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~ㄴ/은/는/을/ㄹ 말이다: Stressing or Checking What was Already Said
Vocabulary
Nouns:
예 = example
소원 = wish, desire
지적 = intelligence
공동 = joint, communal
도표 = diagram
공동체 = community of people
실생활 = real life
우등생 = honor roll student
우등상 = honor prize
부활절 = Easter
물음표 = question mark
느낌표 = exclamation mark
합작품 = collaborative work
Verbs:
달다 = to hang, to make a mark
써먹다 = to use for a purpose
떠넘기다 = to dump onto a person
부활하다 = to revive
합작하다 = to collaborate
Adjectives:
주요하다 = primary, major, main
초조하다 = to be anxious
Adverbs and Other Words:
도대체 = stresses a question, “at all”
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Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn how you can end your sentences colloquially with 말. We’ll break down the situations where this would be appropriate and natural. Let’s get started!
~ㄴ/은/는/을/ㄹ 말이다: Stressing or Checking What was Already Said
As you know, 말 is a versatile noun that can refer to a word, words, or really anything spoken. For example:
저는 아직 할 말이 있어요 = I still have something to say
선생님이 아까 했던 말은 너무한 것 같아요 = The thing (words) that the teacher said before was too much
You will often see 말 at the end of a sentence where its purpose is to stress what has already been said. For example:
그렇게 해야 한다는 말이야!
Let’s break this down. First, the entire phrase that precedes 말 is something that has already been spoken. The speaker of this sentence is now repeating the sentence. You will see that ~ㄴ/은/는/을/ㄹ is attached to the clause before 말 to allow it to describe it. This is similar to when you learned how quoted phrases could describe the versatile noun 것 in Lesson 52. Finally, 이다 is added to 말 to predicate the sentence. The result of the sentence is the speaker is repeating what has already been said, stressing its importance.
In English, this is similar to saying something like “you know,” or “What I’m saying is!”:
그렇게 해야 한다는 말이야! = What I’m saying is, it has to be done this way!
I’m hesitant to provide examples that use formal speech. The example sentences in my lessons usually use 저 and typically end in ~요. However, using 말 this way is kind of like thrusting your opinion at the listener. As such, it can be seen as a bit rude if not done delicately. It is possible to simply conjugate the 이다 attached to 말 formally, but I recommend that you proceed with caution when doing so. Specifically, you should make sure your tone and intonation are gentle.
Because of that here are some informal examples:
우등생이 되려면 항상 최선을 다해야 한다는 말이야
= What I mean is, you have to always do your best to become an honor roll student
그 학생은 우등상을 받을 만하다는 말이야!
= What I’m saying is, that student deserves to win the honor prize!
부활절에 가족과 함께 시간을 보내는 게 중요하다는 말이야
= What I mean is, it’s important to spend time with your family on Easter
이 도표를 보고 결과를 쉽게 알 수 있다는 말이야
= What I’m saying is, you can easily understand the result by looking at this diagram
이 문장은 물음표를 써야 한다는 말이야
= What I mean is, you need to use a question mark at the end of this sentence
그건 정말 멋진 일이니까 느낌표를 써야 한다는 말이야!
= What I’m saying is, since that’s really amazing, you should use an exclamation mark!
그 전통이 다시 부활했다는 말이야
= What I’m saying is, that tradition has been revived
그 그림을 벽에 달았다는 말이야
What I mean is, I hung that picture on the wall
As you’ve seen in a few lessons, (Lesson 52, Lesson 145) quoting an upcoming noun with 이다 is done differently than with verbs and adjectives.
이게 좋은 예라는 말이지
= This is a good example, you know
내 소원은 그 사람과 다시 만나게 되는 거란 말이야
= What I’m saying is, my wish is to meet that person again
이건 우리가 공동으로 만든 합작품이라는 말이야
= What I mean is, this is something we made together
그 사람은 정말 지적이라는 말이야
What I’m saying is, that person is really intelligent
이런 공동체에서 서로 돕는 건 당연한 거란 말이야
= What I’m saying is, it’s natural to help each other in this community
실생활에서 바로 써먹을 수 있는 기술이라는 말이야
= What I’m saying is, it’s a skill that you can use right away in real life
You’ve spent a lot of time recently learning about ~느냐. You can attach ~는 to ~느냐 to describe 말 as you learned in Lesson 161. For example:
진짜 이게 맞느냐는 말이야
= I’m asking if this is really correct
도대체 왜 그렇게 행동하느냐는 말이야
= I’m asking why on earth you’re acting like that
시험 보기 전에 왜 그렇게 초조해하느냐는 말이야
= I’m asking why you’re so anxious before the exam
The quoted sentence can be a question, but it can also be an order. You learned about quoting orders in Lesson 54 and then saw how this can be shortened in Lesson 145. In this way, you can attach ~(으)란 or ~(으)라는 to verbs to describe 말. For example:
빨리 결정하고 행동하라는 말이야
= I’m telling you to decide quickly and take action
그냥 내가 시키는 대로 하라는 말이야
I’m telling you to just do as I say
In this same sense, you can describe 말 with ~자 (from Lesson 44 and Lesson 53) by attaching ~는 to ~자. Here, you are able to repeat a quote where one suggested an action happens together. For example:
그러니까 네 말은 지금 당장 가자는 말이야?
= So you’re saying we should go right now?
결국 우리한테 일을 다 떠넘기자는 말이야?
= So you’re saying we should take on all the work?
That’s it for this lesson!