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When Korean 「-던」 and 「-었던」 are taught together, it is easy to memorize them as “one is unfinished, the other is finished.” The problem is that once you encounter real sentences, that rule is often not enough. For example, 「읽던 책」 tends to bring to mind a book you were reading at the time or used to read regularly, while 「읽었던 책」 sounds more like a book you had read before. But with 「어릴 때 자주 먹던 과자」 and 「어릴 때 자주 먹었던 과자」, both sentences are perfectly natural, and their meanings are not completely different.

「-던」 often appears with actions that were in progress at the time, things that happened repeatedly in the past, or states that continued for a period of time. 「-었던」 contains the additional past marker 「-었-」, so the sense that something actually happened in the past becomes somewhat stronger. However, with habits, identities, or long-lasting states, the two forms can naturally become quite similar. Korean also has the ordinary past adnominal form 「-(으)ㄴ」, so if you memorize only Chinese translations, all three can easily end up looking like “the … from before” or “something that was done before.”

What are Korean 「-던」 and 「-었던」? Start with the difference between two ways of modifying nouns in the past

「-던」 comes before a noun and uses the preceding action or state to describe that noun, as in 「읽던 책」「살던 집」「좋아하던 노래」. When attached to verbs, 「-던」 often conveys something that was in progress, happened repeatedly, or was left midway in the past. When attached to adjectives or 「이다」, it is often used for a state that continued for some period of time.

「-었던」 can be understood as the past marker 「-었-」 plus 「-던」. For that reason, 「읽었던 책」「살았던 집」「좋아했던 노래」 tend to place the content more clearly in a past that has already occurred than forms with 「-던」 alone. However, 「-었던」 does not mean that the present must now be completely different, and not every 「-던」 means that something was unfinished. Repeated habits are the most common exception.

• Example: 어제 읽던 책을 다시 펼쳤어요.
  Romanization: eo-je ilg-deon chae-geul da-si pyeol-chyeo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I opened again the book I was reading yesterday.
  「읽던」 suggests that yesterday’s reading stopped at some point and that the speaker is now picking the book up again to continue.
• Example: 중학교 때 읽었던 책을 다시 샀어요.
  Romanization: jung-hak-gyo ttae ilg-eot-deon chae-geul da-si sa-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I bought again a book I had read in middle school.
  This sentence is not especially concerned with how far the speaker had read at the time. It brings up the past experience of having read the book in middle school.
• Example: 어릴 때 자주 먹던 과자예요.
  Romanization: eo-ril ttae ja-ju meok-deon gwa-ja-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is a snack I used to eat often as a child.
  Here, 「먹던」 does not mean that every time the speaker ate the snack, they left it unfinished. It refers to repeatedly eating it during childhood, so 「-던」 can also describe past habits.

How do Korean 「-던／-았·었던」 attach? Verbs, adjectives, and 「이다」

「-던」 attaches directly to the stem, while 「-았·었던」 is formed by first making the ordinary past tense and then adding 「-던」. Therefore, 「먹다」 becomes 「먹던／먹었던」, 「살다」 becomes 「살던／살았던」, and 「하다」 becomes 「하던／했던」.

Word class	「-던」	「-았·었던」	Example
Verb	stem＋던	past form＋던	먹던／먹었던
하다 verb	하던	했던	공부하던／공부했던
Adjective	stem＋던	past form＋던	작던／작았던
「이다」	이던	이었던／였던	학생이던／학생이었던

Verbs with 「-던／-았·었던」: how are 읽던 and 읽었던 formed?

When 「-던」 is attached directly to a verb, you get forms such as 「먹던」「읽던」「살던」「가던」. If the verb is first changed into the past tense and then followed by 「-던」, the forms become 「먹었던」「읽었던」「살았던」「갔던」. Both sets refer to the past, but 「-던」 more often preserves a sense of the action being in progress or repeated at the time, while 「-았·었던」 more easily presents the event as something that has already happened.

