Buying a train ticket | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 기차표가 이미 있어요?

   Do you already have a train ticket?

   기차표

   train ticket

   이미

   already

   있어요?

   have?

   More detail

   기차표 means “train ticket.” It is a compound noun: 기차 means “train,” and 표 means “ticket.” In this sentence, the subject marker 가 follows the noun: 기차표가. A useful pattern is N이/가 있다 for saying that something exists or that someone has something. 이미 means “already.” It shows that the situation is expected to have happened by now. Compare 아직 (“still/yet”), as in the following context: 아직 없어요 means “I don’t have one yet.” 있어요? comes from 있다, “to exist” or “to have.” 있어요 is the polite present form, and here the question asks whether the listener has the ticket. Korean commonly expresses possession with N이/가 있어요: 표가 있어요 means “I have a ticket” or, depending on context, “There is a ticket.” The intended reading here is possession, supported by the translation and the following reply. The question ending is shown by the question mark and rising-question use of the polite form; 있어요 itself is also used in polite statements. Together, 기차표가 이미 있어요? asks, “Do you already have a train ticket?” The subject marker attaches to 기차표, 이미 marks that having it would already be the case, and 있어요? asks about possession. The following reply, 아직 없어요. 하나 사야 해요., confirms the contrast: the speaker does not have one yet and needs to buy one.

2. 아직 없어요. 하나 사야 해요.

   Not yet. I need to buy one.

   아직

   not yet

   없어요

   is not there; do not have

   하나

   one

   사야 해요

   need to buy

   More detail

   아직 means “not yet” here. It marks a situation that has not happened or is not true up to the present, with the negative 없어요 after it. For example, 아직 안 와요 means “They are not coming yet.” 없어요 is the polite present form of 없다, meaning “not exist,” “not be present,” or, for possession, “not have.” In this utterance it means that the relevant ticket is not yet available to the speaker. The related positive form is 있어요, “exists / is present / have”: 표가 있어요 means “I have a ticket” or “There is a ticket,” depending on context. The omitted subject or possessor is not expressed in the Korean sentence; the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning here. 하나 is the native Korean number word for “one,” and it can stand alone as “one (thing).” Here it refers to one ticket in the surrounding situation. Korean also uses 일 for “one” in many Sino-Korean number expressions, but 하나 is the natural standalone form in this sentence. For example, 사과 하나 주세요 means “Please give me one apple.” 사야 해요 expresses necessity. It is built from 사다, “to buy,” with -아/어야 하다, a pattern meaning “must” or “need to,” followed by the polite ending 해요: 사다 → 사야 하다 → 사야 해요. The speaker’s subject is omitted in Korean and is understood as “I” here because the fixed translation says “I need to buy one.” Compare 가야 해요, “need to go.” Together, 아직 없어요 means “Not yet” in this context: the speaker does not have the needed ticket yet. 하나 사야 해요 means “I need to buy one.” The complete utterance is therefore “Not yet. I need to buy one.”

3. 입구 옆에 표를 사는 기계가 있어요.

   There are ticket machines by the entrance.

   입구

   entrance

   옆에

   beside; next to

   표

   ticket

   사는

   buying

   기계

   machine

   가 있어요

   there is; there are

   More detail

   입구 means “entrance.” It is a noun; for example, 입구를 찾아요. means “I look for the entrance.” 옆에 means “beside/next to.” 옆 means “side,” and -에 marks the location where something exists. 입구 옆에 therefore means “beside the entrance.” 표 means “ticket.” Example: 표를 사요. means “I buy a ticket.” 사는 comes from the verb 사다, “to buy.” The ending -는 makes a present-tense verb modifier before a noun. In 표를 사는 기계, 표를 사는 describes the machine’s use: it is a machine for buying tickets. This wording does not require the machine itself to be the buyer. The same pattern appears in 물을 마시는 사람, “a person who drinks water.” 기계 means “machine.” Here it is modified by 표를 사는, producing “a machine for buying tickets,” or naturally, “a ticket machine.” Example: 이 기계는 표를 팔아요. means “This machine sells tickets.” 가 있어요 is an existence pattern meaning “there is/are.” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, “to exist” or “to be present,” and 가 marks the thing whose presence is stated. Korean does not use a separate plural form here, so the same pattern can correspond to “there is a machine” or “there are machines”; the fixed translation gives the intended plural reading. Together, 입구 옆에 sets the location, 표를 사는 기계 identifies machines used for buying tickets, and 가 있어요 states that they are present there. The whole utterance means: “There are ticket machines by the entrance.”

