-(으)니까
(eu)nikka
Grammar · 2 senses
when, do something only to discover
Examples
아침에 회사에 가니까 아무도 없었어요.
When I went to the office in the morning, no one was there.
어제 백화점에 가니까 세일을 하고 있었어요.
When I went to the department store yesterday, they were having a sale.
When you'd hear it
In the discovery sense, this is common in spoken storytelling and everyday conversation, especially when describing what someone found upon arriving or doing something. It also appears in casual written narratives, but it is less typical in highly formal prose.
What learners get wrong
For this sense, -(으)니까 presents a discovery that follows the first action, while -을 때 simply marks the time when something happens. A sentence like 가니까 아무도 없었어요 implies “I went and found that no one was there.”
so, because
Examples
이번 주는 바쁘니까 다음 주에 합시다.
I'm busy this week, so let's do that next week.
When you'd hear it
This is common in everyday speech and neutral writing, especially when giving a reason for a suggestion, request, or decision. It appears in conversations, workplace discussions, and dramas, as in 이번 주는 바쁘니까 다음 주에 합시다.
What learners get wrong
Unlike -아/어서, -(으)니까 commonly comes before a suggestion or command, such as 합시다 or 하세요. Use -니까 after vowel-final stems and -으니까 after most consonant-final stems, with ㄹ-final stems using -니까.
Ask Ipsae about -(으)니까
You looked up -(으)니까 — Ipsae makes sure you still know it in three weeks.
No account needed to try.