This Lesson is also available in Español, Русский, Deutsch and العربية
Click here for a Workbook to go along with this lesson.
Jump to:
Simple Usages of 때
When: … ~ㄹ/을 때
Vocabulary
Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use. You might not be able to understand all of the grammar within the example sentences, but most of the grammar used will be introduced by the end of Unit 2. Use these sentences to give yourself a feel for how each word can be used, and maybe even to expose yourself to the grammar that you will be learning shortly.
A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.
Nouns:
레인 = lane
Examples:
이 레인에서 운전할 때 앞에 있는 차를 앞지르지 마세요
= When you are driving in this lane, don’t pass the car in front of you
1번 레인에서 출발하는 수영선수가 현재 신기록을 가지고 있는 선수예요
= The swimmer departing from lane number one is the swimmer who holds the current record
뼈 = bone
Common Usages:
뼈마디 = joint
머리뼈 = skull
꼬리뼈 = tailbone
Examples:
뼈가 아플 때 고통을 버티려고 이 약을 먹어요
= When your bones are sore, in order to endure the pain, take this medicine
뼈가 건강하기 위해서는 많은 칼슘을 꾸준히 섭취해야 해요
= In order to have healthy bones it is necessary to have a steady calcium intake
나이가 많을수록 넘어질 경우 뼈가 부러질 가능성이 커요
= As you get older, the possibility of falling and breaking a bone is high
뼈마디 = joint
Examples:
뼈마디가 아플 때 이 약을 드세요 = When your joints hurt, take this medicine
뼈마디를 이어주는 역할을 하는 것이 인대예요
= The things that have the role of connecting joints are ligaments
슬기는 뼈마디가 얇아서 실제 몸무게보다 날씬해 보여요
= Seulgi has thin joints (is small boned) so she looks thinner than her actual body weight
도매 = wholesale
Common Usages:
도매가격 = wholesale price
도매상 = a wholesaler
Examples:
이 시장에 가면 모든 제품을 도매가격으로 구입할 수 있어요
= If you go to this market, you can buy all products at wholesale prices
이 제품을 소매로 팔았을 때 돈을 많이 못 벌어서 지금부터 도매로 팔 거예요
= When I sold this product through retail, I didn’t make any money so from now on I’m going to sell it through wholesale
소매 = retail
Common Usages:
소매가격 = retail price
소매상 = retailer
Examples:
대부분의 소비자가 제품을 구입할 때 내는 가격이 소매가격이에요
= The price that most consumers pay when purchasing products is the retail price
이 제품을 소매로 팔았을 때 돈을 많이 못 벌어서 지금부터 도매로 팔 거예요
= When I sold this product through retail, I didn’t make any money so from now on I’m going to sell it through wholesale
사인 = autograph
Notes: When paying by card (bank card or credit card) in Korea, customers have to sign an electronic device to provide their signature. At this time, the clerk working the cash will say: “사인해 주세요!”
Common Usages:
팬사인회 = an event to give fans one’s autograph
사인을 받다 = to get an autograph
Examples:
여기에 사인을 안 해도 돼요 = You don’t need to sign here
여기 아래에 사인해 주세요 = Please sign below, here
그 연예인의 사인을 받았을 때 너무 설레었어요 = When I got that celebrity’s signature, I was really excited
오늘 저스틴 비버 팬사인회에서 사인을 받기 위해 한 시간을 기다렸어요 = I waited for an hour to get Justin Bieber’s signature at the fan signing meeting (autograph session) today
뇌 = brain
Common Usages:
세뇌 = brainwashing
Examples:
오랫동안 공부할 때 뇌가 아파요 = When I study for a long time, my brain hurts
의사가 뇌에 대한 수업을 가르치셨을 때 아주 깊이 설명하셨어요
= When the doctor taught a class about the brain, he explained it very deeply
왼손 오른손 골고루 사용하는 것이 뇌 발달에 좋아요
= It is good for the development of one’s brain to use one’s right and left hand equally/evenly
저희 어머니는 호두가 뇌 발달에 좋다고 매일 먹으라고 하셨어요
= My mother says walnuts are good for brain development and to eat them every day
집안 = inside a house
Common Usages:
집안일 = house chores
집안 배경 = “family background” (usually refers to the money in a family)
집안 환경 = home environment
