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가다

ga-da

가다 is one arrow pointing away from you

The picture A single arrow leaving the spot where you stand and heading off. Anything moving away rides it. 가다 is the arrow pointing away from you; 오다 is the arrow coming toward you.

Core verbs

Where the picture shows up in 가다

  1. you move away

    저 먼저 갈게요.

    jeo meon-jeo gal-kke-yo

    I'll head off first.

    You turn away from where everyone is sitting and walk toward the door, your back getting smaller

  2. heading that way

    이 버스 시청 가요?

    i beo-seu si-cheong ga-yo

    Does this bus go to City Hall?

    At the stop, the destination board in the bus windscreen is pointed down the road to City Hall

  3. time moves away

    시간이 참 빨리 가네요.

    si-ga-ni cham ppal-li ga-ne-yo

    Time really flies, doesn't it.

    The second hand of the wall clock has run so far ahead that your eyes can barely follow it

  4. the work moves on

    일이 잘 되어 가고 있어요.

    i-ri jal doe-eo ga-go i-sseo-yo

    It's coming along nicely.

    A half-filled progress bar keeps stretching one notch further to the right

    -아/어 가다 is a flow continuing forward; -아/어 오다 is a flow that has come up to now.

  5. your eyes go there

    그 사람한테 자꾸 눈이 가요.

    geu sa-ram-han-te ja-kku nu-ni ga-yo

    I keep glancing over at that person.

    Your head stays put but your eyeballs keep rolling over toward that person

All of it in one picture

가다 is a single arrow leaving the spot where you stand. Put your own body on that arrow and it becomes taking your leave; put a bus on it and it heads for City Hall; put time on it and the hours have run off ahead of you. Put a task on it and the work keeps moving forward; put your gaze on it and your eyes keep drifting toward someone. So anything with 가다 in it carries one direction with it: away from you.

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