Advanced Korean Grammar: Patterns for TOPIK Levels 5-6

Advanced Korean grammar is a list of 49 connector and sentence-ending patterns at levels B2 and C1, mapped to TOPIK II levels 5 and 6. Each entry below gives the pattern, its level and a short meaning, and each pattern links to its own lesson. The list is grouped by meaning, so you can choose your next five patterns quickly.

What Is Advanced Korean Grammar?

Advanced Korean grammar is the set of patterns that adds fine shades of meaning: who is to blame, what you noticed, what you suspect and how formal the text is. A pattern here is an ending or a short fixed phrase that attaches to a verb or adjective stem. The list has two kinds. A connector joins two clauses, and a sentence ending closes a sentence and adds the speaker's stance.

Beginner and intermediate patterns answer "what happened and why". Advanced patterns answer "how do I feel about why it happened". Three examples show the difference:

• Blame and accident. -아/어서 just gives a reason. -는 바람에 says the reason was a sudden event with a bad result.
• Written register. -지만 means "but" in any style. -(으)나 means the same thing in reports, news and essays.
• Stance in speech. -다고 하다 reports what someone said. -(느)ㄴ다면서요 reports it and asks you to confirm it.

A typical first advanced sentence uses -(으)ㄴ/는 데다가, "on top of that":

The stem 춥다 becomes the modifier 추운 before 데다가, because this pattern attaches through the modifier form. That is the main mechanical point of the advanced list: many patterns attach through a modifier (-(으)ㄴ/는) or carry an optional 으 that appears after a consonant, as in 먹으므로 but 가므로. Each lesson gives the full formation table. The next section shows where to begin.

Which Pattern Should You Learn First?

Learn -(으)ㄴ/는 데다가 first, because it builds directly on the intermediate -(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 and appears often in both speech and writing. Then take the reason group, which has the most patterns. The level split is simple: 43 patterns are B2 and 6 are C1. Finish the B2 patterns you need before you touch the C1 ones, which are mostly literary.

The chooser table starts from the meaning you want and gives the pattern.

A practical starter set of five is -(으)ㄴ/는 데다가, -느라고, -는 바람에, -(으)ㄴ/는 대로 and -아/어 봤자. All five are common in conversation, so you will hear them as soon as you watch unscripted Korean. This order is an editorial heuristic, not an official sequence.

If you have not finished the middle list, review intermediate Korean grammar first. The whole map is on the Korean grammar by level page. The full list follows.

The 49 Advanced Patterns, Grouped by Meaning

The list has twelve groups: six of connectors and six of sentence endings. Each entry gives the pattern, its level and a short meaning. Every entry links to its full lesson.

Adding a Point and Formal "But"

Two connectors add a second fact or contrast in a formal way.

• -(으)ㄴ/는 데다가 (B2): "on top of that". Both facts must point the same way, both good or both bad.
• -(으)나 (B2): "but", the written partner of -지만.

Reasons, Blame and Accidents

Nine connectors give a reason with a particular colour. This is the largest group and the one most tested in reading.

• -(으)므로 (B2): "therefore" or "because", in reports, notices and essays.
• -느라고 (B2): "because I was busy doing X". The same person does both actions, and the result is usually bad.
• -는 바람에 (B2): "because of something unexpected", with a bad result in the past.
• -(으)ㄴ/는 탓에 (B2): "because of", with blame. It is the negative partner of 덕분에.
• -고 해서 (B2): "partly because", for one reason among several.
• -길래 (B2): "because (I saw that)", a spoken reason based on what you observed.
• -(으)ㄴ/는 이상 (B2): "now that" or "since", for a fact that forces a decision.
• -(으)ㄴ/는 만큼 (B2): "as much as" or "since", for a reason that sets a degree.
• -는 통에 (B2): "because of a commotion", when noise or chaos causes a problem.

Conditions and Warnings

Two connectors set a condition with an attitude.

• -다가는 (B2): "if you keep doing X", a warning that a bad result will follow. 그렇게 놀다가는 시험에 떨어질 거예요. (If you keep playing like that, you will fail the exam.)
• -는 한 (B2): "as long as".

Time and Discovery

Four connectors place events in time.

• -(으)ㄴ/는 대로 (B2): "as soon as" with -는, and "exactly as" with -(으)ㄴ/는.
• -기가 무섭게 (C1): "no sooner than", for something that happens the very moment another thing ends.
• -는 사이(에) (B2): "while" or "in the short time when", often for something that happened unnoticed.
• -았/었더니 (B2): "I did X, and then I found Y", for a result or discovery after your own action.

Purpose

Two connectors state a goal.

• -고자 (B2): "with the aim of", formal, common in speeches and official writing.
• -(으)ㄹ 겸 (B2): "doing X and also Y", for one action with two purposes. 운동도 할 겸 걸어서 왔어요. (I walked here, partly for the exercise.)

Concession and "I'd Rather"

Ten connectors concede a point or choose the lesser evil. Five of the six C1 patterns are here.

• -(으)ㄹ지라도 (C1): "even if", a strong and formal concession.
• -(으)ㄴ/는 반면(에) (B2): "whereas" or "on the other hand".
• -(으)ㅁ에도 불구하고 (C1): "in spite of" or "despite", formal.
• -(으)ㄹ망정 (C1): "even if X, (I will not) Y", literary.
• -(으)ㄴ들 (C1): "even if", often in a rhetorical "what good would it do?".
• -건만 (C1): "although", literary.
• -느니 (차라리) (B2): "rather than X, I'd Y".
• -(으)ㄹ 바에는 (B2): "if I have to X, I'd rather Y". 이렇게 기다릴 바에는 다른 식당에 가는 게 낫겠어요. (If we have to wait like this, we'd better go to another restaurant.)
• -아/어 봤자 (B2): "even if you do X, it's no use". 지금 가 봤자 아무도 없을 거예요. (Even if you go now, nobody will be there.)
• -(으)면서도 (B2): "even while" or "yet", for two facts that clash.

