TOPIK II · LEVEL 5
-던 차에
-던 차에 means that while you were doing something, or just about to do it, another event happened at that very moment, often conveniently.
시간·순서Time & sequenceHan: -던 차에 reports something that happened by chance, so it cannot be followed by a request; to ask someone to do something while they are at it, use -는 김에.
Examples
마침 전화하려던 차에 친구한테서 전화가 왔어요.I was just about to call when my friend called me.
이사를 고민하던 차에 회사 근처에 괜찮은 집이 나왔어요.I was thinking about moving, and right then a decent place came up near my office.
출출하던 차에 동료가 떡볶이를 사 왔어요.I was getting a bit peckish when a coworker brought back some tteokbokki.
노트북을 바꾸려던 차에 마침 할인 행사를 해서 바로 샀어요.I was planning to replace my laptop, and there happened to be a sale, so I bought one right away.
Don’t mix up
-던 차에vs-는 김에-는 김에 means you use the occasion of A to deliberately do B yourself, and it allows requests; -던 차에 means B happened to you by coincidence: 시장에 간 김에 과일도 샀어요.
-던 차에vs-는 바람에-는 바람에 gives a cause that led to a usually negative result; -던 차에 only marks the timing of a coincidence, usually a welcome one: 늦잠을 자는 바람에 지각했어요.How to build it
V/A+던 차에 (very often V + (으)려던 차에, V + 고 있던 차에)
전화하다 → 전화하려던 차에
- The second clause reports something that actually happened, usually in the past tense. It cannot be a command, request or suggestion (-(으)세요, -(으)ㄹ까요, -자).
- The first clause is an ongoing action, intention or state, so it typically appears as -(으)려던, -고 있던, -고 싶던 or a feeling like 출출하던. It is often used with 마침.
- The second event usually comes from outside and fits the situation well. For an unwanted result caused by the first event, use -는 바람에 instead.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 마트에 가던 차에 우유 좀 사 와.
Right: 마트에 가는 김에 우유 좀 사 와.
-던 차에 reports something that happened by chance, so it cannot be followed by a request; to ask someone to do something while they are at it, use -는 김에.
Practise -던 차에 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄴ 끝에Shows that a result was finally reached after a long or difficult process of doing something.
- -(으)ㄹ 즈음-(으)ㄹ 즈음 means "around the time when something happens": it marks an approximate time, not an exact moment.
- -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.
- -고 보면Says that once you actually do something completely (get to know it, hear it out, think it through, let time pass), you see a truth that differs from your first impression.
- -는 동시에Shows that two events happen at the very same moment, or that one thing has two qualities or roles at once.
- -는 와중에-는 와중에 marks a busy, chaotic or difficult situation as the background, against which something else, often unexpected, happens.
- -기에 앞서-기에 앞서 means "before doing (something important)" and is used in formal speech and writing to introduce a step that comes first.
- -(이)란N(이)란 picks out a concept that you are about to define or explain the essence of: "N is (by its nature)…", "what we call N is…".
- -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다Use -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다 when the situation makes it plain to you that something, usually something bad, will happen or has happened.