- 문법 –

- -길래
USAGE:
-to tell the reason why an action is done
-MOSTLY used when you have done something as a REACTION to an
observation/judgement
-asking a reason for a decision
- *sentences are usually in the past/present tense
- VS + 길래 + result
- 비가 오길래 우산을 가져왔다.
It was raining so I brought my umbrella.
- 맛있길래 더 사왔다
It was delicious so I bought more.
- 사람이 많길래 그냥 나왔다
Since there were a lot of people, I just left the place.
- Doing something as a result of judging a situation
- 비가 올 것 같길래 그냥 집에 있었다.
It looked like it was going to rain, so I just stayed at home.
- 곧 문을 닫을 것 같길래 그냥 돌아왔다.
The bookstore looked like it was going to close soon so I just came back.
- To ask the reason/background for a decision
지금 어디에 있길래 이렇게 시끄러워?
Where are you now that it’s noisy?
- 뭐 했길래 이렇게 지쳤어?
What did you do to be so tired?
- 걍화 씨가 뭐라고 말했길래 이렇게 신났어?
What did Kyunghwa say to make you so excited?
- More examples:
- 무슨 이야기를 들었길래 그렇게 열심히 공부하니?
What did you hear for you to be studying this hard?

Nouns:
등받이 = something to lean on
바퀴 = counter for turns around something
탈북자 = North Korean defector
복지 = welfare
계곡 = valley
실험실 = laboratory
난방 = heating
일기 = weather
일기예보 = weather forecast
녀석 = guy/fellow (informal)
놈 = guy/jerk/chap
성경 = bible
기독교 = Christianity
천주교 = catholic
하느님 = god
신자 = believer
식수 = drinking water
시위 = protest/demonstration
전부 = total/all
건기 = dry season
우기 = wet season
최저 = the lowest

Verbs:
실험하다 = to conduct an experiment
뺏기다 = to have something taken away
따다 = to get, to obtain (a certification)
구걸하다 = to beg, to panhandle

Adjectives:
느끼하다 = to be greasy/oily/rich

Adverbs and Other Words:

따위 = etc…
소용이 없다 = for there to be no use
똑바로 = straight/upright

Introduction

In this lesson, we will finish with our group of lessons about ~더~. Specifically, in this lesson,
you will learn how to use ~더~ in combination with ~(으)니 (Lesson 81) to connect two clauses.
The construction ~더니 is very similar to other clause connectors like ~아/어서, ~(으)니(까)
and ~기 때문에, but as always there are some specific usages you should know about. Let’s get
started.

To Notice/Experience… and Then… : ~더니

This is one of the grammatical principles that foreign learners of Korean have a lot of trouble
with. With good reason, too – its meaning and usage are very similar to many other grammatical
principles that you have already studied. My goal for this lesson is to teach you the situations
where you will be more likely to find this grammatical principle being used.

You can probably already guess the meaning of ~더니 without even reading my explanations.
It’s quite simply the combination of ~더~ (to experience/notice/learn/see something first hand)
which you have studied since Lesson 117, plus the meaning of ~(으)니 that you studied in
Lesson 81. As always, it’s hard to come up with a translation that will fit every scenario, but a
good translation might be “to experience/notice/learn/see something first hand, so…”.

I would like to separate my explanation of ~더니 into two usages that I have noticed.

When the speaker is talking about himself/herself: ~더니

Typically, when the speaker is talking about himself/herself (when the speaker is the subject of
the sentence), you will see a sentence that has a form like this:

내가 스타박스 커피를 마셨더니 기분이 좋아졌어

So… you might be looking at that sentence and asking yourself “Okay… this looks just like any
sentence… what form are you talking about.”
Let me explain.

Typically – and I really do mean typically, as I’ve noticed this for years now, when the speaker is
also the subject of a sentence, you will see this type of form:

((1) speaker) – ((2) some action that the speaker did) – ((3) past tense ~았/었) – ((4) ~더니) – ((5)
some emotion or description that happens as a result of what the speaker did).

I would like to talk about each number above individually to describe this “form” that I am
talking about.

1. As I said, this form is typically used when the speaker is the subject. The only reason I
say “typically” instead of “always” is because you never know when there may be
exceptions in languages. I’d like to say “always”, but I’m just going to say “typically”
2. This one doesn’t really matter. Some action that the speaker did in the past.
3. When the speaker is the subject of the sentence, I have noticed that the clause is
conjugated into the past tense. For example, this sentence is awkward in Korean
내가 스타박스 커피를 마시더니 기분이 좋아졌어
4. Why use ~더니? Actually, in my opinion, it’s not even about the use of ~니. ~니 is just
there to connect the two clauses really. Then what is the purpose of ~더~ here? Why not
just use one of the other clause connectors that you have already learned? To answer that,
you need to remember what the purpose of ~더~ is; which is to indicate that the speaker
has seen/experienced something first-hand.
 5. This could really be anything that makes sense in the context of the sentence, but as you
will see in the examples below; this is usually some sort of emotion or feeling (typically
an adjective) that was elicited as a result of the first clause.

You have to remember that 슬기 has no understanding of Korean grammar. She just knows what
sounds natural/correct to her. Without knowing any of the things that I just described previous, I
asked her “Make me some sentences using ~더니 where you are the subject of the sentence.”
This is what she came up with:

논술문제를 열심히 썼더니 손이 아파요 = I (had the experience of) writing the essay question
– and because of that – my hand is sore

몸이 아파서 마사지를 받았더니 몸이 더 이상 아프지 않았어요 = Because my body was sore,

I (had the experience of) receiving a massage –and because of that –my body is not sore anymore

따뜻한 물에 들어갔더니 잠이 오기 시작했어요 = I (had the experience of) going into the
warm water – and because of that – I started to fall asleep

제가 곰곰이 생각했더니 정답이 생각 났어요 = I (had the experience of) thinking really hard
– and because of that – I thought of the answer

하루 종일 걸었더니 너무 피곤해요 = I (had the experience of) walking all day – and because
of that – I am very tired

하루 종일 걸었더니 다리가 아파요 = I (had the experience of) walking all day – and because
of that – my legs are sore

내가 매일 케이크를 먹었더니 10 킬로가 쪘어 = I (had the experience of) eating cake every
day – and because of that – I gained 10 kilograms

The first thing I did was change all of the conjugations before ~더니 to a present tense
conjugation. She said all of those sounded unnatural.

The next thing I did was ask her what the difference between these two would be:

하루 종일 걸었더니 다리가 아파요

하루 종일 걸어서 다리가 아파요

Her answer: “both sound exactly the same to me.”

The only thing I can guess is that the example with ~더니 just gives the listener a tiny bit more
information/feel (specifically that the person experienced the action) and makes the sentence just
that much more complex.
So now your question is: “Okay, so when would I use ~더니 instead of ~아/어서 or ~기 때문에,
or any other grammatical principle like this?”
That’s what I’m saying. When you want to express a sentence in the form that you see in the
sentences above, I suggest that you use ~더니 over other grammatical principles. Likewise, you
will be more likely to see/hear ~더니 be used in these types of situations as well.
Now, what if the speaker is not the subject of the sentence?

