TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-았/었다 하면
-았/었다 하면 means that once someone does a certain action, a particular, often excessive result follows every single time.
조건·가정Conditions & what-ifsHan: The pattern is fixed with the past form 았/었다 even for present habits; 마신다 하면 sounds like quoting what someone says.
Examples
그 식당은 주말에 갔다 하면 한 시간은 기다려야 한다.If you go to that restaurant on a weekend, you always end up waiting at least an hour.
우리 아버지는 술을 드셨다 하면 옛날이야기를 하신다.Whenever my father has a drink, he starts telling stories about the old days.
동생은 게임을 시작했다 하면 밤을 새워요.Once my younger sibling starts a game, they stay up all night.
그 가수는 앨범을 냈다 하면 1위를 한다.Whenever that singer releases an album, it goes to number one.
Don’t mix up
-았/었다 하면vs-기만 하면-기만 하면 is a neutral 'whenever/if only' and also works for one condition (오기만 하면 돼요); -았/었다 하면 mainly expresses a habitual pattern with an emphatic, often extreme result. Compare: 비가 오기만 하면 무릎이 아파요.-았/었다 하면vs-(으)ㄹ 때마다-(으)ㄹ 때마다 simply states 'each time' without emphasis and fits any style; -았/었다 하면 adds that the result follows inevitably and is colloquial: 그 노래를 들을 때마다 고향 생각이 나요.
How to build it
V+았/었다 하면
마시다 → 마셨다 하면, 시작하다 → 시작했다 하면
- The past marker 았/었 is required even when the sentence describes a present habit; 마신다 하면 does not give this meaning.
- It describes a repeated, predictable pattern, not a single event, so the main clause is usually a general statement in the present (or past habitual, e.g. -곤 했다).
- Because the main clause states a predictable result, commands and suggestions are rarely used there; a statement of fact or habit is the natural choice.
- It is colloquial and emphatic; the result is often exaggerated (밤을 새우다, 1위를 하다, 두 시간은 기본이다).
Classic mistake
Wrong: 그는 술을 마신다 하면 노래를 불러요.
Right: 그는 술을 마셨다 하면 노래를 불러요.
The pattern is fixed with the past form 았/었다 even for present habits; 마신다 하면 sounds like quoting what someone says.
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ진대-(으)ㄹ진대 sets up an accepted fact as a premise ("given that…, since it is so that…") from which a firm conclusion, command or rhetorical question follows, in formal, bookish style.
- -(느)ㄴ다면야-(느)ㄴ다면야 stresses a condition: if this is really the case, the result naturally follows; the speaker often accepts or concedes the condition.
- -(으)ㄹ라치면-(으)ㄹ라치면 means 'every time I am about to do something, (annoyingly) something else happens', describing a repeated pattern that blocks or spoils the attempt.
- -는 날에는V-는 날에는 pictures the day a feared event might happen and warns that a serious, usually bad consequence will follow: "if ever ~, then it's all over."
- -았/었던들Imagines the opposite of what really happened in the past ('had X happened…'), usually with regret that things could have turned out differently.
- -자면A connective ending of hypothetical intention, 'if one sets out to do V, if V is to be done': it states what doing it would take (time, money, effort). This is an ending in its own right; the quoted contraction of -자고 하면 'if someone says let's' is a separate use (see the last rule). Slightly bookish; also in set phrases like 말하자면 'so to speak' and 솔직히 말하자면 'to be honest'.
- -기로 들면If someone really sets about doing something, often stubbornly, there is no end to it, or nothing is impossible.
- -노라면-노라면 means 'if you keep doing something for a while', and the next clause gives the result that naturally follows; it has a literary, reflective tone.
- -거들랑 (조건)A colloquial, old-fashioned or regional-sounding variant of conditional -거든: 'if / when …, (then do …)'. Heard from older speakers and in novels or period dramas; shortened to -걸랑.