Hangul Syllable Ji

By itself, 지 is one Korean syllable, not a complete message; the surrounding word or sentence gives it meaning. It appears inside words and in endings for elapsed time, negation, confirmation, or suggestion. At sentence end, -지 is familiar and informal, so context matters for politeness.

Text symbol

What 지 means

A lone 지 gives you a syllable, not a reliable translation. It may be part of a word. As grammar, a separate 지 after a completed verb marks time since an event, as in 만난 지 (“since meeting”); attached -지 appears in -지 않다 (“not”) and -지 말다 (“do not”).

Hangul, Korea’s writing system, was developed under King Sejong, a Korean ruler, in 1443 to fit Korean speech and make writing easier to learn than Chinese characters. Its explanatory book, Hunminjeongeum, was published in 1446. 지 is a regular syllable block formed from reusable consonant and vowel letters.

What does 지 mean at the end of a sentence?

It can seek agreement, suggest an action, or express regret. In 맞지? (“right?”), the sender checks an answer they expect you to share. Sentence-final -지 can also make a familiar statement, suggest doing something together, or express regret; the verb and conversation show which reading fits.

Sentence-final -지 is familiar, informal speech; that tone does not automatically apply to every word containing 지.

In a formal workplace message, bare sentence-final -지 can sound too familiar; choose a deferential ending.

Part of the collection

가

Korean Syllables (Hangul Characters)

Who writes 지

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What it means when someone sends it to you

5 readings

Marks the time elapsed since that event.

Questions people ask

Why does 지 show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.