안녕하세요! Do you want to visit Korea one day? If you do, it'll be good to know how to ask and answer the directions. Just in case, you lost or something! Today, I'll teach you the marker you need to use when you talk about "directions."
<Table of Contents>
1. Words
Before you begin, let's check out some words first. I'll show you some directions or location-related words. Direction in Korean is 방향. The location in Korean is 위치.
I brought some 고양이(cats) to help you learn! (Yes, you may know by now, I am a big cat person! 😂) Look where they are located compared to the chair and the box.
up, on, above | |
down, under, below | |
down, under, below | |
front | |
back, behind |
☛ 아래 vs. 밑?
To mean the antonym of "위", you can use either one. However, if you are curious, here are the differences. Simply saying, 밑 is the "bottom" and 아래 is "under".
밑 refers to the lowest part of an object or a place almost adjacent to the object. It can also refer to something that is under the direct influence.
아래 means a position lower than something. It is a place located at some distance downward from an object.
next to | |
right (side) | |
left (side) | |
in/inside | |
out/outside |
☛ 오른쪽 and 왼쪽
쪽 means "side". 오른쪽 means the right or one's right. 왼쪽 means the left or one's left.
If you replace 쪽 with 손(hand), you can say 오른손(right hand) and 왼손(left hand). If you change 쪽 with 발(foot), you can mean 오른발(right foot) and 왼발(left foot).
Do you see where I'm going? 오른 and 왼 can't be used as one word. You'll need to attach extra words like the examples I gave you.
this way (side): The direction that is close to the speaker. | |
that way (side): The direction that is close to the listener. | |
that way (side) over there: The direction that is far from both. | |
which way (side) |
2. The direction marker: N(으)로
(으)로 is attached to a noun and indicates a destination or direction. So, it is called the direction marker or particle. You know, some markers can be omitted, but not this one! You must attach this marker when you use a direction noun!
카페로 와요. Come to the cafe. - destination
위로 와요. Come up. - direction.
(으)로 has two forms; 으로 and 로. It depends on the last syllable of the noun. You have to pay attention to its final consonant(받침) is important. When the noun ends with the final consonant, please attach 으로. When the noun doesn't have the final consonant, or if the final consonant is ㄹ, please attach 로.
받침 O | 으로 | 왼쪽으로 가요. Go to the left. |
받침 X / ㄹ | 로 | 위로 가요. Go to up. 서울로 가요. Go to Seoul |
Even though 서울(Seoul, the capital city of S. Korea) has the final consonant, we attach 로. It is because it ends with the final consonant ㄹ! Watch out for this! You must say 서울로, not 서울으로!
3. The expressions
1) The movement-related verbs
Since N(으)로 is a direction marker, it must be used with a verb of movement. For example, you can use 가다 (go) and 오다 (come).
To give a direction or command, you can use the informal present tense. However, it is more polite and easier to understand if you use, the request ending (으)세요. I will show you some words movement words with request ending.
to go 가다
가요. Go. / 가세요. Please go.
"가요." can mean "I go." "Go," "Let's go." depending on the context! For now, I will write the command version of meaning.
to come 오다
와요. Come. / 오세요. Please come.
to go up 올라가다
올라가요. Go up. / 올라가세요. Please go up.
to go down 내려가다
내려가요. Go down. / 내려가세요. Please go down.
to go in 들어가다
들어가요. Go in. / 들어가세요. Please go in.
to come in 들어오다
들어와요. Come in. / 들어오세요. Please come in.
to go out 나가다
나가요. Go out. / 나가세요. Please go out.
to come out 나오다
나와요. Come out. / 나오세요. Please come out.
Can you see how the words like 나가다, 나오다, 들어오다 are made? The words with "to go" have the Korean word "가다." The words with "to come" have the Korean word "오다." Those are the combination words!
2) The expressions
Now, how can we say the expressions like"Go outside," or "Please come in," in Korean? You will need to combine what you've learned! The direction marker (으)로 and the movement verbs! I'll show you some patterns.
Direction Noun+(으)로 V
안으로 들어가다 to go inside.
밖으로 나가다 to go outside.
위로 올라가다 to go up
아래로 내려가다 to go down
⚠️ Go in inside?
Certain verbs in Korean are more commonly used with a nouns. For example, the verb "들어가다" itself means "to go in," but it is typically used with the noun "안 (in/inside)". If you translate this into English, it would be "Go in inside."
This may seem redundant in English, but it is a common linguistic pattern in Korean. Instead of using just a verb, a noun with a marker usually shows up together.
3) Question
To ask for a direction, we can use the word 어디. It means where. You can also use 어느 쪽. 어느 is the same as "which" in English. 쪽 means "side," "direction," or "way". So, 어느 쪽 means "which way". You can say the expressions like the one below.
어디로 가요? Where should I go?
어느 쪽으로 가요? Which way should I go?
어디로 들어가요? Where should I enter?
어느 쪽으로 와요? Which way are you coming?
4. More Information
You learned the place marker "에" and the expression "-에 가요" before. How it is different from this direction marker? The main difference is while 으로 shows the direction, 에 does not. If you are curious, please read this chart! If you want to review about 에, please click here to read my other post.
5. Examples
1
유리 씨는 미국으로 갔어요. Yuri went to the U.S.
(으)로 is a direction marker, but you can also say the destination as well. When you mean a direction to the destination. It has a more vibe that Yuri went towards to the U.S.
2
Q: 도서관이 어디에 있어요? Where is the library?
A: 저쪽으로 가세요. Go that way over there.
When you give a direction, you have to use the direction marker (으)로. 저쪽 means "over there." You use this word to point out what is far from both the speaker and the listener.
3
Q: 화장실이 어디 있어요? Where is the restroom?
A: 2층으로 올라가세요. Please go up to the second floor.
It will be a good question to know! To say the floor, you have to use the Sino-Korean and 층 (floor). When someone has to go up, use 올라가세요. When someone has to go down, use 내려가세요.
4
추워요. 안으로 들어오세요. It's cold. Come inside.
추워요 came from the basic form of the adjective 춥다 (to be cold). If you want to know the adjective conjugation rules, please click here. What will be the antonym of 안으로 들어오세요? Yes, you'll say 밖으로 나가세요. (Go outside.)
5
Q: 학교가 어느 쪽에 있어요? Which way is the school?
A: 이쪽으로 가세요. Go this way.
Instead of asking for a specific location, you can ask for a general direction as well. You can use 어느 쪽 (which side) in this case. If you lose in Korea, will you be able to ask the directions?
6. Wrap-up & Worksheet: Korean direction marker
N(으)로 shows the direction or destination.
받침O: N으로
받침X or ㄹ 받침: N로
It can only work with verbs that have the meaning of movement. 가다, 오다, 올라가다, 들어가다, etc.
Alright! That was a bit big lesson. The marker itself was not difficult at all, right? But I wanted to teach you the related words and expressions. Please take your time, review it, and make sure to grab it as your knowledge! Don't forget to download the free worksheet and practice your Korean! Thanks for studying with "My Korean Lesson!" See you at the next lesson! ☺️
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