“I’m not sure” in Korean: 잘 모르겠어요 (jal moreugesseoyo)

잘 모르겠어요

jal moreugesseoyo

Situation: Greetings & basicsLevel: Beginner (TOPIK 1–2)

Meaning

I’m not sure.

Softer than a blunt “I don’t know”; it means “I’m not really sure.”

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

Syllables: 6 · Words: 2

Said aloud, it sounds like [잘 모르게써요].

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
잘	ㅈ+ㅏ+ㄹ	jal
모르겠어요
모	ㅁ+ㅗ	mo
르	ㄹ+ㅡ	reu
겠	ㄱ+ㅔ+ㅆ	[게] ge
어	ㅇ+ㅓ	[써] sseo
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. 겠어 → [게써]

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
모르다	verb	to not know	TOPIK level 1

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “잘 모르겠어요” mean?

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Answer: I’m not sure

Question 2 How do you say “I’m not sure” in Korean?

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Answer: 잘 모르겠어요 jal moreugesseoyo

Question 3 How is “잘 모르겠어요” pronounced?

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Answer: [잘 모르게써요]

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