haru Korean › Grammar › Level 1A › N에 가요 · 와요
N에 가요 · 와요 — going and coming — 'where are you going?'
Going and coming — 'where are you going?'. Korean grammar for beginner learners — Level 1A, lesson 6: 어디에 가요? (Where are you going? — places and positions).
What it means
에 also marks where you are going: 은행에 가요 'I go to the bank'. It is the same 에 as last class — always 에, 받침 or not. 가다 'go' is movement away from where you are now; 오다 'come' is movement towards where you are. With the Lesson 5 ending they become 가요 and 와요 (오 + 아요 → 와요). Careful: when you move towards the person you are talking to, Korean still says 가요 — 거기에 가요 'I'm coming there'. Ask with 어디에 가요? Don't mix 에 with 에서 from Lesson 5: 학교에 가요 is where you go; 학교에서 공부해요 is where you do something.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N에 가요 | away from where I am | 은행 + 에 가요 → 은행에 가요 |
| N에 와요 | towards where I am | 교실 + 에 와요 → 교실에 와요 |
Key points
- N에 가요 · N에 와요 — the place you go to + 에 (always 에)
- 가다 — away from where I am · 오다 — towards where I am: 오 + 아요 → 와요
Examples
- 은행에 가요. 학교에 와요.
- 어디에 가요? — 우체국에 가요.
- 가다 → 가요. 오다 → 와요.
- 학교에 가요. 학교에서 공부해요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 1A, lesson 4; Yonsei University Korean 1-1, lesson 5; Sogang University Korean 1A, lesson 2; Ewha Womans University Korean 1-1, lesson 3; Hongik University Korean 1A, lesson 3; Hanyang University Korean 1-1, lesson 3.
Also in this lesson
- N에 있어요 · 없어요 — being somewhere — 'is there · is not there'
- N 위 · 아래 · 안 · 옆에 있어요 — where exactly — on, under, in, next to …
- 여기가 N이에요 — naming places — here, there, over there