Ask a question you can follow up

You ask where the station is and receive a helpful answer. Then comes the difficult part: was that a left turn, or is the station simply on the left? Learning both the question and the likely reply makes the exchange much easier.

This beginner lesson covers a short walking route. You will ask about a destination, recognise direction words, and check one detail before moving on. The sample route is invented for practice. Use current signs and a map for a real journey; the place names below do not describe an actual neighbourhood.

If you are still learning Hangul, use the speaker buttons to hear complete phrases while working through the syllable-block guide. You can start with the first three questions without learning every particle at once.

Start with the place you need

어디 asks “where”; 어떻게 asks “how.” 어디예요? asks for the location, while 어떻게 가요? invites directions for reaching it. In 어디에 있어요?, 있어요 means “is / is located” in this setting. The two location questions are both useful.

To change the destination, replace 지하철역 with the place name. For the first pattern, a consonant-ending noun takes 이: 화장실이 어디예요? Another example is 약국이 어디예요? — “Where is the pharmacy?” 약국 ends in ㄱ, so it also takes 이. A vowel-ending noun takes 가: 카페가 어디예요? means “Where is the café?” Look at the last written block, not the final English letter in a romanization.

Pause after getting someone’s attention. Show the place name on your phone if there are several branches or similarly named buildings. The person needs to know which destination you mean before a direction can help.

Hear an instruction as a whole phrase

가세요 tells you to go; 도세요 tells you to turn. Both are polite instructions. 직진하세요 is a compact way to say “Go straight.” You may also hear 쭉 가세요. — “Keep going straight.” 쭉 adds the sense of continuing along the route; it does not give you a measured distance.

In 도세요, the dictionary verb is 돌다, “to turn.” Its ㄹ drops before -세요. You can learn 도세요 as a ready-to-use form now. Avoid constructing 돌으세요 from the dictionary spelling.

“On the right” and “to the right” do different jobs

에 marks the location with 있어요 here. (으)로 marks direction with 가세요. 에서 identifies where the action 기다리다, “to wait,” happens. Learn the complete examples before trying to translate every English “at” with the same particle.

For this direction pattern, attach 으로 after most final consonants: 오른쪽 → 오른쪽으로. After a vowel or final ㄹ, attach 로: 위로 means “upward,” and 서울로 can mean “toward Seoul.” The particle joins the noun without a space. 에 and (으)로 can overlap when naming a destination; this table highlights the clearer contrast between a static position and an instruction to move.

Follow this small practice route

까지 gives the endpoint of the first instruction. The café is where you turn, not the final destination. 옆 means “beside / next to”; it does not tell you that the library is inside the bank. In the last sentence, 도서관은 sets the library as what the speaker is describing.

Other useful position words are 앞 (front), 뒤 (back / behind), and 건너편 (the opposite side, across from something). If you hear 은행 건너편에 있어요, look across from the bank rather than beside it. In a real street, identifying a destination across the road does not tell you where the crossing is.

Check the part you missed

For a short confirmation, repeat the information with a questioning tone. “Next to the bank?” is often easier to resolve than asking the person to repeat a long route from the beginning. In 왼쪽으로 가면 돼요?, the pattern asks whether going left is what you should do in this situation. It is not saying that every left turn is allowed.

Try one exchange with a partner. The first person asks how to reach the library. The second gives the three instructions above. The first then checks the turn and thanks them. Change the turn to right for the next round and update the drawing too.

Choose a route, then explain it

For your next session, cover the English column and give the three-step route from the drawing. Then use the travel phrase overview to practise another short exchange.

A small listening check

Language references and more practice

• How to Study Korean: particles and direction — The (으)로 section explains its forms and direction uses.
• How to Study Korean: question words — Further examples of 어디 in questions.
• National Institute of Korean Language: learner dictionary — Look up 직진, 옆 and 건너편 for meanings and pronunciation.

Reviewed September 3, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.