거든 meaning — the Korean ending for "the thing is…" (40 real examples)

거든 is the ending you use when the other person is missing a piece, and you are about to hand it to them.

It appears in 279 lines of the clip scripts behind our shadowing library, almost always at the moment someone explains why they did something, or supplies the background that makes the previous sentence make sense.

English carries this with a phrase at the front — the thing is, see, actually. Korean puts it at the end of the sentence instead, which is why a subtitle written in English word order has nowhere to keep it.

Every line below is real speech from clips we transcribed, sorted by who you can say it to.

How to tell 거든 from the ending it gets confused with

The fastest way to hold 거든 in your head is against 잖아, because they are exact opposites and learners meet them at the same time.

잖아 says you already know this. 거든 says you don't know this yet. One reaches for shared ground, the other builds it.

So they are not interchangeable even when both sound natural in English. Using 거든 for something obvious sounds like you are explaining the sky; using 잖아 for something new sounds like you are blaming the listener for not knowing.

A practical test: if the thing is fits in front of the English, it is 거든. If as you know fits, it is 잖아.

One more thing worth noticing in the examples. 거든 very often arrives after the statement it explains — the speaker says the thing, then adds the reason. That ordering is the opposite of English, which usually front-loads the because.

What it attaches to, and the sound change nobody warns you about

거든 attaches directly to a verb or adjective stem, and it does not branch on whether that stem ends in a vowel or a consonant. That makes it mechanically simpler than many endings of similar frequency.

The sound is another matter. After a stem ending in a consonant, the ㄱ of 거든 tenses, so what you hear is closer to 껀 than to 건 — and nothing in the spelling tells you that.

This is a general rule rather than a quirk of this ending, and it is one of the most common reasons a learner reads a sentence comfortably and then fails to recognise it spoken. We wrote about the pattern separately in our piece on words that sound nothing like they look.

The romanizations beside each example are computed from the actual pronunciation, so you can see where the spelling and the sound diverge without having to work it out.

One last note on form. In casual speech 거든 often trails off rather than closing firmly, because the second use above leaves the sentence deliberately open. Hearing that trail is a good cue that more is coming.

Polite, explaining — 거든요

This is the form you will meet most, which is a little unusual for a conversational ending.

The reason is situational. 거든 supplies information the listener is missing, and the moments when that happens most are moments of explaining yourself — to a host, to a camera, to someone you are not close to.

So the polite form dominates in the kind of content these examples come from. That is convenient for a learner, because this is also the form you are most likely to need.

Notice how many of these lines answer an unasked why. That is the ending doing its work.

