How to Say "The duck falls asleep" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The duck falls asleep" in Korean is "오리가 잠들어요." (origa jamdeuleoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

Translate "The duck falls asleep" into Korean and you get "오리가 잠들어요.". The Polite Ending (-아/어요) grammar point here is used in about 1 in 5 Korean sentences — truly essential.

Category: 동물

What does "The duck falls asleep" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "오리가 잠들어요." translates to "The duck falls asleep." in English. "오리가 잠들어요." demonstrates how Korean builds meaning layer by layer. Each particle and ending adds nuance to the base idea of "the duck falls asleep".

Pronunciation guide: origa jamdeuleoyo.

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 "오리가 잠들어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 오리가 (origa) • 잠들어요 (jamdeuleoyo)

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 설화에서 까치는 길조의 새로, 좋은 소식을 전해준다고 믿었어요. '까치가 울면 반가운 손님이 온다'는 속담이 있습니다.

Examples

오리가 잠들어요. — origa jamdeuleoyo. — The duck falls asleep.

오리가 잠들어요? — origa jamdeuleoyo? — Does the duck falls asleep?

저녁에 오리가 잠들어요. — jeonyeoke origa jamdeuleoyo. — In the evening, the duck falls asleep.

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 duck falls asleep" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "오리가 잠들어요.". origa jamdeuleoyo.

Fill in the blank: 오리가 ___

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