sigani eobseul ttae taeksireul tayo.

-ㄹ/을 때 means when or at the time that.

• 없다 → stem 없-
• Because the stem ends in a consonant, you add -을 때
• So 없을 때 = when there is not / when someone does not have

A few quick comparisons:

• 갈 때 = when going
• 먹을 때 = when eating
• 바쁠 때 = when busy

In this sentence, 시간이 없을 때 means when there isn’t time / when I don’t have time.

Because 있다 and 없다 usually mark the thing that exists or does not exist with 이/가, not 을/를.

So:

• 시간이 있다 = there is time / I have time
• 시간이 없다 = there is no time / I don’t have time

Using 시간을 없다 is not correct.

This is different from English, where we say have time with a direct object. Korean structures it more like time exists / time does not exist.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Korean often leaves out the subject if it is obvious. So 시간이 없다 can naturally mean:

• there is no time
• I don’t have time
• we don’t have time
• he/she doesn’t have time

In this sentence, the understood meaning is usually I take a taxi when I don’t have time or when I’m short on time.

Because Korean very often omits subjects when they are already understood from context.

So 시간이 없을 때 택시를 타요 is perfectly natural without 저는.

If you want to make the subject explicit, you could say:

• 저는 시간이 없을 때 택시를 타요.

That would mean the same thing, just with I stated clearly.

Because 타다 is the normal Korean verb for ride, get on, or take a form of transportation.

So Korean says:

• 버스를 타다 = take/ride the bus
• 지하철을 타다 = take/ride the subway
• 택시를 타다 = take a taxi

Even though English uses take in take a taxi, Korean uses 타다, not a verb meaning take in the English sense.

를 is the object particle. It marks 택시 as the thing being ridden or taken.

So:

• 택시를 타요 = take/ride a taxi

In casual speech, Koreans sometimes drop object particles, so you may also hear 택시 타요. But the full textbook form is 택시를 타요.

Because Korean usually puts background information first and the main action later.

So the structure is:

• 시간이 없을 때 = when I don’t have time
• 택시를 타요 = I take a taxi

This is very natural in Korean: first the situation, then the action.

English can do this too:

• When I don’t have time, I take a taxi.

타요 is in the informal polite style, often called 해요체.

Related forms are:

• 타다 = dictionary form
• 타요 = polite everyday speech
• 타 = casual speech
• 탑니다 = formal polite speech

So 시간이 없을 때 택시를 타요 sounds polite and natural in everyday conversation.

By itself, it usually sounds like a habit or general rule:

• When I don’t have time, I take a taxi.

That is because the Korean present tense often expresses habitual actions.

With the right context, it could also refer to a specific situation, but the most natural default reading is habitual.

Yes. That is very natural.

Adding 는 after 때 gives a sense of contrast or topic:

• 시간이 없을 때는 택시를 타요.

This can feel like:

• When I don’t have time, I take a taxi.
• As for times when I don’t have time, I take a taxi.

It slightly emphasizes that this is what happens in that situation, possibly contrasting with other situations.

It is commonly pronounced close to 업쓸 때.

A rough breakdown:

• 없을 → sounds like 업쓸
• 때 → sounds like 때 with a tense ㄸ sound

The standard romanization is eopseul ttae, but the actual spoken sound is closer to 업쓸 때.