Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 9 - Advanced Korean #2 (Lessons 241 to 270) ᚛ Lesson 268 - No sooner than, in Korean [-기가 무섭게] [-기가 바쁘게]
No sooner than, in Korean [-기가 무섭게] [-기가 바쁘게]
To say "no sooner… than", "the moment that", Korean has, beyond -자마자, two vivid patterns. -기(가) 무섭게, literally "as if afraid of finishing", describes an action that follows the previous one so fast it seems to have been lying in wait: 수업이 끝나기가 무섭게 뛰어나갔어요, "the moment class ended, they rushed out". -기(가) 바쁘게, "busy with", conveys the same haste: "no sooner home than he went out again". Both nominalise the first verb with -기, followed by the optional particle 가.
"No sooner… than" with -기(가) 무섭게
[First action]-기(가) 무섭게 [Second action, immediate]
The first action is nominalised, 끝나기, 받기, 열기, and 무섭게, the adverb of 무섭다, introduces the second, which follows without the slightest delay. The second action is often impulsive or hurried: rushing, spending, running over. The tense is marked on the final verb; the first part stays in -기. The particle 가 is very common in speech, 끝나기가 무섭게, and readily drops in writing, 끝나기 무섭게.
수업이 끝나기가 무섭게 아이들이 뛰어나갔어요.
→ The moment class ended, the children rushed out.
월급을 받기가 무섭게 다 써 버렸어요.
→ No sooner had I got my salary than I spent it all.
문을 열기가 무섭게 손님들이 몰려들었어요.
→ The moment the doors opened, customers poured in.
그 소식을 듣기가 무섭게 달려갔어요.
→ The moment I heard the news, I ran over.
"Without even taking the time to" with -기(가) 바쁘게
Learn more
Nuances and comparison with -자마자
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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.