Examples:
저는 방학 때 집안에서 공부를 할 거예요 = I’m going to study in my house during vacation
저는 주로 책을 참고해서 집안을 꾸미는 것을 좋아해요
= I usually/mostly like to decorate my house by looking at/referring to books
요즘에는 남녀 모두가 공평하게 집안일을 나눠서 해요
= These days house chores are divided evenly between men and women
배경 = background
Common Usages:
배경음악 = background music
집안 배경 = “family background” (usually refers to the money in a family)
Examples:
그 그림을 볼 때 배경이 무슨 의미가 있는지 생각해 보세요
= When you look at the painting, try to think about what meaning the background has
사랑 없이 집안 배경을 보고 결혼할 경우 미래에 이혼할 가능성이 높아요
= If you only look at one’s “family background” (the money that somebody has) and don’t have any love, the possibility of divorce in the future is high
복권 = lottery ticket
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “복꿘”
Common Usages:
복권을 긁다 = to scratch a lottery ticket
복권에 당첨되다 = to win the lottery
Examples:
저는 복권에 당첨되면 바로 세계여행을 떠날 거예요
= If I won the lottery I would travel the world right away
보통 돼지꿈을 꾸면 한국에서는 복권을 사요
= If you dream about pigs, you usually buy a lottery ticket in Korea (This is actually true. In Korea, there are these things called “해몽” and depending on what you dream about, it signals that something is going to happen. Specifically, if you dream about pigs, it signals that you will have good luck)
시간표 = timetable
Common Usages:
시간표를 짜다 = to set/make a timetable
Examples:
선생님들은 회의 때 시간표에 대해 얘기했어요 = The teachers talked about the schedule during the meeting
사막 = desert
Common Usages:
사하라사막 = the Sahara Desert
Examples:
저는 사막에서 살았을 때를 잊어버리고 싶어요 = I want to forget the time I lived in the desert
사막을 생각하면 자연스럽게 낙타가 떠올라요 = If you think about deserts, camels naturally come to one’s mind
곤충 = bug, insect
Common Usages:
곤충채집 = an insect collection
Examples:
제가 어렸을 때 곤충을 먹었어요 = When I was young I used to eat bugs
사람들이 곤충을 죽일 때 아무 느낌도 없어요 = People don’t feel anything when they kill insects
Verbs:
버티다 = to endure, bear
Examples:
뼈가 아플 때 고통을 버티려고 이 약을 먹어요
= When your bones are sore, in order to endure the pain, take this medicine
하지만 내가 하고 싶은 일을 시작해서 하루하루 잘 버티고 있다
= But, because am starting work that I want to do, every day (day by day) I am enduring it well.
신입사원으로 입사해서 힘들었지만 잘 버텨서 어제 승진했어요
= I entered the company as a new worker (rookie) so it was very difficult, but I endured it well and was promoted yesterday
견디다 = to endure, bear
Examples:
실연의 아픔이 커도 견디다 보면 언젠가는 그 사람도 잊혀질 거예요
= Even if the pain of a broken heart is big, if you endure it for a while, someday that person too will be forgotten
응원하다 = to cheer on, to root for
The noun form of this word (“응원”) translates to “(moral) support.”
Common Usages:
응원석 = a “cheering” seat (at Korean sporting events, there is usually a designated area of seats that will have fans who will cheer a lot during the game)
Examples:
저는 그 팀을 어렸을 때부터 응원했어요 = I’ve been cheering for that team since I was young
이번에 제가 응원하는 팀이 슈퍼볼에서 승리했으면 좋겠어요
= It would be nice if the team I cheer for won the Super Bowl this time
우리 가족은 내가 힘들 때마다 나와 함께 있어주고 내가 무슨 일을 해도 항상 응원해주는 든든한 지원군이다 = Whenever things are difficult, my family is always with me, and anything I do, they are always encouraging (cheering) strong supporters
응시하다= to gaze, to look
Examples:
너의 눈을 응시할 때 가슴이 설레어 = When I gaze into your eyes, my heart flutters
컴퓨터를 오래 사용해 눈이 피곤하면 먼 곳을 20초 동안 응시하면 좋아요
= If your eyes are tired from using a computer for a long time, it is good if you look at a far place for 20 seconds
짐작하다 = to guess
The noun form of this word (“짐작”) translates to “a guess.”
