Example Sentences#

1. 하지만 친구를 파는 가게는 없단다.¹
   But there are no shops that sell friends.
   • 없다 means ‘to not exist’.
   • -단다 is a sentence-ending form used to state known or reported information in a gentle, matter-of-fact tone, often conveying general truths, shared knowledge, or advice, with the nuance of ‘it is said that…’, especially in storytelling or when speaking to a younger listener. It is a contracted form of -다고 한다, where -다고 is a quotative marker reporting speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and -ㄴ다 is the plain declarative ending used to state facts or describe events in an impersonal, objective tone.
2. 여기 곶감이 있단다.”²
   Here’s a dried persimmon.”
   • 있다 means ‘to exist’ or ‘to be’.
   • -단다 is a sentence-ending form used to state known or reported information in a gentle, matter-of-fact tone, often conveying general truths, shared knowledge, or advice, with the nuance of ‘it is said that…’, especially in storytelling or when speaking to a younger listener. It is a contracted form of -다고 한다, where -다고 is a quotative marker reporting speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and -ㄴ다 is the plain declarative ending used to state facts or describe events in an impersonal, objective tone.