Managing the conversation: -잖아요 and -거든요
B1 담화 관리 종결 어미 -잖아요·-거든요 48 / 68
In short
These two endings manage what your listener already knows. -잖아요 appeals to shared knowledge - “you know this, remember?” (어제 말했잖아요, I told you yesterday). -거든요 does the opposite: it hands over background the listener does NOT have, usually as a reason - “you see…” (차가 막히거든요, the traffic’s jammed, you see). Both attach straight to the stem, with no 으 buffer.
The rule
Step 1 - -잖아요: “you already know this”
Add -잖아요 straight to any stem (동사, 형용사 or 이다) - no 으 buffer, no part-of-speech split. It presents the fact as something the listener can already see or has already been told, and gently points them back to it: 비가 오잖아요 (biga ojanayo, it’s raining, look), 지금 바쁘잖아요 (jigeum bappeujanayo, I’m busy right now, as you can see). Past just stacks on the stem: 어제 말했잖아요 (eoje malhaetjanayo, I told you yesterday, remember).
Because it presupposes the listener knows, it easily carries a reproachful edge - “you should have remembered.” That is fine among equals over genuinely shared ground, but using -잖아요 for something the listener cannot know comes across as accusing them of forgetting - see the Tips.
Step 2 - -거든요: “here’s what you don’t know”
-거든요 also attaches straight to the stem, but it delivers new information the listener lacks, most often the reason or background behind what you just said. It typically follows a first sentence and projects a continuation - you say your point, then explain: 좀 늦을 것 같아요. 차가 막히거든요 (jom neujeul geot gatayo. chaga makigeodeunyo, I might be a bit late. The traffic’s jammed, you see). Used mid-conversation it sets up a story you are about to expand: 제가 요즘 운동을 하거든요. 그래서… (jega yojeum undongeul hageodeunyo. geuraeseo…, I’ve been exercising lately, you see. So…).
Step 3 - place them against the neighbours
The choice is about who holds the information: Stem + -지요? (lesson 40) assumes you both know and fishes for a nod; -잖아요 assumes they know and reminds them; -거든요 assumes they don’t and tells them; -는데요 (lesson 41) trails off and hands the floor back for a reply. And note the split with plain cause -아/어서 (lesson 28): -아/어서 joins two clauses inside one sentence, while -거든요 closes its own sentence and frames the reason as news.
Forms & patterns
-잖아요 - straight onto the stem, no 으, no part-of-speech split:
| Base | Stem + -잖아요 | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 동사 가다 (gada) | 가잖아요 (gajanayo) | you know we go / it goes |
| 동사 먹다 (meokda) | 먹잖아요 (meokjanayo) | you know one eats it |
| 형용사 바쁘다 (bappeuda) | 바쁘잖아요 (bappeujanayo) | you can see it’s busy |
| 이다 (consonant) 학생이다 | 학생이잖아요 (haksaengijanayo) | you know they’re a student |
| 이다 (vowel) 친구(이)다 | 친구잖아요 (chingujanayo) | you know they’re a friend |
| 과거 하다 -> 했- | 했잖아요 (haetjanayo) | you know I did it |
A ㄹ-stem keeps its ㄹ: 살다 -> 살잖아요 (saljanayo).
-거든요 - same attachment, opposite epistemics:
| Base | Stem + -거든요 | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 동사 가다 (gada) | 가거든요 (gageodeunyo) | the thing is, I’m going |
| 동사 먹다 (meokda) | 먹거든요 (meokgeodeunyo) | you see, I eat it |
| 형용사 좋다 (jota) | 좋거든요 (jokeodeunyo) | you see, it’s good |
| 이다 (consonant) 학생이다 | 학생이거든요 (haksaengigeodeunyo) | the thing is, I’m a student |
| 이다 (vowel) 친구(이)다 | 친구거든요 (chingugeodeunyo) | you see, they’re a friend |
| 과거 있다 -> 있었- | 있었거든요 (isseotgeodeunyo) | you see, there was one |
ㄹ-stem again keeps its ㄹ: 알다 -> 알거든요 (algeodeunyo).
