3 · Sentence endings that add a stance
You know: -잖아요 for what the listener already knows
the reminding ending
-잖아요 points to something both speakers know: “you know …”, “after all …”, “I told you …”.
-잖아요 began as -지 않아요 and is now one ending, attached straight to the stem: 바쁘잖아요, 많잖아요, 말했잖아요. After a noun it is 이잖아요 after a consonant and 잖아요 after a vowel: 주말이잖아요, 친구잖아요.
The ending reminds the listener of something they know or should know, usually as the reason for what is being said: 은행은 문 닫았을 거예요. 일요일이잖아요, “the bank will be closed. It's Sunday, after all.” English says “you know”, “after all”, “remember”, or stresses a word. It is the mirror image of -거든요, which brings in a reason the listener did not know.
Said with weight, it reproaches: 제가 말했잖아요! is “I told you!”. That is why it needs care upwards — reminding a manager of something they should know can sound like a lecture. And 있잖아요 at the start of a sentence has become an attention-getter: “you know what?”.
Do not confuse it with the real question -지 않아요?. 바쁘지 않아요?, with a rising tone, asks “aren't you busy?”; 바쁘잖아요 asserts “you're busy, after all”. The typical mistake is using -잖아요 for news — telling a stranger where you are from with it sounds as if they had forgotten. Among friends the ending is -잖아.
The form
| after a vowel | 바쁘다 → 바쁘잖아요 |
| after a consonant | 많다 → 많잖아요 |
| past | 말하다 → 말했잖아요 |
| after a noun | 주말이잖아요 / 친구잖아요 |
| to start a piece of news | 있잖아요, … |
| among friends | 알잖아. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
-잖아요 goes straight onto the stem and reminds the listener of something they know.
오늘은 길이 많이 막힐 거예요. 금요일이잖아요.The roads will be very busy today. It's Friday, after all.
Said firmly, it reproaches: “I told you”.
그러니까 제가 우산 가져가라고 했잖아요.See? I told you to take an umbrella!
있잖아요 at the start of a sentence catches the listener's attention.
있잖아요, 저 다음 달에 회사 그만둬요.You know what? I'm leaving my job next month.
It needs something the listener already knows; for news, use -거든요.
저 요즘 다이어트하잖아요. 그래서 저녁은 안 먹어요.I'm on a diet these days, remember? So I'm not having dinner.
A closer look
-잖아요 or -지 않아요?
The two share a history and nothing else today. 춥지 않아요?, with a rising tone, is a real question: “aren't you cold?”. 춥잖아요 is a statement that leans on shared knowledge: “it's cold, you know” — perhaps as the reason for closing a window.
In writing the two are kept apart: the contracted -잖아요 is the reminder, the full -지 않아요 the negative or the real question.
How to spot it
- -잖아요
- 있잖아요
- 말했잖아요
- 그러니까
Example sentences
지금 은행에 가도 소용없어요. 오늘 일요일이잖아요.There's no point going to the bank now. It's Sunday, after all.
제가 매운 거 못 먹잖아요. 덜 맵게 해 주세요.You know I can't eat spicy food. Please make it less spicy.
그 사람 원래 말이 없잖아요. 화난 거 아니에요.He's quiet by nature, you know. He isn't angry.
제가 어제 말했잖아요. 회의가 취소됐다고요.I told you yesterday. The meeting was cancelled.
있잖아요, 어제 지하철에서 누굴 만났는지 알아요?You know what? Guess who I met on the underground yesterday.
천천히 드세요. 시간 많잖아요.Take your time. We've got plenty of time, after all.
7 more example sentences
내일 일찍 일어나야 하잖아요. 빨리 자요.You have to get up early tomorrow, remember. Go to bed.
이 근처는 주차하기 어렵잖아요. 지하철 타고 가요.Parking round here is hard, you know. Let's take the underground.
우리 같은 반이었잖아요. 기억 안 나요?We were in the same class, you know. Don't you remember?
그 영화는 벌써 봤잖아요. 다른 거 봐요.We've already seen that film. Let's watch something else.
민수 씨는 요리를 잘하잖아요. 민수 씨가 해 주세요.Minsu, you're a good cook, you know. You do it, please.
여름에는 원래 덥잖아요.Summer is always hot, you know.
지난번에 같이 갔잖아요. 시청 앞에 있는 식당이요.We went there together last time, remember? The restaurant in front of City Hall.
Worth knowing (1)
-
The attention-getter
있잖아요 on its own opens a conversation — “you know what?”, “listen …” — and among friends it is 있잖아. It asks for nothing; the listener just says 응 or 네 and waits.
있잖아, 나 어제 시험 붙었어!Guess what — I passed the exam yesterday!
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Somebody you have just met cannot already know where you are from, so -잖아요 sounds as if you were telling them off for forgetting. News takes a plain ending, or -거든요 when it explains something.
Janayo for what they know, geodeunyo for what they do not.
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.