공부하느라고 하는데 성적이 안 느네요. I do study, but my grades aren’t getting better.
자느라고 자는데 하루 종일 피곤해요. I do sleep, but I’m tired all day.
깨끗하게 하느라고 했는데 아직 좀 지저분하네. I did try hard to clean up, but it’s still messy.
Note: some Koreans will tell you that the correct form of this is V노라고 V는데 because ~노라고 implies that the speaker has made an effort to do something. My teacher uses ~느라고 ~는데 and says it is correct though.
이미 벌어진 일이나 어떤 상태가 배경임을 나타낼 때 사용해요. 일상적인 대화나 비격식적인 상황에서 주로 써요.
It’s used to indicate what’s already happened or what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s usually used in daily conversations or in informal situations.
예문(example sentences):
1. 저희가 사귄다는 사실도 이제 다 알려진 마당에 뭘 더 숨기겠어요? What else can we hide now (given the circumstances) that everyone knows we’re dating?
2. 가: 이번 회사 체육대회에서 버려진 음식 쓰레기가 이렇게나 많아요. 너무 낭비예요. There is so many discarded food waste from the company athletic competition. It’s too wasteful. 나: 굶어 죽는 사람도 있는 마당에 이렇게 많은 음식을 버려서야 되겠습니까? How can you think about throwing away food given the circumstances that there are people starving to death?
3. 가: 그 회사와 계속 거래를 할 예정이에요? Are you going to keep doing business with them? 나: 이미 신뢰가 깨진 마당에 더 이상 이 회사와 거래할 수 없어요. Under the circustances that the trust already been broken, I can no longer deal with this company anymore.
‘(으)ㄴ/는 마당에’를 사용하여 대화를 완성하십시오. Use ‘(으)ㄴ/는 마당에’ and complete the sentence.
가: 요즘 새로 나온 휴대폰을 써 보니까 좋던데 너도 이번 기회에 한번 바뀌 보는 게 어때? 나: 아르바이트를 그만둬서 생활비도______새로운 휴대폰은 꿈도 못 꿔.
가: 어려운 일을 돕자는 의도는 좋지만 이렇게 돈을 많이 써 가며 행사를 진행할 필요가 있을까요? 나: 저도 동감이에요. 당장 작은 도움을 줄 수 있는 돈도 ______행상에 이렇게 많은 돈을 쓸 필요가 없다고 생각해요.
가: 대학 다닐 떄 공부 좀 열심히 할 걸 그랬어. 학점이 낮으니까 회사에 지원해도 번번이 서류 심사에서 떨어지는 것 같아. 나: 이미 ________후회한다고 점수가 바뀌냐? 자기소개에 좀 더 공을 들여 봐.
Although we’ve already covered the quoting grammar form in our translation of 식샤를 합시다 2, I want to make a quick note on the usage of it in this scene, as the usage is a little different.
As we’ve already covered, (이)라고 하다 is the noun quoting form, combining 이다 and the regular quoting form 다고 하다. For example:
He said that he was a doctor. 그가 의사라고 했어요.
If you already understand this form, you may still be confused listening to the players in this scene. Player 066 says ‘그럼 당신들도 끝장이라고!’ which technically could translate to ‘I said that you’re done for then!’ however, this player hasn’t mentioned 끝장 (an unfortunate end) or anything similar before this point. How can he be quoting something he hasn’t said?
Here’s the thing, 이라고 can be used when you’re saying something again, but can also be used when you’re trying to strongly express something that was already obvious in your previous statement. Previously, player 066 tells the guards ‘우리 안 풀어 주면 핸드폰 위치 추적이라도 해서 여기로 찾아올 거야!’ (If you don’t let us go, the police will track down this place using the GPS on our phones!). Although he hasn’t specifically stated that they’ll be finished, it’s obvious in what he is saying. Using (이)라고 simply emphasises this last point based on the prior information.
Honestly, in my opinion this usage is a nuisance since it’s a little difficult to use as a non-native speaker. There’s no real equivalent in English so it’s difficult to understand when to use it, and it’s a fairly uncommon grammar form to use too. The best thing to do is just keep this nuance in mind and look out for examples to refresh your memory.
In Korean, when describing a noun with a verb, you always use the core structure V+는 N. For example:
A student who studies. 공부하는 학생.
A flower which blooms. 피는 꽃.
A woman who walks. 걷는 여자.
