240 words
1 minute
-(으)ㄴ/는지: Expressing Uncertainty (Present/State)
2026-06-08
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Example Sentences#

  1. 체셔 고양이: “그건 네가 어디로 가고 싶은지에 달려 있어,” 고양이가 말했다.1
    Cheshire Cat: “That depends on where you want to go,” said the cat.
    • 싶다 is an auxiliary adjective meaning ‘to be desirous of’, used in the grammar pattern -고 싶다 to express an intention or desire to do the action described by the preceding statement.
    • -은지 is a connective ending used to indicate uncertainty or doubt about a present action or state. It encapsulates the clause as a noun form, framing it as a question, assumption, or speculation.
    • is a particle indicating the cause or basis for something.
  2. 라사로는 속으로 웃음을 지으며, 맹인이 얼마나 영리한지 깨달았다.2
    Lazaro smiled to himself, realizing how clever the blind man was.
    • 영리하다 means ‘to be clever’ or ‘to be smart’.
    • -ㄴ지 is a connective ending used to indicate uncertainty or doubt about a present action or state. It encapsulates the clause as a noun form, framing it as a question, assumption, or speculation.

Footnotes#

  1. Sentence from Alice And The Cheshire Cat Story.

  2. Sentence from Lazaro And The Blind Man.

-(으)ㄴ/는지: Expressing Uncertainty (Present/State)
https://koreanstorylab.com/posts/grammar/-으ㄴ-는지-expressing-uncertainty-present-state/
Author
Korean Story Lab
Published at
2026-06-08
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0