• Example: 아까 먹던 빵은 냉장고에 넣었어요.
  Romanization: a-kka meok-deon ppang-eun naeng-jang-go-e neo-eo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I put the bread I was eating earlier in the refrigerator.
  The bread had not been finished, so 「먹던」 fits this situation well.
• Example: 작년에 봤던 영화를 다시 봤어요.
  Romanization: jang-nyeon-e bwat-deon yeong-hwa-reul da-si bwa-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I watched again a movie I saw last year.
  The viewing already happened last year, and the same movie is being watched again now, so 「봤던」 is used.
• Example: 예전에 살았던 동네에 다시 갔어요.
  Romanization: ye-jeon-e sa-rat-deon dong-ne-e da-si ga-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I went back to the neighborhood where I used to live.
  The speaker has already left that period of residence behind, so 「살았던」 is natural here.

Adjectives with 「-던／-았·었던」: past states cannot be understood only in terms of completion

With adjectives, the distinction “the action was only halfway done” is much less obvious. So when 「-던／-았·었던」 follows an adjective, you usually need to look at how the sentence presents the earlier state. 「작던 방」 refers to a room that used to be small, while 「작았던 방」 places the state of “being small” more clearly in the past. In actual usage, however, the difference may sometimes be small.

• Example: 작던 방이 지금은 훨씬 넓어졌어요.
  Romanization: jak-deon bang-i ji-geum-eun hwol-ssin neol-beo-jyeo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: The room that used to be small is much bigger now.
  The first half describes a state the room maintained in the past, while the second half says that the situation has now changed.
• Example: 예전에 조용했던 동네가 많이 변했어요.
  Romanization: ye-jeon-e jo-yong-haet-deon dong-ne-ga ma-ni byeon-hae-sseo-yo.
  Translation: The neighborhood that used to be quiet has changed a lot.
  「조용했던」 places the quiet state in the past, and 「많이 변했어요」 directly adds that things are different now.
• Example: 행복했던 시절이 생각나요.
  Romanization: haeng-bok-haet-deon si-jeol-i saeng-gak-na-yo.
  Translation: I think of those happy times from the past.
  The entire period already belongs to the past, so 「행복했던 시절」 is a very common expression.

「이다」 with 「-던／-었던」: both 학생이던 and 학생이었던 are possible

「이다」 can also take both forms. For example, 「학생이던 시절」 and 「학생이었던 시절」 can both mean the period when someone was still a student. This pair is especially useful for remembering one point: some sentences simply do not need 「-던」 and 「-었던」 to be forced into completely different meanings. With identities or states that continued for a long time, the difference between the two forms often becomes smaller.

• Example: 학생이던 시절에 자주 가던 카페예요.
  Romanization: hak-saeng-i-deon si-jeol-e ja-ju ga-deon ka-pe-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is a café I used to visit often when I was a student.
  「학생이던 시절」 directly describes that period of life when the speaker was a student.
• Example: 학생이었던 시절의 사진을 찾았어요.
  Romanization: hak-saeng-i-eot-deon si-jeol-ui sa-jin-eul cha-ja-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I found a photo from when I was a student.
  「학생이었던」 places the student identity in a period that is already past and makes the temporal distance from the present slightly clearer.
• Example: 친구였던 사람을 우연히 다시 만났어요.
  Romanization: chin-gu-yeot-deon sa-ram-eul u-yeon-hi da-si man-na-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I happened to meet again someone who used to be my friend.
  「친구였던」 easily suggests that the person was a friend in the past but that the relationship is now different, or at least is no longer exactly the same.

Korean 「-던／-었던」 usage: actions in progress, repeated habits, and past experiences

The truly difficult part of 「-던」 and 「-었던」 is not how they are formed, but the fact that real sentences do not always divide neatly into “unfinished” and “finished.” In addition to actions that were left midway, 「-던」 very often describes things that were repeated in the past or states that continued for a long time. 「-었던」 is often used to bring up experiences such as things you did, places you visited, or places you lived, and it can also be used together with repetitive adverbs such as 「자주」.

