Key Facts
- Hangul: 길; Revised Romanization: gil
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: neutral, used in speech and writing; also means 'way' in directions, as in 길을 잃다 (to get lost)
Road in Korean: What Does 길 Mean?
길 means road, and also way, path and street. It is native Korean, neutral, and used in speech and writing. It is the word for directions as well, which is why 길을 잃다 means get lost.
How Do You Pronounce 길?
One syllable, said "gil". The ㄹ at the end is a light tongue touch behind the upper teeth. When a vowel follows, as in 길을, the ㄹ moves over and becomes a quick tap, close to r.
Example Sentences with 길
길이 막혀요.
Giri makyeoyo.
The road is jammed.
막혀요 means is blocked, so 길이 막혀요 is what you say in a traffic jam. The ㄱ and ㅎ merge, giving ma-kyeo-yo.
길을 몰라요.
Gireul mollayo.
I don't know the way.
몰라요 means do not know. 길을 몰라요 means I do not know the way.
이 길로 쭉 가세요.
I gillo jjuk gaseyo.
Please go straight along this road.
쭉 means straight on. 이 길로 gives the route, and 가세요 is a polite instruction.
Common Phrases and Collocations
All three phrases are directions or traffic phrases.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 길을 묻다 | to ask the way |
| 길을 잃다 | to get lost |
| 길이 막히다 | traffic is jammed |
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners translate "I am lost" word by word.
Wrong: 길이 없어요. This means "there is no road".
Correct: 길을 잃었어요, literally "I lost the way".
길 Compared with Similar Words
Two other words for roads differ in what they point to.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 길 | road | This page's word |
| 거리 | street / distance | 거리 is a street as a place; 길 is the path or route. |
| 도로 | roadway | 도로 is a formal word for a road for vehicles. |
Asking the Way to the Station
A visitor has reached a junction and asks someone walking past. The visitor names a destination; the local explains the route rather than giving a street address.
Visitor
실례합니다. 역에 가는 길이 어디예요?
Sillyehamnida. Yeoge ganeun giri eodiyeyo?
Excuse me. Which way is the station?
Local
이 길로 쭉 가세요.
I gillo jjuk gaseyo.
Go straight along this road.
Visitor
걸어서 갈 수 있어요?
Georeoseo gal su isseoyo?
Can I walk there?
Local
네. 걸어서 십 분쯤 걸려요.
Ne. Georeoseo sip bunjjeum geollyeoyo.
Yes. It takes about ten minutes on foot.
역에 가는 길 means “the way to the station”. The destination comes before 가는 길, so you can recognise the same pattern when someone asks for the way to a school or hotel. 길로 marks the route taken. Although 길 ends in a consonant, it takes 로, because words ending in ㄹ use 로 rather than 으로.
Which Phrases Go beyond a Physical Road?
가는 길 means “on the way” as well as “the route going somewhere”. In 집에 가는 길, the destination is home. Depending on the surrounding sentence, someone may be describing the route home or saying they are currently heading home. The phrase alone does not say that they have arrived.
길을 비키다 means to move out of the way or make room for someone to pass. Here 길 is the space someone needs to move through, even inside a crowded train. 길을 잃다, by contrast, means to lose your way. One phrase concerns blocking another person's movement; the other concerns knowing your own route.
지름길 means a shortcut. It names a shorter route, not a promise that the route will always be quicker: traffic, stairs or a closed gate may change that. In everyday directions, a listener asking about a 지름길 wants an alternative route rather than a different destination.
Where Will You Hear or See 길?
In a taxi, 길이 막혀요 explains slow progress because of traffic. On a walk, the same word can refer to a narrow path with no cars at all. Listen for the surrounding words before deciding whether the speaker means a roadway, a walking route or simply the way somewhere.
On address labels, 길 can occur at the end of a street name. There it is part of the name, so keep the full name when copying an address into a map. In traffic reports, 도로 often names the vehicle road more explicitly. An everyday question about finding your way usually uses 길.
길 itself carries no special politeness level. In the dialogue, 실례합니다 politely gets a stranger's attention, and 가세요 makes the direction a polite instruction. A bare destination plus 길 may identify a route on a map, but a complete question is more useful when stopping someone in the street.
Words for Following Directions
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 방향 | direction | Tells you which way to face or travel. |
| 골목 | alley | A small street between buildings. |
| 횡단보도 | crosswalk | A place to cross the road on foot. |
| 사거리 | four-way intersection | A common landmark in spoken directions. |
The city vocabulary lesson builds the set around 길. A route can include an alley, an intersection and a crossing, so these words help you follow the whole instruction rather than recognise only its first noun.
Quick Self-Test
- Which particle completes 길__ when you mean “along the road”: 로 or 으로?
- Does 길을 비키다 mean getting lost or making room to pass?
- Which word means a shortcut?
Show answers
- 로: 길로. The final ㄹ takes 로.
- Making room to pass. Getting lost is 길을 잃다.
- 지름길.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say road in Korean?
Say 길 (gil). It covers roads, paths and streets, and also the way to somewhere, as in 길을 몰라요 (I don't know the way).
How do you say to ask the way?
Say 길을 묻다. 묻다 means to ask, and 길 here is the way to a place rather than a physical road.
How do you say I am lost?
Say 길을 잃었어요, the past tense of 길을 잃다, literally "I lost the way". Avoid 길이 없어요, which means there is no road.
What is the difference between 길 and 도로?
도로 is a formal word for a road built for vehicles, used in traffic news and signs. 길 is the everyday word for any road, path or route, including the way somewhere.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Around the city words groups 길 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z lists every single-word page.
- Practice: add 길 to the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Next in the list: the page for bridge.
- Compare with the page for street.