KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › K-culture › 온돌 덕분에 한겨울에도 바닥이 따뜻해요

“Thanks to ondol, the floor…” in Korean

온돌 덕분에 한겨울에도 바닥이 따뜻해요

ondol deokbune hangyeouredo badagi ttatteutaeyo

Situation: K-cultureLevel: Advanced (TOPIK 5–6)

Meaning

Thanks to ondol, the floor stays warm even in midwinter.

온돌 is Korea’s traditional underfloor heating. The prefix 한- means “the very middle of,” so 한겨울 is midwinter and 한여름 is midsummer.

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

Syllables: 17 · 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
온돌
온	ㅇ+ㅗ+ㄴ	on
돌	ㄷ+ㅗ+ㄹ	dol
덕분에
덕	ㄷ+ㅓ+ㄱ	deok
분	ㅂ+ㅜ+ㄴ	[뿌] bu
에	ㅇ+ㅔ	[네] ne
한겨울에도
한	ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ	han
겨	ㄱ+ㅕ	gyeo
울	ㅇ+ㅜ+ㄹ	[우] u
에	ㅇ+ㅔ	[레] re
도	ㄷ+ㅗ	do
바닥이
바	ㅂ+ㅏ	ba
닥	ㄷ+ㅏ+ㄱ	[다] da
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[기] gi
따뜻해요
따	ㄸ+ㅏ	tta
뜻	ㄸ+ㅡ+ㅅ	[뜨] tteu
해	ㅎ+ㅐ	[태] tae
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

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

Tensing: after a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). 덕분에 → [덕뿌네]
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. 분에 → [부네]
Aspiration: ㅎ next to ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ or ㅈ blends with it into ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ or ㅊ. 뜻해 → [뜨태]

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.

덕분에 잘 지내고 있습니다Thanks to you, I’m doing well
덕분에 큰 힘이 됐어요Thanks to you, I had a great source of support. It meant a lot to me
덕분에 잘 지내고 있어요I’m doing well, thanks to you
조언해 주신 덕분에 많은 도움이 되었습니다Your advice helped me a lot

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “온돌 덕분에 한겨울에도 바닥이 따뜻해요” mean?

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Answer: Thanks to ondol, the floor stays warm even in midwinter

Question 2 How do you say “Thanks to ondol, the floor stays warm even in midwinter” in Korean?

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Answer: 온돌 덕분에 한겨울에도 바닥이 따뜻해요 ondol deokbune hangyeouredo badagi ttatteutaeyo

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