Fill in the blank: 거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 ___

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

How to Say "The turtle drinks water, and then walks the path" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The turtle drinks water, and then walks the path" in Korean is "거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요." (geobukiga meonjeo muleul masigo, geudaeume gileul geoleoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

Want to express "The turtle drinks water, and then walks the path" in Korean? Say "거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요.". The grammar point -아/어요 (A1) is essential for everyday Korean conversation. Read on for a full breakdown.

What does "The turtle drinks water, and then walks the path" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요." translates to "The turtle drinks water, and then walks the path." in English. "거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요." 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: geobukiga meonjeo muleul masigo, geudaeume gileul 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 "거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 거북이가 (geobukiga) • 먼저 (meonjeo) • 물을 (muleul) • 마시고, (masigo,) • 그다음에 (geudaeume) • 길을 (gileul) • 걸어요 (geoleoyo)

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 turtle drinks water, and then walks the path" 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

거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요. — geobukiga meonjeo muleul masigo, geudaeume gileul geoleoyo. — The turtle drinks water, and then walks the path.

지금 거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요. — jigeum geobukiga meonjeo muleul masigo, geudaeume gileul geoleoyo. — Right now, the turtle drinks water, and then walks the path

정말 거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 걸어요. — jeongmal geobukiga meonjeo muleul masigo, geudaeume gileul geoleoyo. — Really, the turtle drinks water, and then walks the path

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 거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 → Correct: 거북이가 먼저 물을 마시고, 그다음에 길을 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.