Trying on a New Shirt | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 새 셔츠가 필요해요.

   I need a new shirt.

   새

   new

   셔츠

   shirt

   필요해요

   need

   More detail

   새 means “new” here and is placed directly before a noun: 새 + noun. In Korean, 새 is a prenominal modifier (a determiner), so it does not change for the noun’s number or gender. Example: 새 가방 — “a new bag.” 셔츠 is the noun “shirt.” It is a loanword used as a regular Korean noun. In this sentence, 셔츠 is followed by 가, the subject marker: 셔츠가 marks the shirt as what is needed. 필요해요 means “is needed” or, with an item as the subject, “need” in the natural English translation. It is the polite present form of 필요하다 (“to be necessary/needed”): 필요하- + -어요 becomes 필요해요. The person who needs something is not overtly expressed in this Korean sentence; the fixed translation identifies that person as “I.” Example: 물이 필요해요. — “I need water.” Together, 새 셔츠가 필요해요 has the pattern [needed item]이/가 필요해요, meaning “I need [needed item].” 새 describes 셔츠, and 셔츠가 marks “new shirt” as the needed item. Thus the whole utterance means “I need a new shirt.”

2. 어떤 색을 찾으세요?

   What color are you looking for?

   어떤

   what; which

   색

   color

   찾으세요?

   are you looking for?

   More detail

   어떤 comes before a noun and asks for a choice or specification: “what kind of” or “which.” It is not used alone here; the following noun supplies what is being selected. For example, 어떤 책을 읽으세요? means “Which book are you reading?” 색 means “color.” It is a noun, so 어떤 색 forms the reusable pattern “what/which color.” The object marker 을 follows 색 because the color is what is being looked for: 어떤 색을. 찾으세요? means “are you looking for?” in this sentence. Its base verb is 찾다, “to look for” or “to find.” The form contains the honorific marker -시- and the polite ending -어요, combined here as -세요; in this context, the question is addressed politely to the listener. Korean commonly leaves the subject unstated when the context makes it clear, so no separate word for “you” appears in the utterance. Together, 어떤 색을 (“which color”) and 찾으세요? (“are you looking for?”) produce the complete meaning: “What color are you looking for?”

3. 있으면 파란색으로 주세요.

   Something blue, if you have it.

   있으면

   if you have it

   파란색

   blue

   주세요

   please give me

   More detail

   있으면 comes from 있다 plus the conditional ending -으면: 있다 → 있으면, “if it exists / if you have it.” In this sentence, the surrounding shopping context makes the intended meaning “if you have it.” The same pattern is reusable with other stems: 가다 → 가면 (“if [someone] goes”), while a stem ending in a consonant commonly takes -으면, as in 있으면. 파란색 means “the color blue.” It is a noun built from 파랗다 (“to be blue”) and 색 (“color”); the form 파란 is the noun-modifying form of 파랗다 before 색. For example, 파란 셔츠 means “a blue shirt.” Here, 파란색 names the requested color rather than directly modifying a noun. 주세요 is the polite request form of 주다 (“to give”): 주다 → 주세요. It is used after the requested item or action to mean “please give [it] to me” or “please do [it].” For example, 물 주세요 means “Please give me water.” Together, 있으면 sets the condition “if you have it,” 파란색 identifies the requested item as the blue one, and 주세요 makes the request polite: “Something blue, if you have it.” The object understood with 주세요 is the blue item, while the conditional phrase limits the request to the case where it is available.

4. 여기 손님 사이즈 셔츠가 하나 있어요.

   Here is one in your size.

   여기

   here

   손님

   customer; guest

   사이즈

   size

   셔츠

   shirt

   하나

   one

   있어요

   there is; is here

   More detail

   여기 means “here” and points to the place where the item is being presented. A reusable pattern is 여기 있어요, “It is here” or “Here it is.” 손님 literally refers to a customer or guest. In this service interaction it is an address term for the customer, so 손님 사이즈 means “your size” rather than identifying a separate person in the sentence. Korean often leaves the possessive meaning implicit when the situation makes it clear. 사이즈 is the loanword for “size.” Together with the following noun, 손님 사이즈 셔츠 is a compact noun-modifying sequence: “a shirt in the customer’s size.” Korean commonly places this kind of modifier before the noun it describes. 셔츠 means “shirt.” The subject marker 가 in 셔츠가 marks the shirt as the thing whose existence is being stated. Korean noun phrases can therefore be followed by 이/가 있어요 to say that something exists or is available. 하나 is the native Korean form for “one” when counted independently. Here it explicitly says that there is one shirt. Before a counter, the related form is often 한, as in an appropriate expression such as 한 개 for one item; 하나 itself is the standalone numeral used here. 있어요 comes from 있다, “to exist” or “to be present.” The -어요 ending gives a polite present-tense form. In this sentence it presents the shirt as available or present, not as an action performed by someone. Putting the parts together, 여기 locates the item, 손님 사이즈 셔츠 identifies it as a shirt in the customer’s size, 하나 counts one, and 있어요 states its presence: “Here is one in your size.” A reusable pattern is 여기 [noun]가 하나 있어요, “Here is one [noun]” or “There is one [noun] here,” with the noun phrase changed as needed.

