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

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

The Korean sentence "토끼는 책을 열 수 있어요." is a beautiful way to say "The rabbit can open the book". It uses Polite Ending (-아/어요) — a must-know pattern at the A1 level.

Category: 동물

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

The Korean sentence "토끼는 책을 열 수 있어요." translates to "The rabbit can open the book." in English. "토끼는 책을 열 수 있어요." is a complete thought in just a few syllables. It translates to "the rabbit can open the book" and demonstrates how efficiently Korean communicates meaning. The polite form ensures you sound respectful in any context.

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

Notice how Korean particles (은/는, 을/를, 에서) do the work that word order does in English. Once you master particles, word order becomes flexible.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

This sounds natural because Korean speakers instinctively expect the verb at the end. When you say "The rabbit can open the book" with the action word last, it matches the mental model Korean listeners use.

Cultural Insight

한국 동화에서 평범한 물건에 마법이 깃드는 이야기가 많아요. 낡은 도끼, 박 씨앗, 부채 한 자루가 운명을 바꾸는 도구가 됩니다.

Examples

토끼는 책을 열 수 있어요. — tokkineun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo. — The rabbit can open the book.

토끼는 책을 열 수 있어요? — tokkineun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo? — Does the rabbit can open the book?

주말에 토끼는 책을 열 수 있어요. — jumale tokkineun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo. — On weekends, the rabbit 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 토끼는 책을 열 수 → Correct: 토끼는 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 rabbit can open the book" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "토끼는 책을 열 수 있어요.". tokkineun chaekeul yeol su iteoyo.

Fill in the blank: 토끼는 책을 열 수 ___

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