-(으)ㄴ/는 김에
while you’re at it, since you’re doing it anyway
Adds a second errand to one you were already doing. The first action is the real reason you are there; the second is opportunistic.
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When to use it
Use -는 김에 when the first action is still ahead or under way, and -(으)ㄴ 김에 when it is already done: 시내에 가는 김에 (since I’m going into town) versus 여기까지 온 김에 (since I’ve come all this way). Stems in ㄹ drop it.
It takes action verbs only — there has to be an occasion to piggyback on. Adjectives cannot supply one.
The logic matters more than the form. The two actions cannot be equally important: the first is your actual purpose, and the second is added because the opportunity arose. If you set out to do both, this is the wrong construction.
It is also a polite way to ask a favour, since it presents the request as no extra trouble: 나가는 김에 이것 좀 부쳐 주세요.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action still ahead | -는 김에 | 가다 → 가는 김에 |
| Action already done | -(으)ㄴ 김에 | 오다 → 온 김에 |
| Ends in ㄹ | ㄹ drops | 만들다 → 만드는 김에 |
| Asking a favour | -는 김에 + request | 나가는 김에 부쳐 주세요 |
| Adjectives | impossible | 좋은 김에 does not work |
| Equal actions take | -고, -(으)면서 | 둘 다 계획했다면 -고 |
In use
시내에 가는 김에 은행에도 들를게요.
Since I’m going into town, I’ll stop by the bank too.
여기까지 온 김에 커피 한잔 하고 가요.
Since we’ve come this far, let’s have a coffee before we go.
나가는 김에 이것 좀 부쳐 주시겠어요?
Since you’re going out, could you post this for me?
저녁을 만드는 김에 내일 것도 준비했어요.
While I was making dinner, I prepared tomorrow’s as well.
청소하는 김에 창문도 닦았어요.
While I was cleaning, I did the windows too.
말이 나온 김에 이야기를 좀 더 해 볼까요?
Since the subject has come up, shall we talk about it a bit more?
Compared with
-(으)면서
-(으)면서 has two actions running at the same time with equal weight. -는 김에 subordinates the second to the first as an afterthought.
청소하면서 음악을 들었어요. (both at once) / 청소하는 김에 창문도 닦았어요. (added while I was at it)
-는 동안
-는 동안 marks a stretch of time during which something else happened, possibly by someone else. -는 김에 is about seizing an opportunity you created.
제가 청소하는 동안 동생은 잤어요. (meanwhile) / 청소하는 김에 정리도 했어요. (while at it)
-고
If both actions were planned from the start, they are simply sequential and take -고. 김에 requires that the second was unplanned.
은행에 가고 시장에도 갔어요. (both planned) / 은행에 간 김에 시장에도 들렀어요. (bank first, market as a bonus)
Watch out
날씨가 좋은 김에 산책했어요.
날씨가 좋아서 산책했어요.
김에 needs an action to piggyback on. An adjective describes a state, not an occasion.
저녁을 만들는 김에 내일 것도 했어요.
저녁을 만드는 김에 내일 것도 했어요.
Stems ending in ㄹ drop it before -는, as everywhere in the modifier system.
은행하고 시장에 가는 김에 둘 다 갔어요.
은행에 간 김에 시장에도 들렀어요.
The second action has to be the unplanned extra. If both were the point of the trip, use -고.
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