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HOW TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS
How to go to school? Where is the cinema?
Today we’re teaching you how to ask and give directions in Korean!
Make sure to also check our lesson on direction particles -로 and -으로.
ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS
To ask for a direction in Korean, you first state the destination you want, and use a question form that generally follows the structure below:
PATTERN
어느 (which) + 쪽으로 (direction) / 방향으로 (direction) / 길로 (street) + 가면될까요 (should I take)?
Let’s look at some examples:
| EXAMPLE 1 |
|---|
| 동명초등학교로 가려면 어느쪽으로 가면 될까요? |
| To get to Dong-Myung Elementary School which direction should I take? |
| EXAMPLE 2 |
|---|
| 시청에 가려면, 어느 길로 가면 될까요 ? |
| To get to the City Hall, which street should I take? |
There are also ways to ask for a direction in less specific way, such as:
시청은 어디쯔음 있습니까?
About where is the City Hall?시청에는 어떻게 가면 됩니까?
How do I get to the City Hall?GIVING DIRECTIONS
This chapter summarises typical words to learn and their examples used to give directions in Korean:
Let’s start with the four cardinal directions:
| NORTH | EAST | WEST | SOUTH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 북쪽 | 동쪽 | 서쪽 | 남쪽 |
| Go towards the north: | Go towards the east: | Go towards the west: | Go towards the south: |
| 북쪽으로 가세요. | 동쪽으로 가세요. | 서쪽으로 가세요. | 남쪽으로 가세요. |
Then the most common directions:
| STRAIGHT | LEFT | RIGHT |
|---|---|---|
| 직진 곧장 가다 쭈욱 가다 | 왼쪽 | 오른쪽 |
| Go straight on this street: | Turn left: | Turn right: |
| 이길을 따라 직진하세요. |
왼쪽으로 돌으세요.
(좌회전 하세요 – typically used for driving directions) |
오른쪽으로 돌으세요.
(우회전 하세요 – typically used for driving directions) |
| 이 길을 따라 곧장 가세요. | It is on your left: | It is on your right: |
| 이 길을 따라 쭈욱 가세요. | 왼쪽에 있어요. | 오른쪽에 있어요. |
Now that the most common directions in Korean are out of the way, let’s see more specific ones:
| UP | DOWN | THROUGH |
|---|---|---|
| 위쪽 위로 | 아래쪽 아래로 | 지나서 통해서 |
| Go up by this street: | Go down by this street: | Go through this tunnel: |
| 이 길 위쪽으로 가세요. | 이 길 아래쪽으로 가세요. |
터널을 지나서 가세요.
터널을 통해서 가세요. |
| 이길 따라 위로 가세요. | 이 길 아래로 가세요. | Go through the apartment complex (i.e., between the apartments) |
| 아파트 단지 사이를 지나서 가세요. |
More here:
| ACROSS | STOP | NEXT TO |
|---|---|---|
| 건너편에 건너에 | 멈춤 정지 | 옆에 옆쪽에 |
| The market is across from this street. | Stop at this sign. | The cinema is next to the market. |
| 상점은 이 길 건너편에 있어요. | 이 표시에서 멈추세요. | 씨네마는 마트 옆에 있어요. |
| 이 표시에서 정지하세요. | 씨네마는 마트 옆쪽에 있어요. |
Almost done!
| IN FRONT OF | BEHIND | UNDER |
|---|---|---|
| 앞에 앞쪽에 | 뒤에 뒤쪽에 | 밑으로 아래로 |
| The school is in front of the hospital. | The school is behind the hospital. | You should go under the bridge. |
| 학교는 병원 앞에 있어요. | 학교는 병원 뒤에 있어요. | 다리 밑으로 가셔야 되요. |
| 학교는 병원 앞쪽에 있어요. | 학교는 병원 뒤쪽에 있어요. | 다리 아래로 가셔야 되요. |
The last three directions in Korean:
| BETWEEN | PAST | INTERSECTION |
|---|---|---|
| 사이에 | 지나서 | 교차로 |
| The park is between university campus and the financial district. | Keep going past the restaurant. | Take a left at the intersection. |
| 공원은 대학과 금융가 사이에 있어요. | 레스토랑을 지나서 가세요. | 교차로에서 왼쪽으로 가세요. |
Q&A EXAMPLES
Here are a few more sentence examples in the form of questions and answers, to help you see how it works in a dialogue between two persons.
시청에는 어떻게 가면 될까요?
How do I get to the City Hall?이 길 쭈욱 따라 가시면 씨네마가 있는데 거기서 왼쪽으로 올라가시면 되요.
If you go down this street, you will see a cinema; there, you take left and go up.공원은 어디쯔음 있나요?
About where is the park?저 다리 밑을 지나가셔서 오른쪽으로 가세요. 공원은 대학가와 금융가 사이에 있어요.
Go under that bridge and turn right. The park is located between the university campus and the financial district.
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MORE RESOURCES
Want to learn more? Check out these other free resources:
- Korean direction particles -로 and -으로
- Ask and give directions in Vietnamese
- Ask and give directions in Mandarin
FAQs
How do you say Left in Korean?
Left in Korean is 왼쪽 (oenjjok).
Examples:
Turn left: 왼쪽으로 돌으세요.
(좌회전 하세요 – typically used for driving directions)
It is on your left: 왼쪽에 있어요.
How do you say Right in Korean?
Right in Korean is 오른쪽 (oreunjjok).
Examples:
Turn right: 오른쪽으로 돌으세요.
(우회전 하세요 – typically used for driving directions)
It is on your right: 오른쪽에 있어요.
How do you say Next to in Korean?
Next to in Korean is 옆에 (yeope) or 옆쪽에 (yeopjjoge).
Examples:
The cinema is next to the market.
씨네마는 마트 옆에 있어요.
씨네마는 마트 옆쪽에 있어요.
How do you say Between in Korean?
Between in Korean is 사이에 (sa i e).
Example:
공원은 대학과 금융가 사이에 있어요.
The park is between university campus and the financial district.
Where to get more free Korean lessons?
You can get more free Korean lessons on our Korean Grammar Bank.
We regularly add more lessons, so make sure to bookmark this page and come back to see what’s new.
Can I learn Korean with LTL Language School?
Yes!
Learn Korean with a professional live teacher online on Flexi Classes, or in person in Seoul (group and individual classes available).
Feel free to contact us if you need to speak directly with a LTL Student Advisor.