Can you call the police? in Korean 🇰🇷

Sentence info.

Breakdown of the sentence:
• 경찰에 (gyeongchal-e) – “경찰” means “police” and the particle “에” indicates the destination.
• 전화해 (jeonhwahae) – from the verb 전화하다 (“to call” on the phone). Here it’s in a contracted, casual connective form.
• 주실 (jusil) – the honorific form of 주다 (“to give”), used in the “verb + 해 주다” construction to indicate doing something for someone.
• 수 있어요? (su isseoyo?) – literally “is there a possibility” or “are you able,” which turns the sentence into a polite request.

Tips to Remember:
• Notice that subjects are often omitted in Korean, so even though “you” is not mentioned explicitly, it’s understood from context.
• The structure verb stem + 해 주실 수 있어요? is a common polite way to request help. Recognize that 전화해 주실 수 있어요? essentially means “Is it possible for you to call (for me)?”
• Practice with other verbs using this pattern (for example, “문 좀 열어 주실 수 있어요?” – “Could you open the door?”) to build familiarity.

Alternate Ways to Say “Can you call the police?”:
• 경찰에 전화해 줄 수 있어요? (gyeongchal-e jeonhwahae jul su isseoyo?) – a slightly less formal version, using 줄 instead of 주실.
• 경찰에 전화해 주세요. (gyeongchal-e jeonhwahae juseyo.) – a more direct request meaning “Please call the police.”
• 경찰에 연락해 주실 수 있어요? (gyeongchal-e yeollakhae jusil su isseoyo?) – using 연락해 (“contact”) instead of 전화해 (“call”) for a slight variation.

Romanized Example:
"Gyeongchal-e jeonhwahae jusil su isseoyo?"

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