Checking an Apartment Before a Long Trip | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 며칠 동안 집을 비울 거니까 아파트를 다시 한번 확인하자.

   We'll be away for several days, so let's double-check the apartment.

   며칠 동안

   for several days

   집

   home

   비울

   be away from

   거니까

   because that will be the case

   아파트

   apartment

   다시 한번

   once again

   확인하자

   let’s check

   More detail

   며칠 동안 means a duration of several days here. 며칠 expresses an unspecified number of days; in a question, the same form can mean “how many days?” 동안 marks the period during which something continues. Example: 일주일 동안 공부했어요. — “I studied for a week.” 집 means “home” or “house.” In 집을 비우다, it forms the useful expression “to be away from home” (literally, to leave the home unoccupied). The object marker 을 is attached to 집 because it is the object of 비우다. 비울 comes from the verb 비우다, “to empty” or, in the expression 집을 비우다, “to be away from home.” The ending -ㄹ makes this an attributive future/prospective form before 거 in 비울 거니까: 비우다 → 비울. It is the verb 비우다 that carries this form, not 집. Example: 내일 사무실을 비울 거예요. — “I will be away from the office tomorrow.” 거니까 is the conversational form of 것이니까 in the pattern -ㄹ 거니까. It presents a future or expected situation as the reason for what follows: “because/since it will be the case that …” Here, 비울 거니까 means “since we will be away.” The subject is understood from the whole utterance and its translation; it is not separately stated in this clause. 아파트 means “apartment.” It is the noun being checked, and the object marker 를 follows it in 아파트를 확인하다. Example: 아파트를 찾았어요. — “I found an apartment.” 다시 한번 combines 다시, “again,” with 한번, “one time” or “once.” Together, they mean “once again” and emphasize repeating the check. In this utterance, 한번 does not assert a separate numerical count; the combination functions as a natural repetition marker. Example: 다시 한번 설명해 주세요. — “Please explain it once again.” 확인하자 comes from 확인하다, “to check” or “to confirm,” plus the ending -자. -자 proposes an action jointly: 확인하다 → 확인하자, “let’s check.” Example: 주소를 확인하자. — “Let’s check the address.” Together, 며칠 동안 집을 비울 거니까 gives the reason: “since we will be away from home for several days.” 아파트를 다시 한번 확인하자 proposes checking the apartment again. The complete meaning is: “We’ll be away for several days, so let’s double-check the apartment.”

2. 작은 가전제품의 플러그를 뽑고 스토브를 껐어.

   I unplugged the small appliances and turned off the stove.

   작은

   small

   가전제품

   home appliance

   플러그를

   the plug

   뽑고

   unplugged and

   스토브

   stove

   껐어

   turned off

   More detail

   작은 means “small” here and describes 가전제품. It is the attributive form of the Korean descriptive verb 작다 (“to be small”): 작다 → 작은 before a noun. Example: 작은 방 — “a small room.” 가전제품 means “home appliance” or “household electrical appliance.” It is a noun for an electrically powered household device. In this sentence, 작은 가전제품의 means “of the small appliances”; 의 marks the relation between the appliances and their plug. 플러그를 means “the plug” as the object of the following action. 를 is the object marker; it follows a noun ending in a vowel. The source and fixed translation use this plug phrase to express unplugging the appliances. 뽑고 comes from 뽑다, “to pull out” or, with a plug, “to unplug.” The ending -고 links this action to the next one: 뽑고 ... means “unplug and ...” in this sentence. The past time is supplied by the final verb, so 뽑고 itself is not a separate past-tense form. Example: 줄을 뽑고 버렸어요. — “I pulled out the cord and threw it away.” 스토브 means “stove.” It is a noun referring here to the appliance that was turned off. Example: 스토브를 확인하세요. — “Please check the stove.” 껐어 means “turned off” here and comes from 끄다, “to turn off.” 끄다 changes to 꺼 in the informal present form, and its informal past form is 껐어 (끄다 → 꺼 → 껐어). The ending -어 style is casual and is used with a familiar or close listener. Example: 불을 껐어. — “I turned off the light.” Together, 작은 가전제품의 플러그를 뽑고 means “unplugged the small appliances,” and 스토브를 껐어 means “turned off the stove.” Korean leaves the subject unstated here; the fixed translation identifies it as “I.” The connective -고 joins the two completed actions, giving the whole meaning: “I unplugged the small appliances and turned off the stove.”

3. 발코니 문과 침실 창문은 잠겨 있어?

