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

What you'll learn

• Attach -다던데 to verbs, adjectives, 있다/없다, past forms and nouns.
• Use hearsay as background for advice, a question or a reaction.
• Choose between -다던데, -다는데, -다고 들었어요 and -던데요.
• Leave the sentence open with -다던데요.
• Avoid the mistakes 가는다던데, 바쁜다던데 and 학생이다던데.

Before you start: you should know the plain forms of verbs (plain present) and the pattern -다고 들었어요. Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Does -다던데 Grammar Mean?

-다던데 grammar means "I heard that ..., and ..." or "I heard that ..., but ...". It is the short form of -다고 하던데. The part -다고 하- reports what someone said. The part -던 marks that you heard it earlier. The last part, -(으)ㄴ데, sets up a background that the next clause will use.

Three examples show the idea. The first leads to advice, the second to a question, and the third to an invitation.

In every sentence the news comes first and the speaker does not claim it is true. The next section shows how to build the form.

How Do You Form -다던데?

-다던데 is formed by taking the plain-style form of the news and adding 던데. The plain style is the same one used in -다고 들었어요: verbs take -ㄴ다 or -는다, adjectives keep -다, and nouns take -(이)라.

Revised Romanization (RR) writes ondadeonde, meongneundadeonde, mandeundadeonde, bappeudadeonde, itdadeonde, gatdadeonde, gal georadeonde and haksaengiradeonde. The sound changes follow the 국립국어원 standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법): 먹는 is said [멍는], and 있다 and 갔다 are said [읻따] and [갇따]. The next parts take the stem types one at a time.

Verbs and Adjectives

A vowel verb takes -ㄴ다던데: 가다 gives 간다던데. A consonant verb takes -는다던데: 먹다 gives 먹는다던데. An ㄹ-stem drops its ㄹ: 만들다 gives 만든다던데. An adjective keeps its dictionary form: 바쁘다던데, 좋다던데 (said [조타던데]). The words 있다 and 없다 behave like adjectives here, so 재미있다 gives 재미있다던데.

Past, Future and Nouns

For the past, put -았/었 before 다던데: 어제 비가 왔다던데. For the future, use -(으)ㄹ 거라던데. A noun takes -(이)라던데: 의사라던데 after a vowel and 학생이라던데 after a consonant.

Politeness: -다던데 and -다던데요

-다던데 can end a sentence in two ways. Add a follow-up clause, as above, or add 요 and stop: 비가 온다던데요. The second form is polite and leaves the rest unsaid, so the listener fills in the reaction. Between friends, drop 요: 비 온다던데. See casual speech.

With the forms clear, you can build a full sentence.

Worked Example: Building a Sentence with -다던데

-다던데 grammar works the same way every time, so a five-step routine is enough. Follow it to build "I heard it will rain tomorrow, so take an umbrella."

1. Write the news. The information is: 내일 비가 와요. ("It will rain tomorrow.")
2. Turn the verb into the plain style. 오다 has a vowel stem, so the plain present is 온다.
3. Add 던데. 온다 + 던데 becomes 온다던데.
4. Choose the follow-up. You want to give advice: 우산 가져가세요. ("Please take an umbrella.")
5. Put it together. 내일 비가 온다던데 우산 가져가세요. (naeil biga ondadeonde usan gajyeogaseyo.)

You will know it worked if the news ends in -다던데 and a follow-up clause or 요 comes after it. The most common slip is writing 오는다던데, with an extra 는. The next question is which tenses and sentence types can follow.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -다던데?

-다던데 works with news in every tense, and it joins any follow-up that reacts to the news. The ending itself is spoken and informal in feeling, so it is common among friends and colleagues.

The same frame works for the other reported types. 일찍 오라던데 means "I heard we are told to come early", and 어디 가냐던데 means "I heard (he) was asking where you are going." The meaning is always second-hand.

The tense rule leads to the question that confuses learners most: how -다던데 differs from its neighbours.

How Is -다던데 Different from -다는데 and -던데요?

-다던데 passes on hearsay that you heard earlier, -다는데 passes on what someone is saying now, and -던데요 reports what you saw yourself. Ask yourself one question: where did the information come from?

Compare the three. 맛있다던데 가 볼래요? invites the listener on the strength of something you heard. 친구는 맛있다는데 저는 별로예요 contrasts a friend's words with your own view; it is built from the background pattern -(으)ㄴ/는데. 제가 먹어 봤는데 맛있던데요 is the ending -던데요, which reports your own taste. Another own-experience ending is -더라고요. The plain statement of hearsay is -다고 들었어요.

These contrasts lead to a few variations.

Variations and Edge Cases of -다던데

-다던데 has five common variations. Each one helps you read and say real Korean.

• Left open. -다던데요 stops after the news: 민수 씨가 간다던데요. The listener supplies the reaction.
• A check. Add a question to confirm: 이사 간다던데, 정말이에요? ("I heard you are moving. Is that true?"), said [정마리에요]. For a direct check, see -(느)ㄴ다면서요.
• The full form. -다고 하던데 is the long form of -다던데, and it is heard in careful speech. -다고 들었는데 is the same idea with 들었어요: see -다고 들었어요.
• Contrast. The follow-up can show the opposite: 비가 온다던데 날씨가 좋네요 ("I heard it would rain, but the weather is nice").
• Casual speech. Friends drop 요: 비 온다던데. The short forms are in -대요/-냬요/-재요/-래요.

