Breakdown of jibeseo sani boyeoyo.
~이~i
subject particle
~에서~eseo
location particle
집jip
house
산san
mountain
보이다boida
to be visible
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Questions & Answers about jibeseo sani boyeoyo.
Why is 에서 used after 집 in 집에서?
In Korean, 에서 is the location particle that marks where an action takes place or the point of origin. Here, 집에서 literally means “at/from home,” indicating the place from which you see the mountain.
Why is 이 attached to 산 in 산이 보여요?
Because 산 is the subject of the intransitive verb 보이다 (to be visible), it takes the subject particle 이 (after a consonant). So 산이 보여요 means “the mountain is visible.”
What is the difference between 보다 and 보이다?
- 보다 is an active verb meaning “to look at” or “to see” (you do the seeing).
- 보이다 is passive/intransitive meaning “to be seen” or “to appear.”
In 산이 보여요, the mountain isn’t doing the action of seeing; it “appears” or “is visible” to you.
Who is “seeing” in this sentence? Why isn’t there an “I”?
Korean often omits the personal pronoun when it’s clear from context. Here, the implied subject is “I,” so the full idea is “(제가) 집에서 산이 보여요” – “I can see the mountain from home.” The 제가 (“I,” subject-marked) is simply dropped.
How do I change this sentence into the past tense?
Replace 보여요 with its past form 보였어요:
집에서 산이 보였어요 – “The mountain was visible from home” or “I could see the mountain from home.”
How can I make it negative (“I can’t see the mountain”)?
You have two common options:
- Put 안 before the verb: 집에서 산이 안 보여요.
- Use the verb’s negative form: 집에서 산이 보이지 않아요.
Both mean “I can’t see the mountain from home.”
Can I say 집에 산이 보여요 instead of 집에서?
No. 집에 marks a static location (like “there is” or “at home”), not the viewpoint. To express “from/at home (as the place you’re looking),” you need 집에서.
Can I drop the subject marker 이 after 산?
No. Since 보이다 is intransitive, 산 must be marked with 이/가 as the subject. If a noun ends in a vowel, you’d use 가, but you cannot omit it entirely.
Could I shuffle the word order to 산이 집에서 보여요?
Yes. Korean is relatively flexible with word order. 산이 집에서 보여요 still means “The mountain is visible from home,” though starting with 집에서 places slight emphasis on the location.