Finding the Main Entrance | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 실례합니다, 주 출입구로 가는 길이 어느 쪽인가요?

   Excuse me, which way leads to the main entrance?

   실례합니다

   Excuse me

   주 출입구

   main entrance

   가는

   going; leading

   길

   way; path

   어느 쪽

   which way

   More detail

   실례합니다 is a polite way to get someone’s attention or apologize for an interruption: it means “Excuse me” here. It comes from 실례하다, “to be impolite / to impose,” with the formal-polite -ㅂ니다 ending. The form is also used when entering someone’s space or interrupting. 주 출입구 is the noun phrase “main entrance.” 주 means “main” or “principal,” while 출입구 means “entrance,” literally an entry-and-exit point. The space between them reflects two Korean nouns used together; 주 specifies the type of 출입구. 가는 comes from 가다, “to go.” The ending -는 turns the verb into a form that describes a following noun, so 가는 길 is “a way/path for going” or naturally “a way leading.” This is the present attributive form; for example, 학교에 가는 학생 means “a student who is going to school.” 길 means “way,” “path,” or “route.” In this sentence it refers to the route toward the main entrance, not necessarily a physical road. In 주 출입구로 가는 길, -로 marks the destination or direction, giving “the way to the main entrance.” 어느 쪽 asks “which side” or “which direction.” 어느 is the choice-question modifier “which,” and 쪽 is “side” or “direction.” Together they are a reusable way to ask which direction to take. For example, 어느 쪽으로 가요? means “Which way do I go?” The full structure is 주 출입구로 가는 길이 어느 쪽인가요? The noun phrase 주 출입구로 가는 길 is the subject, marked by 이, and 어느 쪽인가요? asks which direction or side it is. 인가요 is the polite question form of 이다 (“to be”) after the consonant-final noun 쪽. Thus the whole utterance means “Excuse me, which way leads to the main entrance?” It is a polite request for directions.

2. 노란 표지판을 따라 중앙 홀 쪽으로 가세요.

   Follow the yellow signs toward the main hall.

   노란

   yellow

   표지판

   sign

   따라

   along; following

   중앙

   central; main

   홀

   hall

   쪽으로

   toward

   가세요

   please go

   More detail

   노란 means “yellow” here and appears before the noun it describes. It is the attributive form of 노랗다 (“to be yellow”); this adjective changes to 노란 before a noun. For example, 노란 우산 means “a yellow umbrella.” 표지판 means “sign” or “signboard.” In 노란 표지판, it is the noun modified by 노란. Korean does not require a plural ending here, so the form can correspond to “sign” or “signs”; the fixed translation establishes the plural meaning in this sentence. 표지판을 adds 을, the object-marking particle, before the following 따라 construction. 따라 is used after a noun in the pattern N을 따라, meaning “along N” or “following N.” Thus 표지판을 따라 means “following the signs.” This is the relevant use here, rather than the separate verb form seen in expressions such as 따라 하다 (“imitate” or “do as someone does”). 중앙 means “central” and can help form a place name or noun phrase. 홀 means “hall.” Together, 중앙 홀 identifies the central/main hall in this direction. For example, 중앙 홀에서 만나요 means “Let’s meet in the main hall.” 쪽으로 expresses movement toward a direction or side: 쪽 means “side” or “direction,” and 으로 marks the direction toward which movement occurs. Because 쪽 ends in a consonant, this form is 쪽으로; after a vowel, the directional particle commonly appears as 로. 중앙 홀 쪽으로 therefore means “toward the main hall.” 가세요 comes from 가다 (“go”) plus the polite -(으)세요 ending. It is a respectful request or instruction to go, not a statement that the listener is already going. For example, 이쪽으로 가세요 means “Please go this way.” As a whole, 노란 표지판을 따라 sets the route—following the yellow signs—and 중앙 홀 쪽으로 gives its direction—toward the main hall. 가세요 turns the complete route into a polite instruction: “Follow the yellow signs toward the main hall.”

3. 개찰구를 지나서 에스컬레이터를 타면 되나요?

   Should I take the escalator after the ticket gate?

   개찰구

   ticket gate

   지나서

   after passing

   에스컬레이터

   escalator

   타면

   if [you] take/ride

   되나요?

   is it okay?

