In Korean it’s generally very easy to tell where the sentence is going depending on the words they’re started with. Some words can elaborate the entire upcoming sentence, and help emphasize the message. In Korean these words are known as 문장 부사어 (sentence adverbs).
Let’s check some out,
과연 – indeed, really, sure enough. (also used to emphasize a question)
과연 듣던대로 잘 생기셨습니다.
Like I was told, you really do look handsome.
과연 이번 대통령은 누가 될까?
Who will REALLY become our president this time?설마 – No way / I couldn’t believe it (surprised statement or emphasizes a negative question [shows doubt])
설마했는데 설렁탕에 땅콩이 들어갈 줄이야.
I couldn’t believe it, but there were peanuts in the ox bone soup.
설마 내일 야외 결혼식에 비가 오지는 않겠지?
No way it’s gonna rain tomorrow during the outside wedding… right?만일 – if (similar to 만약)
만일 평생 한가지 음식만 먹어야 한다면, 뭐 먹을 거야?
If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would you eat?설령 – even if, even though (negative)
설령 지금부터 24시간 공부한다고해도 내일 시험은 망한거 같아.
Even if I study for 24 hours straight from now, it seems like I’m gonna fail the test tomorrow.설사 – even if, even though (negative)
내일 경기에서 이길 가능성이 설사 적더라도 최선을 다해 보자.
Even if we have the smallest possibility to win our match tomorrow, let’s try our best.비록 – even though, although
비록 내가 가진건 몸뚱아리 하나지만 나중에 꼭 부자가 될거다.
Even if the only thing I own at the moment is my body, I’m definitely gonna be rich later on.A lot of these words don’t have one exact translation, so it’s important to understand how and why they’re used. So make sure to study multiple examples rather than the direct translations.
As always, stay tuned for more 🙂
Tag: even if
~ㄴ/은/는들
앞말을 가정하여 인정해도 뒤의 내용에 별로 영향을 미치지 못함을 단정적으로 나타낸다.
<~아/어도, ~(이)라도, ~(으)ㄹ지라도> 등과 유사한 의미를 갖지만, 뒤에 의문 형태나 강한 어감의 말이 오기 때문에 쉽게 다른 표현으로 바뀌지 못한다.
[예문]
그렇게 말을 안 듣는 아이가 부모 말인들 듣겠어요?
열심히 공부한들 나중에 활용할 기회가 없다면 무슨 소용이 있겠어요?
실패하고 후회한들 무슨 소용이 있겠어요?
~았/었던들
지난 날을 회상하되 현재의 결과와 반대되는 어떤 사실을 가정해 보는 뜻
뒤에는 주로 어떠했으리라는 추측을 나타내는 문장이 온다. ( —> -았/었더라면)
[예문]
여러분의 비판이 없었던들 오늘과 같은 회사의 발전은 상상조차 할 수 없었을 것입니다.
우리에게 넓은 땅이 있었던들 지금처럼 이곳저곳을 떠돌아다니지는 않았을 텐데.
더 조심했었던들 이렇게 큰 사고가 나지는 않았을 거예요.
-는데도 vs. -더라도
I saw a post circulating claiming that these two grammar points are interchangeable, and I’d just like to take a second to say: no, they’re not.
-는데도 can be thought of as a the abbreviated version of -는데 그래도. With this in mind, we know that the result in the second clause following -는데도 is contrary to what we would expect based on the information in the first clause.
나는 주연 씨를 매일 만나는데도 친하지 않아요. I meet Ju-yeon every day, but we’re not close. (Even though I meet Ju-yeon every day, we’re not close.)
From the first clause, you know that I meet Ju-yeon every day, and following that, the logical assumption is that we’re close. However (this is where 그래도 kicks in), the truth is that we’re not close at all. The information in the first clause has no bearing on that in the second.
방을 하루종일 청소했는데도 아직 더러워요. I cleaned my room all day, but it’s still dirty. (Even though I cleaned my room all day, it’s still dirty)
열심히 공부했는데도 시험에 떨어졌어요. I studied hard, but I failed the test. (Even though I studied hard, I failed my test.)
-더라도 is similar in that the information in the first clause has no effect on the information in the second clause. However, with -더라도 we are working with a hypothetical scenario.
약 맛없더라도 꼭 먹어야지. Even if the medicine tastes bad, you should take it.
In this sentence, we don’t know what the medicine tastes like, presumably because it hasn’t been taken yet. However, regardless of whether it tastes good or not, the speaker is advising that the medicine must be taken.
