#section:intermediateii

This grammar pattern is used when giving someone advice, and implies that the speaker is offering personal advice--something either they have experienced for themselves or otherwise observed. The meaning of this grammar pattern is that if someone does something over and over again, eventually that someone will achieve their desired results, whatever it may be.

There are two ways this grammar point can be used.

[verb stem]다 보면 [verb stem]게 될 거예요 or [verb stem]다 보면 [adjective]아/어질 거예요

Let’s look at a few examples.

A: 이 문법은 어려워서 잘 못 쓰겠어요... B: 처음에는 어렵지만 자꾸 연습하다 보면 잘 쓰게 될 거예요. A: I can’t use this grammar well because it’s difficult... B: It’s difficult at first but if you practice it continuously you’ll be able to use it well.

A: 한국 문화에 대해서 많이 알고 싶어요. B: 한국 친구들을 많이 만나다 보면 한국 문화도 알게 될 거예요. A: I want to know more about Korean culture. B: If you meet [your] Korean friends a lot, you’ll learn Korean culture as well.

A: 한국 사람하고 이야기할 때 너무 빨라서 알아듣는 것이 힘들어요. B: 한국 드라마나 영화를 많이 보다 보면 잘 알아듣게 될 거예요. A: When speaking with Koreans it’s hard for me to understand because they speak so fast. B: You’ll be able to better understand if you watch a lot of Korean dramas or movies.

A: 발음이 안 좋아서 걱정이에요. B: 책을 큰 소리로 계속 읽다 보면 발음이 좋아질 거예요. A: I’m worried my pronunciation is bad. B: If you read books aloud in a loud voice, you’ll get better at pronunciation.

A: 요즘 기운이 없어요. B: 몸에 좋은 음식을 먹고 규칙적으로 운동을 하다 보면 기운이 날 거예요. A: I feel listless these days. B: Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly will make you feel better.

Easy right? :)

다 보니 vs 다 보면: pay particular attention and care to how questions are formed, so you know which grammar point to use in response!

For example:

어떻게 해서 한국어를 잘하게 됐어요? How did you become fluent in Korean?

This question specifically asks for the personal experience of the other person, therefore -다 보니 should be used instance.

어떻게 하면 한국어를 잘할 수 있을까요? How can I speak Korean well?

This question asks for more general advice, not specifically what the other person did, so -다 보면  should be used in this instance.

You can read up more about -도 보니 -게 됐다 by clicking here.

Note: while this grammar point is used in the future tense, as it is meant to refer to an action done continually will result in a future action/result, there is a variant that is written in the present tense. However, using this grammar point in the present tense implies that the statement is common knowledge that most other people would agree with, and not personal advice of the speaker.

A: 어떻게 그렇게 한글을 빨리 칠 수 있어요? B: 친구랑 메신저로 계속 대화하다 보면 금방 잘 치게 돼요. A: How can you type hangul that fast? B: If you keep talking to your friends via messenger soon you’ll be good at typing.

In this instance, since “type a lot and and you’ll get good at typing” is something generally everyone would agree with, the present tense is used here instead of the future tense.

This lesson’s grammar point is used when explaining what brought someone to do a particular action or activity. It can also be used as part of a 자기소개 (self introduction).

At this ability level, everyone should already be familiar with -아/어서 and how to use it (if not, you can check it out here). For the usage with this grammar point -아/어서 is used to connect two main clauses with a “because” “therefore” or “so”, while -게 됐다 is attached to the sentence ending verb.

-게 됐다 is used with verbs and attaches directly to the verb stem.

A: 어떻게 한국에 오게 됐어요? B: 한국어를 배우고 싶어서 공부하러 오게 됐어요. A: How did you come to Korea? B: I wanted to learn Korean so I came to Korea to study.

A: B 씨, 저희 등산 동호회에 처음 오셨지요? 자기소게 좀 해 주세요. B: 안녕하세요? B입니다. 등산도 하고 친구도 사귀고 싶어서 나오게 됐어요. 열심히 하겠습니다. A: B, it’s your first time at our hiking club, isn’t it? Please introduce yourself. B: Hello. I’m B. Because I wanted to go hiking and meet new friends, I’ve come out (to join the club). I’ll work hard.

