~에 의한

When you use ~에 의한, you are essentially pointing a finger at the source of something. It is a way to bridge the gap between an action and its origin. Whether you are talking about a result caused by a mistake or a painting made by an artist, this phrase helps clarify the relationship.

Think of it as the causal link in your sentence. It is very common in written Korean because it sounds professional and precise. By using this, you tell your reader exactly who or what is responsible for the situation you are describing.

The phrase is a combination of the particle -에 (at/to/in) and the verb 의하다 (to be due to/to depend on). Historically, the root 의 (依) comes from Hanja, meaning 'to rely on' or 'to depend on'.

Over time, the structure -에 의하여 (by means of) evolved into the adnominal form -에 의한, which acts like an adjective to modify a noun. This evolution reflects the Korean language's tendency to turn verbal roots into descriptive modifiers to make sentences more compact and academic.

You will mostly see this in formal writing, news reports, or academic papers. It is not typically used in casual conversation where people might prefer shorter, simpler connectors like -때문에 (because of).

Common collocations include 사고에 의한 (caused by an accident) or 노력에 의한 (achieved by effort). It is the go-to phrase when you want to sound objective and analytical about how a specific outcome came to be.

While it is not an idiom itself, it appears in set phrases. 의한 결과 (result caused by) is a staple in reports. Another common usage is ~에 의한 영향 (influence caused by), which is frequently used in scientific or sociological discussions to explain how one factor changes another.

Grammatically, this acts as a modifier for the noun that follows it. You attach it to a noun, and that entire chunk describes the next word. For example, [바이러스에 의한] 병 (a disease [caused by a virus]).

Pronunciation is straightforward, but ensure you flow the 'h' sound in 의한 clearly. It is often spoken with a slight pause before the noun it modifies to ensure the listener understands the causal link.