Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 8 - Advanced Korean #1 (Lessons 211 to 240) ᚛ Lesson 222 - To manage to in Korean [-아/어 내다]
To manage to in Korean [-아/어 내다]
The verb 내다 means "to bring out", "to produce". Used as an auxiliary after the -아/어 form, it indicates that an action is carried through to the end, despite the difficulty, and succeeds: -아/어 내다, "to manage to", "to succeed in", "to pull off". In the lesson on -아/어 버리다 we saw an auxiliary of completion loaded with emotion; -아/어 내다 is the auxiliary of rewarded effort.
"To manage to" with -아/어 내다
-아/어 내다 attaches to an action verb, usually a hard or long action:
[Stem]-아/어 내다
The nuance is twofold. First, accomplishment despite the obstacle: 견뎌 내다, "to endure to the end", 참아 내다, "to bear to the end", 이겨 내다, "to overcome", 해내다, "to manage to do", 이루어 내다, "to manage to achieve". Then the idea of bringing out, of revealing what was hidden: 찾아내다, "to track down", 알아내다, "to find out", 밝혀내다, "to bring to light". In both cases, the result is obtained, and the tone is one of admiration or satisfaction.
재현이는 타지 생활을 하며 누구의 도움도 없이 많은 어려움을 견뎌 냈다.
→ During his life away from home, Jaehyun endured many hardships to the end, without anyone's help.
모든 사람이 이번 대회 우승은 불가능하다고 이야기했지만 민지는 보란 듯이 부진을 이겨 내고 우승을 차지했습니다.
→ Everyone said winning this tournament was impossible, but Minji overcame her slump for all to see and took the title.
돈이 없어서 병원에 가지 못했던 할머니는 그동안 아프다는 말도 못 한 채 지금까지 고통을 참아 내셨다고 한다.
→ They say the grandmother, who couldn't go to the hospital for lack of money, bore the pain until now without even saying she was in pain.
마크는 오랫동안 교환학생을 준비하며 공부한 끝에 합격이라는 좋은 결과를 이루어 냈어요.
→ After a long time preparing and studying for the exchange program, Mark finally achieved the good result of being accepted.
모두들 민지가 이번 업무를 잘 해낼 수 없을 거라고 생각했지만 민지는 훌륭히 해냈습니다.
→ Everyone thought Minji wouldn't be able to pull off this task, but she did it brilliantly.
우리 팀은 밤을 새워 가며 보고서를 완성해 냈어요.
→ Our team managed to finish the report by working through the night.
"To bring out", "to discover": compound verbs with 내다
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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.
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Listening comprehension is the most difficult part for all beginners.