   More detail

   개찰구 means “ticket gate.” It is a noun built from 개찰 (“ticket inspection”) and 구 (“entrance/gate”), but learn it as the ordinary word for a ticket gate. In this sentence, 개찰구 is followed by the object/path marker 를 in 개찰구를 지나다, “to pass through the ticket gate.” 지나서 means “after passing through.” It comes from the verb 지나다, “to pass” or “go past,” with -아서/어서, which links an earlier action to a later one. Pattern: 장소를 지나서 = “after passing through a place.” The form here is not the plain dictionary form 지나다; -서 makes it connect to the following action. 에스컬레이터 is the noun “escalator.” The following object marker 를 belongs to the phrase 에스컬레이터를 타다, the normal Korean expression for taking or riding an escalator. 타다 can also be used for taking or riding other forms of transport, such as a bus or train, depending on the noun. 타면 comes from 타다 + -면. -면 presents the condition “if/when [someone] takes or rides it.” In 에스컬레이터를 타면, the implied subject is the person asking what they should do; Korean commonly leaves this subject unstated when it is clear from the situation. The conditional form here does not by itself mean that the action has already happened. 되나요? comes from 되다 plus the polite question ending -나요?. 되다 here means “to be okay” or “to be acceptable,” so this ending asks whether the proposed action is acceptable. It is not the same as asking whether something physically becomes another thing. Together with a preceding conditional action, -면 되나요? is a reusable pattern meaning “Is it okay if I …?” or “Should I …?” The sentence combines 개찰구를 지나서 (“after passing through the ticket gate”) with 에스컬레이터를 타면 되나요? (“is it okay if I take the escalator?”). Thus the whole utterance asks whether taking the escalator is the appropriate action after passing through the ticket gate: “Should I take the escalator after the ticket gate?”

4. 에스컬레이터를 타고 위층으로 올라간 다음 오른쪽으로 도세요.

   Take it upstairs, then turn right.

   에스컬레이터

   escalator

   타고

   ride, and then

   위층

   upper floor

   올라간

   having gone up

   다음

   after that

   오른쪽

   right side

   도세요

   turn

   More detail

   에스컬레이터 means “escalator.” In the sentence, 에스컬레이터를 makes it the object of 타다 (“to ride”); 를 is the object marker. The noun itself does not change form here. 타고 comes from 타다 (“to ride”) plus -고. This connective links one action to the next: “ride … and then.” For example, 버스를 타고 학교에 가요 means “I take the bus and go to school.” 위층 means “upper floor.” With the following direction marker, 위층으로 means “to the upper floor” or “upstairs.” 으로 marks a direction or destination; 로 is used instead after a vowel-ending noun or a noun ending in ㄹ, as in 학교로 (“to school”). 올라간 is the form of 올라가다 (“to go up”) used before a noun or construction. Here it combines with 다음: 올라간 다음 means “after going up.” The ending -ㄴ presents the completed action as the first step before the next one. For example, 집에 도착한 다음 전화하세요 means “Call after you arrive home.” 다음 means “after that” in this construction. The reusable pattern 동사-(으)ㄴ 다음 means “after doing [the verb].” The verb ending is -ㄴ after a vowel stem, as in 올라가다 → 올라간, and -은 after a consonant stem, as in 먹다 → 먹은 다음 (“after eating”). 오른쪽 means “the right side.” In 오른쪽으로, the direction marker 으로 gives “to the right” or “rightward.” The noun 쪽 means “side” and appears in direction expressions such as 왼쪽 (“left side”) and 오른쪽 (“right side”). 도세요 comes from 돌다 (“to turn”) and is a polite request or instruction: “please turn” or simply “turn.” Before -세요, the final ㄹ of 돌다 is dropped: 돌다 → 도세요. This form is not the plain dictionary form; it is a polite directive commonly used when giving directions. Together, 에스컬레이터를 타고 gives “take the escalator,” 위층으로 올라간 다음 gives “after going upstairs,” and 오른쪽으로 도세요 gives “turn right.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Take the escalator upstairs, then turn right.”

5. 여기서 주 출입구까지 먼가요?

   Is the main entrance far from here?

   여기서

   from here

   주

   main

   출입구

   entrance

   까지

   to; as far as

   먼가요?

   is it far?

   More detail

   여기서 means “from here” in this sentence. 여기 is “here,” and -서 marks the place from which an action, movement, or distance is considered. Example: 여기서 시작해요. — “We start here.” 주 means “main” or “principal.” It is a modifier placed before the noun it describes, so 주 출입구 means “main entrance.” Here it does not express the distance by itself; it specifies which entrance is meant. 출입구 is the noun “entrance.” It can be reused for an entrance or access point. Example: 출입구가 어디예요? — “Where is the entrance?” 까지 marks an endpoint: “to” or “as far as.” In 주 출입구까지, it marks the main entrance as the destination or distance endpoint. Example: 역까지 걸어요. — “I walk to the station.” 먼가요? asks whether something is far. Its base form is 멀다, “to be far.” Before the polite question ending -(으)ㄴ가요?, the final ㄹ of 멀다 is dropped, giving 먼가요?; this is a form change in 멀다, not in the noun 출입구. The ending asks about a state in a polite, relatively gentle way. Example: 여기서 멀어요? — “Is it far from here?” Together, 여기서 sets the starting point, 주 출입구까지 identifies the endpoint, and 먼가요? asks about the distance between them. The whole utterance therefore means, “Is the main entrance far from here?”