Describing a noun with a verb allows you to then use this more detailed noun in a sentence, where you can add on a verb, adjective, or end it in 이다.
Students who study frequently get good grades, right? 자주공부하는 학생들이 좋은 성적을 얻죠.
The flower which blooms hugely is pretty. 크게피는 꽃이예뻐.
The girl who walks fast is young. 빨리걷는 여자는어려요.
는 게
The name of the grammatical principle used above is 는 것, with 것 meaning ‘thing’. Any noun can be substituted in for 것, as shown in the examples above. However, if using the basic form, 것, there is an additional rule which is important to learn. When 것 is used with the subject marker 이, this can be shortened to 게. Because of this, you may see 는 게 used alongside phrases such as 좋다, 싫다, and 아니다.
This is how 는 게 is used in this scene. The whole clause ‘여러분을 해치거나 돈을 받아 내려는 게 / To hurt you or take your money to pay your debts’ is made into a noun with 는 것이 so that 아니다 can be added in order to negate the whole clause. Again, the translation is accurate here, with the only thing missing being the nuance of respect that the Game Administrator is talking to the players with.
는 게 아니라
Using 는 게 아니라 between two clauses allows you to negate the first clause and instead propose the second clause as the truth. You may sometimes see this as 는 것 아니라, but the shortened version 는 게 아니라 is much more common and natural. Again, because this includes the 는 것 principle, this version of the form is used for verbs. Other versions of this form are A + 은/ㄴ 게 아니라 and N+ 이/가 아니라.
It’s not that I don’t like them, we just don’t get along well. 제가 그 사람을 싫어하는 게 아니라 우리는 그냥 잘 어울리지 못해요.
I’m not eating, I’m studying. 저는밥을먹는 아니라 공부하고 있어요.
The most delicious Korean food isn’t kimchi, it’s samgyeopsal. 가장 맛있는 한식은 김치가 아니라삼겹살이에요.
This particle is a shortened version of 무슨, meaning what / which one / what kind of. This is a contraction which sounds very informal, even when used with a formal sentence structure such as 습니다. It will sound rude if said to anyone older or anyone who you don’t know very well. Because of this, it’s fairly uncommon to hear this grammar being used unless you happen to be around a group of very close friends. Here are some examples of how it can be used:
What do you mean? 무슨말이야? 뭔말이야?
What jealousy?! / I’m not jealous! 무슨질투?! 뭔질투?!
뭔가
This grammar principle is actually a combination of 3 different forms: 무엇 (what / something), 이다 (it is / there is), and (으)ㄴ 가(요).
For a quick overview of (으)ㄴ 가(요), this is a sentence ending where the speaker is indirectly asking about something which they are curious about. It’s a softer, less direct way of asking a question and is best translated in English as ‘I wonder’. For example:
I wonder, how much is this? 이건얼마 인가요?
I wonder, will you come tomorrow? 내일도오실 건가요?
Combining these principles then, we have 무엇 + 이다(there is something or it is something), and then 무엇 인가(요) (I wonder if there is something, or I wonder if it is something). 무엇 인가(요) is almost always shortened to 뭔가(요).
I wonder…it’s something that you cant figure out, right? 뭔가모르겠지?
If it’s not that, I wonder what it is? 그게 아니라면 뭔가?
뭔가 Additional Meanings
Alongside the explanation above, there are two other ways in which 뭔가 can be used. Firstly, it can be used as a filler word when you are trying to pad out your speech or are struggling for your next word. Secondly, 뭐 and (으)ㄴ 가요 can sometimes simply mean ‘something’ without any nuance of indirect questioning, like in these examples:
I feel like something sweet. 뭔가 단 것이 땡긴다.
Yuseok, you have something on your face. 유석 씨의 얼굴에 뭔가묻었어요.
This second usage is what is being used in the example from the Game Administrator in this scene. He is saying that it seems (것 같다) that something (뭔가) has been misunderstood (오해가 있는것). Obviously then, the translation here is very accurate to what is actually being said.
중 means ‘middle’ and all of these grammar principles incorporate ‘middle’ or ‘between’ into their meaning in some way.
중의 and 중에
This grammar principle is used to indicate that a statement is being made about a group of people. The English equivalent would be ‘out of’ or ‘amongst’.
She is the youngest amongst three girls. 그녀는 세 자매 중의막내이다.
Amongst our group, someone is left handed. 우리중의 어떤 사람은 왼손잡이다.
