Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 1 · expression

-기 나름이다

-기 나름이다: Depends On How You… — Outcome Varies

Pattern with 나름 「001」 after -기: the result hangs on how / who does it.

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

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Verb + -기 나름이다	-기 나름이다	하기 나름이다 / 생각하기 나름이다
Noun + 나름이다	N 나름이다	사람 나름이다 / 마음 나름이다

-기 나름이다 means it depends on how you… — the outcome varies with the method (or the person).

Why this is hard

Learners want a fixed result rule like -게 마련이다. This pattern refuses the fixed rule: how (or who) changes the ending. It also sits near -기에 따라, which leans on a named condition.

What it does

You say the result is not one locked answer — method decides.

성공은 하기 나름이에요.
맛은 만들기 나름이에요.
사람 나름이에요.
생각하기 나름이에요.

Forms

Verb + -기 나름이다; also N 나름이다 (사람 나름이다).

When not to use it

Do not treat it as ‘always bound to happen’ — that is closer to -기 마련이다. Do not use it when the method does not matter at all. Do not confuse it with 에 따라 for schedules without the -기 / 나름 package.

Neighbours — and why they differ

Form	Why it is not this slot
-게 마련이다	Natural tendency — almost fixed, not method-dependent.
-기에 따라	Depending on a condition — near twin, different frame.
에 따라	According to / depending on — needs 에.

Speech uses this when someone wants a single guaranteed outcome and you refuse the guarantee. Cooking, studying, and relationships are classic hosts: the same ingredients can fail or succeed with the method. If you hear a locked “always,” you are probably in -기 마련이다 territory instead.

Ask: does the outcome hang on how (or who) does it? If yes, -기 나름이다. If it is naturally fixed, use -기 마련이다.

Do not confuse it with

-기에 따라

depending on… — outcomes that change with the condition

에 따라(서)

depending on / according to (variable criterion frame)

-게 마련이다

bound to be — naturally so (-기/게 마련이다)

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 표현 (expression) — Advanced Korean 1, Unit 4, on the theme of expression. These come with it:

-는다니1 what are they telling me to…? — asking what the order was -었던 that had been… — past modifier with a lingering sense 에 관하여 regarding, about — the written 에 관하여 / 관한 -자기에 because one decides to… — contracted -자고 하기에 (청유 인용 + 이유), pair of -는다기에 -게 마련이다 bound to be — naturally so (-기/게 마련이다) -게 생겼다 have ended up (badly)… — negative predicament with -게 생기다 -기가 바쁘게 as soon as — barely finishing one thing before the next -기가 쉽다 easy to… / prone to — a tendency that comes naturally -기만 하다 only does… — limiting the action to just that -기에 따라 depending on… — outcomes that change with the condition -기에 앞서(서) before doing… — prior to the step you name -은 나머지 as a result of… — the outcome that follows from that act -는 데다가 and on top of that — stacking one fact onto another -는 동시에 at the same time as — two things in the same moment -는 듯하다 seems to… — a soft guess from appearance -는 법이다 it is natural that… — a general rule of how things go -는 이상 now that / given that — already being in that state -은 채로 while still… — leaving it in the state it already has -는 척하다 pretend to… — acting as if -는 가운데 in the midst of — while that situation continues 는 말할 것도 없고 not to mention — A goes without saying, and B too (는/은 말할 것도 없고) -을 만하다 worth doing / decent enough — worth the effort or acceptable -을 법하다 likely to… — a reasonable prediction -을 테다 will (for sure) — a strong expectation about what follows -을 테면 if you are going to… — setting a condition for a plan -을 테지만 will, but… — expecting one thing and contrasting another -으려나 보다 I guess they mean to… — reading someone's likely intention 를 가지고 with, using — taking that as the means or topic -으면 몰라도 only if… — the following holds only under that (unreal / opposite) condition 에도 불구하고 despite — in spite of that noun situation -는데도 even though — contrast after a clause, softer than 지만 -어 내다 manage to… — pushing through until it is done -는다기에 because they say… — the reported claim is the reason -는다는 것이 meant to…, but — intention (-는다고 하는 것이) whose result diverged -는데도 불구하고 even so — despite the whole preceding clause

Words used above

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-기 나름이다-gi nareumidadepends on how…

나름nareumdepending on / one’s own way

생각saenggakthought

사람saramperson

마음maeummind / heart

Quick check

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

1. A friend wants a guaranteed path to success, and you refuse the lock: the ending hangs on how the work is done. Which line says that?

2. You need the noun + 나름이다 shape from the forms table — mind and attitude decide, not a verb -기 seat. Which line matches?

3. Results change with a measurable factor you can name — that is -기에 따라. You mean the ending is up to how someone handles it. Which line fits 나름?

Common questions

Dictionary?

우리말샘 나름 「001」: after a noun, -기, or -을 with 이다 — marks that it hangs on the quality / way of doing.

Noun + 나름?

사람 나름이다 — depends on the person. Same 「001」 seat.

Vs -기에 따라?

Both vary by condition. 나름 often feels ‘up to how you handle it’; 따라 feels ‘according to the factor’.

Vs -기 마련이다?

-기 마련이다 is ‘bound to be’. 나름이다 is ‘it depends’ — opposite lean.