Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 9 - Advanced Korean #2 (Lessons 241 to 270) ᚛ Lesson 258 - Even if, what's the point, in Korean [-(으)ㄴ들]
Even if, what's the point, in Korean [-(으)ㄴ들]
The ending -(으)ㄴ들 is the concession of lost causes: "even if you did it, what would be the point?". It grants a hypothesis, often introduced by 아무리, "however much", the better to show that it would change nothing about the outcome. The sentence almost always ends with a rhetorical question, -겠니?, -겠어요?, 무슨 소용이 있겠어요?, or with a statement of futility, 소용없다. It is a more literary and more resigned form than -더라도, and less irritated than -기로서니.
"Even if…, what's the point?" with -(으)ㄴ들
(아무리) [Verb / adjective]-(으)ㄴ들 [Rhetorical question]-겠니? / -겠어요?
-(으)ㄴ들 attaches to the stem: -ㄴ들 after a vowel, 마신들, 뺀들, -은들 after a consonant, 많은들, 먹은들. Since the form concerns a hypothesis, the past tense does not appear in it; it is the expression 이제 와서, "at this point", "now that it's too late", that sets the scene. The final question in -겠- expects no answer: 키가 더 크겠니?, "would you grow any taller?", means "you won't grow any more".
재현아, 네가 아무리 우유를 마신들 이제 와서 키가 더 크겠니?
→ Jaehyun, however much milk you drink, do you really think you'll grow any taller at your age?
이제 와서 밤새워 공부한들 당장 내일이 시험인데 소용이 있겠니? 괜히 늦잠 자서 지각하지 말고 그냥 자렴.
→ The exam is tomorrow, so even if you studied all night, what good would it do? Don't risk oversleeping and being late, just go to sleep.
나이 사십에 집도 없고 모아 둔 돈도 없는데 선을 보러 나간들 누가 좋다고 하겠습니까?
→ At forty, with no home and no savings, even if I went to an arranged meeting, who would want me?
내가 아무리 살을 뺀들 아이돌처럼 마를 수 있을까?
→ However much weight I lose, could I ever be as thin as an idol?
"Granted that" with -(ㄴ/는)다고 한들
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With a noun: -인들, 난들, 누군들
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Exercises
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Podcasts in Korean specially designed for beginners, to learn Korean by really listening to it from the very beginning.
You’re starting to learn Korean (or you already know the basics), but as soon as you listen to spoken Korean, everything suddenly feels too fast?
The words blend together, the pronunciation escapes you, and you feel like “real Korean” is very different from what you learned in textbooks.
That’s normal!
Listening comprehension is the most difficult part for all beginners.
