-(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다
Quick answer: -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다 means have / have never — the experience itself.
How to form it
No final consonant → -ㄴ 적이 · final consonant → -은 적이 · then 있다 (have) or 없다 (have never)
In Korean: 받침 X → -ㄴ 적이 받침 O → -은 적이 있다 또는 없다로 끝냅니다
What to know
-아/어 보다 and -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다 both talk about experience, and often either one will do. The difference is that -아/어 보다 still feels like an action you took, while -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다 is a flat statement that the thing sits somewhere in your past. For something you did once and remember, Koreans usually reach for -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다.
Examples
- 온천에 간 적이 있어요.I have been to a hot spring.
- 숙소에 묵은 적이 없어요.I have never stayed at that kind of place.
- 기념품을 산 적이 있어요?Have you ever bought a souvenir?
Where it's taught
HanDa Level 2 (TOPIK I), Lesson 5: 부산에 가 봤어요? — Have you been to Busan?. Also in the Level 2 book.
Learned in the same lesson: -아/어 보다.
Practise -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다 out loud
In the HanDa app this is Level 2, Lesson 5 — drills, a speaking check and an AI teacher that corrects what you say. Free for 7 days.