KoreanPath

-길래Korean connective · TOPIK 5

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TOPIK 5 5급Connectives 연결 어미

A connective ending referring to the cause or reason of the following statement.

A connective ending referring to the cause or reason of the following statement.

뒤에 오는 말의 원인이나 근거를 나타내는 연결 어미.

쓰임Usage

Mainly in speech, attaches after the copula 이다, verbs and adjectives, the honorific -으시- or the past -었-.

주로 구어에서, ‘이다’, 동사와 형용사 또는 ‘-으시-’, ‘-었-’ 뒤에 붙여 쓴다.

예문Examples

아침부터 날씨가 흐리길래 우산을 챙겨 나왔다.

Since it was cloudy from morning, I brought an umbrella.

대체 무슨 일이길래 안색이 그리 안 좋은 거예요?

What on earth happened that your face looks so bad?

아버지께서 너무 곤하게 주무시길래 안 깨웠어요.

My father was sleeping so soundly that I didn't wake him.

대화In conversation

승규야, 교통사고가 났다더니 어떻게 된 거야?

Seunggyu, I heard you had a car accident, what happened?

응, 갑자기 쿵 하길래 보니까 뒤에서 차가 박았더라고.

Yeah, suddenly there was a bang, and when I looked, a car had hit us from behind.

관련 문법Related grammar

Other connectives you will meet alongside this one.

-고는 -goneun -곤 · -고는 하다 · -곤 하다 A connective ending used when the same event is repeated. TOPIK 5 -느니 -neuni -느니보다 · -느니보다는 A connective ending used when the following statement is better than the preceding statement. TOPIK 5 -다가는 -daganeun -다간 · -단 A connective ending used when an action or state, etc., is stopped and changed to another action or state. TOPIK 5 -을뿐더러 -eul-ppundeoreo -ㄹ뿐더러 A connective ending used to indicate that another fact exists other than a certain fact. TOPIK 5 -을지라도 -uljirado -ㄹ지라도 A connective ending used when presenting or assuming a certain situation and adding a situation that is irrelevant or opposite to it. TOPIK 5 -지 -ji A connective ending used to describe contradictory facts. TOPIK 5

자주 묻는 질문Common questions

What does -길래 mean in Korean?

-길래 is a connective introduced at 5급 (TOPIK 5). A connective ending referring to the cause or reason of the following statement.

When do you use -길래?

Mainly in speech, attaches after the copula 이다, verbs and adjectives, the honorific -으시- or the past -었-.

What TOPIK level is -길래?

5급 — TOPIK 5, advanced. It is one of 56 grammar points at that level.

Definition, usage note, examples and dialogue from the 국립국어원 한국어기초사전, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.