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Grammar / Level 4 / Lesson 108

는걸요, 데요, 고말고요, 게요: endings with a raised eyebrow

By Daniel Buckley · 13 minute read · TOPIK 5

Vocabulary

  1. 벌써 - already
  2. 아직 - still, yet
  3. 휴가 - time off, a holiday
  4. 맞히다 - to guess right
  5. 그럼요 - of course
  6. 그러게요 - I know, you're right
  7. 자네 - you (to a younger adult or an old friend)
  8. 케이크 - a cake

A friend offers to buy you lunch and you've eaten. 벌써 먹었어요 is correct. 벌써 먹었는걸요 says the same thing with a small, apologetic shrug: actually, I already have.

None of these endings changes the facts. They change the face you're making while you say them, which is why textbooks struggle with them and dramas are full of them. All of them are spoken, and you won't write them outside dialogue and messages.

는걸요: actually

는걸요 says the facts aren't quite what the other person expected. That makes it a gentle way to correct someone or to wave away a compliment. It's common, and it's polite in the way a soft "actually" is polite.

Without 요, 는걸 is mostly for friends or for yourself, and it can also be mild surprise: this is better than I'd expected. It's not the same as ㄹ/을걸요, which is a guess. With a space, 는 걸 is just 는 것을.

Making 는걸요

  • Verbs, 있다, 없다: 는걸요.먹다 → 먹는걸요있다 → 있는걸요
  • Adjectives: ㄴ/은걸요.좋다 → 좋은걸요비싸다 → 비싼걸요
  • Past: 았/었는걸요. You'll also hear ㄴ/은걸요 on a verb for the past.먹었는걸요먹은걸요
  • Nouns: 인걸요.일요일 → 일요일인걸요

Pick a verb

먹다먹었어요먹었는걸요

  1. 저는 벌써 먹었는걸요.

    I've already eaten, actually.

  2. 아니에요, 저도 아직 잘 못하는걸요.

    Not at all, I'm still not very good myself.

  3. 별로 안 비싼걸요.

    It isn't all that expensive, actually.

  4. 오늘은 일요일인걸요.

    But it's Sunday today.

  5. 생각보다 잘하는걸.

    You're better than I thought.

데요: what I found, with one letter changed

데요 does what 더라고요 does: I saw this myself, and here it is. It's shorter and more offhand. You'll hear it, but I'd guess much less than 더라고요, so I'd learn to recognise it and keep 더라고요 for your own speech.

The trouble is that 데요 and 대요 sound the same, and the difference is all in the source. 데 was you, and 대 was somebody else. People mix them up in writing all the time, including Koreans.

Three sentences that look alike

  • 맛있데요: it was good, I tried it.
  • 맛있대요: it's good, they say.
  • 맛있는데요: it's good, and I'll leave that with you. This one is 는데요.

Pick a verb

좋다좋좋데요

  1. 어제 가 봤는데 음식이 정말 맛있데요.

    I went yesterday, and the food was really good.

  2. 민수 씨 노래 정말 잘하데요.

    Minsu sings really well, I found.

  3. 주말이라서 그런지 사람이 많데요.

    Maybe because it was the weekend, there were a lot of people.

고말고요: of course!

고말고요 is an emphatic yes. Someone asks, and you answer warmly and without hesitation. I'd call it a little old-fashioned, the voice of a kind older person, but it's still heard and it sounds friendly.

It goes on a stem and it's written as one word. Don't confuse it with 고 말다, the ending that means something finally happened. 고말고 without 요 is for friends and younger people.

Pick a verb

되다되되고말고요

A

이거 먹어도 돼요?

This eat okay?

B

그럼요, 되고말고요.

Of course, it's okay, of course.

A

저 기억하세요?

Me remember?

B

기억하고말고요.

Remember, of course.

A

정말 맛있어요?

Really tasty?

B

맛있고말고요.

Tasty, of course.

게요: really? and guess what

This 게 has several jobs, and all of them are questions with an attitude. They're everyday, and you need to tell them apart from ㄹ/을게요. 갈게요 promises you'll go, and 가게요? asks if someone's really going.

The first job asks what someone's up to, usually because it surprises you. English would say "you're not going to". The dictionary puts it close to 려고 그래?, are you going to.

  1. 벌써 가게요?

    You're leaving already?

  2. 그걸 다 먹게요?

    You're not going to eat all that?

  3. 이 시간에 어디 가게요?

    Where are you off to at this hour?

The second job is a game. You've got the answer, and you dare the other person to guess it. This one's cheerful, and it's mostly a question word plus 게요.

