Lesson 18
In the previous lesson, we learned how to say, “They say...”, or “I hear that...” in Korean in order to re-tell someone what you have heard from someone else. The structures used for saying these are -(ㄴ/는)대(요) and -(이)래(요).
Let us review a little bit.
1.
제 친구가 지금 바빠요. = My friend is busy now.
→ 제 친구가 지금 바쁘대요. = My friend says that she is busy now.
2.
이게 제일 좋은 거예요. = This is the best one.
→ 이게 제일 좋은 거래요. = They say that this is the best one.
In this lesson, we will look at the following structures:
1. -(ㄴ/는)다던데(요)
2. -(이)라던데(요)
Both of these are very similar to the structures introduced in the previous lesson. -(느)ㄴ다던데(요) is similar to -(ㄴ/는)대(요) (from the first review sentence above) and -(이)라던데(요) is similar to -(이)래(요). Just like -(ㄴ/는)대(요) is an abbreviation of -(ㄴ/는)다고 해(요), -(ㄴ/는)다던데(요) is an abbreviation of -(ㄴ/는)다고 하던데(요). The same applies to -(이)래(요) and -(이)라던데(요).
Difference Between -(ㄴ/는)대(요) and -(ㄴ/는)다던데(요)
Whereas -(ㄴ/는)대(요) is used to mainly just retell a story or deliver certain information, when you use -(ㄴ/는)다던데(요), you imply that you want some kind of reaction or response from the listener.
지금 와요. = She is coming now.
지금 온대요. = She says she is coming now.
지금 온다던데요. = She says she is coming now. (+ So should we wait? / What do you think?)
그 사람 유명해요. = He is famous.
그 사람 유명하대요. = They say he is famous.
그 사람 유명하다던데요. = They say he is famous. (+ But you said otherwise, right?)
The same applies to -(이)래(요) and -(이)라던데(요). The only difference is that this follows a noun.
그 사람 학생이에요. = He is a student.
그 사람 학생이래요. = He says he is a student.
그 사람 학생이라던데요. = He says he is a student. (+ So, what shall we do then?)
공원이에요. = They are at a park. / It is a park.
공원이래요. = They say they are at a park.
공원이라던데요. = They say they are at a park. (+ Shall we go there?)
Difference Between -(ㄴ/는)다던데(요) and -(ㄴ/는)다는데(요)
There is a slight difference in nuance between -던데 and -는데, and it is based on the fact that -던 is usually associated with the past tense whereas -는 is associated with the present tense. We are going to look at -던 in more detail in a future lesson, so please just note the difference for now.
지금 온다던데요. = They said that they would come here now.
지금 온다는데요. = They are saying that they will come here now.
유명하다던데요. = I heard that she is famous.
* In this case, the person you are talking about is famous now, but you are referring to
the fact you heard this in the past.
유명하다는데요. = He is saying that she is famous.
The same applies to -(이)래(요), -(이)라던데(요) and -(이)라는데(요).
학생이라던데요. = They told me that they were students.
학생이라는데요. = They say that they are students.
공원이라던데요. = They said that they were at a park.
공원이라는데요. = They say that they are at a park.
Sample Sentences
여기 위험하다던데요.
= I heard that this place is dangerous. (+ What do you think?)
* You are implying that the other person should do something or leave the place.
혼자 갈 거라던데요.
= She said she would go there alone. (+ Shall I talk to her again? / You cannot go with her.)
그 사람도 모른다던데요.
= He said that he does not know either. (+ So why keep asking him?)
벌써 다 끝났다던데요.
= They said that it was already all over. (+ There was nothing I could do.)
한국은 겨울에 가면 많이 춥다던데요.
= I heard that it is very cold in Korea if you go there in winter. (+ Perhaps you should pack more clothes.)