Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Grammar Supplement · Curriculum gap

-은 끝에

-은 끝에: After All That… — End of the Ordeal

Bound noun 끝 after adnominal: at the end of that process — often hard effort, then the result.

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

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Past / completed adnominal	-(으)ㄴ 끝에	고생한 끝에 / 생각한 끝에
Noun + 끝에	N 끝에	고민 끝에 / 논의 끝에

-은 끝에 marks after surviving the process — at the end of all that.

Not bare sequence -은 다음에.

Why this is hard

English after covers -은 다음에, -은 후에, -은 결과. Learners pick soft sequence. -은 끝에 wants ordeal → finally.

What it does

You show the hard path, then the outcome.

고생한 끝에 합격했어요.
생각한 끝에 거절했어요.
기다린 끝에 답을 얻었어요.
고민 끝에 결정했어요.

Forms

고생하다 → 고생한 끝에
생각하다 → 생각한 끝에
기다리다 → 기다린 끝에
고민 → 고민 끝에

When not to use it

Do not use it for light and then.

Do not drop the result sequel if ‘finally’ is the news.

Do not confuse it with excess-result -은 나머지.

Neighbours — and why they differ

Form	Why it is not this slot
-은 다음에	Plain next.
-은 결과	Result spotlight.
-은 나머지	Excess → consequence.

Ask: did a hard process end, then the outcome? If yes, -은 끝에.

Do not confuse it with

-은 다음에

after — plain sequence, with no emphasis on completion

-은 결과

as a result of — the written summary phrase

-은 나머지

as a result of… — the outcome that follows from that act

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 교재·표준 교육과정 밖의 문법 (Grammar outside of textbooks and standard curriculum) — Advanced Grammar Supplement, Unit 1, on the theme of Curriculum gap. These come with it:

-는 셈이다 amounts to / counts as — treating the situation as that result (-는 셈이다) -을 지경이다 to the point of… — an extreme state or plight (-을 지경이다) -기 십상이다 almost certain to… — nine times out of ten (-기 십상이다) -는 둥 마는 둥 half-doing it — barely, half-heartedly (-는 둥 마는 둥) -던 차에 just when… — at the very moment that was underway (-던 차에) 으로 말미암아 owing to… — formal written cause (으로 말미암아) -는답시고 under the pretext of… — claiming to, often critically (-는답시고) -는가 하면 and then again… — stacking contrasting cases (-는가 하면) -을 겸 while also… — doing it for that purpose too (-을 겸) -게끔 so that… — purpose with a firm push (-게끔) -을 턱이 없다 no reason whatsoever… — denying grounds flatly (-을 턱이 없다) -을 리 만무하다 utterly no chance… — impossibility stressed (-을 리 만무하다) -을 성싶다 seems likely to… — a soft forecast (-을 성싶다) -을지언정 even if… — conceding then holding the other line (-을지언정) -기 그지없다 endlessly… — extreme degree with no bound (-기 그지없다) -기 이를 데 없다 beyond words… — so much there is no way to say it (-기 이를 데 없다) -다 못해 unable to go on… — past the limit, then the sequel (-다 못해) -는 셈치고 pretending / counting it as… — provisional assumption (-는 셈치고) -는다 뿐이지 only that… — limiting the claim to just that (-는다 뿐이지) -는다손 치더라도 even granting that… — strong concession then pushback (-는다손 치더라도) -어 주십사 please do… for me — earnest old-style request (-어 주십사) -겠거니 thinking it would… — assumption that guides the next act (-겠거니) -으랴 -으랴 what with A and B… — piling pressures or tasks (-으랴 -으랴) -으려던 참이다 was just about to… — intention interrupted at the brink (-으려던 참이다) -는다기보다는 rather than saying… — reframing the label (-는다기보다는) -은 바 있다 have (once)… — formal experience on record (-은 바 있다) -건 간에 whether A or B… — it does not matter which (-건 간에)

Words used above

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끝kkeutend — here as bound-noun process end

-은 끝에-eun kkeuteafter all that…

고생gosaenghardship

다음daeumnext — softer sequence

결과gyeolgwaresult — neighbour

Quick check

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

1. You want to say the result came only after a long stretch of hardship, not simply afterwards. Which line carries the struggle?

2. Which sentence puts 끝에 straight after a noun, as the forms table allows?

3. You are describing a bureaucratic wait that was tedious rather than painful. Which line fits that better?

Common questions

Dictionary?

끝 as the terminal point of a process — after that, the sequel.

Noun 끝에?

Yes — 고민 끝에, 토론 끝에. Same ordeal-end colour.

Vs -은 결과?

-은 결과 highlights result. 끝에 highlights surviving the process.

Café soft?

열심히 하고 나서…. Keep 끝에 when the ordeal is the point.