bureul kyeon chaero jamdeureosseoyo.

object particle

Breakdown of bureul kyeon chaero jamdeureosseoyo.

• 잠들다: to fall asleep
• 켜다: to turn on
• 불: light

Questions & Answers about bureul kyeon chaero jamdeureosseoyo.

What does 켠 mean here?

켠 comes from the verb 켜다, which means to turn on.

In this sentence, 켠 is the verb in its adnominal/modifying form:

• 켜다 → 켠

It describes the state of something as turned on.
So 불을 켠 채로 means something like in the state of having the light turned on.

What does -ㄴ 채로 mean?

-ㄴ 채로 means while staying in that state, with something left as it is, or without changing that condition.

So:

• 불을 켠 채로 = with the light left on
• 문을 연 채로 = with the door left open
• 안경을 쓴 채로 = with glasses still on

In this sentence, it shows that the person fell asleep while the light was still on.

Why is it 불을, not 불이?

Because 불 is the object of 켜다.

• 불을 켜다 = to turn on the light

So inside 불을 켠 채로, the phrase still keeps the object marker 을 because the light is the thing being turned on.

You can think of it as:

• 불을 켠 상태로 잠들었어요
  = They fell asleep in the state of having turned on the light

The noun 상태 is omitted, but the object marking stays.