Korean Grammar Bank

CERTAINTY & UNCERTAINTY IN KOREAN

Learn all the various structures needed to express both certainty and uncertainty in Korean.

Whether an event or action might happen or not, you’ll know how to express it, in all its nuances.

EXPRESSING CERTAINTY

In Korean, the following grammar structure can be used to express certainty on an event or an action.

PATTERN

Verb + 다고 / ᄅ 것이라고

A verb conjugated with 다고/ ᄅ것 이라고 is often followed by a verb “생각한다” or “확신한다” which means “think” and “be sure”, respectively.

Let’s see some examples:

I think (I am certain) that she will come to the party tomorrow.
with 다고with ᄅ것 이라고
그녀가 내일 파티에 온다고 생각한다. 그녀가 내일 파티에 올 것이라고 생각한다.
I am sure that it will snow this afternoon.
with 다고with ᄅ것 이라고
오후에 눈이 내린다고 확신한다. 오후에 눈이 내릴 것이라고 확신한다.
View More Phrases
I think (I am certain) that he is at home.
그가 집에 있다고 생각한다. 그가 집에 있을 것이라고 생각한다.
I am sure that my brother did his homework.
동생이 숙제를 했다고 확신한다. 동생이 숙제를 했을 것이라고 확신한다..

WITH ADVERBS

Adverbs such as “꼭” or “분명히” can be used to emphasize the certainty.

PATTERN

Verb + / 분명히 + 다고/ᄅ 것이라고

Examples on expressing certainty with adverbs:

I think she will certainly come to the party tomorrow.
with with 분명히
그녀가 내일 파티에 온다고 생각한다. 그녀가 내일 파티에 분명히 온다고 생각한다.
View More Phrases
I bet it will snow this afternoon.
with with 분명히
오후에 눈이 내린다고 확신한다. 오후에 분명히 눈이 내린다고 확신한다.
I think he is certainly at home.
with with 분명히
그가 집에 있다고 생각한다. 그가 분명히 집에 있다고 생각한다..
I am sure that my brother certainly did his homework.
with with 분명히
동생이 숙제를 했다고 확신한다. 동생이 분명히 숙제를 했다고 확신한다.

EXPRESSING UNCERTAINTY

In Korean, different expressions can be used depending on the degree of uncertainty.

Verb+ᄅ지Verb + 는지 Verb + ᄊ는/을지
#1 General uncertainty.
The subject has no bias on the degree of uncertainty.
#1 The subject has bias on the degree of uncertainty, typically on the side that the event or action will not take place.#1 General uncertainty for past event/action.
#2 Uncertainty on the future/present event#2 Uncertainty on the present event

A verb conjugated with ᄅ/ᄂ 지 is often followed by a verb “모른다” or “모르겠다,” which mean “I am not sure.”

So all together, verb + ᄅ/ᄂ 지 모른다 or 모르겠다 express the subject’s uncertainty on something (the object), where the object is a likely event or action.

In both cases, if “도” is added after ᄅ지 or 는지, the subject is more certain that the event/action is likely to happen.

EXAMPLE #1
I am not sure whether she will come to the party tomorrow
koreannotes
그녀가 내일 파티에 올지 모르겠다. The subject is not sure without a bias
그녀가 내일 파티에 오는지 모르겠다. The subject is more certain on the side that she will not come to the party tomorrow
그녀가 내일 파티에 올지도 모르겠다.

그녀가 내일 파티에 오는지도모르겠다.
The subject is more certain that she is likely to come to the party tomorrow
EXAMPLE #2
I am not sure whether it will snow this afternoon.
koreannotes
오후에  눈이 내릴 모르겠다. The subject is not sure without a bias
오후에  눈이 내리는지 모르겠다. The subject is more certain on the side that it will not snow
오후에 눈이 내릴지도 모르겠다.

오후에 눈이 내리는지도 모르겠다.
Both sentences mean “I think it may snow this afternoon.” The subject is more certain that it is likely to snow this afternoon
EXAMPLE #3
koreanenglishnotes
그가 집에 있을지 모르겠다. I am not sure whether he is at home.The subject is not sure without a bias
그가 집에 있는지 모르겠다. I am not sure whether he will be at home.The subject is more certain on the side that he is not at home
EXAMPLE #4
koreanenglishnotes
동생이 숙제를 했는지 모르겠다.

동생이 숙제를 했을지 모르겠다.
Both sentences mean “I am not sure whether my brother did his homework” The subject is not sure without a bias
동생이 숙제를 했는지도 모르겠다.

동생이 숙제를 했을지도 모르겠다.
Both sentences mean “I think my brother may have done his homework.”

