-히

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See also: and -히-

Korean

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Etymology

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(-ha-) +‎ (-i, adverb-deriving suffix).

Pronunciation

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Romanizations
Revised Romanization?hi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?hi
McCune–Reischauer?hi
Yale Romanization?hi

Suffix

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(-hi)

  1. -ly; an adverb-deriving suffix, attaching primarily to adjectives formed by the light verb 하다 (hada).
    솔직하다 (soljikhada, to be honest) + ‎ (-hi) → ‎솔직히 (soljikhi, honestly)
    깔끔하다 (kkalkkeumhada, to be neat) + ‎ (-hi) → ‎깔끔히 (kkalkkeumhi, neatly)

Usage notes

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Generally speaking, (-hi) is used for adjectives formed by 하다 (hada). (-i) is used for all non-하다 (hada) adjectives. (-ge) can be used for both and is often interchangeable with other suffixes. However, there are exceptions.

  • Some 하다 adjectives lose the consonant (-h-) entirely, taking (-i) instead. In the prescriptive standard of Seoul Korean, this happens in the following situations:
    • If the non-하다 element ends in (s), is always used.
      깨끗하— (kkaekkeutha-, to be clean) + ‎ (-i) → ‎깨끗이 (kkaekkeusi, cleanly)
    • If the non-하다 element ends in (g), is often used.
      굵직하— (gukjikha-, to be stout) + ‎ (-i) → ‎굵직이 (gukjigi, stoutly)
  • A few 하다 adjectives only use (-ge) and do not use (-hi). There is no predictable rule for them.
    행복하— (haengbokha-, to be happy) + ‎ (-ge) → ‎행복하게 (haengbokhage, happily)
  • For a few adverbs, the form is prescriptively used despite being derived from non-하다 adjectives. However, most of these words have fallen out of use in spoken Korean. Note also that certain adverbs which originate as contractions of longer adverbs may use even when there is no corresponding 하다 adjective for the contraction, and that some Sino-Korean adverbs with have lost their adjectival counterpart entirely.
  • In practice, many Seoul speakers will uniformly use for all adverbs where the corresponding 하다 adjective remains current in the language.