Tired Eyes and Screen Breaks | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 눈이 피곤해요.

   My eyes feel tired.

   눈

   eyes

   피곤해요

   feel tired

   More detail

   눈 means “eyes” here. Korean 눈 can also have another meaning in other contexts, but the fixed translation identifies the body-part meaning. In 눈이, the ending 이 marks 눈 as the subject. Korean commonly leaves the subject unstated when context makes it clear, but this sentence explicitly names the eyes. 피곤해요 means “feel tired” here. Its base form is 피곤하다 (“to be tired”); 피곤해요 is the polite present-style form used in ordinary conversation. Korean descriptive predicates such as 피곤하다 work as the predicate without a separate verb meaning “to be.” For example, 오늘 피곤해요. means “I’m tired today.” Together, 눈이 피곤해요 literally presents “the eyes” as the subject and “are tired” as the predicate, giving the natural meaning “My eyes feel tired.”

2. 화면이 너무 밝을 수도 있어요.

   The screen may be too bright.

   화면이

   the screen

   너무

   too; overly

   밝을

   be bright

   수도 있어요

   may; might

   More detail

   화면이 means “the screen” here. 화면 is a noun, and 이 marks it as the subject because the noun ends in a consonant. With a vowel-final noun, Korean uses 가 instead: 카메라가 밝아요 means “The camera is bright.” 너무 modifies the following description and means “too” or “overly” here, so it presents the brightness as exceeding a suitable level. It can also mean simply “very” in some contexts, but the fixed translation supports the excessive meaning in this sentence. 밝을 comes from the descriptive verb 밝다, “to be bright.” The ending changes 밝다 to 밝을 before the possibility construction 수도 있어요; this is not a change to the noun 화면. A useful contrast is 어둡다 “to be dark”: 화면이 어두워요 means “The screen is dark.” 수도 있어요 is part of the pattern -(으)ㄹ 수도 있다, which expresses that something is possible: “may,” “might,” or “it is possible that.” In 밝을 수도 있어요, 수 is the dependent noun in the pattern, 도 adds the sense of “also/even” to the possibility, and 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다 in this construction. For example, 오늘 비가 올 수도 있어요 means “It may rain today.” Together, 화면이 너무 밝을 수도 있어요 says that the screen may be excessively bright. The subject is the screen, 너무 sets the brightness above the suitable level, and 밝을 수도 있어요 presents that situation as a possibility rather than a certainty. This is a polite, ordinary way to state a possible explanation or condition.

3. 더 어둡게 할 수 있어요?

   Can I make it darker?

   더

   more

   어둡게

   darkly; darker

   할 수 있어요

   can do; can make

   More detail

   더 means “more” here and increases the degree of the following description. In 더 어둡게, it makes the result “darker,” rather than identifying a separate object or quantity. A reusable pattern is 더 + descriptive form: 조금 더 크게 말해 주세요. means “Please speak a little louder.” 어둡게 comes from the adjective 어둡다, “to be dark.” The ending -게 changes this descriptive form into an adverbial form, so it describes how something is made or changed: 어둡게 하다 means “to make something dark” or, with 더, “to make something darker.” The adjective’s polite form is 어두워요, while 어둡게 is the form used before 하다 in this pattern. For example, 방을 어둡게 했어요. means “I made the room dark.” 할 수 있어요 contains 하다, “to do or make,” plus -(으)ㄹ 수 있다, which expresses ability or possibility. 할 수 있어요 is the polite present form, “can do” or “can make.” In this sentence, the thing being made is understood from the context, and the fixed translation identifies it as “it.” A reusable example is 이 화면을 저장할 수 있어요. — “I can save this screen.” Together, 더 어둡게 할 수 있어요? asks whether the understood object can be made darker: “Can I make it darker?” The question form uses the polite statement ending -어요 with question intonation; the omitted subject and object are supplied by the situation rather than stated in the Korean sentence.

4. 밝기를 낮춰 보세요.

   Try lowering the brightness.

   밝기

   brightness

   낮춰

   lower

   보세요

   please try

   More detail

   밝기 means “brightness” here. It is a noun formed from 밝다 (“to be bright”) with -기, a pattern that turns a descriptive verb into a noun naming a quality or action. For example, 소리 크기 means “sound volume/size,” though 크기 itself is based on 크다 (“to be big”). 낮춰 comes from the base form 낮추다, “to lower” or “to reduce.” The form 낮춰 is its connective form, linking this action to the following expression. In this sentence, the understood object is the brightness: “lower the brightness.” 낮추다 is causative/transitive, so it describes making something lower; compare 낮아지다, “to become lower,” which describes a change happening to something. 보세요 comes from 보다, “to see” or “to try doing something” in the construction -아/어 보다. Here, -어 보세요 is a polite suggestion meaning “please try doing it” or “try doing it.” The form 보세요 also literally relates to “see,” but in this construction it helps present the preceding action as something to try. For example, 읽어 보세요 means “Please try reading it.” Together, 밝기를 낮춰 보세요 uses the pattern [verb connective form] + 보세요 to politely suggest trying an action. 밝기를 marks “brightness” as the object, 낮춰 means “lower,” and 보세요 adds the meaning “try it.” The whole utterance therefore means “Try lowering the brightness.”

