Korean Spacing Rules — 10 Common Mistakes Explained

Korean word spacing (띄어쓰기, ttieeo sseugi) is one of the trickiest parts of the language — even for native speakers. Unlike English, where the spaces between words are mostly intuitive, Korean has formal rules that depend on grammatical categories: whether a word is a noun, verb, particle, or dependent noun changes whether you attach or separate it from the word before it.

Korean students and professionals get these wrong constantly. Here are the ten patterns that cause the most confusion, with clear examples for each.

1. Dependent Nouns — Always Separate

Dependent nouns (의존명사) cannot stand alone. They rely on a preceding word for meaning. The rule is: always put a space before a dependent noun.

Wrong	Right	Meaning
할수있다	할 수 있다	can do
가는것	가는 것	the act of going
먹을때	먹을 때	when eating
사흘만에	사흘 만에	after three days

수 (ability/possibility), 것 (thing/fact), 때 (time), 만 (duration), 줄 (knowledge), 척 (pretense) are all dependent nouns. Space before all of them.

2. Particles — Always Attach

Particles (조사) attach directly to the word before them with no space. This is one rule that has no exceptions.

• 학교에 — to school (not 학교 에)
• 나만 — only me (not 나 만, when 만 functions as a limiting particle)
• 우리가 — we (subject marker attaches directly)

The confusing part: the word 만 appears as both a dependent noun (duration) and a limiting particle (only). When it means "only," attach it. When it means a span of time, space it.

3. 만큼 — Space After Verbs, Attach After Nouns

This rule trips up native speakers because 만큼 looks like it should always behave the same way.

• 노력한 만큼 — as much as one worked (verb/adjective before → space)
• 나만큼 — as much as me (noun/pronoun before → attach)

The same rule applies to 뿐 (only/just): 말했을 뿐 (space after verb) versus 그것뿐 (attach after noun).

4. 안 vs 않 — Two Different Words

This is technically a spelling issue rather than spacing, but errors here are so common they deserve a spot on this list.

• 안 is an adverb meaning "not." It comes before the verb and is separated: 안 가다 (not go)
• 않다 is an auxiliary verb meaning "do not." It attaches to a verb stem with the ending -지: 가지 않다 (do not go)
• 않 가다 — wrong (않 cannot be used like this)
• 안가다 — wrong (adverb 안 must be spaced from the verb)

5. The -ㄴ데 Ending vs the Dependent Noun 데

데 as a dependent noun means "place" or "circumstance." It requires a space. But -ㄴ데 as a verb ending means "but" or "and" and attaches directly.

• 거기 가는 데 한 시간 걸렸다 — It took an hour to get there (dependent noun 데 → space)
• 열심히 했는데 결과가 안 좋다 — I worked hard but the result is bad (verb ending -ㄴ데 → attach)

6. Numbers and Units

The standard rule is to space between numerals and counting units. However, common combinations have become accepted without a space in everyday use.

Standard (formal)	Common usage
3 개 (3 items)	Often written 3개
10 킬로그램	Standard: 10 킬로그램
1학년 (grade 1)	Convention: attached

For formal writing, spacing between number and unit is safer. In everyday contexts, attached forms are widely accepted.

7. Compound Words — When Two Become One

Two nouns that combine into a single meaning are written without a space. This is where intuition often fails because the logic is not always transparent.

• 앞뒤 (front and back) — not 앞 뒤
• 날마다 (every day) — not 날 마다
• 이따금 (occasionally) — one word

When in doubt, check the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) online dictionary. If the compound is listed as a single entry, write it without a space.

8. -이에요 vs -예요

Not spacing-related strictly, but the most googled Korean spelling question. The rule is simple: if the preceding syllable ends with a consonant (받침), use -이에요. If it ends with a vowel, use -예요.

• 학생이에요 — 학생 ends with 생 (has 받침 ㅇ)
• 의사예요 — 의사 ends with 사 (no 받침)

9. Auxiliary Verbs — Space or Attach?

Auxiliary verbs following the main verb with -아/어 can optionally be written with or without a space in some cases, but standard practice is to space them.

• 먹어 보다 — try eating (space)
• 읽어 주다 — read for someone (space)

Some auxiliary combinations are so commonly attached that both forms are accepted. When in doubt, space them.

10. Honorifics and Name Titles

Honorific titles attached to names follow a space in Korean: 김 선생님 (Teacher Kim), 박 대리님 (Deputy Manager Park). The title is not glued directly to the name as a suffix the way it might feel from an English perspective.

Korean spacing is a system with underlying logic. The single most useful rule to memorize: dependent nouns always get a space before them. Everything else becomes clearer once you have that foundation.

The best way to internalize these patterns is not to memorize a table but to encounter them repeatedly in context. Reading Korean text with attention to spacing, and getting corrected when you are wrong, is faster than any chart.