Expression dictionary — full article
Time Expressions · "It has been (time) since...", "since (time ago)"
The grammatical pattern (으)ㄴ 지 is used to express the duration of time that has passed since a particular action or state occurred. It literally translates to "since [verb/adjective] happened" and is typically followed by a time expression and a verb like 되다 (to become, to pass) or 넘다 (to exceed). This structure helps quantify how long ago an event took place or how long a certain state has been maintained.
(으)ㄴ 지 is attached to the past tense form of a verb stem or an adjective stem to indicate the starting point of a duration. It signifies "since [the action/state] occurred." The phrase often appears in the structure: [Verb/Adjective stem] + (으)ㄴ 지 + [Time expression] + 되다/넘다/안 되다/밖에 안 되다. For example, "한국에 온 지 1년 되었어요" means "It has been one year since I came to Korea." It's commonly used to talk about how long someone has lived somewhere, how long they've been doing something, or how long ago an event happened. It focuses on the elapsed time from a past point to the present.
The conjugation of (으)ㄴ 지 depends on the final consonant of the verb or adjective stem:
While (으)ㄴ 지 is primarily used with verbs and adjectives to mark the beginning of a time period, it's important to note that it always refers to a past action or state that has continued or whose duration is being measured up to the present. It's often paired with time expressions like 시간 (time), 년 (year), 달 (month), 일 (day), and verbs such as 되다 (to become/pass), 넘다 (to exceed), or negative forms like 안 되다 (not yet passed) to complete the meaning. For instance, "결혼한 지 5년 됐어요" (It's been 5 years since we got married). This pattern is distinct from -는 동안 (during) which refers to an ongoing action, or -고 나서 (after) which simply indicates sequence.