When the speaker is talking about somebody else: ~더니

When the speaker is not the subject, and thus, talking about somebody else in a sentence that has
two clauses connected by ~더니, I have noticed a different trend than what was described above.
Let’s look at an example:

슬기가 체육시간에 너무 많이 달리더니 다음 수업을 들을 수 없었어요 = I personally

saw/experienced Seulgi run a lot during P.E. class, so she didn’t attend the next class

The clause before ~더니 is something specifically experienced by the speaker. Right away, we
can see how this would differ from the following sentence:

슬기가 체육시간에 너무 많이 달려서 다음 수업을 들을 수 없었어요 = Seulgi ran a lot

during P.E. class, so she didn’t attend the next class

The difference is that in the first example, the speaker of the sentence saw/experienced first-hand
that Seulgi ran a lot in P.E. class; whereas in the second example, no indication is given as to
whether the speaker actually saw Seulgi running. For example, it could be her friend in another
class, or even her parent who obviously wasn’t in school that day. Imagine that the teacher of the
next class called her parents and asked why she didn’t attend the class. The parents could say the
following because they didn’t actually experience Seulgi running:

슬기가 체육시간에 너무 많이 달려서 다음 수업을 들을 수 없었다

However, if the teacher of the next class asked the P.E. teacher why Seulgi didn’t attend the class,
the P.E. teacher could say:

슬기가 체육시간에 너무 많이 달리더니 다음 수업을 들을 수 없었어요

Another example:
슬기가 2 개월 동안 일자리를 구하려고 노력하더니 결국 좋은 일자리를 구했어요 = I
personally saw/experienced Seulgi trying to get a good job for two months, and she eventually
got a job
Here, maybe Seulgi’s parents or close friends could say this sentence. Regardless of who it is, it
would have to be somebody close enough to her to have seen/noticed that she was looking for a
job for that long of a time period, and to know that she finally got it.

Another example:
젊었을 때 돈을 아끼지 않고 쓰더니 결국 그 남자는 거지가 되었어요 = I personally
saw/noticed him not saving his money and using it, so he eventually became a beggar /homeless
person (maybe a neighbor can say this, or a close friend to the man who has known him since he
was younger)
A good question now becomes – what if the clause before ~더니 is conjugated into the past tense?
Conjugating this clause to the past tense has the same effect that was described in Lesson 118,
where it was done to sentences ending in ~더라.

Let’s use the good old “it’s raining” sentence to distinguish between when this is appropriate and
when it is not. Check out the following two sentences:

어제 비가 오더니 오늘 하늘이 맑아요 = I saw that it was raining, and/so now the sky is clear
어제 비가 왔더니 오늘 하늘이 맑아요 = I saw that it had rained, and/so now the sky is clear

Both of those are possible and grammatical correct. As was described in the previous lesson, the
use of the past tense ~았/었더니 indicates that you saw/experienced that something had
happened, and you didn’t directly see/experience it actually happening. Specifically, with the use
of the past tense conjugation, you are indicating that the clause before ~았/었더니 has stopped.
For example:

비가 왔더니… I saw /experienced that it had rained… (and by context it is no longer raining)
그녀가 먹었더니… I saw/experienced that she had eaten… (and by context she is no longer
eating)

However, the use of the present tense doesn’t specifically indicate that the situation in the first
clause has stopped. It’s possible it has stopped if the situation explains itself that way, but it does
not directly indicate that there is a stop in the state that was happening in the first clause. For
example;
비가 오더니… I saw /experienced that it was raining… (and it’s possible it is still raining)
그녀가 먹더니… I saw /experienced that she was eating….(and it’s possible she is still eating)

Because of all of this, only one of the following sentences makes sense:

어제 비가 오더니 오늘도 비가 온다
어제 비가 왔더니 오늘도 비가 온다

Which one?
The first sentence indicates that you saw/noticed/experienced that it was raining, and that state
has continued to the present and it is still raining today.
The second sentence indicates that you saw/noticed/experienced that it had rained. It had stopped
raining… and now it is raining today as well. The state of the rain stopped and continued until
the present… wait… what?
The second sentence is incorrect.

If we go back, we originally started with these sentences:

어제 비가 오더니 오늘 하늘이 맑아요 = I saw that it was raining, and/so now the sky is clear
어제 비가 왔더니 오늘 하늘이 맑아요 = I saw that it had rained, and/so now the sky is clear

Really, those two sentences are almost identical despite their slight nuances. So what I want to
say here is – sometimes the past tense of ~았/었더니 can be almost identical to the present tense
of ~더니. However, it is also possible that, depending on the situation, one of the sentences
might be incorrect.
Another example:
아까 문이 닫혀 있더니 지금은 열려 있어요 = I saw/experienced that the door was closed
earlier, and it is still open now (this sentence is okay)

아까 문이 닫혀 있었더니 지금은 열려 있어요 = I saw/experienced that the door had been

closed (but would now be closed), and now it is still open (this sentence doesn’t make sense)

Now that we’re aware of how all that works, let’s go back to the original sentences that were
presented. The following past tense sentences of each of those (because of the situation) are all
acceptable and grammatical correct. There might be a slightly different nuance in the meaning,
but you should be okay with that by now:

슬기가 체육시간에 너무 많이 달렸더니 다음 수업을 들을 수 없었어요 = I personally

saw/experienced that Seulgi had ran a lot during P.E. class, so she didn’t attend the next class

젊었을 때 돈을 아끼지 않고 썼더니 결국 그 남자는 거지가 되었어요 = I personally

saw/noticed that he had not saved his money and had used it all, so he eventually became a
beggar /homeless person

슬기가 2 개월 동안 일자리를 구하려고 노력했더니 결국 좋은 일자리를 구했어요 = I

personally saw/experienced that Seulgi had tried to get a good job for two months, and she
eventually got a job

Indirect quoted thought in -(으)ㄴ/-는가 하다 where 하다 functions as think/wonder to oneself.

아침부터 날기 연습을 하는가 했다 (학마을 )

He wondered if perhaps they might start practicing flying in the morning.

눈에 살기가 번뜩이는가 하는 순간 (겨울 12)

Just [at the instant] when it appeared that violence was in his eyes ... (with -는 순간 meaning just
when ...)

잠이 들었는가 하는데 (소나기 )

lit.: At the juncture when he thought to himself, "Am I asleep?" (i.e.: just when he thought he
was falling asleep; just when he thought he must have drifted off ...)

날이 풀리는가 하더니 다시 눈이 오고 (알마덴 )

Just when one figured the weather would warm up, it would snow again.

Nouns:
뱃속 = inside a stomach
물놀이= playing in the water
수두 = chicken pox
보물 = treasure
절망 = despair/hopelessness
정오 = noon
해돋이 = a sunrise
야식 = nighttime snack
멀미 = motion sickness
차멀미 = motion sickness from a car (car sick)
명함 = business card
화산 = volcano
범위 = range/scope of something
유통기한 = expiration date, the period in which something should be consumed
실감 = a realistic feeling
분자 = molecule

Verbs:
분리하다 = to separate/divide/segregate
탐험하다 = to explore
환전하다 = to exchange money/currency
솟다 = to soar/rise up

Adjectives
비극적이다 = to be tragic
객관적이다 = to be objective
유익하다 = to be beneficial, useful, helpful

Adverbs and Other Words:

엄청나게 = enormously/tremendously
아무튼 = anyways

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn how to add ~든지 to the end of a clause. Although this grammatical
principle has a fairly straightforward meaning across the board, it can be used in a bunch of
different ways. Let’s get started!
 Listing Out Possibilities/Outcomes: ~든지 (간에)

The general umbrella explanation of how this particle can be used is when one wants to indicate
that there are many possibilities/outcomes that can occur. ~든지 is added to the
possibilities/outcomes that could occur, and the following clause is not a selection of one of
those possibilities (like ~중에), but rather some sort of open ended decision that needs to be
made between those possibilities.

The translation of this in sentences is usually something like “whether A, or whether B….”, or
“It doesn’t matter if one does A, or does B…”. As usual, it is fairly difficult to describe this is in
words, but easier once we have seen examples. So let’s look at one:

포크를 사용하든지 젓가락을 사용하든지 더 편한 것을 사용하세요

= It doesn’t matter if you use a fork or use chopsticks, use/choose the one that is more
comfortable (whether you use a fork or chopsticks…)

As you can see, the two words/clauses that have ~든지 attached to them are:

포크를 사용하든지, and

젓가락을 사용하든지

The use of ~든지 at the end of those clauses indicates that they are both a possible outcome for
the upcoming clause (whatever it may express).