Usage ① of 「-던」｜An action that was in progress or had not yet come to an end

An action that was interrupted midway or stopped because something else happened is one of the easiest uses of 「-던」 to recognize. If the sentence also contains words such as “continue,” “stop,” or “finish,” it becomes even clearer that the earlier action had not yet ended.

• Example: 읽던 책을 다시 펼쳤어요.
  Romanization: ilg-deon chae-geul da-si pyeol-chyeo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I opened again the book I had been reading.
  The speaker had already started reading the book but stopped midway and is only now continuing.
• Example: 하던 일을 잠깐 멈추고 전화를 받았어요.
  Romanization: ha-deon i-reul jam-kkan meom-chu-go jeon-hwa-reul ba-da-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I stopped what I was doing for a moment and answered the phone.
  「하던 일」 refers to the work that was already underway and was temporarily interrupted by the phone call.
• Example: 먹던 빵을 냉장고에 넣었어요.
  Romanization: meok-deon ppang-eul naeng-jang-go-e neo-eo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I put the bread I had been eating into the refrigerator.
  Part of the bread was still left, making this very concrete “mid-action” situation especially suitable for 「-던」.

Usage ② of 「-던」｜A habit that repeatedly occurred in the past

「-던」 does not mean that every individual action was unfinished. A song you often listened to as a child, a bus you took every day, or a restaurant you visited every weekend can all use 「-던」 because the sentence is describing a habit that occurred repeatedly over a period of time.

• Example: 어릴 때 자주 듣던 노래예요.
  Romanization: eo-ril ttae ja-ju deut-deon no-rae-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is a song I used to listen to often as a child.
  Whether each individual listening session went from beginning to end is not important. The sentence says that the song was listened to frequently during childhood.
• Example: 매일 타던 버스가 없어졌어요.
  Romanization: mae-il ta-deon beo-seu-ga eop-seo-jyeo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: The bus I used to take every day is gone.
  「매일」 directly shows that this was a repeated habit over a period of time.
• Example: 주말마다 가던 식당이 문을 닫았어요.
  Romanization: ju-mal-ma-da ga-deon sik-dang-i mun-eul da-ra-sseo-yo.
  Translation: The restaurant I used to go to every weekend has closed.
  When 「주말마다」 appears together with 「가던」, the sentence describes an action that regularly occurred in the past.

Usage ③ of 「-던」｜A state that continued in the past

Where you lived, where you worked, what you liked, or whom you knew can all continue for months or even years. In these cases, 「-던」 does not need to be understood as “unfinished.” It describes a state that continued throughout that period.

• Example: 전에 살던 집 근처에 갔어요.
  Romanization: jeon-e sal-deon jip geun-cheo-e ga-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I went near the house where I used to live.
  「살던 집」 naturally brings up the period of life when the speaker lived there.
• Example: 예전에 좋아하던 가수를 다시 봤어요.
  Romanization: ye-jeon-e jo-a-ha-deon ga-su-reul da-si bwa-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I saw again a singer I used to like.
  The sentence says only that there was a period in the past when the speaker liked this singer. Whether they still do requires additional context.
• Example: 학교 다닐 때 자주 만나던 친구예요.
  Romanization: hak-gyo da-nil ttae ja-ju man-na-deon chin-gu-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is a friend I used to see often when I was in school.
  「만나던」 appears with 「자주」 to describe a relationship in which the two people repeatedly met in the past.

Usage ① of 「-었던」｜An experience that already happened in the past

「-었던」 often appears in topics such as places you visited, jobs you did, movies you watched, and people you met. The sentence usually does not need to bring the original process close to the present. It simply brings up an experience that once occurred.

