Plain -고 can order two actions in time — "wash your hands and eat" — but it does so loosely, without insisting that the first action be finished before the second begins. When you want to underline that the first task is fully done and behind you before you move on, Korean has a dedicated construction: -고 나서, "after finishing X, then Y." It is the ending of step-by-step procedures, recipes, and any moment where completion is the point.
The construction is built from -고 plus the verb 나다 ("to come out, to be finished"), so the literal sense is "having gotten X out of the way." That etymology is worth holding on to: -고 나서 always carries the flavor of a completed task cleared before the next one starts.
The form
Take an action verb, attach -고 나서 to the bare stem, and follow it with the second clause:
| Verb | -고 나서 form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | 먹고 나서 | after eating |
| 씻다 | 씻고 나서 | after washing |
| 하다 | 하고 나서 | after doing |
| 읽다 | 읽고 나서 | after finishing reading |
Like plain -고, the -고 part attaches with no allomorphy — any action stem takes it unchanged. The tense of the whole sentence rides on the final verb; you do not mark the -고 나서 clause for past.
What it does: foregrounds completion
Compare the two orderings. Plain -고 says the actions happened in order. -고 나서 adds "and only after the first was fully done."
숙제를 하고 나서 게임을 했어요.
sukjereul hago naseo geimeul haesseoyo
After finishing my homework, I played a game.
밥을 먹고 나서 이를 닦아요.
babeul meokgo naseo ireul dakkayo
After eating, I brush my teeth.
손을 씻고 나서 요리를 시작했어요.
soneul sitgo naseo yorireul sijakaesseoyo
After washing my hands, I started cooking.
In each, the first action is presented as complete before the second — homework fully done, then the game; the meal finished, then the teeth. This is why -고 나서 is the natural ending for instructions, where each step must be wrapped up before the next.
재료를 다 넣고 나서 뚜껑을 닫으세요.
jaeryoreul da neoko naseo ttukkeong-eul dadeuseyo
After putting in all the ingredients, close the lid.
이 책을 읽고 나서 감상문을 썼어요.
i chaegeul ilgo naseo gamsangmuneul sseosseoyo
After finishing this book, I wrote a review of it.
Only action verbs, ever
This is the construction's one hard restriction. 나다 means "to be finished," and only an action can be finished — so -고 나서 attaches only to action verbs. It never follows an adjective, and never the existence/copula verbs 있다 or 이다. You cannot say ×예쁘고 나서 ("after being pretty") or ×학생이고 나서 ("after being a student"), because states aren't things you complete.
When you want "after it became a certain way," you must first turn the adjective into a change-of-state verb with -아/어지다, which is an action (a becoming), and then -고 나서 works:
날씨가 추워지고 나서 감기에 걸렸어요.
nalssiga chuwojigo naseo gamgie geollyeosseoyo
After the weather turned cold, I caught a cold.
Here 춥다 ("be cold," an adjective) becomes 추워지다 ("get cold," an action), which can be completed and so licenses -고 나서.
Compared with its neighbors
Three constructions cluster around "after," and it helps to see them side by side:
| Construction | Nuance | Example |
|---|---|---|
| plain -고 | loose ordering, no stress on completion | 밥을 먹고 이를 닦아요 |
| -고 나서 | "only after fully finishing" | 밥을 먹고 나서 이를 닦아요 |
| -(으)ㄴ 후에 / 다음에 | noun-based "after," neutral | 밥을 먹은 후에 이를 닦아요 |
The verb-based -(으)ㄴ 후에 / 다음에 paraphrase means almost the same thing as -고 나서 but frames "after" as a noun ("after the eating"); it is the most neutral of the three:
수업이 끝난 후에 도서관에 갔어요.
sueobi kkeunnan hue doseogwane gasseoyo
After class ended, I went to the library.
For "the instant one action finishes the next begins," Korean uses a different ending, -자마자, covered on -자마자: as soon as. The two are not interchangeable: -고 나서 stresses that step one is complete and cleared, while -자마자 stresses immediacy — no gap at all between the two. "밥을 먹고 나서 나갔어요" says you finished eating and (at some later point) left; "밥을 먹자마자 나갔어요" says you left the second you finished, perhaps mid-chew.
