seonsaengnimui seolmyeong deokbune pilgisiheomeseo hapgyeok jeomsureul badassseupnida.

teacher

Breakdown of seonsaengnimui seolmyeong deokbune pilgisiheomeseo hapgyeok jeomsureul badassseupnida.

• 받다: to receive
• 덕분에: thanks to
• 설명: explanation

Questions & Answers about seonsaengnimui seolmyeong deokbune pilgisiheomeseo hapgyeok jeomsureul badassseupnida.

What does 선생님의 mean exactly, and why is 님 there?

선생님 means teacher. It already includes 님, which is an honorific element used to show respect.

Then 의 is added to mark possession, so:

• 선생님 = teacher
• 선생님의 = the teacher’s / of the teacher

So 선생님의 설명 means the teacher’s explanation.

A useful note: in everyday speech, 의 is often pronounced more like 에 or even reduced, so 선생님의 may sound closer to 선생님에.

Why is 설명 덕분에 used here? What does 덕분에 mean?

덕분에 means thanks to or due to, and it usually has a positive feeling.

So:

• 설명 덕분에 = thanks to the explanation
• 선생님의 설명 덕분에 = thanks to the teacher’s explanation

This expression is commonly used when something good happened because of someone or something.

For example:

• 친구 덕분에 문제를 풀었어요.
  = Thanks to my friend, I solved the problem.

How is 덕분에 different from 때문에?