HYEJU LANGUAGE LAB · INTERMEDIATE 56 · LESSON 141

-(으)ㄴ/는 덕분에 · N 덕분에thanks to…

덕분에 credits a person or cause for a good result: 친구가 도와준 덕분에 이사를 빨리 끝냈어요 (Thanks to my friend’s help, I finished moving quickly). With nouns: 선생님 덕분에 (thanks to my teacher).

Listening speed

Listen buttons use your device’s Korean voice. A Korean voice must be installed and available to the browser.

A situation you already know

You passed TOPIK level 4 and run into your old Korean teacher.

선생님 덕분에 시험에 합격했어요. 정말 감사합니다!

I passed the exam thanks to you. Thank you so much!

덕분에 always comes with gratitude and a good result. Koreans use it a lot when thanking someone.

Build the form

FORM IN MOTION

Try an expression

선생님 → N + 덕분에 → 선생님 덕분에Complete expression
도와주다 (과거) → 도와주 + ㄴ 덕분에 → 도와준 덕분에Complete expression
읽다 (과거) → 읽 + 은 덕분에 → 읽은 덕분에Complete expression
친절하다 → 친절하 + ㄴ 덕분에 → 친절한 덕분에Complete expression
있다 → 있 + 는 덕분에 → 있는 덕분에Complete expression

Nouns: N 덕분에 → 친구 덕분에, 여러분 덕분에.
Verbs (past action): -(으)ㄴ 덕분에 → 도와준, 읽은 덕분에. (Most common.)
Verbs (ongoing): -는 덕분에 → 매일 운동하는 덕분에.
Adjectives: -(으)ㄴ 덕분에 → 친절한, 좋은 덕분에. 있다/없다 → -는.
The result is positive. For bad results use 때문에, -는 바람에, or -(으)ㄴ/는 탓에.
Set phrase: A: 잘 지내셨어요? B: 네, 덕분에 잘 지냈어요.

Think in Korean · an English-speaker’s guide

English “thanks to” works the same way, but be careful: sarcastic “thanks to you…” doesn’t work in Korean. Use 때문에 for blame.
덕분에 잘 지냈어요 is polite even when the person didn’t literally help; it means “I’m well, thanks for asking.”
Choose -(으)ㄴ for something already done: 도와준 덕분에 (because they helped).

Six examples in context

여러분 덕분에 행사를 잘 마쳤습니다.

Thanks to all of you, the event went well.

친구가 길을 알려 준 덕분에 쉽게 찾았어요.

Thanks to my friend telling me the way, I found it easily.

매일 운동하는 덕분에 요즘 아주 건강해요.

Thanks to exercising every day, I’m very healthy these days.

날씨가 좋은 덕분에 사진이 예쁘게 나왔어요.

Thanks to the nice weather, the photos came out beautifully.

A: 잘 지내셨어요? B: 네, 덕분에 잘 지냈어요.

A: How have you been? B: I’ve been well, thank you.

한국 친구가 있는 덕분에 한국어가 많이 늘었어요.

Thanks to having Korean friends, my Korean has improved a lot.

Compare with related patterns

N 때문에

친구 때문에 늦었어요.

“I was late because of my friend.” Neutral or negative cause (Lesson 61).

-는 바람에

길이 막히는 바람에 늦었어요.

“I was late because the traffic was bad.” Sudden cause, bad result (Lesson 123).

-(으)ㄴ/는 탓에

준비를 안 한 탓에 시험을 망쳤어요.

“I messed up the exam because I didn’t prepare.” Blaming a cause; the opposite of 덕분에.

Pattern	Choose it when…
N / -(으)ㄴ/는 덕분에	Thanks to (good result)
N 때문에 · -기 때문에	Because of (neutral / bad)
-(으)ㄴ/는 탓에	Because of (blame)
-는 바람에	Sudden cause, bad result

Common mistakes

친구 덕분에 지갑을 잃어버렸어요.친구 때문에 지갑을 잃어버렸어요.

Bad result → 때문에, not 덕분에.

도와주는 덕분에 끝냈어요. (이미 도와줌)도와준 덕분에 끝냈어요.

Help already given → -(으)ㄴ 덕분에.

선생님의 덕분에선생님 덕분에

Usually no 의 before 덕분에.

친절하는 덕분에친절한 덕분에

Adjectives → -(으)ㄴ.

Mini practice · six questions

Try each one before opening the answer. Translation answers are models; other natural wording is possible.

Fill in the blank부모님이 ______ 덕분에 유학을 올 수 있었어요. (응원해 주다)
Check answer
부모님이 응원해 주신 덕분에 유학을 올 수 있었어요. (응원해 준 덕분에)
Past action → -(으)ㄴ 덕분에; with parents, 주신 is more polite.
Fill in the blank직원이 ______ 덕분에 기분 좋게 쇼핑했어요. (친절하다)
Check answer
직원이 친절한 덕분에 기분 좋게 쇼핑했어요.
Adjective → -(으)ㄴ 덕분에.
Choose the natural form감기 (덕분에 / 때문에) 학교에 못 갔어요.
Check answer
때문에
Bad result → 때문에.
Choose the natural form지도 앱이 (있는 / 있은) 덕분에 길을 안 잃었어요.
Check answer
있는
있다 → -는.
Fix the mistake민수 씨의 덕분에 일이 빨리 끝났어요.
Check answer
민수 씨 덕분에 일이 빨리 끝났어요.
Drop 의.
Say it in KoreanThanks to you, I had a great time.
Check answer
덕분에 즐거운 시간을 보냈어요.
In Korean, “thanks to you” is often just 덕분에 (or ○○ 씨 덕분에).

Today’s key point

Thanks to (good result): N 덕분에, V-(으)ㄴ 덕분에 (past), V-는 덕분에 (ongoing), A-(으)ㄴ 덕분에. For bad results use 때문에 / -는 바람에 / -(으)ㄴ/는 탓에.

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Hyeju Yoo

M.A. in Korean Language Education · Certified Korean language teacher

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