Let’s look at some more examples:

경기에서 이기든지 지든지 열심히 해야 됩니다

= It doesn’t matter if you win or lose the game, you should try hard (whether you win or lose…)

결과가 우리가 예상한 것이든지 아니든지 우리는 결과를 발표할 것입니다

= It doesn’t matter if the results are what we expected or not, we are going to announce them
(whether our results are what we expected or not…)

그 규칙에 동의하든지 안 하든지 그 규칙을 따라야 돼요

= It doesn’t matter if you agree with the rule or not, you have to follow it (whether you agree
with the rule or not…)

서울로 이사하든지 부산으로 이사하든지 집값은 똑같아요

= It doesn’t matter if I move to Seoul or if I move to Busan, the cost of housing is the same

자전거를 타든지 달리기를 하든지 그냥 마음대로 아무거나 해

= It doesn’t matter if you ride a bike or walk, just do anything you want

대학교에 진학하든지 진학하지 않든지 열심히 공부해야 돼요

= It doesn’t matter if you go to University or not, you need to study hard

유통기한이 지났든지 안 지났든지 어차피 먹어야 해요

= It doesn’t matter if the expiration date has passed or not, anyways you have to eat it
우리가 내일 가든지 내일모레 가든지 어차피 가야 돼요
= It doesn’t matter if we go tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, anyways, we have to go

In a lot of cases, the verb(s) before ~든지 can be assumed from the context and don’t really need
to be said. For example:

밥을 먹든지 피자를 먹든지 빨리 골라!

= It doesn’t matter if you want to eat rice or eat pizza, but choose quickly! (whether you want to
eat rice or pizza…)

In these sentences above, the verbs “먹다” could be assumed from the context. In these
situations, you can replace the verb with “이다.” For example:

밥이든지 피자든지 빨리 골라! = It doesn’t matter if it is rice or pizza, but choose quickly!

Notice that both sentences essentially have the same meaning. The second example (with
밥이든지 피자든지) actually sounds a little bit more natural because the first example
unnecessarily writes out the word “먹다” twice. Other examples:

미국 돈이든지 캐나다 돈이든지 빨리 환전하자

= It doesn’t matter if it is American money or Canadian money, let’s convert it quickly (soon)

야구(이)든지 축구(이)든지 내일 정오에 하자

= It doesn’t matter if (we play) it is baseball or soccer, let’s play tomorrow at noon
Notice in this example that “이” (from 이다) can be omitted when the noun it is attached to ends
in a vowel

This grammatical principle is also commonly used to indicate that one doesn’t care about the
possible outcomes of something. This usage is essentially the same as the usage described thus
far – but the examples above usually have one positive outcome that somebody prefers.

Just by the nature of these types of sentences, it is common for the end of the sentence to have
the expression “I don’t care” or something similar. For example:

우리가 가든지 안 가든지 나는 신경을 안 써

= I don’t care if we go or not

The Hanja character 간 (間) means “between” and is a good word/character to know because it is
often added to words to mean “between X.” For example:

부부지간 = between husband and wife

부모 자식 간 = between parents and children
분자간 힘 = the force between molecules (intermolecular force)
Okay, I’m biased with that last one. I’m a chemistry teacher.

It is common to see “간에” placed after the final “~든지”. Technically “간에” could be added to
any of the examples above (from the very beginning of the lesson until now). However, adding
this in the sentence sometimes adds a slight negative connotation to it (the only reason I say
“sometimes” is because languages are very complex and its possible that it won’t have this
negative feeling – but more times than not it will). Because of this, it is a little bit more common
to find “간에” used after “~든지” when the speaker doesn’t care about the outcome. For
example:

우리가 내일 가든지 내일모레 가든지 (간에) 어차피 가야 돼요 = It doesn’t matter if we go

tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, anyways, we have to go

But note that the following are all acceptable, and adding “간에” makes the feeling slightly more
negative if the situation allows for it.

포크를 사용하든지 젓가락을 사용하든지 간에 더 편한 것을 사용하세요

= It doesn’t matter if you use a fork or use chopsticks, use/choose the one that is more
comfortable (whether you use a fork or chopsticks…)

경기에서 이기든지 지든지 간에 열심히 해야 됩니다

= It doesn’t matter if you win or lose the game, you should try hard (whether you win or lose…)

In all of the situations described so far, there were two different words that ~든지 was connected
to in a sentence. This doesn’t always have to be the case, as long as the situation of the sentence
is such that it describes that something must be done among a choice of other things. For
example:

네가 내일 무엇을 하든지 간에 밖에 나가야 돼 = It doesn’t matter what you do tomorrow, but

you have to go outside

You can also use this to express “if one does ____ or not”. I would like to talk about this next.
.

~든지 말든지

A little earlier, you saw the following examples:

우리가 가든지 안 가든지 나는 신경을 안 써

In situations like this when one indicates two possibilities – one where something is done, and
the other where the same action is not done – it is very common to use the verb “말다” (to not
do). Note that until now the only real experience you have with the word “말다” is in negative
imperative sentences. For example, found here:

집에 가지 말다 + ~(으)세요 = 집에 가지 마세요

말다 can be used in sentences with “~든지” like this. For example:

우리가 가든지 말든지 나는 신경을 안 써

= I don’t care if we go or not
시험이 있든지 말든지 간에 학교에 가야 돼요
= It doesn’t matter if there is an exam or not, you have to go to school

이 범위를 공부를 하든지 말든지 여기서 시험문제가 나올 거예요

= It doesn’t matter if you study this area/part of content, there will be an exam question from this
part

Words that ~든지 is commonly attached to

So far you probably have a good understanding of the usage and meaning of ~든지 in Korean
sentences. It is actually a fairly simple grammatical principle that is not hard to use or grasp.
Before we finish this lesson however, I would like to introduce you to a few words that you will
commonly find “~든지” attached to.

First, it is common to find “~든지” attached to the common question words 뭐, 누구, 언제 and
어디. Some people learn these constructions as actual words and not as words connected to
~든지 but the end result is the same. You can see the meaning of each construction next to each
example below, but the general meaning is “It doesn’t matter who/what/when/where”

뭐든지 = Whatever /It doesn’t matter what

한 달 동안 뭐든지 먹어도 돼요 = For one month, you are allowed to eat whatever you want
(for one month, it doesn’t matter what you eat)

누구든지 = Whoever/It doesn’t matter who

누구든지 사람들이 믿을 수 있는 친구가 필요해요 = It doesn’t matter who it is, people need a
friend they can trust (everybody needs a friend they can trust)

언제든지 = Whenever/It doesn’t matter when

우리 집에 언제든지 오세요 = It doesn’t matter when you come to our house (come to our
house anytime!)

어디든지 = Wherever/It doesn’t matter where

어디든지 앉아도 돼요= Sit anywhere! (It doesn’t matter where you sit)

You can also use “~든지” to create the expression “whatever happens/regardless of what
happens” by placing ~든지 at the end of some words at the beginning of a sentence. One of the
words you can use is “벌어지다”, which can be used in many ways without “~든지.” One usage
of the word “벌어지다” that has no relation to ~든지 is to indicate that there is some sort of a
space or gap between two things. For example:

우리 아버지가 앞니 사이가 벌어져 있어요 = Our dad has a gap in his front teeth
가방에 크게 벌어져 있는 구멍이 있어요 = There is a big hole in my bag
(Note that the passive addition of ~아/어 있다 is used in this usage of 벌어지다)

“벌어지다” can also be used to have a meaning similar to “생기다”, which means to “come up”
or to “happen”. For example:

어떤 일이 벌어졌어요? = What came up?