4. 저는 거기서 제 표를 살게요.

   I'll get mine there.

   저는

   as for me

   거기서

   there

   제

   my

   표

   ticket

   살게요

   I’ll get it

   More detail

   저는 sets the topic as the speaker: “as for me.” 저 is the humble/polite first-person pronoun, and 는 marks the topic. In less formal speech, 나는 is a common alternative; the choice is about speech level and politeness, not a change in who is meant. 거기서 means “there” as the place where the action happens. It combines 거기 (“there”) with 에서, a marker used for the location of an action. Compare 거기에 for being at, going to, or placing something at a location, whereas 거기서 here identifies where the buying will take place. 제 means “my” and is the polite possessive form contracted from 저의. It identifies the ticket as belonging to the speaker. The form does not itself state a number; the surrounding noun supplies that information. A familiar first-person possessive is 내, used in less formal speech. 표 means “ticket.” In this sentence it is followed by the object marker 를, so 제 표를 means “my ticket” as the thing being bought. In the supplied translation, “mine” is a natural way to avoid repeating “ticket”; the Korean noun still explicitly says 표. 살게요 comes from the verb 사다, “to buy,” with the ending -(으)ㄹ게요: 사다 → 살게요. This ending presents the speaker’s intention or decision, often as something the speaker is undertaking: “I’ll buy it.” Here the object is the ticket already named in 제 표를. It is not the plain dictionary form of the verb and does not simply mean that an event is guaranteed to happen independently of the speaker. Together, 저는 거기서 제 표를 살게요 means “As for me, I’ll buy my ticket there.” In the fixed translation, “I’ll get mine there” uses “mine” for the ticket understood from the Korean noun and the ticket-related context. The pattern is reusable as [topic] [place] [possessive noun]를 [verb]-(으)ㄹ게요, for example 저는 여기서 물을 살게요 — “I’ll buy water here.”

5. 제 표는 휴대폰에 있어요.

   I have my ticket on my phone.

   제

   my

   표

   ticket

   휴대폰

   mobile phone

   있어요

   is / exists

   More detail

   제 means “my” here. It is the possessive form of 저 (“I,” the humble/polite first-person pronoun) plus 의, commonly contracted from 저의 to 제. It does not show the owner's gender or number. 표 means “ticket.” In this sentence it is the ticket identified as belonging to the speaker. A useful pattern is 제 + noun, for example: 제 가방 — “my bag.” 휴대폰 means “mobile phone” or “cell phone.” It is a noun made from 휴대 (“carrying”) and 폰 (“phone”), but it is best learned here as the ordinary word for a mobile phone. 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, used here to say that something is located somewhere or is available. With a location, N이/가 장소에 있어요 means “N is at/in/on a place.” The ending -어요 gives the sentence a polite conversational style. The location marker 에 follows 휴대폰: 휴대폰에 means “on/in the mobile phone” in this context. Korean expresses the situation as “my ticket exists on my mobile phone,” while the fixed translation naturally says “I have my ticket on my phone.” Together, 제 표는 sets “my ticket” as the topic, and 휴대폰에 있어요 says where it is located. Thus 제 표는 휴대폰에 있어요. means “I have my ticket on my phone.”

6. 그럼 제 표를 산 후에 여기서 다시 만날게요.

   Then I'll meet you back here after I buy mine.

