How to Say "The whale is slower than the horse" in Korean | Korean Expression

Quick Answer: "The whale is slower than the horse" in Korean is "고래는 말보다 더 느려요." (goraeneun malboda deo neuryeoyo.). Level: A1.

Want to express "The whale is slower than the horse" in Korean? Say "고래는 말보다 더 느려요.". This beginner-friendly sentence uses polite Korean speech. Read on for a full breakdown.

Category: 동물

What does "The whale is slower than the horse" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "고래는 말보다 더 느려요." translates to "The whale is slower than the horse." in English. The phrase "고래는 말보다 더 느려요." translates as "the whale is slower than the horse". What makes it stand out is how Korean packages the entire idea: the subject comes first, the context follows, and the action wraps it up at the end.

Pronunciation guide: goraeneun malboda deo neuryeoyo.

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "고래는 말보다 더 느려요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 고래는 (goraeneun) • 말보다 (malboda) • 더 (deo) • 느려요 (neuryeoyo)

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

This expression sounds like something from a children's animal story — and that is exactly the register Korean uses for warm, everyday communication.

Cultural Insight

한국 동화 속 동물들은 대부분 사람처럼 말하고 생각해요. 이런 의인화는 동물을 통해 인간의 모습을 비추는 거울 역할을 합니다.

Examples

고래는 말보다 더 느려요. — goraeneun malboda deo neuryeoyo. — The whale is slower than the horse.

고래는 말보다 더 느려요? — goraeneun malboda deo neuryeoyo? — Does the whale is slower than the horse?

고래는 말보다 더 안 느려요. — goraeneun malboda deo an neuryeoyo. — The whale is not slower than the horse.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 느려요 고래는 말보다 더 → Correct: 고래는 말보다 더 느려요. 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 whale is slower than the horse" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "고래는 말보다 더 느려요.". goraeneun malboda deo neuryeoyo.

Fill in the blank: 고래는 말보다 더 ___

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