Nuance Dictionary / Top N Listicles
왜 그랬대 wae geu-raet-dae
Why would they do that? — sympathetic outrage on the listener's behalf
What does 왜 그랬대 mean?
왜 그랬대 (wae geu-raet-dae) means: Why would they do that? — sympathetic outrage on the listener's behalf.
The '-대' ending marks it as reacting to someone else's story, not asking a real question. It quietly takes the storyteller's side without needing to say 'that's unfair.'
🔊 From the story above
추임새 — Chu-im-sae
어머 — Eo-meo
그랬구나 — Geu-raet-gu-na
왜 그랬대 — Wae Geu-raet-dae
저런 — Jeo-reon
큰일 날 뻔했네 — Keun-il Nal Ppeon-haet-ne
다행이다 — Da-haeng-i-da
어제 지하철에서 지갑을 잃어버렸어 — listen & repeat
🎙️ 왜 그랬대는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [왜 그랟때]로 소리나요 (경음화, 받침규칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 아니, 예약 다 해놨는데 친구가 당일에 약속을 취소했대. - 아니 왜 그랬대? 진짜 무책임하다.
ani, yeyak da haenwatneunde chinguga dang-ire yaksogeul chwisohaetdae. - ani wae geuraetdae? jinjja muchaekimhada.
Seriously, I made all the reservations, but my friend canceled our meetup on the day of. - Wait, why would they do that? That's so irresponsible.
💡 Used to express sympathetic outrage on behalf of a frustrated friend. - 그 사람이 내 아이디어를 가로채서 자신이 낸 것처럼 보고했어. - 세상에, 왜 그랬대? 진짜 당황스럽겠다.
geu sarami nae aideoreul garochaeseo jasini naen geotcheoreom bogohaesseo. - sesange, wae geuraetdae. jinjja danghwangseureopgetda.
That person stole my idea and reported it as their own. - Oh my god, why on earth would they do that? You must be so flustered.
💡 Used when reacting to unethical workplace behavior directed at the listener. - 아니, 그 사람이 왜 그랬대? 이해할 수가 없네.
ani, geu sarami wae geuraetdae? ihael suga eopne.
Seriously, why would they do that? I just don't get it.
💡 Use to mirror the speaker's frustration and validate their complaint.
Related words in Top N Listicles
저런 jeo-reon큰일 날 뻔했네 keun-il nal ppeon-haet-ne세상에 se-sang-e진짜 속상하겠다 jin-jja sok-sang-ha-get-da그 마음 어쩌냐 geu ma-eum eo-jjeo-nya