Checking the Correct Line | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 실례합니다. 이 줄이 맞나요?

   Excuse me, is this the right line?

   실례합니다

   Excuse me

   이

   this

   줄

   line; queue

   맞나요

   is it right?

   More detail

   실례합니다 is a polite way to get someone’s attention before asking something. It literally comes from 실례하다, “to be discourteous/inconvenience,” but in this expression it functions naturally as “Excuse me.” A useful related expression is 죄송합니다, “I’m sorry,” which is more directly an apology. 이 means “this” and is used before a noun for something near the speaker or otherwise identified as the relevant item. It is a demonstrative determiner, so it appears directly before 줄. Example: 이 책 means “this book.” 줄 means a line or queue. In this utterance it refers to the queue being checked, not to a written line. Example: 줄이 길어요 means “The line is long.” The following context identifies this queue as the line for the information desk. 맞나요 asks whether something is correct or right. It is based on the adjective/verb 맞다, “to be right, correct,” with the polite question ending -나요. The ending makes a polite question; it does not itself mean “line” or “this.” Compare 맞아요, “That’s right,” with 맞나요?, “Is it right?” Example: 이 주소가 맞나요? means “Is this address correct?” Together, 이 줄 means “this line,” and 맞나요? asks whether it is the correct one. With the polite attention-getter at the beginning, the whole utterance means “Excuse me, is this the right line?”

2. 이 줄은 안내 데스크 줄이에요.

   This queue is for the information desk.

   이

   this

   줄

   queue; line

   안내 데스크

   information desk

   이에요

   is

   More detail

   이 means “this” and is a demonstrative determiner placed before a noun. Here it identifies 줄 as the queue being pointed out. It does not by itself specify who owns or is using the queue. 줄 means “queue” or “line” here. The same word can refer to a line in other contexts, so the surrounding words establish the queue meaning. Example: 줄이 길어요. — “The line is long.” 안내 데스크 is a compound noun meaning “information desk.” In 안내 데스크 줄, the noun phrase 안내 데스크 comes before 줄 and specifies the desk that the queue is for. Korean commonly uses this noun-before-noun pattern without an equivalent of English “for.” Example: 매표소 줄 — “the ticket-office line.” This is a new example, not a fact about the supplied conversation. 이에요 is a polite conversational form of the copula used after a noun phrase whose final syllable ends in a consonant. After a noun phrase ending in a vowel, the corresponding form is 예요. The more formal form is 입니다. In this sentence, 이에요 follows 안내 데스크 줄, not just 안내 데스크. 은 in 줄은 marks 이 줄 as the topic. Thus 이 줄은 means “as for this queue.” The sentence pattern is [topic]은/는 [noun phrase]이에요/예요: “The [topic] is [noun phrase].” Putting the parts together, 이 줄은 sets “this queue” as the topic, 안내 데스크 줄 identifies it as the queue for the information desk, and 이에요 makes the identification politely. The whole utterance means: “This queue is for the information desk.”

3. 회원증을 갱신해야 해요.

   I need to renew my membership card.

   회원증

   membership card

   갱신해야 해요

   need to renew

   More detail

   회원증 means “membership card.” It is a compound noun: 회원 means “member,” while 증 is a bound element used in words for an identification card or certificate. Here, 회원증을 marks the membership card as the object of the action. Example: 학생증을 보여 주세요. — “Please show your student ID.” 갱신해야 해요 means “need to renew.” The lexical verb is 갱신하다, “to renew” or “to update”; 갱신 is the noun-like element used with 하다 to form that verb. Example: 여권을 갱신해요. — “I renew my passport.” The pattern -아/어야 하다 expresses necessity: an action is required. With a 하다 verb, the relevant form is -여야 하다, commonly contracted in speech and writing: 갱신하다 → 갱신해야 하다 → 갱신해야 해요. Here, 해요 is the polite present form of 하다 in the necessity construction. The -요 ending makes the statement ordinarily courteous; it does not specify the speaker’s gender or a particular degree of urgency. Together, 회원증을 marks “the membership card” as the object, and 갱신해야 해요 says that renewing it is necessary. The complete utterance means, “I need to renew my membership card.”