   Are the balcony door and bedroom windows secure?

   발코니

   balcony

   문과

   door and

   침실

   bedroom

   창문

   window

   잠겨 있어

   be locked

   More detail

   발코니 means “balcony.” It is a noun and can combine directly with another noun to specify a related object, as in 발코니 문 (“balcony door”). 문과 is 문 (“door”) plus the coordinating particle -과, meaning “and” after this noun. The particle links 문 with the following noun phrase, 침실 창문; it does not mean that there is a separate additional object called 과. 침실 means “bedroom.” Here it modifies the following noun in 침실 창문, giving “bedroom window(s).” Korean nouns do not obligatorily mark singular versus plural, so the intended number is understood from context and translation rather than from a plural ending on 창문. 창문 means “window.” In this sentence it is the head noun of 침실 창문. Example: 창문을 열어요. — “I open the window.” 잠겨 있어 expresses a continuing state of being locked or secured. Its useful base-form chain is 잠그다 (“to lock something”) → 잠기다 (“become/be locked”) → 잠겨 있다 (“be in a locked state”). The observed form 잠겨 있어 is the conversational form of 잠겨 있어요 without the polite ending; in this question, rising intonation and ? make it “are they locked?” The 있어 here helps describe the state continuing, rather than simply an event of locking. Example: 문이 잠겨 있어요. — “The door is locked.” The full structure is 발코니 문과 침실 창문은 잠겨 있어?: 발코니 문 (“the balcony door”) and 침실 창문 (“the bedroom window(s)”) are joined by -과, and 은 marks that coordinated group as the topic. 잠겨 있어? asks whether that group is in the locked or secure state. Together, the intended meaning is “Are the balcony door and bedroom windows secure?”

4. 발코니 문은 잠겼고, 이제 침실 창문을 확인할게.

   The balcony door is locked, and I will check the bedroom windows now.

   발코니 문

   balcony door

   잠겼고

   is locked, and

   이제

   now

   침실 창문

   bedroom window(s)

   확인할게

   I’ll check

   More detail

   발코니 문 means “the balcony door.” 문 is the noun “door,” and 발코니 specifies its type or location: “balcony.” A useful pattern is [place/type] + 문, as in 현관문 (“front door”). 잠겼고 describes the door as locked and links this clause to the next one. It comes from 잠기다, “to become locked” or “to be locked”: 잠겼다 is the past-tense form presenting the locking as completed, and -고 adds “and.” Here, the completed locking is presented as the door’s current state. This differs from 잠그다, “to lock something,” which describes someone locking an object. For example, 문을 잠갔어요 means “I locked the door.” 이제 means “now” or “from now on.” Here it places the checking action at the present point in the sequence. 침실 창문 means “the bedroom window(s).” 창문 is “window,” and 침실 identifies it as a bedroom window. Korean nouns generally do not require a separate plural ending, so 침실 창문 can refer to one or more bedroom windows; the fixed translation specifies “windows” here. A useful pattern is [place/type] + 창문, such as 부엌 창문 (“kitchen window”). 확인할게 means “I’ll check.” It comes from 확인하다, “to check” or “to confirm,” with -(으)ㄹ게요, a form used when the speaker presents an intention or commitment to do something. In this sentence, the final 요 is omitted, giving the informal form 확인할게; the full polite form is 확인할게요. This is more specifically a speaker’s undertaking than a neutral prediction about the future. For example, 제가 다시 확인할게요 means “I’ll check again.” Together, 발코니 문은 잠겼고 sets the balcony door as the topic and states that it is locked. 이제 침실 창문을 확인할게 then says that, now, the speaker will check the bedroom windows. The complete meaning is: “The balcony door is locked, and I will check the bedroom windows now.”

5. 우리가 없는 동안 온도 조절기를 낮출까?

   Should we lower the thermostat while we are gone?

   우리가

   we

   없는 동안

   while away

   온도 조절기

   thermostat

   낮출까

   shall we lower it?

