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

-는 데다가

-는 데다가: And On Top Of That — Stacking One Fact

Connective: add a second fact onto the first — and what’s more / on top of that.

Before this, make sure you know: -는데① , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Verb (present) + -는 데다가	-는 데다가	비가 오는 데다가 / 일이 많은 데다가
Adjective / past + -(으)ㄴ 데다가	-(으)ㄴ 데다가	바쁜 데다가 / 예쁜 데다가 / 온 데다가
Noun + 인 데다가	-인 데다가	학생인 데다가

-는 데다가 means and on top of that — stacking one fact onto another.

Why this is hard

It neighbours -을뿐더러 and listing -고. Learners use bare -고 for every stack and miss the ‘plus another point’ weight of 데다가. The noun 데 is the landing pad for the added fact.

What it does

You add a second reason or quality on top of the first.

바쁜 데다가 피곤해요.
싼 데다가 맛있어요.
길이 먼 데다가 비까지 와요.
친절한 데다가 실력이 좋아요.

Forms

Adnominal + 데다가 — -는 데다가, -(으)ㄴ 데다가, past -던/었던 shapes as taught.

When not to use it

Do not replace every light -고 with it. Do not write 바쁘다 데다가 without the adnominal. Do not use it for contrast instead of addition.

Neighbours — and why they differ

Form	Why it is not this slot
-고	Plain listing — lighter.
-을뿐더러	Not only… but also — ending, similar job.
-지만	Contrast — opposite neighbourhood.

Complaints and praise both stack well here. Keep the second clause in the same direction as the first.

Classroom examples should keep the meaning concrete: one clear scene beats three vague glosses. If a neighbour form already says the same thing more lightly, prefer the lighter tool unless register demands this one.

Ask: am I stacking ‘A, and on top of that B’? If yes, -는 데다가. If you only need light and, use -고.

Do not confuse it with

-고

and — listing and plain sequence, with no causal claim

-는데①

setting up background before the main point

-은 나머지

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

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 -기 나름이다 depends on how you… — the outcome varies with the method -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 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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-는 데다가-neun dedagaand on top of that…

게다가gedagabesides / moreover

바쁘다bappeudato be busy

피곤하다pigonhadato be tired

비birain

Quick check

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

1. You want to pile a second same-direction complaint on top of being busy — not a light ‘and’, not a contrast. Which line?

2. Rain is falling now — which line uses the present verb shape 오는 데다가 from the forms table?

3. Same stacking job — which hooks the first fact onto the clause, rather than using free-adverb 게다가?

Common questions

Dictionary?

Build: 데 「002」 (‘affair/thing’) + 에다가 「002」 (added target). Educational pattern -는/-(으)ㄴ/인 데다가 stacks a second fact.

Vs 게다가?

게다가 is a free adverb (‘besides’). -는 데다가 hooks onto the first clause.

Same direction?

Usually both clauses lean the same way (both good or both bad).

Vs -는데?

-는데 often backgrounds. -는 데다가 piles weight on top.