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TOPIK II · LEVEL 5

-고 보니

-고 보니 means that only after finishing an action did the speaker notice or realize something new, often something they had not expected.

시간·순서Time & sequence

Han: -고 보니 does not take the past marker -았/었- before -고; the past time is already shown by 생각났어요 at the end.

Examples

집에 와서 가방을 열고 보니 지갑이 없었어요.When I got home and opened my bag, I saw that my wallet wasn't there.
막상 이사를 하고 보니 회사까지 생각보다 훨씬 멀었어요.Once I actually moved, it turned out the office was much farther than I thought.
부모가 되고 보니 부모님 마음을 조금은 알 것 같아요.Now that I've become a parent, I think I understand my parents' feelings a little.
이야기를 끝까지 듣고 보니 그 사람 말에도 일리가 있더라고요.After hearing the story to the end, I found that what he said made some sense too.

Don’t mix up

-고 보니vs-다 보니-다 보니 = a result that came gradually from repeating or continuing an action; -고 보니 = a discovery right after one action is finished: 자주 만나다 보니 친해졌어요 vs 만나고 보니 고등학교 동창이었어요.
-고 보니vs-아/어 보니-아/어 보니 focuses on trying or experiencing something and finding out what it is like; -고 보니 focuses on noticing something only after the action is complete: 먹어 보니 맛있었어요 vs 다 먹고 보니 유통기한이 지났더라고요.

How to build it

V+고 보니(까)

듣다 → 듣고 보니, 되다 → 되고 보니

  1. No tense marker goes before -고: use 하고 보니, not 했고 보니. Tense is shown at the end of the second clause.
  2. The second clause states a discovery or realization, so it cannot be a command or suggestion (no -(으)세요, -(으)ㅂ시다 at the end).
  3. The person who did the first action is usually the one who realizes something, typically the speaker (in questions, the listener).
  4. With 되다 it often means 'now that I have become ~': 부모가 되고 보니 (now that I am a parent).

Classic mistake

Wrong: 전화를 끊었고 보니 중요한 말을 안 했다는 게 생각났어요.

Right: 전화를 끊고 보니 중요한 말을 안 했다는 게 생각났어요.

-고 보니 does not take the past marker -았/었- before -고; the past time is already shown by 생각났어요 at the end.

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More level 5 grammar

All TOPIK grammar