ginjangdoel ttaeneun sumeul cheoncheonhi swieoyo.

Literally, 긴장될 때는 means when one becomes nervous / when you feel nervous.

Breakdown:

• 긴장되다 = to become nervous, tense, or anxious
• -ㄹ 때 = when
• 는 = topic/contrast marker

So 긴장될 때는 is something like as for when you get nervous or when you’re nervous.

Both can be possible in Korean, but they feel a little different.

• 긴장하다 = to be nervous / to get nervous
• 긴장되다 = to become nervous, to feel tense, to end up in a nervous state

In everyday Korean, 긴장되다 is very common when talking about how someone feels, especially in situations like before a test, presentation, or performance.

So:

• 긴장할 때 = when you get nervous
• 긴장될 때 = when you become nervous / when you feel nervous

In this sentence, 긴장될 때는 sounds very natural for talking about the feeling that comes over you.

The 는 is the topic particle. It adds a slight sense of as for when... or in the case of when....

Compare:

• 긴장될 때 숨을 천천히 쉬어요. = When you get nervous, breathe slowly.
• 긴장될 때는 숨을 천천히 쉬어요. = As for when you get nervous, breathe slowly.

The version with 는 can sound a bit more like:

• giving advice
• setting up a condition or situation
• lightly contrasting this situation with others

It is very natural here.

Because 숨을 쉬다 is a fixed Korean expression meaning to breathe.

Literally:

• 숨 = breath
• 쉬다 = to breathe

So Korean expresses this idea as to breathe breath, and because 숨 is treated as the object of the verb, it takes 을.

This is one of those expressions that is best learned as a chunk:

• 숨을 쉬다 = to breathe
• 숨을 크게 쉬다 = to breathe deeply / take a big breath
• 숨을 천천히 쉬다 = to breathe slowly

No. Here, 쉬어요 means breathe.

The verb 쉬다 can mean different things depending on context:

• 쉬다 = to rest
• 숨을 쉬다 = to breathe

So in this sentence:

• 숨을 쉬어요 cannot mean rest the breath
• it clearly means breathe

Context is what tells you which meaning is intended.

천천히 is an adverb meaning slowly.

It modifies the verb 쉬어요, so:

• 숨을 천천히 쉬어요 = breathe slowly

You can think of the structure as:

• 숨을 = breath
• 천천히 = slowly
• 쉬어요 = breathe

So the whole part means breathe slowly.

In Korean, the present tense is often used for:

• general truths
• habits
• instructions
• gentle advice

So 숨을 천천히 쉬어요 can mean something like:

• breathe slowly
• you should breathe slowly
• one breathes slowly in that situation

It does not have to mean that the action is happening right now. In Korean, present tense often covers these broader meanings.

Yes. Korean often leaves out the subject when it is obvious from context.

So the sentence can be understood as:

• When you get nervous, breathe slowly or
• When one gets nervous, one should breathe slowly

The subject is omitted because Korean does that very naturally, especially in advice or general statements.

Yes, both are possible.

• 숨을 천천히 쉬어요
• 천천히 숨을 쉬어요

Both mean breathe slowly.

Korean word order is more flexible than English, especially with adverbs. The most important thing is that the verb comes at the end.

That said, 숨을 천천히 쉬어요 sounds very natural and straightforward here.

Not exactly a direct command. It sounds more like gentle advice or a calm instruction.

A stronger direct command would be:

• 긴장될 때는 숨을 천천히 쉬세요.

Using -세요 makes it more clearly directive and polite.

But 쉬어요 in this kind of sentence can still function as soft advice, especially in explanatory or instructional contexts.

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

This is the most common polite style in everyday Korean. It is appropriate in many situations:

• conversation
• advice
• explanations
• spoken instructions

So the whole sentence sounds polite, natural, and not too stiff.

It usually refers to nervousness, tension, or anxiety, especially emotional or mental tension. Depending on context, it can also suggest a physically tense state, because nervousness often affects the body too.

So in this sentence, it most naturally means:

• when you feel nervous
• when you get tense or anxious

That fits well with the advice breathe slowly.

Yes, absolutely. That is a very natural English translation.

Even though the Korean literally looks like:

• When nervous, breathe breath slowly

the natural English idea is:

• Take slow breaths when you’re nervous
• When you’re nervous, breathe slowly

Both capture the meaning well.