In short

Korean splits “this/that” three ways: 이 (i) near me, 그 (geu) near you or already mentioned, 저 (jeo) far from both of us. Those three syllables then combine with a fixed set of endings to give you things (이것), places (여기), directions (이쪽), kinds (이런) and manner (이렇게) - learn one row and you get three words for free.

The rule

English has two demonstratives, “this” and “that”. Korean has three, and the middle one is the one English speakers miss.

Step 1 - choose the syllable (distance).

• 이 (i) - near the speaker: in my hand, on my desk, right here.
• 그 (geu) - near the listener, or something already talked about.
• 저 (jeo) - far from both of us: across the street, out the window.

저 is only for things physically distant from both speakers and visible. If you cannot point at it, it is not 저. This is the trap: English “that” covers both 그 and 저, so learners reach for 저 for everything that is not in their own hand.

Step 2 - the anaphoric 그. Distance also applies to the conversation itself. Anything already mentioned - a plan, a shop, a person’s name you just heard - is 그, never 저: 그 영화 (geu yeonghwa) “that film we’re talking about”. This discourse use is far more frequent in real speech than the pointing use, and it is why 그 is the workhorse of the whole family.

Step 3 - choose the ending (what kind of word you need).

• 이/그/저 + Noun - a determiner. It is a separate word and always takes a space: 이 사람 (i saram) “this person”, 그 책 (geu chaek) “that book”.
• 이것/그것/저것 (igeot / geugeot / jeogeot) - “this thing”; written as one word, no space. This is the careful, written form.
• 여기/거기/저기 (yeogi / geogi / jeogi) - places. Note that these are irregular: not *이기, not *그기.
• 이쪽/그쪽/저쪽 (ijjok / geujjok / jeojjok) - directions, “this way”; also a polite way to point at a person.
• 이런/그런/저런 + Noun (ireon / geureon / jeoreon) - “this kind of”; like the determiner, it needs a noun after it.
• 이렇게/그렇게/저렇게 (ireoke / geureoke / jeoreoke) - manner, “like this / that way”; an adverb, so it attaches to a verb.

The manner words come from the descriptive verbs 이렇다/그렇다/저렇다, which are ㅎ-irregular: 그렇다 -> 그래요 (geureota -> geuraeyo) “that’s right / it’s like that”. You will meet 그래요 constantly.

Step 4 - the spoken forms and their contractions. In speech nobody says 이것 - they say 이거 (igeo). And when a particle attaches, the whole thing contracts. These contractions are not slang; they are what you will actually hear and should use:

• 이것이 -> 이게 (ige), 이것은 -> 이건 (igeon), 이것을 -> 이걸 (igeol).

Note that 것 ends in a 받침, so it selects the consonant-side allomorph every time: 것이, 것은, 것을 - never *것가, *것는, *것를.

Step 5 - the question counterparts. Every row has a question word, and three of them are easy to confuse:

• 어느 + Noun (eoneu) - “which one of a known set”: 어느 나라 (which country).
• 무슨 + Noun (museun) - “what kind of / what”: 무슨 색 (what colour).
• 어떤 + Noun (eotteon) - “what sort of, what is it like”: 어떤 사람 (what sort of person).

All three are determiners and need a noun. Standing alone you want 어디 (eodi, where), 뭐 (mwo, what) or 어떻게 (eotteoke, how).

Forms & patterns

The grid. Read across for one distance, down for one word type:

The contractions. 것 ends in a 받침, so the consonant-side allomorph is always the one that contracts:

Spacing - the single rule that decides it:

Examples

Common mistakes

• 이것 사람은 제 친구예요. (Igeot sarameun je chinguyeyo.) -> 이 사람은 제 친구예요. (I sarameun je chinguyeyo.) - 이것 already means “this thing” and is a complete noun phrase, so it cannot modify another noun. Before a noun you need the bare determiner 이.
• 그것는 뭐예요? (Geugeotneun mwoyeyo?) -> 그것은 뭐예요? (Geugeoseun mwoyeyo?) - 것 ends in the 받침 ㅅ, so the topic particle is 은, never 는. Same for 것이 (not *것가) and 것을 (not *것를).
• 저 것은 얼마예요? (Jeo geoseun eolmayeyo?) -> 저것은 얼마예요? (Jeogeoseun eolmayeyo?) - 이/그/저 fuse with 것 into a single written word. The space is only correct when a real noun follows, as in 저 가방 (jeo gabang).
• 저 영화 재미있어요? (Jeo yeonghwa jaemiisseoyo?) said about a film the other person just mentioned -> 그 영화 재미있어요? (Geu yeonghwa jaemiisseoyo?) - 저 is only for something visible and far from both of you. Anything that exists in the conversation rather than in the room is 그.
• 어디 나라 사람이에요? (Eodi nara saramieyo?) -> 어느 나라 사람이에요? (Eoneu nara saramieyo?) - 어디 is a standalone pronoun meaning “where”. To ask “which X” in front of a noun you need the determiner 어느.

Tips

• Three, not two. The test for 그 is not “is it far from me” but “is it near my listener, or did we just talk about it?” If either is true, use 그. Save 저 for things you can physically point at across a distance.
• 그 is the one you will use most. Because it covers everything already mentioned, 그, 그거, 그런, 그렇게 and 그래요 run through ordinary conversation constantly, while 저것 stays fairly rare.
• Spacing mnemonic: a determiner is a word, a pronoun is a lump. 이 sits alone in front of a noun (이 사람), but glues onto 것 (이것). If you can replace it with “this ___”, it is spaced; if it means “this thing”, it is one word.
• Speak the contractions. Saying 이것은 out loud sounds like reading a textbook. 이건, 그건, 저건, 이게, 그게, 저게, 이걸, 그걸, 저걸 are the normal spoken shapes and are perfectly correct in writing too.