• Example: 예전에 갔었던 카페가 아직 있네요.
  Romanization: ye-jeon-e gat-seot-deon ka-pe-ga a-jik it-ne-yo.
  Translation: The café I went to before is still here.
  Going to the café is an experience that already happened in the past, and the speaker now sees the same place again.
• Example: 전에 일했던 회사 근처예요.
  Romanization: jeon-e il-haet-deon hoe-sa geun-cheo-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is near the company where I used to work.
  That work experience has already ended, so 「일했던 회사」 is natural.
• Example: 여행에서 만났던 사람에게 연락했어요.
  Romanization: yeo-haeng-e-seo man-nat-deon sa-ram-e-ge yeol-lak-hae-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I contacted someone I met while traveling.
  The meeting during the trip has already happened, and the speaker is now bringing up that person again.

Usage ② of 「-었던」｜Creating distance between an earlier state and the present

「-었던」 often appears together with content meaning “it was like that before, but now it has changed.” However, the fact that the present must be different is not something 「-었던」 itself requires. For example, 「친했던 친구」 only says that the two people were close before. Whether they are still friends cannot be determined from those words alone.

• Example: 예전에 조용했던 동네가 많이 변했어요.
  Romanization: ye-jeon-e jo-yong-haet-deon dong-ne-ga ma-ni byeon-hae-sseo-yo.
  Translation: The neighborhood that used to be quiet has changed a lot.
  The following 「많이 변했어요」 clearly states that things are now different.
• Example: 작았던 아이가 벌써 대학생이 됐어요.
  Romanization: ja-gat-deon a-i-ga beol-sseo dae-hak-saeng-i dwae-sseo-yo.
  Translation: The child who used to be so little is already a university student.
  The earlier state of being small naturally contrasts with the present state of being a university student.
• Example: 친했던 친구와 오랜만에 만났어요.
  Romanization: chin-haet-deon chin-gu-wa o-raen-man-e man-na-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I met a friend I used to be close with after a long time.
  「친했던」 places the state of being close in the past. The current relationship still needs additional context.

What is the difference between 「자주 먹던」 and 「자주 먹었던」? Both are actually possible

「자주 먹던」 and 「자주 먹었던」 are especially useful for testing whether the rule “-던 = unfinished, -었던 = finished” is really enough. Both can describe a snack someone often ate as a child, and both are natural Korean. The difference is subtle. 「먹던」 more easily evokes the repeated habit of eating that snack during childhood, while 「먹었던」 places the entire habit a little more clearly in the past.

• Example: 어릴 때 자주 먹던 과자예요.
  Romanization: eo-ril ttae ja-ju meok-deon gwa-ja-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is a snack I used to eat often as a child.
  The sentence feels closer to the repeated childhood habit itself. 「먹던」 does not mean that the snack was left unfinished every time.
• Example: 어릴 때 자주 먹었던 과자예요.
  Romanization: eo-ril ttae ja-ju meo-geot-deon gwa-ja-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is a snack I used to eat often as a child.
  This can also describe a repeated habit, but 「먹었던」 makes the sense that “this was something I often did in the past” slightly more explicit.
• Example: 예전에는 자주 먹었던 음식인데 요즘은 잘 안 먹어요.
  Romanization: ye-jeon-e-neun ja-ju meo-geot-deon eum-sik-in-de yo-jeum-eun jal an meo-geo-yo.
  Translation: This is something I used to eat often, but I do not eat it much these days.
  The second half directly says that the speaker does not eat it much now, so the distance between 「먹었던」 and the present becomes clearer.

What is the difference between Korean 「-던／-었던／-(으)ㄴ」? Comparing three ways of modifying nouns in the past

In addition to 「-던／-었던」, Korean verbs can use the ordinary past adnominal form 「-(으)ㄴ」, as in 「읽은 책」「본 영화」「산 옷」. In Chinese, all three forms may sometimes be translated as “something from before” or “something that was done,” but the actual Korean meanings are not the same.

