How to Say "The bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly" in Korean is "곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요." (gomi meonjeo deungbuleul kyeogo, geudaeume joyonghi swieoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

Translate "The bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly" into Korean and you get "곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요.". The Polite Ending (-아/어요) grammar point here is used in about 1 in 5 Korean sentences — truly essential.

Category: 동물

What does "The bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요." translates to "The bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly." in English. "곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요." demonstrates how Korean builds meaning layer by layer. Each particle and ending adds nuance to the base idea of "the bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly".

Pronunciation guide: gomi meonjeo deungbuleul kyeogo, geudaeume joyonghi swieoyo.

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 "곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 곰이 (gomi) • 먼저 (meonjeo) • 등불을 (deungbuleul) • 켜고, (kyeogo,) • 그다음에 (geudaeume) • 조용히 (joyonghi) • 쉬어요 (swieoyo)

In fairy tales, Korean sentences tend to be shorter and simpler than in novels. This makes them perfect for language practice.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

What gives this sentence its natural ring is the verb ending. Korean verb endings carry enormous information — tense, politeness, mood — all packed into one or two syllables.

Cultural Insight

한국 동화 속 동물들은 대부분 사람처럼 말하고 생각해요. 이런 의인화는 동물을 통해 인간의 모습을 비추는 거울 역할을 합니다.

Examples

곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요. — gomi meonjeo deungbuleul kyeogo, geudaeume joyonghi swieoyo. — The bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly.

곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬었어요. — gomi meonjeo deungbuleul kyeogo, geudaeume joyonghi swieoteoyo. — The bear turned on the lantern, and then rests quietly.

곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요? — gomi meonjeo deungbuleul kyeogo, geudaeume joyonghi swieoyo? — Does the bear turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly?

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: 쉬어요 곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 → Correct: 곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요. 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 turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요.". gomi meonjeo deungbuleul kyeogo, geudaeume joyonghi swieoyo.

Fill in the blank: 곰이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 ___

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