Korean grammar · Level 4 · 4급
-던 차에
Just when I was …
-던 차에 means “just as I was (doing or thinking about) something…”, and then something happens that fits the moment — often a lucky chance. It also appears with some adjectives: 심심하던 차에, “just when I was getting bored”. -(으)려던 차에 means “just as I was about to”. At the end of a sentence, -(으)려던 차였어요 answers “I was just about to!”.
| When | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in the middle of | V-던 차에 | 일을 찾던 차에 · 심심하던 차에 |
| about to | V-(으)려던 차에 | 전화하려던 차에 · 나가려던 차에 |
Examples
안 그래도 전화하려던 차에 친구한테서 전화가 왔어요.
I was just about to call when my friend called me.
새 일을 찾던 차에 좋은 기회가 생겼어요.
Just as I was looking for a new job, a good opportunity came up.
심심하던 차에 소리쌤이 호떡을 사 오셨어요.
Just when I was getting bored, Sori-ssaem came back with hotteok.
Practise it in context · Level 4, Unit 6
The king who made an alphabet
A dialogue with audio, practice that checks itself, Hoya’s mistakes, a reading and a writing task.
Open the unit →