Building a Healthier Routine | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 더 건강한 생활 습관을 만들고 싶지만, 저는 항상 일주일 후에 그만둬요.

   I want a healthier routine, but I always quit after a week.

   더 건강한

   healthier

   생활 습관

   lifestyle habit; routine

   만들고 싶지만

   want to make, but

   저는

   as for me; I

   항상

   always

   일주일

   one week

   후에

   after; later

   그만둬요

   quit; stop

   More detail

   더 건강한 means “healthier” here. 건강한 is the attributive form of 건강하다 (“to be healthy”), and 더 adds comparison: “more/healthier.” The comparison is with an understood routine or lifestyle, not with a specifically named one. A useful pattern is 더 + adjective: 더 쉬운 방법 means “an easier method.” 생활 습관 is a noun compound meaning a lifestyle habit or routine: 생활 is “daily life,” and 습관 is “habit.” Together, the words refer to an established way of living, rather than to one isolated action. In this sentence, the natural translation is “routine.” 만들고 싶지만 combines 만들다 (“to make/create”) with -고 싶다 (“want to do”) and -지만 (“but/although”). 만들고 is the connective form of 만들다; 싶지만 attaches -지만 to 싶다. The pattern 동사 stem + 고 싶다 expresses the speaker’s desire to do something: 배우고 싶어요 means “I want to learn.” Here, the desired action is making a healthier routine. 저는 consists of 저, the humble first-person pronoun “I,” and the topic marker 는. It sets the speaker as the topic: “as for me” or simply “I.” 저 is used with polite speech; its less-humble counterpart is 나, used in less formal relationships. The marker 는 also helps contrast the speaker’s intention with what happens afterward. 항상 means “always.” It modifies the following situation and indicates that the quitting happens as a repeated pattern, not just once. For example, 항상 일찍 와요 means “I always come early.” 일주일 means “one week,” a duration made up of 일 (“one”) and 주일 (“week”). It is a noun for a seven-day period. The phrase does not by itself say that exactly one week has elapsed at the moment of speaking; the elapsed-time meaning comes from its combination with 후에 here. 후에 means “after” when it follows a time period or event. 일주일 후에 therefore means “after a week.” The noun 후 means “after/later,” and 에 marks the relevant time. Compare 일주일 후에 만나요 (“Let’s meet after a week”) with 일주일 동안 (“for one week”): 후에 places an event later, while 동안 describes its duration. 그만둬요 means “quit” or “stop” in this sentence. It is the polite present form of 그만두다, which means to quit, give up, or stop an activity. The ending is formed from 그만두- plus -어요; 두어요 contracts to 둬요. This is different from 그만해요, which more generally means “stop it” or “stop doing that”; 그만두다 commonly presents abandoning an activity, habit, job, or undertaking. Together, 더 건강한 생활 습관을 만들고 싶지만 means “I want to make a healthier routine, but.” The object marker 을 marks 더 건강한 생활 습관 as what the speaker wants to make. 저는 항상 일주일 후에 그만둬요 means “I always quit after a week”: the speaker is the topic, the repeated pattern is marked by 항상, and quitting occurs after a week. The complete utterance is therefore: “I want a healthier routine, but I always quit after a week.”

2. 한 번에 너무 많은 것을 바꾸려고 하는 것 같아요.

   Maybe you are trying to change too much at once.

