Key Facts
- Hangul: 오른쪽; Revised Romanization: oreunjjok
- Part of speech: noun (direction)
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: Neutral, everyday word used in both spoken and written Korean.
Right in Korean: What Does 오른쪽 Mean?
오른쪽 means right or right side. It is a native Korean direction noun, neutral, and common in speech and writing. It is the word you use when giving or following directions.
How Do You Pronounce 오른쪽?
Written 오른쪽 and said o-reun-jjok. The 쪽 is spelled with the tense ㅉ, so Revised Romanization writes it jj. Say it tight, with no extra air.
Example Sentences with 오른쪽
오른쪽으로 가세요.
Oreunjjogeuro gaseyo.
Please go to the right.
가세요 is the polite imperative of go. 으로 marks the direction, so the line means go to the right.
은행은 오른쪽에 있어요.
Eunhaengeun oreunjjoge isseoyo.
The bank is on the right.
에 marks location. 은행은 is the topic, so this answers where the bank is.
오른쪽 길로 가요.
Oreunjjok gillo gayo.
I take the road on the right.
길로 means by the road. Put the direction before 길, as in 오른쪽 길.
Common Phrases and Collocations
The phrases cover turning, a body part and an end position, with 오른쪽 always before the word it describes.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 오른쪽으로 돌다 | to turn right |
| 오른쪽 눈 | right eye |
| 오른쪽 끝 | right end |
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners drop a letter when romanizing the word.
Wrong: oreunjok, with a single j.
Correct: oreunjjok. The 쪽 starts with the tense ㅉ, which Revised Romanization writes as jj.
오른쪽 Compared with Similar Words
오른쪽 has a mirror word, 왼쪽, and a related body word, 오른손. Learn 오른쪽 and 왼쪽 as a pair, because directions are almost always given as left against right.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 오른쪽 | right | This page's word |
| 왼쪽 | left | 왼쪽 is the opposite side. |
| 오른손 | right hand | 오른손 refers to the right hand. |
In a Station: Finding the Ticket Machines
A traveller asks a station worker where to buy a ticket. The worker gives a direction and then confirms the location.
Traveller
표는 어디에서 사요?
Pyoneun eodieseo sayo?
Where do I buy a ticket?
Worker
오른쪽으로 가세요.
Oreunjjogeuro gaseyo.
Please go to the right.
Traveller
계단 오른쪽에 있어요?
Gyedan oreunjjoge isseoyo?
Is it to the right of the stairs?
Worker
네, 바로 오른쪽에 있어요.
Ne, baro oreunjjoge isseoyo.
Yes, it’s just to the right.
The worker first tells the traveller which way to move, then confirms a position beside a landmark. 바로 means “just” or “immediately” here. The dialogue uses 오른쪽으로 for movement and 오른쪽에 for location; the two endings answer different questions.
Position, Direction and a Landmark
오른쪽에 있어요 means something is on the right. 오른쪽으로 가세요 tells someone to move to the right. The noun 오른쪽 ends in a consonant, so the direction marker is 으로. Keep the 으 syllable when attaching it: 오른쪽으로.
You can put a landmark before 오른쪽. 계단 오른쪽 means “to the right of the stairs”, and 건물 오른쪽 means “to the right of the building”. Korean does not need a separate word for “of” between these nouns. The landmark helps the listener identify which right-hand area you mean.
오른쪽 길 is “the road on the right”. 오른쪽 끝 is “the right end” or “the far right”. In a row of ticket machines, the latter identifies a position within the row, rather than telling you to turn into another road. The noun following 오른쪽 makes the instruction more precise.
Whose Right Is It?
오른쪽 depends on a viewpoint. In face-to-face conversation, your right may be the other person's left. At a clinic or in an exercise class, 오른손 names the person's right hand, while 사진 오른쪽 refers to the right side of a photograph as you look at it.
When giving directions, point or name a landmark if the viewpoint could be unclear. A person facing back toward an entrance may interpret a bare “on the right” differently from someone entering the room. The Korean word itself does not settle that difference.
In a picture description, 오른쪽 사람 means “the person on the right”. It identifies someone by where they appear in the picture; it does not describe their right hand or their political views. For ordinary spatial directions, stay with 오른쪽 and 왼쪽 as a pair.
Which Words Appear beside 오른쪽?
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 왼쪽 | left side | The matching word for the opposite side. |
| 앞 | front | Helps locate an entrance or a meeting point. |
| 뒤 | back; behind | Gives a different position from either side. |
| 직진 | going straight | A common navigation instruction before a turn. |
| 우회전 | right turn | A compact term heard in driving directions. |
The directions and position lesson teaches these location words together. In spoken walking directions, 오른쪽으로 가세요 gives a clear everyday instruction. In navigation and traffic contexts, 우회전 names the turn itself. Both refer to the right, but their grammatical roles differ: one is a side with a direction marker, the other is the name of an action.
Quick Self-Test
- Which describes location: 오른쪽에 있어요 or 오른쪽으로 가세요?
- What does 계단 오른쪽 mean?
- Are your right and the right of someone facing you always the same side?
Show answers
- 오른쪽에 있어요 describes location.
- To the right of the stairs.
- No. Viewpoint matters; a landmark or gesture can clarify it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say right in Korean?
Say 오른쪽 (oreunjjok) for the direction. 은행은 오른쪽에 있어요 means the bank is on the right. It means right as a side, not right as in correct.
How do you say turn right?
Say 오른쪽으로 돌다, with 으로 marking the direction and 돌다 meaning to turn. To direct someone politely, 오른쪽으로 가세요 means please go to the right.
What is the opposite of 오른쪽?
The opposite is 왼쪽, left. The two words share the ending 쪽 (side), so only the first part changes: 오른 for right and 왼 for left.
What is 오른손?
오른손 is the right hand. It uses the same 오른 element as 오른쪽, with 손 (hand) in place of 쪽 (side).
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Korean directions words groups 오른쪽 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z lists every single-word page.
- Practice: add 오른쪽 to the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Next in the list: the page for above.
- Compare with the page for left.