Usage
i) Conveying obvious/common/assumable knowledge
백인들 사회에서 살 수가 없잖아요.
I cannot live in White society (as you would agree with me).
ii) Conversation management
근데 아까 라면 끓어 먹는다고 그랬잖아요?
So, you said earlier that your older brother eats ramen?
iii) (Im)politeness
몇시부터 몇시까지 들어오세요 이런 거는 하기 좀 그렇잖아요.
Having to tell people something like ‘leave and return at a certain time’ is just, you know.
iv) Surprising revelation/realisation
가서 싸우고선, 이거 진짜 잘한 건가 잘못한 건가, 그랬잖아.
After we fought (on our honeymoon), I was like, did I do the right thing or not?
Conjugation
| Type | Example | Past | Present (processive) |
Future (prospective) |
Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AV (vowel) | 하다 | 했잖아 | 하잖아 | 할 거잖아 | 하던 거잖아 |
| AV (cons.) | 듣다 | 들었잖아 | 듣잖아 | 들을 거잖아 | 듣던 거잖아 |
| DV (vowel) | 빠르다 | 빨랐잖아 | 빠르잖아 | 빠를 거잖아 | 빠르던 거든 |
| DV (cons.) | 어둡다 | 어두웠잖아 | 어둡잖아 | 어두울 거잖아 | 어둡던 거잖아 |
| Noun (vowel) | 남자 | 남자였잖아 | 남자잖아 | 남자일 거잖아 | 남자던 거잖아 |
| Noun (cons.) | 사람 | 사람이었잖아 | 사람이잖아 | 사람일 거잖아 | 사람이던 거잖아 |
Where:
AV = action verb / processive verb.
DV = descriptive verb / ‘adjective’.
Nouns take the copula (이다) and this becomes a DV.
Contents
Introduction
i) Conveying obvious/common/assumable knowledge
ii) Conversation management
iii) (Im)politeness
iv) Surprising revelation/realisation
Additional details
Associated grammar
See also
Bibliography
User examples
Introduction
The ending 잖아 is used for various reasons including: Reminding the listener of something, rhetorical statements, scolding, seeking agreement, seeking sympathy, seeking verification and showing annoyance. It is roughly translatable as ‘you know’ or ‘you see’ in English.
One suggested idea is that 잖아 has the general function of marking shared information between speakers. That is, information which the speaker believes is already shared with the listener. Through speakers’ awareness and attention to each other in their interactions, 잖아 is used to manage the dynamic changes of information flow in conversation. The various functions of 잖아 are suggested to derive from this basic function.
This idea is from Kim 2018, and many details in this entry, including the division of usages, is an alteration of her work with selected changes for an L2 perspective.
One way to grasp 잖아 is to see how it originated from questions in the long negative -지 않아.
a) 방이 좀 덥지 않아요?
Isn’t the room a bit hot?
b) 방이 좀 덥지요?
The room is a bit hot, isn’t it?
c) 방이 좀 덥잖아요?
As you know, the room is a bit hot.
Don’t you think the room is a bit hot?
In each of these examples, the speaker is seeking agreement from the listener about the room being too hot. In a), the speaker is being cautious about the listener’s agreement; in b), the speaker has a higher degree of certainty over their agreement; and in c), the speaker has a strong conviction that the listener agrees (or should agree) that the room is too hot. Here we see that 잖아 relates to a shared understanding between speakers and has an interactional purpose.
i) Conveying obvious/common/assumable knowledge
잖아 is often used when conveying obvious, common and assumable knowledge with the listener. There are various motivations for this, including eliciting empathy, eliciting agreement and guiding towards an understanding (among others).
백인들 사회에서 살 수가 없잖아요.
I cannot live in White society (as you would agree with me).
This example comes from an interaction between two Koreans living in America. The speaker uses 잖아 to invoke sympathy from the listener by drawing on their common understanding (from living in America). Further analysis (optional reading) is provided in the following dialogues.
Eliciting empathy
Dialogue: (Adapted from Sohn 2010)
Context: Speaker is an immigrant talking about her experience after the 1992 LA Riots.
영희: 이사를 가고 싶은 마음은 있는데 내가 영어가 딸리니까 그리고 또 이렇게 우리가 동양인이니까 백인들 사회에서 살 수가 없잖아요. 말이 통해요, 뭐.