방을 하루종일 청소하더라고 더러울 거예요. Even if I (were to) clean my room all day, it’ll be dirty.
열심히 공부하더라도 시험에 떨어질 거예요. Even if I (were to) study hard, I’ll still fail the test.
When used in the past tense, -더라도 has a feeling of inevitability when it comes to the final outcome: regardless of whatever past action taken, the result would remain unchanged.
방을 할루종일 청소했더라도 아직 더러웠을 거예요. Even if I had cleaned my room all day, my room still would’ve been dirty.
열심히 공부했더라도 시험에 떨어졌을 거예요. Even if I had studied hard, I would’ve (still) failed the test.
Again, we can see that the information in the first clause of the sentence has no influence over the result in the second clause of the sentence.
The difference between the two grammar points can be summed up thusly: -는데도 can be translated as “Even though”; -더라도 as “Even if”.
I hope this post helps to sort out any confusion!
~ㄹ망정
There are two meanings to this grammar structure.
1) The first shows acknowledgement of the truth of the first phrase, but then contrasts it with the seemingly opposite fact in the second phrase. It can be translated as “Even though”, “it’s true that… but….”. It is often used with the adverb “비록” (although).
그녀는 비록 예쁠망정 함께 일하기는 힘들다.
It’s true that she’s pretty, but she’s difficult to work with.내가 나이는 많을망정 마음은 청춘이야.
Even though I’m old, I’m young at heart.2. It can also be used to illustrate the speaker’s determination to not do the action described in the second clause. It can be translated as “Even if I…, I wouldn’t…” or “I’d rather … than …”.
내가 굶어 죽을망정 그 사람 도움은 못 받겠다.
I’d rather starve to death than accept his help.내가 고생할말정 다시는 그에게 부탁하지 않겠네.
Even if I was suffering, I wouldn’t ask him for a favour again.Note: There is no space between ㄹ and 망정 because it’s a word ending and not a separate noun.
~는 한이 있더라도 = Even if I end up doing, even if that means I have to
(한 = case/situation, so the literal translation is “even if there is a situation where ____ happens, I will do ____)
무대에서 쓰러지는 한이 있더라도 공연을 취소할 수는 없어요 = Even if it means I might collapse on the stage, we can’t cancel the performance.
여행 계획을 다 취소하는 한이 있더라도 지금 수술을 받아야 돼요 = Even if that means we have to cancel all the travel plans, you need to get this surgery now.
회사를 그만두는 한이 있더라도 할 말은 해야겠어요 = Even if I end up quitting the job because of this, I have to say what I have to say.
약속에 많이 늦는 한이 있더라도 화장은 꼭 하고 가야 돼요 = Even if I might end up being very late for the meeting, I must put my make-up on before I go.금방 고장나서 버리는 한이 있더라도 일단 사야겠어요 = Even though this might end up breaking and I’ll have to throw it away, I have to buy it now (and think about it later).
아무리 verb ~아/어/여도 = no matter how, even though
아무리 늦어도 2시까지는 오세요 = No matter how late you are, be there by 2 (Come by 2 at the latest)
아무리 싫어도, 안 싫은 척 해 주세요 = No matter how much you hate him, please pretend you don’t
아무리 맛있어도 이제 그만 먹어요= No matter how delicious it is, stop eating now.
아무리 비싸도 제가 사 줄게요 = No matter how expensive it is, I’ll buy it for you
아무리 가고 싶어도 시간이 없어 = no matter how much you want to go there isn’t time
아무리 noun ~아/어/여도 or ~(이)라도
아무리 미인이라도 / 아무리 미인이여도 = no matter how much of a beauty she is
아무리 바보라도 / 아무리 바보여도 = no matter how big of a fool you are
아무리 학생이라도 공부만 하는 건 아니에요 = Even students don’t only study
아무리 바보라도 / 아무리 바보여도 = no matter how big of a fool you are
아무리 학생이라도 공부만 하는 건 아니에요 = Even students don’t only study
아무리 verb ~아/어/여도 그렇지(요)
아무리 어려워도 그렇지 = No matter how difficult it is, still…
~더라도 = even if
공부를 하더라도 시험을 잘 못 볼 거에요 = Even if I study, I will do poorly on the test
날씨가 좋더라도 밖에 안 나갈 거에요 = Even if the weather is nice, I am not going outside
그 여자가 오더라도 그녀랑 얘기를 안 할 거에요 = Even if that girl comes, I’m not going to talk to her
시험을 잘 보더라도 입학하지 못 할 것 같아요 = Even if I do well on the exam, I won’t be able to get into University
차로 가더라도 이미 늦었어요 = Even if we go by car, we are already late
그 것을 먹더라도 아직 배가 고플 거에요 = Even if I eat that, I am still going to be hungry
날씨가 춥더라도 꼭 오세요 = Even if it is cold, make sure that you come
~았/었더라도 usually paired with ~았/었을 것이다 (= would have)
열심히 공부를 했더라도 시험에 떨어졌을 거에요 = Even if I studied really hard for the exam, I would have failed
돈이 있었더라도 그 컴퓨터를 사지 않았을 거에요 = Even if I had money, I wouldn’t have bought that computer
~(으)나 마나 = whether you do it or not, no use, no point, not worth doing (the result is fixed)
가나 마나. 우리는 늦어서 그 영화는 못 봐 = There is no use going. We’re late so we can’t see the movie.
