Skip to content

Easy Korean - Level 6, Unit 9: I mean / That is to say... (그러니까)

When you are speaking and you want to clarify what you just said, correct yourself, or summarize your point, you can use the word 그러니까 (geu-reo-ni-kka).

1. 그러니까 as "Therefore / So"

You probably already know that 그러니까 can mean "therefore" or "for that reason" when linking a cause and a result.

  • 비가 많이 와요. 그러니까 집에 있으세요. (It's raining a lot. Therefore/So, please stay home.)

2. 그러니까 as "I mean..."

In natural conversation, Koreans often use 그러니까 at the beginning of a sentence to mean "What I mean is..." or "In other words..." It is used to clarify a previous statement or make sure the listener understands.

  • A: 내일 몇 시에 만날까요? (What time shall we meet tomorrow?) B: 음... 그러니까, 한 시에 만나는 거 어때요? (Hmm... I mean, how about meeting at 1 o'clock?)

  • A: 저는 안 갈 거예요. (I am not going.) B: 그러니까, 혼자 가기 싫다는 거죠? (You mean, you don't want to go alone, right?)

Other ways to say "I mean"

If you want to be very explicit that you are clarifying your words, you can use: * 제 말은... (je mal-eun...) = My words are... / What I'm saying is... * 제 뜻은... (je tteus-eun...) = My meaning is... / What I mean is...

You can even combine them! * 그러니까 제 말은, 저는 찬성해요. (So what I mean is, I agree.)

Example Sentences

  1. 그러니까, 내일은 안 된다는 말이죠? (I mean / So what you're saying is, tomorrow is not okay?)
  2. 아니, 제 말은 그게 아니고요... (No, what I mean is not that...)
  3. 그러니까 제 뜻은 다시 한번 해 보자는 거예요. (So what I mean is, let's try it one more time.)