Reading & Audio

At the Pharmacy

Read and listen to a short Korean text about going to a pharmacy, explaining simple symptoms, and taking medicine.

Beginner A1 Teacher audio 5-7 min Daily Life

Lesson Info

Level
Beginner A1
Topic
Pharmacy, simple symptoms, medicine
Focus
-았/었어요, -고, -아/어서, 에게, -라고 말했어요, -아/어 주다, 보다 더
Audio
Recorded by your teacher

Listen First

Listen to the audio first. Then read the Korean text below. Try to listen for familiar words like 약국, 감기약, 목이 아파요, and 기침이 나요.

Reading & Audio
At the Pharmacy
0:56
 

Korean Reading Text

어제 아침에 몸이 조금 무겁고 목이 아팠어요.
그래서 오후에 집 근처 약국에 갔어요.
약국에는 감기약과 비타민이 많았어요.

저는 약사에게 “목이 아프고 기침이 조금 나요.”라고 말했어요.
약사는 약을 언제 먹어야 하는지 친절하게 알려 줬어요.
저는 감기약을 사고 집에 돌아왔어요.
약은 조금 썼지만 물과 함께 먹었어요.
그 후에는 일찍 쉬었어요.
오늘은 어제보다 몸이 조금 괜찮아요.

Vocabulary

Korean English
어제 아침yesterday morning
body
throat, neck
오후afternoon
집 근처near home
약국pharmacy
감기약cold medicine
비타민vitamin
약사pharmacist
기침cough
언제when
water
그 후after that
일찍early
무겁다to feel heavy
아프다to hurt, to be sick
가다to go
많다to be many, a lot
나다to come out, to occur
말하다to say, to speak
친절하다to be kind
알려 주다to tell someone, to let someone know
사다to buy
돌아오다to come back
쓰다to be bitter
먹다to eat, to take medicine
쉬다to rest
괜찮다to be okay

Sentence Notes

1. 어제 아침에 몸이 조금 무겁고 목이 아팠어요.

어제 아침에 = yesterday morning
몸이 조금 무겁고 = my body felt a little heavy, and
목이 아팠어요 = my throat hurt
This sentence means: Yesterday morning, my body felt a little heavy, and my throat hurt.

-고 connects two descriptions. -았/었어요 is used to talk about the past.

2. 그래서 오후에 집 근처 약국에 갔어요.

그래서 = so, therefore
오후에 = in the afternoon
집 근처 약국에 = to a pharmacy near my home
갔어요 = went
This sentence means: So in the afternoon, I went to a pharmacy near my home.

그래서 connects a reason and a result.

3. 약국에는 감기약과 비타민이 많았어요.

약국에는 = in the pharmacy / as for the pharmacy
감기약과 비타민이 = cold medicine and vitamins / subject
많았어요 = there were many
This sentence means: There were many cold medicines and vitamins at the pharmacy.

과/와 connects nouns and means “and.”

4. 저는 약사에게 “목이 아프고 기침이 조금 나요.”라고 말했어요.

약사에게 = to the pharmacist
목이 아프고 = my throat hurts, and
기침이 조금 나요 = I cough a little
라고 말했어요 = said that
This sentence means: I said to the pharmacist, “My throat hurts, and I cough a little.”

에게 can mean “to someone.” -라고 말하다 is used when quoting what someone says.

5. 약사는 약을 언제 먹어야 하는지 친절하게 알려 줬어요.

약사는 = the pharmacist / topic
약을 언제 먹어야 하는지 = when I should take the medicine
친절하게 알려 줬어요 = kindly told me
This sentence means: The pharmacist kindly told me when I should take the medicine.

-아/어야 하다 means “have to” or “should.” 알려 주다 means “to tell someone” or “to let someone know.”

6. 저는 감기약을 사고 집에 돌아왔어요.

감기약을 사고 = bought cold medicine and
집에 돌아왔어요 = came back home
This sentence means: I bought cold medicine and came back home.

-고 connects two actions.

7. 약은 조금 썼지만 물과 함께 먹었어요.

약은 = the medicine / topic
조금 썼지만 = was a little bitter, but
물과 함께 = with water
먹었어요 = took, ate
This sentence means: The medicine was a little bitter, but I took it with water.

-지만 means “but.” In Korean, you can use 먹다 when talking about taking medicine.

8. 그 후에는 일찍 쉬었어요.

그 후에는 = after that
일찍 = early
쉬었어요 = rested
This sentence means: After that, I rested early.

그 후 means “after that.”

9. 오늘은 어제보다 몸이 조금 괜찮아요.

오늘은 = today / as for today
어제보다 = compared to yesterday
몸이 조금 괜찮아요 = my body feels a little okay
This sentence means: Today, I feel a little better than yesterday.

보다 is used for comparison. 어제보다 means “than yesterday.”

English Translation

Yesterday morning, my body felt a little heavy, and my throat hurt.
So in the afternoon, I went to a pharmacy near my home.
There were many cold medicines and vitamins at the pharmacy.

I said to the pharmacist, “My throat hurts, and I cough a little.”
The pharmacist kindly told me when I should take the medicine.
I bought cold medicine and came back home.
The medicine was a little bitter, but I took it with water.
After that, I rested early.
Today, I feel a little better than yesterday.

Practice Questions

Try answering these questions in Korean. You can find all the answers in the reading text above.

  1. 어제 아침에 몸이 어땠어요?
  2. 왜 약국에 갔어요?
  3. 약국에는 무엇이 많았어요?
  4. 저는 약사에게 뭐라고 말했어요?
  5. 약사는 무엇을 알려 줬어요?
  6. 저는 무엇을 샀어요?
  7. 약은 어땠어요?
  8. 약은 무엇과 함께 먹었어요?
  9. 그 후에는 무엇을 했어요?
  10. 오늘 몸은 어제보다 어때요?