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Explanation

Ubiquitous connector.

Questions often 는데요.

Start with “비가 오는데 우산이 없어요.” (It's raining but I have no umbrella.). Say the whole sentence first, then identify exactly what -는데 contributes before changing any other words.

Compare “저인데요.” with “좋은데요.”. Keep the function of -는데 the same while noticing what changes around it; then rebuild one of the examples with vocabulary you already know.

Examples

비가 오는데 우산이 없어요.

It's raining but I have no umbrella.

저인데요.

It's me (soft).

좋은데요.

That sounds good.

Common mistakes

  • Do not choose -는데 only because an English translation contains “background / soft contrast”. Check the Korean function, attachment, and speech level in the full sentence.
  • Do not memorize -는데 as an isolated ending. Mark the stem or phrase it attaches to in one example, then rebuild that example with new vocabulary.

How to practice

  1. Production check: say “비가 오는데 우산이 없어요.” naturally, then change one content word without changing the job -는데 is doing.
  2. When a related pattern is listed below, compare both forms in the same situation instead of memorizing two English glosses separately.

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Use -는데 in guided examples and review so it moves from explanation to active Korean.

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