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yagi jal deureoseo jigeumeun byeongwone dasi gal piryoga eobsdaeyo.

약이 잘 들어서 지금은 병원에 다시 갈 필요가 없대요.yagi jal deureoseo jigeumeun byeongwone dasi gal piryoga eobsdaeyo.
They say the medicine is working well, so I don’t need to go back to the hospital now.
FromLesson 41inHardcore Korean

Questions & Answers about yagi jal deureoseo jigeumeun byeongwone dasi gal piryoga eobsdaeyo.

What does 약이 잘 들어서 mean? Does 들어 literally mean enter here?

Not literally. In this sentence, 들다 means to take effect / to work, not just to enter.

So 약이 잘 들다 is a common expression meaning:

  • the medicine works well
  • the medicine is effective
  • the medicine is taking effect well

So 약이 잘 들어서 means because the medicine is working well or since the medicine has been effective.

Why is it 약이 and not 약을?

Because the medicine is the subject of the verb 들다 here.

In English, we often say:

  • The medicine is working
  • The medicine helped

Korean does the same kind of thing here, so the medicine is marked with 이/가:

  • 약이 잘 들다 = the medicine works well

If you used 약을, it would suggest the medicine is the object of some action, which is not what is happening in this sentence.

What is the role of 잘 in 약이 잘 들어서?

잘 means well.

So:

  • 약이 들다 = the medicine works / takes effect
  • 약이 잘 들다 = the medicine works well

It adds the idea that the medicine is effective, not just that it has some effect.

What does -아서/-어서 mean in 들어서?

Here, -아서/-어서 connects two clauses and gives a reason/cause:

  • 약이 잘 들어서 = because the medicine is working well
  • 지금은 병원에 다시 갈 필요가 없대요 = they say there is no need to go back to the hospital now

So the whole flow is:

Because the medicine is working well, they say there’s no need to go back to the hospital now.

In this sentence, -어서 is basically functioning like because / so.

Why is it 지금은 instead of just 지금?

The 은 adds a topic or contrast nuance.

So 지금은 means something like:

  • as for now
  • for now
  • at the moment

It can imply contrast with another time:

  • right now there’s no need
  • but maybe later there could be a need

So 지금은 sounds a little more natural and nuanced than just 지금.

What does 다시 mean here?

다시 means again or back.

In this sentence:

  • 병원에 다시 가다 = to go to the hospital again / to go back to the hospital

So it tells you this is not the first visit. The person has already gone before, and now the question is whether they need to return.

How does 갈 필요가 없다 work grammatically?

This is a very common Korean pattern.

  • 가다 = to go
  • 갈 = the modifier form of 가다; here it means to go
  • 필요 = necessity / need
  • 필요가 없다 = there is no need

So:

  • 갈 필요가 없다 = there is no need to go

Literally, it is something like:

  • the need to go does not exist

This pattern is very common:

  • 먹을 필요가 없어요 = there’s no need to eat it
  • 살 필요가 없어요 = there’s no need to buy it
  • 걱정할 필요가 없어요 = there’s no need to worry
What does 없대요 mean? Why not just 없어요?

없대요 is a contracted, conversational form of 없다고 해요.

That means the speaker is reporting what someone else said. It has a hearsay/quoted-information feeling:

  • 없어요 = there is no need
  • 없대요 = they say there is no need / I heard there is no need

So the speaker is not necessarily making the judgment personally. They are passing along information, probably from a doctor, nurse, or someone else.

This gives the sentence a meaning like:

  • They say there’s no need to go back to the hospital for now.
Who is saying this in 없대요?

The sentence does not say explicitly. Korean often leaves that kind of thing out when it is understood from context.

Depending on the situation, it could mean:

  • the doctor says
  • the hospital says
  • my mom says
  • I heard that...

So -대요 tells you the speaker is relaying information, but it does not tell you exactly from whom unless the context makes it clear.

Who is the person that doesn’t need to go back to the hospital?

That is also omitted because Korean often leaves out subjects and objects when they are clear from context.

It could mean:

  • I don’t need to go back
  • you don’t need to go back
  • he/she doesn’t need to go back
  • the child doesn’t need to go back

The sentence itself only says there’s no need to go back to the hospital for now. Context tells you whose situation it is.

Is 병원 always literally a big hospital?

Not necessarily. In Korean, 병원 can refer broadly to a hospital, clinic, or medical facility, depending on context.

So in everyday translation, go back to the hospital is natural, but sometimes go back to the clinic may fit the real situation better.

Could this sentence sound more certain or more direct without -대요?

Yes.

Compare:

  • 약이 잘 들어서 지금은 병원에 다시 갈 필요가 없어요.
    = Because the medicine is working well, there’s no need to go back to the hospital for now.

This sounds like the speaker is stating it directly.

  • 약이 잘 들어서 지금은 병원에 다시 갈 필요가 없대요.
    = They say there’s no need to go back to the hospital for now because the medicine is working well.

This sounds like the speaker is reporting what they heard.

So -대요 makes the statement less direct and more like relayed information.

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