는 바람에 (neun barame): Because of something unexpected

TOPIK 4

Gives an unplanned cause for what happened next.

길이 막히는 바람에 늦었어요.

giri makineun barame neujeosseoyo.

I'm late because the traffic was bad.

전화가 오는 바람에 잠이 깼어요.

jeonhwaga oneun barame jami kkaesseoyo.

A phone call woke me up.

Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language

Verb stem+는 바람에neun barame because of …, and so (unexpectedly)

Add 는 바람에 to a verb stem, and leave out the past tense, even for something that already happened: 오는 바람에 oneun barame.
A stem ending in ㄹ drops it: 울다 ulda → 우는 바람에 uneun barame.
It gives an unexpected cause for what happened next. Usually that result is something you didn't want.

Build it

오다oda오는 바람에oneun baramebecause it came

자다jada자는 바람에janeun baramebecause I slept

먹다meokda먹는 바람에meongneun baramebecause I ate

고장 나다gojang nada고장 나는 바람에gojang naneun baramebecause it broke down

When to use it

Something got in the way

A sudden event changed your plans.

비가 갑자기 오는 바람에 옷이 다 젖었어요.biga gapjagi oneun barame osi da jeojeosseoyo.It suddenly started raining, and my clothes got soaked.

Explaining why

A natural way to say why something went wrong.

길이 막히는 바람에 늦었어요.giri makineun barame neujeosseoyo.I'm late because the traffic was bad.

Your own slip

You did something, and it caused a problem.

늦잠을 자는 바람에 버스를 놓쳤어요.neutjameul janeun barame beoseureul notchyeosseoyo.I overslept and missed the bus.

Watch out

비가 왔는 바람에 늦었어요.

비가 오는 바람에 늦었어요.biga oneun barame neujeosseoyo.I was late because of the rain.

Keep the first verb in the 는 form. The end of the sentence shows the past.

일이 많은 바람에 못 갔어요.

일이 많아서 못 갔어요.iri manaseo mot gasseoyo.I had a lot of work, so I couldn't go.

It goes on verbs. For adjectives, use 아/어서.

비가 오는 바람에 집에 있으세요.

비가 오니까 집에 있으세요.biga onikka jibe isseuseyo.It's raining, so stay home.

The second half reports the result, so it can't be a request.

In context

7 examples

1
길이 막히는 바람에 늦었어요.
Giri makineun barame neujeosseoyo.
I'm late because the traffic was bad.
2
전화가 오는 바람에 잠이 깼어요.
Jeonhwaga oneun barame jami kkaesseoyo.
A phone call woke me up.
3
휴대폰이 고장 나는 바람에 연락을 못 했어요.
Hyudaeponi gojang naneun barame yeollageul mot haesseoyo.
My phone broke, so I couldn't get in touch.
4
급하게 나오는 바람에 지갑을 놓고 왔어요.
Geupage naoneun barame jigabeul noko wasseoyo.
I left in a hurry, so I forgot my wallet.
5
아이가 우는 바람에 영화를 끝까지 못 봤어요.
Aiga uneun barame yeonghwareul kkeutkkaji mot bwasseoyo.
The child started crying, so I couldn't finish the movie.
6
갑자기 회의가 생기는 바람에 약속을 취소했어요.
Gapjagi hoeuiga saenggineun barame yaksogeul chwisohaesseoyo.
A meeting suddenly came up, so I canceled our plans.
7
너무 많이 먹는 바람에 배탈이 났어요.
Neomu mani meongneun barame baetari nasseoyo.
I ate too much and got an upset stomach.

Practice

6 questions

Which form?1 / 6

넘어지다 + 는 바람에

는 바람에 or 아/어서?

아/어서 gives a reason and stays neutral. 는 바람에 adds a feeling: something happened that you didn't plan, and it changed how things turned out. 비가 와서 늦었어요 biga waseo neujeosseoyo just says the rain made you late. 비가 오는 바람에 늦었어요 biga oneun barame neujeosseoyo sounds more like "it rained out of nowhere, and that's why I'm late". That makes it good for apologies and explanations.

는 바람에 or 때문에?

때문에 ttaemune can go after a noun, and it works for any reason: 비 때문에 늦었어요 bi ttaemune neujeosseoyo, "I was late because of the rain." 는 바람에 only follows a verb, and it points to something unplanned. When the cause is something good that you're thankful for, use 덕분에 deokbune instead.

Not the wind

바람 baram usually means "wind", and it can also mean "a wish", but dictionaries list this one as a separate word. Learn 는 바람에 as one chunk.

Look it up in the dictionary

The entry for 는 바람에 in two trusted Korean dictionaries.

는 바람에 in the Naver Korean Dictionary (in Korean) 는 바람에 in the Basic Korean Dictionary (NIKL) (with English)