# Korean Direction Words You’ll Hear After Asking “Where Is It?”

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You ask **화장실 어디예요?**and the staff member answers in Korean while pointing past the counter. You understood your own question. Now you need one word from the reply.

Listen for the place word:

**앞** in front, **뒤** behind, **옆** next to, **위** above, **아래** below, or **건너편** across from. These words usually come after a landmark and before **에 있어요**.

## Ask where something is

| Korean | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 화장실 어디예요? | hwa-jang-sil eo-di-ye-yo? | Where is the restroom? |
| 계산대 어디예요? | gye-san-dae eo-di-ye-yo? | Where is the checkout? |
| 지하철역 어디예요? | ji-ha-cheol-lyeok eo-di-ye-yo? | Where is the subway station? |
| 죄송한데, 다시 말씀해 주세요 | joe-song-han-de, da-si mal-sseum-hae ju-se-yo | Sorry, please say that again |

You do not need a longer question. Say the place, add **어디예요?**, and listen for the landmark and direction.

## The direction words

| Korean | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 앞 | ap | in front of |
| 뒤 | dwi | behind |
| 옆 | yeop | next to |
| 위 | wi | above / on top of |
| 아래 | a-rae | below |
| 안 | an | inside |
| 밖 | bak | outside |
| 근처 | geun-cheo | nearby |
| 사이 | sa-i | between |
| 왼쪽 | oen-jjok | left side |
| 오른쪽 | o-reun-jjok | right side |
| 건너편 | geon-neo-pyeon | across from |

## Hear the landmark first

A Korean location answer often follows this shape:
**landmark + direction word + 에 있어요**

| Korean | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 계산대 옆에 있어요 | gye-san-dae yeo-pe i-sseo-yo | It's next to the checkout |
| 엘리베이터 앞에 있어요 | el-li-be-i-teo a-pe i-sseo-yo | It's in front of the elevator |
| 건물 안에 있어요 | geon-mul a-ne i-sseo-yo | It's inside the building |
| 길 건너편에 있어요 | gil geon-neo-pyeo-ne i-sseo-yo | It's across the street |
| 두 가게 사이에 있어요 | du ga-ge sa-i-e i-sseo-yo | It's between the two shops |

When a final consonant meets **에**, the sound carries into the next syllable. That is why **앞에** sounds closer to **a-pe** and **옆에** to **yeo-pe**. Recognizing those forms is more useful than memorizing the words only in isolation.

## Short answers you may hear

| Korean | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 저쪽이에요 | jeo-jjo-gi-e-yo | It's over there |
| 이쪽으로 가세요 | i-jjo-geu-ro ga-se-yo | Please go this way |
| 왼쪽에 있어요 | oen-jjo-ge i-sseo-yo | It's on the left |
| 2층에 있어요 | i-cheung-e i-sseo-yo | It's on the second floor |

If you catch only **저쪽**, follow the gesture. If you hear **옆**, find the landmark that came before it. You are not trying to translate the entire answer; you are finding one location.

After your trip, this same pattern becomes your first useful use of

**에 있어요**: not an abstract grammar rule, but the sentence that helped you find the restroom.

For the site tree, see the [root Markdown](https://easykoreanchat.com/.md).