Getting Ready for Rain | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 밖에 비가 와요.

   It is raining outside.

   밖에

   outside

   비

   rain

   와요

   comes; rains in weather expressions

   More detail

   밖에 means “outside” here. The ending -에 marks a place or setting, so 밖에 can be reused for “outside” in location expressions. Example: 밖에 있어요. — “It is outside.” 비 is the noun “rain.” Korean commonly uses 비가 오다, literally “rain comes,” for the natural expression “it rains” or “rain is falling.” In this sentence, 비 is followed by the subject marker 가, written together as 비가. 와요 is the polite present-style form of 오다, “to come.” In the weather expression 비가 와요, it contributes the meaning “is raining,” not that a person is coming. The same verb can describe arrival in another context: 친구가 와요. — “A friend is coming.” Together, 밖에 sets the location, 비가 identifies rain as the subject, and 와요 completes the weather expression “is raining.” Thus 밖에 비가 와요. means “It is raining outside.”

2. 나가기 전에 장화를 신으세요.

   Wear your boots before you leave.

   나가기

   going out; leaving

   전에

   before

   장화

   boots

   신으세요

   please wear; put on

   More detail

   나가기 comes from 나가다 (“to go out, leave”) plus -기, which makes a noun-like verb expression. Here, 나가기 전에 means “before leaving.” The reusable pattern is V-기 전에, meaning “before doing V.” Example: 자기 전에 이를 닦아요. — “I brush my teeth before going to bed.” 전에 means “before” when it follows a noun-like expression or a time expression. Here it places leaving earlier than putting on the boots. Example: 수업 전에 커피를 마셔요. — “I drink coffee before class.” 장화 means “boots,” specifically footwear suitable for wet conditions. In the full sentence, 장화를 is 장화 plus the object marker -를; the marker identifies the boots as what is put on. It does not state a numeric count. 신으세요 is the polite request or instruction form of 신다, “to put on or wear footwear.” The verb stem 신- takes -으세요 because it ends in a consonant: 신- + 으세요 → 신으세요. The ending -세요 is part of this polite request form, rather than a separate word meaning “please.” Korean commonly uses 신다 for footwear and 입다 for clothes. Example: 신발을 신으세요. — “Please put on your shoes.” Together, 나가기 전에 means “before leaving,” 장화를 marks “boots” as the object, and 신으세요 means “please put on/wear.” The whole utterance is: “Wear your boots before you leave.” The surrounding rain and puddles make boots a fitting choice, while the reusable grammar is V-기 전에 N을/를 V-(으)세요: “Please do [verb] before [verb].”

3. 길에 물웅덩이가 있어요.

   There are puddles on the path.

   길에

   on the path

   물웅덩이

   puddle

   있어요

   there is / there are

   More detail

   길에 contains 길 (“path” or “road”) plus the location particle 에. Here 에 marks where something exists, so 길에 means “on the path.” Example: 집에 있어요. — “I am at home.” The same particle can have other roles, such as marking a destination, but this sentence uses the location meaning. 물웅덩이 is the noun “puddle.” Its form does not itself show a plural ending. Korean can use the same noun form when the context refers to one or more puddles; here, the fixed translation and the following reference to “them” support the plural meaning “puddles.” 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다, used here to say that something exists or is located somewhere. It is also used for a person or thing being in a place: 책이 책상 위에 있어요. — “The book is on the desk.” In this sentence, 있어요 follows 물웅덩이가, where 가 marks the thing whose existence is being stated. Together, 길에 물웅덩이가 있어요 states that puddles exist on the path: “There are puddles on the path.” The pattern [place]에 [thing]이/가 있어요 is reusable for saying that something is located somewhere. The polite ending makes the statement suitable for ordinary respectful conversation.

4. 천천히 피해 가세요.

   Step around them slowly.

   천천히

   slowly

   피해 가세요

   please go around them

   More detail

   천천히 means “slowly” here. It is an adverb formed from 천천하다 (“to be slow”), and it describes how the going-around is done. It can be reused with other actions: 천천히 걸어요. means “I walk slowly.” 피해 가세요 combines 피하다 (“to avoid; to go around an obstacle”) with 가다 (“to go”). 피해 is the connective form of 피하다, linking the avoiding action to the following movement; it is not a separate noun or an expanded form of 가다. In this context, avoiding an obstacle while going past it naturally gives “go around it/them.” 가세요 is the polite request or directive form of 가다, so the request ending is carried by the second verb. Example: 장애물을 피해 가세요. means “Please go around the obstacle.” Together, 천천히 + 피해 가세요 means “Step around them slowly.” The understood object is the puddles identified in the surrounding context, and them is therefore plural in the fixed translation; Korean leaves that object unspoken here. The sentence politely asks the listener to go around the puddles at a slow pace.

5. 내 가방이 젖을지도 몰라요.

   My bag might get wet.

