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

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

How would a Korean say "The singer walks sneakily"? Exactly like this: "가수가 살금살금 걸어요.". Notice the -아/어요 ending — once you recognize it, you will spot it everywhere.

Category: 소리

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

The Korean sentence "가수가 살금살금 걸어요." translates to "The singer walks sneakily." in English. "가수가 살금살금 걸어요." captures the feeling of "The singer walks sneakily" in a way that sounds gentle and approachable. The polite "-요" ending adds a layer of respect and warmth.

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

Try rearranging the words before the verb — in Korean, as long as the verb stays last, the meaning usually stays the same. This flexibility is a superpower.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

In English, we say "The singer walks sneakily" in a fairly neutral way. Korean reshapes this idea with particles and endings that bake politeness directly into the grammar — no extra words needed.

Cultural Insight

한국 전통 음악(국악)에서는 서양 음악과 달리 자연의 소리를 모방하는 것을 중시해요. 가야금은 물 흐르는 소리를, 대금은 바람 소리를 닮았습니다.

Examples

가수가 살금살금 걸어요. — gasuga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo. — The singer walks sneakily.

가수가 살금살금 걸어요? — gasuga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo? — Does the singer walks sneakily?

오늘도 가수가 살금살금 걸어요. — oneuldo gasuga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo. — Today too, the singer 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 가수가 살금살금 → Correct: 가수가 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 singer walks sneakily" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "가수가 살금살금 걸어요.". gasuga salgeumsalgeum geoleoyo.

Fill in the blank: 가수가 살금살금 ___

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