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Grammar / Level 4 / Lesson 106

는 마당에, 는 판에, 던 차에: moments and situations

By Daniel Buckley · 13 minute read · TOPIK 5

Vocabulary

  1. 마당 - a yard; the point things have reached
  2. 상황 - a situation
  3. 헤어지다 - to break up, to part
  4. 마침 - just then, as it happens
  5. 지켜보다 - to watch, to look on
  6. 월급 - a salary
  7. 끝나다 - to end
  8. 팔리다 - to sell, to be sold
  9. 박수 - applause
  10. 숨기다 - to hide

Someone in a drama has lost everything, and a friend is calmly eating. 이 마당에 밥이 넘어가요? How can you eat at a time like this? 마당 is the yard in front of a house, but in that sentence it's the point things have come to.

Korean likes to treat a moment as a place you're standing in. A lot of nouns do this job, so most of this lesson is one idea: name the situation with a modifier and a noun, then say what happens in it.

는 마당에: now that it's come to this

는 마당에 says things have reached this point, and it's usually a bad or final point. What follows is often a rhetorical question or a complaint: given all this, what's the use? You'll hear it in dramas and read it in novels, and it's natural in heated conversation.

Making 는 마당에

  • Happening now: 는 마당에.헤어지다 → 헤어지는 마당에
  • Already happened, or an adjective: ㄴ/은 마당에.끝나다 → 끝난 마당에급하다 → 급한 마당에
  • On its own: 이 마당에, at this stage.

Pick a verb

끝나다끝나끝난 마당에

  1. 이 마당에 밥이 넘어가요?

    How can you eat at a time like this?

  2. 이렇게 된 마당에 더 숨길 게 뭐가 있어요?

    Now that it's come to this, what's left to hide?

  3. 헤어지는 마당에 무슨 말을 더 하겠어요?

    Now that we're breaking up, what more is there to say?

  4. 다 끝난 마당에 후회하면 뭐 해요?

    Now it's all over, what's the use in regretting it?

  5. 회사가 망하게 생긴 마당에 월급 얘기를 해요?

    With the company about to go under, you're talking about pay?

는 판에: with things as they are

판 is the scene where something's going on, like a game table or a brawl. 는 판에 says "in a situation like this", and what follows is usually something out of place. It's spoken, and it goes on verbs and adjectives alike.

It's very close to 마당에, and the two often swap: the dictionary even defines 마당 with the word 판. If there's a difference, it's that 마당에 leans towards a final point and 판에 towards a mess that's still going on. That's my feel for them, not a rule.

  1. 모두 바쁜 판에 혼자 놀고 있어요?

    With everyone this busy, you're sitting around?

  2. 밥 먹을 돈도 없는 판에 무슨 여행이에요?

    I can't even afford food, so what's this about a trip?

  3. 다들 일자리를 잃는 판에 월급을 올려 달라고요?

    With everyone losing their jobs, you want a raise?

  4. 자기 일도 못 하는 판에 누구를 도와요?

    He can't even do his own work, so how's he going to help anyone?

던 차에: right as it happens

차 here is 次, a moment or occasion, and it has nothing to do with cars or tea. 던 차에 says you were in the middle of a state or plan when something else came along, usually something welcome. 마침 and 안 그래도 go with it naturally.

It's a slightly more formal version of the 참 in (으)려던 참이다. You'll see it in writing and polite speech, often as 려던 차에 or 고 있던 차에.

  1. 심심하던 차에 친구가 찾아왔어요.

    I was getting bored when a friend dropped by.

  2. 안 그래도 전화하려던 차에 연락이 왔어요.

    I was just about to call when you got in touch.

  3. 고민하고 있던 차에 좋은 기회가 생겼어요.

    I was still thinking it over when a good opportunity came up.

  4. 새 집을 찾던 차에 마침 친구가 좋은 곳을 소개해 줬어요.

    I was looking for a new place when, as it happened, a friend told me about a good one.

※ 차 on a noun is a different job, and it gives a purpose: 인사차 들렀습니다, I dropped in to say hello. You'll see 출장차 and 업무차 in polite speech too.

는 가운데: amid

가운데 is the middle, so 는 가운데 sets one event in the middle of another that's going on around it. This is the news reader's favourite. You'll read and hear it there and in speeches, and you won't use it with friends.

Adjectives take ㄴ/은 가운데, which you'll meet in weather forecasts. The last example below is a set phrase for thanking guests at a formal event.

  1. 비가 내리는 가운데 경기가 시작됐다.

    The match began as rain fell.

  2. 많은 사람들이 지켜보는 가운데 결혼식이 열렸다.

    The wedding was held with a large crowd looking on.

  3. 물가가 오르는 가운데 월급은 그대로다.

    While prices are rising, salaries stay the same.

  4. 오늘은 전국이 맑은 가운데 낮 기온이 크게 오르겠습니다.

    With clear skies across the country today, temperatures will rise sharply.

  5. 바쁘신 가운데 와 주셔서 감사합니다.

