How to Say "The duck is waiting in the river" in Korean | -고 있어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The duck is waiting in the river" in Korean is "오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요." (origa gangeseo gidarigo iteoyo.). It uses the -고 있어요 grammar pattern (Present Progressive (V-고 있어요)). Level: A1-A2.

Want to express "The duck is waiting in the river" in Korean? Say "오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요.". The grammar point -고 있어요 (A1-A2) is essential for everyday Korean conversation. Read on for a full breakdown.

What does "The duck is waiting in the river" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요." translates to "The duck is waiting in the river." in English. "오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요." 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: origa gangeseo gidarigo iteoyo.

Grammar Point: Present Progressive (V-고 있어요)

The pattern -고 있어요 describes an action happening right now, similar to English '-ing'. It combines a verb stem with -고 있다 in polite form. This sentence also uses 에서 and -아/어요.

Verb stem + 고 있어요. For example: 기다리다 → 기다리고 있어요 (is waiting).

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 오리가 (origa) • 강에서 (gangeseo) • 기다리고 (gidarigo) • 있어요 (iteoyo)

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 duck is waiting in the river" 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

오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요. — origa gangeseo gidarigo iteoyo. — The duck is waiting in the river.

오늘은 오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요. — oneuleun origa gangeseo gidarigo iteoyo. — Today, the duck is waiting in the river

지금 오리가 강에서 기다리고 있어요. — jigeum origa gangeseo gidarigo iteoyo. — Right now, the duck is waiting in the river

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 기다리있어요 → Correct: 기다리고 있어요. The connective particle -고 is required between the verb stem and 있어요. Skipping it makes the sentence ungrammatical.

Incorrect: 학교에 공부해요 → Correct: 학교에서 공부해요. For actions happening at a location, use 에서 not 에. The particle 에 is for static states (있다/없다) or destinations.