Korean for Laundry Problems: Explaining Color Transfer After a Wash
Learn polite Korean phrases to explain that a red sock dyed your white shirt pink, ask whether the color can be reversed, and accept when it cannot.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
You pull a white shirt out of the wash and it is pink. The culprit: one red sock. In a Korean laundry or alterations shop, you need two skills: describing what happened honestly, and asking whether the damage can be fixed. This lesson teaches the core expressions 물이 들었어요 (the color took), 색이 옮았어요 (the color transferred), and the key question 이거 되돌릴 수 있어요? (can this be reversed?). You will also learn how to name the objects involved — 하얀 셔츠 (white shirt), 빨간 양말 (red sock), 세탁 (washing) — so staff understand the situation quickly. Register stays polite throughout, since you are asking a stranger for help. Some color transfer is permanent, so you will also learn how to ask about that possibility without demanding a guarantee.
By the end, you can…
- describe color transfer after a wash using 물이 들었어요 and 색이 옮았어요.
- ask politely whether the color can be reversed with 이거 되돌릴 수 있어요?
- name the clothing items involved, such as 하얀 셔츠 and 빨간 양말.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
물이 들었어요.
The color took / it got dyed.
mu-ri deu-reo-sseo-yo
Use when fabric has absorbed dye from something else. Literally 'water/color entered.' Polite past tense, so it describes what already happened.
색이 옮았어요.
The color transferred / bled onto it.
sae-gi o-ma-sseo-yo
Focuses on movement from one item to another. Good when you want to point out the cause, for example the red sock.
이거 되돌릴 수 있어요?
Can this be reversed?
i-geo doe-dol-lil su i-sseo-yo?
A polite yes/no question about restoring the original color. Use it after showing the item.
빨간 양말이랑 같이 세탁했어요.
I washed it together with a red sock.
ppal-gan yang-ma-ri-rang ga-chi se-tak-hae-sseo-yo
Explains the cause honestly. 같이 means 'together,' and 세탁했어요 is the polite past of 'did laundry.'
완전히는 안 될 수도 있어요?
Might it not come out completely?
wan-jeon-hi-neun an doel su-do i-sseo-yo?
Asks about limits without demanding a promise. The -ㄹ 수도 있어요 pattern means 'might.'
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To describe a change that happened to an object, Korean often uses a subject particle plus a past-tense verb: 물이 들었어요 (color took), 색이 옮았어요 (color moved). The particle 이/가 marks what changed. To ask about fixing it, use the pattern verb stem + -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요? meaning 'can ...?' For example, 되돌리다 (to reverse) becomes 되돌릴 수 있어요? (can it be reversed?). To soften a question about a bad outcome, add -ㄹ 수도 있어요? as in 안 될 수도 있어요? (might it not work?).
When to use it
Use 물이 들었어요 when you simply state the shirt changed color, and 색이 옮았어요 when you want to explain that another item caused it. At the shop, show the shirt and say 이거 되돌릴 수 있어요? Staff may answer with a limit, so be ready for 완전히는 안 될 수도 있어요 (it might not come out completely). Avoid promising language like 'guaranteed'; instead ask 가능한지 (whether it is possible). If you are not sure of the word for an item, point and say 이거 (this one).
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
안녕하세요. 이 하얀 셔츠에 물이 들었어요.
Hello. This white shirt got dyed.an-nyeong-ha-se-yo. i ha-yan syeo-cheu-e mu-ri deu-reo-sseo-yo.어떻게 세탁하셨어요?
How did you wash it?eo-tteo-ke se-tak-ha-syeo-sseo-yo?빨간 양말이랑 같이 세탁했어요. 색이 옮았어요.
I washed it together with a red sock. The color transferred.ppal-gan yang-ma-ri-rang ga-chi se-tak-hae-sseo-yo. sae-gi o-ma-sseo-yo.그럼 이거 되돌릴 수 있어요? 완전히는 안 될 수도 있어요.
Then, can this be reversed? It might not come out completely.geu-reom i-geo doe-dol-lil su i-sseo-yo? wan-jeon-hi-neun an doel su-do i-sseo-yo.A little context goes a long way
In Korean shops, polite speech (해요체) is the safe default with staff you do not know. State the problem first, then ask the question, rather than opening with a demand. Staff may give a cautious answer like 안 될 수도 있어요; this is normal hedging, not refusal. If you want to ask about cost or time, use separate polite questions such as 얼마예요? (how much is it?) or 시간이 얼마나 걸려요? (how long does it take?), and accept whatever they tell you without assuming a standard policy.
One thing to watch for
Using 이거 되돌려 주세요 (please reverse this) as a direct command.
Try this instead: That sounds like an order and may feel abrupt. Ask 이거 되돌릴 수 있어요? (can this be reversed?) to check possibility first. If you want to request the service, say 이거 되돌릴 수 있으면 해 주세요 (if it can be reversed, please do it).
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'The color transferred' politely in Korean?
Show a sample answer
색이 옮았어요.
This uses 색 (color) with the subject particle 이 and the past-tense verb 옮았어요. 물이 들었어요 is also valid when focusing on the item absorbing color.
2You want to ask whether the pink shirt can be restored. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
이거 되돌릴 수 있어요?
This asks about possibility politely. You could also say 원래 색으로 돌아갈 수 있어요? (can it go back to the original color?).
3How do you explain the cause: you washed it with a red sock?
Show a sample answer
빨간 양말이랑 같이 세탁했어요.
같이 means 'together,' and 세탁했어요 is the polite past of 'did laundry.' You could also say 빨간 양말이랑 같이 넣었어요 (I put it in together with a red sock).
Show the item, explain the cause with 색이 옮았어요 or 물이 들었어요, then ask 이거 되돌릴 수 있어요? — and stay open to 완전히는 안 될 수도 있어요.
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