(UN)CERTAINTY FOR AN UNLIKELY EVENT/ ACTION

To express certainty or uncertainty for an unlikely event or action, simply add ‘안’ in front of the verb. There is a slight difference between the expression for certainty and that for uncertainty.

EXPRESSING CERTAINTY FOR AN UNLIKELY EVENT OR ACTION

PATTERN #1

안 + Verb + 다고/ᄅ 것이라고

PATTERN #2

Verb+ 않 +는 다고/ᄅ 것이라고

*For the verb “이다” the opposite verb “없다” is used instead of adding “안” in front of the verb. Examples on expressing certainty on an unlikely event.

I think (I am certain) that she will not come to the party tomorrow.
그녀가내일파티에다고 생각한다. 그녀가내일파티에안올것이라고 생각한다.
그녀가 내일 파티에 오지 않는다고 생각한다. 그녀가내일파티에오지않을 것이라고 생각한다.
View More Phrases
I am sure that it will not snow this afternoon.
오후에 눈이 내린다고 확신한다. 오후에눈이내릴것이라고확신한다.
오후에 눈이 내리지 않는다고확신한다. 오후에 눈이 내리지 않을 것이라고확신한다.
I am sure that he is not at home.
그가 집에 없다고 확신한다. 그가 집에 없을 것이라고 확신한다.

EXPRESSING UNCERTAINTY FOR AN UNLIKELY EVENT OR ACTION

PATTERN #1

Verb + ᄅ지 + 안+ Verb + ᄅ지

I am not sure whether she will come to the party tomorrow or not. 그녀가 내일 파티에 올지 안올지 모르겠다.
I am not sure whether it will snow this afternoon or not. 오후에 눈이 내릴지 안릴지 모르겠다.
PATTERN #2

Verb + 는지+안 + Verb + 는지

I am not sure whether she will come to the party tomorrow or not. 그녀가 내일 파티에 오는지 안는지 모르겠다.
I am not sure whether it will snow this afternoon or not. 오후에 눈이 내리는지 안내리는지 모르겠다..
PATTERN #3

Verb + ᄊ는 / 을지+ 안 + Verb + ᄊ는 / 을지


I am not sure whether he is at home or not.
그가 집에 있을지 없을지 모르겠다.

그가 집에 있는지 없는지 모르겠다.

*For the verb “이다” the opposite verb “없다” is used instead of adding “안” in front of the verb.


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FAQs

How to express certainty in Korean?

In Korean, following expression can be used to express certainty on an event or an action.

Verb + 다고/ᄅ 것이라고

A verb conjugated with 다고/ ᄅ것 이라고 is often followed by a verb “생각한다” or “확신한다” which means “think” and “be sure”, respectively.

Example:

I think (I am certain) that she will come to the party tomorrow.

그녀가 내일 파티에 온다고 생각한다.

그녀가 내일 파티에 올 것이라고 생각한다.

How to express uncertainty in Korean?

In Korean, different expressions can be used depending on the degree of uncertainty.

VERB+ᄅ지

#1 General uncertainty. The subject has no bias on the degree of uncertainty.

#2 Uncertainty on the future/present event.

VERB + 는지

#1 The subject has bias on the degree of uncertainty, typically on the side that the event or action will not take place.

#2 Uncertainty on the present event

VERB + ᄊ는/을지

#1 General uncertainty for past event/action.

— View our full lesson for sentence examples.

What is 꼭 used for?

Adverbs such as “꼭” or “분명히” can be used to emphasise the certainty of an event/action happening.

Verb + 꼭 / 분명히 + 다고/ᄅ 것이라고

Examples:

I think she will certainly come to the party tomorrow.

그녀가 내일 파티에 꼭 온다고 생각한다.

그녀가 내일 파티에 분명히 온다고 생각한다.

Any sentences to express certainty in Korean?

I am sure that it will snow this afternoon.

WITH 다고

오후에 눈이 내린다고 확신한다.

WITH ᄅ것 이라고

오후에 눈이 내릴 것이라고 확신한다.

I think (I am certain) that he is at home.

WITH 다고

그가 집에 있다고 생각한다.

WITH ᄅ것 이라고

그가 집에 있을 것이라고 생각한다.

Any sentences to express uncertainty?

I am not sure whether she will come to the party tomorrow.

그녀가 내일 파티에 올지 모르겠다.

I am not sure whether it will snow this afternoon.

오후에  눈이 내리는지 모르겠다.

Where to find more lessons like this?

You can visit our Korean Grammar Bank for more lessons on levels A1, A2 and B1.

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