Example Sentences#

1. 앨리스: “제가 미쳤다는 걸 어떻게 아세요?” 앨리스가 말했다.¹
   Alice: “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
   • 미치다 means ‘to go mad’ or ‘to become insane’.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • -다는 is derived from the structure -다고 하는, where -다고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense noun modifier used to describe the following noun. This structure suggests that something is being reported, quoted, or discussed rather than directly stated.
2. 그때 그는 자신이 장주라는 사실을 잊었습니다.²
   At that time, he forgot that he was Zhuang Zhou.
   • 장주 is a proper noun referring to Zhuang Zhou, a Chinese philosopher.
   • -라는 is derived from the structure -(이)라고 하는, where 이다 is the copula ‘to be’, 라고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun. When modifying abstract nouns like 사실 (fact), this structure quotes the content carried by that noun, effectively meaning ‘the fact that…’.
3. 하지만, 변할 때마다 그의 삶에서 시간이 줄어든다는 조건이 있었습니다.³
   However, the condition was that each transformation would shorten his life.
   • 줄어들다 is a compound verb made up of 줄다 (to decrease) and 들다 (to enter or become), meaning ‘to decrease’ or ‘to diminish’.
   • -ㄴ다는 is derived from the structure -ㄴ다고 하는, where -ㄴ다고 is a quotative marker reporting speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense noun modifier used to describe the following noun. This structure suggests that something is being reported, quoted, or discussed rather than directly stated.
4. 앨리스: “그렇다면 당신은 어떻게 자신이 미쳤다는 걸 아세요?”¹
   Alice: “If so, how do you know that you are mad?”
   • 미치다 means ‘to go mad’ or ‘to be crazy’.
   • 었 is a past tense marker.
   • -다는 is derived from the structure -다고 하는, where -다고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense noun modifier used to describe the following noun. This structure suggests that the fact of being mad is something that is being reported, quoted, or discussed rather than directly stated.
5. 그는 자신이 다시 장주라는 것을 알았습니다.²
   He realized that he was Zhuang Zhou again.
   • 장주 is a proper noun referring to Zhuang Zhou, a Chinese philosopher.
   • -라는 is derived from the structure -(이)라고 하는, where 이다 is the copula ‘to be’, 라고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun. When modifying the bound noun 것, this structure quotes the content being nominalized, effectively meaning ‘that…’.
6. 아니면 나비가 지금 자신이 장주라는 꿈을 꾸고 있는 것일까?”²
   Or is the butterfly now dreaming that it is Zhuang Zhou?”
   • 장주 is a proper noun referring to Zhuang Zhou, a Chinese philosopher.
   • -라는 is derived from the structure -(이)라고 하는, where 이다 is the copula ‘to be’, 라고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun. When modifying abstract nouns like 꿈 (dream), this structure quotes the content carried by that noun, effectively meaning ‘the dream that…’.