Vocab: Describing a Travel Route

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TL;DR 🦄

Learn how to describe a 경로 (route) and talk about places you 거치다 (pass through) along the way.

Practice saying you'll 들르다 (stop by) somewhere and whether a place is 멀다 (far).

Master 한눈에 (at a glance) for describing how clearly you can see a route or distance.

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🎧 Iru Helper Note

Need a refresher on pronunciation? Check out the Korean Helper Widgets for audio support.

Try listening to: 이 경로로 가면 시청을 거쳐서 갈 수 있어요.

🌈 The Big Picture

When planning a trip, you often need to describe your 경로 (route) — which places you'll 거치다 (pass through), where you might 들르다 (stop by), and whether your destination is 멀다 (far). A good map lets you see all of this 한눈에 (at a glance). This lesson covers the essential vocabulary for describing a travel route in natural Korean.

🎨 The Core Travel Route Family

1. 경로 — route / path 🗺️

A formal/technical word for a route, often used in navigation apps. "최단 경로" means "the shortest route."

Note: For "road" in everyday speech, 길 is more common.

2. 들르다 — to stop by / drop by 🚏

Describes making a brief stop somewhere, often on the way to another place. "편의점에 들르다" means "to stop by the convenience store."

Note: Don't confuse with 들리다 (to be heard) — they sound similar but are different verbs!

3. 거치다 — to pass through / go via 🔀

Describes passing through a place as part of a route or process. "이 경로는 시청을 거쳐요" means "This route passes through city hall."

Note: Often used for transfers — "환승역을 거치다" (to pass through a transfer station).

4. 멀다 — to be far 📏

Describes distance. "여기서 멀어요" means "It's far from here."

Note: ㄹ-irregular adjective — the ㄹ drops before ㄴ (먼 거리 = "long distance," attributive form).

5. 한눈에 — at a glance 👀

Describes seeing or understanding something instantly, all at once. "한눈에 들어오다" means "to come into view at a glance."

Note: Literally combines 한 (one) + 눈 (eye) + 에 (at).

🛠️ How They Work in a Sentence

1. 이 경로로 가면 시청을 거쳐서 갈 수 있어요.

If you take this route, you can go via city hall.

→ 경로로 가면 (if you go by this route) + 거쳐서 (passing through) describes the path.

2. 가는 길에 편의점에 잠깐 들렀어요.

On the way, I stopped by the convenience store for a moment.

→ 가는 길에 (on the way) + 잠깄 들렀어요 (stopped by briefly) — note 들렀어요, not 들렸어요.

3. 지도를 보니까 목적지까지 거리가 한눈에 들어왔어요.

Looking at the map, I could see the distance to the destination at a glance.

→ 한눈에 들어왔어요 (came into view at a glance) describes instant visibility.

🧩 General Formation Rule

들르다 (to stop by) → 들러요 (polite present, 으-irregular: 들르 + 어요 → 들러요), 들렀어요 (past), 들른 (attributive)

거치다 (to pass through) → 거쳐요 (polite present), 거쳤어요 (past), 거친 (attributive, "the ___ passed through")

멀다 (to be far, ㄹ-irregular) → 멀어요 (polite present), 먼 (attributive — ㄹ drops before ㄴ), 멀어서 (because it's far)

경로 (route) → combines with particles: 경로를 확인하다 (to check the route), 최단 경로 (shortest route)

한눈에 (at a glance) → adverb phrase, pairs with 보이다, 들어오다, 알아보다

📚 Cross-check note

All vocabulary cross-checked against korean.go.kr ✅

🪞 Synonym Alert

경로 vs 길 — 경로 is more formal/technical, often seen in navigation apps ("최단 경로"); 길 is the everyday word for "road" or "way."

들르다 vs 방문하다 — 들르다 means to stop by briefly, often on the way somewhere; 방문하다 means "to visit," implying a more formal or planned visit.

거치다 vs 지나가다 — 거치다 means to pass through as part of a route or process (often used for transfers); 지나가다 means to pass by/go past in a more general sense.

