beureikeureul balbayaman geupjeonggeohal su issseupnida.

to be able to

Breakdown of beureikeureul balbayaman geupjeonggeohal su issseupnida.

• 브레이크: the brake
• 급정거: the sudden stop
• ~아/어야만: only if; must do in order to

Questions & Answers about beureikeureul balbayaman geupjeonggeohal su issseupnida.

What does 브레이크 mean, and why is it written in Korean letters?

브레이크 is a loanword from English brake. Korean often writes borrowed words in Hangul, so English words may look different at first.

• 브레이크 = brake
• It is pronounced roughly like beu-re-i-keu

In everyday Korean, especially for cars, 브레이크 is very common.

Why is there a 를 after 브레이크?

를 is the object particle. It marks 브레이크 as the thing being acted on.

So in:

브레이크를 밟아야만

the noun 브레이크 is the object of the verb 밟다.

A very literal breakdown is:

• 브레이크를 = the brake
• 밟다 = to step on / press

So together, 브레이크를 밟다 means to press the brake or to step on the brake.

What does 밟다 mean here?

밟다 literally means to step on. In driving contexts, it is commonly used for pressing pedals.

Examples:

• 브레이크를 밟다 = to press the brake
• 액셀을 밟다 = to press the accelerator

So even though English often says press the brake, Korean naturally uses the verb 밟다, which has the image of stepping on something with your foot.

Why does 밟다 become here?