학교에 가요
hakgyoe gayo
The English phrase "I go to school" is translated into Korean as 학교에 가요 (hakgyoe gayo).
학교에 가요 is a statement used to say that someone is traveling to or attending a school. The phrase 학교에 specifically means "to school."
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 학교 (school), the particle 에 (to/at) and 가요 (go).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
학교에 가요 uses the polite ending -아요, making it suitable for everyday conversation with people you are not intimate with or are of higher status. For a more casual version used with close friends or people younger than you, you can use 학교에 가.
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 에 is used here to indicate the destination of the movement. In Korean, the subject "I" (either 나 or 저) is often omitted if the context makes it clear who is going to school.
How do you pronounce it?
hakgyoe gayo
Did you know?
- The word 가요 in this phrase is a homonym. While here it means 'go', as a noun it refers to a 'song' or 'ballad', specifically popular music like K-pop.
- The word 학교 (school) is a Sino-Korean word, meaning it was originally borrowed from Chinese characters meaning 'learning' and 'house'.
- The phrase 학교에 가요 can be used as a question simply by changing the intonation at the end to a rising tone.
Examples in context
- 나는 학교에 가요.I go to school.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase 학교에 가요.Tatoeba #472088 by tamsanh, translation #472089 by tamsanh
- 저는 학교에 다닙니다.I go to school
- 학교에 다니고 있습니다.I am going to school
- 아침마다 학교에 가요.achim-mada hakgyoe gayo.I go to school every morning.
- 지금 학교에 가요.jigeum hakgyoe gayo.I am going to school now.
Example conversation
Minjun and Subin meet on the street in the morning.
- 민준 Min-jun수빈 씨, 어디 가요?Subin ssi, eodi gayo?Subin, where are you going?
- 수빈 Su-bin저는 지금 학교에 가요.jeoneun jigeum hakgyoe gayo.I am going to school now.
- 민준 Min-jun저도 학교에 가요.jeodo hakgyoe gayo.I am going to school too.
- 수빈 Su-bin같이 가요!gat-i gayo!Let's go together!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 가요, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
