Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 5 - Intermediate Korean #2 (Lessons 121 to 150) ᚛ Lesson 141 - Instead of in Korean #2 [말고]

Instead of in Korean #2 [말고]

In this course: 지 말고 / 말고

In the previous lesson, we saw how to express "instead of" with the help of 대신. Let’s now see, in a similar register, how to use 말고.

말고 after a verb

In the lesson on forbidding in Korean, the negative imperative, we studied the -지 말다 structure.

Although the verb 말다 is a very particular verb, as we have seen, it remains a verb to which it is possible to attach various structures, including the -고 structure to express "and".

Thus, the -지 말고 structure allows one to express the prohibition of doing something while doing another action, which in fact amounts to the idea of doing one action instead of another. It is used in the following manner:
[Action 1: … Stem]지 말고 [Action 2]

카드 쓰지 말고 현금을 써.
→ Don’t use your card, use cash instead.

물을 삼키지 말고 뱉으십시오.
→ Don’t swallow the water, spit it out.

나는 잘 지내니까 내 걱정하지 말고 밥 잘 챙겨 먹어.
→ I’m doing well, so don’t worry about me and make sure you eat well.

움직이지 말고 가만히 있으세요.
→ Don’t move, stay still.

말고 after a noun

Summary table of structure

Exercises

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