jihacheol chulgu apeseo chingureul gidarigo isseoyo.

I am waiting for a friend in front of the subway exit.

Breakdown of jihacheol chulgu apeseo chingureul gidarigo isseoyo.

• ~에서: location particle
• 친구: friend
• ~를: object particle
• 있다: to be

Questions & Answers about jihacheol chulgu apeseo chingureul gidarigo isseoyo.

What does 지하철 출구 앞에서 mean literally?

Literally, it breaks down like this:

• 지하철 = subway, metro
• 출구 = exit
• 앞 = front
• 앞에서 = at/in front of

So 지하철 출구 앞에서 means in front of the subway exit or at the front of the subway exit.

Why is 에서 used in 앞에서 instead of 에?

Because 에서 marks the place where an action happens.

In this sentence, the action is waiting, and that action is happening in front of the subway exit, so 에서 is natural.

A simple way to think about it:

• 에 = to, at, in — often for destination, existence, or time
• 에서 = at/in — where an action takes place

So:

• 출구 앞에 있어요 = I am at/in front of the exit
• 출구 앞에서 기다리고 있어요 = I am waiting in front of the exit

Why is 친구 followed by 를?

Because 기다리다 takes a direct object in Korean.

In English, we say wait for a friend, with for.
But in Korean, you simply wait a friend grammatically, so the noun takes the object particle 을/를.

• 친구를 기다리다 = to wait for a friend
• 버스를 기다리다 = to wait for the bus

So 친구를 is completely normal here.