• 저는 우리 팀이 소중하거든요 (sojunghageodeunyo) — Our team is precious to me. Literally: 소중하거든요 is said 소중하거드뇨.
• 제가 수박을 또 잘 썰거든요 (sseolgeodeunyo) — I'm pretty good at cutting up watermelon. Literally: 썰거든요 is said 썰거드뇨.
• 저도 이때 되게 재밌었거든요 (jaemisseotgeodeunyo) — I thought this was really fun too. Literally: 재밌었거든요 is said 재미썯꺼드뇨.
• 제가 이거 진짜 좋아하거든요 (joahageodeunyo) — is the one I absolutely love. Literally: 좋아하거든요 is said 조아하거드뇨.
• 그래서 조정을 하긴 했거든요 (haetgeodeunyo) — so I put it back into its position. Literally: 했거든요 is said 핻꺼드뇨.
• 우리 게임을 했는데 졌거든요 (jeotgeodeunyo) — We gamed, but we lost. Literally: 졌거든요 is said 젇꺼드뇨.
• 사실은 어제 많이 설렜거든요 (seolletgeodeunyo) — To be honest, I was really excited yesterday. Literally: 설렜거든요 is said 설렏꺼드뇨.
• 대한민국이 푸바오 앓이거든요 (arigeodeunyo) — and Korea is all about Fubao right now. Literally: 앓이거든요 is said 아리거드뇨.
• 제가 시금치를 좋아하거든요 (joahageodeunyo) — I like spinach. Literally: 좋아하거든요 is said 조아하거드뇨.
• 제가 알기로는 그렇긴 하거든요 (hageodeunyo) — That's how I understand it, at least. Literally: 하거든요 is said 하거드뇨.
• 저는 쿵푸면 담당으로 왔거든요 (watgeodeunyo) — I came here as the kung fu noodle person. Literally: 왔거든요 is said 왇꺼드뇨.
• 제 폰 케이스도 이거거든요 (igeogeodeunyo) — Even my phone case says it. Literally: 이거거든요 is said 이거거드뇨.
• 전 바로 먹거든요, 3초 안에 (meokgeodeunyo) — I always pick it up within three seconds. Literally: 먹거든요 is said 먹꺼드뇨.
• 사실 다 식었거든요, 밥이 (sigeotgeodeunyo) — The rice is actually cold now. Literally: 식었거든요 is said 시걷꺼드뇨.
• 이~만큼! 파인 옷을 입거든요 (ipgeodeunyo) — wears clothes that are cut this low! Literally: 입거든요 is said 입꺼드뇨.
• 어울리는 구두까지 준비했거든요 (junbihaetgeodeunyo) — that are perfect for us princesses. Literally: 준비했거든요 is said 준비핻꺼드뇨.
• 채령이랑 방을 같이 쓰거든요. (sseugeodeunyo) — I share a room with Chaeryeong. Literally: 쓰거든요 is said 쓰거드뇨.
• 숙소 청소를 자주 해주시거든요 (haejusigeodeunyo) — cleans our accommodation often. Literally: 해주시거든요 is said 해주시거드뇨.
• 되게 칭찬하기 쉬운 친구거든요 (chingugeodeunyo) — They’re an easy friend to compliment. Literally: 친구거든요 is said 친구거드뇨.
• 생각을 많이 했었거든요 그동안 (haesseotgeodeunyo) — I've always wanted to try it. Literally: 했었거든요 is said 해썯꺼드뇨.

Casual, explaining — 거든

Same job, between people who are close.

Dropping the 요 does not change what the ending claims; it only changes who you may say it to. Friends of the same age, group members, someone clearly younger.

What is worth watching here is tone. Because 거든 asserts that the listener is missing something, the casual form can carry a faint edge — a well, actually — when the thing being supplied is something the listener arguably should have known.

That edge is why it shows up in arguments and teasing as often as in plain explanation.

• 아 원래 약간 원래 이러거든 (ireogeodeun) — He's usually like this.
• 거기 책상 밑에 숨어 있거든 (itgeodeun) — He's hiding under the table. Literally: 있거든 is said 읻꺼든.
• 이게 되게 재미있는 문제거든 (munjegeodeun) — It's an interesting question.
• 빵으로 샌드해주면 멘보샤거든 (menbosyageodeun) — sandwich it with the bread, and that's menbosha.
• 쟤는 쟤만 먹으면 되거든. (doegeodeun) — He only needs to worry about himself.
• 원우 형 한참 기다려야 되거든 (doegeodeun) — WONWOO has to wait a long time for his turn.
• 아무 이유 없이 토스가 되거든 (doegeodeun) — You get tossed out for no reason.
• 여기 어차피 딸기가 없거든 (eopgeodeun) — There aren't that many here anyway. Literally: 없거든 is said 업꺼든.
• 느리게 가다가 빨리 가거든 (gageodeun) — It starts slow then gets fast.
• 이 형 어제 생일선물을 사줬거든 (sajwotgeodeun) — I bought his birthday present yesterday. Literally: 사줬거든 is said 사줟꺼든.
• 그 친구도 오늘 온다고 그랬거든 (geuraetgeodeun) — I heard he'll be here today. Literally: 그랬거든 is said 그랟꺼든.
• 자면서 빗소리가 들렸거든 (deullyeotgeodeun) — I heard the rain in my sleep. Literally: 들렸거든 is said 들렫꺼든.
• 내가 제일 싫어하는 게 그거거든 (geugeogeodeun) — This is my biggest pet peeve.
• 꾹 하면 이렇게 나오거든 (naogeodeun) — and squeeze, it pops out like this.
• 나도 '아니면 말고'거든 (malgogeodeun) — I also tend to think "if it doesn't work out, then whatever.".
• 팀명부터 기선제압이거든 (giseonjeabigeodeun) — We need to get a head start with the name. Literally: 기선제압이거든 is said 기선제아비거든.
• 멤버들의 표정을 좀 보려고 했거든 (haetgeodeun) — I was trying to see the members' faces. Literally: 했거든 is said 핻꺼든.
• 이 셋 중에 한 명 죽여도 되거든 (doegeodeun) — Then, one of us three would go out.
• 쟤가 이해를 못 할 애가 아니거든 (anigeodeun) — He's not the type to not understand this.
• 아 진짜 돌아버리겠다 나 알거든! (algeodeun) — This is frustrating! I know the answer!