   More detail

   우리가 means “we” here. 우리 is the first-person plural pronoun, and 가 marks it as the subject of the clause. In Korean, 우리 can sometimes refer to “our” before a noun, but in this sentence 우리가 is the subject of the following situation. Example: 우리가 갈까? means “Shall we go?” 없는 동안 expresses “while [we] are away.” 없다 means “to be absent” or “not be present,” and -는 동안 makes a time expression meaning “while” or “during the time that.” The subject of 없는 is understood from 우리가, so the phrase means that the speakers will be away, without adding any further detail about where they will go. Example: 집에 없는 동안 고양이를 돌봐 주세요. means “Please look after the cat while I am away.” 온도 조절기 is “thermostat,” literally a device for regulating temperature. 온도 means “temperature,” and 조절기 is a regulating device; together they form the noun for the thermostat. Example: 온도 조절기를 확인해 주세요. means “Please check the thermostat.” 낮출까 comes from 낮추다, “to lower” or “to reduce.” The form 낮출까 combines the verb stem with -(으)ㄹ까?, a question form used here to suggest an action jointly: “Shall we lower it?” 낮추다 is transitive, so the thing being lowered is understood from the nearby 온도 조절기; the intended action is to lower the thermostat’s setting, not necessarily to move the device itself. Example: 불을 낮출까? means “Shall we dim the light?” In order, 우리가 identifies the people considering the action, 없는 동안 sets the time as their absence, 온도 조절기 names the object, and 낮출까 asks about lowering its setting. Together, the utterance means “Should we lower the thermostat while we are gone?” The final -(으)ㄹ까? makes this a joint proposal rather than a plain statement or command.

6. 낮게 설정하되, 아파트가 너무 추워질 정도로 낮추지는 마.

   Set it lower, but not so low that the apartment gets too cold.

   낮게

   low; at a low level

   설정하되

   set it, but…

   아파트

   apartment

   너무

   too; excessively

   추워질

   become cold

   정도로

   to the extent that

   낮추지는 마

   do not lower it

   More detail

   낮게 means “at a low level” here. It is the adverbial form of 낮다 (“to be low”), so it describes how something is set. Compare 낮다 “be low” with 낮추다 “lower something”: the first describes a state, while the second describes causing something to become lower. Example: 소리를 낮게 해 주세요. — “Please make the volume low.” 설정하되 means “set it, but …”. 설정하다 is “to set/configure,” and -되 connects that instruction to a qualification or contrasting instruction. The object is omitted in Korean; with the supplied context and translation, it is the temperature setting or thermostat setting. The pattern A-되, B can be reused as “do A, but B.” 아파트 means “apartment.” In this sentence it is the subject of 추워질: the apartment is described as becoming cold. Korean nouns do not require an article here, so 아파트가 means “the apartment” in this supplied context because the translation identifies that intended referent. 너무 means “too” or “excessively.” Before 추워질, it says that the resulting coldness would be excessive, not merely that the apartment would become somewhat cold. Example: 물이 너무 차가워요. — “The water is too cold.” 추워질 means “become cold” in the form used before 정도. Its base form is 춥다 (“be cold”), and -어지다 makes a change-of-state expression: 추워지다 means “become cold.” The ending -ㄹ here is the form that allows it to modify the following noun-like extent expression. Example: 밤이 되면 날씨가 추워질 거예요. — “When it becomes night, the weather will become cold.” 정도로 means “to the extent that” or “so … that.” 정도 means “degree/extent,” and -로 marks the degree or level reached. The pattern 정도로 connects the degree of an action or state with its consequence: 너무 늦을 정도로 means “to the extent that it is too late.” Here, 너무 추워질 정도로 means “to the extent that it becomes too cold.” 낮추지는 마 means “do not lower it.” 낮추다 is the lexical verb “lower something,” and -지 마 forms a negative imperative: “don’t do it.” The -는 in -지는 adds contrast or emphasis, highlighting that this particular lowering should not go as far as the stated result. The object is omitted, but the fixed translation and context support the temperature setting as the intended object. Example: 온도를 너무 낮추지 마. — “Don’t lower the temperature too much.” Together, 낮게 설정하되 gives the first instruction: set the temperature low. 아파트가 너무 추워질 정도로 specifies the excessive limit, “to the extent that the apartment becomes too cold,” and 낮추지는 마 prohibits lowering it that far. The whole utterance therefore means: “Set it lower, but not so low that the apartment gets too cold.”

7. 나도 우리 이웃에게 택배가 오면 받아 달라고 부탁했어.

   I also asked our neighbor to collect any packages.

