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Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 2 · final ending

-던가1

-던가①: Was It…, From Experience? — Lived Past Ask

Ending: was it…, from experience? — past question from what you lived.

Before this, make sure you know: -던2 , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When Form Example
Past experience question -던가 가던가 / 하던가 / 살던가
Checking shared memory …던가? 거기 살던가? / 그 노래 듣던가?

-던가① asks about the past from experience — was it…?

Related to -던②, expanded. Not the pure-wonder colour of -던가②.

Why this is hard

Past-question coats stack: -던?, -던가, guess readings. Learners hear one 던가 and stop. This ① seat is lived / shared memory, not floating speculation.

What it does

거기 살던가?
그 영화 보던가?
예전에 자주 가던가?
그 사람하고 일하던가?

The ask checks experience you (or we) actually had.

Forms

Stem + -던가?

살다 → 살던가?
보다 → 보던가?
가다 → 가던가?

When not to use it

Do not use it as a noun modifier — -던.

Do not use it as pure “I wonder” guess when that is the other slot’s job.

Do not use it as a future soft question.

Neighbours — and why they differ

FormWhy it is not this slot
-던②Shorter past-experience ask.
-던가②Past question as wonder/guess.
-던Adnominal past-looking.

Ask: am I checking lived past? If yes, -던가①. If floating wonder, lean ②.

Keep the recall grounded: if nobody lived it, you may be guessing — and that is the next page’s colour.

Do not confuse it with

-던2

was it…? — asking about what you experienced before

-던

that was unfinished / used to do / recalled from the past

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 종결어미 (final ending) — Advanced Korean 2, Unit 3, on the theme of final ending. These come with it:

-는구려 how…! — a mild, slightly archaic exclamation -는구먼 oh, so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact -그려 you know / indeed — particle stressing the point to the listener -으리라 I shall… / it will… — resolve, or speculation about the situation -으오 …o — the old polite ending of formal speech -으니4 how dare… / some…! — blaming or scolding with -으니 -거들랑2 you should know… — telling the listener something they do not know (종결) -게3 do it — the 하게체 command -게4 mind you / see here — drawing the point back into view -구려2 do it, won't you — a soft command -네1 plain statement — the 하게체 -네 that just reports -는구만 so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact (casual) -는가2 the question is… — raising the issue rather than asking casually -나2 …? — a bare question to yourself or someone close -던2 was it…? — asking about what you experienced before -던가2 was it…, I wonder? — past question as a guess -라2 plain statement — -라 after 이다-type stems -으리오 how could it…? — rhetorical pushback, often with lament -소 …so — the old polite style of shopkeepers and elders

Words used above

Tap the speaker to hear it read aloud by your browser.

-던가-deongawas it…? (from experience)
경험gyeongheomexperience
영화yeonghwamovie

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. You both lived there. You are checking that shared memory, not naming a house. Which line?

2. You are checking a film you both actually saw, not guessing at old weather. Which line?

3. You want the expanded lived-memory ask, not the short ending and not a noun. Which line?

Common questions

Job?

Ask about the past from what was lived or shared.

Vs -던②?

-던② is the shorter ending ask. -던가① expands it.

Vs adnominal -던?

-던 modifies nouns. This page ends as a question.

Register?

Recall talk — checking what we lived through.