중동에서 전쟁이 벌어졌어요 = A war started/came up in the Middle East

It is this usage of “벌어지다” that ~든지 is often added to. By using “벌어지든지” in sentences,
you can create the meaning of “whatever happens/regardless of what happens.” The construction
is often used in the clause “무슨 일이 벌어지든지”. For example:

무슨 일이 벌어지든지 간에 제가 집에 돌아가야 돼요 = Regardless of what happens, I need to

go/return home
무슨 일이 벌어지든지 간에 그녀랑 결혼할 거예요 = Regardless of what happens, I’m
marrying her

Just so you know, in all of the examples above, eliminating “지” from ~든지 (간에) is
acceptable. All of the following examples have the same meaning as was expressed earlier:

포크를 사용하든 젓가락을 사용하든 더 편한 것을 사용하세요

경기에서 이기든 지든 열심히 해야 됩니다
결과가 우리가 예상한 것이든 아니든 우리는 결과를 발표할 것입니다
그 규칙에 동의하든 안 하든 그 규칙을 따라야 돼요
밥이든 피자든 빨리 골라!
서울로 이사하든 부산으로 이사하든 집값은 똑같아요
자전거를 타든 달리기를 하든 그냥 마음대로 아무거나 해
대학교에 진학하든 진학하지 않든 열심히 공부해야 돼요
우리가 내일 가든 내일모레 가든 어차피 가야 돼요
우리가 가든 안 가든 나는 신경을 안 써
우리가 내일 가든 내일모레 가든 (간에) 어차피 가야 돼요
포크를 사용하든 젓가락을 사용하든 (간에) 더 편한 것을 사용하세요
경기에서 이기든 지든 (간에) 열심히 해야 됩니다

한 달 동안 뭐든 먹어도 돼요
누구든 사람들이 믿을 수 있는 친구가 필요해요
우리 집에 언제든 오세요
어디든 앉아도 돼요

무슨 일이 벌어지든 간에 제가 집에 돌아가야 돼요
무슨 일이 벌어지든 간에 그녀랑 결혼할 거예요

There is another grammatical principle that looks and sounds very similar to ~든지 but it has a
separate meaning which will be discussed in a future lesson. ~던지 is often confused with ~든지
even with Korean people. It’s not something that you really need to worry about (because you’ve
just learned a ton about ~든지, so you should be familiar with it – not to mention, ~든지 is much
more common than ~던지), but it is something that Korean people sometimes forget.

Also remember that ~든지 can also be used in sentences with 상관없다 – which you learned
about in Lesson 74. For example:

우리가 언제 가든지 상관없어요 = It doesn’t matter when we go

우리가 어디 가든지 상관없어요 = It doesn’t matter where we go
제가 누구랑 가든지 상관없어요 = It doesn’t matter who I go with
운전면허를 언제 받든지 상관없어요 = It doesn’t matter when you get your driver’s license
학생들이 어떻게 반응하든지 상관없어요 = It doesn’t matter how the students react
네가 배고프든지 상관없어 = It doesn’t matter if you are hungry
우리는 거기에 가든지 말든지 상관없어 = It doesn’t matter if we go there
그게 비싸든지 말든지 상관없어 = It doesn’t matter if it is expensive

And finally, here are some example sentences from a few of the novels I am reading:
헌집이든 새집이든 내가 깔아놓은 장판 위에서 누군가 새로운 삶을 시작할 거라고
상상하면 행복해지고 있다 = It doesn’t matter if it’s an old house or a new house, when I
imagine that people will start their new life on the floor that I put down, I get happy
[The person’s job in the book is to lay down new floors in people’s houses]

부자든 가난하든 2 천만 원은 누구에게나 큰돈이다 = It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor,
2 천만원 is a lot of money to anybody

나도 일본에 있을 때 더듬거리며 일본어 하는 외국인과 대화를 나누게 되었다면 매우

기뻐서 발음이 이상하든 문법이 엉터리든 “일본어 잘 하시네요~” 해요 = When I am in
Japan having a conversation with foreigners speaking (fumbling in) Japanese, regardless of if
their pronunciation is strange or if their grammar is rubbish, I gladly say “Oh, your Japanese is
really good!”

든(지) (~deun(-ji)) – regardless/no matter (or not)

This grammar particle is most commonly attached to nouns like 누구 (who), 어디 (where), 언제
(when), 뭐 (what) and 어느 (which).
Another common use is to attach ~든(지) to verbs to have the meaning of “regardless whether
you do this or not” or “no matter if you do this or not”.

You may omit 지 after ~든 and the meaning will still be the same.

One important thing to note, though, is that ~든(지) is very different from [Grammar]
~(으)ㄴ/는지 (whether or not).

Examples:

이런 일은 누구든지 할 수 있어요.
Regardless who it is, (he or she) can do this type of work.
Everyone/Anyone can do this type of work.

그 책은 어디든지 살 수 있어요.
Regardless where it is, one can buy this book.
One can buy this book anywhere/everywhere.

경찰서는 언제든지 연락해도 돼요.

Regardless when/what time it is, one can contact the police station.
One can contact the police station at any time.

방학이 되면 뭐든지 해도 괜찮을 거예요.

When it’s the school vacation, it will be fine regardless what one does.
Whatever one does will be fine when it is the school vacation.
One can do whatever one wants when it’s the school vacation.

엄마가 어느 음식든지 만들 줘도 맛있어요.

Regardless which food my Mom prepares for me, it will be delicious.
Whichever food My Mom prepares for me, it will be delicious.

아침에 일찍 일어나면 지하철을 타든지 버스 타든지 늦지 않을 거예요.

If one wakes up early in the morning, regardless whether one takes the sbuway or the bus,
one will not be late.

어제 밤에 밥을 먹는지 물을 마시든지 다 토했어요.

Yesterday night, Regardless whether I ate rice or drank water, I vomitted all out.

우리 아빠는 무슨 음식이든지 다 잘 먹으니까 엄마가 요리하면서도 행복하고 있어요.

My Dad eats very well regardless what food it is so my Mom is really happy while cooking.

I don't think there's any English or Spanish equivalent of -ㄹ 테니까 in this case.
I can only think of a couple of examples.

Tú quédate ahí calladito, porque voy a ir allá.

내가 거기 갈 테니까 거기 꼼짝말고 서 있어요.
 Será difícil aprender a hablar Alemán, así... Quieres mi ayuda?
독일어 배우기 힘들 테니까 도와줄까?

Nouns:
온수 = hot water
욕조 = bathtub
무더기 = pile, heap of something
사회주의 = socialism
자존심 = self esteem
내복 = under-clothes worn in the winter to keep warm
탁구대 = ping pong table
휴게실 = resting room, lounge
동절기 = the colder part of the year
일람표 = list, table
조끼 = vest
미로 = a maze

Verbs:
헹구다 = to rinse
담그다 = to soak in
추정하다 = to estimate
깨뜨리다 = to smash
지적하다 = to point out
수신하다 = to receive a signal
엎다 = to put face down
엎드리다 = to lay face down
엎드러지다 = to fall on one’s face
엎드러뜨리다 = make one fall on their face
날아가다 = to fly away
권하다 = to give advice
헌신하다 = to devote
대피하다 = to evacuate and take shelter

Passive Verbs:
갇히다 = to be locked in

Adjectives:
아쉽다 = for something to be too bad, unfortunate
 Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn a difficult grammatical principle that is very common in speech.
Here, you will learn how to attach ~는가 보다 (or ~나 봐, or ~나 보네) to the end of a sentence
to express that something might be the case. Let’s get started.