   내

   my

   가방이

   bag

   젖을

   get wet

   지도 몰라요

   might

   More detail

   내 means “my” here. It is the contracted possessive form of 나의, related to 나 (“I/me”), and is used before a noun: 내 가방 = “my bag.” 제 is the corresponding possessive form of 저, the deferential first-person pronoun. 가방이 means “bag.” 가방 means “bag,” and 이 marks it as the subject after a noun ending in a consonant. After a noun ending in a vowel, the corresponding subject particle is 가. 젖을 comes from the verb 젖다, “to become wet” or “to get wet.” Here, 젖다 describes the bag becoming wet, rather than someone making it wet. 젖을 is the verb stem 젖- plus -을, the form used before the possibility pattern in this sentence. Example: 옷이 젖었어요 means “The clothes got wet.” 지도 몰라요 completes the reusable pattern -을지도 몰라요 or -ㄹ지도 몰라요, meaning “might” or “may.” Use -을지도 몰라요 after a verb stem ending in a consonant and -ㄹ지도 몰라요 after a verb stem ending in a vowel. The pattern presents the situation as possible but uncertain. Example: 비가 올지도 몰라요 means “It might rain.” Together, 내 가방이 identifies “my bag” as the subject, 젖을 expresses the possible change of state “get wet,” and 지도 몰라요 marks that possibility. The whole utterance means “My bag might get wet.”

6. 가방을 코트 안에 넣어 두세요.

   Keep it under your coat.

   가방

   bag

   코트

   coat

   안에

   inside; in

   넣어 두세요

   put it in and keep it there

   More detail

   가방 means “bag.” In the sentence it appears as 가방을: 을 marks the noun as the object of the action. Korean uses 을 after a noun ending in a consonant and 를 after a noun ending in a vowel. Example: 책을 읽어요. — “I read a book.” 코트 means “coat.” It is the noun used as the location reference in 코트 안에, “inside the coat.” 안에 means “inside; in.” 안 is “inside,” and 에 marks a location or destination. A reusable pattern is [place] 안에, “inside [place].” Here, the fixed translation gives the intended location as “under your coat,” while the Korean wording expresses it with “inside the coat.” 넣어 두세요 combines 넣다, “to put in,” with -어 두다, which indicates leaving something in the resulting state, and polite request ending -세요. Thus, it asks someone to put the bag in and keep it there. The object is explicitly 가방을, so the “it” in the fixed translation refers to the bag. Example: 문을 열어 두세요. — “Please leave the door open.” Together, 가방을 identifies the bag as the object, 코트 안에 identifies the location, and 넣어 두세요 asks the listener to put it there and leave it there. The whole utterance therefore means “Keep it under your coat,” with the Korean form literally describing keeping the bag inside the coat.

7. 우산도 가져가야겠어요.

   I should take an umbrella too.

   우산

   umbrella

   도

   too; also

   가져가야겠어요

   should take

   More detail

   우산 means “umbrella.” It is a noun, and it can combine with many particles: 우산을 marks it as an object, while 우산도 means “an umbrella too/as well.” Example: 우산을 샀어요. — “I bought an umbrella.” 도 is an additive particle attached directly to the word it highlights. Here it adds an umbrella to something already relevant, giving “an umbrella too.” Example: 물도 가져가세요. — “Take water too.” 가져가야겠어요 combines 가져가다 (“to take something along/away”), -아/어야 하다 (“must/need to”), and -겠어요. The observed form 가져가야겠어요 presents the speaker’s own thought or decision that taking it is necessary, so “I should take it” fits here. 가져가다 differs from 가져오다: the former is taking something away or along, while the latter is bringing something here. Example: 우산을 가져가야겠어요. — “I should take an umbrella.” Together, 우산도 identifies an additional item, and 가져가야겠어요 expresses the speaker’s judgment that taking it is necessary: “I should take an umbrella too.”

8. 그러면 비에 젖지 않을 거예요.

   That will help keep you dry.

   그러면

   then; in that case

   비

   rain

   젖지 않을 거예요

   will not get wet

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It connects the sentence to a condition or plan just mentioned. Example: 그러면 지금 출발해요. — “Then let’s leave now.” 비 means “rain.” In the full expression 비에 젖다, the particle 에 marks the rain as the circumstance or source through which someone becomes wet. 젖다 is the base form meaning “to get wet” or “become soaked”; it is different from 적시다, “to wet something.” 젖지 않을 거예요 is built from 젖다 + -지 않다 + -(으)ㄹ 거예요. -지 않다 negates the verb, so 젖지 않다 means “not get wet.” -(으)ㄹ 거예요 presents this as an expected or future result, and 거예요 gives the sentence a polite style. Example: 오늘은 늦지 않을 거예요. — “I won’t be late today.” Together, 비에 젖지 않을 거예요 means “will not get wet in the rain.” The subject is omitted in Korean. With the preceding mention of taking an umbrella and the fixed translation, the intended meaning is that using or taking that umbrella will help keep the person dry. Thus the whole utterance means: “Then that will help keep you dry,” literally expressing that, in that case, the person will not get wet from the rain.