haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › V-(으)ㄴ 채(로)
V-(으)ㄴ 채(로) — with … still on · just as it was — keeping one state while something else happens
With … still on · just as it was — keeping one state while something else happens. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4A, lesson 11: 행복이란 무엇일까요 (What is happiness? — defining, conceding and saying what you think).
What it means
-(으)ㄴ 채(로) says that the state left by one action stayed exactly as it was while something else happened: 노트북을 켠 채로 잠이 들었어요 'I fell asleep with my laptop still on' — you switched it on, never switched it off, and fell asleep like that. 채 means 'the state as it is', and it follows the past adnominal form of a verb: -은 채로 after a 받침 (신은 채로, 앉은 채로) and -ㄴ 채로 after a vowel (켠 채로, 쓴 채로); a final ㄹ drops (열다 → 연 채로, 들다 → 든 채로). The particle 로 is often left out, especially in 모른 채 'without knowing'. The verbs are usually ones that leave a state behind — putting on, sitting down, switching on, opening, holding — and the sentence often points to something careless, odd or against good manners: 신발을 신은 채로 방에 들어가면 안 돼요. Compare -고 있다 for wearing (Lesson 3B-4), which only describes what someone has on: 안경을 쓰고 있어요; -(으)ㄴ 채로 adds a second event that happened in that state: 안경을 쓴 채로 잤어요. The tense goes at the end of the sentence; -았/었- never comes before 채.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -은 채(로) | 받침 O | 신다 + 은 채로 → 신은 채로 |
| -ㄴ 채(로) | 받침 X · ㄹ (ㄹ은 빠져요) | 켜다 + ㄴ 채로 → 켠 채로 |
Key points
- -(으)ㄴ 채(로) = with the state left by an action unchanged: 받침 O -은 채로 (신은 채로 · 앉은 채로), 받침 X -ㄴ 채로 (켠 채로 · 쓴 채로), and ㄹ drops (열다 → 연 채로). 로 can be left out: 모른 채.
- It often points to something odd, careless or not allowed: 신발을 신은 채로 · 불을 켠 채로 · 아무것도 모른 채. It is not -고 있다 for wearing (Lesson 3B-4): 안경을 쓰고 있어요 (what you have on) ↔ 안경을 쓴 채로 잤어요 (you kept it on while you slept). -았/었- ✗ before it.
Examples
- 앞의 동작이 끝난 그 상태 그대로 뒤의 일을 할 때 써요: 노트북을 켠 채로 잠이 들었어요.
- 받침 O → -은 채로: 신은 채로 · 앉은 채로. 받침 X → -ㄴ 채로: 켠 채로 · 쓴 채로. ㄹ은 빠져요: 열다 → 연 채로.
- 「로」는 빼도 돼요: 아무것도 모른 채 회의에 들어갔어요.
- 보통 실수나 하면 안 되는 일을 말할 때 많이 써요: 신발을 신은 채로 방에 들어가면 안 돼요.
- 3B 4과 -고 있다와 달라요: 안경을 쓰고 있어요. (지금 모습) ↔ 안경을 쓴 채로 잤어요. (그대로 둔 채 다른 일) 앞에 -았/었-은 안 붙어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4A, lesson 7; Sogang University Korean 5A, lesson 8; Ewha Womans University Korean 3-2, lesson 14; Hongik University Korean 4A, lesson 6; Hanyang University Korean 5-1, lesson 4.
Also in this lesson
- N(이)란 — N is … · what is N? — defining a word or an idea in general terms
- A/V-더라도 · N(이)더라도 — even if … — conceding a point and imagining the hardest case
- A/V-(으)ㄹ 따름이다 · -(으)ㄹ 뿐이다 — only … · nothing more than … — modest words for speeches, thanks and replies to praise