Lesson 14

When you see or hear something that is very interesting, ridiculous, or hard to believe, you can express your reaction by using the grammar structure -다니/라니. This structure is used in various forms based on what comes before it.

Conjugation

Present tense:
Verb stem + -다니
Noun + (이)다 or -이/가 아니다 + -라니

Past tense:
Verb stem + -았/었/였다니
Noun + (이)다 or -이/가 아니다 + -었/였다니

When using this structure, you first mention the "circumstance", followed by -다니/라니, and then express your reaction to the circumstance. Your reaction is usually expressed through phrases like 신기하다 (to be interesting), 믿을 수가 없다 (to be impossible to believe), 화가 나다 (to be upsetting), 말이 안 되다 (to make no sense), and more.

Sample Sentences

5월에 눈이 오다니 너무 신기하네요.
= It is so interesting that it is snowing in May.

또 거짓말을 하다니 정말 화가 나네요.
= It makes me so angry that they lied again.

이게 백만 원이라니 너무 비싼 거 아니에요?
= This costs 1,000,000 won? Isn't it too expensive?

아직도 안 왔다니 이게 말이 되나요?
= He is still not here? Can you believe it?

저 사람이 범인이 아니라니 말도 안 돼.
= He is not the culprit? No way.

Omitting the part after -다니/라니
When it is easy to guess the speaker’s intended meaning after -다니/라니, the phrase following -다니/라니 is often omitted. In these instances, the sentence ends with -다니! or -라니! as an exclamation. The exact translation of these kinds of sentences depends on the context of the conversation.

5월에 눈이 오다니!
= (I cannot believe that) it is snowing in May!
또 거짓말을 하다니!
= (I cannot believe that) he lied again!
이게 100만 원이라니!
= This costs 1,000,000 won! (It is ridiculous!)

-(ㄴ/는)다니
-(ㄴ/는)다니, which is short for -(ㄴ/는)다고 하니, has another usage. As you learned in Level 5 Lesson 17, -(ㄴ/는)다고 하다 means “to say that S + V”, and -니 is the same as -니까. Therefore, -(ㄴ/는)다니 literally means “since someone says that S + V”.

Ex)
제이슨 씨도 한국어를 공부하신다니 제 책을 드릴게요.
= Since you said that you are also studying Korean, Jason, let me give you my book.

은희 씨 이사 간 집은 회사에서 가깝다니 다행이네요.
= I heard that Eunhee’s new house is close to the office. That’s a relief.

-(ㄴ/는)다니 can also be used to express your reaction when you see or hear something that is very interesting, ridiculous, or hard to believe.

Ex)
제이슨 씨가 한국을 떠난다니!
= (I cannot believe that) Jason is leaving Korea!

이걸 익히지도 않고 먹는다니!
= (I cannot believe that) you eat this uncooked!

Then, what is the difference between -다니 and -(ㄴ/는)다니?

Using -다니 implies that you are expressing your reaction as you experience something, whereas using -(ㄴ/는)다니 implies that you are expressing your reaction to something after hearing about it.

Ex)
(1)
제이슨 씨가 한국을 떠나다니! = (I cannot believe that) Jason is leaving Korea! / (I cannot believe that) Jason has left Korea!
제이슨 씨가 한국을 떠난다니! = (I heard and I cannot believe that) Jason is leaving Korea!

You can say the first sentence either as you hear the news that Jason is leaving Korea, or right after you find out that Jason has just left Korea. However, you cannot say the second sentence if Jason has already left Korea. If he has already left, you would say 제이슨 씨가 한국을 떠났다니!

(2)
이걸 익히지도 않고 먹다니! = (I cannot believe that) you are eating this uncooked! / (I cannot believe that) you just ate this uncooked!
이걸 익히지도 않고 먹는다니! = (I heard and I cannot believe that) you eat this uncooked!

You can say the first sentence either as you watch someone eating something uncooked or right after you see someone eating something uncooked. You cannot say the second sentence if someone has already eaten something uncooked.

Since -(ㄴ/는)다고 can be used to quote future tense sentences, you can also express your reaction with -(ㄴ/는)다니 when you see or hear something about the future. You cannot talk about the future with -다니.

Ex)
제이슨 씨가 다음 달에 한국을 떠나다니! (unnatural)
제이슨 씨가 다음 달에 한국을 떠난다니! (natural)
= (I cannot believe that) Jason is leaving Korea next month!

-(으)라니

When someone tells you to do something and you find it very interesting, ridiculous, or hard to believe, you can express your reaction using -(으)라니, which is short for -(으)라고 하다니.

Sample Sentences

이걸 혼자 다 하라니 말도 안 돼요.
= Telling me to do this all by myself makes no sense.

두 시간 걸려서 왔는데 다시 집에 가라니! 싫어요.
= Are you telling me to go back home, even though it took me two hours to come here? I don’t want to.

팔 굽혀 펴기를 100개 하라니... 하고 싶어도 못 해요.
= (I cannot believe that) you are telling me to do 100 push-ups. I cannot do it even if I wanted to.

이렇게 더운데 에어컨을 켜지 말라니 너무해요.
= Telling us not to turn on the air conditioner when it is this hot is so mean.