Basic Requests and Instructions | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 안으로 들어오세요.

   Please come inside.

   안으로

   inside; inward

   들어오세요

   please come in

   More detail

   안으로 means “to the inside” or “inward.” 안 means “inside,” and -으로 marks direction or destination. 안 ends in a consonant, so the form is -으로; after a vowel-ending form, the corresponding form is usually -로. Compare the labeled example 밖으로 나가세요 (“Please go outside”). 들어오세요 is a polite request meaning “please come in.” Its base form is 들어오다 (“to come in”): 들어오- presents entering toward the speaker or another relevant reference point, while -세요 forms a polite request or command. 들어가세요 means “please go in,” using 가다 (“to go”) and presenting the movement as away from the speaker or reference point. Together, 안으로 들어오세요 says “Please come inside.” 안으로 gives the direction, and 들어오세요 politely asks the listener to come in. This is a polite way to invite someone indoors.

2. 여기에 앉으세요.

   Please sit here.

   여기에

   here

   앉으세요

   please sit

   More detail

   여기에 means “here” in the sense of “to/at this place.” It is 여기 (“here”) plus the location particle 에. With a verb such as 앉다 (“to sit”), 에 marks the place where the person is to sit: 여기에 앉으세요 = “Please sit here.” This differs from 여기에서, which commonly marks the place where an action takes place, as in the contextual example 여기에서 기다리세요 (“Please wait here”). 앉으세요 is the polite request form of 앉다, “to sit.” The verb stem 앉- ends in a consonant, so this form uses -으세요: 앉- + 으세요 → 앉으세요. Here, -으세요 makes a polite request or instruction. The same polite request pattern can be used with other verbs, but the ending depends on the stem: 기다리다 (“to wait”) has the vowel-final stem 기다리-, giving 기다리세요 (“Please wait”), not *기다리으세요. Together, 여기에 specifies the place and 앉으세요 politely asks the listener to sit there, giving the complete meaning “Please sit here.”

3. 여기에서 기다리세요.

   Please wait here.

   여기에서

   here; at this place

   기다리세요

   please wait

   More detail

   여기에서 means “here” in the sense of “at this place,” where the action takes place. 여기 is “here,” and 에서 marks the place where an activity or event occurs. Compare 여기에 in the preceding sentence: 에 marks a destination or location of existence, while 에서 marks the location of an action. For example, 도서관에서 공부해요. means “I study at the library.” 기다리세요 means “please wait.” Its base form is 기다리다 (“to wait”). The observed form uses 기다리- plus the polite request/instruction ending -세요; this ending is commonly used when politely telling or asking someone to do something. For example, 앉으세요. means “Please sit.” Together, 여기에서 기다리세요 means “Please wait here”: 여기에서 identifies the place of the waiting, and 기다리세요 gives the polite instruction. The sentence is a polite request directed at the listener.

4. 여기를 보세요.

   Please look here.

   여기

   here

   보세요

   please look

   More detail

   여기 means “here,” referring to a location. In the utterance it is followed by 를, written together as 여기를; 를 marks 여기 as the object of the action. This contrasts with 여기에서 in the preceding example, where 에서 marks the place where an action happens: 여기에서 기다리세요 means “Please wait here.” 보세요 comes from 보다, “to look at” or “to see.” The form 보세요 is a polite request or instruction: “please look.” The ending -세요 is attached to the verb stem 보-; it is not part of the noun 여기. Example: 이것을 보세요. — “Please look at this.” Together, 여기를 (“here” as the thing being looked at) and 보세요 (“please look”) produce the fixed meaning: “Please look here.”

5. 주의 깊게 들으세요.

   Please listen carefully.

   주의 깊게

   carefully

   들으세요

   please listen

   More detail

   주의 깊게 means “carefully” here. It is the adverbial form of 주의 깊다, “to be careful” or “to be attentive”: 주의 깊다 → 주의 깊게. The form -게 commonly turns a descriptive word into an adverb describing how an action is performed. For example, 정확하게 쓰세요 means “Write accurately.” 들으세요 is a polite request meaning “please listen.” Its base form is 듣다, “to listen” or “to hear”; in this context, the intended meaning is “listen.” 듣다 has a ㄷ irregular change before a vowel: 듣- becomes 들으- in 들으세요. The ending -세요 makes the request polite. For example, 잘 들으세요 means “Please listen well.” Together, 주의 깊게 describes how the listener should perform 들으세요: “listen attentively/carefully.” Thus the whole utterance is “Please listen carefully.”

6. 천천히 말하세요.

   Please speak slowly.

   천천히

   slowly

   말하세요

   please speak

   More detail

   천천히 means “slowly.” The ending -히 turns this descriptive form into an adverb, so it tells how the speaking should happen. Example: 천천히 읽으세요. — “Please read slowly.” 말하세요 means “please speak.” Its base form is 말하다, “to speak,” and 말하세요 is the polite request or command form used when addressing the listener respectfully. The -세요 ending can be used for polite requests with an action verb; it does not itself add a numeric meaning or identify a specific speaker. Together, 천천히 말하세요. means “Please speak slowly.” The adverb 천천히 modifies the action 말하세요, specifying the manner of speaking. The period marks the sentence as a statement-like polite request rather than a question.