jeoneun bame neutge jayo.

I sleep late at night.

Breakdown of jeoneun bame neutge jayo.

• 저: I
• ~는: topic particle
• ~에: time particle
• 밤: night
• 자다: to sleep
• 늦다: late

Questions & Answers about jeoneun bame neutge jayo.

Why is 저는 used here instead of 나 or 내가?

• 저 is the humble/polite form of “I,” whereas 나 is informal and typically used among close friends or in casual settings.
• The particle 는 is the topic marker (often translated “as for…”), so 저는 means “as for me.”
• 내가 would use the subject marker 가, which emphasizes “I” as the doer of the action. In a simple statement about your routine, you normally set yourself as the topic with 저는 rather than spotlighting you as the subject with 내가.

What does the particle 에 do in 밤에?

• 에 is a time/location particle. Here it marks 밤 (“night”) as the time when something happens, so 밤에 means “at night.”
• Without 에, 밤 would just be “night” (a noun) and wouldn’t clearly function as a time expression.

Why is 늦게 used instead of 늦은 or just 늦다?

• 늦다 is an adjective meaning “to be late.” To describe how you sleep (i.e. late sleeping), you need the adverb form.
• You turn 늦다 into an adverb by adding -게, giving 늦게 (“late-ly” = “late”).
• 늦은 would be the adjective modifier form (used before a noun), as in 늦은 밤 (“late night”), not before a verb.

What is 자요, and how is it formed?

• 자요 is the polite present-tense form of the verb 자다 (“to sleep”).
• You take the verb stem 자-, then add the polite ending -요, yielding 자요 (“I sleep” / “I go to sleep”).

What level of politeness is 자요, and are there other ways to say “I sleep late at night”?

• 자요 is the polite, non-honorific form (often called 해요-form), appropriate for most daily conversations with people you’re not extremely close to.
• Alternatives include:
  • Casual (to close friends or younger folks): 자 (stem + ending) → 밤에 늦게 자.
  • Formal polite (to strangers, bosses, announcements): 잡니다 → 저는 밤에 늦게 잡니다.
  • Honorific (to show respect in certain contexts): 주무십니다 → 저는 밤에 늦게 주무십니다.

Why does the verb 자요 come at the end of the sentence? Is that always the case in Korean?

• Korean is an SOV (Subject–Object–Verb) language. Even time or place adverbials (like 밤에, 늦게) appear before the verb.
• The verb or verb ending always closes the clause, so you’ll typically see sentences like 저는 — 밤에 — 늦게 — 자요.

Can you omit 저는 or 밤에 if the context is clear?

Yes. Korean often drops topics or time phrases when they’re understood from context. For example:

• If you’re talking about your sleep habits, you can say 밤에 늦게 자요 or even just 늦게 자요.
• In very casual chat, after establishing who you’re talking about, you might simply say 밤에 늦게 자.