. 무엇 is already 뭐 in everyday speech, so 뭐 + 를 keeps only the ㄹ: 뭘. 것 is almost always said 거, so 이거 + 을 becomes 이걸.

The subject particle works a little differently, because 이 is a vowel with no consonant to hand over. Instead, the two vowels squeeze together: 이거 + 이 → 이게. The same thing happens to 그거 + 이 → 그게.

The practical upshot is a listening rule you can use in real time, which a chart never gives you. When a short word ends in ㄴ where you expected a vowel, think topic. When it ends in ㄹ, think object. When 거 has turned into 게, think subject.

Which 10 contractions should you train your ear on?

Grouped by the sound they end on. Say each spoken form as one beat — not as the long form said quickly.

Ends in ㄴ — it was 은/는

• 1 · 이것은 → 이건 igeon
  이건 제가 만든 거예요. igeon jega mandeun geoyeyo — This one's the one I made.
• 2 · 나는 → 난 nan
  난 커피 안 마셔. nan keopi an masyeo — I don't drink coffee.
• 3 · 저는 → 전 jeon
  전 내일 시간 돼요. jeon naeil sigan dwaeyo — I'm free tomorrow.
• 4 · 너는 → 넌 neon
  넌 뭐 먹을래? [넌 뭐 머글래] neon mwo meogeullae — What do you want to eat?

Ends in ㄹ — it was 을/를

• 5 · 이것을 → 이걸 igeol
  이걸 누가 다 먹어요? [이걸 누가 다 머거요] igeol nuga da meogeoyo — Who's going to eat all this?
• 6 · 무엇을 → 뭘 mwol
  뭘 그렇게 봐? [뭘 그러케 봐] mwol geureoke bwa — What are you staring at?
• 7 · 나를 → 날 nal
  날 기억해? [날 기어캐] nal gieokae — Do you remember me?

Ends in 게 — it was 이

• 8 · 이것이 → 이게 ige
  이게 더 가까워요. ige deo gakkawoyo — This one's closer.
• 9 · 그것이 → 그게 geuge
  그게 아니라… geuge anira — That's not it… / No, what I mean is…
• 10 · 할 것이 → 할 게 [할께] hal ge
  오늘 할 게 너무 많아. [오늘 할께 너무 마나] oneul hal ge neomu mana — I've got way too much to do today.

Number 10 catches people twice. 것 has shrunk to 게, and after a verb ending in -ㄹ it's said with a tight [께]. On the page it looks like 할게 ("I'll do it"); out loud the two sound identical. Context sorts it out: 할 게 많아 is "a lot to do", 할게 is a promise.

Example audio is AI-generated. Every example sentence was written for this post.

Now say the ten short forms out loud — 이건, 난, 전, 넌, 이걸, 뭘, 날, 이게, 그게, 할 게 — each as a single beat. You won't be able to tell by ear whether you really fused them or just said the long version faster. Nobody can hear their own speech that way.

When should you keep the full form?

Keep 이것은 and 저는 whole in anything written to be read formally, and anything read aloud from a script. A news anchor, a presentation, a cover letter, a notice on a wall — contracted forms there look like a text message that wandered into the wrong place.

In ordinary polite speech, though, the contracted forms aren't rude. 전 내일 시간 돼요 is perfectly polite to a stranger; the politeness lives in the 요 and in choosing 저 over 나, not in whether 는 fused. Learners often over-correct here and say 저는 every single time. It isn't wrong, but it sounds read rather than said.

Where the contraction seems to signal something is 난, 넌 and 날. Those feel casual, but the contraction isn't the reason — 나 and 너 were casual pronouns before anything fused. Use them with friends and people younger than you. With a teacher, a customer or an older stranger it's 저 and 전, and you avoid 너 altogether.

A job interview sits in between. Starting an answer with the full 저는 is the safe choice; if 전 creeps in once you're talking naturally, that's normal speech, not a slip.

Can you say it at full speed?

Three breath groups first, then the whole line in one go.

1. 그게 아니라 geuge anira
2. 난 이게 더 nan ige deo
3. 좋아서 그래 [조아서 그래] joaseo geurae

Full speed: 그게 아니라, 난 이게 더 좋아서 그래. [그게 아니라 난 이게 더 조아서 그래] geuge anira, nan ige deo joaseo geurae — It's not that. I just like this one better.

Three contractions in one breath, and all of them are the kind you'd hear in the middle of an ordinary argument about lunch. If 그것이 or 나는 slips out, go back to that chunk and say only it until the short form comes out on its own. Then try the whole line again, recorded, because the only reliable way to know the particle is gone is to hear it from outside your own head. If you have never practised that way, the shadowing routine is the ten-minute version.

FAQ

Is 이건 the same as 이거?

Almost. 이거 is 이것 with the particle left off entirely, and it's the most common form in casual speech. 이건 keeps the topic ㄴ, so it leans toward "this one, as opposed to the others".

Can I write 이건 and 뭘 in a text message?

Yes. Messages between friends and colleagues use them all the time. Keep the full forms for formal documents, reports and anything that gets printed.

What about the contraction table in my textbook (보아요 → 봐요)?

That's a different rule: vowels merging inside a verb when it's conjugated, and you can learn it by reading. The ten here happen between a word and its particle — they're the ones that go missing when you listen.