Lesson 29
Almost nobody enjoys being stuck in traffic when they have somewhere to be, but we cannot always avoid bad traffic, especially during rush hour in Seoul. In this lesson, we introduce some useful expressions that you can use when you are stuck in or expecting bad traffic, as well as some other advanced expressions related to traffic.
1. 차가 막혀요.
= The traffic is bad.
* 막히다 = to be clogged, to be stuck, to be blocked
2. 차가 많이 막히네요.
= (I see that) the traffic is really bad.
* You can use this when you call someone to let them know you are going to be late.
3. 차가 너무 많이 막혀서 오늘은 차 두고 나왔어요.
= The traffic is really bad today, so I left my car at home.
* 두다 = to leave (something)
4. 지금은 차가 많이 막히는 시간이라서 지하철 타고 가는 게 빠를 거예요.
= Now is the time (of day) when traffic is bad, so it will be faster to take the subway.
* 시간이라서 and 시간이어서 have the same meaning. Both -(이)라서 and -아/어/여서 connect a reason with a result, but -(이)라서 can only be attached to -이다 and -이 아니다. -이라서 and -이 아니라서 are also used more often than -이어서 and -이 아니어서 in colloquial language.
5. 차가 좀 막혀서 늦을 것 같아요.
= Traffic is bad, so I will be a bit late.
6. 차가 심하게 막혀서 20분 정도 늦을 것 같아요.
= Traffic is really bad, so I think I will be about 20 minutes late.
* 심하다 = severely, seriously
7. 보통 이 시간대에는 차가 안 막히는데, 오늘은 좀 많이 막히네요.
= Traffic is usually not bad at this time of day, but today it is pretty bad.
8. 어제 여기 지나가는 데에 한 시간 걸렸어요.
= It took me one hour to pass through this place yesterday.
9. 서울에서는 출퇴근 시간에 운전하면 차 막히는 거 각오해야 돼요.
= If you drive in Seoul around rush hour, you have to be ready for some bad traffic.
* 출퇴근 시간 = rush hour
** 각오하다 = to be mentally ready
10. 차만 안 막히면 10분 안에 갈 수 있는 거리예요.
= If traffic is not bad, it takes about 10 minutes to get there.
11. 이쪽 길은 많이 막히는 것 같으니까 다른 길로 갈게요.
= It looks like traffic is very bad on this road, so I will take another route.
12. 거기 지금쯤 많이 막히지 않을까요?
= Don’t you think the traffic there must be bad by now?
13. 차가 하나도 안 막혀서 빨리 왔어요.
= There was no traffic at all, so I got here fast.