~에 의하면

When you are learning the Korean language, expressing the source of your information is a critical skill that elevates your conversational ability from a beginner level to an intermediate or advanced level. The grammatical structure ~에 의하면 is one of the most essential patterns you will encounter for this exact purpose. It translates directly to "according to" in the English language and is used to cite a specific source of information before relaying what that particular source said, wrote, or indicated. This pattern is formed by taking a noun, which represents the source of the information, and attaching the location or direction particle ~에, followed by the verb 의하다, which means "to be based on" or "to depend on," conjugated into the conditional or provisional form ~면. Therefore, the literal translation is closer to "if we base this information on the noun." Understanding this literal breakdown helps language learners grasp why it functions the way it does in a complete sentence. You will hear this phrase constantly in Korean news broadcasts, weather reports, formal presentations, and even in everyday gossip when someone wants to distance themselves from the claim being made. By using ~에 의하면, the speaker makes it perfectly clear that they are not the original author of the statement, which is a crucial aspect of Korean communication where taking responsibility for information is taken very seriously.

Component Breakdown: Noun

The noun always represents the origin of the data, such as a newspaper, a person, a broadcast, or a statistical report.

Furthermore, the usage of this expression extends beyond just formal news. While it is highly prevalent in journalism and academic writing, ordinary people use it when discussing rumors or things they heard from a friend. However, it does carry a slightly formal or objective tone compared to simply saying "my friend said." When you use ~에 의하면, you are presenting the information as a piece of evidence or a factual report, even if the source itself is just a rumor. This makes your speech sound much more structured and reliable. For instance, if you want to tell your colleagues about a new company policy, citing the official email using this pattern adds authority to your statement.

Component Breakdown: The Particle 에

This particle attaches directly to the noun without any space, linking the source to the verb that follows.

It is also important to note that the source noun cannot be the speaker themselves. You cannot say "according to me" using this pattern in Korean; it sounds highly unnatural and grammatically incorrect. Instead, you would use phrases that translate to "in my opinion" or "as I see it." The pattern ~에 의하면 is strictly reserved for third-party sources. This distinction is vital for mastering Korean evidentiality, which is the way a language encodes how the speaker came to know the information they are sharing. Korean is very specific about evidentiality, and using the wrong pattern can confuse the listener about whether you witnessed something yourself or heard it from someone else.

Component Breakdown: The Verb 의하다

This is a Sino-Korean verb originating from the Chinese character for depending or relying on something.

When you practice this grammar point, try to imagine yourself as a news anchor or a researcher presenting findings. This mental image will help you remember the objective, citing nature of the phrase. You will find that as you read more Korean news articles or listen to Korean podcasts, this phrase will appear in almost every single episode or article. It is a foundational building block for academic and professional fluency.

To summarize this section, remember that you are building a bridge between a source and a claim. The noun is the anchor, the grammar pattern is the bridge, and the quoted speech is the destination. Mastering this flow will significantly improve your Korean sentence structure.

Constructing sentences with the grammatical pattern ~에 의하면 requires a clear understanding of the relationship between the main clause and the subordinate clause. The subordinate clause contains the source of the information, while the main clause contains the information itself, usually ending in an indirect quotation. To begin, you must identify the noun that serves as your source. This could be a person, a document, a broadcast, or a general concept like a rumor. Once you have your noun, you attach ~에 의하면 directly to it without any spaces. For example, if your source is a newspaper, which is 신문 in Korean, you write 신문에 의하면. This creates the phrase "according to the newspaper." The next step is crucial: you must state the information that the newspaper provided, and you must end the sentence with a verb form that indicates you are quoting or relaying information, rather than stating a direct, absolute fact that you witnessed yourself.

Sentence Structure: The Source

The source must be a noun. It cannot be a verb or an adjective. If you want to use a verb phrase as a source, you must nominalize it first.

The ending of the sentence is where many learners make mistakes. If you say "뉴스에 의하면 비가 와요" (According to the news, it rains), it sounds slightly unnatural to a native Korean speaker because the ending "와요" is a direct statement of fact. Instead, you should say "뉴스에 의하면 비가 온다고 해요" (According to the news, they say it will rain). The ~다고 하다 ending is the standard indirect quotation form for declarative sentences. If the quoted information is a question, you would use ~냐고 하다. If it is a suggestion, you use ~자고 하다. If it is a command, you use ~라고 하다. Matching the correct quotation ending to the type of sentence you are relaying is the key to achieving fluency with this specific grammar point.

Sentence Structure: The Quotation

The quotation must accurately reflect the original intent of the source, whether it was a statement, a question, or a command.

