N(이)나, V-거나 Lesson | How to say "Or" In Korean

안녕하세요 everyone! It's Koreanstudyjunkie~ Today, I'm going to talk about a couple ways to say "Or" in Korean.

N+(이)나

(-이)나 is used to say "or" and can only be attached to nouns. It has a few different usages itself.

Conjugation:

consonant: ~이나

vowel: ~나

First Usage:

a simple choice between to things or expressing “or”.

Examples:

저는 캐나다나 미국에서 일하고 싶어요.

I want to work in Canada or America.

내일 영화관이나 박뭘관에 갈 거에요.

Tomorrow we are going to go to the movie theater or a  museum.

Second Usage:

gives a meaning of “this or something similar”. to Indicate the speaker would rather do something else, but is choosing the thing specified as the last result.

This has a nuance that, while [noun] may not be the best thing, it’s acceptable at least

Examples:

라면이나 먹자.

= let’s eat ramen or something.

영화나 볼 거에요.

= I will watch a movie or something.

Third Usage:

can be added to a number or amount to indicate that something was more than expected.

Examples:

기묘한 이야기를 세번이나 봤어.

= I watched stranger things (as many as) three times.

커피를 하루에 다섯 잔이나 마셔요?

Do you drink coffee 5 times a day? (you drink a lot)

집에 친구들이 20명이나 왔어요.

20 friends came to my home. (a lot of friends!)

FOURTH USAGE:

Here’s another way (이)나 can be used :

added to certain question words, to form new words like:

• 언제나 – Anytime / all the time

• 어디나 – everywere

• 무엇이나 – anything / whatever

• 누구나 – everyone (a bit positive)

• 아무나 – anyone (a bit negative)

This grammar can also take on the shape of “아무 N+(이)나” to express “any N.”

For example:

아무 스포츠나 = any sports

아무 음식이나 = any food

아무 영화나 = any movie

V-거나

Similar to (이)나, except it can only be used with verbs. ~(이)나 can be attached to nouns or adverbs.

By attaching ~거나 to a verb, the speaker indicates that it hasn’t been decided which action will be completed.

Examples:

이 문제가 너무 어렵거나 도움이 필요하면 교무실로 오세요.

= If this question/problem is too difficult or you need help, come to the office

내일은 영화를 보거나 등산을 갈 거예요.

= Tomorrow I will either see a movie or go hiking.

행복하거나 친구랑 있을 땐 술을 마셔요.

= When I’m happy or with friends I drink alcohol.

외로울 때는 책을 읽거나 영화를 봐요.

= When I’m lonely I read a book or watch a movie.

SECOND USAGE:

Another usage of -거나:

Combine question words like 누구, 어디, 무엇, 언제 etc., with  VST-거나 (간에) (the 간에 is optional), to highlight the irrelevance of that clause.

Sidenote: It’s more common to just use the 든지 to create a meaning like : “whatever” “whenever” “whoever” “wherever” and so on which is used to express the same thing.

While all this might sound complicated, it makes more sense by looking at some examples:

무엇을 하건 간에 열심히 해야 돼요.

(거나 can be shortened into 건)

= Whatever you do, you have to work hard.

나는 언제 일본에 가건 간에 친구를 만난다.

= Whenever I go to Japan, I meet my friend.

LAST USAGE:

It is also possible to include ~거나 (or ~(이)나) twice in the same sentence – attached to both possible actions (or options).

In these types of sentences the meaning changes to “whether or not”.

For example:

비가 오거나 안 오거나 중요하지 않아요.

=It’s not important if it rains or not (doesn’t rain).