How to Say "The book is old" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The book is old" in Korean is "책이 오래됐어요." (chaeki oraedwaeteoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

"The book is old" — in Korean, this becomes "책이 오래됐어요.". This example highlights -아/어요, a grammar pattern at the A1 level that appears everywhere in Korean.

Category: 물건

What does "The book is old" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "책이 오래됐어요." translates to "The book is old." in English. The phrase "책이 오래됐어요." translates as "the book is old". What makes it stand out is how Korean packages the entire idea: the subject comes first, the context follows, and the action wraps it up at the end.

Pronunciation guide: chaeki oraedwaeteoyo.

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 "책이 오래됐어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 책이 (chaeki) • 오래됐어요 (oraedwaeteoyo)

Korean sentences always end with the verb. Get comfortable putting the action word last — it is the most important difference from English.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

This expression sounds like something from a beloved fairy tale — and that is exactly the register Korean uses for warm, everyday communication.

Cultural Insight

한국 동화에서 평범한 물건에 마법이 깃드는 이야기가 많아요. 낡은 도끼, 박 씨앗, 부채 한 자루가 운명을 바꾸는 도구가 됩니다.

Examples

책이 오래됐어요. — chaeki oraedwaeteoyo. — The book is old.

책이 오래됐어요? — chaeki oraedwaeteoyo? — Does the book is old?

책이 안 오래됐어요. — chaeki an oraedwaeteoyo. — The book is not old.

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.

Quiz

How do you say "The book is old" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "책이 오래됐어요.". chaeki oraedwaeteoyo.

Fill in the blank: 책이 ___

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