TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-(느)ㄴ단/-(이)란 + N
Spoken contractions of -(느)ㄴ다는/-다는/-(이)라는: -(느)ㄴ단, -단, -(이)란 + N ('the news that…'), and the emphatic -(느)ㄴ단 말이다 ('I'm telling you…', or in a question 'you mean…?!').
인용·전달Quoting & reportingHan: A formal written report needs the full -(느)ㄴ다는; the contraction -(느)ㄴ단 belongs to speech.
Examples
몇 번을 말해야 알아듣겠니? 나는 그 모임에 안 간단 말이야.How many times do I have to say it? I'm telling you, I'm not going to that gathering.
두 사람이 다음 달에 결혼한단 소식을 듣고 다들 깜짝 놀랐다.Everyone was stunned to hear the news that the two of them are getting married next month.
혼자서 이 많은 일을 오늘 안에 다 하란 말이에요?You mean I'm supposed to finish all this work alone by today?
그러니까 지금 와서 계약을 취소하시겠단 말씀이세요?So you're saying you want to cancel the contract now, at this point?
Don’t mix up
-(느)ㄴ단/-(이)란 + Nvs-(느)ㄴ다는 + NThe full form is neutral and fits writing; the contraction sounds casual and lively: 회사가 이전한다는 공지 (notice) vs 회사 옮긴단 얘기 들었어? (chat).-(느)ㄴ단/-(이)란 + Nvs-(느)ㄴ다니까Both insist, but -(느)ㄴ다니까 always repeats something already said (간다니까! 'I said I'm going!'), while -(느)ㄴ단 말이야 stresses or clarifies your point, whether or not you said it before: 내 말은, 나 혼자 간단 말이야 (what I mean is I'm going alone).
How to build it
V+는단 (consonant stem) / ㄴ단 (vowel or ㄹ stem, ㄹ drops)
A, -았/었-, -겠-+단
N+이란 (consonant)
란 (vowel)+N or 말이다
먹다 → 먹는단 소문; 가다 → 간단 말이야; 살다 → 산단 얘기; 좋다 → 좋단 말; 갔다 → 갔단 소식; 학생 → 학생이란 사실; 친구 → 친구란 사람
- Same meaning as the full -(느)ㄴ다는 + N, but colloquial: conversation, dialogue in novels and dramas. In reports, essays and formal writing use the full form.
- -(느)ㄴ단 말이다 as a statement insists or restates impatiently: 난 안 간단 말이야 (I'm telling you, I'm not going). As a question it shows surprise or disbelief: 오늘 못 온단 말이에요?
- Other sentence types contract the same way: question -냔 (왜 그랬냔 말이야), command -(으)란 (빨리 가란 말이야), suggestion -잔 (같이 가잔 말이야). 어떻게 하란 말이야? = 'What am I supposed to do?!'
- N + (이)란 + N is the contraction of N(이)라는 + N: 학생이란 사실 (the fact of being a student); with a person noun it often means 'so-called': 친구란 사람이 그럴 수 있어? Do not confuse it with topic N(이)란 that defines a concept (사랑이란 무엇인가).
Classic mistake
Wrong: 회사는 내년부터 재택근무를 확대한단 방침을 발표했다.
Right: 회사는 내년부터 재택근무를 확대한다는 방침을 발표했다.
A formal written report needs the full -(느)ㄴ다는; the contraction -(느)ㄴ단 belongs to speech.
Practise -(느)ㄴ단/-(이)란 + N on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)래서야Short for -(으)라고 해서야: 'if (someone) tells people to V like this, (how can that be right?)'. It objects to an unreasonable order or demand and is followed by a rhetorical question or criticism.
- -(느)ㄴ다던가Short for -(느)ㄴ다고 하던가: asks to confirm what someone said that the listener heard — 'did he say …?', 'what did they tell us to …?'. A 하게체 question from an older speaker to an adult junior, or a question to oneself while trying to recall.
- -(느)ㄴ다고나 할까Used when you are searching for the right words and offer your description tentatively: 'you could say ~ / how should I put it, ~'.
- -자면 (-자고 하면)Short for -자고 하면: 'if (someone) suggests doing V / says "let's V"'. A reported suggestion used as a condition; the main clause gives the speaker's response. Conversational.
- -다시피 하다Says that someone really did something so much or so intensely that it was nearly the same as doing X, often with a bit of exaggeration.
- -(으)매-(으)매 is a bookish, literary way to say 'because' or 'as', linking a cause to its natural result in formal writing.
- -(으)나 -(으)나Two paired or opposite verbs/adjectives, each with -(으)나, mean 'whichever of these is the case, the following stays the same', which often amounts to 'regardless' or 'all the time'.
- -(으)락 -(으)락Joins two opposite actions or states to show that they keep switching back and forth.
- -(으)랴 -(으)랴Lists two (or more) tasks a person is juggling at the same time to stress that they are extremely busy or worn out.