jabi.
Grammar Beginner TOPIK I · Level 1–2 Sejong Korean 1 · Unit 15

-은 후에

-은 후에: After Doing Something

After doing — marks that the main action follows another action in time.

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

How to form it

When Form Example
Verb stem ends in a vowel or ㄹ -ㄴ 후에 가다 → 간 후에 / 만들다 → 만든 후에
Verb stem ends in a consonant -은 후에 먹다 → 먹은 후에
하다 verbs -한 후에 공부하다 → 공부한 후에

-은 후에 means after doing X.

Sejong pairs it with a health unit command: after you take the medicine, rest well. The form is a chunk — past-looking modifier + 후에 — not a second past tense glued on.

Forms

StemAfter-form
Vowel / ㄹ-ㄴ 후에 — 간 후에, 만든 후에
Consonant-은 후에 — 먹은 후에
하다-한 후에 — 공부한 후에
약을 먹은 후에 푹 쉬세요.     Rest well after taking the medicine.
숙제를 한 후에 자요.           I sleep after doing homework.
샤워한 후에 나가요.            I go out after showering.

Before vs after

Form
Before doing-기 전에 — 가기 전에
After doing-은 후에 — 간 후에

Flip the timeline, keep the chunk habit. Learners who reverse them produce before when they mean after — check the noun 전 vs 후.

No double past

Wrong: *먹었은 후에
Right: 먹은 후에

The -은/-ㄴ form is already the “completed relative to what follows” shape for this pattern.

Same-unit partner

This unit also uses -으세요 (please…). Many textbook lines put -은 후에 in front of a polite command: after X, please do Y.

Do not confuse it with

-기 전에

before doing — the mirror of -은 후에

-고

and — listing and plain sequence, with no causal claim

Taught alongside this

In the Sejong course this appears in 약을 먹은 후에 푹 쉬세요 — Sejong Korean 1, Unit 15, on the theme of 건강. These come with it:

-으세요 polite command — and the honorific present tense

Words used above

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

-은 후에-eun hueafter doing…
후huafter (as a time noun)
약yakmedicine
쉬다swidato rest

Quick check

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

1. How do you say 'after eating'?

2. What is the before/after pair?

3. Which is wrong?

Common questions

Is this one dictionary headword?

It is taught as a chunk: modifier -(으)ㄴ + 후 + 에. You do not need a separate headword to use it.

Can I say 먹었은 후에?

No. The modifier already places the first action before now relative to the next clause. Do not add -었- inside it.

How is this different from -고?

[[g:go-connective]] just sequences clauses. -은 후에 puts the first action into a time noun phrase — after X, then Y — with a clearer 'afterward' feel.

Noun + 후에?

Yes when you already have a noun: 수업 후에. From a verb, build the modifier: 끝난 후에.