-든지 Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

Before you start: you should know the connector -거나 and how to make a polite command with -세요. You should also recognise a verb stem (the dictionary form without its final 다). Estimated time: 15 minutes.

What Does -든지 Grammar Mean?

-든지 grammar means "whether ... or" and "any one will do": the ending names options and says that the choice between them does not matter. It has two everyday uses. A-든지 B-든지 means "whether A or B", and a question word plus -든지 means "no matter who, when, where or what". Grammar books call -든지 a connective ending (연결 어미, yeongyeol eomi): an ending that links one clause to the next.

• Two options. 가든지 말든지 마음대로 하세요. = "Go or don't go, as you like."
• A question word. 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요. = "I don't mind what we eat."
• A question word with a noun ending. 언제든지 연락하세요. = "Contact me any time."

In the first sentence, 말다 means "to not do it". Korean often uses 말다 as the second option, so A든지 말든지 means "whether or not A". The question word in the second sentence is 뭘, the short form of 무엇을 ("what", as an object). The next section shows how to build the form.

The Short Form -든

In speech, 지 is often dropped, and -든지 becomes -든. 가든 말든 마음대로 하세요 means the same as 가든지 말든지 마음대로 하세요. Use the full -든지 when you are learning and writing. You will hear the short form often, so recognise it.

How Do You Form -든지?

You form -든지 by adding it to the stem, with nothing in between and no change to the stem. Like -고 and -거나, it has only one version.

Revised Romanization (RR, the official Latin spelling) is only an aid. It follows the sound of the final consonants but does not show tense sounds that come from sound change, so 먹든지 is written meokdeunji even though it is said [먹뜬지].

Stems Ending in a Vowel

Add -든지 after the vowel and say it as written: 가든지, 보든지, 마시든지, 자든지. There is no tense sound, because the ㄷ comes right after a vowel.

Stems Ending in a Consonant

Add -든지 after the final consonant. The spelling stays, but the sound changes. A tense consonant is a sharper, tighter sound, written ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ or ㅉ when it has its own letter. The Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법, Articles 11, 12, 23 and 24) give the pattern:

• After the final sounds ㄱ, ㄷ and ㅂ, the ㄷ of -든지 becomes tense: 먹든지 [먹뜬지], 춥든지 [춥뜬지].
• After a stem ending in ㄴ or ㅁ, it also becomes tense: 앉든지 [안뜬지].
• After ㄺ, the stem sounds like ㄱ and the ㄷ becomes tense: 읽든지 [익뜬지].
• After ㅎ, the two sounds merge into an aspirated ㅌ: 좋든지 [조튼지].
• After ㄹ, nothing changes: 놀든지 [놀든지].

Irregular Stems and Nouns

Irregular stems do not change before -든지. Irregular verbs change their stem only before endings that start with a vowel (and, for ㄹ stems, before ㄴ, ㅂ or ㅅ). The ending -든지 starts with the consonant ㄷ, so 춥다 stays 춥든지, 듣다 stays 듣든지 and 모르다 stays 모르든지.

For nouns, use (이)든지: 이든지 after a final consonant and 든지 after a vowel. 커피든지 차든지 아무거나 좋아요 means "Coffee or tea, anything is fine." The word 아무거나 means "anything at all". The particle version of "or" is taught in the lesson on (이)나 or particle.

Next, here is one full sentence built step by step.

Building a Sentence with -든지, Step by Step

You build it in five steps, working from the two options. This example makes "Go or don't go, as you like".

1. Write both options as dictionary verbs. 가다 and 말다 ("not do it").
2. Find the stems. Remove 다: 가 and 말.
3. Add -든지 to each. 가든지 and 말든지.
4. Add the permission phrase. 마음대로 means "as you like" (마음 is "heart, mind" and 대로 is "as").
5. End with the polite command. 하세요 is the polite command form of 하다. The result is 가든지 말든지 마음대로 하세요.

