Getting Around in Korean: -(으)러 가다 for Purpose and (으)로 for How You Go

Move with purpose in Korean: -(으)러 가다 (먹으러 가요), (으)로 for direction and means (지하철로), and -(으)려고 for intention — plus the -으십시오 of subway announcements.

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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)

L1-23 🌱 Level 1 · TOPIK 1 movement purpose ⚡ 5-Q quiz at the end

To say why you are going somewhere, Korean bolts the purpose straight onto the verb: 밥 먹으러 가요 — I am going (in order) to eat. Add (으)로 for direction and transport (이쪽으로 — this way, 지하철로 — by subway) and -(으)려고 for the intention behind any action, and the whole city opens up. This lesson is your movement engine.

Words for the station and the street

지하철
ji-ha-cheol
subway, metro
지하철로 가요 — ji-ha-cheol-lo ga-yo — I go by subway
버스
beo-seu
bus
버스를 타요 — beo-seu-reul ta-yo — I take the bus
정류장
jeong-nyu-jang
bus stop
정류장이 어디에 있어요? — jeong-nyu-jang-i eo-di-e i-sseo-yo — where is the bus stop?
역
yeok
station (subway, train)
역 앞에서 만나요 — yeok a-pe-seo man-na-yo — see you in front of the station
타다
ta-da
to ride, take (transport)
지하철을 타요 — ji-ha-cheo-reul ta-yo — I take the subway
내리다
nae-ri-da
to get off
다음 역에서 내려요 — da-eum yeo-ge-seo nae-ryeo-yo — I get off at the next station
환승하다
hwan-seung-ha-da
to transfer (lines)
여기에서 환승해요 — yeo-gi-e-seo hwan-seung-hae-yo — I transfer here
이쪽
i-jjok
this way, this side
이쪽으로 오세요 — i-jjo-geu-ro o-se-yo — come this way
출구
chul-gu
exit
2번 출구로 나가세요 — i-beon chul-gu-ro na-ga-se-yo — go out exit 2
길
gil
road, street, way
이 길로 가요 — i gil-lo ga-yo — take this road

More station-to-street words live in the transportation pack and the directions pack — both slot straight into the patterns below.

Going where, to do what? -(으)러 가다/오다

-(으)러 — GO / COME IN ORDER TO
V stem + -(으)러 + 가다/오다

Vowel-final stem + 러, consonant-final stem + 으러. 먹다 → 밥 먹으러 가요 = I am going (out) to eat. 만나다 → 친구 만나러 카페에 가요 = I go to a café to meet a friend. 배우다 → 한국어 배우러 왔어요 = I came to learn Korean. Careful — the final verb must be movement: 가다, 오다, 다니다. The destination keeps its own particle: 식당에 밥 먹으러 가요.

This pattern answers the question Koreans ask constantly: 어디 가요? — where to, and what for? 밥 먹으러 가요 is so common it works as a greeting reply. Word order stays free (밥 먹으러 식당에 가요 or 식당에 밥 먹으러 가요) because the particles, not the positions, carry the roles.

One particle, two jobs: (으)로

(으)로 — DIRECTION AND MEANS, ONE PARTICLE
N + (으)로

Consonant-final noun + 으로; vowel-final and ㄹ-final nouns + 로 (지하철로, 길로). Direction: 이쪽으로 오세요 = come this way. 2번 출구로 나가세요 = go out exit 2. Means: 지하철로 가요 = I go by subway. 버스로 와요 = I come by bus.

English needs toward and by; Korean lets the noun sort it out — a place or side points a direction, a vehicle names the means. Keep it distinct from the 에 of Lesson 13: 학교에 가요 names the destination point, 이쪽으로 가요 points the direction. Destination = 에, route or vehicle = (으)로.

The plan behind the action: -(으)려고

-(으)려고 — INTENTION
V stem + -(으)려고

Vowel-final stem + 려고, consonant-final stem + 으려고. 한국에서 일하려고 한국어를 배워요 = I study Korean intending to work in Korea. 시험을 보려고 공부해요 = I study in order to take the test. 친구를 만나려고 일찍 일어났어요 = I got up early to meet a friend. Contrast: -(으)러 demands 가다/오다 next; -(으)려고 is free — any verb may follow.

Think of -(으)려고 as the wide-angle -(으)러: the same purpose idea, unchained from movement. Going or coming next? Use -(으)러 — daily speech says 먹으러 가요, never 먹으려고 가요. Anything else next? -(으)려고 is your tool.

You will hear this: -(으)십시오

-(으)십시오 — EXPOSURE ONLY: UNDERSTAND, DO NOT PRODUCE
V stem + -(으)십시오

The ultra-formal command of announcements, signs, and manuals. 이번 역에서 내리십시오 = please get off at this station. 조심하십시오 = please be careful. 이쪽으로 오십시오 = please come this way (staff, hotels). Your speaking tool stays -(으)세요 (Lesson 15) — this box is for your ears.

Every Seoul subway ride showers you with -(으)십시오 — the 시 inside is the honorific marker from Lesson 11 wrapped in maximum formality. Learn the sound now and announcements stop being noise.

Meeting at exit 2

💬 MEETING AT EXIT 2 -으러 + (으)로 live
지금 어디에 있어요? Where are you right now?
친구 선물 사러 가고 있어요. 지하철로 가요! I am on my way to buy a present for a friend. Going by subway! (-으러 + -고 있다 from Lesson 13)
저도 거기 가요! 역 앞 카페에서 만날까요? I am going there too! Shall we meet at the café in front of the station? (-을까요 from Lesson 22)
좋아요. 다음 역에서 내려요. 2번 출구로 나가세요! Great. I get off at the next station. Go out exit 2! ((으)로 pointing the way)

Four bubbles, four machines: purpose (사러), means (지하철로), last lesson’s suggestion (만날까요?), direction (출구로). Each new pattern multiplies everything you learned before it.

FAQ

What is the difference between -(으)러 and -(으)려고? -(으)러 is welded to movement: it only works before 가다, 오다, or 다니다, and it names why you are moving — 밥 먹으러 가요. -(으)려고 expresses the intention behind any action: 한국에서 일하려고 한국어를 배워요, with no movement verb in sight. Quick test: if the next verb is not go/come, -(으)러 is off the table and -(으)려고 steps in.

How do I know if (으)로 means direction or means? Look at the noun. A place or a side gives direction: 이쪽으로 오세요 (come this way), 2번 출구로 나가세요 (go out exit 2). A vehicle or tool gives means: 지하철로 가요 (by subway), 버스로 와요 (by bus). English splits this into toward and by; Korean runs both through one particle and lets context decide — and in practice it is never ambiguous. Shape rule: consonant-final nouns take 으로, vowel-final and ㄹ-final nouns take plain 로 (지하철로, 길로).

Do I need to memorize -(으)십시오? Recognize it, do not produce it. -(으)십시오 is the formal command of announcements, signs, and manuals: 내리십시오 (please get off), 조심하십시오 (please be careful). In conversation, -(으)세요 from Lesson 15 already covers every polite request you need — a learner saying 앉으십시오 at a café would sound like a hotel doorman. Train your ears, not your mouth.

Next: the grade 1 grand review + mini TOPIK. Previous: making plans with -(으)ㄹ까요?. Full path: curriculum hub.

⚡ 2-Minute Check

Q 1 / 5