Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 8 - Advanced Korean #1 (Lessons 211 to 240) ᚛ Lesson 225 - Emphasis in Korean #1 [여간 -지 않다] [-기(가) 이를 데 없다]

Emphasis in Korean #1 [여간 -지 않다] [-기(가) 이를 데 없다]

In this course: 여간 / 여간 아니다 / 게 아니다 / 게 아니에요 / 게 아니었어요 / 이를 데 없다 / 이를 데 없었다 / 이를 데가 없다 / 기 이를 데 없다 / 기가 이를 데 없다

To say "extremely", "couldn't be more", Korean likes indirect turns of phrase that express degree through negation. The adverb 여간, "ordinarily", "a little", is only used with a negation: 여간 … -(으)ㄴ 게 아니다, "it's not a little…", that is "it's terribly…". The expression -기(가) 이를 데(가) 없다, "there is no place to reach", means that a state reaches a degree nothing surpasses: "unspeakably", "to the highest degree". This first lesson on emphasis will be completed by (이)야말로.

"Not a little", "terribly" with 여간 … 아니다

여간 is placed before the adjective or noun it strengthens, and the sentence ends with a negation, most often -(으)ㄴ 게 아니다:
여간 [Adjective]-(으)ㄴ 게 아니다 / 여간 [Noun]이/가 아니다 / 여간 …-지 않다

The meaning is positive despite the negative form: 여간 어려운 게 아니다 does not mean "it's not difficult" but "it's not ordinarily difficult, it's very difficult". The pattern is expressive and spoken. A variant with a noun: 여간 힘든 일이 아니다, "it's no small matter". You will also come across 여간해서(는) … -지 않다, "rarely", "not easily".

제 옆 차선을 달리던 오토바이가 전봇대에 충돌하는 걸 보고는 여간 놀란 게 아니에요.
→ When I saw the motorcycle in the next lane crash into a utility pole, I got a terrible fright.

민지는 한번 마음먹은 것에 대해서는 여간 고집이 센 게 아니라 누구도 설득할 수 없어요.
→ Once Minji has made up her mind, she's so stubborn that nobody can talk her out of it.

여기는 여름만 되면 낮 기온이 40도까지 올라가고 습해서 여간 날씨가 더운 게 아니야.
→ Here, as soon as summer comes, daytime temperatures hit 40 degrees and it's humid: the heat is dreadful.

이번 수학 모의고사는 여간 어려웠던 게 아니라서 저뿐만 아니라 친구들도 성적이 좋지 않았어요.
→ The math mock exam was extraordinarily hard, so my friends got bad grades too, not just me.

한국의 겨울 날씨는 롱패딩을 입고 다녀도 귀가 얼 것 같은 게 여간 추운 게 아니었어요.
→ The Korean winter is terribly cold: even in a long padded coat, I felt like my ears were going to freeze.

내성적인 재현이가 사회생활을 하면서 새로운 친구를 만나고 인맥을 만드는 것은 여간 힘든 일이 아니었어요.
→ For Jaehyun, who is introverted, making new friends and building a network in working life was no small matter.

살면서 다양한 어려운 일이 있겠지만 부모가 돼서 아이를 키우는 일만큼 여간 어려운 일도 없다.
→ Life holds many hardships, but nothing is as hard as becoming a parent and raising a child.

"To the highest degree" with -기(가) 이를 데(가) 없다

Exercises

Particles are omnipresent in Korean. They indicate the role of words in a sentence, nuance meaning, and make it possible to understand who does what, where, how, and why.

Particles are also often the aspect that causes the most difficulty for Korean learners. In grammar books, they are usually presented in the middle of long sentences, with complex vocabulary, without being clearly highlighted.

With Korean Particles, we made the opposite choice:
taking the time to explain each particle, one by one, using very simple sentences, accessible even to beginners.

Learn more

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