‘는 바람에,’ ‘느라고/는다고’ Grammar Key Usage, Differences with Practice in Korean
There are many grammar patterns to indicate ‘because’ in Korean. While the most commonly used one is 아/어/해서, you can use (으)니까 to emphasize the reason. There are also more subtle and specific ones used in certain situations. Here, we will cover ‘는 바람에,’ ‘느라고/는다고’ Grammar patterns to express ‘because’ in different senses.
Let’s grasp the concept of grammar
(1) 는 바람에
Used to indicate that something negative or unintended happened due to a cause. It’s often used for unexpected or unfortunate situations.
Let’s take a look at examples!
비가 오는 바람에 약속을 취소했어요.
Because of the rain, I (kinda had to) canceled the appointment.
-> Using 는 바람에 here shows that the rain was unexpected, and due to it, you had no choice but to cancel the appointment. It implies that the situation was out of your control and wasn’t something you intended or anticipated.
차가 고장 나는 바람에 늦었어요.
Because the car broke down, I was late.
-> By using 는 바람에, you’re emphasizing that the car breaking down was an unexpected event. It wasn’t something you planned for, but the situation led to being late, highlighting that you couldn’t help it.
왜 어제 안 왔어? “Why didn’t you come yesterday?”
늦잠 자는 바람에…. “Because I overslept…”
-> Using 는 바람에 shows that you didn’t intend to oversleep, but things happened, and as a result, you couldn’t come because of oversleeping!
감기가 심해지는 바람에 학교에 못 갔어요.
Because my cold got worse, I couldn’t go to school.
-> The worsening of the cold led to not being able to go to school. It wasn’t planned that way, but the situation caused the outcome.
전기가 나가는 바람에 컴퓨터를 못 썼어요.
Because the electricity went out, I couldn’t use the computer.
-> The power outage was an unexpected problem that stopped you from using the computer. You didn’t plan for this, but it was beyond your control.
🌸Summary 🌸
는 바람에 is used to explain a negative or unintended consequence that happened due to an unexpected situation or cause. It implies that the event was unintentional or beyond control but still resulted in something negative or undesired.
(2) 느라고/는다고
It’s used to show that one action caused or made it hard to do something else. “Because of doing” (showing that one action stopped or made it difficult to do another)..
Let’s take a look at examples!
일 하느라고 밥을 못 먹었어요.= 일 한다고 밥을 못 먹었어요
Because I was working, I couldn’t eat.
-> Because of working, the work prevented the speaker from eating. It suggests that the task took up time or effort, and eating was not possible due to it.
* When the verb ends in a vowel, we add ㄴand 다고. ->한다고
공부하느라고/공부한다고 전화 못 받았어요.
Because I was studying, I couldn’t answer the phone.
-> Studying took up the speaker’s time, preventing them from answering the phone. This implies the speaker was so focused on studying or too busy that they couldn’t answer.
시험 준비하느라고/준비한다고 잠을 못 잤어요.
Because I was preparing for the exam, I couldn’t sleep.
The preparation for the exam took up so much time and effort that the speaker couldn’t sleep. It shows that studying caused them to sacrifice sleep.
A: 왜 이렇게 답장이 늦어? “Why are your replying so late?”
B: 미안, 책 읽느라고/는다고. “(Because) I was reading a book, sorry.”
-> Here, using 느라고/는다고 shows that the action(reading) took up time, and the speaker lost track of time, not meaning to cause the delay.
* When the verb ends in a batchim, we add 는다고. ->읽는다고
A: 왜 전화 안 받았어? “Why didn’t you answer the phone?”
B: 아, 운전하느라고/운전한다고. “Oh, I was driving.”
-> using 느라고/는다고 shows that driving took up the speaker’s attention or time, preventing them from answering the phone. The use of this grammar emphasizes that they didn’t mean to ignore the call—it was just that they were busy with driving.
✨✨Practice time!! ✨✨
(1) I didn’t go out because I was studying all day.
(2) I’m late because I missed the train.
(3) I couldn’t meet you because I was working late.
(4) Because I was sick, I couldn’t go to the party I wanted to attend.
(5) Because I was sleeping, I ended up missing the train.
(6)Because the typhoon was coming, I had to cancel the flight.
✨Here are the answers !!✨