To guess, think, suppose, to look like: ~는/ㄴ가 보다

This is a very common grammatical principle that you will hear all the time. By attaching
~는/은가 보다 to verbs, or ~은/ㄴ가 보다 to adjectives, the speaker indicates that the sentence
is a guess, and it thought to be true (but he/she is not really sure). Some simple examples:

시험이 어려운가 봐요 = I guess the exam is hard/the exam looks hard/I suppose the exam is
hard

While the English translations can look and feel similar, this usage is slightly different from that
of other similar grammatical principles that express probability/possibility. For example:

시험이 어려울 것 같아요 = The exam is/will probably be hard

The difference is that when I say “시험이 어려울 것 같아요”, I am mostly guessing this based
on intuition and there isn’t really any implied concrete reason for me thinking that it will be hard.

However, when you say “시험이 어려운가 봐요”, (maybe as a result of “보다” being in the
sentence) the feeling is that the speaker has a direct reason as to why he/she feels this way. For
example, imagine you are a proctor in an exam room watching students write an exam. During
the test, you see/hear many students sigh, and even some students completely stop writing the
exam and start sleeping without answering all the questions. At this point, you could say to the
other proctor in the room:

시험이 어려운가 봐요 = I guess the exam is hard/the exam looks hard/I suppose the exam is
hard

Let’s look at another example:

그 외국인이 김치를 좋아하는가 봐요 = I guess that foreigner likes kimchi/it looks like that
foreigner likes kimchi/I suppose that foreigner likes kimchi

Imagine you are at a restaurant and you see a foreigner eating some Korean BBQ. After each
piece of meat, he eats a big piece of kimchi. At this point, because it is something that you are
directly observing and something that you have direct evidence of, you can say this sentence.

You would be more likely to say…

그 외국인이 김치를 좋아할 것 같아요 = That foreigner probably likes kimchi
… if you actually didn’t know he liked kimchi or not, and were just guessing that he might
(maybe because kimchi is delicious and everybody likes it)
More examples:
사과가 너무 비싼가 봐요 = I guess the apples are too expensive (maybe because you realized
that nobody is buying any apples, so you have the evidence to lead you to believe that the apples
are too expensive)

내복을 입어야 되는가 봐요 = I guess I need to wear long-johns (long-underwear) (if you
imagine it’s winter and you look outside and you realize that it is going to be freezing cold)

그 학생이 밥을 살 수 있는 돈이 없는가 봐요 = I guess that student doesn’t have any money to

buy food (If you imagine you are on a school field trip as a teacher and it is lunch time for the
students. However, one of the students is just sitting by himself not eating anything, and looks
very sad)

정부에게 불만을 표현하고 싶은 사람이 많은가 봐요 = It looks like there are a lot of people
who want to express their complaints towards the government (If you imagine you are walking
around the downtown of your city and you see a bunch of protesters protesting something at city
hall)

This grammatical form can be attached to sentences conjugated in the past tense as well:
아기가 접시를 깨뜨렸는가 봐요 = I guess the baby broke the plate/it looks like the baby broke
the plate
수신이 안 됐는가 봐요 = I guess there is no reception/It looks like there is no reception
새로운 탁구대가 왔는가 봐요 = I guess the new Ping-Pong table arrived/It looks like the new
Ping-Pong table arrived
새가 날아갔는가 봐요 = I guess the bird flew away/It looks like the bird flew away

“~네(요)”, which you learned about in Lesson 83, is often added to sentences where the speaker
learns something new. Because of the nature of the sentences we are creating with “~는/ㄴ가
보다”, it is very common to add the grammatical principle “~네(요)” to 보다. For example:

시험이 어려운가 보네요 = I guess the exam is hard/the exam looks hard
사과가 너무 비싼가 보네요 = I guess the apples are too expensive
내복을 입어야 되는가 보네 = I guess I need to wear long-johns (long-underwear)
아기가 접시를 깨뜨렸는가 보네 = I guess the baby broke the plate
수신이 안 됐는가 보네 = I guess there is no reception/It looks like there is no reception
새로운 탁구대가 왔는가 보네 = I guess the new Ping-Pong table arrived
새가 날아갔는가 보네 = I guess the bird flew away/It looks like the bird flew away
정부에게 불만을 표현하고 싶은 사람이 많은가 보네 = It looks like there are a lot of people
who want to express their complaints towards the government

Not only that, but it is very common for “~는/ㄴ가 보다” to be shortened to “~나 보다” (or ~나
보네). In fact, I would say that the “~나 보다” form is much more common than “~는/ㄴ가
보다” (especially in speech). The only reason I introduced the less common one first is because
(from what I understand) that is the original grammatical principle, and the more common “~나
보다” is simply a contraction of “~는/ㄴ가 보다”. Either way, ~나 보다 can be attached to all of
the examples introduced in this lesson instead of ~는/ㄴ가 보다. For example:

시험이 어렵나 봐 = I guess the exam is hard/the exam looks hard

사과가 너무 비싸나 봐 = I guess the apples are too expensive
내복을 입어야 되나 봐 = I guess I need to wear long-johns (long-underwear)
아기가 접시를 깨뜨렸나 봐 = I guess the baby broke the plate
수신이 안 됐나 봐 = I guess there is no reception/It looks like there is no reception
새로운 탁구대가 왔나 봐 = I guess the new Ping-Pong table arrived
새가 날아갔나 봐 = I guess the bird flew away/It looks like the bird flew away
정부에게 불만을 표현하고 싶은 사람이 많나 봐 = It looks like there are a lot of people who
want to express their complaints towards the government

I personally use the ~나 보다 form all the time when I speak Korean. I can’t be exactly sure why
~는/ㄴ가 보다 is less common that ~나 보다, but if you ask me, a sentence ending in “~나 보다”
flows off of your tongue much better. Also, it is much easier to conjugate because it doesn’t
change if it is an adjective or verb, or in the past or present tense.
The ~는가 보다 sentences are all fine, but when I showed them to 슬기 when she was checking
this lesson, she kept on saying “Yeah, that’s fine, but I would rather say ‘~나 보다’. I’ll say it
one more time before I finish – the ~나 보다 sentences are much more common than the
~ㄴ/는가 보다 sentences

ㄴ/은/는가 싶다, ~ 다/나 싶다 = Thought or supposition, feels like/as if maybe, think that,
wonder whether, appears/looks/seems to be

상상도 못했던 선물을 받았다. 꿈인가 싶었다 = I got a present I never imagined. I thought it
was a dream.
비가 오는가 싶어 빨래를 걷었다 = I retrieved the laundry because I thought it was raining.
여기는 금연 구역이 아닌가 싶은데요 = I think this is a no-smoking area.
요즘 뉴스를 들으면 가끔 세상이 어떻게 되려는가 싶다 = When I listen to the news these
days, I sometimes wonder what the world is coming to.
남편이 가 있는 곳을 실토하면 어쩌나 싶어서였다 = It was because she was afraid she would
blurt out her husband’s hiding place.
좀 괜찮다 싶은 강산 = a river or mountain that appears to be alright
집에 있겠다 싶어 전화했어. = I thought you might be at home, so I called you.

~(으)ㄹ까 싶다 = Questioning, wonder whether

(~(으)ㄹ까 보다)
혼 날까 싶어 얘기도 못 꺼냈어. = I couldn’t even bring it up lest you got scolded.
더울까 싶어서 안 가고, 하루 종일 집에서 에어컨 틀고 있었어. = I thought it would be hot so
I had the air conditioner on at home all day.
(~(으)ㄹ까 하다 with more wondering “whether”)
그냥 바닷가로 여행이나 떠나볼까 싶다. = I’m wondering whether I’ll just go on a trip to the
beach for.
소설이나 써 볼까 싶다. = I am wondering whether I’ll write a novel.

~으면 싶다 = Unrealistic wishes, wishing something was different

일이 좀 적었으면 싶다. = I wish I had less work.

일찍 갔으면 싶었다. = I wish I went earlier.
그녀를 좀 보았으면 싶었지만, 떠날 시간이 다가왔다. = I wanted to meet her, but the time for
leaving was approaching.

