대로 is one of those small Korean words that quietly does three jobs English keeps in separate drawers: "in accordance with," "exactly the way," and — surprisingly — "as soon as." The good news is that all three grow from a single core meaning, "in conformity with the manner or state of X," and Korean disambiguates them mechanically by what sits in front of 대로: a noun, a past attributive, or a present attributive. Learn to read that one signal and the three meanings sort themselves.
대로 on a noun: "in accordance with, following, as"
Attached directly to a noun, 대로 means "in accordance with / following / exactly as." It says the action conforms to the noun — a promise, an order, a plan, a rule. Written attached to the noun, no space.
약속대로 왔어요.
yaksokdaero wasseoyo
I came as promised.
순서대로 서 주세요.
sunseodaero seo juseyo
Please line up in order.
계획대로 잘 진행되고 있어요.
gyehoekdaero jal jinhaengdoego isseoyo
It's going well, according to plan.
A special high-frequency case is 마음대로 ("as one's heart [dictates]") = "as you please, any way you like." It has fused into a set expression:
마음대로 하세요.
maeumdaero haseyo
Do as you please.
대로 after a past attributive: "just as, exactly the way"
Now put 대로 after a clause in its past attributive form -(으)ㄴ. The meaning becomes "just as / exactly the way [it was done]." Here 대로 conforms to a completed action or observed fact: reproduce it faithfully. Written with a space before 대로 (it follows a clause, not a noun).
배운 대로 하세요.
baeun daero haseyo
Do it just as you learned.
본 대로 말해 주세요.
bon daero malhae juseyo
Tell me exactly what you saw.
제가 시킨 대로 했어요.
jega sikin daero haesseoyo
I did exactly as you told me to.
The past attributive here signals "the manner is already fixed — copy it." 배운 대로 = "in the manner that was learned"; 본 대로 = "in the manner that was seen."
대로 after a present attributive: "as soon as"
Here is the twist that catches everyone. Put 대로 after a present attributive -는 and the "conformity" collapses in time: conforming to an action the moment it happens becomes "as soon as / the instant." The through-line is real — "the moment it occurs, in exact step with it" — but the English jumps to a different word entirely.
도착하는 대로 연락할게요.
dochakaneun daero yeollakalgeyo
I'll call as soon as I arrive.
회의 끝나는 대로 갈게요.
hoeui kkeunnaneun daero galgeyo
I'll head over as soon as the meeting's over.
소식 듣는 대로 알려 드릴게요.
sosik deunneun daero allyeo deurilgeyo
I'll let you know as soon as I hear the news.
Notice these all point to the future: the arriving, the finishing, the hearing haven't happened yet, so the attributive is present -는 and the main clause is a plan or promise. This is the everyday way Koreans say "the moment X happens, I'll do Y."
The reframe: one 대로, three English words
English uses three unrelated expressions where Korean uses one form disambiguated by its host:
| What precedes 대로 | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a noun | according to / as | 규칙대로 (as the rules say) |
| past attributive -(으)ㄴ | just as / exactly the way | 본 대로 (just as [I] saw) |
| present attributive -는 | as soon as | 끝나는 대로 (as soon as it ends) |
So when you want to render an English "as / according to / as soon as," don't hunt for three Korean words — reach for 대로 and let the host word (noun? past clause? present clause?) carry the distinction.
규칙대로 처리했습니다.
gyuchikdaero cheorihaetseumnida
I handled it according to the rules. (formal register — 합니다체)
Register and a useful set phrase
대로 spans registers comfortably — you'll hear 마음대로 하세요 in casual speech and 규정대로 처리하겠습니다 ("I will process it per regulations") in officialese. One especially handy pattern is 되는 대로 ("as things turn out / as soon as possible / however it works out"), and 자기 마음대로 ("entirely as one pleases," often with a hint of criticism):
되는 대로 최대한 빨리 보낼게요.
doeneun daero choedaehan ppalli bonaelgeyo
I'll send it as soon as I possibly can.
그 사람은 자기 마음대로만 해요.
geu sarameun jagi maeumdaeroman haeyo
That person only ever does exactly as they please.
Common Mistakes
1. Using past -(으)ㄴ 대로 for "as soon as." "As soon as" requires the present attributive -는. The past form flips the meaning to "just as / the way [it was]."
❌ 도착한 대로 연락할게요.
Intended as 'I'll call as soon as I arrive,' but past 대로 reads 'I'll call in the manner I arrived.' For 'as soon as' you need present 도착하는.
✅ 도착하는 대로 연락할게요.
dochakaneun daero yeollakalgeyo
I'll call as soon as I arrive.
2. Spacing: 대로 on a noun is attached; on a clause it takes a space. Noun + 대로 = one word; clause + 대로 = two.
❌ 약속 대로 왔어요. ／ 배운대로 하세요.
Spacing errors — noun takes no space (약속대로); a clause takes one (배운 대로).
✅ 약속대로 왔어요. ／ 배운 대로 하세요.
yaksokdaero wasseoyo / baeun daero haseyo
I came as promised. / Do it just as you learned.
3. Spelling 대로 as 데로. 데로 is "to a place" (place-word 데 + direction 로) — a completely different meaning. The particle is always 대로.
❌ 마음데로 하세요.
Misspelling — 데로 means 'to a place'; the 'as you please' particle is 대로.
✅ 마음대로 하세요.
maeumdaero haseyo
Do as you please.
4. Adding a redundant 처럼 or 같이 for "just as." 대로 already means "exactly as"; you don't stack a similarity particle on top.
❌ 배운 대로처럼 하세요.
Redundant — 대로 already carries 'just as'; drop 처럼.
✅ 배운 대로 하세요.
baeun daero haseyo
Do it just as you learned.
Key Takeaways
- 대로 = "in conformity with the manner/state of X." One form, three English renderings, sorted by its host word.
- Noun + 대로 (no space) = "according to / as": 약속대로, 순서대로, 마음대로.
- Past attributive -(으)ㄴ + 대로 (space) = "just as / exactly the way": 배운 대로, 본 대로.
- Present attributive -는 + 대로 (space) = "as soon as": 도착하는 대로, 끝나는 대로 — always forward-looking.
- Don't use past -(으)ㄴ 대로 for "as soon as" (that needs present -는), and never spell it 데로. For a related "the instant," see 자마자; for "to the extent that," 만큼.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- 만큼: To the Extent That (Clausal Degree)TOPIK 4 — The clausal 만큼 that follows an attributive verb or adjective to mean 'to the extent that, as much as, in proportion as' — 노력한 만큼 결과가 나와요 — with its tense riding on the attributive ending, and how it differs from the nominal comparison 만큼.
- 처럼 / 같이: Like, As (Similarity)TOPIK 2 — 처럼 and the particle 같이 both mean 'like, as, similar to', clipped onto the noun you're comparing to (새처럼 'like a bird', 얼음같이 'like ice'). The catch: 같이 is a homograph — attached to a noun it's 'like', but standing alone it's the adverb 'together'.
- -자마자: As Soon AsTOPIK 2 — The connective -자마자 attaches to any verb stem to mean 'the instant that X, Y' — with no tense marker of its own and no requirement that the two clauses share a subject.
- Past Verb Relative Clauses: -(으)ㄴTOPIK 2 — The past attributive -(으)ㄴ turns a verb into a modifier for a completed action (간 사람 'the person who went', 먹은 밥 'the rice I ate') — and the same shape that means PAST on a verb means PRESENT on an adjective, so you must read the word's class first.