영희: I want to move (to a different state) but because my English is poor and because we are Asians, I cannot live in White society (as you would agree with me). I can’t communicate.
In this dialogue, 잖아 is used to elicit empathy from the addressee and create solidarity between speakers. 잖아 signals an appeal to the common ground between them (that they are both have difficulties due to ethnicity and language abilities). Since they know each other, the speaker assumes this to be an obvious understanding between them.
Eliciting agreement
Dialogue: (Adapted from Kim 2018)
Context: Talking about how clean Canada is.
철수: 내 친구는 캐나다에 갔다 왔거든요?
철수: My friend went to Canada, you know?
영희: 응,
영희: Yeah,
철수: 연수를 갔다 왔는데 자기 너무 놀랬대. 공기가 너무 깨끗해가지고.
철수: She went to study (English) and came back but she told me that she was so surprised. The air was so clean.
영희: 어,
영희: Yeah,
철수: 그까, 여기서는 이렇게 흰색 와이셔츠 — 그러 흰색 남방 같은 거 입으면 까매지는 게 당연하잖아.
철수: I mean, here (in Korea) if you wear a white shirt like — something like a white shirt, then it’s obvious that it becomes dirty.
영희: 응,
영희: Yeah,
철수: 근데, 며칠을 입어두 그게 안 까매지더래.
철수: But, she said that it wouldn’t darken even after several days of wear.
In this dialogue, 잖아 is used to elicit understanding from the listener. 잖아 is used when expressing the natural consequence of wearing a white shirt in air-polluted Korea. This is common knowledge between Koreans and 잖아 is used to evoke this shared understanding and assist the speaker in her story-telling.
Guiding towards an understanding
Dialogue: (Adapted from Kim & Suh 2004)
Context: Mother is teaching her child to read.
엄마: ‘시계’
엄마: ‘watch’
엄마: 이게 뭐지?
엄마: What’s this?
아들: 계,
아들: It’s 계,
엄마: 그렇지. ‘층-계’ 할때도 ‘계’자가 나오네… ‘시-계’할 때도 ‘계’자가 나오고 똑같은 글씨 자꾸 있잖아. 그지… 그래서 ‘시계’ 이렇게 되는거지.
엄마: That’s right! The letter ‘계’ is used when you say ‘stairs’. And the letter ‘계’ is also used when you say ‘watch’. They have the same letter, don’t they? Isn’t that right? … So, it
becomes ‘시계’.
In this dialogue, the mother uses 잖아 to guide her child towards understanding the explanation. When she says “They have the same letter, don’t they?”, she is indicating to her child that he can now grasp an understanding. Here 잖아 presents the information as something already shared with the child. Again, we see how 잖아 ultimately relates to a shared understanding between speakers.
ii) Conversation management
잖아 can be used to help manage the flow of information in conversation. It does this by executing a topic segue, serving as a filler, and performing as a foregrounding tool.
근데 아까 라면 끓어 먹는다고 그랬잖아요?
So, you said earlier that your older brother eats ramen?
In this example, the speaker uses 잖아 to change the topic to something new (about his own eating habits). The speaker introduces a new topic by referring to the common ground of what was mentioned previously. Here we see 잖아 performing as a conversation management tool which functions by calling upon the shared awareness between speakers. Further analysis (optional reading) is provided in the following dialogues.
Topic segue
Dialogue: (Adapted from Kim 2018)
Context: 철수 wants to start a new story about his own eating habits.
철수: 근데 아까 라면 끓어 먹는다고 그랬잖아요?
철수: So, you said earlier that your older brother eats ramen?
영희: 네.
영희: Yes.
철수: 내가 만수랑 거의 매일 야식을 라면으로 먹거든요.
철수: 만수 and I eat ramen as a late at night snack almost every day.
(철수 continues)
In this dialogue, 철수 uses 잖아 to help bring a new topic into the conversation. By using 잖아, the speaker refers to the common ground between speakers and uses this to avoid an abrupt change in flow. Referring to the shared background gets the listener’s attention and increases the possibility of them accepting the newly introduced topic.
Filler
Dialogue: (Adapted from Kim 2018)
Context: 철수 cannot think of the equipment name.
철수: 아, 그런 거 하나 사요.
철수: Ah, I need to buy one of those things.