    Thank you for coming despite your busy schedules.

는 동시에: at the same time

동시에 is a plain word, at the same time, and it's in common use. After a modifier it joins two things that coincide: two events at one instant, or two facts true of one thing. (으)면서 is the everyday way to say much the same, and 는 동시에 is a bit more formal.

Using 동시에

  • Verbs: 는 동시에.듣다 → 듣는 동시에
  • Adjectives: ㄴ/은 동시에.어렵다 → 어려운 동시에
  • Nouns: 인 동시에.가수 → 가수인 동시에

  1. 버튼을 누르는 동시에 문이 열렸어요.

    The door opened the moment I pressed the button.

  2. 종이 울리는 동시에 학생들이 일어났어요.

    The students stood up the moment the bell rang.

  3. 그는 가수인 동시에 배우이다.

    He's both a singer and an actor.

  4. 이 일은 어려운 동시에 재미있다.

    This work is hard and at the same time fun.

기가 바쁘게, 기가 무섭게: no sooner than

자마자 is the plain way to say this. These two add a picture: 기가 무섭게 is so quick it's frightening, and in 기가 바쁘게, to my ear, there's barely time between the two things. People write these and say them, and 가 is often dropped.

They go on a bare stem, with no tense before 기. What comes next usually describes something that happened or regularly happens, not a command or a suggestion. For those, use 자마자.

Pick a verb

끝나다끝나끝나기가 무섭게

  1. 수업이 끝나기가 무섭게 학생들이 뛰어나갔어요.

    No sooner had class finished than the students ran out.

  2. 새 제품이 나오기가 무섭게 다 팔렸어요.

    The new product sold out the moment it came out.

  3. 월급을 받기가 무섭게 다 써 버려요.

    I spend my salary the moment I get it.

  4. 밥을 먹기가 바쁘게 나갔어요.

    He had hardly eaten before he was out the door.

  5. 아이는 집에 오기가 바쁘게 게임을 시작했어요.

    The minute he got home, the boy started gaming.

  1. 다들 힘든 판에 혼자 여행을 가요?

  2. 이렇게 된 마당에 뭘 더 바라요?

  3. 심심하던 차에 친구가 왔어요.

  4. 많은 사람들이 지켜보는 가운데 경기가 끝났다.

  5. 문이 열리기가 무섭게 사람들이 들어왔어요.

  6. 밥을 먹기가 바쁘게 일어났어요.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

회사 사정이 이렇게 어려운 판에 회식을 해요?

Company situation this hard, in the scene, staff dinner do?

B

사장님이 마지막으로 한번 모이자고 하셨어요.

Boss last time once gather said.

A

이 마당에 밥이 넘어가겠어요?

At this point rice would go down?

B

그래도 저는 마침 사람들을 보고 싶던 차에 잘됐어요.

Still, I just then people wanted to see, at that moment, turned out well.

A

민수 씨는요?

Minsu?

B

회의가 끝나기가 무섭게 집에 갔어요.

Meeting end, frighteningly went home.

Common mistakes

  1. 밥을 먹었기가 무섭게 나갔어요.

    밥을 먹기가 무섭게 나갔어요.

    No tense before 기. The end of the sentence carries it.

  2. 그는 가수 동시에 배우이다.

    그는 가수인 동시에 배우이다.

    After a noun you need 인, the modifier of 이다.

  3. 집에 오기가 무섭게 숙제해라.

    집에 오자마자 숙제해라.

    기가 무섭게 describes what happens, and it isn't normally used for an order. Use 자마자.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

다 ___ 마당에 후회하면 뭐 해요? (끝나다) Now it's all over, what's the use in regretting it?

It has already happened.

Summary

는 마당에 forms
DictionaryStem는 마당에
먹다먹먹는 마당에
떠나다떠나떠나는 마당에
살다살사는 마당에
듣다듣듣는 마당에
는 가운데 forms
DictionaryStem는 가운데
내리다내리내리는 가운데
오르다오르오르는 가운데
지켜보다지켜보지켜보는 가운데
듣다듣듣는 가운데
기가 무섭게 forms
DictionaryStem기가 무섭게
끝나다끝나끝나기가 무섭게
받다받받기가 무섭게
듣다듣듣기가 무섭게
오다오오기가 무섭게

Where each one lives

  • 는 마당에, 는 판에: at a time like this. Spoken, with some heat.
  • 던 차에: right as it happens. Writing and polite speech.
  • 는 가운데: amid. News and speeches.
  • 는 동시에: at the same moment, or both at once. A bit formal.
  • 기가 바쁘게, 기가 무섭게: no sooner than. Written and spoken.

Now you can say

  1. 이렇게 된 마당에 더 숨길 게 뭐가 있어요?

    Now that it's come to this, what's left to hide?

  2. 심심하던 차에 친구가 찾아왔어요.

    I was getting bored when a friend dropped by.

  3. 월급을 받기가 무섭게 다 써 버려요.

    I spend my salary the moment I get it.

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