멀다 vs 떨어져 있다 — 멀다 simply means "to be far"; 떨어져 있다 means "to be located apart," emphasizing separation or position.

한눈에 vs 바로 — 한눈에 means "at a glance" (about perception/visibility); 바로 means "right away/immediately" (about time).

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

❌ 편의점에 들렸어요 → ✅ 편의점에 들렀어요 — 들르다 (to stop by) becomes 들렀어요, not 들렸어요 (which is from 들리다, "to be heard").

❌ 거치다 = 지나가다 (used interchangeably) → ✅ 거치다 implies passing through as part of a planned route or process — use 지나가다 for simply passing by.

❌ 멀다요 → ✅ 멀어요 — the ㄹ stays before 어요; it only drops before ㄴ, ㅂ, ㅅ (e.g., 먼, 멉니다).

❌ 한눈에 보다 (literal, awkward) → ✅ 한눈에 들어오다 / 한눈에 보이다 — these are the natural collocations.

❌ 경로 used for casual "way to the bathroom" → ✅ 경로 sounds technical/formal — for everyday directions, 길 is more natural.

Ready to put it all into practice? Let's map out the perfect route! 🗺️

Try this exercise

Fill in each blank with the correct word from the Vocabulary Box. Use each word at least once.

이 ＿＿＿＿로 가면 더 빨라요.

가는 길에 서점에 잠깐 ＿＿＿＿어요.

이 버스는 시청을 ＿＿＿＿서 가요.

여기서 공항까지는 좀 ＿＿＿＿어요.

지도를 보니까 전체 경로가 ＿＿＿＿ 들어왔어요.

최단 ＿＿＿＿를 검색해 봤어요.

카페에 ＿＿＿＿서 커피를 사 왔어요.

이 노선은 두 개의 환승역을 ＿＿＿＿요.

회사가 집에서 너무 ＿＿＿＿서 이사를 고민 중이에요.

새 지도 앱은 경로를 ＿＿＿＿ 보여줘서 편해요.

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Vocabulary Box

경로 · 들르다 · 거치다 · 멀다 · 한눈에

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Pitfalls Reminder

들렀어요 (stop by), not 들렸어요 (heard)

거치다 = pass through a route, not just pass by

멀어요 (ㄹ stays), 먼 (ㄹ drops before ㄴ)

한눈에 들어오다/보이다 (natural collocations)

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Want more reps? Visit the Practice Hub below for 50 more questions! 🚀

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Practice Hub: Describing a Travel Route 🗺️

Ready for more practice? Work through these 5 exercises (50 questions total) to fully master this lesson's vocabulary. Listen along with the Korean Helper Widgets for pronunciation support!

Exercise 1 — Travel Route Word Recall 🗺️

A. What does 경로 mean?

B. What does 들르다 mean?

C. What does 거치다 mean?

D. What does 멀다 mean?

E. What does 한눈에 mean?

F. What is "최단 경로"?

G. What is the difference between 들르다 and 들리다?

H. What is "환승역을 거치다"?

I. What is the attributive form of 멀다?

J. What is "한눈에 들어오다"?

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Reference

경로 = route/path

들르다 = to stop by/drop by

거치다 = to pass through/go via

멀다 = to be far

한눈에 = at a glance

최단 경로 = shortest route

들르다 = stop by / 들리다 = to be heard

환승역을 거치다 = to pass through a transfer station

먼 (attributive, "far ___")

한눈에 들어오다 = to come into view at a glance

Exercise 2 — Travel Route Situations 🚏

A. How do you say "Let's take this route"?

B. How do you say "I stopped by the bakery on the way"?

C. How do you say "This bus passes through city hall"?

D. How do you say "Is it far from here?"

E. How do you say "I can see the whole route at a glance"?

F. How do you say "Let's check the shortest route"?

G. How do you say "I'll stop by the bank first"?

H. How do you say "It's not too far"?

I. How do you say "This route passes through two transfer stations"?

J. How do you say "The map shows the route at a glance"?

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Reference

이 경로로 가요.

가는 길에 빵집에 들렀어요.

