Learn Hardcore Korean: naembie mureul kkeulhyeoyo.

The particle 에 marks the location where an action takes place. In 냄비에 물을 끓여요, 냄비에 means “in (the) pot.” You’re indicating that the act of boiling (끓이다) happens inside the pot.

Why is 을 attached to 물 instead of 가 or 는?

물을 uses the object particle 을 because 물 (“water”) is the direct object of the verb 끓이다 (“to boil [something]”). If you used 가 or 는, you’d be marking 물 as a subject or topic, which would change the emphasis or grammatical function in the sentence.

The verb form is 끓여요, not 끓어요. How does that conjugation work?

The dictionary form is 끓이다 (a transitive verb). You drop -다 to get the stem 끓이-, then add the polite present ending -어요. Since 이 + 어요 contracts to 여요, you end up with 끓여요.

There’s no subject in the sentence. Who is doing the boiling?

Korean often omits the subject when it’s obvious from context. Here it could be “I,” “you,” or “we,” depending on who’s speaking. If you needed to specify, you might say 제가 냄비에 물을 끓여요 (“I boil water in the pot”) or 엄마가 냄비에 물을 끓여요 (“Mom is boiling water in the pot”).

Is 끓여요 formal or casual speech?

The -아요/어요 ending is polite informal speech (존댓말) suitable for strangers, acquaintances, or juniors in a friendly setting. For more formal contexts you’d say 끓입니다; for casual (친근한 반말) you’d say 끓여.

What’s the difference between 끓다 and 끓이다?

끓다 is intransitive (“to be boiling”), as in 물이 끓어요 (“the water is boiling”). 끓이다 is transitive (“to boil [something]”), as in 물을 끓여요 (“I boil water”). The object gets marked with 을/를 only with 끓이다.

Can I switch the word order? For example, 물을 냄비에 끓여요?

Yes, Korean is relatively flexible with word order due to particles. 물을 냄비에 끓여요 is also correct and still means “boil water in a pot.” However, the typical S-O-V order 냄비에 물을 끓여요 is most common in spoken and written Korean.

How do I pronounce 끓여요?

Pronunciation: the stem 끓이- + -어요 becomes 끓여요, but the cluster ㄺㅕ is pronounced [끌-려-요], so it sounds like “kkeul-lyeo-yo.” The ㄺ cluster simplifies in actual speech.