TOPIK I · LEVEL 2

-처럼/같이

Attached to a noun, 처럼/같이 mean 'like N': something looks, acts or is done the same way as N.

조사Particles

Han: 처럼 cannot directly describe a noun like 사람; before a noun you need 같은.

Examples

그 아이는 어른처럼 말해요.That child talks like an adult.
우리 언니는 모델처럼 키가 커요.My older sister is tall like a model.
저도 선생님처럼 한국어를 잘하고 싶어요.I also want to speak Korean well, like my teacher.
오늘은 여름같이 더워요.Today it's hot like summer.

Don’t mix up

-처럼/같이vsN 같은 N같은 describes a following noun, while 처럼/같이 describe a verb or adjective: 꽃 같은 미소 (a flower-like smile) vs 꽃처럼 웃어요 (smiles like a flower).
-처럼/같이vsN하고/와 같이With 하고/와 in front, 같이 is a separate word meaning 'together with', not 'like': 가족하고 같이 살아요 (I live with my family) vs 가족같이 지내요 (we get along like family).

How to build it

N+처럼
N+같이

가수 → 가수처럼 노래해요 / 가수같이 노래해요

  1. Attach directly to the noun with no space; the form is the same whether or not the noun ends in a consonant (책처럼, 친구처럼).
  2. 처럼/같이 make the noun work like an adverb that describes the predicate (a verb or adjective); to describe a following noun, use N 같은 + N instead (천사 같은 사람, not 천사처럼 사람).
  3. They attach to nouns, not verb stems; to compare with an action, turn it into a noun phrase: -는 것처럼 (자는 것처럼 보여요).

Classic mistake

Wrong: 우리 엄마는 천사처럼 사람이에요.

Right: 우리 엄마는 천사 같은 사람이에요.

처럼 cannot directly describe a noun like 사람; before a noun you need 같은.

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