Korean for Beginners: Step 4

Vocabulary

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Vocabulary

•• 대중교통 — public transport •• 자전거 — bicycle

•• 기차 — train •• 택시 — taxi

•• 지하철 — subway •• 배 — boat, ship

•• 고속버스 — express bus •• 타다 — to ride, to take, to get on

•• 차 — car
Vocabulary

•• 걸리다 — to take (about time)

•• 얼마나 — how

•• 걷다 (걸어가다, 걸어오다, 걸어다니다) — to walk

•• (-에서, -으로) 갈아타다 — to transfer

•• 호선 — line (in the subway / metro)

•• (-에서) 내리다 — to get off

Vocabulary

•• 길을 건너가다 — to cross the street

•• 길이 막히다 — road block

•• 차가 밀리다 — traffic jam

•• 출근하다 — to go to work

•• 퇴근하다 — to leave work

Vocabulary

•• 그럼요 — I agree with you, of course, obviously

•• 똑바로 — straight

•• 다 — all, everything

•• 미리 — in advance

•• 곧 — soon, shortly

•• 서류 — document
Vocabulary

•• 손님을 초대하다 — to invite guests

•• 씻다 — to wash

•• 확인하다 — to check

•• 가르치다 — to teach, to tell

•• 결제하다 — to pay

•• 취직하다 — to get a job, to be hired

•• 환전하다 — to change money

Vocabulary

•• 하루 — one day •• 엿새 — six days

•• 이틀 — two days •• 이레 — seven days

•• 사흘 — three days •• 여드레 — eight days

•• 나흘 — four days •• 아흐레 — nine days

•• 닷새 — five days •• 열흘 — ten days

You can also use Sino-Korean numbers after four days, that is 오일, 육일, 칠일…
Vocabulary

Months can be counted in both Sino-Korean and Korean numbers,

depending on what unit noun is used.

•• 일 개월 — 한 달 (one month)
•• 이 개월 — 두 달 (two months)
•• 삼 개월 — 세 달 (three months)
•• 사 개월 — 네 달 (four months), etc.
Korean for Beginners: Step 4

The Particle -(으)로

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Particle -(으)로

The particle -(으)로 is attached to nouns:

•• -으로 is used with nouns ending in a consonant;
•• -로 is used with nouns ending in a vowel and -ㄹ.

The particle -(으)로 has two main meanings:

1 instrumental. The particle marks the instrument by which something is done or made.
It is translated in English in different ways, that is ‘by’, ‘with’, ‘from’, ‘as’, ‘using’, ‘into’ etc.
The Instrumental Particle -(으)로

극장까지 대중교통으로 갑시다.

Let’s go to the theatre by public transport.

김치는 배추로 만들어요.

Kimchi is made from Chinese cabbage (lit. [They] make kimchi from Chinese cabbage).

한국어로 말하지 못할 거예요.

I won’t be able to speak [using] Korean.

마이클은 이제 젓가락으로 음식을 잘 먹네요!

Wow! Now Michael can eat properly with chopsticks!
The Instrumental Particle -(으)로

저는 학생으로 한국에 왔어요.

I came to Korea as a student.

——이 은행에서 환전할 수 있어요?

——Can I exchange money in this bank?

——네, 그럼요.
——Yes, sure.

——그럼 달러를 원으로 바꿔 주세요.

——Then change dollars into won, please.
Meaning ‘way, direction, side’ -(으)로 가다/오다

2 Also, the particle -으(로) is used to indicate the direction of a movement. In this case, it should be
used with verbs of motion, that is 가다, 오다 and their compound variants 들어가다 (to go

inside, to enter), 나가다 (to go outside), 올라가다 (to go up), 내려가다 (to go down) etc.
Compare -에 가다/오다 and -(으)로 가다/오다

You have probably noticed that this construction corresponds to -에 가다/오다.

The main difference is:

•• -에 가다/오다 focuses more on a destination;

•• -(으)로 가다/오다 points towards a direction.

집에 가요.
[I] am going home (home is my destination).

집으로 가요.
I am going (in the direction of) home (home is not necessarily the destination).
Examples with -(으)로 가다/오다

——미용실이 어디예요?
——How can [I] get to the beauty salon? (lit. ‘Where is the beauty salon?’)

——왼쪽으로 음식점까지 가세요. 그리고 음식점 앞에서 길을

건너가세요.
——Go to the left till [you] reach a restaurant. And then cross the street in front of the restaurant.
Examples with -(으)로 가다/오다

——실례하지만 병원이 어디예요?

——Excuse me, how can [I] get to the hospital? (lit. ‘Excuse me, where is the hospital?’)

——똑바로 500미터쯤 가세요.

——Go straight for about 500 meters.
Examples with -(으)로 가다/오다

——은행이 어디예요?
——How can [I] get to the bank? (lit. ‘Where is the bank?’)

——4층으로 올라가세요.
——Go up to the 4th floor.
Korean for Beginners: Step 4

Particles of Location
-에서... -까지

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
Particles of Location -에서... -까지

•• Particles of location -에서... -까지 are used to talk about places and are translated
as ‘from...to / until’

•• They are attached to nouns no matter what ending they have

——집에서 학교까지 얼마나 걸려요?

