In this lesson, you will learn how to ask "Where is it?" and answer. This lesson consists of mainly two parts; A and B. Study part A well first and continue to part B. You'll need to know about the word 있다(있어요) and the place marker 에 to proceed with this lesson.
<Table of Contents>
Part A
1. Words
You'll learn a lot of new words in this lesson. So, I divide it into two sections. First, let's take a look at some rooms in a house and some pronouns.
room | |
livingroom | |
kitchen | |
restroom/bathroom | |
here | |
there | |
(over) there |
2. Question Forms
A. Where is N?
"Where" in Korean is 어디. To ask "Where is it?" you will use the place marker "에" and the verb 있어요 with a question marker. In daily conversations, 에 that is attached to 어디 can be easily omitted. So you can say the expressions like below.
어디에 있어요? = 어디 있어요?
To ask the location of the specific noun, we can add the noun with the subject marker "이/가 and "어디에 있어요?" If the noun ends with the final consonant use 이. If not, you have to use 가.
N이/가 어디에 있어요?Where is N?
책이 어디에 있어요? Where is the book?
의자가 어디에 있어요? Where is the chair?
화장실이 어디에 있어요? Where is the restroom?
B. Is N1 in N2?
I'll teach you how to confirm the location of a noun. To do so, we can add a specific place name! N1 is a noun you are asking the location and N2 is a place noun.
N이/가 N2에 있어요?
With this expression, you can ask "Is (noun) in (place)?" or "Is there (noun) in (place)?" Here are some examples.
책이 방에 있어요? Is the book in the room?
컴퓨터가 거실에 있어요? Is the computer in the living room?
However, you can switch the order of N1 and N2. It is because we have markers. Thanks to markers, even if we change the location of N1 and N2, we can still deliver the same meaning.
N2에 N1이/가 있어요?
방에 책이 있어요? Is the book in the room?
거실에 컴퓨터가 있어요? Is the computer in the living room?
3. Examples
Let's see how we can answer the questions you've seen.
1
가: 화장실이 어디에 있어요? Where is the restroom?
나: 여기 있어요. It's here.
여기means here. It is used when you point to something close to you. (Close to the speaker.)
2
가: 화장실이 어디에 있어요? Where is the restroom?
나: 거기 있어요. It is there.
거기 means there. It is used when you point to something close to the listener.
3
가: 부엌이 어디에 있어요? Where is the kitchen?
나: 저기 있어요. It is over there.
저기 means over there. It is used when you point somewhere that is far away both from the listener and speaker.
4
가: 책이 방에 있어요? Is the book in the room?
나: 네, 방에 있어요. Yes, it is in the room.
You can switch the order of N1 and N2. "방에 책이 있어요?" also works!
5
가: 거실에 책이 있어요? Is the book in the room?
나: 아니요, 방에 있어요. No, it is in the room.
If you answer with 아니요(no), you will need to attach details to explain where is then.
Part B
1. Location Words
We'll move on to the second part of the lesson! Once you have practiced part A enough, continue this part. Here are words that are related to location!
front | |
behind | |
next to | |
on/above | |
under | |
in/inside | |
between |
You'll also need to know these words in the example...
cat | |
puppy | |
box |
2. Answer Forms
After a location word, you must attach the place marker 에! Unlike 어디에 you could just say 어디, you must not omit 에 after these specific location words.
앞에 있어요. It's at the front.
뒤에 있어요. It's at the behind.
Then, how can we say "The cat is on the chair" in Korean? It's not that difficult! You can combine what you've learned so far!
N이/가 + Base + Location word+에 있어요.
The subject is 고양이(cat). It's on the "chair." So, we add 의자(chair). Then, we add the location word. Well, don't forget to add the place marker 에! Then, we add 있어요. I'll show you more examples below.
3. Examples
1
Q: 고양이가 어디 있어요? Where is the cat?
A: 고양이가 상자 안에 있어요. The cat is in the box.
상자 means a box. People also call it 박스 as well. The cat is in the box, so we use the location word 안 and add 에 있어요 to explain in the full grammar sentence.
2
Q: 책이 어디 있어요? Where is the book?
A: 책상 위에 있어요. It's on the desk.
The speaker and listener both know they are talking about 책(book), so "책이" can be omitted from the answer.
3
Q: 강아지가 어디 있어요? Where is the puppy?
A: 의자 사이에 있어요. It's between the chairs.
사이 means between and 의자 is a chair(the chair/chairs). Since the Korean language is not particular of singular/plural, you can just say 의자 사이. With the word 사이, 의자 사이 connotes that those 의자 are plural.
4
Q: 고양이가 어디 있어요? Where is the cat?
A: 의자하고 책상 사이에 있어요. It's between the chair and the desk.
To connect nouns, you have to use a connecting marker. In this example, I used 하고. If you want to know more about this, please click the link below. Link to "connecting nouns 하고, (이)랑, 와/과"
5
Q: 화장실이 어디 있어요? Where is the bathroom?
A: 거실 옆에 있어요. It's next to the living room.
화장실 is a bathroom or a restroom. This will be one important expression if you plan to go to Korea.
Wrap-up & Worksheets: "Where is it?" in Korean
에 is the location marker. 있어요 means "there is/there are."
With 어디, you can ask the location. 어디에 있어요? = 어디 있어요? Where is N?
When you answer, you have to attach 에 to the location word.
e.g. 방에 있어요. It's (in) the room. (OR) 방 안에 있어요. It's in the room.
Here are some worksheets for you! Please practice the words first and then solve the quiz.
Word Practice
Quiz and Answer
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