Key Facts
- Hangul: 지나가다 (jinagada)
- Meaning: to pass by
- Level: A2
- Part of speech: verb
- Stem: 지나가
- Conjugation class: Regular
- Grammar: The route passed through takes 을/를; 에서 can name the setting. The subject takes 이/가 (차가 지나가요).
- Honorific polite: 지나가세요
- Usage: Common for directions and bus routes. Polite requests to pass: 지나가겠습니다 or 잠깐 지나갈게요.
What Does 지나가다 Mean?
- to pass by: Used for going past a place or person, e.g. 은행 앞을 지나가다 (to pass in front of the bank).
- to pass (time): Used for time going by, e.g. 시간이 지나가다.
지나가다 means to pass by: to go past a place or a person. The route passed takes 을/를, so 은행 앞을 지나가다 is passing in front of the bank, and the thing that moves takes 이/가, as in 차가 지나가요. The second sense is about time going by: 시간이 지나가다.
Directions and bus routes use it constantly. When you need someone to let you through, say 잠깐 지나갈게요 or the more formal 지나가겠습니다.
Which Set Phrases Use 지나가다?
- 집 앞을 지나가다: To pass in front of a house; 을 marks the place passed.
- 지나가겠습니다: A formal 'excuse me, passing through'.
- 잠깐 지나갈게요: A softer way to ask for room.
How Do You Pronounce 지나가다?
지나가다 is read as spelled. The past 지나갔어요 is [지나가써요] and the formal 지나갑니다 is [지나감니다]. The future 지나갈 거예요 is [지나갈꺼예요], with the tensed 거.
How Do You Use 지나가다 in a Sentence?
버스가 집 앞을 지나가요.
The bus passes in front of my house.
집 앞을 is the place passed, marked with 을. The bus is the subject, and the route repeats every day, so the polite present fits.
방금 누가 지나갔어요.
Someone just passed by.
방금 (just now) places the event a moment ago, and 누가 means 'someone'. The past 지나갔어요 reports a person you just missed.
저 길을 지나가면 시장이 있어요.
If you go past that road, there is a market.
저 길을 gives the road, and the if-form 지나가면 introduces what comes next: a market. This is a typical direction-giving sentence.
How Does Jinagada Conjugation Work?
지나가다 is regular. The stem 지나가 ends in ㅏ, so 아 joins it and the extra 아 drops: 지나가 + 아요 gives 지나가요, and the past is 지나갔어요. Consonant endings keep the stem whole: 지나가면, 지나갑니다.
지나가다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 지나가요 | ||
| Polite past | 지나갔어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 지나갈 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 지나가겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 지나갑니다 | ||
| Formal past | 지나갔습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 지나갈 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 지나가 | ||
| Casual past | 지나갔어 | ||
| Casual future | 지나갈 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 지나가고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 지나가세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 지나가서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 지나가면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 지나가는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 지나간 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 지나갈 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 지나가요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 지나가지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 지나갔어요 | [지나가써요] |
| Polite future | 지나갈 거예요 | [지나갈꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 지나가겠어요 | [지나가게써요] |
| Formal present | 지나갑니다 | [지나감니다] |
| Formal past | 지나갔습니다 | [지나갇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 지나갈 것입니다 | [지나갈꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 지나갔어 | [지나가써] |
| Casual future | 지나갈 거야 | [지나갈꺼야] |
| Long negative | 지나가지 않아요 | [지나가지 아나요] |
Common Mistake with 지나가다
Wrong: ✗ 집에 지나가요 (for 'pass the house')
Correct: ✓ 집 앞을 지나가요.
Why: 에 marks a destination with verbs such as 가다, but 지나가다 does not mean going to the house. The thing passed takes 을/를, as in 집 앞을.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 지나가다?
| Word | How to tell it from 지나가다 |
|---|---|
| 지나다 | 지나다 is also to pass or to elapse and is a little more written; 지나가다 stresses the act of going past. |
| 지나오다 | 지나오다 is passing through toward the speaker; 지나가다 is passing away from the speaker. |
Choosing a Bus near the Market
Two friends have missed a bus and are checking whether the next one follows the route they need. Their destination is beyond the market.
Mina
버스가 벌써 지나갔어요.
Beoseuga beolsseo jinagasseoyo.
The bus has already passed.
Alex
다음 버스도 시장 앞을 지나가요?
