Lesson 3
In this lesson, you will learn how to describe the relative location of things and people.
The word for “where” is 어디, and the word for “to be” is 있다. For present tense, you can use “어디 있어요?”, or if more accuracy is needed, you can add the location marking particle -에 and say “어디에 있어요?”
어디 있어요?
= 어디에 있어요?
= Where is it? / Where are you? / Where are they?
어디 있었어요?
= 어디에 있었어요?
= Where were you? / Where have you been?
어디 있을 거예요?
= 어디에 있을 거예요?
= Where will you be? / Where are you going to be?
In order to give a response to this question, use one of the following five one-syllable words:
앞 = front
뒤 = back
옆 = side
위 = top
밑 = bottom
To use these syllables with other words, you add 에: the location marking particle.
앞에 = in front of
뒤에 = behind
옆에 = beside, next to
위에 = over, on top of
밑에 = under, below
In English, these words come BEFORE the words which they modify, but in Korean, they come AFTER the words.
Ex)
자동차 = car, automobile
자동차 앞에 = in front of the car
자동차 뒤에 = behind the car
자동차 옆에 = beside the car; next to the car
자동차 위에 = on the car; on top of the car
자동차 밑에 = under the car
Combined with 있다:
자동차 앞에 있어요. = It is in front of the car.
자동차 뒤에 있어요. = It is behind the car.
자동차 옆에 있어요. = It is next to the car.
자동차 위에 있어요. = It is on top of the car.
자동차 밑에 있어요. = It is under the car.
In Level 1, Lesson 18, it was mentioned that -에 is only used with the status of a person or an object. When expressing actions and behaviors which are actively happening, use -에서.
Ex)
Q: 친구를 어디에서 만날 거예요?
= Where are you going to meet (your) friends?
A: 은행 앞에서 만날 거예요.
= I am going to meet (them) in front of the bank. * 은행 = bank
A: 은행 뒤에서 만날 거예요.
= I am going to meet (them) behind the bank.
A: 은행 옆에서 만날 거예요.
= I am going to meet (them) beside the bank.
Sample Sentences
소파 위에서 자고 있어요.
= I am sleeping on the sofa.
나무 밑에서 책을 읽고 있어요.
= I am reading a book under the tree.
나무 뒤에 숨어 있었어요.
= I have been hiding behind the tree.
문 앞에서 통화하고 있었어요.
= I was talking on the phone in front of the door.