Expressing 'I don't know' in Korean ~모르다

To express "I don't know" in Korean, you can use the phrase "모르겠어요" in polite way or "몰라" in informal way. 
In Korean grammar, "지" can also be used as an expression of ignorance or uncertainty towards information. When "지" is used in this way, it is often followed by "모르다" (don't know) or another verb that indicates uncertainty. Here is a detailed explanation of each phrase:

Not knowing whether (지) is in Present Tense

지 can be used instead of 것 to reveal an uncertain state. A common situation where there is uncertainty is when there is an interrogative word in a sentence. Pay attention to the following sentences:

How to saying "I don't know" in Korean
The correct Sentence using 지


Here are some example sentences that use the word 지 which explains "ignorance" in a sentence:

나는 그녀 왜 [울고 있는지 모르겠어]
(I [don't know] why she [is crying])
    나는 > I[는]
    그녀 > She
    왜 > why
    울고있어 (is crying) + 는지 > 울고 있는지
    모르겠어 > don't know


그녀 가 언제 그림 을 [그릴 지 모르겠다]
(I [don't know] when she [drew] the painting)
    그녀[가] > She + particle ~가
    언제 > when
    그림을 > picture
    그릴지 모르겠다 > don't know if to draw

Apart from expressing ignorance, 지 can also be used of the equivalent sentence "if ..... or not" using this same principle. For example:

저는 그녀 가 울 은지 안 울 은 몰라요 = I don't know whether she's crying or not.

For verbs that have 하다 in it, the sentence writing will be slightly different, let's look at the following example:

  • 그녀 가 거짓말 한지 하지 않은지 모르겠어 (I don't know if he's honest or not)
  • 그가 학생들 이 감독 한지 하지 않은지 모르겠다 (I don't know whether the students are supervised or not).

Maybe / don't know if (지) is in Future Tense

There is actually another use of "지". Maybe / don't know ... ~ ㄹ / 을 지 모르다

To say that you "might do something" at a later time, you can use ~ㄹ 지 모르다 grammar. Literally, it translates to "I don't know if I will ____" which is similar or the same as "I might ..."

Example:

Maybe / don't know ... ~ ㄹ / 을 지 모르다
"I don't know If,,," or "I might..."


If you haven't studied Korean Passive Voice, please study it first so that you can understand this lesson better.


Maybe / don't know whether (지) is in Past Tense and Question Sentence.

Same as before 지 will be used to express (maybe / don't know if), but for sentences in the past tense there will be a change at the end of the sentence by using 되다 which means "already". Consider the following examples:

  • 한국 에 온지 5 년 됐어요 (I've arrived in Korea for 5 years
  • 한국어 를 공부 한 지 얼마나 되었어요? (How long have you been studying Korean)


Previous Lesson: Turning Verbs into Nouns

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