TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-구먼/-는구먼(요)
Notes a newly realised fact with mild surprise: '…, I see / so …'. Casual and homely, typical of middle-aged and older speakers; -구먼요 is the polite form.
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: -구만 is a common misspelling; the standard ending is -구먼.
Examples
이 동네도 그새 많이 변했구먼요.This neighbourhood has changed a lot in the meantime, I see.
자네 요즘 얼굴이 많이 좋아졌구먼.You're looking much better these days, I see.
아직도 그 일 때문에 고민하는구먼. 너무 마음 쓰지 말게.So you're still worrying about that. Don't let it get to you so much.
Don’t mix up
-구먼/-는구먼(요)vs-구나 / -군요The neutral standard forms: 비싸구나 / 비싸군요. 비싸구먼 sounds older and folksier.
-구먼/-는구먼(요)vs-네(요)The most common modern reaction to what you perceive directly: 비가 오네요.
How to build it
V+는구먼(요)
A+구먼(요)
past: V/A+았/었구먼(요)
N+(이)구먼(요)
오다 → 오는구먼; 살다 → 사는구먼; 비싸다 → 비싸구먼; 끝나다 → 끝났구먼; 학생 → 학생이구먼요
- Same split as -구나: present action verbs -는구먼, adjectives and 이다 -구먼, past -았/었구먼.
- Without 요 it is talk to equals or juniors (해체/하게체); with 요 it is polite but still homely. Younger speakers prefer -네(요), -구나, -군요.
- The standard spelling is -구먼; -구만 is very common in texts and subtitles but non-standard.
- In old-style speech 그려 may follow for extra emphasis: 잘됐구먼그려.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 벌써 다 끝났구만.
Right: 벌써 다 끝났구먼.
-구만 is a common misspelling; the standard ending is -구먼.
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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.