Take a short coffee break | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 집중이 잘 안 돼요.

   I am losing focus.

   집중

   focus

   잘

   well

   안 돼요

   doesn't work; can't

   More detail

   집중 means “focus” or “concentration.” In this sentence it is a noun, marked as the subject by 이; the phrase is about focus not functioning successfully. A useful related verb is 집중하다, “to concentrate”: 일에 집중해요. — “I concentrate on the work.” 잘 means “well.” Here it modifies the following negative expression, so 잘 안 돼요 means that something is not going well or cannot be done successfully, rather than simply stating a neutral failure. For example, 오늘은 일이 잘 안 돼요. — “The work isn’t going well today.” 안 돼요 is the polite present form of 안 되다. 되다 can express something working, proceeding, or being possible; 안 negates it. In this utterance, 안 돼요 means that focusing is not working or is difficult. The polite ending -요 makes the statement suitable for ordinary courteous conversation. Together, 집중이 잘 안 돼요 presents focus as not working well. With the fixed translation, the intended meaning is “I am losing focus.” Korean leaves the English-style subject “I” unspoken; the sentence directly states the condition of the speaker’s focus.

2. 잠깐 자리에서 벗어나 커피를 마셔요.

   Let's step away and get coffee.

   잠깐

   for a moment

   자리에서 벗어나

   step away from one's place

   커피

   coffee

   마셔요

   drink

   More detail

   잠깐 is an adverb meaning “briefly” or “for a moment.” It limits the duration of the following action; it does not describe the coffee or the place. Example: 잠깐 쉬어요. — “Let’s rest for a moment.” 자리에서 벗어나 combines 자리 (“place” or “seat”), the particle 에서, and 벗어나다 (“to move away from” or “to get out of”). Here, 에서 marks the place from which the movement occurs: “away from one’s place.” 벗어나 is the connective form of 벗어나다, linking this action to the next one. The pattern N에서 벗어나다 is reusable for moving away from or escaping a place or situation. Example: 방에서 벗어나요. — “I move out of the room.” 커피 is the noun “coffee.” In this sentence it is the thing understood with 마셔요; Korean can omit a clear object particle in conversational speech. Example: 차를 마셔요. — “I drink tea.” 마셔요 comes from 마시다, “to drink.” The ending -어요 creates a polite present-style form; the subject is omitted because the context supplies the people involved. 마셔요 can therefore mean “drink,” “drinks,” or “am drinking” depending on context, while here the fixed translation presents it as part of a shared suggestion: “get coffee.” Example: 물을 마셔요. — “I drink water” or “Let’s drink water,” depending on the situation. Together, 잠깐 makes the action brief, 자리에서 벗어나 expresses moving away from the current place, and 커피를 마셔요 expresses drinking coffee. The connective form links the two actions in order: “Let’s briefly step away from our place and drink coffee,” naturally rendered here as “Let’s step away and get coffee.” The polite -어요 style is suitable for a courteous everyday suggestion.

3. 짧게 쉬면 도움이 될 것 같아요.

   A short break sounds helpful.

   짧게

   briefly; for a short time

   쉬면

   if you rest; if you take a break

   도움이

   help; assistance

   될 것 같아요

   seems likely to be

   More detail

   짧게 comes from 짧다, “to be short.” The ending -게 turns this descriptive form into an adverb, so here it describes the short duration of 쉬면: “for a short time.” Compare 짧은 in 짧은 휴식, “a short break,” where -은 lets the adjective modify a noun directly. 쉬면 comes from 쉬다, “to rest” or “to take a break,” plus -면, an if/when ending. Thus 쉬면 means “if you rest” or, in a time-related reading, “when you take a break.” The sentence uses this condition together with the following result; it does not present the break as a command. 도움이 is 도움, “help” or “assistance,” with the subject marker 이. The useful expression 도움이 되다 literally describes something becoming help and naturally means “to be helpful” or “to help.” Because 도움 ends in a consonant, 이 is the form used here; a noun ending in a vowel generally takes 가 instead. 될 것 같아요 is built from 되다, “to become” or “to be/become useful,” its prospective modifier 될, the noun-like form 것, and 같아요, “seems/is like.” The pattern V-(으)ㄹ 것 같다 expresses an expectation or impression: “it seems that V” or “it looks like V will happen.” Here 될 것 같아요 combines with 도움이 to mean “seems likely to be helpful,” rather than stating the result with complete certainty. Together, 짧게 쉬면 sets the condition “if you take a short break,” and 도움이 될 것 같아요 gives the speaker’s cautious assessment “it seems likely to help.” The whole utterance therefore means “A short break sounds helpful.”

