Lesson 23
In this lesson, we are going to take a look at how to say “maybe because...” in Korean. The structure you use to say this is -아/어/여서인지 and is comprised of -아/어/여서 combined with -인지.
-아/어/여서 = because
-인지 = whether or not
In this structure, the phrase 모르겠지만 (= I do not know but) is actually an omitted phrase after -인지. So in full, the structure is -아/어/여서인지 모르겠지만 (= I do not know if it is because … but), but 모르겠지만 is very commonly dropped. In addition to 모르겠지만, other similar phrases may be omitted in the same way, such as 확실하지 않지만 (= it is not certain but), 정확히 알 수 없지만 (= cannot know exactly but), and more.
Ex) 일요일이어서인지* 사람이 많네요.
= Maybe because it is a Sunday, there are a lot of people.
* 일요일이어서인지 = 일요일이다 + -아/어/여서인지
Original form
일요일이어서인지 모르겠지만, 사람이 많네요.
= I do not know if it is because it is a Sunday, but there are a lot of people.
Variations
- 그래서인지 = maybe because of that
Ex) 그래서인지 오늘 기분이 안 좋아 보이더라고요.
= Maybe because of that, he did not seem to be in a good mood today.
* 그래서인지 is often shortened to 그래선지, especially in colloquial situations. - 어쩌면 -아/어/여서인지 = maybe because...(어쩌면 = maybe, perhaps)
Ex) 어쩌면 너무 많이 떨어뜨려서인지 제 휴대폰이 갑자기 안 켜져요.
= Maybe because I dropped it too much, my phone suddenly will not turn on. - -아/어/여서인지 몰라도 = I do not know if it is because… but
Ex) 모임 장소가 너무 멀어서인지 몰라도, 참가자가 적었어요.
= I do not know if it was because the meetup place was too far away, but there were not many participants.
Alternative expressions
- -기 때문인지 = maybe because…
Instead of using -아/어/여서 to mean “because”, you can also use -기 때문 + -인지 to express almost the same meaning.
Ex) 잠을 너무 많이 자서인지 허리가 아파요. = 잠을 너무 많이 잤기 때문인지 허리가 아파요.
= Maybe because I slept too much, my lower back is aching. - -아/어/여서 그런지 = maybe because …
If you add 그렇다 to -인지 to form 그런지, the expression becomes -아/어/여서 그런지. This does not change the overall meaning of the sentence, but just makes the sentence a little softer and more colloquial. -아/어/여서 그렇다 literally means “it is like that because …”
Ex) 아까 콜라를 너무 많이 마셔서인지 배가 아파요. = 아까 콜라를 너무 많이 마셔서 그런지 배가 아파요.
= Maybe because I drank too much cola earlier, my stomach hurts.
Sample Sentences
오늘 커피를 너무 많이 마셔서인지 잠이 잘 안 와요.
= Maybe because I had too much coffee today, I cannot sleep.
날씨가 좋아서인지 바닷가에 가고 싶어졌어요.
= Maybe because the weather is good, now I feel like going to the ocean.
살이 좀 빠져서인지 더 젊어 보여요.
= Maybe because you have lost some weight, you look younger.
제가 어제 잠을 많이 못 자서인지 오늘은 공부에 집중이 안 돼요.
= Maybe because I did not sleep well last night, I cannot focus on studying today.
바람이 많이 불어서인지 어제보다 추운 것 같아요.
= Maybe because it is very windy, it feels like it is colder than yesterday.