But Korean’s easy? Ehhh..

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!

verb ~(으)ㄴ걸(요), noun ~인걸(요) = shows protestation or regret

열쇠는 니가 가진걸, 나한테 왜 물어봐? = you have the keys, why are you asking me?
너무 늦게 왔어. 표가 다 팔린걸 = I came too late. The tickets were all sold out .
저는 정신이 멀쩡한 걸요 = I’m as sober as I can be.

왜 나를 떠나? 너는 나의 처음이자 마지막인걸 = Why are you leaving me? You are my first and last.

~(으)ㄹ 걸 (그랬다) = shows regret

공부를 더 열심히 할 걸 = I should have studied more.
나도 생일파티에 갈걸 그랬다 = If only I went to the party.
아, 배고파. 아침을 먹을 걸 = Aw, I’m hungry. I should have eaten breakfast.
그 여자한테 전화번호를 물어볼 걸 그랬다 = I wish I asked her phone number.
미안해. 너한테 미리 말을 할 걸 = Sorry. I should have told you before.
학교에 안올걸 = I wish I did not came to school.
그 영화 재밌어? 나도 같이 볼걸 그랬다 = Is the movie good? I wish I watched it with you, too.

~(으)ㄹ걸요, ~았/었을걸요 = unconfirmed assumption or proposition, probably

(*this is use only in speaking with friends, never written)

진영 씨는 똑똑할걸요 = JinYoung is probably pretty smart
드라마 배우 일걸요 = He’s probably a drama star.
여기에 앉을걸 = I guess you could sit here.
그 분은 게을렀을걸요 = He was probably just lazy.
책을 읽었을걸요 = I probably read that book.
그 책은 외국 학생이 읽기에 좀 어려울걸요 = I guess that book probably will be difficult for foreign student to read.
알잖아요, 나이든 어른들은 뷔페를 싫어하시는 걸요 = You know, the older people don’t like buffets

~는 것 – verb into noun

–는 것/거 (present)
-(으)ㄴ 것 (past)
-(으)ㄹ 것 (future)

(verb~ing / the act of verb~ing / thing that you do, did, will do)

먹은 것 = thing you ate
먹는 것 = thing you eat, eating, the act of eating
먹을 것 = thing you will eat

산 것 = thing you bought
사는 것 = thing that you buy, buying, the act of buying
살 것 = thing you will buy

지금 듣는 거는 노래예요 = What I am listening to now is a song.
오늘 만나는 것 알아요? = Do you know that we are meeting today?
매운 것 잘 먹어요? = Are you good at eating spicy foods?
제 취미는 영화 보는 거예요? = my hobby is watching movies.
요즘 공부하는 거는 뭐예요? = what is it that you are studying recently?
저는 친구랑 수다떠는 거를 좋아해요 = I like chitchatting with my friends.

in speaking, 는 것 = 는 거, 는 것은 = 는 건, 는 것이 = 는 게, 는 것을 = 는 걸