Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 7 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #2 (Lessons 181 to 210) ᚛ Lesson 186 - Reacting to an event in Korean [-다니] [-(ㄴ/는)다니]
Reacting to an event in Korean [-다니] [-(ㄴ/는)다니]
In Korean, to react to a fact that surprises us, delights us, saddens us or seems unbelievable to us, we use the ending -다니, which is often translated as "to think that…", "I can’t believe that…" or "how can one…". In this chapter, we are going to explore the -다니 structure, which expresses an emotional reaction to a fact, followed by -(ㄴ/는)다니, which can also express surprise or disbelief and may be used to react to something someone has said.
Reacting to a fact with -다니
-다니 in the middle of a sentence
The -다니 structure allows us to express a reaction to a fact. Although -다니 is mainly used to express surprise, it is also common to use it in situations of joy, sadness, disbelief, or simply to react to a fact. It is used in the following manner:
[Action: … Stem]다니 [Reaction]
The stem stays in the present tense, even when the fact is in the past: we react to the fact itself, taken as a whole. It is however possible to add the past tense -았/었 (-았/었다니) to insist on the fact being accomplished, as in the last example below.
평소에는 매운 거 못 먹는 네가 이 매운 음식을 먹다니 너무 놀랐어.
→ I was really surprised that you, who usually can’t handle spicy food, ate this spicy dish.
나랑 몇 달 전에 약속한 것을 잊어버리다니 어떻게 그럴 수가 있어?
→ Forgetting what you promised me a few months ago… How could you do that?
어렵다는 대기업 입사 시험에 한 번에 합격하다니 정말 대단한 것 같아.
→ Passing the entrance exam of a major company, known to be difficult, on the first try… I think that’s really impressive.
이 시간이면 학교에 있어야 하는데 아직도 집에서 자고 있다니 너무 한심해.
→ At this hour, you should be at school, and you’re still sleeping at home: that’s pathetic.
비자를 받기가 너무 어려웠는데 드디어 한국에 가게 되다니 너무 설레요!
→ Getting the visa was so hard… To think that I’m finally going to Korea, I’m so excited!
남자친구가 집에 돌아간 줄 알았는데 지금까지 저를 기다렸다니 마음이 좋지 않았습니다.
→ I thought my boyfriend had gone home, but he had been waiting for me all this time: I felt bad about it.
With 이다 and 아니다: -(이)라니
With the verb 이다, the -다니 structure becomes:
- If the noun ends in a vowel: [Noun]라니 [Reaction]
- If the noun ends in a consonant: [Noun]이라니 [Reaction]
With 아니다, we get in the same way:
[Noun]이/가 아니라니 [Reaction]
벌써 우리가 알고 지낸 지 20년이라니 시간이 정말 빨리 가는 것 같아.
→ To think that we have already known each other for twenty years… Time really flies.
그때 네가 말한 소문이 사실이라니 정말 믿을 수가 없어.
→ The rumor you told me about back then is true? I really can’t believe it.
진짜 거짓말이 아니라니 이번 한 번은 네 말을 믿어 볼게.
→ Since you say it’s really not a lie, I’ll trust you, just this once.
In this last example, the speaker reacts to what the listener has just said. In such contexts, -(이)라니 can also be understood as a contracted form of -(이)라고 하다니, which we will discuss further below.
-다니(요) at the end of a sentence
It is also possible to end a sentence with -다니 in the casual style and with -다니요 in the polite style. In this case, the ending itself conveys an emotional reaction, such as surprise, admiration, or disbelief, without requiring a separate clause expressing that reaction:
[Action: … Stem]다니(요)
먹방을 하면서 지금까지 그렇게 많이 먹었는데 이걸 또 먹다니! 넌 정말 대단하구나!
→ You’ve already eaten so much during your mukbang, and you’re eating this too! You’re incredible!
이렇게 귀한 선물을 주시다니요. 정말 감사합니다.
→ Giving me such a precious gift… Thank you so much.
Reacting to what we have heard with -(ㄴ/는)다니
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Differences between -다니 and -(ㄴ/는)다니
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Exercises
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Particles are omnipresent in Korean. They indicate the role of words in a sentence, nuance meaning, and make it possible to understand who does what, where, how, and why.
Particles are also often the aspect that causes the most difficulty for Korean learners. In grammar books, they are usually presented in the middle of long sentences, with complex vocabulary, without being clearly highlighted.
With Korean Particles, we made the opposite choice:
taking the time to explain each particle, one by one, using very simple sentences, accessible even to beginners.
