Korean grammar patterns › Level 5
-기 나름이다
depend on how one does it
Level 5 · TOPIK II · advanced
How to use it
The result is not fixed; it depends on the way someone does the action. N 나름이다 = 'it depends on the N' (사람 나름이다 'it depends on the person').
Forming it
| 생각하다 | → 생각하기 나름이다 |
| 하다 | → 하기 나름이에요 |
| 사람 | → 사람 나름이에요 |
Examples
행복은 생각하기 나름이에요.
Happiness depends on how you think about it.
아이는 부모가 가르치기 나름이에요.
How a child turns out depends on how the parents teach them.
Compared with similar patterns
N에 달려 있다 is a general 'depend on N'; -기 나름이다 stresses that the outcome depends on someone's attitude or effort.