은/는 vs 을/를When the object becomes the topic — which one, and when
Why 김치를 좋아해요 and 김치는 좋아해요 are both correct and mean different things.
Frames what the sentence is about — and can sit on an object as easily as on a subject.
Full entry for 은 ›Marks the thing the verb acts on. Neutral: it adds no emphasis of its own.
Full entry for 을 ›핵심The rule
These two are not rivals in the way 은/는 and 이/가 are. 을/를 marks the object; 은/는 marks the topic; an object can be a topic. What confuses learners is that when it becomes one, the object marker disappears rather than stacking.
Korean's particles fall into two groups here. 이/가 and 을/를 are case markers, and 은/는 replaces them — 김치를는 is not a word. Every other particle is happy to carry 은/는 on top of itself: 학교에는, 친구하고는, 집에서는. So the rule is narrow and absolute: never after 이/가 or 을/를, always allowed after anything else.
When you drop 을/를 for 은/는, you are not just relabelling. You are lifting the object out of the neutral flow and pointing at it — usually to contrast it with something unspoken. 김치는 좋아해요 answers a question nobody asked out loud: kimchi, I do like — and the listener immediately wonders what you do not.
어느 쪽?Which one, when
| What you want to say | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain statement, no emphasis | 을/를 | 저는 김치를 좋아해요. |
| Singling the object out, or contrasting it | 은/는 | 김치는 좋아해요. (…but not 젓갈.) |
| Object already mentioned, now the topic | 은/는 | 그 책은 벌써 읽었어요. |
| After a place, time or instrument particle | particle + 은/는 | 학교에서는 한국어만 써요. |
| After 이/가 or 을/를 | never both | ✗ 김치를는 · ✗ 친구가는 |
비교Same sentence, different particle
Both sentences below are correct. That is the point — these are not right-and-wrong pairs, they are two different things to say.
저는 김치를 좋아해요.
I like kimchi.
Neutral. The sentence is about me, and kimchi is simply what I like.
김치는 좋아해요.
Kimchi I do like.
Kimchi is now the frame. Something else — implied, unnamed — is a different story.
숙제를 아직 안 했어요.
I haven't done the homework yet.
Just reporting the fact.
숙제는 아직 안 했어요.
The homework, I haven't done yet.
Answers what you have and haven't done: the other things are finished.
자주 하는 실수Common mistakes
✗저는 한국어를는 공부해요.
✓저는 한국어는 공부해요.
은/는 replaces 을/를 rather than stacking on it. The two never appear together on one noun.
✗학교에 는 사람이 많아요.
✓학교에는 사람이 많아요.
After a non-case particle 은/는 does stack — and it attaches directly, with no space. Korean spaces at 어절 boundaries, and a particle is never its own 어절.
사전 예문In the dictionary's own examples
Straight from the 국립국어원 entries, so you can check the rule above against real usage.
은 / 는full entry ›
동생은 부산에 살고 나는 서울에 살고 있다.
My younger sibling lives in Busan, but I live in Seoul.
나는 찌개는 못 끓이는데 볶음밥은 잘 만들어.
I can't cook stew, but I'm good at making fried rice.
오늘은 더웠지만 내일은 비가 온다고 한다.
Today was hot, but they say it will rain tomorrow.
을 / 를full entry ›
아침에는 빵을 먹는다.
In the morning, I eat bread.
시장에 가서 과일을 샀다.
I went to the market and bought fruit.
지수는 소설책을 읽는다.
Jisu reads novels.
관련 문법The full entries
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
Can 은/는 replace the object marker 을/를?
Yes. When an object becomes the topic — because it is being contrasted, or because it was already mentioned — 은/는 takes the slot and 을/를 drops out entirely. 그 책은 읽었어요 is completely standard.
Can you use 을/를 and 은/는 together?
No. 은/는 replaces the case markers 이/가 and 을/를, so 김치를는 is ungrammatical. It stacks freely on every other particle, though: 학교에는, 집에서는, 친구하고는 are all normal.
Is it wrong to drop the object marker altogether?
In casual speech, no — 밥 먹었어? drops it and nothing is lost, because the meaning is obvious without it. In writing, on a test, and any time the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous, keep it.
Example sentences from the 국립국어원 한국어기초사전, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.