Skip to content

-(으)니까

-(eu)nikka

Putting your reason on the table: -(으)니까

The picture Laying a card face up in front of the other person: here is my reason, so let's do this. -(으)니까 sets the grounds down so an order or invitation can follow, while -아서/어서 only flows into a result — an apology goes 늦어서 죄송합니다, never 늦으니까 죄송합니다.

Endings and forms

Where the picture shows up in -(으)니까

  1. the reason you hand over

    비 오니까 우산 가져가세요.

    bi o-ni-kka u-san ga-jyeo-ga-se-yo

    It's raining, so take an umbrella.

    Pointing out the window at the falling rain and pressing an umbrella into the other person's hand.

    A command cannot follow -어서, but it can follow -(으)니까.

  2. grounds for doing it together

    시간 없으니까 택시 탑시다.

    si-gan eop-seu-ni-kka taek-si tap-si-da

    We're out of time, so let's take a taxi.

    Holding your watch up for them to see, then raising an arm to flag down a taxi.

  3. what you found on arriving

    집에 가 보니까 아무도 없었어요.

    ji-be ga bo-ni-kka a-mu-do eop-seo-sseo-yo

    I went home and found nobody there.

    Opening the front door onto a dark, empty living room — a scene that appears only once you are inside.

    It also marks something you discovered only after doing the first action.

  4. the card under your claim

    제가 먼저 왔으니까 제가 낼게요.

    je-ga meon-jeo wa-sseu-ni-kka je-ga nael-ge-yo

    I got here first, so I'll pay.

    Reaching for your wallet first, from the seat you had already been sitting in.

  5. the reason to put it off

    바쁘니까 나중에 얘기해요.

    ba-ppeu-ni-kka na-jung-e yae-gi-hae-yo

    I'm busy, so let's talk later.

    Waving a hand without breaking stride, an armful of papers held against your chest.

    Don't use it for apologies or greetings. 늦어서 죄송합니다 is right; 늦으니까 죄송합니다 sounds broken.

All of it in one picture

-(으)니까 is laying one card face up in front of someone. Point at the falling rain and it is grounds for taking an umbrella; hold up your watch and it is grounds for the taxi; put down the fact that you arrived first and it is grounds for paying. Walk in and find the living room dark, and the card is what the going revealed; wave with an armful of papers and the card says let's talk later. That is why an order or an invitation can follow -(으)니까 — you have already put the reason in the other person's hand.

Next

See all Korean core images