5. 저도 눈을 쉬게 해야겠어요.

   I should rest my eyes too.

   저도

   I too

   눈

   eyes

   쉬게

   so that [someone] rests

   해야겠어요

   should / need to

   More detail

   저도 combines 저, a humble/polite first-person pronoun meaning “I,” with 도, the additive particle “too” or “also.” Here it marks the speaker as sharing the relevant action or need. 도 attaches directly to the word it adds: for example, 저도 가요 means “I’m going too.” 눈 means “eye” or “eyes.” Korean nouns do not generally mark singular versus plural with a required noun ending, so the intended number is understood from context; here the fixed translation supports “my eyes.” In 눈을, the object particle 을 marks the eyes as the object of the following action. 쉬게 comes from the verb 쉬다, “to rest,” with -게. In the pattern N을 쉬게 하다, -게 하다 means “make or let N rest,” so 눈을 쉬게 하다 expresses causing or allowing the eyes to rest. The observed form is 쉬게, not a separate verb meaning “rest.” Example: 아이를 쉬게 해요 means “I let the child rest.” 해야겠어요 is the polite form of the pattern -아야/어야 하다 with -겠어요. The -아야/어야 하다 part expresses necessity, while -겠어요 here adds the speaker’s intention or conclusion, giving a natural sense such as “should” or “I’d better.” Its base verb is 하다 (“to do”): 해야 is the necessary form of 하다, and 해야겠어요 is not an inflection of 눈 or 쉬다. Example: 이제 가야겠어요 means “I’d better go now.” Together, 눈을 쉬게 identifies the action of letting the eyes rest, and 해야겠어요 presents that action as the speaker’s conclusion or intention. With 저도 adding “too,” the whole utterance means “I should rest my eyes too.”

6. 지금은 화면에서 눈을 떼세요.

   Look away from the screen now.

   지금은

   now

   화면

   screen

   눈

   eye(s)

   떼세요

   take away or remove

   More detail

   지금은 means “now” in this sentence. 지금 means “now,” and -은 presents it as the time setting: “as for now,” or simply “now.” Example: 지금은 괜찮아요. — “It’s okay for now.” 화면 means “screen.” In 화면에서, the particle -에서 marks the screen as the point from which the eyes are moved away, giving “from the screen” in this construction. 눈 means “eye”; in this sentence, the intended meaning is “eyes.” Korean nouns do not generally mark English-style singular versus plural here, so context supplies the number. 눈을 adds the object particle -을, marking the eyes as what is moved away. 떼세요 is a polite directive form of 떼다, which means “to detach, remove, or take away.” The ending -(으)세요 makes a polite request or instruction. By itself, 떼세요 has the general meaning “remove it” or “take it away”; with 눈을, the reusable expression 눈을 떼다 means “take one’s eyes off” something. Example: 스티커를 떼세요. — “Remove the sticker.” Together, 화면에서 눈을 떼세요 means “take your eyes away from the screen,” and 지금은 sets this instruction at the present time. The whole utterance means: “Look away from the screen now.”

7. 더 좋아요.

   That feels better.

   더

   more

   좋아요

   is good; feels good

   More detail

   더 means “more” or “to a greater degree.” Here it increases the degree of 좋아요, so the meaning is “better” compared with an earlier state. It is a useful adverb that normally comes before the word it modifies. Example: 더 천천히 말해 주세요. — “Please speak more slowly.” 좋아요 is the polite present-style form of the Korean descriptive verb 좋다, meaning “to be good” or, depending on the situation, “to feel good.” The form is built from 좋- plus the polite ending -아요; the vowel sequence is written together as 좋아요. Korean descriptive verbs can serve as the predicate without a separate word meaning “is.” Example: 기분이 좋아요. — “I feel good.” Together, 더 좋아요 says that the current condition is better or feels better than before. In this context, the preceding instruction to look away from the screen and the following suggestion to rest again support that improvement reading. The sentence is polite and concise; the subject is omitted because it is understood from the situation. The complete meaning is: “That feels better.”

8. 나중에 또 쉬세요.

   Take another break later.

   나중에

   later

   또

   again; another time

   쉬세요

   take a break

   More detail

   나중에 means “later” and places the suggested action at a later time. It is a useful time expression that can appear at the beginning of a sentence, as here, or elsewhere depending on emphasis. Example: 나중에 만나요. — “See you later.” 또 means “again” here: the listener is being encouraged to rest one more time or at another later occasion. In other contexts, 또 can also mean “also,” but that is not the intended meaning in this sentence. Example: 또 읽어요. — “Read it again.” 쉬세요 comes from the base verb 쉬다, “to rest” or “to take a break.” The ending -세요 makes this a polite request or command addressed to the listener. The form is not a past or future form: it presents resting as the action the listener should do. Example: 여기서 쉬세요. — “Please rest here.” Together, 나중에 + 또 + 쉬세요 means “Take another break later.” The time expression comes first, 또 adds the idea of doing it again or at another time, and 쉬세요 politely tells the listener to rest. The subject is understood from the polite command rather than stated explicitly.