중에 can be used in exactly the same way. The two are interchangeable in this context.
There is no such person amongst us. 그런 사람은 우리 중에는 없다.
중에 Additional Meanings
Although 중에 can be used to mean amongst a group, it can also be used to show that something is taking place in the middle of another action. This usage is a very literal combination of 중 and the particle 에. If this principle feels difficult to learn, one way to practise could be creating sentences using the particle 에 for time, and changing the first part of the sentence into something which was happening whilst the action takes place and adding in 중.
I happened to meet my friend at 12 o’clock. 12시에 친구를 우연히 만났다.
Whilst I was going home, I happened to meet my friend. 집에 가는 중에 친구를 우연히 만났다.
My doorbell suddenly rang whilst I was in the middle of cooking. 요리 하는 중에 갑자기 누가 초인종을 눌렸어요.
는 중
If you’re unfamiliar with English grammar, the present progressive tense is used when you are in the middle of a certain action, or when that action is in progress. In English, these words usually end in the -ing suffix (eg. studying, writing, reading). When studying Korean as a beginner, one of the first grammar principles that you learned was probably 고 있다, which is the Korean equivalent of this form, however, you can also use 는 중 to show that something is in the present progressive tense. This grammar is used in exactly the same way as 고 있다, as you can just place it directly onto the end of the verb stem. This form is slightly less common than 고 있다, but is still used quite frequently and is good for adding variation to your speech or writing.
I’m studying. 나는 공부하는 중이다.
My brother is on a blind date. 오빠가 미팅을 하는 중이에요.
You may have noticed that all of the previous examples for 중에 also incorporated the 는 particle. This is because these sentences used both the 는 중 and 중에 grammar principles simultaneously to indicate that something was already taking place, and whilst that happened something else occurred. Using these two forms combined is a great way to easily impress native Koreans since it shows that not only do you know two intermediate forms, you also know how to combine them.
A 하고 B 중에(서)
This principle is used to indicate that there is a choice between 2 or more things. This principle is extremely useful if a choice needs to be made between several options, or something needs to be distinguished. Although 하고 is commonly used, you can also use 과/와 and this would still be grammatically correct. You may also use 중에(서) after a the name of a group or a collective noun, as ‘group’ indicates that there are several things involved to choose/make a distinction from.
Between Busan and Seoul, where do you want to go? 부산하고 서울 중에 어디 가고 싶어요?
Between design and practicality, which do you think is more important? 디자인하고 실용성 중에서 어느 게 더 중요해요?
Between all of my classes, geography is my favourite. 수업 주에 지리 수업을 제일 좋아해요.
This grammar form is added to a word stem to indicate the reason why you feel gratitude for something. This form is really useful for Korean learners, as it can be used all the time to make you sound more polite and grateful towards the people around you, especially as Korean people can be very kind and giving towards others. A good way to translate this form would be ‘thanks to…’ and the typical structure for using it in a sentence would be the reason that you are thankful + ㄴ/은 덕분에 + the positive result. Here are some examples of how it can be used:
Student: Teacher, thanks to your help my English has really improved. 학생: 선생님께서 잘 가르쳐 주신 덕분에 제 영어 실력이 많이 좋아졌습니다.
Teacher: No, it’s because you worked so hard! 선생님: 아니에요. 열심히 공부해서 그런 거예요.
The work was finished a lot faster because we did it together. 다 같이 일을 나누어서 한 덕분에 생각보다 일이 빨리 끝났어요.
Thanks to my scholarship I studied at a good university overseas. 장학금 덕분에 좋은 외국 대학를 다녔어요.
Thanks to my kind Korean friend, I was able to adjust to life in Korea easily. 친한 한국 친구 덕분에 한국 생활에 쉽게 적응할 수 있었어요.
덕에
덕에 is simply the abbreviated form of 덕분에. This form can only be used in informal conversations since it’s much more casual. In the example from Squid Game, Gi-Hun is saying to Sang-Woo and Ali that it is thanks to the both of them that he is alive.
ㄴ/은/는가 보다 is a grammatical form used to indicate that what is being said is a guess or supposition. This is very similar to 것 같다, however the main difference between these two forms is that ㄴ/은/는가 보다 is only used when you have some kind of strong evidence to think that way.
