How to Say "The bird must not go to the path at night" in Korean | -(으)면 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The bird must not go to the path at night" in Korean is "새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요." (saeneun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo.). It uses the -(으)면 grammar pattern (If/When (-(으)면)). Level: A2.

Learn how to say "The bird must not go to the path at night" in Korean: "새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요.". This sentence uses the -(으)면 grammar pattern (If/When (-(으)면)), a key building block for Korean learners at the A2 level.

Category: 동물

What does "The bird must not go to the path at night" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요." translates to "The bird must not go to the path at night." in English. At the A1-A2 level, "새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요." is an excellent sentence to memorize. Every word serves a purpose, and the overall meaning — "the bird must not go to the path at night" — comes through clearly.

Pronunciation guide: saeneun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo.

Grammar Point: If/When (-(으)면)

The ending -(으)면 expresses a condition ('if') or temporal trigger ('when'). Use -면 after vowel-ending stems, -으면 after consonant-ending stems.

가다 → 가면 (if [someone] goes), 먹다 → 먹으면 (if [someone] eats).

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 새는 (saeneun) • 밤에 (bame) • 길에 (gile) • 가면 (gamyeon) • 안 (an) • 돼요 (dwaeyo)

The best way to internalize Korean word order is to build sentences piece by piece: start with the verb, then add the object, then the subject.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

This Korean version sounds natural because it uses the most common speech level (-요 form). Korean has seven speech levels, and this one strikes the perfect balance between formal and casual.

Cultural Insight

한국 문화에서 '때'라는 개념은 중요해요. '때가 되면'이라는 표현은 인내와 적절한 타이밍의 가치를 담고 있습니다.

Examples

새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요. — saeneun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo. — The bird must not go to the path at night.

새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요? — saeneun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo? — Does the bird must not go to the path at night?

저녁에 새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요. — jeonyeoke saeneun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo. — In the evening, the bird must not go to the path at night.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 먹면 → Correct: 먹으면. After a consonant-ending stem (먹-), you need the vowel buffer 으 before 면.

Incorrect: 돼요 새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 → Correct: 새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요. 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 bird must not go to the path at night" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요.". saeneun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo.

Fill in the blank: 새는 밤에 길에 가면 안 ___

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