   한 번에

   at once; all at one time

   너무

   too; excessively

   많은

   much; many

   것

   thing

   바꾸려고

   to try or intend to change

   하는 것 같아요

   seem to be doing

   More detail

   한 번에 means doing something in one go or all at one time. The particle 에 marks the relevant time or occasion here. Example: 한 번에 다 먹지 마세요. — “Please don’t eat it all at once.” 너무 strengthens the following description. In this sentence it means “too” or “excessively,” so it signals that the amount is beyond what seems appropriate. It can also mean “very” in some contexts, but the fixed translation supports the excessive meaning here. 많은 is the attributive form of 많다, “to be many” or “to be much.” It comes before 것 and describes the amount of things being changed. 많다 is the base form; 많은 is the form used before a noun. Example: 많은 사람이 왔어요. — “Many people came.” 것 is a noun meaning “thing.” In 많은 것을, it refers to the things being changed, and 을 marks that noun phrase as the object of 바꾸다. Korean uses 것 broadly for an unspecified thing or set of things; here the translation identifies the intended meaning as “too much,” not a particular named object. 바꾸려고 comes from 바꾸다, “to change,” plus -(으)려고, which marks an intention or an attempt. With 하다, as in 바꾸려고 하다, it means “to try or intend to change.” Example: 계획을 바꾸려고 해요. — “I’m trying to change the plan.” 하는 것 같아요 is the polite form of 하는 것 같다, literally a structure meaning that something “seems to be happening.” 하는 is the present attributive form of 하다, and 것 같다 expresses an inference rather than certainty. In the full sentence, it completes 바꾸려고 하다: 바꾸려고 하는 것 같아요 means “seem to be trying to change.” The omitted subject is understood as “you” because that is the meaning fixed by the translation. Together, 한 번에 너무 많은 것을 means “too many things at once,” while 바꾸려고 하는 것 같아요 means “you seem to be trying to change.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Maybe you are trying to change too much at once.” The polite ending -요 makes the statement suitable for a polite conversation, while 것 같아요 keeps it relatively tentative rather than stating the judgment as a certainty.

3. 저는 보통 운동과 요리와 일찍 자는 것을 모두 동시에 계획해요.

   I usually plan exercise, cooking, and earlier sleep all at the same time.

   저는

   as for me; I

   보통

   usually

   운동

   exercise

   요리

   cooking

   일찍

   early

   자는 것

   sleeping

   모두

   all

   동시에

   at the same time

   계획해요

   plan

   More detail

   저는 identifies the speaker as the topic: “as for me, I…”. 저 is the humble/polite first-person singular pronoun used here, and 는 marks the topic. The form does not itself indicate a group of speakers. 보통 means “usually” and describes what normally happens, rather than marking a single current occasion. For example, 저는 보통 아침에 운동해요 means “I usually exercise in the morning.” 운동 means “exercise” here and functions as one item being planned. The particle attached in 운동과 connects it to another item; 과 is the connective form used after a consonant-final noun. In a list, 와/과 can be repeated between items. 요리 means “cooking” here and is the second listed activity. In 요리와, 와 connects this vowel-final noun to the next item. Here it does not mean that cooking is being performed at the same time; it is one of the things included in the plan. 일찍 means “early,” specifically modifying the following action. It is an adverb, so it describes when the sleeping or going-to-bed action happens rather than describing a noun. 자는 것 turns the action into a noun-like expression meaning “sleeping” or “going to bed.” Its verb base is 자다 “to sleep”; 자는 is the present attributive form before 것, and 것 makes the clause refer to the activity as a thing. Thus 일찍 자는 것 means “going to bed early.” This construction is reusable: 매일 걷는 것 means “walking every day.” 모두 means “all,” referring collectively to the listed items: exercise, cooking, and going to bed early. It does not itself express the number three; the list and context provide the set being included. 동시에 means “at the same time.” It emphasizes that the listed plans are made concurrently. It is different from 모두: 모두 includes every listed item, while 동시에 describes their timing. 계획해요 means “plan.” Its base form is 계획하다; 계획해요 is the polite present-style form. The subject understood with this verb is the topic marked by 저는, so the speaker is the one doing the planning. For example, 주말을 계획해요 means “I plan the weekend.” Together, 운동과 요리와 일찍 자는 것을 lists exercise, cooking, and going to bed early as the things being planned. 모두 동시에 says that every one of these plans is made at the same time, and 저는 보통 frames this as the speaker’s usual pattern. The whole utterance means: “I usually plan exercise, cooking, and going to bed early all at the same time.”

