thekimchibear:

To avoid harshness or directness of questions or statements in Korean, there is a lot of grammar used to soften language. One piece of grammar that I could never quite grasp was 뭐뭐~(ㄴ/는)걸. This is actually a conjunction (but), so generally the first sentence is assumed.
So lets compare it to a few other easier bits of grammar.

~네 – Direct statement / question
맛있네? – “But this is tasty?**’
맛있네 –  “This is tasty.”

~(ㄴ/는)데 – Contrasting statement / question
맛있는데? – “But this is delicious?**”
맛있는데 – “This is delicious, but~”

** – These are rhetorical answers that provide a passive form of contradiction

~(ㄴ/는)걸 – Indirect supposition
맛있는걸? – “It tastes better than I expected.”

Basic Conversation:
A: 벌써 11시네?
B: 피곤하네 ㅠㅠ
A: 그래도 졸리진 않은데?
B: 피곤한데 더 놀고 싶어
… 놀고싶은데 피곤한걸
A: 그럼 너 이제 자야겠는걸?

A: It’s already 11 o’clock?
B: I’m tired ㅠㅠ
A: Still, are you not sleepy?
B: I’m tired, but I want to hang out more.
… I want to hang out, but I’m more tired than I expected.
A: Then you should probably get some sleep now?

So as you can see, a lot of the meaning comes from the intonation of the speaker. (ㄴ/는)데 can be positive or negative depending on the inflection in the person’s voice or following comments. However, (ㄴ/는)걸 is an indirect way to speak (as if you’re speaking to yourself) to soften unexpected negative answers.

Ex. “먹을래? (Want to eat?)” “이미 먹었는걸?” This may seem like you’re saying “But I already ate?” but is really an indirect way to say “Sorry, I already ate.”
As a native English speaker this may seem weird, but these are the nuances that help us truly become fluent. 🙂 This form is very informal so use it among friends.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!