This Sounds Off in Korean! #korean #koreanlanguage

My student wanted to say “I can’t understand” in Korean… and made a mistake that so many learners make. ❌

The first instinct was 이해하지 못해요, a direct, word-for-word translation.

The thing is, in Korean, that phrase can sound like you literally lack the ability to understand something, almost like a permanent limitation. 😬

If you simply mean “I’m not getting it right now,” Koreans are much more likely to say 이해가 안 돼요. ✅

This is why direct translation can be so tricky. Sometimes it’s technically correct, but it still doesn’t sound like something a native speaker would naturally say.

This is exactly the kind of nuance we work on through personalized 1:1 feedback inside Beyond the Script.

If you’d like this kind of detailed feedback on your own Korean, check out the link in my bio.