Korean grammar · Level 3 · 3급
-거든요
…, you see
-거든요 gives a reason or a piece of background the listener didn't know — like adding “you see” in English. It usually comes in its own sentence, after the thing you're explaining. It can also open a story, setting up what comes next. It isn't used in questions.
Examples
오늘은 못 가요. 내일 시험이 있거든요.
I can't go today. I've got an exam tomorrow, you see.
나이에 따라 부르는 말이 달라지거든요.
What you call someone changes with their age, you see.
제가 어제 시장에 갔거든요. 그런데 호떡 가게가 없어졌어요.
So I went to the market yesterday — and the hotteok stall was gone.
Practise it in context · Level 3, Unit 6
I heard it's different in Korea
A dialogue with audio, practice that checks itself, Hoya’s mistakes, a reading and a writing task.
Open the unit →