4. 먼저 한 가지 습관을 고르고 무엇이 방해하는지 살펴보세요.

   Pick one habit first and look at what gets in the way.

   먼저

   first

   한 가지

   one thing

   습관

   habit

   고르고

   choose and

   무엇이

   what

   방해하는지

   whether it interferes

   살펴보세요

   please look at

   More detail

   먼저 means “first” here and sets the order of the action. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. Example: 먼저 읽고 나중에 써요. — “I read first and write later.” 한 가지 expresses one selected item or kind. 한 is the attributive form of 하나 (“one”) used before a counter or dependent noun; 가지 can mean “kind” and, in this construction, helps mean “one thing.” Here it limits 습관, so the instruction is to select one habit rather than several. 습관 means “habit,” a repeated behavior or routine. It is a noun and does not itself show number here. Example: 좋은 습관을 만들어요. — “I develop a good habit.” 고르고 comes from 고르다, “to choose,” with the connective ending -고. -고 links this action to the next one: “choose and …” The final polite request ending later in the sentence gives the coordinated instruction its request force as well. Example: 하나를 고르고 시작하세요. — “Choose one and start.” 무엇이 is 무엇 (“what”) plus the subject marker 이. It asks which unspecified thing is the subject of the following action. In this sentence, it is the thing that interferes. In less formal speech, 뭐가 is a common conversational counterpart of 무엇이. 방해하는지 comes from 방해하다, “to interfere with” or “to obstruct,” followed by the embedded-question ending -는지. Thus 무엇이 방해하는지 means “what gets in the way,” or more literally “what it is that interferes.” Here -는지 turns the clause into the object of 살펴보세요; the -는 in this form is part of -는지, not the separate present attributive form used before a noun. Example: 무엇이 문제인지 생각해 보세요. — “Think about what the problem is.” 살펴보세요 comes from 살펴보다, “to look into” or “to examine,” plus the polite request ending -세요. It asks the listener to inspect something carefully, rather than merely glance at it. Example: 원인을 살펴보세요. — “Please look into the cause.” Together, 먼저 한 가지 습관을 고르고 means “first choose one habit,” and 무엇이 방해하는지 살펴보세요 means “look into what gets in the way.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Pick one habit first and look at what gets in the way.” The polite -세요 makes this a courteous instruction or suggestion.

5. 가장 큰 문제는 제가 퇴근 후에 기운이 별로 없다는 거예요.

   The main problem is that I have low energy after work.

   가장 큰

   biggest; main

   문제

   problem

   제가

   I

   퇴근 후에

   after work

   기운

   energy

   별로

   particularly; much

   없다는 거예요

   means that there is not

   More detail

   가장 큰 combines 가장 (“most”) with 크다 (“to be big”). The form 큰 is the attributive form of 크다, so it comes before the noun it describes: 가장 큰 문제 means “the biggest problem” or, naturally here, “the main problem.” A useful comparison is 큰 문제 (“a big problem”) versus 가장 큰 문제 (“the biggest/main problem”). 문제 means “problem” and is a noun. 가장 큰 문제 is the topic of the sentence; the topic marker 는 is attached to 문제 in the source as 문제는. 제가 is the subject form of 저 (“I/me”) with the subject marker 가. 저 is the polite or humble first-person pronoun, while 제가 specifically marks “I” as the subject. Example: 제가 할게요. — “I’ll do it.” 퇴근 후에 means “after work.” 퇴근 refers to leaving work or finishing one’s workday, and 후 means “after” when it follows a noun. The particle 에 marks the relevant time. The pattern 명사 후에 can be reused: 수업 후에 만나요. — “Let’s meet after class.” 기운 means “energy” or “strength,” especially the energy one feels for doing things. Here it is the subject of the following description, marked by 이 in 기운이. 기운이 있다 means “to have energy,” while 기운이 없다 means “to lack energy” or “to have no energy.” 별로 usually appears with a negative expression and means “not much” or “not particularly.” Thus 기운이 별로 없다 is softer than a bare statement of complete absence: it says that the speaker does not have much energy. Example: 오늘은 별로 피곤하지 않아요. — “I’m not particularly tired today.” 없다는 거예요 turns the preceding statement into an explanatory noun-like clause. The base form is 없다 (“to not exist; to be absent; to lack”), and 없다는 is the form used inside an indirect statement meaning “that there is not” or “that [someone] lacks.” 거예요 is the conversational form of 것이에요, literally “is the thing/fact,” and here completes the explanation: “it is that …” or naturally “the problem is that …”. Together, 제가 퇴근 후에 기운이 별로 없다 means “I do not have much energy after work.” With 가장 큰 문제는 (“as for the main problem”) and the explanatory ending 없다는 거예요, the whole utterance means: “The main problem is that I have low energy after work.”

