I was surprised that you hadn’t eaten in Korean 🇰🇷

Sentence info.

• 그쪽이 (geu-jjok-i):
  – 그쪽 means “that side” or “you” (a polite reference to the other party), with 그 meaning “that” and 쪽 meaning “side.”
  – The particle 이 marks it as the subject of the sentence.

• 안 (an):
  – An is an adverb meaning “not,” used here to negate the verb that follows.

• 먹었다니 (meogeoss-da-ni):
  – From 먹다 (“to eat”), 먹었다 is the simple past form meaning “ate” or “had eaten.”
  – The ending -다니 attaches after a quoted or reported statement and expresses surprise, disbelief, or hearsay (roughly “to think that…” or “that …”).
  – Combined with 안, 안 먹었다니 means “to hear that [you] did not eat” or “that [you] hadn’t eaten.”

• 놀랐어요 (nolla-sseo-yo):
  – This is the past, polite form of 놀라다 (“to be surprised”), meaning “was surprised.”

Overall translation: “I was surprised that you hadn’t eaten.”

Tips to remember:
  – Notice how -다니 is used to express surprise or report unexpected information. It often follows a clause in quotation or reported speech.
  – The verb’s negative form is constructed by placing 안 before the verb.
  – The subject particle 이 directly follows the noun (그쪽) that functions as the subject.

Alternate ways to say “I was surprised that you hadn't eaten”:
  • 네가 안 먹었다니 깜짝 놀랐어. (Ne-ga an meogeoss-da-ni kkamjjak norrasseo.)
    – Here, 네가 is a more casual “you” and 깜짝 놀랐어 adds the nuance of being startled.
  • 네가 먹지 않았다니 정말 놀랐어. (Ne-ga meokji anha-tnida-ni jeongmal norrasseo.)
    – This version uses 먹지 않았다니 as another form of negation and includes 정말 (“really”) for emphasis.
  • 당신이 안 드셨다니 놀랐습니다. (Dangsin-i an deusyoss-da-ni norrassseumnida.)
    – A more formal/polite version using 당신이 for “you” and 드셨다니 as the honorific form of “eat.”

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