이 버스는 시청을 거쳐요.

여기서 멀어요?

전체 경로가 한눈에 보여요.

최단 경로를 확인해 봐요.

먼저 은행에 들를게요.

그렇게 멀지 않아요.

이 경로는 환승역 두 개를 거쳐요.

지도가 경로를 한눈에 보여줘요.

Exercise 3 — 들르다 & 거치다 Conjugation Practice 🔀

A. Conjugate 들르다 into polite present tense.

B. Conjugate 들르다 into past tense.

C. Conjugate 거치다 into polite present tense.

D. Fill in: 가는 길에 마트에 ＿＿＿＿. (들르다, past)

E. Fill in: 이 노선은 강남을 ＿＿＿＿. (거치다, polite present)

F. Translate: "I'll stop by the post office."

G. Translate: "This train passes through Seoul Station."

H. Fill in: ＿＿＿＿ 카페에서 친구를 만났어요. (들르다, attributive)

I. Translate: "I stopped by my friend's house yesterday."

J. Translate: "This route passes through three cities."

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Reference

들러요

들렀어요

거쳐요

가는 길에 마트에 들렀어요.

이 노선은 강남을 거쳐요.

우체국에 들를게요.

이 기차는 서울역을 거쳐요.

들른 카페에서 친구를 만났어요.

어제 친구 집에 들렀어요.

이 경로는 세 개의 도시를 거쳐요.

Exercise 4 — 멀다 & 한눈에 Practice 👀

A. Conjugate 멀다 into polite present tense.

B. Conjugate 멀다 into the attributive form.

C. Conjugate 멀다 into "because it's far" form.

D. Fill in: 학교가 집에서 ＿＿＿＿. (polite present)

E. Fill in: ＿＿＿＿ 거리도 지도로 보면 가까워 보여요. (attributive)

F. Translate: "Is the station far from here?"

G. Translate: "I can recognize him at a glance."

H. Fill in: 전체 지도를 보니까 ＿＿＿＿ 경로가 보였어요. (한눈에)

I. Translate: "Because it's far, let's take the bus."

J. Translate: "The whole layout came into view at a glance."

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Reference

멀어요

멀어서

학교가 집에서 멀어요.

먼 거리도 지도로 보면 가까워 보여요.

역이 여기서 멀어요?

한눈에 그 사람을 알아볼 수 있어요.

한눈에

멀어서 버스를 타요.

전체 구조가 한눈에 들어왔어요.

Exercise 5 — 종합 연습 (Mixed Mastery) 🎯

A. Translate: "This route passes through city hall and isn't too far."

B. Fill in: ＿＿＿＿로 가면 ＿＿＿＿서 빨리 도착할 수 있어요.

C. Translate: "On the way, I stopped by the cafe because it wasn't far."

D. Fill in: 가는 길에 ＿＿＿＿ 다음 ＿＿＿＿을 거쳐서 갔어요.

E. Translate: "Looking at the map, I could see the entire route at a glance."

F. Fill in: ＿＿＿＿가 너무 ＿＿＿＿서 다른 ＿＿＿＿를 찾아봤어요.

G. Translate: "This bus passes through three stations before arriving."

H. Fill in: 지도 덕분에 ＿＿＿＿ 거리가 ＿＿＿＿ 보였어요.

I. Translate: "I'll stop by the store on the way since it's not far."

J. Write one full sentence using at least three of this lesson's words.

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Reference

이 경로는 시청을 거치고 그렇게 멀지 않아요.

이 경로 / 거쳐

가는 길에 멀지 않아서 카페에 들렀어요.

들른 / 곳

지도를 보니까 전체 경로가 한눈에 보였어요.

경로 / 멀어 / 경로

이 버스는 도착하기 전에 세 정거장을 거쳐요.

먼 / 한눈에

멀지 않아서 가는 길에 가게에 들를게요.

Example: 이 경로는 멀지 않고 시청을 거쳐서 한눈에 보기 좋아요.

You've mapped out your route like a pro — 좋은 여행 되세요! 🗺️🎉