Verb Ending: ~잖아요, 있잖아요 with example sentences
Mar 15, 2024
- Author: Good Job Korean team
- Editor: Good Job Korean team
👍 Contents (Click to navigate instantly)
✅ Introduction: Explanation of Usages
✅ Example Sentences: Usage 1 (Stating a reason or reminder)
✅ Example Sentences: Usage 2 (Rebuking or nagging)
✅ Noun + ~(이)잖아요
✅ 있잖아요 Expression
Introduction: Explanation of Usages
있잖아요~
Does this sound familiar? If you are an avid K-drama fan, you would have heard this. But what does this phrase mean? Let’s explore this popular verb ending ~잖아요.
We use verb stem + ~잖아요 when you want the other person to agree with you. We use this grammar pattern when the speaker and listener know about a mutual fact. This phrase commonly translates in English into As you know, you know…, come on, you ought to know. It may sound awkward in English, but this phrase is common in daily conversations in Korea.
Please note that this grammar pattern is typically used in 반말 (casual speech) or in close relationships, even when 존댓말 (polite speech) is being used. It is advisable to refrain from using this grammar pattern in formal speaking or written form because it sometimes sounds like the speaker is scolding or rebuking the listener about something (that the listener already knew), even if you use the polite ~요 ending.
In summary, the uses of ~잖아요 are:
Usage 1:
State a reason that the listener should be aware of or remind the listener of something that the listener already knew or has forgotten (As you know…);
Usage 2:
Rebuke or nag the listener for not listening to advice or allowing something to happen even after being warned. (Didn’t I tell you….?)
When we use the verb ending in a sentence, we would attach ~잖아요 after the conjugation of the verb stems to show the tenses of the sentence. For example:
알다 (to know)
Present tense: 알잖아요
Past tense: 알았잖아요
Future tense: 알 거잖아요
먹다 (to eat)
Present tense: 먹잖아요
Past tense: 먹었잖아요
Future tense: 먹을 거잖아요
하다 (to do)
Present tense: 하잖아요
Past tense: 했잖아요
Future tense: 할 거잖아요
Now, shall we explore some example sentences using the ~잖아요 verb ending?
Example Sentences: Usage 1 (Stating a reason or reminder)
Example sentences:
Usage 1 (As you know…)
A: 왜 BTS를 좋아해요?
B: 노래도 잘하고 잘 생겼잖아요.
A: Why do you like BTS?
B: They sing well, and (as you know) they are also handsome.
*왜: why
*좋아하다: to like
*노래: song
*잘하다: to do something well
*잘생기다: to be handsome
A: 스티븐 씨가 한국어를 정말 잘하네요!
B: 스티븐 씨는 GJK 랭귀지 스쿨 프로그램에서 한국어를 배우고 있잖아요.
A: Stephen is really good at Korean!
B: (As you know) Stephen is learning Korean in the GJK Language School Program.
*한국어: Korean (language)
*정말: really
*잘하다: to do something well
*랭귀지: language
*스쿨: school
*프로그램: program
*에서: (location marking particle) at, in
*배우다: to learn
A: 명동에 쇼핑하러 가요!
B: 흠, 잠실로 가요. 거기는 물건이 더 싸잖아요.
A: Let’s go shopping at Myeongdong!
B: Hmm, let’s go to Jamsil (You know) Things are cheaper there.
*명동: Myeongdong
*쇼핑: shopping
*가다: to go
*흠: hmm
*잠실: Jamsil
*거기: there
*물건: things
*더: more
*싸다: to be cheap
Example Sentences: Usage 2 (Rebuking or nagging)
Usage 2 (Come on…, Didn’t I tell you?)
A: 이 떡볶이는 너무 매워요!
B: 매운 음식 좋아하지 않아요?
A: 저 매운 음식 못 먹잖아요!
A: This tteokbokki is so spicy!
B: Don’t you like spicy food?
A: Didn’t I tell you I can’t eat spicy food?
*이: this
*떡볶이: tteokbokki
*너무: very, so
*맵다: to be spicy
*음식: food
*좋아하다: to like
*저: I, me
*못: cannot
*먹다: to eat
A: 시험에 떨어졌어요.
B: 말 했잖아요! 공부하지 않으면 낙제할 거라고..
A: I failed my test.
B: I told you! (Didn’t I tell you?) If you don’t study, you will fail.
*시험: test, exam
*떨어지다: to fall, to drop, to fail
*말 하다: to speak, to talk, to tell
*공부하다: to study
*낙제하다: to fail
A: 남자친구가 바람을 피웠어요.
B: 그 사람은 나쁜 사람 같다고 했잖아요!
A: My boyfriend cheated on me.
B: Didn’t I tell you he seemed like a bad person?
*남자친구: boyfriend
*바람을 피우다: to cheat on
*그: that
*사람: person
*나쁘다: to be bad
*같다: to seem like
Noun + ~(이)잖아요
Besides adjectives and verbs as above, we can also use ~잖아요 verb ending to a noun, such as adding ~잖아요 to “예요” and “이에요” sentences. The conjugation is as follows:
For this, you can only conjugate the sentence to present and past tenses.
Examples:
친구 (friend)
Present tense: 친구잖아요
Past tense: 친구였잖아요
학생 (student)
Present tense: 학생이잖아요
Past tense: 학생이었잖아요
Let us go through some example sentences:
A: 왜 교복을 안 입어요?
B: 수학여행 날이잖아요!
A: Why are you not wearing the school uniform?
B: (Come on!) It’s school trip day!
*왜: why
*교복: school uniform
*안: (do, are) not
*입다: to wear
*수학여행: school trip, excursion
*날: day
A: 와! 이 가수는 정말 재능이 있네요!
B: 그럼요! 아이유잖아요!
A: Wow, this singer is really talented!
B: Of course! She is IU!
*와: wow
*이: this
*가수: singer
*정말: really
*재능있다: to be talented
*그럼요: of course
A: 형 분이 어깨가 엄청 넓어요!
B: 제 형은 수영선수였잖아요.
A: Your brother has such broad shoulders.
B: (As you know) My brother was a swimmer.
*네: your
*형: older brother (for male)
*어깨: shoulders
*엄청: very, tremendous
*넓다: to be broad
*제: my
*수영선수: swimmer
있잖아요 Expression
Now, do you remember at the beginning of this post, I gave the example of 있잖아요? So, what does that mean now that we have learned the grammar usage?
있잖아요 comes from 이다 verb plus ~잖아요. It means, “You know, there’s something.” Speakers use this phrase to grab someone’s attention before saying something important. Therefore 있잖아요 could be translated to as “You know what?” “Hey, I have something to tell you,” or “Hey, I have something to ask you.”
Example sentences:
있잖아요. 사실 저는 스파이예요.
You know what? Actually, I am a spy.
*사실: actually
*스파이: spy
*저: I, me
있잖아요… 어제밤에 두 분이 왜 싸웠어요?
Hey, I have something to ask you. Why did you two fight last night?
*어제밤: last night
*두 분이: two of you
*왜: why
*싸우다: to fight, to argue, to quarrel
Isn’t this grammar pattern interesting? As we do not have such expressions in English, you may need some time to understand and learn using ~잖아요 in your conversations. Please keep practicing, and you will get there soon enough!
- Author: Good Job Korean team
- Editor: Good Job Korean team
