Grammar
-에 따라
Meaning
Advanced-e ttara
Attaches to a noun to mean 'depending on' or 'according to,' showing that something varies based on the noun. It is also used with 에 따라 다르다 ('differs depending on') and to introduce a manner or standard something follows.
Form
Attaches directly to a noun: Noun + 에 따라. There is no change based on the final consonant. Before modifying another noun, it becomes -에 따른 + N (e.g., 상황에 따른 대응 = a response according to the situation). It can also attach to a clause with -는지에 따라 or -느냐에 따라, meaning 'depending on whether ~.'
Examples
나이에 따라 존댓말을 사용합니다.
You use honorific speech depending on age.
지역에 따라 사투리가 다릅니다.
Dialects differ depending on the region.
노력에 따라 결과가 달라질 수 있습니다.
The result can vary depending on the effort.
계절에 따라 옷차림이 바뀝니다.
The way people dress changes depending on the season.
Common mistakes & nuance
Do not confuse it with N에 따르면, which quotes a source (according to the ministry). 에 따라 says the outcome varies with N or follows N as a standard — 계절에 따라 means things change by season, not that the season said anything. In news, laws and rules also take 에 따라 in the sense of under, in accordance with: 법에 따라 = under the law.
Similar grammar
- -에 따르면
-에 따라 shows that something varies based on a factor. -에 따르면 means 'according to [a source]' and is used to cite where information comes from (a report, an official, etc.).
- -을/를 따라
Both come from 따르다 ('to follow'), but -을/를 따라 means physically following along something (a road, a river), while -에 따라 means 'depending on/according to' in an abstract sense.