6. 그럼 저녁 식사 전에 짧게 산책하는 것부터 시작해 보세요.

   Then start with a short walk before dinner.

   그럼

   then

   저녁 식사

   dinner

   전에

   before

   짧게

   briefly

   산책하는 것부터

   starting with a walk

   시작해 보세요

   try starting

   More detail

   그럼 means “then” or “in that case.” Here it connects the suggestion to the preceding situation: because energy after work is low, the speaker proposes the next step. It commonly appears at the beginning of a response or suggestion. 저녁 식사 means “dinner.” 저녁 can mean “evening” or “dinner” depending on context; with 식사, it specifically refers to the evening meal. 식사 is a somewhat more neutral or formal word for “meal” than 밥 in many contexts. 전에 means “before.” The particle 에 marks the time point or period used as a reference: 저녁 식사 전에 means “before dinner.” A useful contrast is 후에, “after”: 식사 전에 “before the meal” versus 식사 후에 “after the meal.” 짧게 is the adverbial form of 짧다, “to be short.” It describes how the walking is done here: briefly or for a short time. The adjective form is 짧다; 짧게 is used when modifying an action. For example, 짧게 이야기해요 means “Let’s talk briefly.” 산책하는 것부터 combines 산책하다, “to take a walk,” with -는 것, which turns an action into a noun-like expression, and 부터, “starting with” or “from.” Thus, 산책하는 것 means “taking a walk,” and 산책하는 것부터 means “starting with taking a walk.” The pattern 동사-는 것부터 is useful when naming the first action in a sequence. Example: 물을 마시는 것부터 시작하세요. — “Start with drinking water.” 시작해 보세요 combines 시작하다, “to start,” with 보다 in the auxiliary pattern -아/어 보다, which presents an action as something to try. 보세요 adds the polite -세요 form. In this sentence, 시작해 보세요 means “try starting” or, naturally, “start.” The verb 시작하다 itself means “to begin”; it is not the verb 산책하다. Example: 매일 10분씩 해 보세요. — “Try doing it for ten minutes every day.” Together, 저녁 식사 전에 sets the time, 짧게 산책하는 것부터 identifies the first manageable activity, and 시작해 보세요 gives a polite suggestion to try beginning with it. The whole utterance means: “Then start with a short walk before dinner.”

7. 그건 현실적이고 너무 부담스럽지 않게 느껴져요.

   That feels realistic and not too demanding.

