“Traffic is heavy, so I think I’ll be late” in Korean

길이 막혀서 늦을 것 같아요

giri makyeoseo neujeul geot gatayo

Situation: Getting around & directionsLevel: Advanced (TOPIK 5–6)

Meaning

Traffic is heavy, so I think I’ll be late.

Useful when texting that you will be late. -(으)ㄹ 것 같아요 means “it seems that….”

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 11 · Words: 5

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
길이
길	ㄱ+ㅣ+ㄹ	[기] gi
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[리] ri
막혀서
막	ㅁ+ㅏ+ㄱ	[마] ma
혀	ㅎ+ㅕ	[켜] kyeo
서	ㅅ+ㅓ	seo
늦을
늦	ㄴ+ㅡ+ㅈ	[느] neu
을	ㅇ+ㅡ+ㄹ	[즐] jeul
것	ㄱ+ㅓ+ㅅ	[걷] geot
같아요
같	ㄱ+ㅏ+ㅌ	[가] ga
아	ㅇ+ㅏ	[타] ta
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 길이 → [기리]
Aspiration: ㅎ next to ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ or ㅈ blends with it into ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ or ㅊ. 막혀 → [마켜]
Final-sound reduction: every final consonant is pronounced as one of seven sounds — ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ or ㅇ. 것 → [걷]

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.

These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).

Korean	Part of speech	Meaning	Level
길	noun	road, way	TOPIK level 1
막히다	verb	to be blocked, to be congested	TOPIK level 3

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Question 1 What does “길이 막혀서 늦을 것 같아요” mean?

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Answer: Traffic is heavy, so I think I’ll be late

Question 2 How do you say “Traffic is heavy, so I think I’ll be late” in Korean?

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Answer: 길이 막혀서 늦을 것 같아요 giri makyeoseo neujeul geot gatayo

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