4. 그러면 파란 표지판 옆 줄에 서세요.

   Then you should join the line by the blue sign.

   그러면

   then; in that case

   파란

   blue

   표지판

   sign

   옆

   beside; next to

   줄

   line; queue

   서세요

   please stand

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It links the instruction to a situation or condition already understood. A useful contrast is 그러면 “then, in that case” versus 하지만 “but,” which introduces a contrast rather than a consequence. 파란 is the form of the adjective 파랗다 (“to be blue”) used before a noun. The adjective changes from its base form 파랗다 to the attributive form 파란: 파란 표지판 means “a/the blue sign.” This is the form that directly modifies the following noun here; 파랗다 is used as the base or predicate form instead. 표지판 means “sign” or “signboard.” In this sentence, it identifies the sign used as a landmark. 파란 표지판 is a noun phrase meaning “the blue sign.” 옆 means “beside” or “next to.” With a location particle, 옆에 means “beside/next to.” Here, 파란 표지판 옆 makes a location phrase meaning “beside the blue sign.” 줄 means “line” or “queue.” In 줄에 서다, the particle-marked phrase means “stand in line”; the line is the place or arrangement in which someone stands. 줄 can also refer to a physical line, so its exact meaning comes from the surrounding action. 서세요 is a polite request or instruction based on 서다, “to stand.” The ending -세요 makes the instruction polite: 서다 → 서세요. In this context, it means “please stand” as part of the reusable pattern 줄에 서세요, “please stand in line.” Together, 파란 표지판 옆 줄 identifies the line located beside the blue sign, and 서세요 tells the listener to stand in that line. With 그러면 at the beginning, the whole utterance means: “Then, please join the line by the blue sign.”

5. 잘못된 곳에서 기다릴 뻔했어요.

   I almost waited in the wrong place.

   잘못된

   wrong

   곳

   place

   에서

   in; at

   기다릴

   wait

   기다릴 … 뻔했어요

   almost did

   More detail

   잘못된 means “wrong” here, describing 곳. It is the attributive form of 잘못되다 (“to be wrong; to go wrong”): 잘못되다 → 잘못된 곳 (“the wrong place”). This form describes a noun, rather than serving as the main predicate of the sentence. 곳 means “place” or “spot.” It is a noun that can be used in reusable patterns such as 좋은 곳 (“a good place”) and 갈 곳 (“a place to go”). Here, 잘못된 곳 is the place identified as wrong for the intended waiting. 에서 marks the place where an action occurs. In 곳에서 기다리다, it marks the place where the waiting happens. This differs from a location of existence or position, which is commonly marked with 에; for example, 학교에서 공부해요 means “I study at school,” while 학교에 있어요 means “I am at school.” 기다릴 is the form of 기다리다 (“to wait”) used before 뻔하다 in this construction. The ending -ㄹ gives the verb a prospective form: 기다리다 → 기다릴. Do not treat 기다릴 here as a standalone future statement; its meaning is completed by 뻔했어요. 기다릴 ... 뻔했어요 is the pattern 동사-(으)ㄹ 뻔하다, meaning that something almost happened. The past form 뻔했어요 presents the near-event as a past situation. For example, 버스를 놓칠 뻔했어요 means “I almost missed the bus.” Together, 잘못된 곳에서 identifies the wrong place as the location of the waiting, and 기다릴 뻔했어요 says that the speaker almost waited there. The whole utterance therefore means “I almost waited in the wrong place.”

6. 두 줄이 가까이 있어서 헷갈려요.

   It is confusing because both lines are close.

