haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › A/V-더군(요) · N(이)더군요
A/V-더군(요) · N(이)더군요 — I saw that … · it turned out … — telling now what you saw back then
I saw that … · it turned out … — telling now what you saw back then. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4A, lesson 6: 그때는 그랬지 (That's how it was then — memories, proverbs and the way things go).
What it means
-더군요 tells your listener something you saw, heard or found out yourself at some point in the past, with a little sense of discovery: 어제 시장에 가 보니 사람이 정말 많더군요 'I went to the market yesterday, and there were so many people'. The -더- inside means 'I noticed it back then', and -군요 (Lesson 2B-9) adds the exclamation. Compare -네요, which reacts to what you are seeing right now (와, 크네요!), and -던데요 (Lesson 3A-4), which recalls the same kind of thing but sounds softer and waits for the other person's reply; -더군요 closes the thought and sounds calm, measured and grown-up — you hear it from older people, in interviews and speeches, and in writing. Add it straight to any verb or adjective stem (많더군요, 바쁘더군요, 걸어가더군요); after a noun use 이더군요 or, after a vowel, 더군요 (시골 소년이더군요, 효자더군요). It often comes after -아/어 보니(까): 가 보니 …, 먹어 보니 …. If the thing had already happened when you got there, use -았/었더군요: 가 보니 공연이 벌써 끝났더군요. Because it reports what you observed, it is not used for your own actions (제가 가더군요 ✗), and other people's feelings, which you can only see from outside, take -아/어하다 (Lesson 3B-5): 할머니께서 반가워하시더군요. Without 요, -더군 appears in diaries, notes to yourself and older people's speech; young friends talking among themselves usually use a different ending, which comes in Level 4B.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -더군요 | 형용사 · 동사 — 받침과 상관없이 더군요 · 명사 — 받침 O 이더군요 · 받침 X 더군요 | 많다 + 더군요 → 많더군요 |
Key points
- -더군요 = I saw / found that … (and I'm telling you now): 받침 doesn't matter — 많더군요 · 바쁘더군요; nouns take (이)더군요 — 효자더군요 · 시골 소년이더군요. It often follows -아/어 보니(까) (Lesson 3A-4): 가 보니 … · 먹어 보니 ….
- Already done when you saw it → -았/었더군요 (끝났더군요). Calm and grown-up — older people, speeches, writing; without 요 (-더군) it is for diaries and talking to yourself. Never about your own actions (제가 가더군요 ✗); someone else's feelings take -아/어하더군요 (Lesson 3B-5).
Examples
- 전에 직접 보거나 듣고 알게 된 것을 지금 말할 때 써요: 어제 시장에 가 보니 사람이 정말 많더군요.
- 형용사 · 동사는 받침과 상관없이 -더군요, 명사는 -(이)더군요: 친절하더군요 · 효자더군요 · 소년이더군요.
- 그때 벌써 끝난 일은 -았/었더군요: 극장에 가 보니 영화가 벌써 시작했더군요.
- 지금 보고 놀랄 때는 -네요, 그때 본 것을 말할 때는 -더군요: 와, 크네요! / 가 보니 크더군요.
- 제가 한 일에는 안 써요(제가 가더군요 ✗). 다른 사람의 마음은 -아/어하더군요: 할머니께서 반가워하시더군요.
- 윗사람 앞이나 발표에서 많이 써요. 「요」 없는 -더군은 일기에서 많이 봐요.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-고 해서 — … and so on, so … — one reason among several
- A-다더니 · V-ㄴ/는다더니 · N(이)라더니 — they said … and (sure enough / but) … — what you heard against what really happened
- A/V-기 마련이다 — … is bound to … · that's how it goes — the way things usually are