Same fact (비가 오다, to rain), five stances - who is assumed to know:
| Ending | Example | Who holds the info |
|---|---|---|
| -아/어요 | 비가 와요 (biga wayo) | plain statement |
| -지요? | 비가 오지요? (biga ojiyo?) | you both assume it - nod expected |
| -잖아요 | 비가 오잖아요 (biga ojanayo) | listener already knows - you remind |
| -거든요 | 비가 오거든요 (biga ogeodeunyo) | listener does not - you inform |
| -는데요 | 비가 오는데요 (biga oneundeyo) | trailing - you hand back for a reply |
Examples
- 어제 제가 말했잖아요. (Eoje jega malhaetjanayo.) - I told you yesterday, remember?
- 지금 바쁘잖아요. 나중에 얘기해요. (Jigeum bappeujanayo. Najunge yaegihaeyo.) - I’m busy right now, you can see. Let’s talk later.
- 오늘은 일요일이잖아요. (Oneureun iryoirijanayo.) - Today is Sunday, remember.
- 그건 제가 벌써 했잖아요. (Geugeon jega beolsseo haetjanayo.) - I already did that one, remember.
- 좀 늦을 것 같아요. 차가 막히거든요. (Jom neujeul geot gatayo. Chaga makigeodeunyo.) - I might be a bit late. The traffic’s jammed, you see.
- 오늘은 일찍 갈게요. 약속이 있거든요. (Oneureun iljjik galgeyo. Yaksogi itgeodeunyo.) - I’ll leave early today. I have an appointment, you see.
- 저 그 사람 알거든요. (Jeo geu saram algeodeunyo.) - Actually, I know that person.
- 그 식당 자주 가요. 정말 맛있거든요. (Geu sikdang jaju gayo. Jeongmal masitgeodeunyo.) - I go to that restaurant a lot. It’s really delicious, you see.
- 제가 요즘 운동을 하거든요. 그래서 아침에 바빠요. (Jega yojeum undongeul hageodeunyo. Geuraeseo achime bappayo.) - I’ve been exercising lately, you see. That’s why I’m busy in the mornings.
Common mistakes
- 먹으잖아요. (Meogeujanayo.) -> 먹잖아요. (Meokjanayo.) - -잖아요 goes straight onto the stem; there is no 으 buffer, even after a 받침. The same holds for -거든요 (먹거든요, not 먹으거든요).
- 저 어제 이사했잖아요. (Jeo eoje isahaetjanayo.) -> 저 어제 이사했거든요. (Jeo eoje isahaetgeodeunyo.) - if the news is genuinely new to the listener, use -거든요 (they don’t know); -잖아요 claims they already do, and forcing it onto something they can’t know sounds accusatory.
- 차가 막히거든요 늦었어요. (Chaga makigeodeunyo neujeosseoyo.) -> 차가 막혀서 늦었어요. (Chaga makyeoseo neujeosseoyo.) - -거든요 ends its own sentence; to join “traffic jammed” and “I was late” inside one sentence, use plain cause -아/어서.
- 가잖았어요. (Gajanasseoyo.) -> 갔잖아요. (Gatjanayo.) - put the past -았/었- on the stem (갔-), then add -잖아요; the ending itself has no separate past form.
Tips
- Opposite arrows. -잖아요 = “as you KNOW” (the info already sits with the listener); -거든요 = “you SEE / because” (the info is new, moving from you to them). If you can add remember?, it’s -잖아요; if you can add the thing is…, it’s -거든요.
- -잖아요 has a sharp edge. Since it presupposes the listener already knows, aiming it at something they couldn’t know reads as you should have remembered - blaming, even rude. Reserve it for genuinely shared ground; among strangers or upward, soften or choose -거든요.
- -거든요 leans forward. It lays down a premise and signals that more is coming, inviting and then? - so it is the natural setup line before you continue a reason or a story. If you want the listener to jump in instead, the trailing -는데요 (lesson 41) hands the floor back.
- Not the negative -지 않-. -잖아요 grew out of -지 않아요 but no longer means “don’t”; 가잖아요 is you know we go, never we don’t go. Read it as one fixed ending.