TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-구려/-는구려
Exclamatory ending of the old-fashioned 하오체: the speaker remarks on something just realised, with feeling: '…, I see / how …!'. Today heard mostly from elderly speakers (for example between older spouses) and in period dramas and novels.
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: Adjectives take -구려; -는구려 is only for action verbs in the present.
Examples
사극 속 선비는 "그대의 글솜씨가 참으로 뛰어나구려" 하고 감탄했다.The scholar in the historical drama exclaimed, 'Your writing is truly excellent!'
세월 참 빠르구려. 그 꼬마가 벌써 장가를 간다니.How time flies. That little boy is already getting married.
여보, 오늘은 웬일로 일찍 들어오는구려.Well, dear, you're home early today. What's the occasion?
Don’t mix up
-구려/-는구려vs-군요/-는군요The modern polite equivalent: 많이 컸군요 vs old-style 많이 컸구려.-구려/-는구려vs-구나/-는구나Plain style, to juniors or to oneself: 벌써 꽃이 피었구나.How to build it
V+는구려
A+구려
past: V/A+았/었구려
N+(이)구려
오다 → 오는구려; 만들다 → 만드는구려; 좋다 → 좋구려; 아름답다 → 아름답구려; 늦다 → 늦었구려; 손님 → 손님이구려
- Same split as -구나/-는구나: present action verbs take -는구려, adjectives and 이다 take -구려, any past takes -았/었구려.
- 하오체 is semi-formal but old: to a spouse, an equal adult, or a younger adult one treats with some respect. For modern polite speech to seniors use -군요.
- Do not confuse it with -구려 after a verb used as a soft 하오체 request: 어서 드시구려 'please, do eat'. That one is not exclamatory.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 경치가 참 아름답는구려.
Right: 경치가 참 아름답구려.
Adjectives take -구려; -는구려 is only for action verbs in the present.
Practise -구려/-는구려 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(이)라 (예스러운 서술)An archaic plain (해라체) statement ending attached to 이다 and 아니다: 'X is Y.' It sounds solemn and old, as in classical texts, proverbs, historical-drama narration and poetry; modern Korean uses -(이)다.
- -(으)오/-소Ending of the 하오체, an old-fashioned semi-formal style: one form serves statements and questions, and with -(으)시오 commands. Heard in period dramas, between older spouses, and in written notices such as 손대지 마시오.
- -(으)리오An archaic, literary rhetorical-question ending: 'how could …? who would …?'. The question implies the opposite (누가 알리오 = nobody knows). Found in classical poetry and prose, speeches and period dramas.
- -나 (의문)A question ending without 요 with two uses: the 하게체 question an older speaker asks an adult junior ('are you …?'), and a casual question to oneself ('did I …?', 'is it …?').
- -네 (하게체 서술)Statement ending of the 하게체: an older speaker telling an adult junior (son-in-law, grown-up former student) a fact or an intention, plainly but with courtesy. Old-fashioned; today mostly heard from elderly men and in novels and dramas.
- -그려Added after another sentence ending (-네, -구먼, -세, -ㅂ시다…) to give an old-fashioned emphatic or exclamatory touch: '…, indeed / you know'. Now found mainly in novels, period dramas and the speech of very old people.
- -던가 (회상 의문)A 하게체 question ending asking the listener about something they saw or experienced in the past: 'was it …? did you find that …?'. Old-fashioned, used by older speakers to adult juniors.
- -구려 (권유·명령)A 하오체 ending after an action verb that gently urges or advises the listener: 'do …, why don't you …'. Old-fashioned; heard from elderly speakers (often between spouses), in period dramas and novels.
- -던가 (혼잣말·추측)Used when talking to oneself about the past: the speaker wonders about something remembered only vaguely, or makes a tentative guess about it: 'was it …?', 'I wonder if …'. Reflective; common in essays, lyrics and inner monologue.