Walking in Strong Wind | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 밖에 바람이 많이 불어요.

   It's windy outside.

   밖에

   outside

   바람이

   wind

   많이

   a lot

   불어요

   blows

   More detail

   밖에 means “outside” here. The ending -에 marks a place where something is located or happens, so 밖에 can be reused for “outside” in location expressions. Example: 밖에 있어요. — “It is outside.” In this sentence, it is a location expression, not the separate pattern 밖에 meaning “only” when used with a negative expression. 바람이 means “the wind” as the subject of the description. 바람 is the noun “wind,” and -이 is a subject marker used after a noun ending in a consonant. Example: 바람이 불어요. — “The wind is blowing.” 많이 is the adverb “a lot” or “strongly” in this context. It comes from the adjective 많다, “to be many/much,” and modifies the blowing rather than the noun 바람: it describes how much or how strongly the wind blows. Example: 비가 많이 와요. — “A lot of rain falls,” naturally, “It rains a lot.” 불어요 is the polite present form of 불다, “to blow.” The stem 불- combines with the polite ending -어요; this form is used for a present situation or a general present description. With weather, 바람이 불어요 means “the wind is blowing” or “it is windy.” Example: 오늘은 바람이 불어요. — “It is windy today.” Together, 밖에 sets the location, 바람이 identifies the wind as the subject, 많이 describes the amount or strength of the blowing, and 불어요 supplies the action in polite present form. The complete utterance means “It’s windy outside.”

2. 한 손으로 모자를 잡으세요.

   Hold your hat with one hand.

   한

   one

   손

   hand

   모자

   hat

   잡으세요

   please hold

   More detail

   한 means “one” here. It is the native Korean number used before a noun for one item: 한 손 = “one hand.” This states the number of hands involved, not an indefinite article. 손 means “hand.” In 한 손, it forms a useful measure-like expression for the body part being used. Korean commonly places a number before the noun it counts or specifies. 모자 means “hat.” The form in the sentence is 모자를: the particle 를 marks 모자 as the object of the action. The base noun remains 모자; the particle shows what is being held. 잡으세요 comes from the verb 잡다, “to hold” or “to grab.” The ending -으세요 makes a polite, deferential request or instruction, so 잡으세요 means “please hold” here. The 으 appears because this verb stem ends in a consonant: 잡다 → 잡으세요. For comparison, a verb stem ending in a vowel can take -세요, as in 가다 → 가세요 (“please go”). The expression 한 손으로 means “with one hand.” The particle 으로 marks the means or instrument used for an action; after 손, it appears as 으로 because 손 ends in a consonant. For example, 펜으로 써요 means “I write with a pen.” Putting the parts together, 한 손으로 specifies the means, 모자를 marks the hat as the object, and 잡으세요 gives the polite instruction: “Hold your hat with one hand.”

3. 나무가 많이 흔들려요.

   The trees are moving a lot.

   나무

   tree; trees

   많이

   a lot; much

   흔들려요

   sway; move

   More detail

   나무 means “tree.” In this sentence, the fixed translation shows that it refers to trees in the plural, but Korean nouns generally do not need a special plural ending when the context makes the number clear. The subject marker 가 follows 나무, forming 나무가 “the tree(s) …” as the subject. A useful contrast is 나무들, which explicitly marks “trees” when that emphasis is needed. 많이 means “a lot” or “to a great extent.” It is the adverbial form of 많다, “to be much/many,” and it modifies 흔들려요 here, indicating the degree of movement. For example, 비가 많이 와요 means “It rains a lot.” 흔들려요 means “sway” or “move/shake,” as in the trees’ movement here. Its base form is 흔들리다, an intransitive verb: the subject undergoes or exhibits movement. The polite present form 흔들려요 is used in the 해요 style. Compare the transitive verb 흔들다, “to shake something”: 사람이 깃발을 흔들어요 means “A person shakes a flag,” whereas 깃발이 흔들려요 means “The flag is shaking/swaying.” Together, 나무가 많이 흔들려요 means “The trees are moving a lot.” The subject is 나무가, 많이 describes the extent of the movement, and 흔들려요 states that the trees are swaying or moving. The present form describes the situation as it is occurring or as a current observation.