   그럼

   then

   제

   my

   표

   ticket

   산

   bought

   후에

   after

   여기서

   here

   다시

   again

   만날게요

   I’ll meet

   More detail

   그럼 means “then” or “in that case.” It links this utterance to what was just said. A reusable pattern is 그럼, ... for “Then, ...” or “In that case, ...”. 제 means “my” here. It is the possessive form of 저 (“I,” in the speaker’s modest/polite first-person form): 저의 contracts to 제. It does not itself indicate how many things are owned. Example: 제 이름 means “my name.” 표 means “ticket.” In 제 표, it is the noun being possessed: “my ticket.” 산 is the form of 사다 (“to buy”) used before a noun or noun-like time expression. 사다 becomes 산 in the past modifier form, so 산 후에 means “after buying” or literally “after having bought.” This is not a standalone past-tense verb here; it modifies 후에. 후에 means “after.” With a verb modifier, the reusable pattern is [verb modifier] 후에, meaning “after doing [the verb].” Example: 먹은 후에 쉬어요 means “I rest after eating.” 여기서 means “here” as the location where an action happens. The particle -서 marks the place of an action, so 여기서 만나다 means “meet here.” 다시 means “again.” In this sentence it indicates meeting again, and together with 여기서 it gives the idea of meeting back here. Example: 다시 만나요 means “See you again” or “Let’s meet again.” 만날게요 means “I’ll meet [you].” Its base verb is 만나다 (“to meet”); 만날 is the future-looking form before the sentence ending -게요. -ㄹ게요 commonly presents the speaker’s intention or commitment concerning the listener, in a polite style. The person met is understood from the fixed translation as “you”; Korean does not need to state that object here. Example: 내일 전화할게요 means “I’ll call you tomorrow.” Together, 제 표를 산 후에 means “after I buy my ticket,” with the speaker understood as the person who buys it. 여기서 다시 만날게요 means “I’ll meet you here again.” With 그럼 at the beginning, the complete utterance is: “Then I’ll meet you back here after I buy mine.”

7. 저는 기계 근처에서 기다릴게요.

   I'll wait near the machines.

   저는

   as for me; I

   기계

   machine

   근처에서

   near; at the vicinity

   기다릴게요

   I’ll wait

   More detail

   저는 sets the topic as “I” here: literally, “as for me.” 저 is the humble first-person pronoun, and 는 marks the topic. It does not by itself mean that the speaker is contrasting with someone else; that contrast depends on context. A useful contrast is 제가, which marks “I” as the subject when the subject role is being presented as important or newly identified. 기계 means “machine.” Korean nouns normally do not show singular versus plural by changing form, so 기계 can mean “a machine” or “machines” depending on the context. Here, the fixed translation identifies the intended reading as plural. The plural marker 들 can be added when plurality needs to be made explicit, as in 기계들 (“machines”), but it is not required here. 근처에서 means “near [something], at the vicinity.” It combines 근처 (“vicinity” or “nearby area”) with the location particle 에서. In this sentence, 에서 marks the place where the waiting takes place. For a location associated with existence or presence rather than an action occurring there, Korean commonly uses 에, as in 기계 근처에 있어요 (“I am near the machines”). 기다릴게요 means “I’ll wait.” Its base verb is 기다리다 (“to wait”); the form 기다릴게요 uses the future-looking -(으)ㄹ게요 ending. With a first-person subject, this ending commonly presents the speaker’s willingness, intention, or commitment to do something, often in response to the situation. It is not simply a neutral future marker in every context. For example, 여기서 기다릴게요 means “I’ll wait here,” presenting the speaker’s intention to wait here. The polite ending -요 makes the statement polite. Together, 저는 기계 근처에서 기다릴게요 means “I’ll wait near the machines.” The topic is “I,” 기계 근처에서 identifies the place where the waiting will happen, and 기다릴게요 presents waiting as the speaker’s polite intention or commitment. The Korean sentence does not need a separate word for “the” or an overt plural ending for “machines”; the intended definite plural is supplied by the fixed meaning and context.

8. 그 옆에서 저를 찾으세요.

   Look for me beside them.

   그

   them

   옆에서

   beside

   저를

   me

   찾으세요

   look for

   More detail

   그 means “them” here, following the fixed translation. Korean 그 can also be used before a noun with a meaning like “that” or “the.” The form itself does not mark a plural; the intended plural referent comes from the context and translation. 옆에서 means “beside” or “at the side of.” 옆 means “side,” and -에서 marks the place where an action takes place. A reusable pattern is [place]에서 + action: for example, 집에서 기다려요 means “I wait at home.” 저를 means “me” as the object of the action. 저 is the humble or polite first-person pronoun, and -를 marks an object after a vowel-ending noun or pronoun. In less formal speech, 나를 is the corresponding object form of 나 (“I/me”), while 저를 is the more polite or humble choice. 찾으세요 comes from 찾다, “to look for” or “to find.” The ending -(으)세요 makes a polite request or command; after the consonant-final stem 찾-, it appears as 찾으세요. Here it asks the listener to look for someone. For example, 열쇠를 찾으세요 means “Look for the key.” In source order, 그 옆에서 sets the location, 저를 identifies the person being sought, and 찾으세요 gives the polite request. The implied subject of this request is the listener, not the speaker. Together, 그 옆에서 저를 찾으세요. means “Look for me beside them.”