-아/어 가지다
a/eo gajida
Grammar · 2 senses
Because, and so
Examples
많이 먹어 가지고 너무 배불러요.
I am so full because I ate a lot.
낮에 커피를 많이 마셔 가지고 밤에 잠을 못잤어요.
I drank a lot of coffee during the day, so couldn't sleep at night.
When you'd hear it
This causal pattern is common in everyday conversation, especially when explaining a situation or result in a casual or polite spoken style. It appears often in dramas and workplace talk, but is generally avoided in formal writing, where -아서/어서 or -기 때문에 is more typical.
What learners get wrong
Learners may treat it as interchangeable with -아서/어서 in every context, but -아/어 가지고 is more conversational and often sounds like an explanation of a resulting situation. Use -기 때문에 for a more formal, explicitly reasoned explanation.
And then
Examples
빨래해 가지고 걸고 있어요.
I washed my clothes and am hanging them now.
친구에게 책을 빌려 가지고 읽었어요.
I borrowed a book from my friend and read it.
When you'd hear it
This is common in conversational Korean, including dramas, everyday speech, and casual workplace talk. It is less common in formal writing, where -아/어서 or -고 is often preferred.
What learners get wrong
Learners may confuse it with -고: -고 can simply connect actions, while -아/어 가지고 presents the first action as a completed step leading into the next one. Here 가지고 is not the possession verb 가지다.
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