Using the Library Printer | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 도서관에서 프린터를 어떻게 사용해요?

   How do I use the printer in the library?

   도서관

   library

   에서

   at/in (a place)

   프린터

   printer

   어떻게

   how

   사용해요

   use

   More detail

   도서관 means “library.” It is a noun. To say that an action takes place at or in a place, Korean commonly adds 에서: 도서관에서 means “in the library” here. This is different from 에, which can mark a destination or a location of existence. 에서 marks the place where the action happens in this sentence. It does not itself mean that the speaker is going to the library; the action 사용해요 is understood to occur there. 프린터 means “printer.” It is a noun written as a Korean rendering of the loanword “printer.” The object marker 를 follows it in the full sentence: 프린터를 means “the printer” as the thing being used. 어떻게 asks about manner or method: “how.” It can be used with an action to ask how that action is carried out. For example, 어떻게 가요? means “How do I get there?” 사용해요 is the polite present-style form of 사용하다, “to use.” The base verb is 사용하다; the -해요 form is commonly used for a polite, non-formal question or statement. Here, 어떻게 사용해요? asks for the method of using something. Korean does not state the subject overtly in this sentence; the fixed English translation supplies “I” as the intended user. Together, 도서관에서 sets the place, 프린터를 marks the printer as the object, and 어떻게 사용해요? asks how the action is performed. The complete utterance therefore means, “How do I use the printer in the library?”

2. 먼저, 이 화면에서 프린터를 선택하세요.

   First, choose the printer on this screen.

   먼저

   first

   이

   this

   화면

   screen

   프린터

   printer

   선택하세요

   please choose

   More detail

   먼저 means “first” here and places this action before the other steps. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. Example: 먼저 이름을 쓰세요. — “First, write your name.” 이 is the demonstrative “this,” used before a noun: 이 화면 means “this screen.” Its form does not change for number or grammatical gender. Example: 이 버튼을 누르세요. — “Press this button.” 화면 means “screen.” In this sentence, 화면에서 marks the screen as the place where the action happens. The particle 에서 commonly marks the location of an action, as in 집에서 공부해요 — “I study at home.” 프린터 means “printer.” Here it is followed by the object particle 를, forming 프린터를, because the printer is the thing being selected. Example: 파일을 선택하세요. — “Please select the file.” 선택하세요 comes from 선택하다, “to select,” and is a polite request or command. The ending -세요 makes the instruction polite; the observed form is not simply the dictionary form 선택하다. Example: 메뉴를 선택하세요. — “Please select the menu.” Together, 먼저 (“first”) sets the order, 이 화면에서 means “on this screen,” 프린터를 identifies the object, and 선택하세요 gives the polite instruction. The whole utterance therefore means: “First, choose the printer on this screen.”

3. 양면 인쇄를 선택해도 돼요?

   Can I choose double-sided printing?

   양면

   double-sided; both sides

   인쇄

   printing

   선택해도 돼요?

   Is it okay to choose…?

   More detail

   양면 means “both sides” and, with a printing noun, refers to using both sides of the paper: “double-sided.” It is a useful compound element in terms such as 양면 인쇄 (“double-sided printing”). The form itself does not mark number or gender. 인쇄 means “printing” here. It is a noun used in 양면 인쇄, literally “both-sides printing.” It is also related to the verb 인쇄하다, “to print,” but the observed form 인쇄 is the noun, not the verb form. For example, 인쇄를 시작하세요. means “Please start printing.” 선택해도 돼요? asks whether choosing is permitted. 선택하다 is “to choose/select”; before -아/어도 되다, its 하다 part becomes 해, giving 선택해도 되다. The pattern V-아/어도 돼요? means “Is it okay if I V?” or “May I V?” and asks for permission. For example, 여기에서 기다려도 돼요? means “May I wait here?” Together, 양면 인쇄 identifies the option as double-sided printing, and 선택해도 돼요? asks for permission to select it. The whole utterance therefore means “Can I choose double-sided printing?”

4. 인쇄하기 전에 설정을 바꾸세요.

   Change the setting before you print.

   인쇄하기 전에

   before printing

   설정

   setting

   바꾸세요

   change it

   More detail

   인쇄하기 전에 means “before printing.” The verb 인쇄하다 means “to print.” Adding -기 전에 to a verb creates the pattern “before doing …”: 출발하기 전에 means “before departing.” Here, 인쇄하기 is the -기 form of 인쇄하다, and 전에 marks the earlier time. 설정 means “setting” or “configuration.” It is a noun; in this sentence it is the thing being changed. For example, 언어 설정 means “language setting.” 바꾸세요 means “change it” here. Its base verb is 바꾸다, “to change” or “to replace.” The ending -세요 makes a polite request or instruction: 기다리세요 means “please wait.” The subject is understood from the situation, and the object is supplied by 설정, so the sentence asks the listener to change the setting. Together, 인쇄하기 전에 sets the time, 설정 identifies what is affected, and 바꾸세요 gives the polite instruction: “Change the setting before you print.”

5. 짧은 문서 하나만 인쇄하면 돼요.

   I only need to print a short document.