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “짐자카다”
Common Usages:
제가 짐작했던 대로 / 제가 짐작한 대로 = As I guessed
지레짐작하다 = to guess something too fast (to guess before something even happens)
Examples:
그 사람이 말을 했을 때 그 사람이 경찰관인 것을 짐작했어요
= When that person talked, I guessed he is/was a police officer
이웃주민들은 그 남자의 이상한 행동을 보고 범인으로 짐작했다
= The neighborhood residents saw that man do some weird actions and guessed he was a criminal
죽이다 = to kill
Examples:
그 친구를 죽이고 싶을 때가 있어요 = There are times when I want to kill that friend
경찰관이 목격자한테 누가 사람을 죽였냐고 물어봤어요
= The police asked the witness who killed the person
도둑을 잡게 되더라도 그 사람은 이미 저의 친구를 죽여서 소용이 없어요
= Even if the thief is caught, that person already killed my friend, so it’s no use
감다 = to wash one's hair
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “감따”
Common Usages:
머리를 감다 = to wash one’s hair
Examples:
머리를 감을 때 비누로 해요 = When I wash my hair, I do it with soap
저는 머리가 길어서 머리 감는 데 남들보다 오래 걸려요 = I have long hair, so it takes longer than other people to wash my hair
Adjectives:
예의가 바르다 = to be polite
Examples:
대통령을 만날 때 저는 아주 예의가 바를 거예요 = When I meet the president I will be very polite
이 청년은 예의가 발라서 어른들에게 인기가 많아요
= This young man is very polite, so he is popular amongst older people
어렸을 때 우리 엄마가 항상 낯선 사람들한테 예의가 바르게 행동하라고 했어요
= When I was young, my mother always told me to act politely to people you don’t know
얕다 = to be shallow
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “얃따”
Common Usages:
수심이 얕다 = for the depth (usually of a pool) to be shallow
지식이 얕다 = to have “shallow” knowledge (to know a lot of things, but to not know them deeply)
Examples:
키가 클 때까지 얕은 수영장에서만 수영할 거예요
= I’m only going to swim in shallow swimming pools until I am taller
이 수영장이 다른 곳보다 수심이 얕아서 어린아이들이 놀기에 좋아요
= This pool is shallower than other places so it is good for children to play here
Adverbs and Other Words:
어쨌든 = at any rate, in any case, anyways
Translation: at any rate, in any case, anyways
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “어짿뜬”
Examples:
어쨌든 오늘은 저의 생일이기 때문에 화를 내지 않을 거예요
= Anyways, today is my birthday so I won’t be mad
나는 사자를 보는 게 무서웠지만 어쨌든 우리는 사자가 있는 곳에 도착했다. 하지만 사자는 낮잠을 자고 있었다.
= I was afraid of seeing the lions, but, at any rate, we arrived at the place where the lions were. However, the lions were taking a nap
깊이 = deeply
Examples:
의사가 뇌에 대한 수업을 가르치셨을 때 아주 깊이 설명하셨어요
= When the doctor taught a class about the brain, he explained it very deeply
타임캡슐을 땅에 묻기 위해서는 땅을 깊이 파야 해요
= In order to bury the time capsule in the ground, we have to dig deep (in the ground)
그 문제를 해결하기 위해 깊이 생각해봤지만 해답을 찾지 못했어요
= In order to solve that problem, we thought deeply but couldn’t find a solution/answer
겨우 = barely, hardly, narrowly
Notes: The translation of 겨우 is typically “barely” but it has two main usages. For the first usage, I like to imagine a line, and when 겨우 is used the action is just able to cross the line. For example:
늦잠을 자서 출근시간을 겨우 맞췄다 = I slept in and I just managed to arrive on time
Here, if you imagine the line is the “출근시간” (the time work starts) the speaker just crossed the line and made it to work on time
It can also be used to emphasize that some action or number is smaller than one would expect. For example:
겨우 50만원을 벌기 위해 이렇게 열심히 일했다고 생각하니 허무했어요
= Thinking about how hard you say you worked in order to make a measly 50만원, you wasted your time
겨우 이런 일 가지고 친구가 저한테 실망을 하다니 믿을 수가 없었어요
= For such a small thing I can’t believe that my friend is disappointed in me
가짜 = fake
Examples:
가방을 처음 봤을 때 가짜인 것을 알았어요 = When I first saw the bag, I knew that it was fake
제가 어제 산 신발이 가짜인 것을 알게 되었어요 = I found out that the shoes I bought yesterday are fake
For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.
