ㄹ/을 줄 알다 and 는 줄 알았다: knowing how, and being wrong
By Daniel Buckley · 12 minute read · TOPIK 3
Vocabulary
- 수영하다 - to swim
- 운전하다 - to drive
- 고치다 - to fix
- 젓가락 - chopsticks
- 피아노 - piano
- 치다 - to play (the piano)
- 면허 - licence
- 따다 - to get (a licence, a qualification)
- 여러분 - everyone (addressing a group)
수영할 줄 알아요 means "I know how to swim". 수영하는 줄 알았어요 means "I thought you were swimming", and it usually means you were wrong. They look alike because the same small noun, 줄, is doing the work.
줄 means something like the way of a thing, or the fact of it. It can't stand alone, so it always has a modifier in front. The modifier decides the meaning, which is why this is easy to read and hard to say quickly.
ㄹ/을 줄 알다: knowing how
With the ㄹ/을 form, 줄 is the way of doing something. So 수영할 줄 알아요 is "I know the way to swim". The negative isn't 안 알아요: use 모르다, as you would with any "don't know".
Making ㄹ/을 줄 알다
- Know how: ㄹ 줄 알다, or 을 줄 알다 after a consonant.수영하다 → 수영할 줄 알아요읽다 → 읽을 줄 알아요
- Don't know how: ㄹ/을 줄 모르다.운전하다 → 운전할 줄 몰라요
Pick a verb
수영하다수영하수영할 줄 알아요
저는 수영할 줄 알아요.
I know how to swim.
저는 운전할 줄 몰라요.
I don't know how to drive.
한글을 읽을 줄 알아요?
Can you read Hangul?
김치찌개를 만들 줄 알아요.
I know how to make kimchi stew.
젓가락을 쓸 줄 몰라요.
I don't know how to use chopsticks.
이 컴퓨터를 고칠 줄 아는 사람이 있어요?
Is there anyone who knows how to fix this computer?
How does this differ from ㄹ/을 수 있다? 수 있다 asks whether something's possible, for any reason at all. 줄 알다 is about a skill you've learned. So you can have the skill and still not be able to do it today.
수영할 줄 알아요. 그런데 오늘은 다리가 아파서 수영할 수 없어요.
I know how to swim. But my leg hurts today, so I can't.
는 줄 알았다: I thought
With the other modifiers, 줄 is the fact of something. 는 줄 알았어요 says "I took it as fact that", and it's usually what you say when you've just found out you were wrong. 다고 생각했어요 reports an opinion. 는 줄 알았어요 usually tells you the opinion has just collapsed.
The modifier gives the tense
- Verb, 있다 or 없다, now: 는 줄.가다 → 가는 줄살다 → 사는 줄맛있다 → 맛있는 줄
- Adjective, now: ㄴ/은 줄.바쁘다 → 바쁜 줄좋다 → 좋은 줄
- Noun: 인 줄.학생 → 학생인 줄
- Verb, already done: ㄴ/은 줄.가다 → 간 줄먹다 → 먹은 줄
- Still to come: ㄹ/을 줄.가다 → 갈 줄춥다 → 추울 줄
민수 씨가 학생인 줄 알았어요.
I thought Minsu was a student.
오늘이 토요일인 줄 알았어요.
I thought today was Saturday.
지수 씨가 서울에 사는 줄 알았어요.
I thought Jisu lived in Seoul.
벌써 간 줄 알았어요.
I thought you'd already left.
이 식당이 비싼 줄 알았어요.
I thought this restaurant was expensive.
민수 씨가 저를 싫어하는 줄 알았어요.
I thought Minsu didn't like me.
힘들어서 죽는 줄 알았어요.
It was so hard I thought I'd die.
To say what someone believes right now, leave 알다 in the present: 민수 씨는 제가 학생인 줄 알아요, Minsu thinks I'm a student. It carries the same hint that the belief is wrong.
The ㄹ/을 줄 version is the slippery one, because it depends on context. Usually it's a wrong guess, but 그럴 줄 알았어요 means "I knew it!", where the guess was right. Tone and situation tell you which, and it does take time to get used to.
줄 몰랐다: I never expected
Swap 알았다 for 몰랐다 and you've got "I didn't realise". With ㄹ/을 줄 몰랐어요 it's closer to "I never expected", and it's a good way to express surprise. It often comes with 이렇게.
오늘이 민수 씨 생일인 줄 몰랐어요.