Checkpoint. You have it when you can swap the verb and keep the pattern. 먹든지 말든지 마음대로 하세요 [먹뜬지 말든지 마음대로 하세요] means "Eat or don't eat, as you like." Only the first stem changes, and its ㄷ becomes tense.

The sentence built here is a polite command. The next section shows what else can follow -든지.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -든지?

-든지 works with every sentence type, because it takes its sentence type from the final verb. It also allows a past marker before the ending when the meaning is "whether it happened or not".

Pronunciation: 갈 거예요 is said [갈꺼예요] and 갈 수 있어요 is said [갈쑤 이써요], with a tense sound after -(으)ㄹ (Standard Pronunciation Rules, Article 27). The past form 했든지 is said [핻뜬지], with the final ㅆ sounding like ㄷ before the tense ㄷ.

The ending -든지 itself has no tense and no politeness, so it never decides how formal the sentence sounds. The ending of the last verb does that. Next come the question words, the most useful part of this pattern.

Which Question Words Combine with -든지?

Any question word plus -든지 (or (이)든지 after a noun) means "no matter" and turns it into "any". The result works as a noun or an adverb inside the sentence. Native speakers use these forms constantly.

The question words themselves are taught in the lessons on 언제 when in korean, 어디 where in korean and 누구 누가 who in korean. Notice that these -든지 words are not questions. 누구든지 올 수 있어요 is a statement, and 누가 올 수 있어요? is a question. 얼마든지 드세요 is a generous invitation.

Next is the pattern that learners confuse with -든지 most often.

How Is -든지 Different from -거나?

-든지 says that the choice does not matter, while -거나 lists alternatives and says that one of them is true. Both can translate as "or". The lesson on -거나 gives the full rules for the second pattern.

The pair shows the difference:

• 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요. = "I don't mind what we eat." The question word needs -든지.
• 가거나 말거나 상관없어요. = "I don't mind whether he goes or not." Here the set phrase -거나 말거나 does the same job as 가든지 말든지.

In a plain list of two options (커피를 마시거나 차를 마셔요), -거나 is the normal choice for describing what you do. A side-by-side rule is on the page -거나 vs -든지. The next section lists the useful variations.

What Variations and Edge Cases Does -든지 Have?

-든지 has three useful variations: the short form, noun forms and the past marker. Each one still means "the choice does not matter".

• Short form. -든 replaces -든지 in speech: 가든 말든. The meaning stays the same.
• Noun forms. (이)든지 attaches to nouns: 커피든지 차든지 means "coffee or tea, either one". The particle (이)나 is also common here, and the lesson on 와/과 and with particle covers "and" between nouns.
• Past marker. 했든지 안 했든지 means "whether you did it or not".

Two other things matter. First, -든지 is usually repeated or paired with a question word. A single 가든지 with nothing else leaves the listener waiting for the second option. Second, 말다 is the usual second option in the A든지 말든지 pattern, and it works for any verb: 오든지 말든지, 먹든지 말든지, 하든지 말든지. The next section covers the errors that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -든지?

Learners make five common mistakes with -든지. Each one follows the pattern "learners often assume X; actually Y, because Z".

1. Spelling -든지 as -던지. Learners hear the same sound and pick the wrong vowel. Actually -던지 is a different ending that recalls a past state: 얼마나 춥던지 떨렸어요 means "It was so cold that I shivered". Write -든지 for choices.
2. Using -든지 for a plain habit. Learners write 주말에는 영화를 보든지 친구를 만나요. Actually -든지 sounds like "whichever you like", so -거나 is the usual choice for saying what you do: 영화를 보거나 친구를 만나요.
3. Using -거나 with a question word. Learners write 뭘 먹거나 상관없어요. Actually "no matter what" is normally said with -든지: 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요.
4. Giving only one option. Learners write 가든지 마음대로 하세요. Actually the pattern needs a pair or a question word: 가든지 말든지 마음대로 하세요.
5. Saying 먹든지 with a plain ㄷ. Learners follow the spelling. Actually the ㄷ is tense after a consonant, so say [먹뜬지].

