πŸ“˜ Grammar 11: How to Say Because in Korean – ~μ•„μ„œ/μ–΄μ„œ/ν•΄μ„œ

πŸ“˜ How to Say Because in Korean – ~μ•„μ„œ/μ–΄μ„œ/ν•΄μ„œ

Do you want to say “Because I’m tired…”, “Because it’s raining…”, or “Because I studied hard…” in Korean?

Then you need the Korean connector ~μ•„μ„œ / ~μ–΄μ„œ / ~ν•΄μ„œ – the essential way to express cause or reason in Korean!

In this post, you’ll learn how to use these forms properly with different verbs and adjectives, when to choose μ•„, μ–΄, or ν•΄, and how to create natural Korean sentences that explain why something happens.

🧠 What Does ~μ•„μ„œ / ~μ–΄μ„œ / ~ν•΄μ„œ Mean?

~μ•„μ„œ / ~μ–΄μ„œ / ~ν•΄μ„œ are used to connect two clauses: πŸ’‘ The first part gives the reason or cause πŸ’‘ The second part shows the result or action

It means: “because”, “so”, “therefore”, “as a result”


πŸ”€ Conjugation Rule

  • Use ~μ•„μ„œ if the verb stem has ㅏ or γ…—
  • Use ~μ–΄μ„œ if it has other vowels
  • Use ~ν•΄μ„œ if it ends in ν•˜λ‹€

Examples:

  • κ°€λ‹€ → κ°€μ•„μ„œ → κ°€μ„œ
  • λ¨Ήλ‹€ → λ¨Ήμ–΄μ„œ → λ¨Ήμ–΄μ„œ
  • κ³΅λΆ€ν•˜λ‹€ → κ³΅λΆ€ν•΄μ„œ

πŸ“˜ Common Verbs with ~μ•„μ„œ/μ–΄μ„œ/ν•΄μ„œ

VerbConnected FormMeaningRomanization
λ°°κ³ ν”„λ‹€ (to be hungry)λ°°κ³ νŒŒμ„œBecause I’m hungrybae-go-pa-seo
μΆ₯λ‹€ (to be cold)μΆ”μ›Œμ„œBecause it’s coldchu-wo-seo
μ•„ν”„λ‹€ (to be sick)μ•„νŒŒμ„œBecause I’m sicka-pa-seo
μ’‹λ‹€ (to be good)μ’‹μ•„μ„œBecause it’s goodjo-a-seo
ν•˜λ‹€ (to do)ν•΄μ„œBecause I didhae-seo

πŸ“™ Example Sentences

  • λ°°κ³ νŒŒμ„œ λ°₯을 λ¨Ήμ—ˆμ–΄μš” – Because I was hungry, I ate
    bae-go-pa-seo bap-eul meo-geot-seo-yo
  • λΉ„κ°€ μ™€μ„œ 집에 μžˆμ—ˆμ–΄μš” – Because it rained, I stayed home
    bi-ga wa-seo jib-e i-sseot-seo-yo
  • ν”Όκ³€ν•΄μ„œ 일찍 μž€μ–΄μš” – Because I was tired, I slept early
    pi-gon-hae-seo il-jjik jat-seo-yo

πŸ“ Structure Summary

Verb/Adjective stem + μ•„μ„œ / μ–΄μ„œ / ν•΄μ„œ + Result

  • κΈ°λ»μ„œ μ›ƒμ—ˆμ–΄μš” – I was happy, so I laughed
  • 돈이 μ—†μ–΄μ„œ λͺ» μƒ€μ–΄μš” – I didn’t buy it because I had no money
  • κ³΅λΆ€ν•΄μ„œ μ‹œν—˜μ„ 잘 λ΄€μ–΄μš” – I studied, so I did well on the test

πŸ’‘ Tips

  • ~μ„œ expresses reason, cause, or natural result
  • Don’t use imperative or propositive forms in the second clause (e.g. don’t say "Because it’s late, let’s sleep")
  • In spoken Korean, μ•„μ„œ/μ–΄μ„œ is often shortened: κ°€μ„œ, λ¨Ήμ–΄μ„œ, ν•΄μ„œ

πŸ§ͺ Mini Quiz – Choose the Right Answer!

  1. How do you say “Because I’m tired”?
    a) ν”Όκ³€μ•„μ…”
    b) ν”Όκ³€ν•΄μ„œ
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ b) ν”Όκ³€ν•΄μ„œ

  2. Translate: “Because I was cold, I wore a coat.”
    a) μΆ”μ›Œμ„œ μ½”νŠΈλ₯Ό μž…μ—ˆμ–΄μš”
    b) μΆ”μ›Œμ„œ μ½”νŠΈλ₯Ό λ²—μ—ˆμ–΄μš”
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ a) μΆ”μ›Œμ„œ μ½”νŠΈλ₯Ό μž…μ—ˆμ–΄μš”

  3. Which one is correct?
    a) κ³΅λΆ€μ•„μ„œ
    b) κ³΅λΆ€ν•΄μ„œ
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ b) κ³΅λΆ€ν•΄μ„œ


✅ Conclusion

Now you can express cause and effect clearly using ~μ•„μ„œ / ~μ–΄μ„œ / ~ν•΄μ„œ in Korean!

  • Use ~μ•„μ„œ when stem has ㅏ or γ…—
  • Use ~μ–΄μ„œ with other vowels
  • Use ~ν•΄μ„œ for ν•˜λ‹€ verbs

Practice by making sentences about your daily life:

  • “I was tired, so I rested” → ν”Όκ³€ν•΄μ„œ μ‰¬μ—ˆμ–΄μš”
  • “It was expensive, so I didn’t buy it” → λΉ„μ‹Έμ„œ μ•ˆ μƒ€μ–΄μš”


πŸ“˜ Coming Up Next

Next lesson: How to Use ~γ„΄/은/λŠ” – Korean Descriptive Clause Grammar
You’ll learn how to say “the book I read”, “the food I ate” and describe nouns using verb clauses!

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