마다
every, each
Says something repeats at every instance of the noun. One form for every word, and no exceptions to memorise — the difficulty is knowing when Korean prefers 매 instead.
Build it
Pick a noun
When to use it
With a time word, 마다 gives a repeating schedule: 주말마다 등산해요 (I hike every weekend). With an interval it gives a frequency: 삼 년마다 열려요 (it’s held every three years).
With a countable noun it means “each one, individually” and almost always sets up a difference: 사람마다 생각이 달라요. If everyone in fact agrees, 마다 is the wrong particle — it exists to draw out variation.
Korean also has the Sino-Korean prefix 매, which attaches to the front: 매일, 매주, 매년. It overlaps with 마다 but is not a particle, and the two never combine. Where both exist, 매일 is the more common everyday word and 날마다 the slightly more emphatic one.
How to attach it
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Repeating time | 마다 after the noun | 주말마다 등산해요 |
| Interval | number + unit | 삼 년마다 열려요 |
| Each individual | implies difference | 사람마다 달라요 |
| Any noun | no change | 나라마다 문화가 달라요 |
| Sino-Korean option | 매 + noun | 매일, 매주, 매년 |
| Never combine | 매 and 마다 | 매일 or 날마다 — not 매일마다 |
In use
주말마다 등산을 가요.
I go hiking every weekend.
아침마다 커피를 마셔요.
I drink coffee every morning.
사람마다 생각이 달라요.
Everyone thinks differently.
나라마다 인사하는 방법이 있어요.
Each country has its own way of greeting.
버스가 십 분마다 와요.
The bus comes every ten minutes.
해마다 이맘때면 비가 많이 와요.
It rains a lot around this time every year.
Compared with
매
매 is a prefix and joins the front of Sino-Korean time words; 마다 is a particle and follows any noun. 매 sounds slightly more formal and is limited to a fixed set.
매일 운동해요. / 날마다 운동해요. — never 매일마다
모든
모든 sits before a noun and gathers everything into one group; 마다 keeps the items apart and looks at them one by one.
모든 사람이 왔어요. (everyone came, as a group) / 사람마다 달라요. (each person differs)
언제나
언제나 means “always” as a continuous state; 마다 counts discrete occasions. English “always” covers both.
언제나 친절해요. (always kind) / 올 때마다 친절해요. (kind every time she comes)
Watch out
매일마다 운동해요.
매일 운동해요.
매 and 마다 both mean “every,” so using them together doubles the meaning. Choose 매일 or 날마다.
사람마다 생각이 같아요.
사람마다 생각이 달라요.
마다 exists to highlight variation between individuals. If everyone agrees, use 모든 사람이 or 다들 instead.
마다 주말에 등산해요.
주말마다 등산해요.
마다 is a particle and always follows its noun. Nothing in Korean attaches to the front except prefixes like 매.
Next
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