그 약은 먹으나 마나였다 = The medicine was no use.
경주에게 말해보나 마나 안 간다고 할 거야 = There is no point asking Kyungju; she’ll say she won’t go.
물어보나마나 안 된다고 할 거예요
= Whether you ask them or not, they will certainly say no.
하나마나 똑같아요
= No matter whether you do it or not, the result is the same.이야기를 하나마나 하나도 달라지는 게 없어요 = No matter whether you talk to him or not, nothing changes.
보나마나 제가 일등이에요 = No need to see. I’m the 1st place winner.
이 책은 읽으나마나예요 = This book is worthless to read.
~아/어/여 봤자 / 봤야 = even if, there is no use
소용 없어요 = It’s of no use. It will not help.
안 돼요 = It won’t work. You can’t do it.
시간 낭비예요 = It’s a waste of time
저한테 말해 봤자 소용 없어요 = There is no use in talking to me.
여기에 있어 봤자 시간 낭비예요 = Even if you stay here, it’s a waste of time.
지금 출발해 봤자 시간 안에 못 가요 = Even if you leave now, you can’t get there in time.
울어 봤자 소용 없어요 =
It’s
no use crying.
모르는 척 해 봤자 이미 다 알고 있어요 = Even if you pretend you don’t know, I already know all about it
~아/어/여 봤자예요
해 봤자예요 = It’s no use in trying doing it.
가 봤자예요 =
It’s
no use in going there.
but still, however, nonetheless, even if, even though
그래도 – But still, however, nonetheless
그래 = 그렇게 해 (to do in such a way, to do that) + 도
even if you do that, even if that happens, if you do that too + meaning of “still”.
비가 와요. 그래도 갈 거예요? = it’s raining. Are you still going to go?
한국어는 어려워요 . 그래도 재미있어요 = Korean is difficult. But still, it is interesting.
어제는 비가 왔어요. 그래도 축구를 했어요 = yesterday it rained, but we still played football.
저도 돈이 없어요. 그래도 걱정하지 마세요 = I don’t have money either. But still don’t worry
고래방에 가야 돼요. 그래도 노래 안 할 거예요 = I have to go to 노래방. But I’m still not going to sing.
요즘 바빠요. 그래도 한국어를 공부하고 있어요 = I’m busy these days, but I’m still studying Korean.
~아/어/여도 – Even if, even though
봐도 = even if you see, even if you watch
울어도 = even if you cry, even though you cry
공부해도 = even if you study, even though you study
요즘에 바빠요. 그래도 운동은 하고 있어요 = I’m busy these days. But still, I’m doing some exercise.
요즘에 바빠도, 운동은 하고 있어요 = even though I’m busy these days, I’m still doing some exercise.
짐에 가도, 밥이 없아요 = even if I go home, there is no food
택시를 타도, 시간이 오래 걸려요 = even if it take a taxi, it takes a long time
석진 씨는 제가 전화를 해도 안 받아요 = even if I call him, 석진 doesn’t answer
냄새는 이상해도 맛있어요 = even though the smell is weird, it’s tasty
바빠도 한국에 갈 거예요 = even if I’m busy, I will go to korea.
~아/어도 – Regardless of / no matter how much
아무리 ~어도 – word combination similar to 만약 ~면
요즘에 제가 한국어를 열심히 공부해도 아직 한국어를 잘 말하지 못해요 = Regardless of how much I study Korean (these days), I still can’t speak it well
(아무리) 제가 그 여자를 싫어해도 그녀를 위해 선물을 사 야 되었어요 = Regardless of how much I disliked that girl, I still had to buy her a present
(아무리) 여자들이 예뻐도 똑똑하지 않으면 매력이 없어요 = Regardless of how pretty girls are, if they are not smart, they have no charm
Sutdy-Korean 