haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › A-다더니 · V-ㄴ/는다더니 · N(이)라더니
A-다더니 · V-ㄴ/는다더니 · N(이)라더니 — they said … and (sure enough / but) … — what you heard against what really happened
They said … and (sure enough / but) … — what you heard against what really happened. 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
-다더니 puts two things side by side: what someone said (or what people say) and what you then found to be true. It is the short form of -다고 하더니 — the reported speech of Lesson 3A-1 plus the -더니 of Lesson 3A-7: 비가 온다고 하더니 → 비가 온다더니. The second half can confirm what you heard (그 식당이 맛있다더니 정말 맛있네요 'they said that restaurant was good, and it really is') or go against it, which often makes it a mild complaint (일기 예보에서 따뜻하다더니 너무 춥네요 'the forecast said it would be warm, but it's freezing'). The forms follow reported speech: adjectives take -다더니 (춥다더니), verbs -ㄴ다더니 after a vowel or ㄹ (온다더니, 산다더니) and -는다더니 after other 받침 (먹는다더니), nouns -(이)라더니 (반이라더니, 효자라더니), and the past -았/었다더니 (끝났다더니). For a promise or plan, -(으)ㄹ 거라더니 is common: 일찍 올 거라더니 또 늦었어요. Koreans love to use it after a proverb, meaning 'just as the saying goes': 시작이 반이라더니 벌써 4급이에요 · 세월이 약이라더니 이제 괜찮아요. Compare -다면서요? (Lesson 4A-4), which asks someone to confirm what you heard; -다더니 does not ask — it reports what happened next.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A-다더니 | 형용사 — 받침과 상관없이 다더니 | 춥다 + 다더니 → 춥다더니 |
| V-ㄴ/는다더니 | 동사 — 받침 X · ㄹ(ㄹ 빠짐) ㄴ다더니 · 받침 O 는다더니 | 오다 + ㄴ다더니 → 온다더니 |
| N(이)라더니 | 명사 — 받침 O 이라더니 · 받침 X 라더니 | 반 + 이라더니 → 반이라더니 |
Key points
- -다더니 = -다고 하더니 (Lessons 3A-1 + 3A-7): what someone said, then what you found. 형용사 -다더니 (춥다더니) · 동사 -ㄴ/는다더니 (온다더니 · 먹는다더니) · 명사 -(이)라더니 (반이라더니 · 효자라더니) · 과거 -았/었다더니 (끝났다더니).
- The second half either confirms what you heard (정말 …네요) or goes against it — often as a complaint (… 너무 춥네요). A saying + (이)라더니 is very common: 시작이 반이라더니 · 세월이 약이라더니.
Examples
- 다른 사람에게 들은 말과 실제로 일어난 일을 같이 말할 때 써요. (= -다고 하더니)
- 들은 대로일 때: 그 식당이 맛있다더니 정말 맛있네요.
- 들은 것과 다를 때: 일기 예보에서 따뜻하다더니 너무 춥네요.
- 형용사 -다더니 · 동사 -ㄴ/는다더니 · 명사 -(이)라더니: 춥다더니 · 온다더니 · 먹는다더니 · 반이라더니.
- 지난 일은 -았/었다더니: 회의가 다 끝났다더니 아직도 하고 있어요.
- 속담 뒤에 자주 붙어요: 시작이 반이라더니 벌써 4급이에요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4A, lesson 5; Hanyang University Korean 4-1, lesson 6; Yonsei University Korean 4-2, lesson 11.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-더군(요) · N(이)더군요 — I saw that … · it turned out … — telling now what you saw back then
- A/V-고 해서 — … and so on, so … — one reason among several
- A/V-기 마련이다 — … is bound to … · that's how it goes — the way things usually are