4 · Further patterns
On the way: -는 길에
en route
-는 길에 after a verb of going or coming says that something happens on the way.
길 is the ordinary word for “road, way”, and after the present modifier -는 of a verb of movement it means “on the way”: 집에 오는 길에 빵을 샀어요, “I bought bread on my way home”. The verb before it is almost always 가다, 오다 or one of their compounds: 나가다, 돌아오다, 다녀오다, 내려가다. A stem in l loses it before -는, as always.
With the copula the pattern says where you are heading right now: 지금 학교에 가는 길이에요, “I'm on my way to school”. This is the natural answer on the phone to “where are you?”, and -는 길인데 introduces an offer or a question: “I'm heading out — do you need anything?”.
A few nouns combine with 길 into fixed words: 출근길 (the way to work), 퇴근길 (the way home from work), 등굣길 (the way to school). They take 에 directly: 퇴근길에 마트에 들를 거예요.
The pattern only makes sense with a real journey from one place to another. English “on the way” can be figurative (“on the way to success”), but -는 길에 cannot. For two activities at once Korean uses -(으)면서, and for an opportunity taken it uses -는 김에.
The form
| going | 가다 → 가는 길에 |
| coming | 오다 → 오는 길에 |
| coming back | 돌아오다 → 돌아오는 길에 |
| being on the way | 가는 길이에요 |
| with a noun | 출근길에, 퇴근길에 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Only verbs of movement stand before -는 길에.
돌아오는 길에 비가 오기 시작했어요.On the way back it started to rain.
-는 길이다 says that you are on your way somewhere now.
지금 학교에 가는 길이에요.I'm on my way to school now.
Nouns such as 출근 and 퇴근 form one word with 길.
퇴근길에 마트에 들를 거예요.I'll stop at the supermarket on my way home from work.
-는 길인데 introduces an offer or a question.
저 지금 나가는 길인데 뭐 필요한 거 있어요?I'm just heading out — do you need anything?
A closer look
Road, opportunity, purpose
Three neighbouring patterns are easy to confuse. -는 길에 places an event on a route: it happened while you were travelling. -는 김에 is about an opportunity: since you are doing one thing anyway, you add another. -(eu)l gyeom lists purposes planned in advance.
Often two of them fit the same situation with a different nuance. 시장에 가는 길에 친구를 만났어요 means you met your friend by chance on the way; 시장에 가는 김에 친구를 만났어요 means you used the trip to arrange a meeting.
How to spot it
- -는 길에
- -는 길이다
- 출근길
- 퇴근길
- 가다
- 오다
Example sentences
집에 오는 길에 빵을 샀어요.I bought bread on my way home.
회사에 가는 길에 친구를 우연히 만났어요.I ran into a friend on my way to work.
은행에 가는 길에 이것 좀 우체통에 넣어 줄래요?Could you put this in the postbox on your way to the bank?
출근길에 커피를 한 잔 사요.I buy a coffee on my way to work.
공항에 가는 길에 여권을 놓고 온 걸 알았어요.On the way to the airport I realised I had left my passport behind.
학교에서 돌아오는 길에 도서관에 들렀어요.On my way back from school I stopped at the library.
8 more example sentences
시장에 다녀오는 길에 이웃을 만났어요.I met a neighbour on my way back from the market.
고향에 내려가는 길에 휴게소에서 쉬었어요.On the way down to my home town we stopped for a break at a service station.
친구 집에 가는 길에 꽃을 샀어요.I bought flowers on my way to my friend's house.
지금 집에 가는 길이에요. 삼십 분 후에 도착해요.I'm on my way home now. I'll be there in thirty minutes.
출근길에 지하철에서 책을 읽어요.On my way to work I read on the underground.
병원에 가는 길에 약국에도 들렀어요.On my way to the hospital I also stopped at the chemist's.
집에 돌아가는 길에 비가 그쳤어요.On the way home the rain stopped.
퇴근길에 전화할게요.I'll call you on my way home from work.
Worth knowing (1)
-
The answer to “where are you?”
On the phone, 가는 길이에요 or 가고 있어요 are the natural replies when you are already travelling. 가는 길이에요 adds that you are on your way to a fixed destination.
"어디예요?" "지금 거기 가는 길이에요."“Where are you?” “I'm on my way there now.”
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
길 is a real road. Doing homework involves no journey, so it has no “way” to happen on. For two things at the same time use -(으)면서: 숙제를 하면서 음악을 들었어요.
Gil is a road: neun gire needs somewhere to go.
Your turn
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