Note: In more formal situations, such as when you’re introducing yourself to a group -게 됐습니다 is more likely to be used. In more casual situations, however, it’s fine to use -게 됐어요 or -게 됐어 which are also common depending on the situation at hand.

You can also add -다가 to the beginning of the sentence pattern to further explain how something happened and how you came to the decision to do something. -다가 attaches directly to the verb stem it is explaining.

A: 어떻게 한국에 오게 됐어요? B: 한국 친구랑 얘기하다가 한국어를 배우고 싶어서 공부하러 오게 됐어요. A: How did you come to Korea? B: After I chatted with my Korean friend I began to want to learn Korean so in order to study I came to Korea.

A: 어떻게 결혼하게 됐어요? B: 같은 식당에서 알바하다가 친해져서 결혼하게 됐어요. A: How did you end up getting married? B: After we worked part-time at the same restaurant we became close, so we got married.

Note: When using the -게 되다 pattern after 듣다, 보다, and 읽다, you should substitute -고 for -아/어서 in the preceding clause of the sentence.

이 동아리가 좋다는 말을 듣고 가입하게 됐어요. I heard that this club is good so I joined up.

게시판에 있는 광고를 보고 그 동아리에 대해 알게 됐어요. I learned about that club because I saw an advertisement on the bulletin board.

The grammar point -다 보니 is a shortened version of -다 보니까, which is used when the speaker is talking about something they have done or experienced directly. Using it one can express the results of doing something repeatedly/continuously from some point in the past up through the present.

There are two ways this grammar point can be used for our purposes here.

-[verb stem]+다 보니 -[verb]+게 됐다 or -[verb stem]+다 보니 -[adjective]+아/어졌다

Let’s look at a few examples.

A: 매운 음식을 좋아하시나 봐요. B: 처음 한국에 왔을 때는 전혀 못 먹었어요. 한국에서 살면서 자꾸 먹다 보니 이제는 잘 먹게 됐어요. A: It seems as if you like spicy food. B: When I first came to Korea I didn’t eat [any spicy food] at all. While I’ve lived in Korea I’ve eaten [spicy food] over and over, now I can eat it very well.

So in this example Person B at some point in the past began repeatedly eating spicy food and as a result in the present day, they can eat spicy food/tolerate spicy food very well.

A: 와! 수영 선수 같아요! B: 별말씀을요. 꾸준히 연습하다 보니 이제는 좀 수영하게 됐어요. A: Wow! You’re just like a professional swimmer! B: Not at all. I’ve practiced continuously, so now I am able to swim like this.

Same with this example here. Person B practiced tirelessly to get from where they started to where they are now, to the point where Person A’s observation is that Person B is akin to a professional.

Now let’s look at a couple examples using adjectives.

A: 요즘 안과 다닌다면서요? B: 네. 스마트폰을 많이 사용하다 보니 눈이 나빠졌어요. A: Is it true you’ve been going to the eye doctor lately? B: Yes. Since I’ve been using my smartphone [continuously] my eyes have gotten bad.

In this example the result of person B’s action (continuous cellphone usage) is that their eyesight has become poor, leading them to need to go to the eye doctor.

A: 지난번 만났을 때보다 얼굴이 좋아졌어요. B: 매일 공원에서 운동하다 보니 건강해졌어요. A: Compared to last time we met, you look good. B: Since I’ve been working out at the park everyday my health has gotten better.

Here Person A observes that Person B is looking much better than the last time they met, and this is because Person B has been going to the park everyday to exercise. In this way, their health has gotten better.

One important thing to keep in mind when using -다 보니 is that it is used to indicate repeated and continuing behaviors. You cannot use it/it would not make sense to use it with such verbs that don’t “progress” or are one off actions such as 결혼하다 (to get married), 졸업하다 (to graduate), 가입하다 (to join), etc.

And also a quick note on -다 보니(까) vs -아/어 보니(까):

-다 보니(까) is used with the result of doing something repeatedly/continuously.

-아/어 보니(까) is used with the result of doing something specific only once.

레오 씨가 처음에는 마음에 들지 않았는데 자꾸 만나다 보니(까) 좋아하게 됐어요. In this sentence, the speaker only begins to like Leo after repeatedly meeting him over and over for a length of time.

레오 씨를 만나 보니(까) 생각보다 친절한 사람이었어요. In this sentence, the speaker decides that Leo is a kind person after only meeting him one time.