[Korean grammar] -다 보니 Expressing Discoveries and Results

가: 집이 엉망이구나.
This place (house) is a mess,
나: 혼자 살다 보니 집 정 리를 잘 안 하게 돼요.
Once I started living alone, I started not cleaning up as much.

가: 자야 씨는 양강 씨를 싫어하지 않았어요?
Jaya, don’t you dislike Yang Gang?
나: 처음엔 싫어했는데 매일 같이 일하다 보니 양강 씨의 좋은 점이 보이더라고요.
I didn’t like him at first, but after working together with him, I have come to see his strong points.

This expression is used to indicate that the speaker learned something new after doing some action or behavior continuously from some time In the past, or that a certain situation has occurred as a result of that behavior. The -다 of -다 보니 is the shortened form of -다가, which refers to something occurring in the middle of a continuous action, and 보니 is the shortened form of the combination of the verb 보다 and -(으)니까 which refers to a discovery or result. Thus, the forms -다가 보니까 and -다 보니까 can also be used to express the same meaning.

• 자꾸 먹다 보니 이젠 매운 음식도 잘 먹게 되었어요.
After eating (it) frequently, I’m now able to eat spicy food well.

• 오랜만에 만난 친구랑 이야기하다 보니 어느새 12시가 넘었더라고요.
I kept talking to my friend, whom I hadn’t met in a long time, and before we knew it, it was after 12 o’clock.

• 경제 신문을 매일 읽다가 보니까 자연스럽게 경제에 대해 잘 알게 되었어요.
After reading an economics newspaper every day (for a while), I naturally came to be knowledgeable about economics.

When an adjective or 이다 comes before -다 보니 the preceding clause indicates the reason or cause of the event or action in the following clause.
• 그 일이 워낙 중요하다 보니 혼자 결정할 수 없었어요.
Given the fact that it was by nature an important issue, I couldn’t make the decision by myself.

• 대통령은 한 나라의 대표이다 보니 경호하는 사람들이 많을 수밖에 없어요.
Because a president is the representative of a country, it is unavoidable that he or she will be heavily guarded by a lot of people.

The differences between -고 보니 and -다 보니 are as follows.