~네요, ~군요 and ~구나: noticing

By Daniel Buckley · 10 minute read · TOPIK 2

Vocabulary

벌써 - already
정말 - really
맛있다 - to be delicious
잘하다 - to be good at
머리 - hair, head
힘들다 - to be hard, to be tiring
춥다 - to be cold
살다 - to live
좋아하다 - to like
생일 - birthday

You try a friend's kimchi. 맛있어요 is correct, but it's more what you'd tell someone who asked for your opinion. 맛있네요 is what comes out at the moment you taste it: oh, this is good.

Korean marks that moment with an ending. ~네요, ~군요 and ~구나 add no new facts to a sentence. They say that the fact is new to you, that you've only just seen it or heard it.

~네요: I've just noticed

~네요 is the one you'll use every day. It goes straight on the stem, so irregular verbs stay as they are. The one thing to watch is ㄹ, which drops before ㄴ: 살다 becomes 사네요.

Making the ~네요 form

Verbs and adjectives: drop 다, add 네요.먹다 → 먹네요춥다 → 춥네요살다 → 사네요
Past: add 네요 to the 았/었 stem.먹었네요왔네요
Nouns: add 이네요, or 네요 after a vowel.학생 → 학생이네요친구 → 친구네요

Pick a verb

먹다먹먹네요

이 김치 정말 맛있네요.
Oh, this kimchi really is delicious.
밖이 정말 춥네요.
Oh, outside really is cold.
한국어를 정말 잘하시네요.
Oh, (you) really are good at Korean.
벌써 열두 시네요.
Oh, (it) is already twelve o'clock.
비가 왔네요.
Oh, rain came.
머리를 잘랐네요.
Oh, (you) cut (your) hair.

Look at the last two. The rain and the haircut are both over, so they take the past. What's new is that you've just seen the wet street or the shorter hair. The tense says when the thing happened, and 네요 says when you found out.

Added to 겠, the guess from the past and future, 네요 gives you the standard reply to someone's news. They tell you something and you react to what it must be like.

힘들겠네요.
(That) must be hard.
좋겠네요.
(That) must be nice.
맛있겠네요.
(That) must be delicious.

※ Since 네요 reports your reaction, it can also soften a complaint. In a shop, 좀 비싸네요 sounds gentler to me than 좀 비싸요: this is how it strikes me, rather than a verdict on the price.

The catch is that the fact has to be new to you, or at least feel new. Try these, and watch what the wrong answers would mean.

저는 서울에 ___.
(Introducing yourself.) I live in Seoul.
눈이 ___!
(Looking out of the window as flakes fall.) It's snowing!
내일 시험이 세 개 있어요? ___.
You've got three exams tomorrow? That must be hard.

~군요: so that's how it is

~군요 also marks something new, and most of the time you could swap it for 네요. The feel differs, though. To me, 네요 is you looking at the thing with the other person, while 군요 is you taking a fact on board.

The clearest pair is 그렇네요 and 그렇군요, and they usually split like this. Someone points out of the window, you look, and 그렇네요 means "so it is, I can see that too". Someone explains something you couldn't have seen, and 아, 그렇군요 means "ah, I see". You'll also meet 그러네요, which is just another way of saying 그렇네요.

Making the ~군요 form

Verbs: drop 다, add 는군요. ㄹ drops here too.먹다 → 먹는군요살다 → 사는군요
Adjectives: drop 다, add 군요.좋다 → 좋군요바쁘다 → 바쁘군요
Past: add 군요 to the 았/었 stem, verb or adjective.먹었군요바빴군요
Nouns: add 이군요, or 군요 after a vowel.학생 → 학생이군요친구 → 친구군요

Pick a verb

먹다먹먹는군요

Pick a verb

좋다좋좋군요

※ 있다 and 없다 usually behave like adjectives here, as in 있군요, 없군요 and 맛있군요. You'll also come across 있는구나, so don't be thrown when you do.

아, 그렇군요.
Ah, I see, (it) is so.
아, 서울에 사는군요.
Ah, I see, (you) live in Seoul.
한국 음식을 좋아하는군요.
I see, (you) like Korean food.
오늘이 생일이군요.
I see, today is (your) birthday.
어제 많이 바빴군요.
I see, yesterday (you) were very busy.
그래서 늦었군요.
I see, that's why (you) were late.

In everyday speech 네요 is the more common of the two. ~군요 sounds a little more measured, and you'll meet it in writing and in dramas. For a learner, 아, 그렇군요 is the one to use from today.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

consonants · left hand vowels · right hand

~구나: said to yourself

~구나 is the same ending in 반말: verbs take 는구나 and adjectives take 구나, just as with 군요. It has no 요, so it's for friends, for people younger than you, and for children. It's also what you say to nobody at all, thinking out loud.

아, 그렇구나.
Ah, I see, (it) is so.
벌써 겨울이구나.
Oh, already (it) is winter.
많이 컸구나!
Oh, (you) grew a lot!
아직 밥을 안 먹었구나.
I see, (you) still haven't eaten.
요즘 한국어를 배우는구나.
I see, these days (you) are learning Korean.

Example 3 is what an aunt says to a child she hasn't seen for a year. You'd hear 그렇구나 from a friend as they listen to your story, and it works much like "oh, right".

※ 네요 has a 반말 version as well, 네 with no 요: 맛있네! Don't mix it up with 네, yes. 군 on its own, as in 그렇군, turns up more in books and dramas than in conversation.

Here are 네요 and 군요 in one conversation. 구나 stays out of it, because these two are speaking politely.

이 김치는 제가 만들었어요. 드셔 보세요.

This kimchi I made. Please try eating.

와, 정말 맛있네요!

Wow, really delicious, I notice!

어머니께 배웠어요. 저희 어머니가 요리사세요.

Learned from mother. Our mother is a cook.

아, 그렇군요. 그래서 이렇게 맛있군요.

Ah, so it is, I see. That's why this delicious, I see.

Common mistakes

서울에 살네요.
서울에 사네요.
ㄹ drops before ㄴ, as it does in 사는 사람.
날씨가 좋는군요.
날씨가 좋군요.
는 goes on verbs. Adjectives take plain 군요.
선생님, 오늘 바쁘시구나.
선생님, 오늘 바쁘시네요.
구나 has no 요, so it's 반말, even with 시 in it. To a teacher, use 네요.

Check yourself

Quick check

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이 커피 정말 ___. (맛있다, with 네요) Oh, this coffee is really good.

consonants · left hand vowels · right hand

네요 goes straight on the stem.

Summary

~네요 forms
Dictionary	Stem	~네요
먹다	먹	먹네요
가다	가	가네요
살다	살	사네요
듣다	듣	듣네요
춥다	춥	춥네요
바쁘다	바쁘	바쁘네요

~는군요 (verbs) forms
Dictionary	Stem	~는군요 (verbs)
먹다	먹	먹는군요
가다	가	가는군요
살다	살	사는군요
듣다	듣	듣는군요

~군요 (adjectives) forms
Dictionary	Stem	~군요 (adjectives)
좋다	좋	좋군요
춥다	춥	춥군요
바쁘다	바쁘	바쁘군요
멀다	멀	멀군요

Which one, with whom

네요: the everyday choice, for what you've just noticed.
군요: a fact you've just taken on board. Stick to 아, 그렇군요 at first.
구나: the same idea in 반말, or said to yourself.

Now you can say

정말 맛있네요.
Oh, (this) really is delicious.
아, 그렇군요.
Ah, I see, (it) is so.
힘들겠네요.
(That) must be hard.