   나도

   I also

   우리

   our

   이웃

   neighbor

   택배

   package delivery

   오면

   when it arrives

   받아 달라고

   to please receive it

   부탁했어

   asked

   More detail

   나도 means “I also.” 나 is the first-person pronoun “I,” and 도 adds “also/too” to the element it follows. Here it marks the speaker as an additional person who made the same kind of request. A reusable pattern is N도 = “N also/too.” 우리 means “our” here. It comes before 이웃 and identifies the neighbor as belonging to the speaker’s shared group. Korean 우리 can have broader group-related uses in other contexts, but this sentence supports the possessive meaning “our.” 이웃 means “neighbor.” With the following particle 에게 (not included in the selected quote), 이웃에게 marks the person who is asked: “to our neighbor.” Korean nouns do not require an article, and 이웃 by itself does not specify a number. 택배 refers here to a package or package delivery. The subject particle 가 makes it the thing that arrives. 택배 is a useful context word for deliveries; it is not the name of a particular package identified elsewhere in the sentence. 오면 comes from 오다, “to come,” plus -면, which forms a conditional or time condition. In this context, 택배가 오면 means “when a package arrives” or, as a general situation, “when packages arrive.” The -면 clause sets the condition for the requested action; it does not by itself say that a delivery has already arrived. 받아 달라고 contains 받다, “to receive,” in its 아/어 form 받아, followed by 달라고. The pattern V-아/어 달라고 부탁하다 means “ask someone to do V for the speaker.” Thus the requested action is receiving the delivery on the speaker’s behalf. 달라고 is not an independent polite “please” here; it packages the request as the content of 부탁했어. 부탁했어 is the informal past form of 부탁하다, “to ask a favor” or “to request.” The base-to-past chain is 부탁하다 → 부탁했어; 했어 shows that the asking happened in the past and uses casual speech. In this sentence the understood asker is the speaker, matching 나도, while the person being asked is marked by 이웃에게. Together, 우리 이웃에게 identifies the person asked, and 택배가 오면 받아 달라고 gives the requested action and its condition. 나도 ... 부탁했어 says that the speaker also made this request. The whole utterance means: “I also asked our neighbor to collect packages when they arrive.” The request pattern can be reused as A에게 B-아/어 달라고 부탁하다: “ask A to do B for the speaker.”

8. 그 덕분에 우리가 없는 동안 집에 사람이 있는 것처럼 보이겠어.

   That helps the place look occupied while we are away.

   그 덕분에

   thanks to that

   우리가

   we

   없는

   being absent

   동안

   while / during

   집에

   at home

   사람이

   a person

   있는

   being present

   것처럼

   as if / like

   보이겠어

   will look / seem

   More detail

   그 덕분에 means “thanks to that.” 그 refers to an already established matter, and 덕분에 marks a beneficial cause. The reusable pattern N 덕분에 ... means “thanks to N, ... .” Example: 친구 덕분에 늦지 않았어. — “Thanks to my friend, I wasn’t late.” 우리가 is 우리 (“we”) with the subject marker -가. Here it is the subject of the following clause about being absent. 우리 can also mean “our” before a noun, but that is a different use. 없는 is the modifier form of 없다, meaning “to be absent” here. In 우리가 없는 동안, it forms the predicate of the clause 우리가 없다 (“we are absent”) and modifies 동안; it does not describe 우리 as a noun. 없다 has the casual present form 없어. Example: 사람이 없는 방 — “a room with no one in it.” 동안 means a period during which something happens. The pattern N 동안 means “during N,” and a clause can come before it: 우리가 없는 동안 means “while we are away.” 동안에 is also possible. 집에 combines 집 (“house/home”) with the location marker -에. In 집에 사람이 있다, -에 marks the place where someone or something is present. It can also mark a destination in other contexts, but that is not its role here. 사람이 is 사람 (“person”) with the subject marker -이. It marks the person as what is present at home. The English “a” reflects the context; -이 is a subject marker, not a numeric article. 있는 is the modifier form of 있다, meaning “to be present” here. Before 것, it contributes the idea of someone being present: 집에 사람이 있는 것 is “the fact/state that there is someone at home.” 있다 contrasts with 없다; this sentence uses 있는 for presence and 없는 for absence. 것처럼 is 것 plus 처럼, meaning “like ...” or “as if ... .” The form 있는 것처럼 presents the appearance of the situation “someone is present.” Example: 비가 오는 것처럼 보여. — “It looks as if it is raining.” 보이겠어 comes from 보이다, “to look/seem” or “to be visible,” with the conversational ending -겠어. Here -겠어 presents the speaker’s prediction or assessment that the place will look occupied. It is not 보다, “to see.” Example: 괜찮아 보이겠어. — “It will look fine.” Together, 그 덕분에 gives the beneficial cause, 우리가 없는 동안 sets the time, and 집에 사람이 있는 것처럼 보이겠어 says that the home will appear to have someone present. The complete meaning is: “That helps the place look occupied while we are away.”

