car is a Lamborghini, so it’s very expensive.
차가 막혔으니까 늦었어요.
Chaga makyeosseunikka neujeosseoyo.
Traffic was heavy, so I was late.
This is another common and versatile way to say “so.”
HOW IT’S FORMED
You will see this expression written two ways: 니 and 니까. They mean exactly the same thing, but 니 is only used formally or in writing.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
| Past | Present | Future | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 했으니까 haesseunikka | 하니까 hanikka | 하니까 할 거니까 hal geonikka |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹었으니까 meogeosseunikka | 먹으니까 meogeunikka | 먹으니까 먹을 거니까 meogeul geonikka |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예뻤으니까 yeppeosseunikka | 예쁘니까 yeppeunikka | 예쁘니까 예쁠 거니까 yeppeul geonikka |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작았으니까 jagasseunikka | 작으니까 jageunikka | 작으니까 작을 거니까 jageul geonikka |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 | 남자였으니까 namjayeosseunikka | 남자이니까 namjainikka | 남자이니까 남자일 거니까 namjail geonikka |
| Nouns ending in a consonant | 물 | 물이었으니까 murieosseunikka | 물이니까 mulinikka | 물이니까 물 일거니까 mul ilgeonikka |
TAKE NOTE
니(까) can be used in any kind of sentence and in any tense, though it isn’t usually used when you’re talking about yourself. If you feel narcissistic at the moment, you’d be better off using 어서.
Be aware that there is another expression, 니, which is used in 반말 at the end of questions: 점심을 먹었니? That’s different. This 니 is in the middle of a sentence.
Also, 습니까 is not the same 니까 used here. 습니까 is the super-polite ending for a question (see page 15). That 니까 always goes after 습, while this one never does.
있다 and 없다 can be conjugated either as 있니(까) inni(kka) and 없니(까) eobsni(kka) or 있으니(까) isseuni(kka) and 없으니(까) eobseuni(kka). Koreans do it both ways, so just use whichever you think sounds better.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
어머니의 생신이니까 파티에 갈 수 없어요.
Eomeoniui saengsininikka patie gal su eobseoyo.
It’s my mother’s birthday, so I can’t go to the party.
이 신발은 너무 작으니까 큰 것으로 바꿔 주세요.
I sinbareun neomu jageunikka keun geoseuro bakkwo juseyo.
These shoes are too small, so could you please change it to a bigger size?
이 회의가 아주 중요한데 민수가 늦었어요.
I hoeuiga aju jungyohande Minsuga neujeosseoyo.
This meeting is very important, but Minsu was late.
(으)ㄴ/는데 functions much like an English semicolon. Clause A explains the background for clause B, which can be a statement, question, suggestion or command: this expression works with any kind of sentence. It can also be used to contrast two situations. It doesn’t always mean “so,” but it is often used that way and functions similarly to the expressions above, so I’ve put it in this section.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
ㄴ/은데 n/eunde is used after descriptive verbs and 는데 neunde after action verbs or past tense forms. If you want to use this expression after a noun, add 이 to the end of the noun and then conjugate it as if it were a descriptive verb.
| Past | Present | Future | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 했는데 haenneunde | 하는데 haneunde | 할 건데 hal geonde |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹었는데 meogeonneunde | 먹는데 meokneunde | 먹을 건데 meogeul geonde |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예뻤는데 yeppeonneunde | 예쁜데 yeppeunde | 예쁠 건데 yeppeul geonde |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작았는데 jaganneunde | 작은데 jageunde | 작을 건데 jageul geonde |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 | 남자였는데 namjayeonneunde | 남자인데 namjainde | 남자일 건데 namjail geonde |
| Nouns ending in a consonant | 물 | 물이었는데 murieonneunde | 물인데 murinde | 물일 건데 muril geonde |
TAKE NOTE
There is another expression, (으)ㄴ/는 데, which is totally different and has to do with intentions. It’s covered on page 170. You can tell it apart from (으)ㄴ/는데 by the space in the middle, but sometimes this space is omitted, so look for context.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
어머니의 생신인데 무슨 선물이 좋을까요?
Eomeoniui saengsininde museun seonmuri joeulkkayo?
It’s my mother’s birthday; what kind of present would be good?
자고 있었는데 갑자기 전화가 왔어요.
Jago isseonneunde gapjagi jeonhwaga wasseoyo.
I was sleeping when the phone suddenly rang.
Ending sentences with 어서, and 니까 (and 거든!) Speaking
These mean essentially the same thing when used at the end of a sentence. You can use them to explain the reason for an action. It’s much like answering a question in English with “Because.” They’re more or less all interchangeable, but 서요 is quite uncommon while you’ll hear the others all the time. 거든 is also usually used for commonplace situations about daily life, while the other two can be (but are not always) somewhat more formal.
거든 itself, in the middle of a sentence, has a slightly different meaning than 아/어/여서 and 니까;
