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TOPIK II · LEVEL 5

-(느)ㄴ다더니

-(느)ㄴ다더니 recalls something you heard from someone else (or a saying) and then tells what actually happened, which either confirms it or turns out differently.

인용·전달Quoting & reporting

Han: -다더니 must be followed by what actually turned out, not a suggestion; to suggest something based on hearsay, use -다던데.

Examples

그 식당이 맛있다더니 정말 맛있더라고요.I'd heard that restaurant was good, and it really was.
오늘 비가 온다더니 하루 종일 맑네요.They said it would rain today, but it's been clear all day.
민수 씨가 다이어트를 한다더니 정말 살이 많이 빠졌네요.Minsu said he was on a diet, and he really has lost a lot of weight.
세월이 약이라더니 이제는 그 일이 별로 생각나지 않아요.They say time heals everything, and indeed I hardly think about it anymore.

Don’t mix up

-(느)ㄴ다더니vs-더니-더니 links something you observed yourself; -다더니 links something you heard from others: 하늘이 흐리더니 비가 오네요 vs 비가 온다더니 안 오네요.
-(느)ㄴ다더니vs-(느)ㄴ다면서-다면서 checks or challenges what the listener said or what you heard, often as a question or a reproach to the listener; -다더니 is the speaker's own narration of what happened afterwards, usually a statement: 간다면서 왜 아직 여기 있어? vs 간다더니 아직 안 갔네.
-(느)ㄴ다더니vs-(느)ㄴ다던데-다던데 gives hearsay as background and leads to a suggestion or question; -다더니 reports an outcome that confirms or contradicts the hearsay: 그 영화가 재미있다던데 같이 볼까요? vs 그 영화가 재미있다더니 정말 재미있네요.

How to build it

V+는다더니 (after a consonant) / ㄴ다더니 (after a vowel)
A+다더니
N+(이)라더니
past: V/A+았/었다더니

먹다 → 먹는다더니, 가다 → 간다더니, 춥다 → 춥다더니, 학생 → 학생이라더니, 오다 → 왔다더니

  1. The first clause is hearsay: someone's words, a forecast, a rumour or a saying. For something you saw or experienced yourself, use -더니 instead.
  2. The second clause reports the real outcome (as expected or contrary), so it cannot be a command, a suggestion or a plan such as -(으)세요, -(으)ㅂ시다, -(으)ㄹ게요.
  3. The quoted form follows reported speech: statements -다더니, questions -냐더니, commands -(으)라더니, suggestions -자더니.
  4. It is very common with proverbs to mean "just as the saying goes": 세월이 약이라더니, 말이 씨가 된다더니.

Classic mistake

Wrong: 그 영화가 재미있다더니 같이 보러 가요.

Right: 그 영화가 재미있다던데 같이 보러 가요.

-다더니 must be followed by what actually turned out, not a suggestion; to suggest something based on hearsay, use -다던데.

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More level 5 grammar

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