-(으)ㄹ 줄 알았다
Used to express that the speaker had an expectation that turned out to be incorrect. The reality was different from what was expected.
Summary
Equivalent
I thought / expected that... (but I was wrong)
Also: -(으)ㄹ 줄 몰랐다 (Didn't expect — from Chapter 1)
Example
I thought it would be easy, but it was much harder than I expected.
쉬울 줄 알았는데 생각보다 훨씬 어려웠어요.
Grammar rules
- The tense of the embedded clause changes meaning: '올 줄 알았어요' (I thought you'd come — but you didn't) vs '올 줄 몰랐어요' (I didn't expect you to come — but you did).
Patterns
Verbs/Adj (Unmet Expectation)
Past · Stem + (으)ㄹ 줄 알았다 (그런데...)
Example sentences
I thought it would be easy, but it was much harder than I expected.
쉬울 줄 알았는데 생각보다 훨씬 어려웠어요.
The restaurant looked similar so I thought it would be good, but the taste was different.
그 식당이 비슷하게 생겨서 좋을 줄 알았는데 맛이 달랐어요.
I thought it would finish quickly, but in the end I had to stay up all night.
빨리 끝날 줄 알았는데 결국 밤새워야 했어요.
Conversation
A: How was the party?
파티 어땠어요?
B: Not great. I thought it would be fun, but there weren't many people.
별로였어요. 재미있을 줄 알았는데 사람들이 별로 없었어요.
Practice
Fill in the blank
Express an unmet expectation.
Thought it was cheap.
Thought friend would come.