What is the difference between 이에요 and 예요?

 Chapter Fourteen

What is the difference between 이에요 and 예요? 

So, many of you will be having this doubt, right? From the moment you start learning Korean, you hear this 이에요(ieyo) and 예요(yeyo) at the end of almost every sentences. And some sentences use 이에요 and some sentences end with예요. Why exactly is that? What is the difference between this ieyo and yeyo? In this chapter, we are going to find the difference between these two endings and their examples. So, let's not waste our time and start!

Basically, these two 이에요 and 예요 has the meaning 'to be' in English. Or, in Korean, these two are used to say, 'this is it' or 'this is that'. In fact, they complete the sentence perfectly.
So let's look in detail.


Where to use 이에요?


We use 이에요 in sentences, where the noun ends with a final consonant. For example, if the sentence is, 
다정 씨는 한국 사람이에요. (Ms. Da Jeong is a Korean) 
See, here, the word 사람 ends with a consonant 'ㅁ'. So, we use 이에요.

Let's look at more examples.

  • 제 어머니는 선생님이에요.- My mother is a teacher. (Je eo-meo-ni-neun seon-saeng-nim-ieyo)
Here, after 어머니, we used the topic particle 는. Why? You remember?
  • 제 여동생은 학생이에요.- My sister is a student. (Je yeo-dong-saeng-eun hag-saeng-ieyo)
Here, after 여동생 we used the topic particle 은. Why? Read the answer here.
  • 제 아버지도 선생님이에요.- My father is also a teacher. (Je a-beo-ji-do seon-sang-nim-ieyo)
In this sentence, we didn't use any subject or topic particle after 아버지. Instead, we used the connecting particle 도. Why? Find why we used that particle here.
  • 저는 대학생이에요.- I am a college student. (Jeo-neun dae-hag-saeng-ieyo)
Try to make as many sentences as possible, and practice. Now let's move on to the next one. 

Where to use 예요?


We use 예요 in sentences where the previous word (noun) ends with a vowel. For example, in the sentence, 이 사람은 다정 씨예요. Here, the noun 다정 씨 (Ms. Da Jeong) ended with the vowel 'ㅣ'. So we used 예요. Let's look at more examples.
  • Q. 이것이 사과예요? - Is this an Apple? (I-geos-i sa-gwa-ye-yo?) The noun Apple 사과 ended with the vowel 'ㅏ'. So we used 예요.
        A. 아니요. 사과가 아닙니다. 바나나예요.- No. This is not an Apple. This is Banana. (a-ni-yo. sa-gwa-ga a-nib-ni-da. ba-na-na-ye-yo). Here, the noun banana ended with the vowel 'ㅏ'. So we used 예요.
Do you remember the subject particles we studied before? In this sentence, we used 가 after the subject 사과. Read why we used it here. 
  • 여기가 어디예요? Where is this place? (yeo-gi-ga eo-di-ye-yo) Here the previous word ended with the vowel 'ㅣ', and we used 예요.

The lesson is complete and I believe, now you understood the difference between these two, and where should you use it. 
But, for your information, even if you make a mistake while speaking in Korean, or you used 예요 instead of 이에요, don't worry. Koreans will still understand you, as there will be no big change in the meaning of sentences. But still, it would be better if you know the difference between them and where and when you should use them. It could increase your fluency and naturality in speaking Korean like a native! 

I think the lesson was interesting. Wasn't it? All you have to do is try to make more sentences and practice using them. Okay? One more thing, if you still have any doubts regarding the chapter, either leave a comment below or contact me through the mail. 

So, see you all in the next class. Till then, 

안녕.

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