Korean grammar patterns › Level 4
-더니
(I saw that) … and then / but now (observed change or result)
Level 4 · TOPIK II · intermediate
How to use it
Based on something the speaker personally observed in the past. Clause 2 is either a contrast/change from that observation, or a result that followed it. Typically about other people, the weather, situations.
Forming it
| 오다 | → 오더니 |
| 맑다 | → 맑더니 |
| 공부하다 | → 공부하더니 |
Normally not used for your own actions (✗ 제가 열심히 공부하더니 … → 제가 열심히 공부했더니 …). Clause 2 can't be a command or suggestion.
Examples
아침에는 맑더니 오후에는 비가 오네요.
It was clear this morning, but now in the afternoon it's raining.
동생이 열심히 공부하더니 시험에 합격했어요.
My younger sibling studied hard and (as I saw) passed the exam.
Compared with similar patterns
-았/었더니 (G4-002) is for the speaker's own action and what they found as a result. -더라고요 (G3-007) ends a sentence reporting a recollection; -더니 links that recollection to a second clause.