How to Say "The fox can open the book" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The fox can open the book" in Korean is "여우는 책을 열 수 있어요." (yeouneun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

Want to express "The fox can open the book" in Korean? Say "여우는 책을 열 수 있어요.". The grammar point -아/어요 (A1) is essential for everyday Korean conversation. Read on for a full breakdown.

Category: 동물

What does "The fox can open the book" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "여우는 책을 열 수 있어요." translates to "The fox can open the book." in English. "여우는 책을 열 수 있어요." might look complex at first, but it follows a predictable pattern. It says "the fox can open the book" by placing the key action at the very end — a hallmark of Korean grammar.

Pronunciation guide: yeouneun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo.

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 "여우는 책을 열 수 있어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 여우는 (yeouneun) • 책을 (chaekeul) • 열 (yeol) • 수 (su) • 있어요 (iteoyo)

Korean has no articles (a, an, the). Instead, context and particles tell you whether something is specific or general.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

Korean speakers would find this sentence instantly comprehensible because it uses high-frequency vocabulary combined with a standard sentence pattern — the bread and butter of Korean communication.

Cultural Insight

한국 전통 이야기에서 호랑이는 무서운 존재이면서도 때로는 어리숙한 캐릭터로 등장해요. '호랑이와 곶감' 같은 이야기가 대표적입니다.

Examples

여우는 책을 열 수 있어요. — yeouneun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo. — The fox can open the book.

여우는 책을 열 수 있어요? — yeouneun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo? — Does the fox can open the book?

주말에 여우는 책을 열 수 있어요. — jumale yeouneun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo. — On weekends, the fox can open the book.

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: 있어요 여우는 책을 열 수 → Correct: 여우는 책을 열 수 있어요. 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 fox can open the book" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "여우는 책을 열 수 있어요.". yeouneun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo.

Fill in the blank: 여우는 책을 열 수 ___

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