Learn Korean: Verb + 때까지

Let’s take a look at the Korean sentence pattern Verb + 때까지. 까지 means until when attached to a period of time as in 내일까지 (until tomorrow) and 내년까지 (until next year). It also means until when attached to a place as in 여기까지 (until here, this point) and 서울까지 (until, all the way to Seoul). When attached to a verb, it needs the help of another particle (때) to express until something happens or until someone takes action.

Examples are until we meet again, until corona virus disappears, and until you feel better. The main verbs are 만나다 (to meet again), 사라지다 (to disappear), and 나아지다 (to feel better from sickness or injury). We take the verb stem and attach ㄹ if it ends in a vowel and 을 if it ends in a consonant. Then, we add 때까지. The actual forms are 우리 다시 만날 때까지, 코로나 사라질 때까지, and 나아질 때까지. Here are sample sentence.

우리 다시 만날 때까지 건강해.

Stay healthy until we see each other again.

코로나 사라질 때까지 귀국합니다.

I am going back to my hometown until corona virus disappears.

나아질 때까지 여기 있어.

Stay here until you feel better.