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

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

"The boy turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly" — in Korean, this becomes "소년이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요.". This example highlights -아/어요, a grammar pattern at the A1 level that appears everywhere in Korean.

Category: 물건

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

The Korean sentence "소년이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요." translates to "The boy turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly." in English. The phrase "소년이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요." translates as "the boy turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly". 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: sonyeoni 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 "소년이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 소년이 (sonyeoni) • 먼저 (meonjeo) • 등불을 (deungbuleul) • 켜고, (kyeogo,) • 그다음에 (geudaeume) • 조용히 (joyonghi) • 쉬어요 (swieoyo)

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 동화 속 현명한 인물은 힘이 아닌 지혜로 문제를 해결해요. '꾀'를 부리는 것이 미덕으로 여겨지며, 이는 한국의 '슬기(지혜)' 문화를 반영합니다.

Examples

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

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

소년이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 쉬어요? — sonyeoni meonjeo deungbuleul kyeogo, geudaeume joyonghi swieoyo? — Does the boy 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 소년이 먼저 등불을 켜고, 그다음에 조용히 → Correct: 소년이 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 boy turns on the lantern, and then rests quietly" in Korean?

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

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

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