4. 다시 앉기 전에 스트레칭할 수 있어요.

   We can stretch before we sit down again.

   다시

   again

   앉기 전에

   before sitting down

   스트레칭할 수 있어요

   can stretch

   More detail

   다시 means “again” here: it marks a repeated action or state. It is an adverb, so it does not change form. For example, 다시 만나요 means “See you again.” 앉기 전에 means “before sitting down.” The verb 앉다 means “to sit down.” Its -기 form, 앉기, turns the action into a noun-like expression; 전에 means “before” and follows that expression. The pattern verb-기 전에 means “before doing [something].” For example, 자기 전에 이를 닦아요 means “I brush my teeth before going to bed.” 스트레칭할 수 있어요 means “can stretch.” 스트레칭하다 is the verb “to stretch”; 스트레칭할 is its form before 수 in the ability pattern. -ㄹ/을 수 있다 expresses ability or possibility, and 있어요 is the polite present form of 있다 in this construction. For example, 여기서 사진을 찍을 수 있어요 means “You can take pictures here.” Together, 다시 앉기 전에 means “before sitting down again,” and 스트레칭할 수 있어요 means “can stretch.” The complete utterance therefore means “We can stretch before we sit down again.”

5. 커피를 마신 후에 보고서로 돌아갈까요?

   Should we return to the report after coffee?

   커피

   coffee

   마신

   drank

   후에

   after

   보고서

   report

   돌아갈까요?

   shall we return?

   More detail

   커피 means “coffee.” In this sentence, 커피를 makes it the object of 마시다 (“to drink”): the particle 를 marks what is drunk. The noun can be reused with other actions, such as 커피를 주문하다 (“order coffee”). 마신 is the form of 마시다 (“to drink”) used before a noun or noun-like expression. It is the past attributive form, so 마신 후에 literally means “after having drunk [it]” or, more naturally here, “after drinking.” The form 마신 itself does not identify who drank; the sentence presents the drinking as a prior condition for the proposed action. 후에 means “after.” In the pattern 동사-(으)ㄴ 후에, a completed action comes before the action that follows: 식사한 후에 산책해요 means “I take a walk after eating.” Here, 마신 후에 places drinking coffee before returning to the report. 보고서 means “report.” With the following 로, 보고서로 identifies the target or direction of 돌아가다 in this sentence: returning to the report or report work. The particle 로 can mark a direction or destination-like target, not only a physical place. 돌아갈까요? comes from 돌아가다 (“to return” or “to go back”). The ending -(으)ㄹ까요? turns it into a question proposing or checking a shared action, so 돌아갈까요? means “shall we return?” It is different from a plain question about a fact: the speaker is inviting agreement about what to do. Together, 커피를 마신 후에 gives the time condition “after drinking coffee,” and 보고서로 돌아갈까요? asks whether the participants should return to the report or its work. The whole utterance therefore means, “Should we return to the report after coffee?”

6. 그때 다음 부분을 끝낼 수 있어요.

   We can finish the next part then.