9. 이제 떠나는 게 더 마음이 놓여.

   Now I feel more relaxed about leaving.

   이제

   now

   떠나는 게

   leaving

   더

   more

   마음이 놓여

   feel relieved; be at ease

   More detail

   이제 means “now” and places the situation at the present point in time. In other contexts it can also mean “from now on,” but here it marks the speaker’s current feeling. 떠나는 게 presents “leaving” as what is being evaluated. 떠나다 means “to leave”; 떠나는 is its present attributive form, and -는 것 turns the action into a noun-like expression. 것이 is commonly shortened to 게 here. This is a reusable pattern for expressing that an action is or is not a certain way: “Doing X is …” Example: 여기서 기다리는 게 좋아요. — “It is better to wait here.” 더 means “more” and marks a comparison with an understood earlier or alternative state. The sentence does not specify the comparison point; it simply presents leaving as producing a greater sense of ease. 마음이 놓여 expresses feeling relieved or at ease. 마음 means “mind” or “heart,” and 놓이다 means “to be put down”; in the expression 마음이 놓이다, it conveys that worry has eased. The observed 놓여 is the sentence-final informal form of 놓이다, formed by the regular -어 ending with vowel contraction; it is not an inflection of 마음 and is not a connective form. The expression can be reused when someone becomes reassured or relieved. Example: 이제 마음이 놓여요. — “Now I feel relieved.” Together, 떠나는 게 더 마음이 놓여 means that leaving brings the speaker more ease than the unstated comparison point: “Now I feel more relaxed about leaving.”

10. 이 체크리스트를 확인하는 데 시간이 좀 걸렸지만, 그만한 가치가 있었어.

    This checklist took a little time, but it was worth it.

    이

    this

    체크리스트

    checklist

    확인하는

    checking

    데

    for doing

    시간

    time

    좀

    a little

    걸렸지만

    took, but

    그만한 가치가 있었어

    was worth it

    More detail

    이 points to the checklist as “this.” Korean demonstratives such as 이 are used before a noun; the form itself does not mark the noun’s number or gender. Example: 이 문제 means “this problem.” 체크리스트 is the noun “checklist,” used here as the object of checking. In the full sentence, it is followed by the object marker 를: 체크리스트를 means “the checklist” as the thing being checked. 확인하는 comes from 확인하다, “to check” or “to confirm.” Its -는 form places the verb before a following noun-like element: 확인하는 데 means “in/for checking.” This is the present attributive form of the action, not a separate adjective. Example: 확인하는 방법 means “a way to check.” 데 is a dependent noun used in the pattern V-는 데 시간이 걸리다, literally “time is taken in doing V,” or naturally “it takes time to do V.” Here it combines with 확인하는 to make “checking it.” 시간 means “time.” In this pattern, it is the thing that takes a certain amount of time: 시간이 걸리다 means “time is needed” or “it takes time.” 좀 means “a little” or “somewhat” here. It softens the amount rather than asserting an exact measured quantity. It appears before 걸렸지만, so the sentence says that the checking took a little time. 걸렸지만 comes from 걸리다, which in 시간이 걸리다 means “to take time.” 걸렸- is its past form, and -지만 adds the contrast “but.” Thus 시간이 좀 걸렸지만 means “it took a little time, but …” The subject of 걸리다 is 시간, while the activity that required the time is expressed by 확인하는 데. 그만한 is a modifier meaning “of that amount or degree” and refers here to the time or effort just mentioned. In the useful expression 그만한 가치, it contributes the idea “worth that much” or “worth it,” rather than functioning as a simple demonstrative before an ordinary object. 가치 means “value” or “worth.” 가치가 있다 is the pattern “to have value” or “to be worth it.” Example: 이 일은 할 가치가 있어 means “This work is worth doing.” 있었어 is the informal spoken past form of 있다, “to exist” or “to have.” In 가치가 있었어, it says that the value existed in the completed situation: “it was worth it.” The ending -어 is casual speech, suitable for an informal relationship. Together, 이 체크리스트를 확인하는 데 identifies checking this checklist as the activity, and 시간이 좀 걸렸지만 says that it took a little time. The final clause, 그만한 가치가 있었어, says that the time or effort was worth it. The whole utterance is therefore: “This checklist took a little time, but it was worth it.”