-는 통에 Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

What you'll learn

• Attach -는 통에 to action verbs.
• See why the result is almost always a problem.
• Keep the tense in the result clause, not in the cause.
• Choose between -는 통에, -는 바람에 and -아/어서.

Prerequisites: the present modifier 는 and the past tense -았/었-. Time: about 15 minutes.

Key facts

• -는 통에 means "because of a commotion, a rush or a disturbance".
• The form never changes: action verb stem + 는 통에. The ㄹ of ㄹ-stem verbs drops before 는.
• 통 is a bound noun, so it is written with a space.
• The result is negative or unwanted, and it is usually in the past.
• It is for verbs, not for adjectives.

Listen to two model sentences.

The next section defines the pattern.

What Does -는 통에 Grammar Mean?

-는 통에 means "because of a commotion" or "in the midst of a disturbance". A connective ending is a word or ending that joins one clause to the next. This pattern joins a noisy or busy situation to a problem that followed.

The word 통 is a bound noun. A bound noun is a noun that cannot stand alone and needs a modifier in front of it. Here 통 means "a state of confusion or a mess". The 에 after it works like "in" or "because of". So 떠드는 통에 is close to "in the mess of kids making noise".

That explains the feeling. The speaker is not calmly reporting a reason. The speaker is describing a hectic situation and its bad effect. The result is almost always something unwanted: "I couldn't sleep", "I lost my wallet", "I forgot my keys".

Here are two glossed examples.

In both sentences, the cause is a busy or noisy event that goes on for a while, and the result is a problem for the speaker. That is the signal of this pattern.

The next section shows how to build the form.

How Do You Form -는 통에?

Take the verb stem and add 는 통에. The stem is the dictionary form without 다. For 떠들다 the stem is 떠들. The ending 는 is the present modifier. Because 는 is a modifier, you do not need a vowel rule or a helping 으.

One sound change appears in this table. After the final ㄱ of 먹, the ㄴ of 는 pulls ㄱ into a nasal sound, so 먹는 sounds like [멍는]. Revised Romanization (RR) is a spelling system that writes sounds in Latin letters. RR writes the sound you hear, so it shows meongneun.

Stems Ending in a Vowel

Vowel stems take 는 directly: 밀치는, 이사하는, 뛰어다니는. A verb made with 하다 keeps 하: 공사하다 gives 공사하는 통에.

Stems Ending in a Consonant

Consonant stems take 는 directly as well: 먹는, 읽는. There is no 으, because 는 is not an ending that needs one.

Irregular Stems and Nouns

The ㄹ stems drop ㄹ before 는. This is the normal modifier rule: 떠들다 gives 떠드는, 울다 gives 우는, and 몰려들다 gives 몰려드는.

Adjectives do not fit this pattern. The pattern asks for an action that goes on: someone makes noise, people crowd in, a family moves. A state like 시끄럽다 ("be noisy") uses -아/어서 instead: 시끄러워서 잠을 못 잤어요.

A few nouns take 통에 directly. They are nouns for a chaotic situation. The best known is 난리통, which means "the midst of a disaster or an uproar". 난리통에 가족을 잃었어요 means "I lost my family in the chaos." Because 난리통 is one word, it has no space before 통에, and RR writes nallitonge.

The next section builds a full sentence.

Worked Example: Building 아이들이 뛰어다니는 통에 아무것도 못 했어요

Say "Because the children were running around, I couldn't do anything." Follow five steps.

1. Write the noisy event. "The children run around" is 아이들이 뛰어다녀요. The verb is 뛰어다니다, "to run around".
2. Find the stem. The stem is 뛰어다니.
3. Add 는 통에. 뛰어다니는 통에 means "because of the running around". Remove the polite ending 어요, because the ending belongs to the last verb only.
4. Write the bad result. "I couldn't do anything" is 아무것도 못 했어요. The word 못 means "cannot", and 아무것도 means "anything".
5. Join the two parts. 아이들이 뛰어다니는 통에 아무것도 못 했어요.

You'll know it worked when the first verb ends in 는 통에 with nothing after it, the result is a problem, and the polite ending 요 appears only once, at the end. Try the same steps with "Because customers kept coming in, I couldn't eat": 손님이 몰려드는 통에 밥도 못 먹었어요.