ㄴ/는가 싶다
Posted 5 years ago

~ㄴ/는가 싶다 is used to express a supposition (“I think it might…”, “It seems like…”, “I
wonder if…”). It uses the ~ㄴ/는가 form to indicate that it’s a self-directed question. It can be
used interchangeably with ~(으)ㄹ까 싶다, (으)ㄹ 듯 싶다.

심한 병인가 싶어서 병원에 갔다.

I went to the hospital because I thought it might be a serious illness.

너한테 무슨 일이라도 있는가 싶어서 걱정돼 전화했어.

I called because I wondered if something had happened to you so I was worried.

~ㄹ/을까 싶다 (~eul/eul-gga sip-da) – 1. I’m afraid/worried that (this/that would happen…) 2. I

(am wondering if I would) want to do this or that…

You will realise that the first meaning is quite similar to ~을/ㄹ까 봐 while the second meaning
is similar to ~고 싶다. Well, ~ㄹ/을까 싶다 is really similar to both.

In fact, for the first meaning, ~ㄹ/을까 싶다 has the exact same meaning as ~을/ㄹ까 봐. It’s
just a different variation of saying the same thing.

Another thing to note, ~을/ㄹ까 봐 is more of giving a reason for a situation or happening that
precedes the statement ending with ~을/ㄹ까 봐. On the other hand, ~ㄹ/을까 싶다 is usually
placed in front or to end a statement to oneself.

Remember, both ~ㄹ/을까 싶다 and ~을/ㄹ까 봐 can only be used in a first person.

Examples:

하늘은 너무 어두우니 비가 올까 싶어 빨리 집으로 가야지.

The sky is so dark and I’m afraid/worried it will rain so let’s quickly go home.
어휴 시험이 너무 어려웠어 열심히 공부할 걸. 시험이 잘 못 볼까 싶어.
Sigh, the test was really hard, I should have studied hard. I’m afraid/worried that I’ll not do
well for the test.

Now on to the second meaning – ~ㄹ/을까 싶다 is basically a less determined or certain version
of ~고 싶다. The difference can be likened to that of ~(은/ㄴ & 을/ㄹ)것 같다.

Examples:

너무 배고픈데 떡볶이나 오뎅을 먹을까 싶어.

I really hungry now so I (am wondering if I would) want to eat rice cakes or fish cakes.

올해는 여행을 가러 할 건데 미국이나 유럽으로 갈까 싶어.

I’ll go for an overseas trip this year but I (am wondering if I would) want to go to America or
Europe.

As you can see, if there is more than one choice, you should use ~ㄹ/을까 싶다 instead of ~고
싶다. It will help the listener or reader understand that you want to do something but just not
very sure yet.

With ~고 싶다, it’s almost as if that’s the only thing you want to do at a given moment.

she seems to be happy 그녀는 행복한 듯 보인다.

I intend to/I am thinking of… ~ㄹ/을까 하다

In the previous lesson, you only saw how ~ㄹ/을까(요) can used at the end of sentences.
However, by placing 하다 after ~ㄹ/을까, a speaker can indicate his or her intention of doing
something. For example:

그 영화를 볼까 해요 = I intend to watch that movie

I usually prefer the translation of “I am thinking of” simply because I rarely say “I intend to” in
English. Regardless, the meaning and effect is the same:

그 영화를 볼까 해요 = I am thinking about watching that movie

~ㄹ/을까 하다 is often connected to the grammatical principle ~아/어서 (introduced in Lesson

37) or other similar grammatical principles to create the meaning “I am/was thinking of… so…”
For example:

그 영화를 볼까 해서 영화관에 갔어요

= I was thinking of watching that movie, so I went to the theater

Below are many more examples:

대학교에서 물리학을 공부할까 해요

= I am thinking about studying physics in University
그 선생님을 국제부장으로 지명할까 해요
= I am thinking of nominating that teacher as the boss for the international department

내일 서울 동부에 갈까 해요
= I am thinking about going to the eastern part of Seoul tomorrow

양파가 아주 싸서 수십 개를 살까 해요
= I am thinking about buying dozens of onions because they are very cheap

또 이런 재해를 피할 수 있는 대책을 세울까 해요

= I am thinking about setting up measures to avoid this kind of disaster again

중복된 정보를 지울까 해요

= I am thinking about removing/erasing the duplicated/overlapped information

새로 만들어진 분수를 보러 나갈까 해요

= I am thinking about going out to see the newly made fountain

경찰관들에게 제가 범죄자가 누구인지 안다고 할까 해요

= I am thinking about telling the police officers that I know who the criminal is

이 동영상을 학생들에게 보여줄까 해요

= I am thinking of showing this video to the students

학생들에게 암을 어떻게 방지하는지에 대한 동영상을 보여줄까 해요

= I am thinking about showing the students a video about how to prevent cancer

대구 서부에 1 박 2 일로 여행할까 해요
= I am thinking about traveling in the west part of Daegu for 1 night and two days

이 제품에 상표를 등록할까 해요

= I’m thinking about registering a trademark for this item

1 년에 재해방지훈련을 하는 횟수를 두 번에서 네 번으로 늘릴까 해요

= I am thinking about raising the number of times we do disaster prevention training per year
from 2 times to 4 times

단풍을 보러 밖에 나갈까 해서 기상예보를 확인할 거예요

= I am thinking of going outside to see the autumn leaves, so I’m going to check the weather
forecast

우리가 부산에 도착하는 당일에 바다에서 수영할까 해서 아침 일찍 출발해야 돼요

= I am thinking about swimming in the ocean on the day we arrive in Busan, so we should leave
early

그 여자와 함께 밥을 먹을까 해서 점심을 안 먹었어요

= I was thinking about asking that girl to go eat dinner together with me so I didn’t eat lunch
Instead of using 하다 after ~ㄹ/을까 in these examples, it is also possible to use 보다. The
conjugations of 봐 and 봐요 are very commonly used in these situations, and you will rarely see
other conjugations like 본다 or 봅니다 here. For example:

~ㄹ/을까 봐(요) can be used to replace ~ㄹ/을까 하다 to show intent as it is described in this
lesson. The reverse, however is not always true (that is, ~ㄹ/을까 하다 replacing ~ㄹ/을까
봐(요)). In the next lesson, you will see another usage of ~ㄹ/을까 봐(요) (to show fear or
worrying), and ~ㄹ/을까 해요 can typically not be used to create this meaning. Anyways, for
now, let’s stick to this lesson.

대학교에서 물리학을 공부할까 봐요

= I am thinking about studying physics in University

그 선생님을 국제부장으로 지명할까 봐요

= I am thinking of nominating that teacher as the boss for the international department

내일 서울 동부에 갈까 봐요
= I am thinking about going to the eastern part of Seoul tomorrow

양파가 아주 싸서 수십 개를 살까 봐요
= I am thinking about buying dozens of onions because they are very cheap

또 이런 재해를 피할 수 있는 대책을 세울까 봐요

= I am thinking about setting up measures to avoid this kind of disaster again

중복된 정보를 지울까 봐요

= I am thinking about removing/erasing the duplicated/overlapped information

새로 만들어진 분수를 보러 나갈까 봐요

= I am thinking about going out to see the newly made fountain

경찰관들에게 제가 범죄자가 누구인지 안다고 할까 봐요

= I am thinking about telling the police officers that I know who the criminal is

이 동영상을 학생들에게 보여줄까 봐요

= I am thinking of showing this video to the students

학생들에게 암을 어떻게 방지하는지에 대한 동영상을 보여줄까 봐요

= I am thinking about showing the students a video about how to prevent cancer

대구 서부에 1 박 2 일로 여행할까 봐요
= I am thinking about traveling in the west part of Daegu for 1 night and two days