Comparison	「-던」	「-았·었던」	「-(으)ㄴ」
Main function	Describes something that was in progress, repeated, or ongoing in the past	Brings up an action, experience, or state that occurred in the past	Indicates that an action happened in the past or a state resulting from completion
Typical sense of time	Easily stays close to that past period	More easily frames something as an experience that happened before	Directly states that an event occurred or was completed
Unfinished action	Very common	Usually not the main use	Usually does not mean an action was left midway
Repeated habit	Very common	Also possible	Usually does not express repetition by itself
Ongoing state in the past	Very common	Possible	Depends on the verb and sentence
Past experience	Possible, but often preserves a sense of the situation at that time	Very common	Can directly state a past fact
Sense of completion	Not necessarily	Usually clearer	Very direct
Must the present be different?	No	No, although a sense of distance is easier to feel	No
Common combinations	읽던 책、살던 집、좋아하던 노래	읽었던 책、살았던 집、좋아했던 노래	읽은 책、본 영화、산 옷
Common Chinese translations	something being done then, something often done before	something done before, something once experienced	something done, something already completed
Best suited for	Talking about a past process, habit, or state	Bringing up a past experience again	Simply stating a past or completed fact

▌With the same book, what changes between 「읽던／읽었던／읽은」?

All three can describe a “book.” The difference lies in what part of the situation the sentence wants to express. 「읽던 책」 easily suggests that reading was still in progress, that the book was read repeatedly, or that the speaker was in the middle of reading it at that time. 「읽었던 책」 brings up from the present perspective a book that was read in the past. 「읽은 책」 is the simplest and only needs to state that the book was read.

• Example: 어제 읽던 책을 오늘 다 읽었어요.
  Romanization: eo-je ilg-deon chae-geul o-neul da il-geo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I finished today the book I had been reading yesterday.
  The following 「다 읽었어요」 directly says that the book was only finished today, so 「읽던」 naturally shows that yesterday’s reading had not yet ended.
• Example: 중학교 때 읽었던 책을 다시 샀어요.
  Romanization: jung-hak-gyo ttae ilg-eot-deon chae-geul da-si sa-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I bought again a book I had read in middle school.
  The sentence brings up the experience of having read the book in middle school without focusing on where the reading process was at the time.
• Example: 이번 달에 읽은 책은 다섯 권이에요.
  Romanization: i-beon da-re ilg-eun chae-geun da-seot gwo-ni-e-yo.
  Translation: I have read five books this month.
  Here, the speaker is simply counting books that have already been read. There is no need to add a sense of recollection or process, so 「읽은」 is the most direct.

▌What is the difference between 「살던 집／살았던 집／산 집」?

With 「살다」, the three forms come with an additional complication. The past adnominal form of 「살다」 is 「산」, which happens to look exactly the same as 「산」 from 「사다」. For that reason, 「산 집」 may sometimes be understood as “a house that was bought,” and the surrounding context must be checked.

• Example: 어릴 때 살던 집을 다시 찾아갔어요.
  Romanization: eo-ril ttae sal-deon ji-beul da-si cha-ja-ga-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I went back to the house where I lived as a child.
  「살던 집」 easily evokes the period of life spent living there.
• Example: 예전에 살았던 집이 지금은 카페가 됐어요.
  Romanization: ye-jeon-e sa-rat-deon ji-bi ji-geum-eun ka-pe-ga dwae-sseo-yo.
  Translation: The house I used to live in is now a café.
  「살았던」 places the residential experience in the past, and 「지금은」 then directly states the present change.
• Example: 작년에 산 집을 고치고 있어요.
  Romanization: jang-nyeon-e san ji-beul go-chi-go i-sseo-yo.
  Translation: I am renovating the house I bought last year.
  Here, 「산」 comes from 「사다」 and means the house bought last year. Whenever you encounter 「산 집」, you need to check the context.

What is the difference between 「-던／-더라고요／-더니」? Comparing position, function, and retrospective nuance

「-던」「-더라고요」「-더니」 all contain 「더」 and are all connected in some way with things that happened or were observed in the past, so they are easy to memorize together. In actual sentences, however, their functions are completely different. 「-던」 must come before a noun, 「-더라고요」 can directly end a sentence, and 「-더니」 connects an earlier situation with a later result or change.

