TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-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.
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: -던가 looks back on something the listener observed in the past; a question about tomorrow takes -는가 or -나.
Examples
어제 만났을 때 그 친구 건강은 괜찮아 보이던가?When you met him yesterday, did your friend look well?
장에 다녀왔다면서? 그래, 사람이 많던가?I hear you went to the market. So, were there many people?
자네가 가 보니 그 식당 음식 맛이 어떻던가?You went there — how was the food at that restaurant?
Don’t mix up
-던가 (회상 의문)vs-던가 (혼잣말)The other -던가 is self-talk about a vague memory, with no listener expected to answer: 그게 언제였던가.
-던가 (회상 의문)vs-았/었나-았/었나 asks simply whether something happened: 그 사람 왔나? -던가 asks what the listener witnessed: 그 사람 기분이 좋던가? 'did he seem in a good mood?'
How to build it
V/A+던가
N+(이)던가
completed: V/A+았/었던가
있다 → 있던가; 많다 → 많던가; 어떻다 → 어떻던가; 가다 → 갔던가; 학생 → 학생이던가
- -더- means 'as you saw it': the answer should come from the listener's own observation or feeling at that time: 그 사람 집에 있던가? 'Was he at home (when you went)?'
- It asks about the past only; for present facts or future plans use -는가 or -나: 자네 내일 시간 있는가?
- Register is 하게체, with 자네. Polite equivalent: -던가요? (어떻던가요?); to a friend: 어땠어? or 어떻던?
Classic mistake
Wrong: 자네 내일 시간이 있던가?
Right: 자네 내일 시간이 있는가?
-던가 looks back on something the listener observed in the past; a question about tomorrow takes -는가 or -나.
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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.
- -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.