TOPIK II · LEVEL 3
-는 길에
-는 길에 means 'on the way to / while going somewhere': doing B along the way.
시간·순서Time & sequenceHan: 공부하다 isn't a movement verb, so -는 길에 doesn't fit; use -다가.
Examples
학교에 오는 길에 친구를 만났어요.I met a friend on my way to school.
나가는 길에 쓰레기 좀 버려 줄래?Could you take out the trash on your way out?
퇴근하는 길에 마트에 들렀어요.I stopped by the supermarket on my way home from work.
Don’t mix up
-는 길에vs-다가-다가 interrupts any action; -는 길에 is only 'along the route' while going somewhere.How to build it
가다/오다/나가다/들어가다+는 길에
집에 가다 → 집에 가는 길에, 오다 → 오는 길에
- Only with verbs of movement (가다, 오다, 나가다, 돌아오다 …).
- Past: -(으)ㄴ 길에 is rare; use -는 길에 even for past trips.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 공부하는 길에 전화를 받았어요.
Right: 공부하다가 전화를 받았어요.
공부하다 isn't a movement verb, so -는 길에 doesn't fit; use -다가.
Practise -는 길에 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)며-(으)며 is a formal, written 'and' (listing) or 'while' (two actions at once).
- -(으)ㄴ 채(로)-(으)ㄴ 채(로) means doing something while a previous state is still kept: 'with … still on / still …ing'.
- -(으)ㄴ 다음에'After doing A, B': the second event follows the first. It means the same as -(으)ㄴ 후에 / -(으)ㄴ 뒤에 but sounds more conversational.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 김에Use it when you take the chance of doing one thing to also do another thing: 'while I'm at it, I'll also…'.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 대로Shows that an action is done exactly the way something was said, done, seen or planned.
- -고 나다Marks that an action has been fully completed before what follows; used in -고 나면 'once A is done', -고 나니(까) 'after A, (I found)…' and -고 난 후/뒤/다음에.
- -고 나서-고 나서 means "after (fully) finishing A, then B" and stresses that the first action is completed before the next begins.
- -는 동안-는 동안 marks the whole stretch of time an action lasts, during which something else happens or continues.
- -는 사이에-는 사이에 means 'while (A is going on), B happened' — often B happens without the subject noticing.