When two endings sound the same, ask what you want to say: a choice or a recalled state. Now test yourself.

Practice and Answers

These four exercises check the main skills: building the pattern, choosing between -든지 and -던지, and using a question word. Try each one before you read the answers.

Exercise 1: Build the pattern. Say "I don't mind whether you come or not" with 오다 and 말다, and end with 상관없어요.

Exercise 2: Choose the ending. Fill in the blank with -든지 or -던지: 무엇을 먹__ 상관없어요.

Exercise 3: Translate. "Call me any time." (call = 전화하다, any time = 언제 + -든지)

Exercise 4: Fix the error. A learner writes 뭘 먹거나 상관없어요. Correct it.

Answer Key

• Exercise 1: 오든지 말든지 상관없어요. [오든지 말든지 상과넙써요] Both stems take -든지.
• Exercise 2: 무엇을 먹든지 상관없어요. [무어슬 먹뜬지 상과넙써요] The meaning is "no matter what", so -든지 is right.
• Exercise 3: 언제든지 전화하세요. [언제든지 전화하세요] The question word 언제 plus -든지 gives "any time".
• Exercise 4: 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요. A question word needs -든지, not -거나.

If you missed Exercise 2, reread the first mistake. If you missed Exercise 4, return to the question-word table. Next, plan where to go from here.

What Should You Learn Next after -든지 Grammar?

The best next step is the page -거나 vs -든지, which puts the two endings side by side with a decision rule. If -든지 felt hard, review -거나 first. The full set of patterns for listing and contrasting clauses is on And / But Connectors. To see where -든지 sits in a study plan, use the Intermediate Grammar list.

What this lesson does not cover. It does not cover longer phrases that build on -든지, such as -든지 간에 ("regardless"), or the formal written style of the pattern. The level given here, B1, is an editorial estimate based on common textbook order and TOPIK II, not an official grading.

In short, -든지 grammar says "it does not matter which": it joins two options, or follows a question word, and it must not be confused with -던지.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does -든지 mean? -든지 means "whether ... or" and "any one will do". It names two options, or pairs with a question word, to say that the choice does not matter. 가든지 말든지 마음대로 하세요 means "Go or don't go, as you like". With 언제 it gives 언제든지, "at any time".

How do I attach -든지 to a verb or adjective? Remove 다 from the dictionary form and add -든지 to the stem: 가다 becomes 가든지, 먹다 becomes 먹든지, 크다 becomes 크든지. The stem never changes, even for irregular stems such as 춥다 (춥든지) and 듣다 (듣든지). Repeat the ending on both options: 먹든지 말든지.

Can -든지 be used in the past tense? Yes. Put the past marker before the ending when you mean "whether it happened or not": 했든지 안 했든지 상관없어요, "I don't mind whether you did it or not". Otherwise the tense goes on the final verb of the sentence. The ending -든지 itself has no tense.

Is -든지 used in speech or only in writing? -든지 is common in speech and writing, especially in polite permission and indifference: 언제든지 연락하세요. In casual speech people often drop 지 and say -든, as in 가든 말든. The spelling is the same in every register. Only the spoken sound changes: 먹든지 is said [먹뜬지].

What is the most common mistake with -든지? Spelling -든지 as -던지. The two sound almost the same, but they are different endings. -든지 is for choices ("whether ... or"). -던지 recalls a past state, as in 얼마나 춥던지 떨렸어요, "it was so cold that I shivered". When the meaning is "any one will do", write -든지.

What is the difference between -든지 and -거나? -든지 says that the choice does not matter, while -거나 lists alternatives and says that one of them is true. With question words, -든지 is the natural choice: 뭘 먹든지 상관없어요 sounds right, and 뭘 먹거나 상관없어요 sounds stiff. In a plain two-item list the two endings often overlap in speech.

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