Comparison	「-던」	「-더라고요」	「-더니」
Grammatical position	Before a noun	At the end of a sentence	Between two parts of a sentence
Main function	Modifies a noun with a past action or state	States something the speaker learned through direct past experience	Connects a past situation to a later result, change, or related fact
Modifies a noun?	Yes	No	No
Can directly end a sentence?	No, usually needs a noun after it	Yes	Usually needs a second clause
What it looks back on	Past progress, habit, or state	Something the speaker personally saw, heard, or experienced	A situation observed earlier
Sense of personal experience	Not necessarily	Very strong	Often includes past observation or experience
Connects a change between two situations?	Not by itself	Not by itself	Very common
Common forms	보던 영화、살던 집	재미있더라고요、사람이 많더라고요	춥더니 따뜻해졌어요
Common Chinese translations	something being done then, something often done before	I found that…, it turned out that…	it was…, then…, after… it became…
Most direct way to distinguish it	Check whether a noun follows	Check whether the sentence reports something personally discovered	Check whether a result or change follows

▌With the same movie, what do 「-던／-더라고요／-더니」 say?

Even when all three forms are used with movies, 「-던」 identifies which movie is being talked about, 「-더라고요」 reports an impression after actually watching it, and 「-더니」 needs to connect two situations. The three therefore cannot simply replace one another.

• Example: 어제 보던 영화예요.
  Romanization: eo-je bo-deon yeong-hwa-ye-yo.
  Translation: This is the movie I was watching yesterday.
  「보던」 modifies the following 「영화」 and identifies the movie that the speaker had already started watching yesterday.
• Example: 그 영화가 생각보다 재미있더라고요.
  Romanization: geu yeong-hwa-ga saeng-gak-bo-da jae-mi-it-deo-ra-go-yo.
  Translation: That movie was more interesting than I expected.
  「-더라고요」 appears at the end of the sentence and expresses what the speaker discovered after actually watching the movie.
• Example: 처음에는 지루하더니 뒤로 갈수록 재미있어졌어요.
  Romanization: cheo-eum-e-neun ji-ru-ha-deo-ni dwi-ro gal-su-rok jae-mi-i-sseo-jyeo-sseo-yo.
  Translation: It was boring at first, but it became more interesting as it went on.
  「-더니」 first presents the earlier observed situation, “it was boring at first,” and then connects it to the later change. The two halves need to be read together.

Common mistakes with Korean 「-던／-었던」: 4 points learners most often get wrong

▌Mistake ①｜Translating every 「-던」 as “left unfinished”

「-던」 can certainly describe an action that was not completed, as in 「먹던 빵」「읽던 책」. But 「어릴 때 자주 먹던 과자」「매일 타던 버스」 clearly describe habits that repeatedly occurred in the past. So when you see 「-던」, you cannot automatically assume that the event was interrupted.

❌ 어릴 때 먹던 과자＝a snack I never finished whenever I ate it as a child

✅ 어릴 때 먹던 과자＝a snack I often ate as a child

▌Mistake ②｜Thinking 「-었던」 cannot be used with 「자주」

「자주 먹었던」 and 「자주 갔었던」 are both possible as long as the sentence is talking about something that happened repeatedly in the past and is now being brought up again. 「-었던」 does not conflict with repeated events, and seeing 「자주」 does not mean you must force the form to 「-던」.

✅ 어릴 때 자주 먹었던 과자예요.

This is a snack I often ate as a child.

▌Mistake ③｜Assuming that 「-었던」 always means the present is now the opposite

「좋아했던 노래」 may easily make you guess that the speaker no longer likes the song as much as before, but the sentence itself does not say the speaker dislikes it now. The same applies to 「친했던 친구」. Whether the two people are still close needs to be confirmed by other content.

예전에 좋아했던 노래인데 지금도 좋아해요.

It is a song I used to like, and I still like it now.

This sentence is completely possible. So 「-었던」 is better understood as placing a state in the past, rather than marking “the present must now be the opposite.”

▌Mistake ④｜Using 「-었던」 whenever an action was completed

If you simply want to say “the clothes I bought yesterday,” “the movie I watched last week,” or “the books I read this month,” 「-(으)ㄴ」 is usually already enough.

