Level 1 · Unit 5 · Getting Around · 8 min

Subway and Bus

Ask which subway line you need, find out where to get off, and handle transfers and transit card basics.

몇 호선이에요?: subway lines use sino-Korean numbers

Seoul's subway lines are named with numbers, and Koreans always use sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼, 사...) to say them — never the native set (하나, 둘, 셋). You already used these same numbers reading phone numbers back in Unit 2. Just attach 호선 ('numbered line') after the number: 이 호선 (Line 2), 사 호선 (Line 4). Ask 몇 호선이에요? ('which line number is it?') any time you're not sure which one you need.

몇 호선이에요? myeot hoseoniyeyo? What line number is it?

몇 asks 'how many/which number' — the same 몇 you used for 몇 시예요? and 몇 개예요? in Unit 2. Ask this when a platform lists multiple line numbers.

이 호선이에요. i hoseoniyeyo. It's Line 2.

이 is the sino-Korean number 'two' — the same 이 you'd use reading a phone number aloud. Swap in any sino-Korean number to name a different line.

사 호선이에요. sa hoseoniyeyo. It's Line 4.

사 ('four') follows the exact same pattern. Once you know your sino-Korean numbers, you can name any of Seoul's subway lines this way.

어디에서 내려요? and 갈아타요: getting off and transferring

어디에서 내려요? literally means 'where do I get off?' — 어디 ('where') plus 에서 (marking the place an action happens) plus 내려요 ('get off'). Once you know your stop, listen for 여기서 내려요 ('get off here'). If your route needs a line change, you'll hear 갈아타요 ('transfer'), often paired with a place: 여기서 갈아타요 ('transfer here').

어디에서 내려요? eodieseo naeryeoyo? Where do I get off?

에서 marks the place where an action happens — different from the 이/가 you used for 'where is [a place]?' in the last lesson. Use 에서 whenever the verb describes doing something, not just existing.

여기서 내려요. yeogiseo naeryeoyo. Get off here.

여기서 is a contraction of 여기 + 에서, and it's how you'll actually hear it spoken — Koreans almost always shorten 에서 to 서 after 여기/거기/저기.

여기서 갈아타요. yeogiseo garatayo. Transfer here.

갈아타요 literally means 'change and ride' — 갈다 (to change) + 타다 (to ride). Station announcements use this exact word before naming which line to transfer to.

교통카드 and 티머니: how you actually pay

교통카드 ('transportation card') is the general term for any reloadable transit card, and 티머니 (T-money) is the most common brand — so common that many Koreans just say 티머니 to mean any transit card at all. Both are loanwords built from English ('card' and 'T-money'), which is why they don't follow native Korean sound patterns. You can buy and reload one at any convenience store or subway kiosk, and it covers subways, buses, and even some taxis.

Asking a subway station employee which line to take and where to transfer

몇 호선이에요?

myeot hoseoniyeyo? — What line number is it?

사 호선이에요.

sa hoseoniyeyo. — It's Line 4.

어디에서 내려요?

eodieseo naeryeoyo? — Where do I get off?

여기서 갈아타요.

yeogiseo garatayo. — Transfer here.

네, 감사합니다!

ne, gamsahamnida! — Okay, thank you!

Say it out loud