Korean Word-of-Mouth Shopping: -는다기에, -자기에, -길래
Korean buys on hype with -는다기에 (좋다기에 샀어요 — since they said it's good, I bought it), -자기에 (같이 사자기에 또 샀어요 — since they suggested buying together, I bought again), and -길래 (다들 좋다길래 — because everyone was raving about it).
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)
Korean explains hype-driven buying with three “heard-as-reason” connectors: -는다기에 chains a statement into a cause (좋다기에 샀어요 — since they said it’s good, I bought it), -자기에 chains a proposal (같이 사자기에 또 샀어요 — since they suggested buying together, I bought again), and -길래 gives a colloquial “because I saw/heard” reason (다들 좋다길래 나도 샀어요 — because everyone was raving about it, I bought it too). All three turn what you heard into why you acted — the engine of word-of-mouth shopping.
This lesson builds straight on quoted speech. Back in grade 4 you learned the hearsay -대요 for relaying what people say; now we chain that report into a reason, and add the spoken -길래. It’s the grammar of “I only bought it because everyone said to.” Start with the words of online buying culture.
Ten words for word-of-mouth shopping
These run any conversation about reviews, hype, and group-buys.
Since they said it’s good — -는다기에
To say you acted because someone stated something, attach -는다기에 / -다기에 to the quoted clause. It’s the contraction of -다고 하기에 (“since they said ~”), and it sets up your next move.
다들 좋다기에 저도 하나 샀어요 = since everyone said it’s good, I bought one too 영화가 재미있다기에 예매했어요 = since they said the movie’s fun, I booked tickets 곧 품절된다기에 서둘러 주문했어요 = since they said it’d sell out soon, I ordered in a hurry 후기가 좋다기에 믿고 샀어요 = since the reviews were good, I trusted it and bought it
This is the hearsay -대요 you already know, chained into a cause: I heard X, therefore I did Y. Statements take -는다기에 (verbs) or -다기에 (adjectives): 온다기에 (since they said they’d come), 좋다기에 (since they said it’s good).
Since they suggested it — -자기에
When the original words were a proposal (“let’s…”), use -자기에, from -자고 하기에. It explains an action you took because someone suggested doing it together.
같이 사자기에 공동구매에 참여했어요 = since they suggested buying together, I joined the group-buy 친구가 한번 가 보자기에 따라갔어요 = since my friend said let’s check it out, I tagged along 다 같이 시키자기에 저도 주문했어요 = since they said let’s all order, I ordered too 주말에 만나자기에 일정을 비웠어요 = since they suggested meeting on the weekend, I cleared my schedule
The four quote types feed the same -기에 slot: statement -는다기에, proposal -자기에, question -냐기에 (왜 안 오냐기에 — since they asked why I wasn’t coming), command -라기에 (오라기에 — since they told me to come). Match the form to what was originally said.
Because I saw/heard it — -길래
For a colloquial, spontaneous reason — reacting to something you personally noticed — use -길래. It’s the spoken cousin of -기에, and the cause is usually outside yourself.
다들 좋다길래 저도 사 봤어요 = because everyone kept saying it’s good, I tried it too 비가 오길래 우산을 샀어요 = because it was raining (I saw), I bought an umbrella 할인을 하길래 충동구매를 했어요 = because there was a discount, I impulse-bought 너무 맛있어 보이길래 시켰어요 = because it looked so good, I ordered it
The subject of a -길래 clause is normally someone or something other than you, and the trigger is something you witnessed or heard. Compare neutral reasons: -아서/-니까 work in formal writing too, but -길래 stays spoken — “I reacted because I noticed X,” which is exactly the impulse behind word-of-mouth buying.
Confessing an impulse buy
One friend explains a string of purchases; the other teases — every form, live:
Watch the chain of reasons: 좋다길래/싸진다기에 turn hearsay into a buying motive, 사자기에 turns a friend’s suggestion into action, and 품절된다길래 turns urgency into a click. That’s word-of-mouth shopping, grammatically captured.
FAQ
What’s the difference between -는다기에 and -대요? Both relay what someone said, but they do different jobs. -대요 (from -다고 해요) is a sentence-ENDING that simply reports hearsay: 좋대요 = they say it’s good. -는다기에 (from -다고 하기에) is a CONNECTOR — ‘since they said ~, [so I did something]’ — it gives the reason for your next action: 좋다기에 샀어요 = since they said it’s good, I bought it. You met the hearsay -대요 back in grade 4; here you’re chaining that report into a cause: I heard X, therefore I did Y. The four quote types all contract the same way: statement 좋다기에, question 좋냐기에, proposal 가자기에, command 가라기에.
How do -자기에, -는다기에, -냐기에, -라기에 line up? They’re the four reported-speech types fed into the -기에 ‘reason’ connector, each from its full -고 하기에 form. Statement → -는다기에/-다기에 (좋다기에 = since they said it’s good; 온다기에 = since they said they’d come). Proposal (‘let’s’) → -자기에 (사자기에 = since they suggested buying). Question → -냐기에 (왜 안 오냐기에 = since they asked why I wasn’t coming). Command → -라기에 (오라기에 = since they told me to come). Pick the one that matches what was originally said — a fact, a suggestion, a question, or an order — and use it to explain why you then acted.
When do I use -길래 instead of -아서/-니까? -길래 is colloquial and tied to something you personally saw, heard, or noticed — it justifies a spontaneous reaction to an outside cause: 비가 오길래 우산을 샀어요 = (seeing) it was raining, so I bought an umbrella; 다들 좋다길래 나도 샀어요 = since everyone kept saying it’s good, I bought it too. The subject of the -길래 clause is usually someone/something other than you. By contrast -아서/-니까 give plain, neutral reasons and work in formal writing too. Keep -길래 for spoken, ‘I reacted because I noticed/heard X’ situations — exactly the impulse behind hype-driven shopping.
Next: work-life balance — 따라, -게 생겼다, -고는 하다. Previous: media literacy — 조차, -기만 하다, -을 법하다. Full path: curriculum hub.