  1. 이게 뭐게요?

    Guess what this is.

  2. 오늘 누가 왔게요?

    Guess who came today.

  3. 제가 몇 살이게요?

    Guess how old I am.

The third job is sarcastic: if that were so, would this be happening? It's the same question, used to shut an idea down.

  1. 그걸 알면 제가 여기 있게요?

    If I knew that, would I be here?

  2. 돈이 많으면 제가 이 일을 하게요?

    If I had money, would I be doing this job?

※ 그러게요 is its own word, and the one you'll use most. Like 그러게 말이에요, it agrees: I know, you're right, tell me about it. Without 요 it can also mean "I told you so": 그러게 내가 뭐랬어, see, what did I say?

는구먼: well, well

는구먼 is the long form of 는군, so it's a noticing ending like 구나. What it adds, to my ear, is a voice: an older man who's seen a thing or two. You'll hear this in dramas and read it in novels, and I wouldn't say it unless you're playing that man.

구먼 is the standard spelling. 구만 is what you'll usually see in subtitles and messages, and the dictionary marks it as non-standard. There's usually no 요, so it talks down or to yourself.

Making 는구먼

  • Verbs: 는구먼.오다 → 오는구먼알다 → 아는구먼
  • Adjectives, 있다, 없다: 구먼.좋다 → 좋구먼있다 → 있구먼
  • Past: 았/었구먼.있었구먼
  • Nouns: (이)구먼.학생 → 학생이구먼

Pick a verb

오다오오는구먼

  1. 이제 오는구먼.

    So you've finally shown up.

  2. 자네 한국어를 잘하는구먼.

    You speak Korean well, I see.

  3. 오늘 날씨가 좋구먼.

    Lovely weather today.

  4. 여기 있었구먼.

    So this is where you were.

  5. 국이 참 맛있구먼.

    This soup's really good.

  1. A: 같이 밥 먹을까요? B: 저는 벌써 ___.

    A: Shall we have lunch? B: I've already eaten, actually.

  2. 어제 직접 가 봤는데 정말 ___.

    I went there myself yesterday, and it was really good.

  3. 벌써 ___?

    You're leaving already?

  4. A: 저도 같이 가도 돼요? B: 그럼요, ___.

    A: Can I come too? B: Of course you can.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

벌써 가게요?

Already going to go?

B

네, 오늘 친구 생일이에요. 제가 뭘 샀게요?

Yes, today friend's birthday. What I bought, guess?

A

글쎄요. 꽃이요?

Well. Flowers?

B

아니요, 케이크요. 어제 그 가게에 가 봤는데 정말 맛있데요.

No, cake. Yesterday that shop tried going, and really delicious, I found.

A

거기 비싸다고 하던데요.

There expensive, they said, I heard.

B

별로 안 비싼걸요.

Not much expensive, actually.

A

그럼 저도 같이 가도 돼요?

Then I also together go okay?

B

되고말고요.

Okay, of course.

Common mistakes

  1. 제가 먹어 봤는데 맛있대요.

    제가 먹어 봤는데 맛있데요.

    If you tried it, the source is you, so it's 데요. 대요 reports what someone told you.

  2. A: 기억하세요? B: 기억하고 말고요.

    A: 기억하세요? B: 기억하고말고요.

    고말고요 is one ending, so there's no space in it.

  3. 벌써 갈게요?

    벌써 가게요?

    ㄹ/을게요 is your own promise. To ask about the other person's plan, use 게요 on the stem.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

저는 벌써 ___. (먹다, past, use 는걸요) I've already eaten, actually.

The 았/었 stem, then 는걸요.

Summary

는걸요 forms
DictionaryStem는걸요
먹다먹먹는걸요
가다가가는걸요
살다살사는걸요
있다있있는걸요
ㄴ/은걸요 forms
DictionaryStemㄴ/은걸요
좋다좋좋은걸요
비싸다비싸비싼걸요
춥다춥추운걸요
고말고요 forms
DictionaryStem고말고요
되다되되고말고요
알다알알고말고요
맛있다맛있맛있고말고요

The look each one adds

  • 는걸요: actually, that's not quite how it is.
  • 데요: I saw it myself. Compare 대요, they say.
  • 고말고요: of course, warmly.
  • 게요: you're not going to? Guess what. If so, would I be here?
  • 는구먼, 는구만: well, well, in an older man's voice.

Now you can say

  1. 아니에요, 저도 아직 잘 못하는걸요.

    Not at all, I'm still not very good myself.

  2. 벌써 가게요?

    You're leaving already?

  3. 이게 뭐게요?

    Guess what this is.

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