Level 1 · Unit 5 · Getting Around · 7 min

Understanding Directions

Catch the key words Koreans use when answering a directions question — left/right/straight, near/far, and walking time — and confirm what you heard.

Understanding fast answers: 왼쪽, 오른쪽, 직진

This lesson flips the goal: instead of producing new sentences, you're training your ear to catch the words Koreans use when they answer your directions questions — and they answer fast. Three words carry most of the meaning: 왼쪽 (left), 오른쪽 (right), and 직진 (straight ahead). Listen for these first; everything else is often just detail you can fill in from context.

왼쪽으로 가세요. oenjjogeuro gaseyo. Go left.

으로 marks the direction you're moving toward. 왼쪽 means 'left side' — listen for the 왼 sound, which is distinct from 오른 (right).

오른쪽으로 가세요. oreunjjogeuro gaseyo. Go right.

오른쪽 ('right side') and 왼쪽 ('left side') sound similar at first — the vowel at the start (오 vs 왼) is the fastest way to tell them apart when someone's speaking quickly.

직진하세요. jikjinhaseyo. Go straight.

직진 means 'straight ahead.' No 으로 needed here — 직진하세요 is its own complete instruction, unlike 왼쪽/오른쪽, which need 으로 first.

가까워요 / 멀어요: how far is it, really?

Once someone gives you directions, these two words tell you how much walking to expect. 가까워요 means 'it's close,' and 멀어요 means 'it's far.' They're opposites, but they share a similar rhythm, so listen for the first syllable — 가 versus 머 — to catch which one you heard.

가까워요. gakkawoyo. It's close.

Good news if you hear this after asking for directions — you won't need to worry about buses or taxis.

멀어요. meoreoyo. It's far.

If you hear 멀어요, it's worth asking a follow-up about taking a bus or taxi instead of walking.

걸어서 5분: telling time on foot

걸어서 means 'on foot,' and Koreans pair it with sino-Korean numbers plus 분 (minutes) — the same 분 you learned for telling time in Unit 2. 걸어서 오 분이에요 means 'it's five minutes on foot.' You might also hear 사거리 ('intersection') or 횡단보도 ('crosswalk') as landmarks along the way — you don't need to produce these yet, just recognize them when they come up.

걸어서 오 분이에요. georeoseo o bunieyo. It's five minutes on foot.

오 is the sino-Korean number 'five' — swap in any sino-Korean number to hear a different walking time, like 걸어서 십 분이에요 ('ten minutes on foot').

Asking a local for directions and confirming what you heard by repeating it back

지하철역이 어디예요?

jihacheollyeogi eodiyeyo? — Where's the subway station?

사거리에서 왼쪽으로 가세요. 걸어서 오 분이에요.

sageorieseo oenjjogeuro gaseyo. georeoseo o bunieyo. — At the intersection, go left. It's five minutes on foot.

다시 한번 말해 주세요.

dasi hanbeon malhae juseyo. — Please say that again.

사거리에서 왼쪽으로 가세요.

sageorieseo oenjjogeuro gaseyo. — At the intersection, go left.

아, 왼쪽! 가까워요?

a, oenjjok! gakkawoyo? — Oh, left! Is it close?

네, 가까워요.

ne, gakkawoyo. — Yes, it's close.

Say it out loud