6. 거기서 조금만 걸으면 돼요.

   It is a short walk from there.

   거기서

   from there

   조금만

   just a little

   걸으면 돼요

   you only need to walk

   More detail

   거기서 means “from there.” 거기 is a demonstrative referring to a place, and -서 marks the place from which an action or distance is considered. The phrase does not by itself identify who is at that place. 조금만 means “only a little.” 조금 means “a little,” and the limiting particle -만 narrows it to that amount: “just a little.” For example, 조금만 기다리세요 means “Please wait just a little.” 걸으면 돼요 uses 걷다 “to walk.” The form 걸으면 is the conditional form 걷다 → 걸으면; this verb changes its stem before the conditional ending. The pattern V-(으)면 돼요 means that doing V is sufficient, often naturally translated as “you just need to V” or “it is enough to V.” 돼요 is the polite present form of 되다 in this construction. The subject is not stated in Korean, so the wording itself does not explicitly say who walks. Together, 거기서 sets the starting point, 조금만 limits the amount of walking, and 걸으면 돼요 says that walking that small distance is sufficient. The complete meaning is therefore “From there, it is enough to walk just a little,” naturally expressed by the fixed translation as “It is a short walk from there.”

7. 이 역은 조금 헷갈리네요.

   This station is a little confusing.

   이

   this

   역

   station

   조금

   a little

   헷갈리네요

   is confusing

   More detail

   이 means “this” here and points to the station being discussed. In Korean, a demonstrative such as 이 is placed before the noun it modifies: 이 역 = “this station.” The form itself does not identify why the station is being pointed out; that comes from the situation. 역 means “station,” especially a transport station. It is a noun and can be reused after other modifiers, for example 기차역 means “train station.” 조금 means “a little” in this sentence. It reduces the degree of the following description: 조금 헷갈리다 means “to be a little confusing.” It can also mean “a little” of an amount in other contexts, but here it expresses degree, not a stated quantity of stations or people. 헷갈리네요 comes from the Korean descriptive verb 헷갈리다, “to be confusing” or, depending on the construction, “to get confused.” The observed form ends in -네요: 헷갈리- + -네요. This is a polite present-tense ending used when presenting an observation or realization, often with a mild “I see that…” nuance. The -네요 ending does not change the subject into a different person or number; the subject here is understood from 이 역. A useful pattern is N이/가 조금 헷갈리네요 = “N is a little confusing.” For example, 이 표지판이 조금 헷갈리네요. means “This sign is a little confusing.” This is a new practice example, not a statement from the supplied conversation. Together, 이 역 identifies the subject, 조금 softens the degree, and 헷갈리네요 gives the polite observation that it is confusing. The complete meaning is: “This station is a little confusing.”

8. 위층에서는 표지판을 따라가기가 더 쉬워요.

   The signs are easier to follow upstairs.

   위층에서는

   upstairs

   표지판을

   the signs

   따라가기가

   following them

   더

   more

   쉬워요

   is easy

   More detail

   위층에서는 means “upstairs” here. 위층 is “the upper floor/upstairs”; 에서 marks the place where the relevant situation is located, and 는 makes that location the topic, with a possible contrast to another place. Example: 위층에서 기다려요. — “I wait upstairs.” 표지판을 means “the signs” as the object of the following action. 표지판 means “sign” or “signboard,” and 을 marks an object. The plural meaning is understood from context; this form itself does not separately mark plural number. Example: 표지판을 봐요. — “I look at the sign(s).” 따라가기가 comes from 따라가다, “to follow” or “to go along.” Here -기 turns the action into a noun-like expression, and 가 marks that action as the subject of 쉬워요: literally, “following the signs is easy.” The object marker in 표지판을 shows what is being followed. Example: 이 길을 따라가기가 쉬워요. — “It is easy to follow this road.” 더 means “more.” With a descriptive adjective, it forms a comparative meaning: “more easy,” naturally translated as “easier.” The comparison may be understood from the situation rather than stated explicitly. 쉬워요 is the polite present form of 쉽다, “to be easy.” The adjective 쉽다 changes to 쉬워요 in this form; the ㅂ changes before the -어요 ending. Example: 이 문제는 쉬워요. — “This problem is easy.” Together, 표지판을 따라가기가 makes “following the signs,” 더 쉬워요 says that this is easier, and 위층에서는 locates that comparison upstairs. The complete meaning is: “The signs are easier to follow upstairs.”