이 제품에 상표를 등록할까 봐요

= I’m thinking about registering a trademark for this item
1 년에 재해방지훈련을 하는 횟수를 두 번에서 네 번으로 늘릴까 봐요
= I am thinking about raising the number of times we do disaster prevention training per year
from 2 times to 4 times

Using ~ㄹ/을까 보다 is okay at the end of a sentence, but it would be unnatural to attach
~아/어서 to it and use it in the middle of a sentence. For example, 해서 should replace 봐서 in
all of the following:

단풍을 보러 밖에 나갈까 봐서 기상예보를 확인할 거예요

우리가 부산에 도착하는 당일에 바다에서 수영할까 봐서 아침 일찍 출발해야 돼요
그 여자와 함께 밥을 먹을까 봐서 점심을 안 먹었어요

It is also possible to conjugate 하다 when it is used at the end of a sentence to indicate that you
“were thinking” about doing something. For example:

영화를 볼까 했어요 = I was thinking about watching the movie

When 하다 is conjugated like this, although the speaker intended/thought about doing the action,
the action did not occur (it was only thought about). Therefore, I usually add more to the English
translation to describe the meaning more precisely:

영화를 볼까 했어요 = I was thinking about watching the movie, (but I didn’t see it)
친구를 만날까 했어요 = I was thinking about meeting a friend (but I didn’t meet him)
딸의 이름을 민지로 개명할까 했어요 = I was thinking about changing the name of my
daughter to 민지
시험 당일에 술을 마시러 갈까 했어요 = I was thinking about going to drink alcohol on the
day of the exam (but didn’t)

I think it might.. it seems like… i wonder if it might be the case that..

(싶다, something comes to your mind. 는가, ㄹ까, indicated uncertainty)

~ㄴ/는가 싶다

민호는 친구가 왔는가/나 싶어서 나가 보았다. Minho went out thinking that his friend had
come.
심한 병인가 싶어서 병원에 갔다. – I went to the hospital because I thought it might be a
serious illness.
너한테 무슨 일이라도 있는가 싶어서 걱정돼 전화했어. – I called because I wondered if
something had happened to you so I was worried.
춥지 않은가 싶다 – i wonder if it’s not cold.

~(으)ㄹ까 싶다
우리 팀이 지지 않을까 싶었다. – I thought our team might lose in the game.

V + 다니:

스페인팀이 독일팀을 이겼다니… 믿을 수가 없어요!

Spain beat Germany? …I can’t believe it!

한겨울인데 그 여자가 반바지 하고 티 셔츠를 입었다니… 미친 것 같아요!

In the middle of winter (i.e. at its coldest), that woman wore shorts and a tshirt… she must be
crazy!

벌써 새 컴퓨터가 고장 나다니… 화나요!

My new computer is already broken… I’m angry!

이번 주말부터 일요일마다 일해야 된다니… 답답해요.

From this weekend I have to work every Sunday… it’s frustrating.

톰 씨가 서울대 다닐 거라고 나니… 거짓말 같아요.

Tom will go to Seoul University?! …It sounds like a lie.

N + (이)라니:

이마트에서 신선한 빵이 2 만원 이라니… 아무도 안 살게요.

At E-Mart fresh bread is 20,000 won? …No-one will buy it.

이 휴대폰은 무료라니… 믿을 수가 없어요!

This mobile phone is free? …I can’t believe it!

Q + 냐니:

그 남자가 친구에게 데이트 신청을 했냐니?

That man asked my friend out on a date? (No way!)

그 사람이 저에게 과체중 이냐니? …너무 무례해요!

That man asked me my weight? …That’s so rude!

무너지다 = to be collapsed
무너뜨리다 = to collapse something
헝클어지다 = to be tangled
헝클어뜨리다 = to tangle something
부서지다 = to be smashed/crushed
부서뜨리다 = to smash/crush
부러지다 = to be broken/fractured
부러뜨리다 = to break/fracture
흐트러지다 = to be messy/untidy
흐트러뜨리다 = to make messy/untidy
구부러지다 = to be bent
구부러뜨리다 = to bend
누그러지다 = for one’s heart to melt
누그러뜨리다 = to melt somebody’s heart
터지다 = to explode
터뜨리다 = to make explode
늘어지다 = to be drooping, hanging
늘어뜨리다 = let something hang/droop

Formal Subject Marker ~께서(는)

In addition to the subject marking particles ~는/은 and ~이/가 that you have known forever – the
particle “~께서” can also be used to indicate the subject of a sentence. The difference here is that
~께서 is an honorific subject marker, which means it is added to people who deserve a high
amount of respect. For example:

아버님께서 밥을 드셨습니다 = The father ate

우리 부장님께서 오늘 오후에 출발할 예정이십니다 = Our boss is scheduled to depart this
afternoon
지금 교장선생님께서 잠깐 말씀을 하시겠습니다 = Now, the principal will speak for a
moment
이 잡채는 장모님께서 만드신 것이에요 = This 잡채 was made by my mother in law
할아버지께서 옛날에 런던에서 사셨어요 = Our grandfather lived in London a long time ago

This can be done any time somebody deserves a lot of respect, but it isn’t completely necessary.
Failing to use the honorific ~요 or ~ㅂ/습니다 forms when speaking to somebody who deserves
respect would most likely get you thrown out of a room.

However, very few people would use the subject marker “~께서” on a daily basis. It’s usually
reserves for very formal situations.It’s also quite common to see “~는” added to ~께서. It could
have no function at all, or it could have one of the many subtle functions that ~는 carries with it.
In all cases, it totally depends on the context of the conversation. Nonetheless, all the example
sentences above could have “~는” added to “께서” for example:

아버님께서 밥을 드셨습니다 = The father ate

아버님께서는 밥을 드셨습니다 = The father ate (but somebody else, maybe the mother, didn’t)

I Should Have Done: ~ㄹ/을 걸 (그랬다)

You can place ~ㄹ/을걸 at the end of a sentence to express that you should have done something
in the past (but didn’t). The meaning is fairly simple, and attaching it to a clause is quite simple
as well:
나의 가방을 가져올걸 = I should have brought my bag (but I didn’t)

친구 집에 갈걸 = I should have gone to my friend’s house (but I didn’t)

가사를 더 잘 외울걸 = I should have memorized the lyrics better (but I didn’t)

아까 그 표지를 더 자세히 볼걸 = I should have looked at that sign better (but I didn’t)

우리가 봤던 원피스를 살걸 = I should have bought the (one-piece) dress that we saw (but I
didn’t)

This grammatical principle is typically used when the speaker is talking about him/herself (when
the subject is “I” or “we” or something like that). When talking to him/herself the person regrets
whatever decision was made in the past that wasn’t done (or was done, as you will see later in
this lesson).

The word 그랬다 is often placed after the ~ㄹ/을걸 construction for no real reason – and I have
never seen or heard anything to suggest that adding “그랬다” changes the meaning in any way.

For example:
가사를 더 잘 외울걸 그랬어 = I should have memorized the lyrics better

아까 그 표지를 더 자세히 볼걸 그랬어 = I should have looked at that sign better

우리가 봤던 원피스를 살걸 그랬다 = I should have bought the (one-piece) dress that we saw

Just like ~구나 or other forms of “self-speech”, it may be more appropriate to express something
more formally. Even if the sentence is directed at yourself, there could be somebody listening to
you – in which case, it is possible to conjugate these sentences formally. I have seen some people
claim that adding “요” directly to “~ㄹ/을걸” is possible. However, Korean people I have asked
say that would be unnatural. For example, this:

가사를 더 잘 외울걸요…
Wouldn’t be correct.