Wishes and Plans

Three endings express a wish or an intention.

• -았/었으면 하다 (B2): "I'd like it if", softer than -았/었으면 좋겠다.
• -(으)ㄹ 셈이다 (B2): "it's as good as" or "I intend to".
• -(으)려던 참이다 (B2): "I was just about to". 막 전화하려던 참이었어요. (I was just about to call.)

Strong Obligation

Two endings use a double negative for emphasis.

• -지 않으면 안 되다 (B2): "must", stronger than -아/어야 하다.
• -지 않을 수 없다 (B2): "cannot help but".

Advice and Formal Requests

Two endings advise or ask in a measured way.

• -(으)ㄴ/는 편이 낫다 (B2): "it's better to", for comparing two options.
• -아/어 주시면 감사하겠습니다 (B2): "I would appreciate it if you...", the standard polite request in emails and notices.

Guesses

Four endings express how sure you are and what your guess rests on.

• -(으)ㄴ/는 모양이다 (B2): "it appears that", a guess from evidence. 불이 꺼져 있는 걸 보니 아무도 없는 모양이에요. (The lights are off, so it seems nobody is in.)
• -(으)ㄹ 듯하다 (B2): "it seems that", the written partner of -(으)ㄹ 것 같다.
• -지 싶다 (B2): "I suspect that", a soft personal guess.
• -나 싶다 (B2): "I wonder if" or "I think maybe".

Reactions and Recollection

Three endings react or report what you saw.

• -더라 (B2): "I noticed", a casual report of something you saw yourself.
• -(으)ㄴ/는걸요 (B2): "actually" or "in fact", a mild correction.
• -다니(요) (B2): "what? how could...?", for surprise or disbelief.

Reported Speech, Advanced Set

Six patterns quote requests, rumours and insistence.

• -아/어 달라고 하다 (B2): "(someone) asks me to do it for them".
• -지 말라고 하다 (B2): "(someone) tells you not to".
• -(느)ㄴ다면서요 (B2): "I heard that... is that true?". 다음 달에 한국에 간다면서요? (I heard you're going to Korea next month. Is that right?)
• -다던데 (B2): "I heard that...", used to set up advice or a reaction.
• -다고 해서 (B2): "just because (someone says)".
• -(느)ㄴ다니까 (B2): "I told you", with insistence.

Short entries like these show only the core meaning. The lessons explain the form, the restrictions on subject and tense, and the common errors, which is where most advanced mistakes happen. The next section deals with the pairs that cause those mistakes.

How Do You Choose between Look-Alike Patterns?

You choose between look-alikes by asking the one question that separates them. Advanced patterns often share an English translation, so "because" or "even if" is never enough on its own. The table gives the deciding question for six common pairs.

Four of these pairs have their own comparison pages: -느라고 vs -는 바람에, 덕분에 vs 탓에, -자마자 vs -는 대로 and -것 같다 vs -모양이다. The intermediate pair -아/어도 vs -더라도 is the best preparation for the "even if" patterns here. All published pairs are in confusing grammar compared.

Register is the other big source of errors, so it gets its own section next.

Which Advanced Patterns Are Spoken and Which Are Written?

About a third of the advanced list belongs to one register only. Using a spoken pattern in an essay, or a literary one in chat, is the most common advanced error that is not a grammar error at all.

A rule of thumb for writing: if a spoken pattern from the table comes to mind, look for its formal partner. -길래 becomes -(으)므로 or -기 때문에 in an essay, and -아/어 봤자 becomes -더라도 or -(으)ㄹ지라도. This matters for the TOPIK II essay question, where the written register is part of the task. The exam format and level descriptions are published at topik.go.kr, and the level placement on this page is an editorial estimate, not an official TOPIK list.

The next step is practice, covered below.

Where Can You Practise These Patterns?

Practise in short sessions: learn three patterns, write one sentence of your own for each, then test yourself a few days later. These resources fit the list.

• The Korean grammar quizzes check your choices between similar patterns.
• The TOPIK grammar section shows how grammar is tested on the exam, and the TOPIK 2 grammar list covers the core patterns for levels 3 and 4 that this list builds on, and advanced TOPIK 2 grammar shows how patterns like these are tested at levels 5 and 6.
• The advanced Korean grammar flashcards and the advanced Korean grammar worksheet give extra drill and written practice.

A limit to keep in mind: a list cannot teach restrictions. -느라고, for example, does not take a past-tense stem and cannot be followed by a command, and only the lesson drills those rules. Use this page to choose and plan, and use the lessons to learn.

What Does This List Not Cover?

This list holds connectors and sentence endings only. Other grammar has its own subhubs.

• Particles such as 은/는 and 이/가: see Korean particles.
• Past, present and future: see Korean tenses.
• Politeness levels and honorifics: see Korean speech levels.
• 안 and 못: see Korean negation.
• Modifier forms such as -(으)ㄴ/는: see Korean modifiers.
• -기 and -(으)ㅁ: see Korean nominalization.

The patterns are also sorted by function in Korean connectors and Korean sentence endings. Advanced Korean grammar sits at the top of the three lists; the first one is beginner Korean grammar, and the wider map is the Korean grammar hub.

Frequently Asked Questions