어제 산 옷＝the clothes I bought yesterday

지난주에 본 영화＝the movie I watched last week

이번 달에 읽은 책＝the books I read this month

Changing these to 「샀던／봤던／읽었던」 adds a sense of bringing up a past experience again. 「-었던」 is therefore not a more complete or more advanced past tense.

Everyday Korean examples with 「-던／-었던」: reading, an old home, and childhood snacks

In everyday Korean, 「-던／-었던」 often appears with places someone used to live, student days, old friends, and songs they used to listen to. These topics naturally involve repeated habits and past experiences. In particular, 「하던 거」「보던 거」「쓰던 거」 are extremely common in conversation. 「거」 is the colloquial form of 「것」, so 「아까 하던 거」 means “the thing you were doing earlier.”

▌Situation ①｜Finding the book you left unfinished yesterday

A：이 책 다 읽었어요?
　　i chaek da il-geo-sseo-yo?
　　Did you finish this book?

B：아니요. 어제 읽던 책이에요. 오늘 마저 읽으려고요.
　　a-ni-yo. eo-je ilg-deon chae-gi-e-yo. o-neul ma-jeo il-geu-ryeo-go-yo.
　　No. It’s the book I was reading yesterday. I’m going to finish the rest today.

📌 Grammar Point: 「마저 읽다」 means to continue and complete something that had not yet been finished, so 「읽던」 is very natural here.

▌Situation ②｜Passing through a place where you used to live

A：이 동네에 와 본 적 있어요?
　　i dong-ne-e wa bon jeok i-sseo-yo?
　　Have you ever been to this neighborhood before?

B：네. 예전에 살았던 동네예요.
　　ne. ye-jeon-e sa-rat-deon dong-ne-ye-yo.
　　Yes. This is a neighborhood where I used to live.

📌 Grammar Point: The speaker no longer lives there and is bringing up a past residential experience again, so 「살았던」 is natural.

▌Situation ③｜Seeing a snack you often ate as a child

A：이 과자 알아요?
　　i gwa-ja a-ra-yo?
　　Do you know this snack?

B：네. 어릴 때 자주 먹던 과자예요. 오랜만에 보니까 반갑네요.
　　ne. eo-ril ttae ja-ju meok-deon gwa-ja-ye-yo. o-raen-man-e bo-ni-kka ban-gap-ne-yo.
　　Yes. It’s a snack I often ate as a child. It’s nice to see it again after so long.

📌 Grammar Point: 「먹던」 describes the repeated childhood habit of eating this snack. 「먹었던」 would also be possible, but it would make the fact that this was something often done in the past slightly more explicit.

Cultural Notes:

1. Korean 「-던」 often appears with childhood, student days, places someone used to live, old friends, and music someone used to like because these topics are often not single events but parts of life that continued or repeated over a period of time.
2. The difference between 「-던／-었던」 is not equally large in every sentence. With identity states such as 「학생이던 시절／학생이었던 시절」 or repeated events such as 「자주 먹던／자주 먹었던」, the two forms can naturally be quite close.
3. 「하던 거」「보던 거」「쓰던 거」 are very frequent in everyday conversation. 「아까 하던 거 계속해요」 means “Keep doing what you were doing earlier,” and this is one of the 「-던」 patterns you will often hear in real Korean.

How do Korean 「-던／-았·었던」 compare with Japanese 「〜ていた／〜た」?

Japanese does not have one pair of forms that always correspond exactly to Korean 「-던／-았·었던」. Japanese 「〜ていた」 can express an action that was in progress in the past, a state that continued, or a habit that happened repeatedly, so it overlaps considerably with 「-던」. However, Japanese also uses 「〜ていた」 to describe jobs or residential experiences that have already ended. In such cases, Korean may use either 「-던」 or 「-았·었던」 depending on the sentence.

Japanese 「〜た」 more easily states something that was completed or happened in the past and overlaps both with Korean 「-(으)ㄴ」 and with some uses of 「-았·었던」. For this reason, you cannot memorize fixed pairs such as 「〜ていた＝-던」 and 「〜た＝-었던」.

