How to Say "The bear can open the window" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The bear can open the window" in Korean is "곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요." (gomeun changmuneul yeol su iteoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

"The bear can open the window" — in Korean, this becomes "곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요.". This example highlights -아/어요, a grammar pattern at the A1 level that appears everywhere in Korean.

Category: 동물

What does "The bear can open the window" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요." translates to "The bear can open the window." in English. Imagine a scene: the bear can open the window. In Korean, this moment is captured as "곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요.". The sentence flows naturally from subject to action.

Pronunciation guide: gomeun changmuneul yeol su iteoyo.

Grammar Point: Polite Ending (-아/어요)

The -아/어요 ending is the standard polite speech level in Korean. Use -아요 after bright vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ), -어요 after dark vowels, and 해요 for 하다 verbs.

가다 → 가요, 먹다 → 먹어요, 하다 → 해요. This is the most common speech level in daily Korean.

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 곰은 (gomeun) • 창문을 (changmuneul) • 열 (yeol) • 수 (su) • 있어요 (iteoyo)

Korean drops pronouns whenever context makes them clear. If you see no 'I' or 'you' in a sentence, that is normal — not a mistake.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

Korean sentences have a musical quality when the particles and endings match correctly. In this case, every piece fits together harmoniously, making it sound effortless to a native ear.

Cultural Insight

한국 이야기에서 모험은 물리적 여행보다 내면의 성장에 초점을 맞추는 경우가 많아요. 용기, 인내, 지혜가 진짜 보물이 됩니다.

Examples

곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요. — gomeun changmuneul yeol su iteoyo. — The bear can open the window.

곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요? — gomeun changmuneul yeol su iteoyo? — Does the bear can open the window?

주말에 곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요. — jumale gomeun changmuneul yeol su iteoyo. — On weekends, the bear can open the window.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 먹아요 → Correct: 먹어요. The stem 먹- ends in a dark vowel (ㅓ), so it takes -어요 not -아요. Match the vowel harmony.

Incorrect: 있어요 곰은 창문을 열 수 → Correct: 곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요. Korean uses Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. The verb must come at the end of the sentence, unlike English where it comes after the subject.

Quiz

How do you say "The bear can open the window" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "곰은 창문을 열 수 있어요.". gomeun changmuneul yeol su iteoyo.

Fill in the blank: 곰은 창문을 열 수 ___

The correct ending is "있어요". The polite -요 form is essential for everyday Korean conversation.