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

Quick Answer: "The fish must not go to the path at night" in Korean is "물고기는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요." (mulgogineun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo.). It uses the -(으)면 grammar pattern (If/When (-(으)면)). Level: A2.

Learn how to say "The fish must not go to the path at night" in Korean: "물고기는 밤에 길에 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 fish must not go to the path at night" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "물고기는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요." translates to "The fish must not go to the path at night." in English. "물고기는 밤에 길에 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: mulgogineun bame gile 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 "물고기는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 물고기는 (mulgogineun) • 밤에 (bame) • 길에 (gile) • 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 fish must not go to the path at night" directly. Korean keeps the same idea but adds softness through the ending, so the line feels caring rather than flat.

Cultural Insight

모험은 성장의 상징으로, 작은 용기와 함께 시작돼요.

Examples

물고기는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요. — mulgogineun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo. — The fish must not go to the path at night.

오늘은 물고기는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요. — oneuleun mulgogineun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo. — Today, the fish must not go to the path at night

지금 물고기는 밤에 길에 가면 안 돼요. — jigeum mulgogineun bame gile gamyeon an dwaeyo. — Right now, the fish must not go to the path at night

Common Mistakes

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

Incorrect: 돼요 물고기는 밤에 길에 가면 안 → Correct: 물고기는 밤에 길에 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.

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