Korean grammar patterns › Level 4
-았/었더니
I did … and then (I found / the result was) …
Level 4 · TOPIK II · intermediate
How to use it
Clause 1 is something the speaker (usually 'I') did in the past; clause 2 is what they discovered afterwards or the result of that action. Clause 2 is in the past or present.
Forming it
| 먹다 | → 먹었더니 |
| 자다 | → 잤더니 |
| 연락하다 | → 연락했더니 |
| 듣다 | → 들었더니 |
Mainly used with a first-person subject. Clause 2 can't be a command, suggestion or future plan.
Examples
약을 먹었더니 머리가 안 아파요.
I took some medicine, and now my head doesn't hurt.
친구 집에 갔더니 아무도 없었어요.
I went to my friend's house, but nobody was there.
Compared with similar patterns
-더니 (G4-001) reports what the speaker watched someone or something else do. -(으)니까 (G1-027) in its discovery sense ('when I did …, I found') is close, but -았/었더니 stresses that the finding was a result of your own past action.