Let us explore more complex sentence structures. Sometimes, the source is not just a simple noun, but a noun modified by a relative clause. For example, instead of just saying "according to the research," you might want to say "according to the research conducted by Seoul National University last year." In Korean, the modifying clause comes before the noun. So you would construct it as "작년에 서울대학교에서 진행된 연구에 의하면." This demonstrates how ~에 의하면 can be attached to highly complex noun phrases, making it an incredibly versatile tool for academic writing and formal presentations. The ability to embed detailed descriptions into the source noun phrase allows for precise and nuanced communication.

Sentence Structure: Modifiers

Modifiers always precede the noun they describe, creating a detailed source phrase before the grammar pattern is attached.

In written Korean, especially in essays or reports, you will frequently see this pattern used to cite statistics, historical records, or expert opinions. It provides a framework of credibility. When you are writing an essay in Korean, using ~에 의하면 shows the evaluator that you know how to support your arguments with external evidence, which is a requirement for passing higher-level proficiency exams like the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). Practice building sentences by taking English sentences that start with "According to..." and translating them into Korean, paying special attention to the indirect quotation ending.

By consistently practicing these sentence structures, you will internalize the rhythm of citing sources in Korean. Remember the formula: Source Noun + 에 의하면 + Relayed Information + Indirect Quotation Ending. This formula is your key to success.

The grammatical expression ~에 의하면 is ubiquitous in Korean society, and understanding where you are most likely to encounter it will help you anticipate its usage and comprehend the surrounding context much faster. The most prominent domain where this phrase reigns supreme is the news media. Whether you are watching the evening news on television, listening to a news briefing on the radio during your morning commute, or reading articles on internet portals, journalists rely heavily on this pattern. It is the standard linguistic tool for reporting facts gathered from other entities. For example, a news anchor will almost always start a segment about a new government policy with "정부 발표에 의하면" which translates to "according to the government announcement." This usage protects the journalist by clearly attributing the information to the government, rather than presenting it as the journalist's own independent discovery.

Context: News Broadcasts

News anchors use this phrase to maintain objectivity and attribute statements to official sources or witnesses.

Another major area where you will hear and read this phrase is in academic and professional environments. In university lectures, professors use it to cite previous research, historical texts, or prominent scholars. When students write research papers, they are required to use this pattern to reference their bibliography. In the corporate world, during business meetings or presentations, employees use it to refer to market research, sales statistics, or competitor analysis. Saying "시장 조사 결과에 의하면" (according to the market research results) sounds professional, data-driven, and persuasive. It shows that the speaker has done their homework and is basing their proposals on solid evidence rather than mere intuition or guesswork.

Context: Academic Writing

Scholars use this to reference literature, data, and previous studies to build a foundation for their own arguments.

However, do not make the mistake of thinking this phrase is exclusively for formal situations. It is also very common in casual, everyday conversations, particularly when sharing gossip, rumors, or information heard from a mutual acquaintance. When friends gather at a cafe, you might hear someone lean in and say "소문에 의하면" (according to the rumor) before sharing a juicy piece of news about a celebrity or a coworker. While the grammar pattern itself has a slightly formal origin, its utility in distancing the speaker from the responsibility of the claim makes it perfect for gossip. If the rumor turns out to be false, the speaker can simply defend themselves by saying, "Well, I only said that according to the rumor!"

Context: Everyday Gossip

People use it to share unverified information without taking personal responsibility for its accuracy.

You will also encounter this phrase frequently in weather forecasts. The Korean Meteorological Administration (기상청) is cited daily by citizens planning their activities. People will look at their smartphone weather application and tell their family, "일기예보에 의하면 오후에 눈이 온대" (According to the weather forecast, it will snow in the afternoon). This specific collocation is so common that it is often one of the first ways language learners are introduced to the grammar pattern.

In summary, whether you are reading a high-level academic paper, watching the evening news, or just chatting with friends over coffee, ~에 의하면 is a versatile and indispensable tool for navigating the flow of information in Korean society.

When English speakers learn the Korean grammar pattern ~에 의하면, they often fall into several predictable traps due to direct translation habits and a misunderstanding of Korean sentence endings. The most frequent and glaring mistake is failing to use an indirect quotation ending at the conclusion of the sentence. In English, you can say "According to the news, it is raining." The verb "is raining" is a direct statement. If a learner translates this directly into Korean, they might say "뉴스에 의하면 비가 와요." While a native speaker will certainly understand what you mean, this sentence sounds grammatically incomplete and awkward. Because you are citing a source, the Korean language requires you to reflect that citation in the verb ending. You must say "뉴스에 의하면 비가 온다고 해요" (According to the news, they say it is raining). Forgetting the ~다고 하다 ending is the hallmark of a beginner, and correcting this mistake is essential for sounding natural.

