Adverbs of Manner and Degree

What are Adverbs?

Adverbs are words that add more information to verbs, adjectives, or even other adverbs. They help paint a clearer picture of an action or a state.

In this lesson, we'll focus on two important types:

Adverbs of Manner (방법 부사): These answer the question "How?". They describe the way an action is done. For example, quickly , slowly , loudly .

Adverbs of Degree (정도 부사): These answer the question "To what extent?" or "How much?". They describe the intensity of an action or quality. For example, very , really , a lot .

Placement in a Sentence

In Korean, adverbs that modify a verb or adjective usually come right before the word they are describing. This is a common pattern, but the word order can be flexible as long as the predicate (verb/adjective) stays near the end.

Adverb + Verb/Adjective

빨리 가요. ( Go quickly . )

아주 예뻐요. ( Is very pretty. )

Common Adverbs You Should Know

Here are some of the most frequently used adverbs of manner and degree. Getting familiar with them will greatly improve your expressive ability.

Adverbs of Manner (방법 부사)

Korean · English · Example Sentence

빨리 · quickly, fast · 택시가 빨리 와요. (The taxi is coming quickly .)

천천히 · slowly · 천천히 말해 주세요. (Please speak slowly .)

조용히 · quietly · 아기가 조용히 자요. (The baby is sleeping quietly .)

크게 · loudly, big · 음악을 크게 들어요. (I listen to music loudly .)

작게 · quietly, small · 작게 말해요. (He speaks quietly .)

Adverbs of Degree (정도 부사)

Korean · English · Example Sentence

아주 / 매우 · very · 날씨가 아주 좋아요. (The weather is very good.)

정말 / 진짜 · really, truly · 한국 음식이 정말 맛있어요. (Korean food is really delicious.)

너무 · too, so, very · 이 옷이 너무 비싸요. (These clothes are too expensive.)

많이 · a lot, much · 물을 많이 마셔요. (I drink a lot of water.)

조금 · a little, a bit · 조금 피곤해요. (I'm a little tired.)

Nuance Note: 너무 originally meant "too" in a negative sense (e.g., "too expensive"). However, in modern spoken Korean, it's very commonly used to mean "very" or "so" in a positive way, similar to 아주 or 정말 .

The Magic of -게

One of the most useful patterns in Korean is forming an adverb from a descriptive verb (adjective). You can do this by dropping the -다 from the dictionary form and adding -게 to the stem.

Formula: Adjective Stem + -게

This transforms an adjective (describing a noun) into an adverb (describing a verb), changing the meaning from "to be [adjective]" to "[adjective]-ly".

How It Works

Adjective (Descriptive Verb) · Stem · + 게 · Resulting Adverb · Meaning

예쁘다 · 예쁘- · + 게 · 예쁘게 · prettily, beautifully

맛있다 · 맛있- · + 게 · 맛있게 · deliciously

쉽다 · 쉽- · + 게 · 쉽게 · easily

즐겁다 · 즐겁- · + 게 · 즐겁게 · enjoyably

깨끗하다 · 깨끗하- · + 게 · 깨끗하게 · cleanly

Example in a Sentence

Adjective: 케이크가 맛있어요 . (The cake is delicious .)

Adverb: 케이크를 맛있게 먹어요. (I eat the cake deliciously .)

Notice how 맛있다 describes the cake, while 맛있게 describes how the cake is eaten.

Quick review

Adjective stem + -게 -> Adverb

예쁘다 -> 예쁘게

맛있다 -> 맛있게.