Breakdown of jipkkaji georeoseo han sigan jeongdo geollyeo.
집jip
home
하나hana
one
~까지~kkaji
limit particle
걷다geotda
to walk
~어서~eoseo
and then
정도jeongdo
about
시간sigan
hour
걸리다geollida
to take (time)
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Questions & Answers about jipkkaji georeoseo han sigan jeongdo geollyeo.
What does the particle 까지 add in 집까지? Can I use 집에 instead?
- 까지 means “up to/as far as,” emphasizing the endpoint. 집까지 = “all the way to (my) house.”
- 집에 marks destination (“to home”), but in this pattern you normally use 까지. If you use 집에, you should explicitly add a verb like 가다: 집에 걸어서 가면 한 시간 정도 걸려요.
Why are both 걸어서 and 걸려 in the same sentence? Aren’t they from the same verb?
- 걸어서 comes from 걷다 (“to walk”) and means “by walking / on foot.”
- 걸려 comes from 걸리다 (“to take [time]”). So the sentence literally says: “By walking to home, about one hour takes.”
Where did “go” (가다) go? Why can it be omitted?
Korean often omits obvious parts. The fuller version is: 집까지 걸어서 (가는 데) 한 시간 정도 걸려요. The 가는 데 (“to go (there)”) is understood and dropped.
What is the grammatical subject of 걸려 here?
It’s the time: 한 시간 정도(가) 걸려. The subject marker 가 is frequently omitted in casual speech.
Is 걸려 polite? How do I make this polite or formal?
- 걸려 = casual intimate (banmal).
- Polite: 걸려요.
- Formal: 걸립니다. Example: 집까지 걸어서 한 시간 정도 걸려요.
How does 걷다 become 걸어서?
걷다 is an irregular ㄷ-verb: ㄷ changes to ㄹ before a vowel.
- 걷- + -어서 → 걸어서 (meaning “by walking”).
How does 걸리다 become 걸려?
Stem 걸리- + -어 → historical contraction 걸리어 → 걸려. Polite present is 걸려요.
Can I say the words in a different order?
Yes. Adverbials are flexible:
- 집까지 걸어서 한 시간 정도 걸려요. (common)
- 걸어서 집까지 한 시간 정도 걸려요. (also fine) The meaning doesn’t change; order just shifts emphasis slightly.
What are other ways to say “about an hour”?
- 한 시간 정도 (neutral; note the spacing)
- 한 시간쯤 (spoken, friendly; no space before 쯤)
- 약 한 시간 / 대략 한 시간 (more formal or written)
- 한 시간가량 (literary/formal)
Is the spacing correct? I often see people write it differently.
- 집까지 (no space; particle attaches)
- 걸어서 (no space inside conjugation)
- 한 시간 정도 (space before the dependent noun 정도) Don’t write 한시간 or 시간정도.
Why is it 한 시간, not 하나 시간 or 일 시간?
With the counter 시간 (hours), use native numbers:
- 1, 2, 3, 4 hours → 한, 두, 세, 네 시간 Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼…) aren’t used with 시간 in this meaning.
Pronunciation tips for the sentence?
- 집까지: jip-kkaji (tense kk)
- 걸어서: geo-reo-seo
- 한 시간: han si-gan (the “si” sounds like “shi”)
- 걸려: geol-lyeo (ll sound before “yeo”)
Could I drop 걸어서 and still be understood?
Yes. 집까지 한 시간 정도 걸려요 just means “It takes about an hour to get home,” without specifying the method. Adding 걸어서 specifies “on foot.”
Can I express the same idea with the copula 이다?
Yes, in everyday speech: 집까지 걸어서 한 시간 정도예요. It implies “The time it takes (by walking) is about an hour.”
How do I say it in the past or future?
- Past: 집까지 걸어서 한 시간 정도 걸렸어요.
- Future: 집까지 걸어서 한 시간 정도 걸릴 거예요.
What if I want to say “only 30 minutes”?
Use 밖에 + negative:
- 집까지 걸어서 30분밖에 안 걸려요. (“It takes only 30 minutes.”)
Can I replace “walking” with other transport?
Yes, use -로/으로:
- 차로/버스로/지하철로 집까지 한 시간 정도 걸려요.
Does 걸리다 also mean “to catch (a cold)”? Is that the same verb?
Yes, same verb with different meanings by context:
- 시간이 걸리다 = “to take time”
- 감기에 걸리다 = “to catch a cold” Context disambiguates it easily.