Yonsei University explains this difference really well in their video which you can find here. If you were to look at a picture of some delicious looking food, then you could say 맛있을 것 같아요. If the food looks good, then it’s reasonable to assume that it probably tastes good too. Yet, there is no actual concrete evidence that it will taste good. It could look amazing and still taste awful. Because of this, you can’t use ㄴ/은/는가 보다 since there needs to be clear evidence. A good way to translate the difference would be like this:
것 같다 - It seems / I think / It’s probably ㄴ/은/는가 보다 - It must be
Here are some more examples:
Excuse me, could I please get some kimchi fried rice, kimchi jeon, kimchi jjigae, and lots of kimchi side dishes. 조기요, 김치볶음밥 하나랑 김치전 하나랑 김치 찌개 하나랑 김치 반찬 많이 주세요. Woah, that foreigner must love kimchi! 와, 그 외국인이 김치를 좋아하는가 봐요!
Student: Ugh, what is this?! 학생: 애이, 이게 뭐야?! Exam invigilator: I guess the test is really difficult. 시험 감독관: 시험이 어려운가 봐요.
This grammar form is conjugated differently depending on whether it’s used with a verb or an adjective. Here are the usage rules:
V+ 은/는가 보다 A+ ㄴ/은가 보다
There is also a shorted version of this form, which is used much more commonly than this full version. The shortened version is 나보다. This version is useful for us as Korean learners since this version doesn’t have any variations depending on usage. You can simply take the word stem and add 나보다. This is the version which is used in the scene. Do-Yeon says ‘천하의 보험왕도 별수 없나 봐요,’ meaning that in this world, even being the king of insurance must not be anything special.
When literally translated, 한 사람 means ‘one person’. The actual meaning of this grammar isn’t too far off the literal translation. This grammatical rule can be used to say ‘the person who’, or ‘the one who’. As with the English equivalent, this is used to highlight the person in particular who carried out a certain action. Here are some examples:
They were all destroyed. Even the (one who was) the last man. 그들은 모두 처치되었다. 마지막 한 사람까지.
She is the only one who is suited to the job. 그녀가 그일자리에 맞는 단 한 사람이다.
Who is the one who said that this movie was good (it’s terrible and I want to pick a fight). 이 영화 재미있다고 한 사람누구야?!
Which one of you said that it wasn’t going to be cold here? (I didn’t bring a jacket and it’s your fault). 여기 안 춥다고 한 사람누구야?
In this scene, Kyu-Sik is saying ‘아이, 그래도 이년 연속 보험왕까지 한 사람인데요.’ In our last lesson, we went through how the use of the auxiliary 까지 creates the meaning ‘Even for the insurance king?!’. Without 한 사람, this would be a perfectly fine sentence which conveys the same meaning. 한 사람 just adds the nuance of asking how can De-Young in particular be having a hard time since he’s the person who’s held the title of insurance king for 2 years running. It allows the suggestion that De-Young should be exempt from having a hard time due to his skills, but times are so difficult that even he is struggling.
더 is a grammar particle which is used to show that something is being remembered from the past. If you combine 더 and -ㄴ/은, this grammar particle becomes 던. The most common usage of this form is when you are remembering something that has changed, or which is from your past.
This may seem like a small nuance but it is important to learn as it’s a very common form and if you as a Korean learner use it, it will make your sentences sound more natural by giving some variation and emotion to what you say. Here is an example:
A small house 작은 집
A house that I remember being small 작던 집
ㅆ던
There is also a past tense variation of this form, which may seem confusing since this form already refers to something that has happened in the past. This conjugation is a little difficult to understand, but here is the difference between them:
던 - something from the past that continues into present day. ㅆ 던 - something from the past that finished or is no longer the same.
Why are you studying a book that you already studied before? 왜 전에 공부하던책을 계속 공부해요?
I want to go to that park that we used to visit often. 우리가 자주 가던 공원에 다시 가고 싶어요.
I went t the school that I used to study at. 데가 공부했던 학교에 갔어요.
In the first two examples, the action that is being remembered is still taking place, so the past tense conjugation isn’t used. In the final example, they no longer study at the school. The action that they are reminiscing about has ended, so the past tense conjugation is appropriate here.
던데(요)
Once you understand the other forms of 던, 던데(요) is very simple to understand as it just combines 던 and 는데(요). Again, this adds nuance, as it more or less translates to ‘but I remember’, or ‘I remember…though’.
In the show, Do-Yeon says ‘가뜩이나 요즘 돈벌이도 시원찮은 것 같던데’. Translated, this means ‘moreover, from that I remember (던데) it seems (것 같다) hard to make money these days’.
