TeacherJoy

Let’s clear up the confusion between two verbs: ‘지나다’ and ‘지내다’.

‘지나다’ is intransitive, while ‘지내다’ is transitive. If you’ve seen my verb series, you already know exactly what that means, right?

‘지나다’ means ‘to pass.’ It usually happens naturally without any specific will or effort. That’s why ‘time’ is often the subject.

• 하루가 다 지났어요. – The whole day has passed.
• 벌써 한 달이 지났어요. – A month has already passed.

In casual daily life, we also use the verb ‘가다’ (to go) just as much:

• 하루가 다 갔어요.
• 벌써 한 달이 갔어요.

And the words you learn early on—’지난주’ (last week), ‘지난달’ (last month), and ‘지난해’ (last year)—originally had spaces, but they’ve been used together for so long that they are now officially single, solid words.

Next up: ‘지내다’. ‘지내다’ is basically ‘to pass time’ or ‘to spend time.’ Because of this, it can mean ‘to live’ or ‘to maintain a relationship’ depending on the context.

• 저는 잘 지내고 있어요. – I’m doing great.
• 친하게 지내는 친구 있어요? – Do you have any close friends?

While it means ‘to spend time,’ the duration is usually long. There’s no fixed rule, but it just feels long. That’s why we use it in fixed greetings:

• 잘 지내셨어요? – Have you been well?
• 서울에서 어떻게 지내세요? – How’s your life in Seoul?

Hope this cleared things up!