Expression dictionary — full article
Emphasis & Limitation · "You mean...", "So you're saying...", "The point is...", "It means that..."
The expression -(ㄴ/는)단/(이)란 말 is used to reiterate information that the speaker has heard, learned, or assumed, often with the intention of seeking confirmation or emphasizing its significance. It adds a nuance of surprise, disbelief, or strong assertion to the repeated statement.
This grammatical pattern serves to bring a piece of information back into focus. When used as a question (often with a rising intonation), it functions to confirm whether what the speaker heard or understood is correct. For example, "You mean he's coming?" When used as a statement (often with a falling or emphatic intonation), it emphasizes the truth or importance of the information, sometimes expressing surprise or a strong realization. It's like saying, "The point is that..." or "It really means that..." This expression is particularly common in informal conversation and can convey a range of emotions depending on context and intonation.
The conjugation depends on whether the preceding word is a verb, adjective, or noun, and its tense.
This expression is a shortened and colloquial form derived from -다고 하다 (indirect quotation) + 는 말 (the word/statement). So, literally, it means "the statement that (someone) said/it is said that...". It's almost always used in informal contexts. While the core is -(ㄴ/는)단/(이)란 말, it is very frequently followed by -이야 (informal) or -이에요 (polite informal) to complete the sentence, forming -(ㄴ/는)단/(이)란 말이야/이에요. The nuance can shift significantly with intonation: a rising intonation makes it a question for confirmation, while a falling intonation makes it a strong assertion or exclamation.