The rest of this set

This page covers 40 of 79. The rest continue here.

• 거든 — the Korean ending for "the thing is…" (40 real examples) (this page)
• Polite, asking — Korean endings (39 entries)

The second use — setting something up

Most of what you will hear is the explaining use above. There is a second one worth recognising, where 거든 does not explain a past sentence but sets up the next one.

In that use it works like a colon. The speaker gives you a fact, and the point of giving it is that something is about to follow — I went there yesterday, 거든, and….

You will notice it because the sentence feels unfinished. That is intentional; the ending is holding the door open.

For recognition, both uses behave the same way in the moment: something the listener does not have is being supplied. The difference is only whether it explains what came before or prepares what comes next.

Why it so often sits at the end of an argument

If you watch group content, you will notice 거든 spikes during disagreements, and there is a reason that is not just tone.

An argument is a sequence of claims about who has which facts. 거든 is the ending that says here is one you do not have, so it is structurally the move for supplying evidence.

That also explains the edge it can carry. Supplying a fact is neutral; supplying a fact the other person arguably should already have had is not, and the same ending covers both.

The polite form does not remove the edge, only the informality. 거든요 delivered at the right moment is perfectly capable of being pointed.

For a learner this is mostly a listening skill. Catching 거든 in an argument tells you the speaker thinks they are winning a point, which is often more informative than the content of the sentence.

Where these examples came from

These lines come from clip scripts we wrote for our shadowing tool — Korean variety episodes and self-produced idol content, transcribed line by line with our own English rendering.

We kept them short deliberately. A long example teaches you the sentence rather than the ending.

The romanization beside each line is the actual pronunciation of the word carrying the ending, computed with the same engine that runs on the site. Where the spelling and the sound part company, the note underneath says so — 거든 after a consonant tenses, which is why you will often hear something closer to 껀 than 건.

FAQ

What does 거든 mean? It marks the sentence as information the listener does not have — closest to English the thing is, see, or actually. It has no single-word translation, which is why subtitles drop it.

What is the difference between 거든 and 잖아? They are opposites. 거든 supplies something the listener does not know; 잖아 assumes they already do. Mixing them up is the most common error with this pair.

Is 거든 rude? It can be. Because it asserts that the listener is missing something, using it for something obvious sounds condescending. The polite form 거든요 is safe in most situations.

Why does 거든 sometimes sound like 껀? Korean tenses the following consonant after certain finals, so 거든 attached to a stem ending in a consonant comes out harder than it looks. We cover this in detail in our pronunciation writeup.

Should I search 거든 or geodeun? Hangul. We measured it: geodeun returns a Minecraft mod uninstaller before it returns Korean grammar.