네 is a suffix for denoting plurality. Many resources explain 네 as a similar 의, indicating “possession” but it’s not technically accurate, although I concede it can help to explain or introduce it that way more easily to beginners. However, X네 strictly indicates “the group in which X is a part of”, which makes logical sense as marking a certain kind of plurality. Here is the dictionary definition of the two usages:
The reason why people think it indicates possession is because you often see the structure X네 Y , making it look similar to X의 Y. However what’s actually grammatically going on here is that there is an omitted 의 after 네: X네(의) Y. The “possessiveness” exists technically due to not the 네, but the connection from 의.
If this doesn’t make sense, try replacing 네 with the 들 plural suffix and working it out in your brain that way. Note that in X들의 Y constructions, it’s not 들 that is providing the possessiveness, it’s the 의. The 들 is indicating the plurality. The difference between 들 and 네 is that 네 indicates that the noun is a part of some group = plurality.
You’ll notice that 네 is NOT always used in the structure X네 Y. It’s also used by itself with no succeeding Y, as in X네. If 네 were comparable to 의, then technically we would logically reason that X의 structures (with no Y following) would also be valid. However, this is clearly not the case. Also, we can put particles on X네 structures, such as X네가, X네도, etc. This cannot be done with 의.
So, let’s clear it up once and for all:
Usage 1, X네(의) Y: Y that is “possessed” by the group that X is a part of.
Think 너네 집; the 집 in which you (and your group) are a part of that you live in.
Usage 2, X네: the group that X is a part of.
Think 너네; the group that 너 is a part of = “you guys”, plural.
Some more good explanations (click to expand):
Interestingly enough, 고려대 dictionary classifies 너네 (when meaning “you guys”) as a 비표준어 form. My guess is that the proper form should be 너희, but people started saying 너네 so much, where originally it should be used just as the pure meaning of 네, like in 너네 집, but eventually it merged into a casual(?) form of 너희, which is not technically 표준어. This is just my personal thoughts, though.