Think of -다던데 as a doorway: the hearsay opens the sentence, and the follow-up walks through it. All five variations keep that structure.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -다던데?

Learners usually pick the wrong base form or use hearsay for their own experience. Four mistakes appear again and again.

1. Adding 는 to a vowel verb. Wrong: 오는다던데. Right: 온다던데. A vowel verb takes -ㄴ다.
2. Using the verb rule on an adjective. Wrong: 바쁜다던데. Right: 바쁘다던데. An adjective keeps -다.
3. Using 이다 on a noun. Wrong: 학생이다던데. Right: 학생이라던데. A noun takes -(이)라.
4. Using hearsay for your own experience. Compare 제가 먹어 봤는데 맛있다던데 with 제가 먹어 봤는데 맛있던데요. The first is grammatical, but it says someone else told you it was good, which clashes with "I tried it myself." For your own taste, use 맛있던데요.

A quick check: Is the news in the plain style? Did someone else give it to you? Does a follow-up or 요 come next? If all three answers are yes, the sentence is sound.

The practice set below tests these points.

Practice and Answers

Try the four items before you read the answer key. Cover the answers with your hand.

1. Pass on the news. Change 내일 눈이 와요 into "I heard it will snow tomorrow" and add: 길이 미끄러워요 ("the roads are slippery").
2. Choose the form. Fill in the blank with 바쁘다: 요즘 많이 ___던데 괜찮아요?
3. Fix the error. A learner says 그 사람이 학생이다던데. Correct it.
4. Choose the meaning. Which one says you tasted it yourself: 맛있다던데 or 맛있던데?

Answer key

1. 내일 눈이 온다던데 길이 미끄러워요. (naeil nuni ondadeonde giri mikkeureowoyo.) Turn 와요 into 온다, then add 던데. Said [내일 누니 온다던데 기리 미끄러워요].
2. 바쁘다. 요즘 많이 바쁘다던데 괜찮아요? is said [요즘 마니 바쁘다던데 괜차나요].
3. 그 사람이 학생이라던데. A noun takes -(이)라, not 이다.
4. 맛있던데. -던데 reports your own taste, and -다던데 reports hearsay.

If you can complete items 1 to 3 without the key, you can pass on most hearsay. The final section points to the next lessons.

What Should You Learn Next after -다던데 Grammar?

After -다던데 grammar, learn how to state your own opinion, then how to separate hearsay from your own view. This lesson teaches hearsay as background and does not cover the pattern -다고 해서 ("because someone said so"), which has its own lesson.

1. Learn -다고 생각하다 to say "I think that ..."
2. Review -(느)ㄴ다면서요 to check hearsay with the listener.
3. Compare the own-view ending -던데요.
4. Review the spoken short forms in -대요/-냬요/-재요/-래요.
5. Return to the Advanced Grammar list for other patterns at this level.

With these steps, the choice becomes automatic: use -다던데 for hearsay you heard earlier, -다는데 for what someone says now, and -던데요 for what you saw. For exam content and levels, check the current guide on topik.go.kr; the level shown here is an editorial estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does -다던데 mean?

-다던데 means "I heard that ..., and ..." It passes on hearsay as the background for a follow-up such as advice, a question or a reaction. 내일 비가 온다던데 우산 가져가세요 means "I heard it will rain tomorrow, so take an umbrella." It is the short form of -다고 하던데.

How do I attach -다던데 to a verb or adjective?

Use the plain-style form and add 던데. A vowel verb takes -ㄴ다: 온다던데. A consonant verb takes -는다: 먹는다던데. An adjective keeps -다: 바쁘다던데. 있다 and 없다 keep -다. A noun takes -(이)라: 학생이라던데. Add -았/었 for the past: 갔다던데.

Can -다던데 be used in the past tense?

Yes. Put the past marker in the news: 어제 눈이 왔다던데 means "I heard it snowed yesterday, and ..." The 던 inside the ending already marks that you heard it earlier, so the reporting itself needs no extra tense. For the future, use -(으)ㄹ 거라던데, said [갈꺼라던데].

Is -다던데 used in speech or only in writing?

It is a spoken ending. Friends say 비 온다던데, and polite speech adds 요: 비가 온다던데요. It does not suit formal writing or speeches. In careful speech, use the long form -다고 하던데 or -다고 들었는데.

What is the most common mistake with -다던데?

The most common mistake is using the wrong base form: 오는다던데 for 온다던데, 바쁜다던데 for 바쁘다던데 and 학생이다던데 for 학생이라던데. Another is using it for your own experience; for what you saw or tasted yourself, use -던데요: 맛있던데요.

What is the difference between -다던데 and -다는데?

-다던데 passes on what you heard earlier: 맛있다던데, "I heard it is good." -다는데 passes on what someone is saying now: 맛있다는데, "he says it is good." Both set up a follow-up. The first suits rumours and news, and the second suits a conversation in progress.

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