If you’ve been following this blog so far, or if you’re an intermediate learner, you should be able to pick this form up really easily. 대요 is simply the contracted version of the quoting form 다고 하다. It’s usually only used in informal conversation. Here is a quick recap of the 다로 하다 form in case you’ve forgotten.
Active verb stem + ㄴ/는다고 하다 Descriptive verb stem + 다고 하다
I said that I want to go. 가고 싶다고 했어요. 가고 싶대요.
Did you say that you like kimchi? 제가 김치를 좋아한다고 했어요? 제가 김치를 좋아한대요?
래요
Similarly to 대요, 래요 is the contracted version of the quoting form. In this instance, however, 래요 is the contracted form of (이)라고 하다, the quoting form for nouns.
I said “it’s an apple”. 사과라고 했어요. 사과래요.
Be careful not to confuse this with the very similar form (으)라고 하다 which is also shortened to 래요, as this has a different meaning where you are showing that something is an imperative.
My parents say that now I’m over 20 years old, I must be independent. 부모님은 저한테 스무 살이 넘었으니까 독립하라고 해요. 부모님은 저한테 스무 살이 넘었으니까 독립하래요.
재요
Again, 재요 is a contracted quotation form, this time relating to the command quotation form 자고 하다.
This principle has a few different ways that it can be translated in English depending on how it is used, but the main purpose of it is to express futility. Because of this, translations can include ‘don’t bother’, ‘there’s no point’, ‘it’s a waste of time’, or ‘even if you try X, Y will happen anyway’. Here are some examples:
There’s no point talking to my parents honestly, they won’t believe me. 부모님은 내가 솔직하게 말해 봤자 내 말을 믿지 않으실 거예요.
Even if you go now, you’ll be late anyway. 지금가 봤자 늦었을 거예요.
Don’t bother going. 가 봤자예요.
In this scene, Kyu-sik asked Do-yeon if Dae-young eventually paid all of the settlement money. Do-yeon is responding by highlighting that he had to, mentioning that… Even if he tried to take the problem to court, it would just be a waste of time and money. 어차피 이런 싸움 재판까지 가 봤자 시간 버리고, 돈 버리는 거.
You may also see (으)나 마나 used in place of 아/어 봤자 sometimes. These two principles have identical meanings and can more or less be swapped out in place of one another.
(Sorry for the late post; I didn’t realize that I queued my Saturday pot incorrectly this week!)
Happy Saturday (or Friday evening depending on your time zone), everyone! Today I bring you an advanced grammar point that is really simple, and that can really help you sound more expressive. Have you ever spent so much time at a friend’s house that you might as well have been living there? Ever done so much work on a group project that you practically could say you did it all on your own? It’s cases like those where today’s grammar, -다시피 하다, is useful.
Function
-다시피 하다 is great when you want to indicate that something was done to such an extent that one could practically say that something else, typically more extreme, was accomplished. That’s a bit of a mouthful, so let’s check out some examples:
I did so much work on this group presentation that I practically completed it alone.
Jaejoon sleeps over at his girlfriend’s house so much he practically lives there.
In these cases, working on group presentations and a guy sleeping over at his girlfriend’s house are pretty mundane things. However, so much work was done by one person that the project was almost completed alone! And our fictional Jaejoon stayed over at his girlfriend’s house so much that he might as well have been living there. This grammar lends itself very easily to exaggerations just like “practically” does in English when used in this manner.
Usage
To use this grammar, attach -다시피 to the root of an action verb and conjugate 하다 after 다시피 to the appropriate tense for what you are trying to convey.
그룹 발표를 준비하는 데 이것저것을 많이 해서 혼자서 다 완성하다시피 했다. (I did so much work on this group presentation that I practically completed it alone.)
재준 씨는 여자 친구네 집에서 자주 잠 자서 거기서 살다시피 하고 있어요. (Jaejoon sleeps over at his girlfriend’s house so much he practically lives there.)
원경 씨는 공부를 안 해서 시험 날에 답을 찍다시피 해서 답안지를 냈다. (Wongyeong didn’t study, so on test day she practically guessed all the answers and turned in the test sheet.)
에세이를 수정했을 때 고칠 게 너무 많아서 결국에 에세이를 새로 쓰다시피 했어요. (When I edited my essay there were so many things to fix that in the end I practically wrote a new essay.)
