명사형 어미 - Changing Verbs Into Nouns

Question 1

-기

Answer 1

Usage: Turns verbs into nouns representing actions or activities.

This is the most common and general nominalizer.

Ex:
운동하다 → 운동하기 (exercising)

운동하기가 좋아요. (Exercising is good.)

Question 2

-는 것 / -ㄴ 것 / -은 것

Answer 2

Usage: Describes a situation, experience, or action as a noun.

It changes based on tense:

-는 것 → present tense (action in progress or habit)

-ㄴ/은 것 → past tense

-을/ㄹ 것 → future tense or intention

Question 3

-ㅁ / 음

Answer 3

This is less common in daily speech but often seen in written, academic, legal, or journalistic language.

Usage: Similar to -기, but used in reports, headlines, titles, signs, etc.

Examples:

알림 (a notice, announcement)

읽음 (read)

사용함 (used)

느낌 (a feeling) ← from 느끼다

You may have seen this in app notifications like:

읽음 / 읽지 않음 → Read / Unread