Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 7 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #2 (Lessons 181 to 210) ᚛ Lesson 196 - After finishing in Korean [-고 나서] [-고 나면] [-고 나니까]
After finishing in Korean [-고 나서] [-고 나면] [-고 나니까]
You already know -(으)ㄴ 후에 to say "after doing…". Korean has another construction, built on the verb 나다, "to come out, to occur", which stresses that the first action is fully completed before the next one: -고 나다, "to be done with". It is not used on its own but with three connectors you already know, which give it three meanings: -고 나서, "after finishing", -고 나면, "once…", and -고 나니(까), "after doing…, I realized that".
After finishing with -고 나서
To link two actions while marking that the first one is over, we use the following structure:
[Completed action 1: … Stem]고 나서 [Action 2]
Compared to a simple -고, which links two actions in order, -고 나서 underlines the completion of the first one: "once you are done eating", "after the meeting, once it is over". The tense is carried by the second verb, and the structure is used with action verbs only.
우리 밥 다 먹고 나서 커피랑 디저트 먹으러 가요. 근처에 유명한 카페가 있대요.
→ Once we are done eating, let's go get coffee and dessert. I hear there is a famous café nearby.
앞으로는 네가 무슨 말을 하고 싶은지 생각부터 정리하고 나서 이야기했으면 좋겠어.
→ From now on, I would like you to sort out what you want to say first, and then speak.
마크는 한국 교환학생으로 합격이 되고 나서 전보다 더 열심히 한국어 공부를 했어요.
→ Once he was accepted as an exchange student in Korea, Mark studied Korean even harder than before.
오늘 최대한 빨리 과제를 끝내고 나서 친구들과 동네에서 치맥을 먹기로 했어요.
→ I decided to finish my homework as fast as possible today and then go have chicken and beer with friends in the neighborhood.
네가 어제 가고 나서 조금 있다가 재현이가 가게에 와서 널 찾던데 연락 못 받았어?
→ A little after you left yesterday, Jaehyun came by the shop looking for you, did he not get in touch?
좀 전에 밖에서 모래놀이했으니까 화장실에서 손부터 씻고 나서 간식 먹자.
→ You were playing in the sand outside just now, so let's wash our hands in the bathroom first, and then have a snack.
Once with -고 나면
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After doing…, I realize with -고 나니(까)
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Exercises
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Podcasts in Korean specially designed for beginners, to learn Korean by really listening to it from the very beginning.
You’re starting to learn Korean (or you already know the basics), but as soon as you listen to spoken Korean, everything suddenly feels too fast?
The words blend together, the pronunciation escapes you, and you feel like “real Korean” is very different from what you learned in textbooks.
That’s normal!
Listening comprehension is the most difficult part for all beginners.
