Korean

Suffix

-ㄴ데 • ‎(-nde)

1. mentions relevant circumstances before explaining, commanding, or suggesting

   밖이 시끄러운데 무슨 일 있나?‎

   Bakki sikkeureounde museum il inna?

   The outside is noisy; maybe something happened?

   날이 좋은데 어디 놀러 안 갈래?‎

   Nari joeunde eodi nolleo an gallae?

   What a good weather! Why don't we go somewhere to have some fun?

2. an intimate style exclamatory or interrogative suffix, expressing unexpectedness or anticipating the listener's responses

   그렇지만 나이도 있으신데...‎

   Geureochiman naido isseusinde...

   But he is aged, so (doing it is dangerous)...

   여, 제법인데?‎

   Yeo, jebeobinde?

   Oh, nice performance; better than I expected!

Usage notes

The suffix -ㄴ데 (-nde) takes the sequential form of an adjective or 이다 (ida, “to be”), and if the adjective ends in ㄹ (l), the ㄹ (l) drops out.

For verbs and existential adjectives 있다 (itda, “to exist”), 없다 (eopda, “not to exist”), and 계시다 (gyesida, “to exist (honorific)”), or to make use of non-present tense, -는데 (-neunde) is used.

Not to be confused with -ㄴ 데 (-n de), meaning the place where the event -ㄴ (-n) indicates happened, or the event itself. See 데 (de).

See also

• -는데 (-neunde)
• -던데 (-deonde), past retrospect
• -ㄹ 텐데 (-l tende, future tense), the contraction of -ㄹ 터인데 (-l teoinde), which uses the dependent noun 터 (teo, “inference; intention”)