TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-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.
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: 하게체 is used by a senior to a junior, never upward; to a professor use -습니다 or -아/어요.
Examples
나는 이 마을에서 평생을 살았네. 저 산도 저 강도 다 내 친구 같네.I've lived my whole life in this village. That mountain and that river feel like old friends.
자네 덕분에 일이 잘 해결되었네. 정말 고맙네.Thanks to you, the matter was settled nicely. I'm truly grateful.
장인어른은 사위에게 "내가 젊었을 때는 이 길을 매일 걸어서 출근했네" 하고 말씀하셨다.The father-in-law told his son-in-law, 'When I was young, I walked this road to work every day.'
Don’t mix up
-네 (하게체 서술)vs-네 (감탄)Exclamatory -네 reacts to something just noticed: 어, 눈 오네! This -네 reports a fact or plan: 나는 다음 달에 고향에 내려가네.-네 (하게체 서술)vs-(으)오/-소하오체 is one step higher than 하게체: 내가 가겠소 shows more deference than 내가 가겠네.How to build it
V/A+네
N+(이)네
past: 았/었네
intention: 겠네
ㄹ-stems drop ㄹ
가다 → 가네; 살다 → 사네; 알다 → 아네; 고맙다 → 고맙네; 했다 → 했네; 가다 → 가겠네; 학생 → 학생이네
- Speaker and listener: an older person (often a man) to an adult junior he treats as a grown-up, usually with 자네. It goes with the other 하게체 forms: questions -는가/-나, commands -게, suggestions -세.
- Unlike exclamatory -네, it simply states, so it works for long-known facts and for the speaker's plans: 내 고향은 부산이네; 내가 내일 가겠네.
- Never to seniors, and young people do not use it with friends; in modern talk it is replaced by -아/어요 or casual -아/어.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 교수님, 제가 내일 연구실로 찾아뵙겠네.
Right: 교수님, 제가 내일 연구실로 찾아뵙겠습니다.
하게체 is used by a senior to a junior, never upward; to a professor use -습니다 or -아/어요.
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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 …?').
- -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.
- -구려/-는구려Exclamatory 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.