   두

   two

   줄

   line

   가까이

   close; nearby

   있어서

   because ... is/are

   헷갈려요

   it is confusing

   More detail

   두 means “two” here and specifies the number of 줄. Korean native numbers such as 두 are used before many counting nouns; 두 줄 therefore means “two lines.” 줄 means “line” in this sentence. It can refer to a written or drawn line, as in 한 줄 (“one line”) and 두 줄 (“two lines”). 가까이 means “close” or “nearby.” It is an adverb modifying the state expressed by 있다 in 가까이 있다, meaning “to be close” or “to be nearby.” 있어서 is the connective form of 있다 (“to be; to exist”) with -어서. Here, -어서 gives a reason, so 가까이 있어서 means “because [they] are close.” A reusable pattern is A가/이 ...아서/어서 ..., meaning “because A ...”. 헷갈려요 comes from 헷갈리다, “to be confused” or “to be confusing.” The -어요 ending gives a polite present-style form. In this sentence, the speaker describes the situation as confusing; it does not identify a separate person who is confused. Compare 헷갈려요 (“it is confusing / I get confused”) with 헷갈리게 해요 (“it makes [someone] confused”). Together, 두 줄이 가까이 있어서 means “because the two lines are close,” with 이 marking 두 줄 as the subject of the state 가까이 있다. 헷갈려요 then states the result: “it is confusing.” The whole utterance means, “It is confusing because both lines are close.”

7. 더 많은 사람이 오기 전에 옮길게요.

   I'll move before more people arrive.

   더 많은

   more

   사람

   person; people

   오기 전에

   before (someone) comes

   옮길게요

   I’ll move

   More detail

   더 많은 combines 더 “more” with 많은, the form of 많다 used before a noun. Here it increases the number of 사람 being referred to: “more people.” 많다 means “to be many” or “to be much,” while 많은 is its noun-modifying form. Example: 많은 시간이 필요해요. — “A lot of time is needed.” 사람 means “person” or, as here, “people.” Korean nouns do not normally change form for singular versus plural; context supplies the number. A plural marker such as 사람들 can be used when plurality needs to be made explicit, but it is not required here. 오기 전에 expresses “before coming” or, with the understood subject here, “before more people arrive.” 오다 is the base form “to come,” and -기 전에 is a reusable pattern meaning “before doing something.” The -기 form turns the action into the reference point for 전에 (“before”). Example: 가기 전에 확인해요. — “Check before going.” 옮길게요 comes from 옮기다, “to move” or “to transfer.” The ending -ㄹ게요 presents the speaker’s intention or commitment to do something, so this form means “I’ll move it” or “I’ll move,” with the object left unexpressed here. Because 옮기다 has a stem ending in a vowel, the ending appears as -ㄹ게요; the polite ending is 요. This is different from a neutral prediction: 내일 옮길 거예요. means “I’m going to move it tomorrow.” Together, 더 많은 사람 means “more people,” 오기 전에 sets the time as “before they arrive,” and 옮길게요 states the speaker’s commitment to move. The whole utterance therefore means: “I’ll move before more people arrive.”

8. 이제 저 줄이 더 짧아요.

   That line is shorter now.

   이제

   now

   저

   that

   줄

   line

   더 짧아요

   shorter

   More detail

   이제 means “now” and places the situation at the present point, contrasting it with an earlier state or time. Example: 이제 가요. — “I’m going now.” 저 is a demonstrative meaning “that,” typically pointing to something away from the speaker. It differs from 이 “this” and often from 그 “that/the” when referring to something already identified in the conversation. Here, the fixed translation identifies the referent as “that line,” but the sentence itself does not specify what kind of line it is. 줄 is a noun meaning “line,” including a line or row depending on context. In this utterance it is the noun being described by the following predicate. Example: 긴 줄 — “a long line.” 더 짧아요 means “is shorter.” The base adjective is 짧다, “to be short.” 더 adds the comparison “more,” so 짧다 describes shortness, while 더 짧다 means that something is shorter than a relevant earlier state or comparison point. 짧아요 is the polite present-style form of 짧다; the adjective itself carries the description, and 더 supplies the comparative meaning. Example: 이 길이 더 짧아요. — “This route is shorter.” Together, 저 줄 means “that line,” and 더 짧아요 says that it is shorter. With 이제 at the beginning, the whole utterance means “That line is shorter now.”