I didn't realise it was your birthday, Minsu.
지수 씨가 결혼한 줄 몰랐어요.
I didn't know Jisu was married.
이렇게 추울 줄 몰랐어요.
I never expected it to be this cold.
이렇게 맛있을 줄 몰랐어요.
I had no idea it would taste this good.
Before moving on, sort these. Look at the form in front of 줄, then at how the sentence ends.
피아노를 칠 줄 알아요.
민수 씨가 피아노를 치는 줄 알았어요.
지수 씨가 피아노를 치는 줄 몰랐어요.
저는 운전할 줄 알아요.
오늘이 금요일인 줄 알았어요.
이렇게 멀 줄 몰랐어요.
Listen and type
1 / 3
Play it as often as you like.
다시피: as you know
다시피 goes on the stem or on 았/었, and it has two jobs. The first points to something the listener already knows or can see: as you know, as you can see. It's usually on verbs like 알다, 보다 and 듣다, and you'll often meet it in the polite 시 form, in presentations and formal talk.
아시다시피 내일은 회사가 쉽니다.
As you know, the office is closed tomorrow.
보시다시피 방이 아주 작아요.
As you can see, the room's very small.
여러분도 들으셨다시피 회의가 다음 주로 바뀌었습니다.
As you've all heard, the meeting has moved to next week.
말씀드렸다시피 오늘은 일찍 끝납니다.
As I said, we're finishing early today.
The second job needs 하다, and has nothing to do with knowing. 다시피 하다 says "as good as": it isn't literally so, but it's close. Think of "I practically live here".
요즘 도서관에서 살다시피 해요.
I practically live in the library these days.
지수 씨는 우리 집에 매일 오다시피 해요.
Jisu comes to our house practically every day.
시험 기간에는 굶다시피 했어요.
I practically starved during exams.
늦어서 뛰다시피 왔어요.
I was late, so I came practically at a run.
※ Example 4 drops 하다 and describes how you came, and that's normal. Don't confuse this with 거의, which is a plain "almost": 다시피 usually adds some colour or exaggeration.
In a conversation
- A
민수 씨, 운전할 줄 알아요?
Minsu, drive know how?
- B
네, 작년에 면허를 땄어요.
Yes, last year licence got.
- A
정말요? 저는 운전 못하는 줄 알았어요. 차도 없잖아요.
Really? I driving can't, thought. Car also don't have, you know.
- B
요즘은 회사에서 살다시피 해요.
These days at company practically live.
- A
그렇게 바쁜 줄 몰랐어요.
So busy that, didn't know.
Common mistakes
저는 수영하는 줄 알아요.
저는 수영할 줄 알아요.
Skills take ㄹ/을 줄. 수영하는 줄 알아요 means you think someone is swimming.
민수 씨가 학생 줄 알았어요.
민수 씨가 학생인 줄 알았어요.
줄 needs a modifier in front, and a noun gets one from 이다: 인.
다리가 아파서 오늘은 수영할 줄 몰라요.
다리가 아파서 오늘은 수영할 수 없어요.
You haven't lost the skill. When circumstances stop you, it's 수 없어요.
One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.
Check yourself
Quick check
1 / 6
한글을 ___. (읽다, 해요 form) I know how to read Hangul.
A consonant stem takes 을 줄.
Summary
| Dictionary | Stem | ㄹ/을 줄 알아요 |
|---|---|---|
| 수영하다 | 수영하 | 수영할 줄 알아요 |
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹을 줄 알아요 |
| 만들다 | 만들 | 만들 줄 알아요 |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 들을 줄 알아요 |
| 쓰다 | 쓰 | 쓸 줄 알아요 |
| 고치다 | 고치 | 고칠 줄 알아요 |
줄 and 다시피
- ㄹ/을 줄 알다, 모르다: know, or don't know, how.수영할 줄 알아요, 운전할 줄 몰라요
- 는 줄 알았다: I thought, and usually I was wrong.가는 줄, 바쁜 줄, 학생인 줄, 간 줄, 갈 줄
- 줄 몰랐다: I didn't realise, I never expected.이렇게 추울 줄 몰랐어요
- 다시피: as you know.아시다시피, 보시다시피
- 다시피 하다: practically.살다시피 해요
Now you can say
저는 운전할 줄 몰라요.
I don't know how to drive.
벌써 간 줄 알았어요.
I thought you'd already left.
이렇게 추울 줄 몰랐어요.
I never expected it to be this cold.
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