Example Sentences#

1. 자전거 타고 나서 치맥 먹자.¹
   Let’s have some after biking.
   • 나다 means ‘to occur’ and can function as an auxiliary verb to indicate that the preceding action has been completed.
   • -아서 is a connective ending that indicates a sequence of related events, cause and effect, or ways or means.
   • Together, -고 나서 forms a construction meaning ‘after doing’ or ‘upon completion of the preceding action’.
2. 걷고 나면 보이는 길은 왜일까²
   Why do the roads only reveal themselves after I walk?
   • 나다 means ‘to occur’ and can function as an auxiliary verb to indicate that the preceding action has been completed.
   • 면 is a conditional ending meaning ‘if’ or ‘when’.
   • Together, -고 나면 forms a construction meaning ‘if/once the preceding action is completed’.
3. “개는 화가 나면 으르렁거리고, 기쁘면 꼬리를 흔들어.³
   “When a dog gets angry, it growls, and when it’s happy, it wags its tail.
   • 나다 means ‘to emerge’, ‘to appear’, or ‘to occur’.
   • 화가 나다 is an idiomatic expression meaning ‘to become angry’.
   • 면 is a conditional ending meaning ‘if’ or ‘when’.
4. 포도를 다 먹고 난 후, 맹인은 포도 줄기를 손에 쥐고 고개를 흔들며 말했다.⁴
   After finishing the grapes, the blind man held the grape stem in his hand, shook his head, and said:
   • 나다 means ‘to occur’ and can function as an auxiliary verb to indicate that the preceding action has been completed.
   • -ㄴ is a past tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
5. 끝난 시간을 넘어 시작되는 순간들⁵
   Moments arising beyond the end of time
   • 끝나다 means ‘to end’ or ‘to finish’ in an intransitive sense. It is formed from 끝 (end) and 나다 (to emerge, appear, or occur), indicating that the action happens by itself without an external agent.
   • -ㄴ is a past tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun.
6. 닫힌 문 앞에서 화가 났어⁶
   Standing before closed doors, I felt anger.
   • 나다 means ‘to emerge’, ‘to appear’, or ‘to occur’.
   • 화가 나다 is an idiomatic expression meaning ‘to become angry’.
   • 았 is a past tense marker.
   • 어 is a casual ending used in informal speech.
7. 그런데 나는 기쁠 때 으르렁거리고, 화가 나면 꼬리를 흔들어.³
   But I growl when I’m happy, and I wag my tail when I’m angry.
   • 나다 means ‘to emerge’, ‘to appear’, or ‘to occur’.
   • 화가 나다 is an idiomatic expression meaning ‘to become angry’.
   • 면 is a conditional ending meaning ‘if’ or ‘when’.