4. 길 근처에서는 바람이 더 세요.

   The wind is stronger near the street.

   길

   street

   근처에서는

   near

   바람이

   the wind

   더

   more

   세요

   is strong

   More detail

   길 means “street” or “road.” It is a noun and appears before 근처 to specify what the vicinity is near. Example: 길이 멀어요. — “The road is far.” 근처에서는 means “near the street” in this sentence. 근처 means “vicinity” or “nearby area”; 에서 marks the place where a situation occurs, and 는 makes that place the topic or sets it apart for comparison. The full form is 길 근처에서는: “in the area near the street.” 바람이 means “the wind” here. 바람 is the noun “wind,” and 이 is the subject marker used after a consonant-ending noun. The article “the” is supplied by the English translation; Korean does not use an equivalent article in this form. 더 means “more.” It raises the degree of the following description, so 더 세요 means “is stronger” rather than simply “is strong.” The sentence does not state the exact comparison standard; it only presents the wind near the street as stronger. 세요 is the polite present form of 세다, “to be strong.” In the sentence, it describes the wind’s strength. 세다 is an adjective in Korean usage, and its polite form is 세요; the ending makes the statement polite, not past or future. Example: 바람이 세요. — “The wind is strong.” Together, 길 근처에서는 sets the location, 바람이 identifies the subject, and 더 세요 says that its strength is greater. Thus the whole utterance means, “The wind is stronger near the street.”

5. 우리 좀 더 천천히 걸을까요?

   Should we walk more slowly?

   우리

   we; us

   좀

   a little; somewhat

   더

   more

   천천히

   slowly

   걸을까요?

   shall we walk?

   More detail

   우리 means “we” here: the speaker includes themself and the listener in the proposed action. Korean 우리 can also mean “our” before a noun, but its role here is the subject of the verb. Example: 우리 같이 가요. — “Let’s go together.” 좀 softens the suggestion, giving it the effect of “a little” or “somewhat.” In this sentence it does not state a precise quantity; it makes the request sound gentler. Example: 좀 기다려 주세요. — “Please wait a little.” 더 means “more,” marking an increase compared with the current or understood degree. It modifies the adverb 천천히, so the walking is to be done more slowly. Example: 더 크게 말해 주세요. — “Please speak louder.” 천천히 is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It describes how the walking happens. Its related adjective is 느리다, “to be slow,” but 천천히 is the form used to modify an action directly. Example: 천천히 읽어요. — “I read slowly.” 걸을까요? comes from 걷다, “to walk.” In this form, the ㄷ of 걷다 changes to ㄹ before the vowel-initial ending, giving 걸을까요?; this is a property of the verb form, not of 우리 or 천천히. The ending -을까요? presents a suggestion or asks whether the speaker and listener should do the action together: “Shall we walk?” Do not treat it as the separate verb 걸다. Example: 같이 걸을까요? — “Shall we walk together?” Together, 우리 identifies the shared participants, 좀 makes the suggestion gentler, 더 천천히 means “more slowly,” and 걸을까요? asks about doing the walking together. The complete meaning is “Should we walk more slowly?”

6. 길 근처에서는 천천히 걸어요.

   Let's slow down near the street.