The next section covers tense and sentence types.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -는 통에?

The cause clause has one fixed shape. The modifier 는 is the only one allowed, so you never add a tense marker inside. The time of the event is shown in the result clause. Past tense -았/었- is explained in full on its own page, so this page does not repeat it.

The result describes something that has already happened, so past tense is by far the most common. A yes/no question ends with a rise. A wh-question, for example 그 통에 뭐가 없어졌어요, does not end with a sharp rise.

A command or a suggestion does not work after -는 통에, because the cause already happened. Say 애들이 떠드니까 조용히 하세요 instead, using -(으)니까.

A subject is usually shown in the cause clause. The person who suffers, often "I" or "we", is left out in the result: 아이들이 뛰어다니는 통에 (저는) 아무것도 못 했어요.

The next section compares -는 통에 with its neighbours.

How Is -는 통에 Different from -는 바람에?

Both patterns explain a bad result, and that is why learners mix them up. The difference is the kind of cause. The same bad day is told three ways.

Spoken forms: 차가 막히는 바람에 늦었어요 is [차가 마키는 바라메 느저써요] (RR chaga makineun barame neujeosseoyo), and 시끄러워서 잠을 못 잤어요 is [시끄러워서 자믈 몯짜써요] (RR sikkeureowoseo jameul mot jasseoyo).

The key test is the shape of the cause. If you picture a messy, noisy or hectic scene that goes on, use -는 통에. If you picture one sudden event, such as a jam or a fall, -는 바람에 is the usual choice. If you only want a neutral reason, use -아/어서 or -기 때문에.

The next section covers set phrases and edge cases.

Variations and Edge Cases of -는 통에

Set Phrases

The set phrase 그 통에 refers back to a situation you have just described. 아이가 갑자기 울기 시작했어요. 그 통에 지갑을 잃어버렸어요 means "The child suddenly began to cry. In that mess I lost my wallet."

Not the Same as 통해

Do not mix up 통에 with 통해, which means "through" or "by means of". 친구를 통해서 알게 됐어요 means "I got to know it through a friend." The word 통해 is a different verb form, and it has no bad feeling.

A Closer Look at the Result

The result often uses a verb that shows loss, failure or confusion: 놓치다 ("miss"), 잃어버리다 ("lose"), 잊어버리다 ("forget"), 못 하다 ("cannot do"), 정신이 없다 ("be in a whirl"). You can use these verbs as a checklist. If your result does not belong to this group, check that the sentence really means "a problem happened".

The next section lists the mistakes that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -는 통에?

Learners make six predictable mistakes. Each has a reason and a fix.

Learners often use it for a good result. 통에 always points to something unwanted. Unnatural: 복권에 당첨되는 통에 기뻤어요. Right: 복권에 당첨돼서 기뻤어요. Fix: use -아/어서 for a good result.

Learners often put a past marker inside. The cause clause only takes 는. Wrong: 떠들었는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요. Right: 떠드는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요. Fix: show the past in the result clause.

Learners often use it with adjectives. The pattern is for action verbs that go on. A sentence like 시끄러운 통에 sounds wrong to most speakers. Right: 시끄러워서 잠을 못 잤어요. Fix: use -아/어서 for states.

Learners often follow it with a command. The cause already happened. Wrong: 애들이 떠드는 통에 조용히 하세요. Right: 애들이 떠드니까 조용히 하세요. Fix: use -(으)니까 when a command follows.

Learners often confuse 통에 with 통해. They are different words. Wrong: 친구를 통에 알게 됐어요. Right: 친구를 통해서 알게 됐어요. Fix: use 통해서 for "through" and 통에 for "because of a mess".

Learners often write 통에 without a space. 통 is a bound noun in the pattern. Wrong: 떠드는통에. Right: 떠드는 통에. Fix: leave a space. The only exception is a closed noun such as 난리통에.

The next section gives you practice.

Practice and Answers

Do the four tasks, then compare with the key.

Task 1: join the sentences with -는 통에. Write one sentence for each pair.