Mistake: Direct Verb Endings

Using standard polite endings like ~아요/어요 instead of indirect quotation endings like ~다고 하다.

Another common mistake involves using the first person pronoun as the source. In English, it is somewhat acceptable, though perhaps a bit arrogant, to say "According to me, this is the best restaurant." Learners sometimes try to translate this literally into Korean as "나에 의하면 이 식당이 최고예요." This is entirely incorrect and sounds nonsensical in Korean. The pattern ~에 의하면 is strictly reserved for third-party, external sources of information. It implies an objective standard or an outside report. If you want to express your own opinion, you must use phrases like "제 생각에는" (in my opinion) or "제가 보기에는" (as I see it). Mixing up subjective opinion markers with objective citation markers is a major structural error.

Mistake: First Person Source

Attempting to use "me" or "I" as the noun preceding the grammar pattern.

A third mistake is related to the particle attachment. The pattern is ~에 의하면, which means the particle ~에 must be attached to the noun. Sometimes learners confuse this with the object particle ~을/를 or the topic particle ~은/는. Saying "뉴스를 의하면" or "뉴스는 의하면" is grammatically incorrect. The verb 의하다 (to depend on, to be based on) requires the location/direction particle ~에 to indicate what the information is resting upon. Memorizing the phrase as a single, unbreakable block (Noun + 에 의하면) is the best way to avoid particle confusion.

Mistake: Incorrect Particle

Using ~을/를 or ~은/는 instead of the required ~에.

Finally, learners sometimes overuse this pattern in situations where a simpler expression would suffice. While ~에 의하면 is excellent for citing news or statistics, using it for very trivial matters can sound overly dramatic or formal. For example, saying "엄마에 의하면 저녁 식사가 준비되었대요" (According to mother, dinner is ready) sounds like you are reporting a news bulletin about your dinner. In such cases, simply saying "엄마가 저녁 다 됐대요" (Mom says dinner is ready) is much more natural. Understanding the register and the appropriate weight of the situation is key to mastering this grammar point.

By being aware of these common pitfalls—forgetting the indirect quotation, using the first person, mixing up particles, and overusing it in trivial contexts—you can refine your Korean and speak with much greater accuracy and confidence.

The Korean language is incredibly rich in expressions that denote the source of information or the basis of an action. While ~에 의하면 is a fundamental and widely used pattern, it is not the only one. Understanding its synonyms and alternatives will allow you to vary your sentence structures and choose the exact nuance you wish to convey. The most direct and common alternative to ~에 의하면 is ~에 따르면. In fact, in modern Korean, ~에 따르면 is used almost interchangeably with ~에 의하면, and many native speakers actually prefer ~에 따르면 in everyday speech because it feels slightly softer and more natural. The verb 따르다 means "to follow," so ~에 따르면 literally translates to "if we follow [the source]." Both patterns require the indirect quotation ending at the end of the sentence, and both are used to cite news, statistics, and rumors.

Alternative: ~에 따르면

The most common synonym, meaning "if we follow" or "according to." Highly interchangeable with the target word.

Another useful alternative is ~의 말에 의하면, which translates to "according to the words of [someone]." This is a more specific variation that is used exclusively when the source is a person who spoke. You cannot use this with inanimate sources like newspapers or statistics. For example, you can say "선생님의 말에 의하면" (according to the teacher's words), but you cannot say "뉴스의 말에 의하면" (according to the news's words). This phrase adds a personal touch, emphasizing that the information came directly from someone's mouth.

Alternative: ~의 말에 의하면

Used specifically when citing a person's spoken words. Cannot be used with non-human sources.

For more formal or academic writing, you might encounter ~을/를 바탕으로 (based on) or ~에 근거하여 (based upon / grounded in). These expressions are used when you are not just relaying a quote, but actually building an argument or taking an action based on the source material. For instance, "이 연구 결과를 바탕으로 새로운 약을 개발했습니다" means "Based on these research results, a new drug was developed." Notice that this does not require an indirect quotation ending, because you are stating a direct action that occurred as a result of the basis, rather than just quoting what the basis said. This is a subtle but important grammatical distinction.

Alternative: ~을/를 바탕으로

Means "based on." Used when an action or conclusion is built upon the source material.

Lastly, there is the simple visual citation ~을/를 보면, which translates to "if you look at [the source]." This is a very casual and common way to point someone's attention to a piece of evidence. "지도를 보면 우리가 길을 잃은 것 같아요" (If you look at the map, I think we are lost). This is much less formal than ~에 의하면 and is perfect for everyday situations where you are physically looking at the source of information together with the listener.

By mastering these variations, you can navigate different registers of formality and express the precise relationship between your statements and the evidence that supports them.