——How long does it take to go from home to school?

——한 시간쯤 걸려요.

——It takes about an hour.
Particles of Location -에서... -까지

——부산에서 서울까지 얼마나 걸려요?

——How long does it take to go from Busan to Seoul?

——기차로 네 시간쯤 걸려요.

——It takes about 4 hours by train.

——여기에서 강남까지 어떻게 가요?

——How do [I] get from here to Gangnam?

——지하철 2호선을 타고 가세요.

——Take the second line of the subway.
Particles of Location -에서... -까지

•• Particles can also be used separately

——어디에서 오셨어요?
——Where do [you] come from?

——저는 일본에서 왔어요.

——I come from Japan.

죄송해요. 길이 막혀서 여기까지 오는 것이 오래 걸렸어요.

Sorry, the road is blocked, so it took a long time to get here.
Particles of Location -에서... -까지

•• Particles can also be used separately

친구의 집까지 멀지만 날씨가 좋아서 거기까지 걸어가고 싶어요.

[My] friend’s house is far, but the weather is good today, so [I] want to walk there.
Korean for Beginners: Step 4

Expressing Obligation
Using the Construction
-아/어야 하다/되다

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Construction -아/어야 하다/되다

•• The grammatical construction -아/어야 하다/되다 expresses an obligation

or necessity to do something. It corresponds to ‘must’ or ‘have to’ in English

•• This construction is not used in a negative form

•• -아/어야 하다 and -아/어야 되다 have the same meaning

but -아/어야 되다 is used more often in colloquial speech
Examples with the Construction -아/어야 하다/되다

시간이 없어서 택시를 타야 돼요.

[We] don’t have time, so [we] have to take a taxi.

일을 다 오늘까지 해야 해요.
[I] have to finish all the work today.

오래 살고 싶으면 운동해야 해요.

If [you] want to live long, [you] must do sports.
Examples with the Construction -아/어야 하다/되다

비행기표를 미리 예약해야 돼요.

[You] must reserve plane tickets in advance.

버스가 곧 도착할 거예요. 빨리 가야 돼요.

The bus will arrive soon. [We] must hurry.

손님을 초대해서 청소해야 해요.

[I] invited guests, so [I] need to clean [the house].
Korean for Beginners: Step 4

The Construction
‘before doing’ -기 전에.
The Construction ‘after’,
‘later’ -(으)ㄴ 후에

Natalya Karavaeva
BA in Korean Philology,
Department of Korean Studies
The Construction -기 전에

•• The construction -기 전에 is attached to a verb stem no matter what ending it has

•• It has the meaning ‘before doing’

식사하기 전에 손을 씻으세요.
Wash [your] hands before having a meal.

고속버스를 타기 전에 버스표를 사야 돼요.

[You] must buy a bus ticket before taking the express bus.

이 약을 식사 전에 드세요.
Take this medicine before the meal.
The Construction -기 전에

전 배고파요. 영화관에 가기 전에 밥 먹어요.

I am hungry. Let us have lunch before going to the cinema.
The Construction -기 전에

•• The word 전에 can be used separately

•• It is translated as ‘before’, ‘previously’

이틀 전에 시험을 봤어요.
[I] took the exam 2 days ago.

저는 두 달 전에 한국에 도착했어요.
I arrived in Korea 2 months ago.

여행 전에 서류를 다 확인하세요.
Check all the documents before travelling.
The Construction -기 전에

•• The word 전에 can be used separately

•• It is translated as ‘before’, ‘previously’

——언제 도착했어요? ——When did [you] arrive?

——한 시간 전에 도차했어요. ——[I] arrived an hour ago.

Compare with

——언제 도착했어요? ——When did [you] arrive?

——오후 한 시 전에 도착했어요. ——[I] arrived before 1 p.m.

The Construction -(으)ㄴ 후에

•• The construction -(으)ㄴ 후에 is attached to the verb stem

•• It means ‘after’, ‘later’

•• -은 is attached to a verb stem ending in a consonant

•• -ㄴ is attached to a verb stem ending in a vowel

대학교를 졸업한 후에 취직하려고 해요.

[I] am going to get a job after [I] graduate.

밥을 먹은 후에 바로 운동하지 마요.
Don’t train right after [you] have a meal.
The Construction -(으)ㄴ 후에

•• -(으)ㄴ 후에 can be replaced by -(으)ㄴ 뒤에 which has the same meaning

퇴근한 뒤에 맥주 한 잔 가끔 해요.
Sometimes [I] have a glass of beer when [I] come home from work.
The Construction -(으)ㄴ 후에

•• 후에 and 뒤에 can also be used as independent words

——출근 언제 할 거예요? ——When will [you] go to work?

——3 시간 후에 할 거예요. ——[I] will go to work in 3 hours.

5 개월 후에 외국에 이사하려고 해요.

[I] am going to move abroad in 5 months.

이주일 뒤에 만납시다.
Let’s meet in two weeks.