Korean grammar patterns › Level 5
-(으)니
since, as (reason); when (I did …, I found)
Level 5 · TOPIK II · advanced
How to use it
A shorter, more written/literary form of -(으)니까. It gives a reason, or (with a past clause 2) says what the speaker discovered after doing something. Common in notices, proverbs and writing.
Forming it
| 가다 | → 가니 |
| 먹다 | → 먹으니 |
| 살다 | → 사니 |
| 학생 | → 학생이니 |
ㄹ-stem verbs drop ㄹ: 열다 → 여니, 살다 → 사니 (✗ 열으니). For the discovery meaning, clause 2 is past and clause 1 has no tense marker.
Examples
봄이 오니 꽃이 피기 시작했어요.
Spring came, so the flowers started to bloom.
집에 도착하니 벌써 밤 열 시였어요.
When I got home, it was already 10 p.m.
Compared with similar patterns
-(으)니까 is the everyday spoken form; -(으)니 means the same but sounds more written or literary, e.g. in notices: 날씨가 추우니 따뜻하게 입으십시오.