Daeum beoseudo sijang apeul jinagayo?
Does the next bus also pass in front of the market?
Mina
네. 시장을 지나가면 바로 내려요.
Ne. Sijangeul jinagamyeon baro naeryeoyo.
Yes. We get off right after passing the market.
지나갔어요 reports the bus they missed. 지나가요 asks about the next bus's route, and 지나가면 makes the market a landmark for getting off. Passing the market and stopping at the market are different events, so the final line places their stop beyond it.
Collocations beyond Walking Past
시간이 지나가다 means “time goes by.” Time is the subject, rather than something a person sends or spends. Use this idea when describing the passage of an afternoon or a period of life. For how someone spends that time, 지내다 or 보내다 may be the word you need instead.
기회가 지나가다 means “an opportunity passes.” The movement is figurative: a chance can become unavailable while someone hesitates. The phrase describes the chance passing, not necessarily someone deliberately rejecting it. The subject 기회 makes the figurative reading clear.
그냥 지나가다 can mean “to go straight past” or “to pass without stopping.” 그냥 adds the idea that no extra action happened. Context tells you whether someone failed to notice a shop, chose not to enter it or simply had somewhere else to go.
지나가는 사람 means “a passerby,” literally “a person passing by.” The modifier 지나가는 describes the action in progress. You might hear this phrase when someone explains that they asked a stranger for directions. It says nothing about the person's destination or occupation.
Where Will You Hear 지나가다?
Bus-route questions, walking directions and reports of something that just happened all use 지나가다. 방금, “just now,” often accompanies the past when someone has just gone out of sight. A shopkeeper can use the word about foot traffic without implying that those people entered the shop.
잠깐 지나갈게요 announces that you want to pass through a narrow space. It is a polite signal to the people blocking the way, rather than a formal question with an expected yes-or-no answer. A small pause lets them move before you continue. 지나가겠습니다 fits a more formal delivery of the same intention.
In encouraging conversation, the image of something passing can also apply to a difficult period. The word itself does not promise when that period will end. Identify the subject before translating: a bus, time and an opportunity all “pass,” but the practical consequences differ.
Route Particles and One-Word Spelling
집 앞을 marks a stretch of space crossed along a route. It does not turn the house into a destination. To say that someone goes to a house, another movement verb and the destination particle 에 are needed. 지나가다 alone does not mean “arrive at.”
Write 지나가다 and its forms as one word: 지나가요, 지나갔어요 and 지나가면. The 가 part contributes movement, but it is not a separate spaced verb here. The present modifier 지나가는 refers to passing now or habitually; 지나간 points to something that has already passed.
| Related word | Meaning | Route distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 건너다 | to cross | Gets from one side to another. |
| 돌아가다 | to go back | Describes returning or going around, depending on context. |
| 따라가다 | to follow | Moves after someone or along a route. |
| 정류장 | bus stop | The place where you wait or get off. |
The directions lesson teaches the requests and landmarks that make a route description useful.
Mini Drill: a Bus Passing a Landmark
- Put 지나가다 in the polite past.
- Give the conditional used before a direction.
- Choose the route phrase: 집에 or 집 앞을?
- Complete “a passerby”: ____ 사람.
Show route drill answers
- 지나갔어요.
- 지나가면.
- 집 앞을, for passing in front of the house.
- 지나가는 사람.
Quick Self-Test
- Does passing a shop mean entering it?
- Who or what is the subject in 시간이 지나가다?
- Is 지나 가요 the standard spacing for this verb?
Reveal the self-test answers
- No. 지나가다 describes movement past it.
- 시간, time itself.
- No. Write 지나가요 as one word.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 지나가다?
지나가요. The 아 of the ending merges into the stem's ㅏ.
What Particle Marks the Place I Pass?
Use 을/를 for the route: 집 앞을 지나가요. 에서 can name the setting where something passes.
What Do I Say to Ask People to Let Me Through?
지나가겠습니다 is formal. 잠깐 지나갈게요 is softer.
Is 지나가다 the Same as 지나다?
Both mean to pass. 지나다 is a little more written; 지나가다 stresses the act of going past.
Which Words Are Related to 지나가다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 지나가다 with 지나다 and 지나오다, then try 돌아가다 for turning back and 건너다 for crossing. 따라가다 is the next movement verb in the same family. For the rule behind these forms, read how ㅏ stems drop a vowel, then try another stem in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.