-들

See also: 들

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Worin seokbo (月印釋譜 / 월인석보), 1459, as Middle Korean ᄃᆞᆶ〮 (Yale: -tólh). Beyond Korean, most likely related to Japanese 達(たち) (tachi, pluralizing morpheme); if so, the ancestral form may have been */tatVk/ or similar.^[1]

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [tɯɭ]
Phonetic hangul: [들]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	deul
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	deul
McCune–Reischauer^?	tŭl
Yale Romanization^?	tul

Particle

들 • (-deul)

An auxiliary plural particle with an emphasis on the individuality of each item. See Usage notes for more.
사람들 ― saramdeul ― people, persons

기억들 ― gieokdeul ― memories

빨리들 하세요. (when addressing multiple people)
Ppallideul haseyo.
Get it done quickly.

그 사람들은 가족이에요. ― Geu saramdeureun gajogieyo. ― Those people are family.

Usage notes

Korean does not grammatically distinguish between singular and plural nouns. Thus, while 사람들 (saramdeul) means "people", 사람 (saram) can mean either "person" or "people", depending on context.
들 (deul) has a nuance of emphasizing the individuality of each item. Compare the following:
아이 가 공부 만 해서 는 안 된다.
Ai-ga gongbu-man haeseo-neun an doenda.
Children [a child in a generic sense; children as a collective group] should not just be studying.

아이들이 공부 만 해서 는 안 된다.
Aideur-i gongbu-man haeseo-neun an doenda.
The children [specific children, or simply emphasizing the individuality of children] should not just be studying.

우리 가 하는 말 좀 들어 봐.
Uri-ga haneun mal jom deureobwa.
Listen for a bit to what we are saying.

우리들이 하는 말 좀 들어 봐.
Urideur-i haneun mal jom deureobwa.
Listen for a bit to what we [each of us] are saying.
들 (deul) is not typically used for a quantified noun, except in a construction where the classifier precedes the quantified noun and is linked by the genitive particle 의 (ui).
두 사람 ― du saram ― two people
두 사람들 ― du saramdeul ― two people (but uncommon)

사람 두 명 ― saram du myeong ― two people
사람들 두 명 ― saramdeul du myeong ― two out of some larger group of people

두 명 의 사람 ― du myeong-ui saram ― two people
두 명 의 사람들 ― du myeong-ui saramdeul ― two people
들 (deul) is obligatory after the deictic determiners 이 (i, “this”), 그 (geu, “that”), 저 (jeo, “that”).
저 사람 ― jeo saram ― that person

저 사람들 ― jeo saramdeul ― those people
들 (deul) can be used after an adverb or an object to pluralize the subject, especially when the subject has been omitted.
빨리들 먹어라 (command to a group of people) ― ppallideul meogeora ― quick, let's eat

밥들 먹어라 (command to a group of people) ― bapdeul meogeora ― let's eat rice

References

^ Vovin, Alexander (2010) Koreo-Japonica: A Re-Evaluation of a Common Genetic Origin, University of Hawai’i Press, →ISBN, →JSTOR, page 120

[1] Vovin, Alexander (2010) Koreo-Japonica: A Re-Evaluation of a Common Genetic Origin, University of Hawai’i Press, →ISBN, →JSTOR, page 120

[1]