Signification
To ascend a flight of steps.
Contexte culturel
Many Korean apartment complexes have 'Stair Climbing' campaigns. They post stickers on each step showing how many calories you've burned (e.g., '0.15kcal per step') and how many seconds of life you've gained. The 'Stairway Kiss' or 'Stairway Confession' is a classic trope. Because many old Seoul neighborhoods are on hills, stairs provide a dramatic, vertical setting for romantic or tense scenes. The concept of 'climbing the stairs' is linked to the 'Seniority System' (Hoyeol). You are expected to climb the ranks step-by-step based on years of service, though this is changing in modern tech companies. In Seoul, 'Stairway to Heaven' (천국의 계단) cafes are a huge trend. These are literal staircases built into the sky (ending in mid-air) for the perfect Instagram photo.
Master the '르'
If you master '오르다 -> 올라요', you also master '부르다 (to call) -> 불러요' and '고르다 (to choose) -> 골라요'.
Elevator Trap
Never say '엘리베이터를 올라요'. It's a dead giveaway that you're translating literally from English.
Signification
To ascend a flight of steps.
Master the '르'
If you master '오르다 -> 올라요', you also master '부르다 (to call) -> 불러요' and '고르다 (to choose) -> 골라요'.
Elevator Trap
Never say '엘리베이터를 올라요'. It's a dead giveaway that you're translating literally from English.
The Health Sticker
Look for stickers on stairs in Korea; they are great for learning health-related vocabulary like '칼로리' (calorie) and '수명' (lifespan).
Use with '한 계단씩'
Using '한 계단씩' (one step at a time) makes you sound much more like a native speaker when talking about goals.
Teste-toi
Complete the sentence with the correct form of '오르다'.
건강을 위해서 매일 계단을 ______.
'오르다' is a '르' irregular verb, so it becomes '올라요' in the present tense.
Which sentence is naturally used for an elevator?
엘리베이터를 어떻게 이용하나요?
You 'ride' (타다) elevators, you don't 'climb' (오르다) them.
Fill in the blank in the dialogue.
A: 카페가 몇 층이에요? B: 2층이에요. 저기 ______ 오르세요.
The marker '으로' indicates the method or direction of movement.
Match the figurative meaning to the sentence.
성공의 계단을 오르다.
This is a common metaphor for progress and achievement.
🎉 Score : /4
Aides visuelles
오르다 vs 타다
Banque d exercices
4 exercices건강을 위해서 매일 계단을 ______.
'오르다' is a '르' irregular verb, so it becomes '올라요' in the present tense.
엘리베이터를 어떻게 이용하나요?
You 'ride' (타다) elevators, you don't 'climb' (오르다) them.
A: 카페가 몇 층이에요? B: 2층이에요. 저기 ______ 오르세요.
The marker '으로' indicates the method or direction of movement.
성공의 계단을 오르다.
This is a common metaphor for progress and achievement.
🎉 Score : /4
Questions fréquentes
12 questionsYes, but '사다리를 오르다' is less common than '사다리를 타다'.
'오르다' is the basic verb for ascending. '올라가다' emphasizes the movement away from the speaker.
It is neutral. You can use it in any setting by changing the ending (올라요 vs 올랐습니다).
Use '계단을 내려가다' or '계단을 내려오다'.
Yes, '물가가 오르다' (prices are rising) is very common.
'을' marks the stairs as the object of the climbing action. '에' is possible but less common for this specific collocation.
Young people might say '계단 타기' when referring to the exercise specifically.
Yes, #계단오르기 and #오운완 (Today's workout finished) are popular.
Yes, especially when used metaphorically for growth or progress.
You can say '나선형 계단을 오르다'.
Yes, many K-Pop songs use it to talk about reaching the top of the charts or their dreams.
It becomes '올랐어요' (ollasseoyo).
Expressions liées
계단을 내려가다
contrastTo go down the stairs
한 계단씩
builds onOne step at a time
사다리를 타다
similarTo climb a ladder
정상에 오르다
specialized formTo reach the summit
급등하다
specialized formTo skyrocket (prices/stats)