◆ Similar grammar ①: Japanese 「〜ていた」

Japanese 「〜ていた」 can describe an action that was continuing at a past point, a past habit, or a state that existed at the time. These uses are very close to Korean 「-던」.

• Example: 昨日読んでいた本です。
  Kana: きのうよんでいたほんです。
  Translation: This is the book I was reading yesterday.
  It corresponds to Korean 「어제 읽던 책이에요」.
  Both 「読んでいた」 and 「읽던」 retain the sense that the reading was in progress yesterday.
• Example: 子どものころ、よく聞いていた曲です。
  Kana: こどものころ、よくきいていたきょくです。
  Translation: This is a song I used to listen to often as a child.
  It corresponds to Korean 「어릴 때 자주 듣던 노래예요」, and both sentences can describe a habit that repeatedly occurred in the past.
• Example: 以前働いていた会社です。
  Kana: いぜんはたらいていたかいしゃです。
  Translation: This is a company where I used to work.
  In Korean, you can say 「전에 일하던 회사예요」 to describe the state of working there in the past, or 「전에 일했던 회사예요」 to place the work experience in an already completed past. Japanese can use 「働いていた」 in both cases.

◆ Similar grammar ②: Japanese 「〜た」

When the Japanese verb form 「〜た」 comes before a noun, it can directly describe a completed or past action, as in 「読んだ本」「見た映画」「買った服」. This is very close to Korean 「읽은 책」「본 영화」「산 옷」.

• Example: 先週見た映画です。
  Kana: せんしゅうみたえいがです。
  Translation: This is the movie I watched last week.
  It corresponds to Korean 「지난주에 본 영화예요」. Both simply state that the movie was watched last week without adding any special sense of recollection.
• Example: 中学生のときに読んだ本をもう一度買いました。
  Kana: ちゅうがくせいのときによんだほんをもういちどかいました。
  Translation: I bought again a book I read when I was in middle school.
  Korean can use 「중학교 때 읽은 책」 to simply say that the book was read in the past, or 「중학교 때 읽었던 책」 to bring out more clearly the sense of having had that reading experience before.
• Example: 去年住んだ家です。
  Kana: きょねんすんだいえです。
  Translation: This is the house I lived in last year.
  Depending on the actual Japanese context, 「住んでいた家」 is also often used to describe the past state of residence. Korean likewise chooses between 「살던 집／살았던 집」 depending on whether the focus is on the period of living there or on an already completed residential experience.

◆ Difference from Korean 「-던／-았·었던」:

Japanese 「〜ていた」 covers a very broad range, including ongoing actions, habits, states, and experiences that have already ended. So seeing 「〜ていた」 does not mean it can always be changed directly into 「-던」. Japanese 「〜た」 also covers both the Korean ordinary past adnominal 「-(으)ㄴ」 and part of the range of 「-았·었던」. When translating into Korean, you still need to check whether the sentence is merely stating a past fact or bringing up a previous experience again.

Korean 「-던／-었던」 is difficult to divide cleanly using a single pair of Chinese translations because many of the distinctions are naturally omitted once phrases such as “the house I used to live in,” “the song I used to like,” or “the snack I often ate as a child” are expressed in Chinese. 「-던」 often appears with things that were in progress at the time, repeated in the past, or continued for a period of time. 「-았·었던」 makes the sense that something actually happened in the past somewhat more explicit, but with repeated habits and long-lasting states, the two forms can naturally become quite similar.

When you encounter an actual sentence, look at the surrounding context and ask whether it is describing what someone was doing at that time, what they often did in the past, or whether it is bringing up an experience that already happened. If the sentence is simply stating an ordinary past fact such as “the clothes I bought yesterday” or “the movie I watched last week,” comparing it with 「-(으)ㄴ」 usually makes it easier to choose the right form than forcing 「-던／-었던」 into a simple unfinished-versus-finished distinction.

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