-(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다
(eu)n jeogi itda/eopda
Grammar · 2 senses
Have done
Examples
어릴 때 병원에 입원한 적이 있어요.
I was hospitalized when I was a child.
한국말을 몰라서 실수한 적이 있어요.
I've made a mistake because of my poor Korean.
When you'd hear it
This pattern is common in everyday conversation and polite speech, including dramas, interviews, and workplace conversations. The negative form is especially common when asking about or stating whether someone has ever had an experience.
What learners get wrong
It describes whether an experience has occurred, while -아/어 본 적이 있다 emphasizes having tried or experienced something firsthand. It is also different from a simple past form, which reports a specific event rather than life experience.
Have done
Examples
회사에 지각한 적이 없어요.
I have never been late to work.
어릴 때 병원에 입원한 적이 없어요.
I have never been hospitalised when I was a child.
When you'd hear it
Common in polite everyday conversation, including workplace talk, interviews, and personal stories. The pattern also appears frequently in written accounts and forms when describing past experience.
What learners get wrong
Do not confuse it with -지 않았다: 회사에 지각하지 않았어요 says you were not late on a particular occasion, while 회사에 지각한 적이 없어요 covers your experience up to now. The verb before 적 is in the -(으)ㄴ form, even though 있다/없다 is in the present tense.
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