   짧은

   short

   문서

   document

   하나

   one

   만

   only

   인쇄하면 돼요

   it is enough to print

   More detail

   짧은 means “short” here and describes 문서. It is the attributive form of 짧다 (“to be short”): 짧다 → 짧은 문서 (“a short document”). The form 짧은 is used before a noun; in a predicate position, use a form such as 문서가 짧아요 (“the document is short”). 문서 means “document.” It is a noun and can combine with a descriptive word: 중요한 문서 means “an important document.” 하나 means “one” and is the native Korean counting word used here after the noun: 문서 하나 means “one document.” Before a noun with a counter, the related form is 한, as in 문서 한 개 (“one document”). In this sentence, 하나 follows 문서 naturally as a quantity expression. 만 means “only” or “just.” It attaches directly to the element whose scope is limited. Here, 하나만 means “only one,” so 문서 하나만 means “only one document.” The sentence therefore specifies the number of documents, while 짧은 specifies their type or description. 인쇄하면 돼요 is a reusable pattern meaning “it is enough to print” or “you only need to print.” 인쇄하다 means “to print”; its conditional form is 인쇄하면 (“if [someone] prints” or, in this pattern, “printing is enough”). 돼요 is the polite present form of 되다 (“to become” / “to be okay”). Together, -하면 돼요 presents an action as sufficient: 여기에 이름을 쓰면 돼요 means “You only need to write your name here.” Combining the parts, 짧은 문서 하나만 identifies one short document as the limited object, and 인쇄하면 돼요 says that printing it is sufficient. The whole utterance means: “I only need to print a short document.”

6. 그럼 시작하기 전에 미리 보기를 확인하세요.

   Then check the preview before you start.

   그럼

   then

   시작하기 전에

   before starting

   미리 보기

   preview

   확인하세요

   please check

   More detail

   그럼 is a shortened form of 그러면, meaning “then” or “in that case.” Here it moves the interaction to the next step: “Then …”. It can also introduce a result after a condition, as in 비가 와요. 그럼 집에 있어요. — “It’s raining. Then I’ll stay home.” 시작하기 전에 means “before starting.” The verb 시작하다 means “to start.” Its -기 form, 시작하기, turns the verb into an activity or event, and 전에 means “before” that activity. This pattern is reusable as 동사-기 전에: 자기 전에 이를 닦아요. — “I brush my teeth before going to bed.” The subject of the starting is not separately stated in this phrase; the fixed translation supplies the intended meaning “before you start.” 미리 보기 means “preview.” 미리 means “in advance,” while 보기 is the noun-like form of 보다, “to see” or “to look at,” formed with -기. Together, 미리 보기 names something viewed in advance, such as a preview. The spacing and form here are the observed Korean expression; it should not be replaced by an expanded English-style phrase. 확인하세요 means “please check.” The base verb is 확인하다, “to check” or “to confirm.” In 확인하세요, the polite request/command ending -세요 makes it a polite instruction to the listener. For example, 주소를 확인하세요. means “Please check the address.” The polite ending does not itself state who performs the action; here the intended actor is “you,” as shown by the fixed translation. Together, 그럼 sets up the next step, 시작하기 전에 places that step before starting, 미리 보기 identifies what should be checked, and 확인하세요 gives the polite instruction. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then check the preview before you start.”

7. 인쇄한 종이는 어디로 나와요?

   Where do the printed pages come out?

   인쇄한

   printed

   종이

   paper; page(s)

   어디로

   where to

   나와요

   come out

   More detail

   인쇄한 comes from 인쇄하다 (“to print”). The ending -한 makes the verb modify a following noun, presenting the printing as completed: 인쇄한 종이 means “paper/pages that were printed.” Example: 인쇄한 문서를 확인하세요. — “Check the printed document.” 종이 means “paper.” In this context, the fixed translation identifies it as the printed pages; Korean does not mark that English plural directly here. 종이 can also refer to paper as a material. Example: 종이가 있어요. — “There is paper.” 어디로 combines 어디 (“where”) with -로, which marks a direction or destination. It asks where something goes or comes out to, rather than simply asking where it is. Example: 이 서류는 어디로 보내요? — “Where do I send this document?” 나와요 is the polite present-style form of 나오다, “to come out” or “to emerge.” The form is used for a current process or a general expected result, and the polite ending makes the question suitable for ordinary conversation. Example: 용지가 나와요. — “The paper comes out.” Together, 인쇄한 종이는 sets “the printed pages” as the topic, 어디로 asks for their destination, and 나와요 asks where they come out. The whole utterance therefore means “Where do the printed pages come out?” It is a polite question about the output location.

8. 아래쪽 용지함으로 나와요.

   They come out in the tray below.

   아래쪽

   lower part; below

   용지함

   paper tray

   나와요

   come out

   More detail

   아래쪽 means “the lower part” or “below.” It is a noun-like location expression that can modify another noun: 아래쪽 용지함 means “the tray in the lower area.” Its useful opposite is 위쪽, “the upper part.” Example: 아래쪽 버튼을 누르세요. — “Press the lower button.” 용지함 means “paper tray.” 용지 refers to paper for printing or documents, and 함 refers to a container or compartment. Together, 용지함 is a compound noun for a tray that holds paper. Example: 용지함을 확인하세요. — “Check the paper tray.” 나와요 is the polite present form of 나오다, “to come out” or “to emerge.” The ending gives a polite, nonformal style, and this form does not itself identify the subject. Here, the preceding question and the fixed translation support printed pages as the things that come out. Example: 종이가 나와요. — “The paper comes out.” The particle -으로 is attached to 용지함, producing 용지함으로. It can mark a direction, route, or means; it is not simply a general location marker. In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies the lower tray as the relevant place or route, so 아래쪽 용지함으로 corresponds to “in the tray below.” 나와요 then states that the pages come out there. The whole utterance means, “They come out in the tray below.”