tongjangi eobseumyeon chulgeumhagi jogeum bulpyeonhae.

If you don’t have your bankbook, it’s a little inconvenient to withdraw money.

Breakdown of tongjangi eobseumyeon chulgeumhagi jogeum bulpyeonhae.

• ~이: subject particle
• 없다: to not have
• 조금: a little
• ~으면: if

Questions & Answers about tongjangi eobseumyeon chulgeumhagi jogeum bulpyeonhae.

What does 통장 mean here? Is it just bank account?

Not exactly. 통장 usually means a bankbook/passbook — the physical booklet used with a bank account in Korea.

So 통장이 없으면 is more literally if you don't have the bankbook or if there is no bankbook.

In some contexts, learners confuse 통장 with account, but the actual bank account is more precisely 계좌.

• 통장 = bankbook/passbook
• 계좌 = bank account

So this sentence is specifically talking about not having the bankbook, not necessarily not having an account.

How does 없으면 work in this sentence?

없으면 is made from:

• 없다 = to not exist / to not have
• -으면 = if / when

So 없으면 means if there isn’t or if you don’t have.

In 통장이 없으면, the natural English translation is if you don’t have a bankbook.

Korean often leaves out the person doing the having, so it does not explicitly say you. The context tells you that.

Why is it 통장이 없으면, not 통장을 없으면?