Grammar
-(으)ㄴ 후에
Meaning
Beginner-(eu)n hue
Attaches to an action-verb stem to mean 'after doing something' — it states that the first action is completed before the second one happens. A noun for time or an event can also attach directly with 후에, meaning 'after N'.
Form
Vowel-ending stem + -ㄴ 후에; consonant-ending stem + -은 후에 (e.g. 끝나다 → 끝난 후에, 먹다 → 먹은 후에). A noun can attach directly as N + 후에 (e.g. 식사 후에 'after the meal'). Only used with action verbs, not adjectives — 예쁜 후에 is not valid.
Examples
사람들은 목욕탕에서 씻은 후에 찜질복으로 갈아입습니다.
People wash in the bathhouse and then change into jjimjilbang clothes.
밥을 먹은 후에 이를 닦습니다.
I brush my teeth after eating.
숙제를 끝낸 후에 게임을 했어요.
I played games after finishing my homework.
회의가 끝난 후에 점심을 먹으러 갔다.
After the meeting ended, we went to eat lunch.
Common mistakes & nuance
Since -(으)ㄴ 후에 already marks the first action as completed, don't add another past-tense marker before it (끝났은 후에 is wrong — use 끝난 후에). Only action verbs take this form; for adjectives or states, other patterns are needed.
Similar grammar
- -고
-고 simply connects two actions in order ('do A and then B') without emphasizing that the first was fully completed first, while -(으)ㄴ 후에 explicitly marks that the first action finished before the second began, often with more of a gap between them.
- -(으)ㄴ 지 N 만에
-(으)ㄴ 지 N 만에 measures how much time passed since an action happened ('N after doing ~'), while -(으)ㄴ 후에 just states the order of two events without specifying any amount of elapsed time.