5. 입어 봐도 돼요?

   Can I try it on?

   입어 … 봐

   try putting it on

   도 돼요?

   is it okay?

   More detail

   입어 comes from 입다, “to wear” or “to put on.” In this utterance it is the connective form before 봐, linking the action to the expression for trying it. The object is unstated; the context supports the shirt being offered. 입어 봐 uses -아/어 보다 after an action verb to express trying that action. 봐 is the form of 보다 used in this pattern; by itself, 보다 commonly means “to see” or “to look,” but here the combination means “try putting it on.” Example: 먹어 봐요 means “Try eating it.” 도 돼요? completes the permission pattern -아/어도 되다. It asks whether the action is allowed, and 돼요 is the polite present form of 되다 in this pattern. The subject is omitted in Korean; the fixed translation shows that the speaker is asking whether they may perform the action. Together, 입어 봐 means “try putting it on,” and 도 돼요? asks whether that is permitted. The whole utterance means “Can I try it on?”

6. 탈의실은 바로 여기예요.

   The changing room is just over here.

   탈의실

   changing room

   바로

   just; right

   여기예요

   is here

   More detail

   탈의실 means “changing room” here. It is a noun referring to a room for changing clothes. The ending -실 is used in some room or facility nouns; for example, 교실 means “classroom.” 바로 is an adverb meaning “right” or “just” in this sentence. It emphasizes the location: “right here,” rather than merely “here.” In other contexts, 바로 can also mean “directly” or “immediately,” so its precise meaning comes from the surrounding phrase. 여기예요 means “is here.” 여기 means “here,” and 예요 is the polite present form of the copula after a vowel-final noun or noun-like expression. The related form 이에요 is used after a consonant-final noun: 학생이에요 means “(someone) is a student.” Here, 여기예요 presents a location politely; it does not identify a separate person or object. The topic marker 은 in 탈의실은 sets “the changing room” as the topic. The pattern A은/는 B예요 can state that A is B or is located at B when B is a suitable noun-like expression. Thus 탈의실은 바로 여기예요 combines “the changing room” + “right here” + polite “is” to mean “The changing room is just over here.”

7. 정말 잘 맞아요.

   It fits really well.

   정말

   really

   잘

   well

   맞아요

   fits; is right

   More detail

   정말 means “really” and intensifies the following description. It is a common adverb for strong confirmation or degree. Example: 정말 좋아요. — “It’s really good.” 잘 means “well” here, describing how successfully something fits. It is a very common adverb, and its meaning changes with the verb or expression it modifies. Example: 잘 들어요. — “It listens well.” 맞아요 is the polite present form of 맞다. In this sentence, 맞다 means “to fit” or “to be the right size,” not simply “to be correct.” 맞아요 is polite speech; the plain form is 맞아, and the formal polite form is 맞습니다. Example: 이 신발은 잘 맞아요. — “These shoes fit well.” Together, 정말 + 잘 + 맞아요 means “fits really well.” The expression presents the fit as especially good, with 정말 adding emphasis and 잘 describing the quality of the fit. In this context, the subject is understood from the situation rather than stated in this utterance.

8. 손님에게 잘 어울려요.

   It looks nice on you.

   손님

   customer; guest

   에게

   to; for a person

   잘

   well; nicely

   어울려요

   suits; looks good

   More detail

   손님 means “customer” or “guest.” Here, consistent with the fixed translation, it refers to the person being addressed: “you,” viewed as the customer. The word itself does not mark grammatical gender. 에게 marks a person who is the target of an action or description. With 어울리다, it identifies the person something suits: A에게 어울리다 means “to suit A” or “to look good on A.” Example: 친구에게 잘 어울려요. — “It looks good on my friend.” 잘 means “well” or “nicely.” Here it gives the evaluation a positive sense: the item or style suits the person nicely. Example: 이 색이 잘 어울려요. — “This color looks good on you.” 어울려요 is the polite present form of 어울리다, meaning here “to suit” or “to look good on.” The polite ending is -어요; in this form, the stem ending 리 combines with 어요 and contracts to 려요, producing 어울려요. The subject is the item, color, or style that suits someone, while the person it suits is marked with 에게. Together, 손님에게 sets the person as the one being suited, 잘 says the result is good, and 어울려요 states that the relevant item or style suits them. Thus the whole utterance means, “It looks nice on you.”