   길

   street; road

   근처

   vicinity; nearby area

   에서는

   in or at …

   천천히

   slowly

   걸어요

   walk; let’s walk

   More detail

   길 means “street” or “road” here. It is a noun and can combine with location words: 길 근처 means “near the street.” 근처 means “vicinity” or “nearby area.” In 길 근처, the noun before it identifies what the area is near. For example, 학교 근처 means “near the school.” 에서는 is the combination 에서 + 는. 에서 marks the place where an action happens, while 는 presents that place as the topic or gives it contrastive focus. In this sentence, 길 근처에서는 means “near the street” as the setting for the walking instruction or suggestion. The particle 는 is not part of the noun 근처. 천천히 is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It describes how the walking should happen. A useful contrast is 빨리, “quickly.” The preceding context also uses 더 천천히, meaning “more slowly”; 더 makes the comparison explicit, while 천천히 alone simply means “slowly.” 걸어요 comes from the verb 걷다, “to walk.” In this form, the final ㄷ of 걷다 changes to ㄹ before the vowel-initial ending -어요: 걷다 → 걸어요. This is a polite 해요-style form. In the fixed sentence and translation, 걸어요 functions as a polite suggestion or directive, “let’s walk,” rather than merely reporting that someone walks. The same form can have other context-dependent uses, so the surrounding meaning is important. Together, 길 근처에서는 sets the location, 천천히 gives the manner, and 걸어요 expresses the polite suggestion to walk. The whole utterance means “Let’s slow down near the street.”

7. 저도 가방을 몸 가까이 잡을게요.

   I'll hold my bag close too.

   저도

   I too

   가방

   bag

   몸

   body

   가까이

   close; nearby

   잡을게요

   I’ll hold

   More detail

   저도 means “I too” here. 저 is the humble first-person pronoun “I,” and 도 adds “also/too” to the word it follows. A useful pattern is 저도 + ... = “I also ...” when joining the speaker with someone or something already mentioned. 가방 means “bag.” In the utterance, 가방을 marks the bag as the object of the action. 을 is the object-marking form used after a noun ending in a consonant; 를 is used after a noun ending in a vowel. This marking does not itself mean “the”; the fixed translation supplies the intended “my bag” reading here, while Korean does not show that possession in this noun alone. 몸 means “body.” In 몸 가까이, it is the reference point for the bag’s position: “close to the body.” The form itself does not identify whose body it is, so it is better not to assign a possessor beyond what the sentence and translation support. 가까이 is an adverb meaning “closely” or “near.” Example: 문 가까이 앉아요 means “I sit close to the door.” 잡을게요 comes from 잡다, “to hold” or “to catch.” Its form is 잡- + 을게요: -(으)ㄹ게요 presents the speaker’s intention or commitment to do something. Because 잡다 ends in a consonant, this form uses -을게요; after a vowel, the corresponding form is -ㄹ게요. Here, 잡을게요 means “I’ll hold [it],” with the speaker as the understood subject and the bag as the object. This ending focuses on what the speaker undertakes to do rather than simply making a neutral prediction. Together, 저도 means “I too,” 가방을 marks the bag as the object, 몸 가까이 describes holding it near the body, and 잡을게요 expresses the speaker’s intention to do so. The whole utterance means: “I’ll hold my bag close too.”

8. 그러면 가방이 바람에 열리지 않을 거예요.

   That should keep it from blowing open.

   그러면

   then / in that case

   가방

   bag

   바람에

   in the wind

   열리지 않을 거예요

   won’t open

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It connects this sentence to a condition or plan just mentioned. Here, together with the previous action of holding the bag close, it introduces the expected result. Example: 그러면 시작할게요. — “Then I’ll start.” 가방 means “bag.” It is a noun; its form does not show grammatical gender or number. Example: 가방이 무거워요. — “The bag is heavy.” 바람에 consists of 바람 (“wind”) plus the particle 에. In this sentence, 에 marks the circumstance or force under which something happens: “in the wind” or “because of the wind.” The noun 바람 can also occur without this particle: 바람이 불어요. — “The wind is blowing.” 열리지 않을 거예요 means “will not open” here. The base form is 열리다, “to open” or “to become open”; the form 열리지 contains 열리- plus -지, and 않을 adds negation through -지 않다. 거예요 expresses an expected or predicted result, so the full form presents the bag’s not opening as what is expected. This is not the active verb “open something,” which is 열다: 문이 열려요. — “The door opens/is open”; 문을 열어요. — “I open the door.” Putting the parts together, 그러면 introduces the result, 가방이 makes “the bag” the subject, 바람에 gives the wind as the relevant force or circumstance, and 열리지 않을 거예요 says that it is expected not to open. Thus the utterance means, “Then the bag should not blow open,” naturally matching the fixed translation, “That should keep it from blowing open.”