3 · Sentence endings that add a stance
I see: realising with -군요 and -구나
the ending of realisation
-군요 says that something has just become clear to you, often from what somebody has told you: “so that is how it is”.
Adjectives, the copula 이다 and every past or -겠- form take -군요 directly: 예쁘군요, 좋군요, 학생이군요, 왔군요, 힘들겠군요. Action verbs in the present add -는- first: 먹는군요, 가는군요, and a stem in rieul loses it before that n: 알다 → 아는군요. This is the same split as before a noun, where adjectives say 예쁜 and verbs say 먹는.
The ending marks a realisation: something has just fallen into place. It is the natural reply to information you did not have — somebody says they grew up in Busan, and you answer 아, 부산에서 오셨군요, “ah, so you're from Busan”. English says “I see”, “so …”, or “oh, right”. The set phrase 그렇군요, “I see”, is one of the most common replies in polite conversation.
It is close to -네요, and both react to something new. -네요 is the reflex of the moment, tied to what you perceive yourself. -군요 is the thought that follows: you have taken something in, whether you saw it, were told it or worked it out. In everyday speech -네요 is far more frequent and -군요 can sound a little measured, except in 그렇군요, which everybody uses.
Among friends, to children and to yourself the ending is -구나: 그렇구나, 잘 먹는구나, 벌써 겨울이구나. The commonest mistake is the -는-: English speakers leave it out after action verbs (먹군요) and add it to adjectives (예쁘는군요), because -네요 never needs it.
The form
| adjective | 예쁘다 → 예쁘군요 |
| action verb, present | 먹다 → 먹는군요 |
| action verb in rieul | 알다 → 아는군요 |
| past | 오다 → 왔군요 |
| after a noun | 학생이군요 |
| among friends | 그렇구나 / 먹는구나 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Adjectives, 이다 and any past or -겠- form take -군요 directly.
방이 생각보다 넓군요.The room is bigger than I thought.
Action verbs in the present add -는-: -는군요.
매일 아침 운동을 하시는군요.So you exercise every morning.
It often answers new information from the other person: “so that is how it is”.
아, 그래서 길이 막혔군요.Ah, so that's why the roads were jammed.
Among friends, to children and to yourself, the ending is -구나.
오늘이 네 생일이구나!Oh, today's your birthday!
A closer look
Two endings for “oh!”
Looking at a bill, you react on the spot: 비싸네요, “that's expensive!”. Once somebody explains that the price includes a guided tour, you take it in: 그래서 비싸군요, “so that's why it's expensive”. The first is a reflex, the second understanding.
In writing and storytelling, -구나 is how a character's thought is written: 아, 내가 틀렸구나, “oh, I was wrong”. In polite conversation you will hear -군요 most often in the reply 그렇군요, and from people who speak in a careful, slightly formal way.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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an action verb ends in rieul (알다, 살다, 만들다)
the rieul drops before -는군요: 아는군요, 사는군요, 만드는군요.
친구가 이 근처에 사는군요.So your friend lives near here.
Rieul falls away before an n, exactly as in 아는 사람.
How to spot it
- -군요
- -는군요
- -구나
- -는구나
- 그렇군요
Example sentences
아, 대구에서 오셨군요.Ah, so you're from Daegu.
한국어를 십 년이나 배우셨군요.So you've studied Korean for ten whole years.
이 식당은 주말에 문을 닫는군요.I see this restaurant is closed at weekends.
그래서 그렇게 피곤해 보였군요.So that's why you looked so tired.
아, 그렇군요. 몰랐어요.I see. I didn't know that.
와, 그림을 정말 잘 그리는구나!Wow, you draw really well!
8 more example sentences
이 책이 그렇게 유명하군요.So this book is that famous.
두 분이 같은 회사에 다니시는군요.So you two work at the same company.
벌써 겨울이군요.So it's winter already.
제주도에서 일 년 동안 사셨군요.So you lived on Jeju for a year.
그 영화가 그렇게 재미있었군요.So that film was that good.
아이가 벌써 한글을 읽는구나!Oh, the little one can already read Hangul!
혼자서 이걸 다 만들었구나.So you made all this by yourself.
그럼 내일은 바쁘시겠군요.Then you must be busy tomorrow.
Worth knowing (1)
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Thinking aloud
-구나 is what a Korean says alone, on noticing something: 벌써 열두 시구나, “it's already twelve”. It needs no listener at all.
아, 열쇠를 집에 두고 왔구나.Ah, I've left the keys at home.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
An action verb in the present needs -는- before -군요, just as it needs -는 before a noun. English speakers drop it because -네요 attaches with nothing in between. Adjectives work the other way round: 예쁘군요, never 예쁘는군요.
Action verbs say -neungunyo, adjectives -gunyo, and among friends both end in -guna.
Your turn
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