Lesson 27
-잖아(요) is a very popular ending in Korean and often causes trouble for speakers of other languages when trying to figure out the meaning as it has no direct translation. This ending is used often in various contexts; therefore, the meaning can vary, but -잖아요 is most commonly used when asking the other person to agree with you or when correcting the other person’s remark.
Meaning of -잖아(요)
-잖아(요) originally comes from the structure V + -지 않아(요) (Go to Level 1 Lesson 21 to review this grammar point), which means “to not + V”, but in its current use it has an independent meaning which is quite different from the original form.
When attaching -잖아(요) to a verb stem, the sentence takes the meaning of “You see?”, “No, that is not true. In fact, ...”, “Come on, ...”, etc. Therefore, this structure can be used when correcting what someone else said or when insisting that what you are saying or have said is correct. -잖아(요) can sometimes be used when providing an excuse or a reason for something.
Conjugation
Verb/adjective stem + -잖아 (Casual form)
Verb/adjective stem + -잖아요 (Polite form)
Verb/adjective stem + -잖습니까 (Formal form)
Past Tense
Verb/adjective stem + -았/었/였 + -잖아(요)
Future Tense
Verb/adjective stem + -(으)ㄹ 거 + -잖아(요)
Examples and comparisons with -지 않아(요)
1. 춥다 = to be cold
Plain present tense: 추워요.
Verb stem: 춥
-잖아(요) form: 춥잖아요.
= Come on, it is cold.
= You see? It is cold.
= No, that is not true. It is cold! (You are correcting someone else’s remark.)
= It is because it is cold.
-지 않아(요) form: 춥지 않아요.
= It is not cold.
* “안 추워요” is much more often used in everyday spoken Korean.
2. 하다 = to do
Plain present tense: 해요.
Verb stem: 하
-잖아(요) form: 하잖아요.
= As you see, I am doing it now.
= No, that is not correct. I will do (it).
= I am doing it now. Give me a break.
-지 않아(요) form: 하지 않아요.
= I do not do it.
* “안 해요” is more casual and often used in everyday spoken Korean.
Sample Sentences
어제 말했잖아요.
= I told you yesterday! (Don’t you remember?)
= Come on, I told you yesterday (already).
귀엽잖아요.
= Because it is cute!
= You see? It is cute!
= Isn’t it obvious? It is cute!
어차피 내일도 시간 있잖아요.
= We also have time tomorrow, anyway. Give me a break.
= Don’t you see that we also have time tomorrow?
= Why not? We still have time tomorrow, right?
오늘 일요일이잖아요.
= Come on, it is Sunday today.
= It is because it is Sunday today!
알잖아요.
= Come on… you know.
= You know exactly (what I am talking about).