철수: 그 어깨, … 그 있잖아, … 어깨 아프고,
철수: That shoulder, … that you know, … when your shoulder hurts and,
영희: 응,
영희: Yeah,
철수: 그런데 이렇게 막, 하는 기구 있잖아.
철수: The thing that does this, you know the machine.
In this dialogue, the speaker tries to recall the name of the exercise equipment but can’t. 잖아 is used to help them recall the name and request help from the listener. 잖아 implies there is shared knowledge between the speakers and is used to say “you know what I mean”. This also helps the speaker keep the floor while they are searching for the appropriate expression.
Foregrounding
Dialogue: (Adapted from Sohn 2010, originally in Park 2003)
Context: Talking about going on a short break.
철수: 어디 갈라 그러면은 두 달 전에는 예약이 되있어야 돼요.
철수: If we want to go somewhere, we should make reservations two months ahead.
영희: 한 달 전에 예약이 되고 그 때부터 알아보고 하면 촉박하지요.
영희: If we make a reservation one month before and then start preparing, it’s too stressful.
철수: 그래서 제가 어떤 그 좋은 방법을 알아냈는데요. 가겠다 그래잖아요? ↑
철수: So, I thought of a good idea. Let’s say that if we agree to go.
영희: 네,
영희: Yes,
철수: 그럼 가겠다 그러면은 어차피 가는 데 돈이 들잖아요. 계처럼 돈을 미리 내는 거예요, 조금씩.
철수: Then, if we agree to go, since we need to spend money on the trip anyway; we could pool in advance, in small amounts.
영희: 네.
영희: I see.
In this dialogue, the speakers are deciding whether to go on a trip and how they will need to finance it. Both speakers need to remain cooperative and be aware of what the other person wants. The first occurrence of 잖아 is used when presenting the trip as a hypothetical reality: “provided that we agree to go”. 잖아 occurs at a conversational inflection point where 철수 is seeking accordance from 영희 (which she provides) before he gives his suggestion on financing the trip. Here 잖아 is used to foreground his upcoming suggestion and enable monitoring of 영희’s reaction to the proposal, checking that they share the same idea.
The second occurrence of 잖아 is simply used to signal common knowledge, as in i).
iii) (Im)politeness
Since 잖아 relates to the shared knowledge between speakers, it can readily be used for politeness or impoliteness. Think about how this also occurs in English: someone can be rude and say “You already know this…” or be polite and say “As you already know…”
몇시부터 몇시까지 들어오세요 이런 거는 하기 좀 그렇잖아요.
Having to tell people something like ‘leave and return at a certain time’ is just, you know.
In this example, the speaker is trying to be polite and inform their staff of acceptable working hours. They do this by presenting the situation as a shared understanding.
잖아 is frequently used for impoliteness, banter or criticism; and at other times, it is used for politely informing someone of details they may not already consider.
In these cases, 잖아 can be used when the speaker believes the addressee doesn’t know of certain information. For this reason, (im)politeness is considered an extension of 잖아’s fundamental function of expressing shared information. Further analysis (optional reading) is provided in the following dialogues.
Politeness
Dialogue: (Adapted from Kim 2018)
Context: 영희 is discussing punctuality during an office meeting.
상근 시간 좀 잘, 지켰으면 좋겠어요.
I hope the working hours get, well, it would be good if you are more punctual.
특히 점심 시간이, 이렇게 참… 융통성 있게 원래 진행이 됐었는데… 융통성 있게 하되 양심 것 합시다.
Especially the lunchtime is, well like this… originally the lunchtime was much more flexible… so let us be flexible but at the same time be conscientious.
우리… 점심 시간은… 뭐 점심 시간…
For the lunchtime… Well, the lunchtime…
몇시부터 몇시까지 들어오세요 이런 거는 하기 좀 그렇잖아요… 그렇잖아요.
Having to tell people something like ‘leave and return at a certain time’ is just, you know.
근데, 대충 보면 아시잖아요. 그죠?
But, you know how things go, right?
In this dialogue, the speaker uses many politeness strategies throughout. 잖아 is used to ‘pretend’ that the information she gives (about having to direct them) is already shared. This is done to sound less demanding by stating something which everyone ‘already knows’. Here we see 잖아 used to politely request compliance.
Impoliteness
Dialogue: (Adapted from Kim 2018)
Context: 철수 has been asking 영희 to tell him more about ‘the boy’.