Instead, you can conjugate the word “그랬다”. For example:

가사를 더 잘 외울걸 그랬어요 = I should have memorized the lyrics better

아까 그 표지를 더 자세히 볼걸 그랬어요 = I should have looked at that sign better

우리가 봤던 원피스를 살걸 그랬어요 = I should have bought the (one-piece) dress that we
saw

The word “그랬다” can theoretically be conjugated any way, but the most common way you will
see it conjugated is by adding ~나 or ~나 보다 (As you learned in Lesson 109). For example:
가사를 더 잘 외울걸 그랬나 봐 = It looks like I should have memorized the lyrics better

공부를 더 열심히 할걸 그랬나 봐 = It looks like I should have studied harder

밥을 먹을걸 그랬나 봐요 = It looks like I should have eaten

When the whole sentence finishes with “그랬나”, it is most often in a form of a question. The
question is usually directed at oneself, but it is not uncommon for a listener to answer the
question. For example:

Person 1: 오기 전에 밥을 먹을걸 그랬나? = Should I have eaten before coming here?

Person 2: 우리가 곧 나가서 곧 먹을 거야! = (no), We are going to go out and eat soon

It’s also possible to use the first person plural to talk about something that we should have done.
In cases like these, it is common to attach ~나 or ~지 to 그랬다 to create a question that you are
asking to the people around you. For example:

우리가 그 표지를 더 자세히 볼걸 그랬어 = We should have looked at that sign better
우리가 동물원에 더 일찍 올걸 그랬지? = We should have come to the zoo earlier (eh?)
우리가 초밥을 시킬걸 그랬나? = Should we have ordered sushi?

Person 1: 우리 딸이 오늘 학교에서 점심을 살 거야 = Our daughter is going to buy lunch at

school today
Person 2: 아이에게 돈을 조금 더 줄 걸 그랬나? = Should we have given her more money?

In my experience, this grammatical form is most often used when the speaker is the subject of
the sentence or when referring to “we.” However, it is possible to use this form when talking
about another person. For example:

Person 1: 아! 난 버스를 놓쳤어. = Oh no! I missed the bus

Person 2: 일찍 나갈 걸 그랬지! = (I told you that) you should have left earlier

Negative Sentences with ~ㄹ/을 걸 (그랬다)

By making a negative sentence with “안” or “~지 않다”, you can create the opposite meaning of
what is described above. That is, to indicate that you shouldn’t have done something in the past
(but did). Some examples:

이 무거운 가방을 안 가져올걸 = I shouldn’t have brought this heavy bag

아침으로 초밥을 안 먹을걸 = I shouldn’t have had sushi for breakfast
오늘 학교에 안 올걸 = I shouldn’t have come to school today
그 걸 엄마에게 말하지 말걸 = I shouldn’t have told my mother that

All the other forms you learned above with the positive sentences can also be applied to these
sentences as well:

이 무거운 가방을 안 가져올걸 그랬나? = Should I have not brought this heavy bag?
아침으로 초밥을 안 먹을걸 그랬어 = I shouldn’t have had sushi for breakfast
오늘 학교에 안 올걸 그랬나 봐 = I guess I shouldn’t have come to school today
그 걸 엄마에게 말하지 말걸 그랬나? = Should I not have told my mother that?

우리가 동물원에 안 올걸 그랬지? = We shouldn’t have come to the zoo (eh?)

우리가 초밥을 안 시킬걸 그랬나? = Should we have not ordered sushi?

There is also a fairly difficult adverb than can sometimes be used to express the same meaning as
the sentences we’ve created in this lesson. I would like to introduce you to that next.

괜히: Something That You Didn’t Need to Do

The word “괜히” is often translated to “in vain” in English, but that isn’t really a perfect
translation. In fact, it is difficult to come up with a perfect translation for this word simply
because we don’t have a similar word in English. 괜히 is an adverb, and can be placed in
sentences (just like any other adverb) in indicate that one did something that didn’t need to be
done. I feel it is best to teach this word by presenting sentences using this word and not using this
word side-by-side. For example:

나는 무거운 가방을 가져왔어 = I brought the heavy bag

나는 무거운 가방을 괜히 가져왔어 = I brought the heavy bag in vain
The first sentence is easy, and I am sure you understand it completely. In the second sentence,
the purpose of “괜히” is to indicate that the person ended up realizing that he/she didn’t need to
bring the bag. If I think of an example… maybe a bunch of people were going camping and I
wasn’t sure if I should bring a tent or not. I decided to put the tent in a bag (which ended up
being really heavy), and when I got to the campground I saw that my friend also brought a tent.
At which point, I can say:
나는 무거운 가방을 괜히 가져왔어 = I didn’t need to bring this heavy bag
In this situation, I could also say:
텐트를 괜히 가져왔어 = I didn’t need to bring the tent

As you can see… 괜히 is put in the sentence where one realizes that he/she didn’t need to
something (usually because it was already done – or because it was pointless to do it).
Another example:
나는 우유를 샀어 = I bought milk
나는 우유를 괜히 샀어 = I bought milk, but I just realized that I shouldn’t have because you
also bought milk (or because we already had milk.)

So, just because of the nature of the sentence and the meaning that this creates – 괜히 can
sometimes be used to make a sentence with a similar meaning to ~ㄹ/걸 (그랬다). For example:

지 그랬어 (-ji geuraesseo) is a grammatical structure that means “why didn't you… / it would
have been better if you had…” or “you should have… .” Originally, this structure comes from -
지 그렇게 했어 (-ji geureoke haesseo) which literally means “Why did you do that instead of
doing this?” So as a set structure, we translate it into English as “why didn't you…,” or “you
should have… .” You can add -요 at the end to make it sound more polite, or make the verb
honorific by saying 그러셨어요 (geureosyeosseoyo), too.

Formation
Verb Stem + 지 그랬어(요)

하다 (hada) “to do”

하 (ha) – verb stem
하 + 지 그랬어(요) = 하지 그랬어(요)
친구랑 같이 하지 그랬어.
(chingu-rang gachi haji geuraesseo)
“You should have done it with your friend.”

Example Sentences
1. 친구도 데려오지 그랬어.
chingu-do deryeooji geuraesseo.
“Why didn't you bring your friend as well?”

2. 어제 오지 그랬어.
eoje oji geuraesseo.
“Why didn't you come yesterday?”

3. 병원에 가지 그랬어요.
byeongwon-e gaji geurasseoyo.
“You should have gone to see a doctor.”

(I found that) - ~던데

던데 is used when you found that something was contrary to my previous opinion/expectation or
opinions/expectations of others.

For example,

 이미 하던데 = (I found that they) were already doing it

Replace 다 of verbs/adjectives with 던데

 하던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were doing it

 가던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were going (somewhere)
 오던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were coming (here)
 먹던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were eating
 마시던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were drinking
 살던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were living (somewhere)

 많던데 = (I found that there) were many

 적던데 = (I found that they) were small (in quantity)
 빠르던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were fast
 느리던데 = (I found that he/she/they) was/were slow

Examples sentences

 미술관에 사람들 적을 줄 알았는데, 사람들 많던데 = I thought/figured that there

won't be many people in the art gallery, but there were many people.

 짐 집에 있어? = Is Jim at home?

 아니, 아까 어디 가던데 = No, a while ago (I saw him) going somewhere.

 크리스마스라 시티에 사람들 많지? = There are many people in the city as it's
Christmas, aren't there?
 아니, 생각보다 사람들 안 많던데 = No, there weren't as many people as I thought.

You can also use 던데 when you saw someone/something somewhere doing something but now
no longer quite sure what happened to them next, i.e. where they are or what they are doing now.

 지니 어디 있어? = Where's Jinnie?

 아까 샾에서 일하던데 = A while ago, (I saw her) working at the shop. (Though I'm not
quite sure where she is or what she's doing now)
 정수 어디 갔어요? = Has Jeong-su gone somewhere?
 응, 친구 만나러 나가던데 = Yes, (I saw him) going out to meet his friend (I don't know
about the details of where he is or what he's doing though.)