   그건

   that

   현실적이고

   realistic and

   너무

   too

   부담스럽지 않게

   without being burdensome

   느껴져요

   feels

   More detail

   그건 is a shortened form of 그거는: 그거 (“that”) plus the topic marker 는. Here it presents the already understood thing or proposal as the topic, matching “That.” The form of 그거 does not identify a particular noun by itself; the surrounding context supplies what “that” refers to. 현실적이고 comes from the descriptive word 현실적이다, “to be realistic.” The ending -고 connects this description to what follows. Here the connected description is part of the impression expressed by the final 느껴져요, so 현실적이고 ... 느껴져요 means “feels realistic and ...,” not simply “is realistic.” Example: 그 계획은 현실적이고 간단해요. means “That plan is realistic and simple.” 너무 means “too” or “very,” and here it modifies the following description. With a negative expression, 너무 ...지 않다 means “not too ...,” rather than necessarily “not at all ...”. 부담스럽지 않게 is based on 부담스럽다, “to feel burdensome” or “to be demanding.” -지 않다 makes it negative, and -게 changes the description into an adverbial form that describes how something is perceived: “in a way that is not burdensome.” The 너무 before it combines with this negative description to give “not too demanding.” Example: 무리하지 않게 시작하세요. means “Start without overexerting yourself.” 느껴져요 comes from 느껴지다, “to feel” or “to seem when experienced.” The polite present ending -어요 gives the form used here. Korean 느껴지다 presents an impression as something that is felt or perceived; it is different from 느껴요, which means that a person actively feels something. Example: 이 방법이 편하게 느껴져요. means “This method feels comfortable.” Together, 그건 sets the topic, and 현실적이고 plus 너무 부담스럽지 않게 supplies two linked qualities. The final 느껴져요 applies the overall impression to both qualities: “That feels realistic and not too demanding.”

8. 산책이 자연스럽게 느껴지면 나중에 균형 잡힌 식사를 추가해도 돼요.

   You can add balanced meals later, once walking feels natural.

   산책이

   walking

   자연스럽게

   naturally

   느껴지면

   if/when it feels

   나중에

   later

   균형 잡힌

   balanced

   식사

   meal

   추가해도 돼요

   it is okay to add

   More detail

   산책이 means “walking” here, with 이 marking 산책 as the subject of the clause. 산책 is the noun “a walk/walking”; the same subject-marking pattern can be used with other nouns, such as 운동이 (“exercise” as the subject). The ending -이 is selected after this noun because its final sound has a batchim (final consonant). 자연스럽게 is the adverb “naturally” or “in an easy, unforced way.” It comes from the adjective 자연스럽다 (“to be natural”); -게 makes this kind of descriptive form function adverbially. For example, 자연스럽게 말해요 means “I speak naturally.” 느껴지면 means “if/when it feels.” The base verb is 느껴지다, used here for something being experienced as having a certain quality; it is not the active 느끼다 (“to feel” something). The ending -면 forms an if/when condition: 편하면 means “if/when it is comfortable.” In this sentence, the subject of 느껴지다 is 산책이, so the meaning is “if/when walking feels natural.” 나중에 means “later” or “at a later point.” It sets the time for the following action, without specifying exactly when. For example, 나중에 확인해요 means “I’ll check later.” 균형 잡힌 means “balanced” and directly modifies the noun that follows it. The observed form is the attributive form of 균형 잡히다, literally “to have balance / to be balanced”; 균형 means “balance,” and 잡히다 is the verb form used in this expression. In 균형 잡힌 식사, the phrase describes the meals as balanced. This is a modifier, so it comes before 식사. 식사 is the noun “meal” or “eating a meal,” depending on context. Here it refers to balanced meals as something that can be added to the routine. A useful related contrast is 간식 (“snack”), but 식사 itself does not mean “snack.” 추가해도 돼요 is a permission pattern meaning “it is okay to add.” 추가하다 is the base verb “to add”; its -해도 돼요 form asks or states whether an action is permitted. The -아/어도 되다 pattern can be reused with other verbs: 확인해도 돼요? means “Is it okay to check?” Here, 추가해도 돼요 means that adding the balanced meals is allowed or acceptable, not that the speaker is asserting that they definitely will add them. Putting the parts together, 산책이 자연스럽게 느껴지면 gives the condition “once walking feels natural,” 나중에 places the action later, and 균형 잡힌 식사를 추가해도 돼요 says “it is okay to add balanced meals.” The complete meaning is: “You can add balanced meals later, once walking feels natural.”

9. 일주일에 세 번 기록하는 게 매일 하려고 하는 것보다 더 나을 것 같아요.

