-데

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word -데. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word -데, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say -데 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word -데 you have here. The definition of the word -데 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of-데, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also:

Korean

Etymology

First appears in the late sixteenth century as -데 (Yale: -tey). Traditionally analyzed as a shortening of Middle Korean 더〮ᅌᅵ다〮 (Yale: -té-ngì-tá), from -더〮- (Yale: -té-, imperfective suffix) + -ᅌᅵ- (Yale: -ngì-, listener-honoring suffix) + -다〮 (Yale: -tá, declarative suffix), with the last being fully deleted.

However, Jang Yun-hui suggests that it may be more appropriate to posit -이 (Yale: -i) as a colloquial Middle Korean verb-final suffix, in which case this is a simple compound of -더〮- (Yale: -té-, imperfective suffix) + -이 (Yale: -i).

Suffix

-데 (-de)

  1. intimate-style equivalent form of -더라 (-deora)
    .
    Gyae-ga bab-eul meok-de.
    he was having a meal.
  2. The intimate-style interrogative retrospective suffix. See -더- (-deo-) for usage notes.
    ?
    gyae-ga bab-eul meok-de?
    he was having a meal?

Usage notes

  • Koreans sometimes confuse this with homophonous -대 (-dae), which is used to mark reported speech:
    그렇.Geureo-te. it was like that.
    그렇.Geureo-tae. it was like that.
from the same suffix or shortening process

References

  1. ^ 장윤희 (1997) “중세국어 종결어미 '(으)이'의 분석과 그 문법사적 의의 ”, in Gugeohak, volume 30, pages 103—140