Introduction
In this lesson, you will use the ~는 것 principle to describe a specific time that an action takes place. This can be done using the special noun “때” to makes sentences like:
When I study…
When I meet you…
When I was in Korea…
In addition, we will look at other ways “때” can be used. Let’s get started.
Simple Usages of 때
The word “때” typically refers to a “time.” In its most simple form, you can see it placed after some event or period to refer to the time during that event/period. For example:
저녁 때 = During dinner/evening time
방학 때 = During the school vacation
회의 때 = During the meeting
휴가 때 = During a vacation
고등학교 때 = During high school
중학교 때 = During middle school
초등학교 때 = During elementary school
대학교 때 = During University
These constructions can be used in sentences where appropriate. For example:
저는 방학 때 집안에서 공부를 할 거예요 = I’m going to study in my house during vacation
휴가 때 어디로 갈 거예요? = Where are you going to go during vacation?
고등학교 때 저는 친구가 별로 없었어요 = I didn’t have many friends during high school
대학교 때 동시에 여자 친구가 두 명 있었어요 = I had two girlfriends at the same time during university
선생님들은 회의 때 시간표에 대해 얘기했어요 = The teachers talked about the schedule during the meeting
Let’s look at how 때 can be described by a preceding clause to indicate a more complex time.
When: … ~ㄹ/을 때
때 can be used as the noun being described in the ~는 것 principle. When used like this, it indicates a specific moment in which something happens. The future tense form of ~는 (~ㄹ/을) is usually used to describe 때 in these cases. For example:
내가 밥을 먹을 때
This construction translates to something like “the time that I eat.”
The use of ~ㄹ/을 theoretically indicates that this is a time in the future. However, this form could be used to describe a general time (that doesn’t necessarily happen in the past, present or future), or to describe a time in the future. Depending on the context and the rest of the sentence, the construction above could be completed as:
내가 밥을 먹을 때 음악을 듣는 것을 좋아해 = When I eat I like to listen to music
내가 밥을 먹을 때 너에게 음식을 조금 줄 거야 = When I eat, I will give you some food
Also notice that (as you should know) when the subject of both clauses is the same, you don’t need to write the subject twice.
Below are many other examples:
저는 돈을 받을 때 행복할 거예요 = When I receive (the) money, I will be happy
뼈마디가 아플 때 이 약을 드세요 = When your joints hurt, take this medicine
당신의 눈을 응시할 때 가슴이 설레어요 = When I gaze into your eyes, my heart flutters
머리를 감을 때 비누로 해요 = When I wash my hair, I do it with soap
오랫동안 공부할 때 뇌가 아파요 = When I study for a long time, my brain hurts
대통령을 만날 때 저는 아주 예의가 바를 거예요
= When I meet the president I will be very polite
이 레인에서 운전할 때 앞에 있는 차를 앞지르지 마세요
= When you are driving in this lane, don’t pass the car in front of you
선생님이 여기에 계실 때 나는 선생님의 말을 듣기 시작할 거야
= When the teacher is here, I will start listening to him/her
뼈가 아플 때 고통을 버티려고 이 약을 먹어요
= When your bones are sore, in order to endure the pain, take this medicine
사람들이 곤충을 죽일 때 아무 느낌도 없어요
= People don’t feel anything when they kill insects
그 그림을 볼 때 배경이 무슨 의미가 있는지 생각해 보세요
= When you look at the painting, try to think about what meaning the background has
You can watch me discuss the addition of ~ㄹ/을 때 to 오다 in Korean Sign Explanation Video 13.
