-는 바람에
because something suddenly happened
A cause that arrived unbidden and spoiled things. 바람 here means a gust — something that blew in from outside and knocked your plans over.
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When to use it
The form is always -는 바람에, even when the event is past: 차가 막히는 바람에 늦었어요. Stems in ㄹ drop it, and tense never appears in front.
Three conditions have to hold. It takes action verbs only. The cause is sudden or outside your control. And the result is unwelcome.
That last point separates it from a neutral reason ending. 비가 오는 바람에 소풍이 취소됐어요 works; 비가 오는 바람에 시원해졌어요 does not, because cooling down is pleasant.
Against -느라고, the difference is who is responsible. -느라고 says your own activity took up the time; -는 바람에 says something happened to you.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action verb | -는 바람에 | 막히다 → 막히는 바람에 |
| Ends in ㄹ | ㄹ drops | 울다 → 우는 바람에 |
| Always -는 | even for past events | 막힌 바람에 is wrong |
| Adjectives | impossible | 바쁜 바람에 does not work |
| Result must be | unwelcome | good outcomes take 덕분에 |
| Your own activity | -느라고 | 일하느라고 못 갔어요 |
In use
차가 막히는 바람에 회의에 늦었어요.
The traffic was bad, so I was late for the meeting.
갑자기 비가 오는 바람에 소풍이 취소됐어요.
It suddenly rained, so the picnic was called off.
아이가 우는 바람에 통화를 못 했어요.
The baby started crying, so I couldn’t take the call.
휴대폰을 떨어뜨리는 바람에 화면이 깨졌어요.
I dropped my phone and the screen cracked.
손님이 갑자기 오시는 바람에 급하게 음식을 만들었어요.
Guests turned up unexpectedly, so I had to cook in a hurry.
알람이 안 울리는 바람에 지각했습니다.
My alarm didn’t go off, so I was late.
Compared with
-느라고
Both end badly, but -느라고 blames your own occupation while -는 바람에 blames circumstance.
일하느라고 못 갔어요. (I was working) / 차가 막히는 바람에 못 갔어요. (traffic stopped me)
-(으)ㄴ/는 탓에
탓에 assigns fault, often to a person or a shortcoming. -는 바람에 points at an event that simply happened.
준비가 부족한 탓에 실패했어요. (our fault) / 비가 오는 바람에 취소됐어요. (the rain intervened)
-아서/어서
-아서 is neutral and accepts adjectives. -는 바람에 adds suddenness and a bad ending, and takes action verbs only.
비가 와서 취소됐어요. (neutral) / 비가 오는 바람에 취소됐어요. (it caught us out)
Watch out
어제 차가 막힌 바람에 늦었어요.
어제 차가 막히는 바람에 늦었어요.
The form is fixed as -는, whatever the tense of the sentence. The past goes on the final verb.
비가 오는 바람에 날씨가 시원해졌어요.
비가 와서 날씨가 시원해졌어요.
-는 바람에 requires an unwelcome result. For a pleasant outcome, use -아서 or 덕분에.
요즘 바쁜 바람에 연락을 못 했어요.
요즘 바쁜 탓에 연락을 못 했어요.
This ending takes action verbs. 바쁘다 is an adjective, so a different reason ending is needed.
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