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Learn Hardcore Korean: jebal gugeupchareul bulleo juseyo. - Please call an ambulance.

Hardcore Korean
/Reporting a traffic accident
/jebal gugeupchareul bulleo juseyo.

jebal gugeupchareul bulleo juseyo.

Word

제발 구급차를 불러 주세요.jebal gugeupchareul bulleo juseyo.

Meaning

Please call an ambulance.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Korean

Lesson

Reporting a traffic accident

Breakdown of jebal gugeupchareul bulleo juseyo.

~어 주다~eo juda

please do (for me)

부르다bureuda

구급차gugeupcha

please; for goodness' sake

Questions & Answers about jebal gugeupchareul bulleo juseyo.

What does 제발 mean here? Is it just the same as please in English?

Not exactly. 제발 often adds a stronger feeling than ordinary English please.

In this sentence, 제발 sounds like:

please
please, I’m begging you
for heaven’s sake, please

So 제발 구급차를 불러 주세요 feels urgent and emotional, which makes sense in an emergency.

A useful comparison:

구급차를 불러 주세요. = Please call an ambulance.
제발 구급차를 불러 주세요. = Please, call an ambulance! / Please, I’m begging you, call an ambulance!

So 제발 is not something you add to every polite request. It is usually used when you are desperate, frustrated, or very serious.

What does 구급차 mean literally?

구급차 means ambulance.

It is made from:

구급 = emergency aid / first aid / relief
차 = car / vehicle

So literally it is something like emergency-aid vehicle.

For learners, the important thing is simply:

구급차 = ambulance

Why is there a 를 after 구급차?

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를 is the object marker.

In this sentence, the thing being called is 구급차:

구급차를 = an ambulance as the object
불러 주세요 = please call

So Korean marks ambulance as the direct object with 를.

You will often see this pattern:

택시를 불러 주세요. = Please call a taxi.
의사를 불러 주세요. = Please call a doctor.
구급차를 불러 주세요. = Please call an ambulance.

Because 구급차 ends in a vowel, it takes 를 rather than 을.

Why is the verb 불러 and not 부르다?

부르다 is the dictionary form, meaning to call (or to sing, depending on context).

In the sentence, it appears as 불러, which is the -아/어 form used before 주세요.

The change happens because 부르다 is a 르-irregular verb:

dictionary form: 부르다
stem before ending: 불러
full expression: 불러 주세요

So:

부르다 = to call
불러요 = call / calls
불러 주세요 = please call

This is a very common pattern, so it is worth memorizing as a chunk:

부르다 → 불러

What does 불러 주세요 mean exactly?

불러 주세요 literally means something like please do the action of calling.

It breaks down like this:

불러 = call
주다 = to give
-아/어 주세요 = please do ... for me / please ...

So 불러 주세요 is a polite request:

please call

In many cases, -아/어 주세요 is best translated simply as please + verb in English.

Examples:

문을 열어 주세요. = Please open the door.
도와 주세요. = Please help me.
구급차를 불러 주세요. = Please call an ambulance.

Is 불러 주세요 more like call or summon?

It can feel a little closer to summon literally, but in natural English the best translation is usually call.

Korean 부르다 can mean several things depending on context, including:

to call someone
to summon someone
to invite someone over
to sing

With 구급차를 부르다, the natural meaning is to call an ambulance.

So even though the Korean verb has a broader range than English call, in this sentence call an ambulance is the most natural translation.

Why does the sentence end with 주세요? Is it formal?

주세요 makes the sentence polite and appropriate for speaking to someone respectfully, including a stranger.

It is a polite request form. In this sentence, it is urgent, but still polite.

Levels you might compare:

구급차를 불러 줘. = Call an ambulance.
Casual, used with close friends or younger people.
구급차를 불러 주세요. = Please call an ambulance.
Polite and standard.
구급차를 불러 주십시오. = Please call an ambulance.
More formal/stiff.

In a real emergency, 불러 주세요 is very natural.

Can I also say 구급차를 호출해 주세요 or 구급차에 전화해 주세요?

Yes, but they feel different.

구급차를 불러 주세요. = Please call an ambulance.
Very natural and common.
구급차를 호출해 주세요. = Please summon an ambulance.
More formal or technical-sounding.
구급차에 전화해 주세요. = Please call the ambulance / call ambulance services.
Possible, but less natural in everyday emergency speech.

For a learner, 구급차를 불러 주세요 is probably the best everyday phrase to remember.

Is the word order important? Why is it 제발 구급차를 불러 주세요?

Korean usually puts the verb at the end, so the basic order is:

제발 = please / I beg you
구급차를 = ambulance + object marker
불러 주세요 = please call

So the structure is:

please + ambulance + call

This is normal Korean word order. English puts the verb earlier:

Please call an ambulance.

Korean tends to save the main action until the end of the sentence.

Can I leave out 제발?

Yes, definitely.

구급차를 불러 주세요. is already a complete and natural sentence.
Adding 제발 makes it sound more desperate and urgent.

So the choice depends on tone:

without 제발: polite request
with 제발: urgent plea

In an actual emergency, both are possible, but 제발 adds strong emotion.

Is 주세요 written as one word or two here?

You will often see both:

불러 주세요
불러주세요

In careful textbook-style writing, 불러 주세요 is very common and easy for learners to read as:

불러
- 주세요

So it helps show the grammar clearly:

verb + -아/어 주세요

For learning purposes, it is good to recognize 불러 주세요 as the structure, even if you sometimes see 불러주세요 in everyday writing.

Could this sentence sound rude because it is an emergency command?

No. In fact, it sounds appropriately polite.

Even in emergencies, Korean often still uses polite forms, especially when speaking to:

strangers
passersby
staff
older people

Because of the situation, the urgency is clear. 제발 adds emotional force, and 주세요 keeps it respectful.

So the sentence sounds like:

urgent
serious
polite

That combination is very natural in Korean.

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