———————-
Notice in the examples above that the main action of the sentence is occurring precisely at the time indicated by the clause describing “때.” The main action of the clause is not occurring after the time indicated by “때,” or as a result of action. Therefore, be careful of the meaning you create when attaching ~ㄹ/을 때 to 가다 or 오다. For example:
집에 갈 때 아빠를 전화할 거예요
This sentence would not translate to “when I go home, I will call my father.” Rather, it is indicating that you will call your father during the “going” part of the sentence. To indicate that you will call your father after arriving at home, you should use another grammatical principle like:
집에 가서 아빠를 전화할 거예요 = I will go home and call my father
집에 가면 아빠를 전화할 거예요 = When I go home, I will call my father
The use of ~(으)면 is discussed in the next lesson
———————-
In order to indicate that something happened at some time in the past, you can add ~았/었 to the stem of a word followed by ~ㄹ/을 때. For example:
먹었을 때 = When I ate
갔을 때 = When I went
공부했을 때 = When I studied
Just like when used in the future/general tense, the remaining part of the clause can indicate the action that occurred at that time. For example:
내가 밥을 먹었을 때 말하고 싶지 않았어 = When I ate, I didn’t want to talk
엄마가 갔을 때 저는 울었어요 = When mom left, I cried
내가 공부했을 때 문법만 공부했어 = When I studied, I only studied grammar
의사가 뇌에 대한 수업을 가르치셨을 때 아주 깊이 설명하셨어요
= When the doctor taught a class about the brain, he explained it very deeply
이 제품을 소매로 팔았을 때 돈을 많이 못 벌어서 지금부터 도매로 팔 거예요
= When I sold this product through retail, I didn’t make any money so from now on I’m going to sell it through wholesale
그 연예인의 사인을 받았을 때 너무 설레었어요
= When I got that celebrity’s signature, I was really excited
가방을 처음 봤을 때 가짜인 것을 알았어요
= When I first saw the bag, I knew that it was fake
그 사람이 말을 했을 때 그 사람이 경찰관인 것을 짐작했어요
= When that person spoke, I guessed that he is/was a police officer
Using ~았/었을 때 is the way you can describe what used to happen when you were younger. For example:
제가 어렸을 때 곤충을 먹었어요 = When I was young I used to eat bugs
제가 열 살이었을 때 아주 뚱뚱했어요 = I was really fat when I was 10 years old
The particle ~에 can be added to 때 in all of the sentences above. However, when used to refer to a time (which it was in all of the examples above), the ~에 can be omitted. Other particles can be attached to 때 if you want to use “the time in which an action happens” as the subject or object of a sentence. For example:
우리가 지난 번에 만났을 때가 아주 재미있었어요 = The last time we met was really fun
저는 사막에서 살았을 때를 잊어버리고 싶어요 = I want to forget the time I lived in the desert
우리가 처음에 만났을 때를 생각하는 게 좋아요 = I like thinking about the time we first met
More complicated particles can be attached to 때 as well. For example:
키가 클 때까지 얕은 수영장에서만 수영할 거예요
= I’m only going to swim in shallow swimming pools until I am taller
저는 그 팀을 어렸을 때부터 응원했어요
= I’ve been cheering for that team since I was young
내가 한국에 있을 때마다 한국어로 말하고 싶어
= Every time I am in Korea, I want to speak Korean
제가 저의 여자 친구의 부모님을 만날 때마다 저는 너무 긴장돼요
= Every time I meet my girlfriend’s parents, I am very nervous
제가 집에 있을 때는 TV를 봐요
= I watch TV when I’m at home (but not when I’m somewhere else)
(This usage of ~는/은 is discussed more in Lesson 104)
저의 여자 친구는 우리가 같이 있지 않을 때에만 저를 좋아해요
= My girlfriend only likes me when we are not together
~나 is also a particle (which isn’t introduced until Lesson 55) that you saw added to 때 in Lesson 25. For example:
아무 때나 좋아요 = Anytime is good
———————-
In all of the examples shown so far, the best translation for “때” would be “when,” as they indicate the time “when” an action happens. 때 can also be used to indicate that some sort of “time” or “case” has occurred. This usage is usually predicated by a word like “있다” or “없다” to indicate that there is/is not times/cases where some event happens. For example:
그 친구를 죽이고 싶을 때가 있어요 = There are times when I want to kill that friend
밤 늦게 배고플 때가 많아요 = There are many cases/times where I am hungry at night
In this usage, it could be appropriate to attach ~ㄹ/을 때 to 가다 or 오다. For example:
그 학생이 늦게 올 때가 많아요 = There are many times where that student comes late
That’s it for this lesson!
Okay, I got it! Take me to the next lesson! Or,
Click here for a Workbook to go along with this lesson.