Grammar
N(이)라는
Meaning
IntermediateN(i)raneun
Placed before a noun to introduce or name something, meaning 'a ~ called N'. It is used when the name or label may be new to the listener, so the following noun says what kind of thing it is.
Form
Noun + 라는 after a vowel (탄화규소라는 소재, 바다라는 말), and 이라는 after a consonant (남산이라는 산, 사랑이라는 말). It is a shortened form of -(이)라고 하는 ('that is called'), and both the long and short forms are correct. It must be followed by a noun — it cannot end a sentence. For a whole clause rather than a name, use -(ㄴ/는)다는 instead (비가 온다는 소식). In casual writing it is sometimes shortened further to -(이)란.
Examples
저는 오늘 탄화규소라는 소재를 처음 알았습니다.
Today I learned for the first time about a material called silicon carbide.
이 도시에는 남산이라는 산이 있습니다.
In this city there is a mountain called Namsan.
김민수라는 학생이 저를 찾아왔습니다.
A student called Kim Minsu came to see me.
친구가 아리랑이라는 노래를 가르쳐 주었습니다.
My friend taught me a song called Arirang.
Common mistakes & nuance
Learners often reach for -(이)라는 when the name is already familiar to both speakers, but then plain apposition is more natural: 남산에 갔습니다 rather than 남산이라는 산에 갔습니다, unless you are introducing Namsan for the first time. Do not confuse it with -(이)라서, which gives a reason; the two look alike but only -(이)라는 modifies a following noun.
Similar grammar
- -(ㄴ/는)다는 + N
-(ㄴ/는)다는 + N takes a whole sentence and hangs it on a noun (비가 온다는 소식, 'news that it will rain'). N(이)라는 takes only a noun — a name or a label — so the choice depends on whether what precedes it is a statement or a name.
- -라고도 부르다
-라고도 부르다 states in a full predicate that something is also called by another name, so it ends the sentence. N(이)라는 does the same naming work compactly inside a noun phrase, without a separate clause.