How to Say "The prince walks sneakily" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The prince walks sneakily" in Korean is "왕자가 살금살금 걸어요." (wangjaga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

Master the Korean expression "왕자가 살금살금 걸어요." (The prince walks sneakily). It showcases the -아/어요 pattern, which you will encounter constantly in Korean dramas, books, and conversations.

Category: 소리

What does "The prince walks sneakily" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "왕자가 살금살금 걸어요." translates to "The prince walks sneakily." in English. Korean expresses "the prince walks sneakily" as "왕자가 살금살금 걸어요.". The sentence structure may feel backwards compared to English, but once you get used to verb-final order, Korean starts to feel surprisingly logical.

Pronunciation guide: wangjaga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo.

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 "왕자가 살금살금 걸어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 왕자가 (wangjaga) • 살금살금 (salgeumsalgeum) • 걸어요 (geoleoyo)

Try covering the verb and guessing the sentence meaning from context. Then reveal it — this builds your Korean reading intuition.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

The Korean version flows naturally because it follows the golden rule of Korean word order: time/place first, then subject, then object, and finally the verb.

Cultural Insight

한국 이야기에서 할머니와 할아버지는 단순한 노인이 아니라, 지혜와 경험의 상징이에요. 이들의 조언이 이야기의 전환점이 되는 경우가 많습니다.

Examples

왕자가 살금살금 걸어요. — wangjaga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo. — The prince walks sneakily.

왕자가 살금살금 걸어요? — wangjaga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo? — Does the prince walks sneakily?

주말에 왕자가 살금살금 걸어요. — jumale wangjaga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo. — On weekends, the prince walks sneakily.

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: 걸어요 왕자가 살금살금 → Correct: 왕자가 살금살금 걸어요. 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 prince walks sneakily" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "왕자가 살금살금 걸어요.". wangjaga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo.

Fill in the blank: 왕자가 살금살금 ___

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