484 words
2 minutes

들다: Vocabulary #381

2026-03-19
2026-05-31

Example Sentences#

  1. 내 맘에 들어오는 바람1
    A breeze that touches my heart
    • 들어오다 is a compound verb formed from 들다 (to enter) and 오다 (to come), meaning ‘to come in’ or ‘to enter’.
    • 마음에 들다 is a common expression meaning ‘to be pleasing’ or ‘to win one’s favor’, often implying that something or someone enters one’s heart figuratively.
    • -는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
  2. 두 명의 스님, 한 명은 나이 든 스님이고 다른 한 명은 젊은 스님이 함께 여행하고 있었다.2
    Two monks, one old and one young, were traveling together.
    • 나이 들다 is a common and polite expression in Korean meaning ‘to become old’ or ‘to grow older’.
    • -ㄴ is a past tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
  3. 그때 나이 든 스님은 아무 말 없이 여자를 들어 강을 건너게 도와주고, 다른 쪽에 내려놓은 후 다시 길을 떠났다.2
    At that moment, the old monk picked up the woman without a word, helped her cross the river, set her down on the other side, and resumed the journey.
    • 나이 들다 is a common and polite expression in Korean meaning ‘to become old’ or ‘to grow older’.
    • -ㄴ is a past tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
  4. “스님, 우리는 여자를 만지지 않기로 했는데, 어떻게 그 여자를 들어 건너셨습니까?”2
    “We promised not to touch a woman. How could you carry her across the river?”
    • 들다 means ‘to hold’, ‘take’, or ‘carry’.
    • -어서 is a connective ending that indicates a sequence of related events, cause and effect, or ways or means. In this context, 서 is omitted.
  5. 나이 든 스님은 젊은 스님을 바라보며 말했다.2
    The old monk looked at the young monk and said:
    • 나이 들다 is a common and polite expression in Korean meaning ‘to become old’ or ‘to grow older’.
    • -ㄴ is a past tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.

Footnotes#

  1. Sentence from Blue Breeze Song. ↩

  2. Sentence from The Girl At The River Story. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

들다: Vocabulary #381
https://koreanstorylab.com/posts/vocabulary/들다/
Author
Korean Story Lab
Published at
2026-03-19
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0