   그때

   then; at that time

   다음

   next; following

   부분

   part; section

   끝낼

   finish; complete

   수 있어요

   can; be able to

   More detail

   그때 means “then” or “at that time,” referring to a time understood from the situation. It is a time expression and can be placed at the beginning of a sentence: 그때 만나요. — “Let’s meet then.” 다음 means “next” or “following.” Here it describes 부분 (“part”), so 다음 부분 is “the next part.” It can also modify other nouns, as in 다음 주 — “next week.” 부분 means “part” or “section.” In this utterance, it is the object of the action: the speaker is talking about completing a section. 이 부분 means “this part,” while 다른 부분 means “a different part.” 끝낼 is the form of 끝내다, “to finish” or “to complete.” The final -ㄹ form here is the verb’s modifier form before 수, creating the pattern 끝낼 수 있다 (“can finish”). It is not the noun 끝 (“end”); 끝내다 is the verb that expresses bringing something to an end. For example, 오늘 일을 끝낼 수 있어요. means “I can finish today’s work.” 수 있어요 is part of the pattern V-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요, which expresses ability or possibility: “can V” or “it is possible to V.” In this sentence, 끝낼 수 있어요 means “can finish.” The polite ending -어요 makes the statement suitable for ordinary polite conversation. The negative pattern is V-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요, meaning “cannot V.” Together, 그때 sets the time, 다음 부분 identifies what will be completed, and 끝낼 수 있어요 expresses the ability or possibility of completing it. The whole utterance means: “We can finish the next part then.”

7. 우리가 나가기 전에 파일을 저장할게요.

   I will save the file before we leave.

   우리가

   we

   나가기 전에

   before leaving

   파일

   file

   저장할게요

   I’ll save

   More detail

   우리가 means “we” here. 우리 is the first-person plural pronoun, and 가 marks it as the subject of its clause. The form 우리가 does not specify a particular number beyond plural; the fixed translation identifies the group as the actor of leaving. 나가기 전에 expresses “before leaving.” It is built from 나가다 (“to leave” or “to go out”) plus -기 전에, the reusable pattern “before doing …”. The -기 form turns the verb into the action referred to by the time expression. Example: 자기 전에 책을 읽어요. — “I read a book before going to bed.” 파일 means “file.” It is a noun used here as the object of saving. Korean commonly marks an object with 을/를; a fuller marked form is 파일을. In this utterance, the object marker is omitted after 파일, which is common in conversational Korean. 저장할게요 means “I’ll save.” It combines 저장하다 (“to save”) with -ㄹ게요, a polite ending used for the speaker’s intention or promise, often with the listener in mind. The verb stem 저장하- takes -ㄹ게요 as 저장할게요. This is different from simply presenting a neutral prediction: it commonly sounds like the speaker is undertaking to do the action. Example: 제가 확인할게요. — “I’ll check.” Together, 우리가 나가기 전에 sets the time as before the group leaves, 파일 identifies what will be saved, and 저장할게요 presents the speaker’s commitment to save it. The complete meaning is “I will save the file before we leave.”

8. 아무것도 잃지 않도록 지금 저장하세요.

   Save it now, so we do not lose anything.

   아무것도

   anything

   잃지 않도록

   so as not to lose

   지금

   now

   저장하세요

   save it

   More detail

   아무것도 means “anything” in this sentence. The pattern 아무것도 commonly appears with a negative expression and then means “anything” in a negative statement, as in 아무것도 모르다 (“not know anything”). Here it is the thing that must not be lost; its exact referent is not named in this sentence. 잃지 않도록 comes from 잃다 (“to lose”). The form 잃지 is the verb stem 잃- plus -지, and 않도록 adds the pattern -지 않도록, meaning “so as not to …” or “in order not to …”. Example: 잊지 않도록 적어 두세요. — “Write it down so you do not forget.” The negative part belongs to 잃다, so the phrase means “so as not to lose [it/anything].” 지금 means “now” and places the saving at the present time. Example: 지금 시작하세요. — “Please start now.” 저장하세요 comes from the dictionary form 저장하다 (“to save”). The ending -세요 makes a polite request or command, so 저장하세요 means “please save” or “save it, please.” The object is omitted in the Korean sentence; the fixed translation supplies “it,” and the preceding context identifies the file as the relevant item. -세요 is not part of the verb’s basic meaning; it adds the polite request form. Together, 아무것도 잃지 않도록 gives the purpose—saving is done to prevent anything from being lost—while 지금 저장하세요 gives the polite instruction to save the relevant item now. The whole utterance therefore means: “Save it now, so we do not lose anything.”