   Tracking it three times a week sounds better than trying every day.

   일주일에

   per week

   세 번

   three times

   기록하는

   recording; tracking

   매일

   every day

   하려고 하는

   trying to do

   것보다

   than the act of …

   더 나을 것 같아요

   seems better

   More detail

   일주일에 means “per week.” The particle 에 marks the time or frequency interval: 일주일에 세 번 is “three times a week.” 세 번 means “three times.” 세 is the native Korean number form used before a counter, and 번 counts occurrences. For example, 일주일에 한 번 means “once a week.” 기록하는 comes from 기록하다, “to record” or “to track.” The ending -는 makes the verb modify a following noun or noun-like expression: 기록하는 것 means “the act of recording.” Here, 기록하는 게 is the shortened form of 기록하는 것이, functioning as the subject of the comparison. 매일 means “every day.” It is a time-frequency adverb and does not itself mean “three times” or specify how many actions happen within each day. 하려고 하는 comes from 하다, “to do,” with -(으)려고 하다, a construction for intending or trying to do something. 하려고 하다 means “to intend to do” or “to try to do”; its modifier form here is 하려고 하는. In this sentence, 매일 하려고 하는 것 means “the act of trying to do it every day.” 것보다 combines 것, “thing” or “act,” with 보다, “than.” After a verb modifier, -는 것보다 compares one action with another: 기록하는 것보다 would mean “than recording.” In the sentence, the preceding modifier is 하려고 하는, so 하려고 하는 것보다 means “than trying to do it.” 더 나을 것 같아요 means “seems better” or “sounds better.” 더 means “more,” and 나을 is the modifier form of 낫다, “to be better.” This verb has the irregular forms 낫다 → 나아요 (“is better”) and 나을 before 것. 것 같아요 expresses an appearance or judgment—literally, “it seems like [it is]”; with 나을, the pattern gives the prospective sense “seems likely to be better.” Together, 일주일에 세 번 기록하는 게 is “tracking it three times a week,” while 매일 하려고 하는 것보다 sets “trying to do it every day” as the comparison standard. The complete sentence therefore means: “Tracking it three times a week sounds better than trying every day.”

10. 유연한 목표는 시간이 지나도 지키기 더 쉬워요.

    Flexible goals are easier to keep over time.

    유연한

    flexible

    목표

    goal

    시간이 지나도

    even as time passes

    지키기

    keeping

    더 쉬워요

    is easier

    More detail

    유연한 comes from 유연하다, “to be flexible.” The -한 form is the attributive form used before a noun, so 유연한 목표 means “flexible goal(s).” This form describes the noun; it is not an inflection of 목표. 목표 means “goal” or “objective.” Korean nouns do not require a plural ending here, so 목표 can correspond to “goal” or “goals”; the fixed translation selects the plural reading. 시간이 지나도 means “even as time passes.” 시간 is “time,” 이 marks it as the subject of 지나다 (“to pass”), and 지나도 combines 지나다 with -아/어도, a pattern meaning “even if” or “even when.” Example: 비가 와도 가요. — “I go even if it rains.” 지키기 comes from the verb 지키다, “to keep,” “to follow,” or “to stick to.” The ending -기 turns the verb into an action noun: 지키기 is “keeping” or “to keep” as an activity. In the pattern V-기 쉽다, it means that doing V is easy; here, 지키기 refers to keeping the goal or goals. 더 쉬워요 means “is easier.” 더 adds the comparative meaning “more,” while 쉬워요 is the polite present form of 쉽다, “to be easy.” 쉽다 changes to 쉬워요 because it has the ㅂ-irregular pattern: the stem changes before this ending. The construction V-기 더 쉬워요 means “it is easier to V.” Together, 유연한 목표는 sets “flexible goals” as the topic, 시간이 지나도 says that the condition remains true even as time passes, and 지키기 더 쉬워요 says that keeping them is easier. The whole utterance means: “Flexible goals are easier to keep over time.”