영희: 몰라도 돼.
time’ is just, you kn 영희: You don’t need to know.
철수: 아우, 너무 숨길라 그러네. 더 궁금하잖아요.
철수: Hey, you’re trying to hide too much. I’m even more curious.
In this dialogue, 철수 is trying to prod information from 영희 about some boy. 영희 refuses to reveal anything, so 철수 pushes further and faults her. This is impolite because he is ignoring her boundaries and implying that ‘this situation has been caused by you’; in that his curiosity is a natural consequence of her privacy. The speaker is saying: “of course you would know this” and pretends it should be shared understanding between them.
iv) Surprising revelation/realisation
잖아 can also be used when speakers present surprising information to the listener, and when they express their own surprise.
가서 싸우고선, 이거 진짜 잘한 건가 잘못한 건가, 그랬잖아.
After we fought (on our honeymoon), I was like, did I do the right thing or not?
Here the speaker is talking about the dramatic event of fighting during her honeymoon. This is something the listener will find surprising and which will draw in their attention. 잖아 is used here to present new and surprising information which is likely not shared by the listener. Further analysis (optional reading) is provided in the following dialogues.
Surprising revelation
Dialogue: (Adapted from Kim 2018)
Context: 철수 and 영희 are talking about their honeymoons.
영희: 싸우진 않았어요?
영희: Didn’t you guys fight?
철수: 가서 좀 싸웠지.
철수: We fought a little.
영희: 우리도 가서 싸웠잖아.
영희: We fought as well.
철수: 조금 약간.
철수: Just a little bit.
영희: 가서 싸우고선 이거 진짜 잘한 건가 잘못한 건가 그랬잖아.
영희: After we fought, I was like, did I do the right thing or not?
In this dialogue, the speaker uses 잖아 to present surprising information. The speaker wants the listener to be surprised and draw their attention to the story. The obvious problem here is that ‘surprising information’ cannot be known to the listener and therefore cannot be shared knowledge.
It is suggested that this use of 잖아 derives from the ‘topic segue’ use where speakers attempt to get the attention of the listener and introduce a new idea or topic for discussion. By introducing information which is not obvious (unlike the regular use of 잖아), the listener suddenly feels surprised by the revelation. This use of 잖아 is an extension of its basic function of shared knowledge.
Surprising realisation
영희: 너 철수잖아?
영희: Oh, 철수!
In this example, the speaker is expressing their own surprise over suddenly encountering 철수. Such a thing can be said when suddenly recognising him in an unexpected circumstance. For example, if the speaker is walking down the street and recognises 철수 away in the distance, they might say ‘철수잖아?’ to the person walking with them. Alternatively, they might say the same thing only to themselves in an internal monologue. Here 잖아 is used with information that is new to the speaker. This is suggested to be a further extension of the ‘surprise revelation’ use where the revelation is to themselves.
Additional details
General
• Korean learners sometimes have difficulty making a distinction between 잖아 and sentence-final 거든. They are similar in that they both conversation management tools which relate to the knowledge between speaker and listener. 잖아 is used by speakers when marking information that they believe is shared (or is assumable) with the listener (at time of speaking); while 거든 is used by speakers to mark information that they believe is new to the listener, but should have been shared earlier.
Associated grammar
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See also
Bibliography
Affiliate links help support uK.
— Kim, A. Utterance-final particle -canha in modern spoken Korean: A marker of shared knowledge, (im)politeness, theticity and mirativity. (2018). Linguistics, 56(5), 995–1057.
— Kim, E. Developmental Changes in the Use of the Korean Suffix canh: Learners’ Management of Shared Knowledge in Giving Accounts. (2015). Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 12(2), 238–259.
— Kim, K., Suh, K. An Analysis of Korean Sentence-Ending Suffixes in Caregiver-Child Interaction. (2015). Language Research, 40(4), 923–950.
— Lee, H. A discourse-pragmatic analysis of the Committal -ci in Korean: A synthetic approach to the form-meaning relation. (2015). Journal of Pragmatics, 31, 243-275.
— Park, M. The Meaning of Korean Prosodic Boundary Tones. PhD diss. University of California, Los Angeles. (2003).
— Sohn, S. (2010). The role of frequency and prosody in the grammaticalization of Korean -canh-. In A. Van linded, J Verstraete & K. Davidse (Eds.) Formal Evidence in Grammaticalization Research. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.