The pragmatic flavor: cleared away
Because 나다 supplies the "it's done and out" sense, -고 나서 often carries a subtle feeling of a task discharged — got it over with, off my plate, now I'm free. This is why it fits so naturally with obligations and chores: you finish the burdensome thing, and only then turn to what you actually want to do.
설거지를 하고 나서 좀 쉴게요.
seolgeojireul hago naseo jom swilgeyo
I'll rest a bit once I'm done with the dishes.
Here the nuance is not merely temporal ("after") but attitudinal — the dishes are the thing to get out of the way before the well-earned rest. Swapping in plain -고 (설거지를 하고 쉴게요) would flatten that feeling into a neutral list of two actions.
Reframing for English speakers
English "after -ing" is everywhere: "after eating," "after finishing." Because -고 나서 maps so neatly onto it, English speakers tend to overuse it, planting "after finishing" on every step of a sequence. But Korean often just uses plain -고 for ordinary sequencing and saves -고 나서 for when completion genuinely matters. Piling -고 나서 onto every clause makes speech sound heavy and belabored — like narrating "and having completed that…" before each sentence. Use it deliberately, not reflexively.
푹 자고 나서 몸이 훨씬 좋아졌어요.
puk jago naseo momi hwolssin joajeosseoyo
After sleeping well, I felt a lot better.
Common Mistakes
1. Attaching -고 나서 to an adjective. States can't be "finished"; turn the adjective into a -아/어지다 verb first.
❌ 날씨가 춥고 나서 감기에 걸렸어요.
Incorrect — 춥다 is an adjective; use the change-of-state 추워지고 나서.
✅ 날씨가 추워지고 나서 감기에 걸렸어요.
nalssiga chuwojigo naseo gamgie geollyeosseoyo
After the weather turned cold, I caught a cold.
2. Using -고 나서 with 있다 or 이다. The existence and copula verbs describe states, not completable actions.
❌ 학생이고 나서 회사원이 됐어요.
Incorrect — 이다 is not an action; use 졸업하고 나서 ('after graduating').
✅ 졸업하고 나서 회사원이 됐어요.
joreopago naseo hoesawoni dwaesseoyo
After graduating, I became an office worker.
3. Putting a past marker before 나서. The completion is already built in; the -고 clause stays bare.
❌ 밥을 먹었고 나서 이를 닦았어요.
Incorrect — no 었 before 나서; it's 먹고 나서.
✅ 밥을 먹고 나서 이를 닦았어요.
babeul meokgo naseo ireul dakkasseoyo
After eating, I brushed my teeth.
4. Over-stacking it where plain -고 is enough. Ordinary sequences don't each need "after finishing."
❌ 손을 씻고 나서 밥을 먹고 나서 이를 닦았어요.
Overloaded — reserve -고 나서 for the step where completion matters.
✅ 손을 씻고 밥을 먹고 나서 이를 닦았어요.
soneul sitgo babeul meokgo naseo ireul dakkasseoyo
I washed my hands, ate, and then (once done eating) brushed my teeth.
Key Takeaways
- -고 나서 = "after finishing X, then Y," foregrounding the completion of the first action.
- Built from -고 + 나다 ("be done"); attaches to the bare stem, tense on the final verb only.
- Action verbs only — never adjectives or 있다/이다 (×예쁘고 나서). Use -아/어지다 to make an adjective into a completable action first.
- Neighbors: plain -고 (loose ordering), -(으)ㄴ 후에 (neutral noun-based "after"), -자마자 ("as soon as").
- English speakers overuse it; save it for when completion is genuinely the point.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- -고: And (Listing & Sequence)TOPIK 1 — The workhorse connective -고, a neutral 'and' that attaches to any stem with zero allomorphy — used for listing facts and for loose time-sequence.
- -아/어서: Sequential 'And Then' (Same Subject, No Past)TOPIK 1 — The sequential connective -아/어서 links two actions where the first feeds into the second — with vowel harmony, a strict same-subject rule, and no tense marker on the first clause.
- -자마자: As Soon AsTOPIK 2 — The connective -자마자 attaches to any verb stem to mean 'the instant that X, Y' — with no tense marker of its own and no requirement that the two clauses share a subject.
- -고 vs -아/어서: Two Kinds of 'And Then'TOPIK 2 — The beginner's key contrast — both -고 and sequential -아/어서 translate as 'and then,' but -고 chains independent events while -아/어서 makes the second action reuse the first's place, object, or result.