How do you say "The boy must not go to the river at night" in Korean?

소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요. The correct Korean translation is "소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요.". sonyeoneun bame gange gamyeon an dwaeyo.

Fill in the blank: 소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 ___

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

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

Quick Answer: "The boy must not go to the river at night" in Korean is "소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요." (sonyeoneun bame gange gamyeon an dwaeyo.). It uses the -(으)면 grammar pattern (If/When (-(으)면)). Level: A2.

Learn how to say "The boy must not go to the river at night" in Korean: "소년은 밤에 강에 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.

What does "The boy must not go to the river at night" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요." translates to "The boy must not go to the river at night." in English. "소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요." is a simple A1–A2 sentence that paints a clear scene. It ends with "-요" so it feels polite and warm. It is perfect for fairy-tale style narration.

Pronunciation guide: sonyeoneun bame gange 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 "소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 소년은 (sonyeoneun) • 밤에 (bame) • 강에 (gange) • 가면 (gamyeon) • 안 (an) • 돼요 (dwaeyo)

Korean sentences always end with the verb. Get comfortable with putting the action word last.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

In English, we often say "The boy must not go to the river at night" directly. Korean keeps the same idea but adds softness through the ending, so the line feels caring rather than flat.

Cultural Insight

자연을 친구처럼 바라보는 시선이 한국 이야기 속에 자주 담겨 있어요.

Examples

소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요. — sonyeoneun bame gange gamyeon an dwaeyo. — The boy must not go to the river at night.

지금 소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요. — jigeum sonyeoneun bame gange gamyeon an dwaeyo. — Right now, the boy must not go to the river at night

정말 소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 돼요. — jeongmal sonyeoneun bame gange gamyeon an dwaeyo. — Really, the boy must not go to the river at night

Common Mistakes

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

Incorrect: 돼요 소년은 밤에 강에 가면 안 → Correct: 소년은 밤에 강에 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.