namjjok bada-e suyeonghareo gago sipeo.

I want to go swimming in the southern sea.

Breakdown of namjjok bada-e suyeonghareo gago sipeo.

• 가다: to go
• 바다: sea
• ~에: destination particle
• 수영하다: to swim
• 남쪽: south
• ~러: in order to
• ~고 싶다: to want to

Questions & Answers about namjjok bada-e suyeonghareo gago sipeo.

Why is -러 used in 수영하러 instead of -려고 or -기 위해(서)?

-러 is the purpose‐of‐movement marker in Korean. You attach -러 to a verb stem when you want to say “go/come to do [that verb].”

• 수영하러 가다 literally means “go in order to swim.”
• -려고 가다 is not used; -려고 expresses intention (I plan to swim), but you don’t combine it directly with 가다 for “go to do.”
• -기 위해(서) is a more formal, general “for the sake of” or “in order to” construction; you could say 수영하기 위해 바다에 가고 싶어, but it sounds stiff compared to 수영하러 가고 싶어 in everyday speech.

What does the particle -에 after 바다 indicate here? Could we use -으로 or -에서 instead?

In 남쪽 바다에, -에 marks the destination of 가다 (“go to”).

• -으로/로 often indicates direction or means (“toward” or “by”), but for a clear destination you use -에.
• -에서 marks the location where an action happens or the starting point (“at” or “from”), so 바다에서 수영하다 means “swim in the sea,” but you wouldn’t say 바다에서 가다 for “go to the sea.”

Why is there no subject like “I” (저는) in this sentence?

Korean often drops the subject when it’s clear from context. Here, the speaker’s desire is obvious, so 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶어 implicitly means “I want to go…” If you need to specify, you can add 나는 or 저는 at the start: 저는 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶어요.

How would you make this sentence more polite or formal?

You change the ending of -고 싶어 to match the speech level:

• Casual polite: -고 싶어요 ⇒ 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶어요.
• Formal: -고 싶습니다 ⇒ 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶습니다.

What does 남쪽 바다 refer to? Can you use 남해 instead?

• 남쪽 바다 literally means “the sea to the south” and is a general descriptive phrase.
• 남해 (南海) is a proper noun meaning “the South Sea” and often refers specifically to the sea south of Korea.
  If you mean Korea’s 특별한 지역, you could say 남해에 수영하러… but if you’re just talking about any southern coast you’d use 남쪽 바다.

Is the word order 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶어 fixed? Could you say 수영하러 남쪽 바다에 가고 싶어?

Word order in Korean is relatively flexible for adverbial phrases. Both are correct and mean the same:

• 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶어.
• 수영하러 남쪽 바다에 가고 싶어.
  Choosing one over the other is a matter of emphasis or rhythm, not grammar.

What’s the difference between saying 수영하고 싶어 and 수영하러 가고 싶어?

• 수영하고 싶어 means “I want to swim” (wherever you are now).
• 수영하러 가고 싶어 adds -러 가다 (“go to do”), so it means “I want to go (somewhere) in order to swim.” The focus is on going somewhere for the purpose of swimming.