Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 8 - Advanced Korean #1 (Lessons 211 to 240) ᚛ Lesson 215 - It depends on in Korean [-기 나름이다] [에 달려 있다]
It depends on in Korean [-기 나름이다] [에 달려 있다]
To say that something "depends on", Korean has two main structures. -기 나름이다, "it depends on how you…", says that the result hinges on the way an action is carried out: 생각하기 나름이에요, "it all depends on how you look at it". 에 달려 있다, literally "to hang on", says what something depends on: a noun (운에 달려 있어요, "it depends on luck") or a whole question with -느냐에 달려 있다 (얼마나 노력하느냐에 달려 있어요, "it depends on how much effort you put in"). In the lesson on 에 따라, we saw "according to", "depending on"; here, the dependence itself is the predicate of the sentence.
"It depends on how" with -기 나름이다
The noun 나름 means "each one's own way". Preceded by a verb nominalized with -기 and followed by the copula 이다, it forms a predicate:
[Subject]은/는 [Stem]기 나름이다
The sentence presents a result (the subject) as depending entirely on the way the verb's action is carried out. The verb is usually an action verb whose agent is a person: 하기 나름, 생각하기 나름, 마음먹기 나름, 노력하기 나름. The structure is frequent in speech, often to encourage or to put things into perspective: "it's up to you", "it's all a matter of…".
이번 대회에 쟁쟁한 경쟁자들이 참여하겠지만 경기 결과는 민지가 마음먹기 나름이야.
→ There will be formidable competitors at this tournament, but the result depends on how determined Minji is.
아이들이 어른들을 어떻게 대하는지는 부모가 아이를 교육하기 나름이다.
→ How children treat adults depends on how their parents raise them.
어떤 곳이든지 일하면서 인정받고 안 받고는 내가 하기 나름이라고 생각해요.
→ Wherever I work, I think whether I get recognized or not depends only on me.
주관적인 부분의 옳고 그름은 본인이 판단하기 나름이다.
→ On subjective matters, right and wrong depend on each person's own judgment.
민지야, 면접 결과는 네가 면접관들의 질문에 대답하기 나름이야.
→ Minji, the result of the interview will depend on how you answer the interviewers' questions.
진정한 친구를 만들기가 어렵다고 하지만 그건 네가 노력하기 나름이야.
→ They say it's hard to make true friends, but it depends on how much effort you put in.
계속 부정적으로 생각하지 말고, 이번 일을 통해 얻은 것도 분명 있잖아. 모든 문제는 결국 생각하기 나름이야.
→ Stop seeing everything in a negative light, there's surely something you gained from this too. In the end, everything depends on how you look at it.
With a noun, we simply use [Noun] 나름이다, "it depends on the…": 그건 사람 나름이에요., "it depends on the person". Don't confuse it with 나름대로, "in one's own way, for one's part" (나름대로 열심히 했어요, "I did my best, in my own way").
"To depend on" with [Noun]에 달려 있다
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