Korean Grammar Patterns

-더라

Meaning

retrospective (I observed/recall)

How to use it

Attaches to a verb/adjective stem to report something the speaker personally witnessed or experienced in the past, now recalled. Casual, often used when telling someone what you saw. Not used for the speaker's own deliberate actions or feelings.

The polite form is -더라고요 / -더군요.,First-person subject is odd except for unintended states (e.g. 무섭더라 'I found it scary').

Examples

Korean	English
어제 가 보니까 그 식당 정말 맛있더라. eoje ga bonikka geu sikdang jeongmal masitdeora.	When I went yesterday, that restaurant was really good (I found).
민수가 노래를 의외로 잘하더라. minsuga noraereul uioero jalhadeora.	Minsu sang surprisingly well (I saw).

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