Korean grammar patterns › Level 4
-다 보면
if you keep doing …, (eventually) …
Level 4 · TOPIK II · intermediate
How to use it
If an action is repeated or continued for some time, a result will naturally come about. Clause 2 is future or general (-(으)ㄹ 거예요, -게 되다, -기 마련이다).
Forming it
| 살다 | → 살다 보면 |
| 듣다 | → 듣다 보면 |
| 연습하다 | → 연습하다 보면 |
Clause 2 is not past: for a result that already happened use -다 보니(까). No tense marker in clause 1.
Examples
매일 연습하다 보면 실력이 늘 거예요.
If you practice every day, your skills will improve.
한국에서 살다 보면 한국어도 자연스럽게 배우게 돼요.
If you live in Korea, you naturally end up learning Korean too.
Compared with similar patterns
-다 보니(까) (G4-020) reports a result that has already come about. -다가는 (G4-007) warns of a bad result. -노라면 (G6-003) is the literary equivalent.