1. 애들이 떠들어요. / 잠을 못 잤어요.
2. 손님이 몰려들어요. / 밥도 못 먹었어요.
3. 사람들이 밀쳐요. / 지갑을 떨어뜨렸어요.
4. 아이가 울어요. / 영화를 제대로 못 봤어요.

Task 2: fix the error. Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. 애들이 떠들었는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요.
2. 친구를 통에 알게 됐어요.
3. 복권에 당첨되는 통에 기뻤어요.

Task 3: translate. Write in Korean: "Because I was moving, I was in a whirl." and "I lost my wallet in that mess."

Task 4: write your own. Write one sentence with 공사하는 통에, and one with 그 통에.

Answer key

1. (1) 애들이 떠드는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요. (2) 손님이 몰려드는 통에 밥도 못 먹었어요. (3) 사람들이 밀치는 통에 지갑을 떨어뜨렸어요. (4) 아이가 우는 통에 영화를 제대로 못 봤어요.
2. (1) 애들이 떠드는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요. (2) 친구를 통해서 알게 됐어요. (3) 복권에 당첨돼서 기뻤어요.
3. 이사하는 통에 정신이 없었어요. 그 통에 지갑을 잃어버렸어요. Other correct versions exist, for example 이사하는 통에 정신이 하나도 없었어요.
4. Sample answers: 공사하는 통에 전화를 못 받았어요. 그 통에 열쇠를 잃어버렸어요. Any pair is correct if the verb takes 는 통에 and the result is a problem.

If task 1 was correct, you have the formation rule. If task 2 was hard, check whether you added a past marker, used the wrong word, or gave a good result. The next section points you to what comes after this lesson.

What Should You Learn after -는 통에 Grammar?

After -는 통에, learn the neighbouring cause pattern -는 바람에, which covers one sudden event. If you have not yet studied the neutral reason pattern, go back to -기 때문에. For a pattern that links a result to a degree, see -(으)ㄴ/는 만큼.

For a wider view, the parent page Cause and Reason lists every connector in this group. To plan by level, use Advanced Grammar.

This lesson covers -는 통에 in the polite, casual and formal styles. It does not cover every written variation. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. Revised Romanization follows the national rules and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does -는 통에 Mean?

-는 통에 means "because of a commotion" or "in the midst of a disturbance". The cause is noisy, busy or disorderly, and the result is unwanted. 애들이 떠드는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요 means "I couldn't sleep because the kids were making noise." It is mostly used for things that went wrong.

How Do I Attach -는 통에 to a Verb or Adjective?

Use an action verb stem and add 는 통에. 떠들다 becomes 떠드는 통에, 이사하다 becomes 이사하는 통에, and 몰려들다 becomes 몰려드는 통에. The ㄹ drops before 는. Do not use it with adjectives; for states like 시끄럽다, use -아/어서. A few nouns take 통에 directly, such as 난리통에.

Can -는 통에 Be Used in the past Tense?

The cause clause always stays 는 통에. Never write 떠들었는 통에. The past is shown in the result clause: 애들이 떠드는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요 describes a finished event. This is typical, because the pattern usually explains something that has already gone wrong. A present or future result is rare.

Is -는 통에 Used in Speech or Only in Writing?

It is used in both. People say it in everyday speech when they complain about a messy situation, and writers use it in stories and essays. It is plain and slightly emotional, so it suits personal accounts better than formal reports. A neutral report usually uses -아/어서 or -기 때문에 instead.

What Is the Most Common Mistake with -는 통에?

Using it for a good result. 복권에 당첨되는 통에 기뻤어요 sounds wrong, because 통에 always points to something unwanted. Say 복권에 당첨돼서 기뻤어요 instead. Other frequent mistakes are adding a past marker inside, using a command in the result clause, and confusing 통에 with 통해.

What Is the Difference between -는 통에 and -는 바람에?

Both explain a bad result. -는 통에 describes a noisy, busy or disorderly situation that goes on for a while. -는 바람에 describes a sudden or unexpected event, often a single one. 애들이 떠드는 통에 잠을 못 잤어요 fits a long noise. 차가 막히는 바람에 늦었어요 fits one sudden jam.

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