Easy Korean - Level 6, Unit 22: Is it true that...? (-다면서요?)

In Units 11-15, we learned how to report speech using -다고 하다 (He said that...).

When you want to confirm something you heard from a third party or check if a rumor is true, you combine that quoting structure with a question. The result is -다면서요? which means "I heard that... is it true?" or "Is it true that...?"

How to Conjugate

The conjugation rules are exactly the same as the indirect quotation rules we learned earlier!

1. Action Verbs: -ㄴ/는다면서요?

• 가다 -> 간다면서요? (I heard you are going, is it true?)
• 먹다 -> 먹는다면서요? (I heard they eat it, is it true?)
• 살다 -> 산다면서요? (I heard you live there?)

2. Adjectives: -다면서요?

• 바쁘다 -> 바쁘다면서요? (I heard you're busy?)
• 맛있다 -> 맛있다면서요? (I heard it's delicious?)

3. Nouns: -(이)라면서요?

• 학생 -> 학생이라면서요? (I heard he's a student?)
• 부자 -> 부자라면서요? (I heard they are rich?)

4. Past & Future

• Past: -았/었/였다면서요?
  • 갔다 -> 갔다면서요? (I heard you went?)
• Future: -(으)ㄹ 거라면서요?
  • 갈 거다 -> 갈 거라면서요? (I heard you will go?)

How it is used in conversation

You use this when you bump into a friend and want to bring up some news you recently heard about them. * "Minsoo, I heard you moved to Seoul! Is it true?" (민수 씨, 서울로 이사했다면서요?)

Example Sentences

1. 두 분이 다음 달에 결혼한다면서요? (I heard you two are getting married next month. Is it true?)
2. 요즘 회사 일이 많이 바쁘다면서요? (I heard work is very busy these days?)
3. 수진 씨가 어제 아팠다면서요? (Is it true that Soo-jin was sick yesterday?)
4. 내년에 미국으로 갈 거라면서요? (I heard you will go to America next year?)