#section:advii

Using this expression in Korean allows the speaker to acknowledge that the event/fact in the preceding clause occurred, that it doesn’t excuse or is an insufficient explanation for the reason/condition/actions that come in the following clause. It is usually paired with the word 아무리.

-기로서니 can be used with verbs, adjectives, and 이다. -기로서니 is attached directly to the word stem.

Let’s look at a couple of examples.

레오: 켄 씨, 지난번에 바람맞혀서 미안해요. 켄: 아무리 바쁘기로서니 못 나온다고 전화도 못 해요? Leo: Ken, I’m sorry I stood you up last time. Ken: You couldn’t call me to let me know you couldn’t come no matter how busy you were?

So here, despite the apology from his friend, Ken states that being busy was no excuse at all for not calling him first the last time they were to meet.

찬미: 엄마, 내일 방탄소년단 콘서트에 꼭 가고 싶어요. 엄마: 아무리 방탄소년단이 좋기로서니 학교도 안 가고 곤서트에 간다는 게 말이 되니? Chanmi: Mom, I really want to go to the BTS concert tomorrow. Mom: No matter how much you like BTS, you can’t go to the concert without going to school first.

Chanmi really wants to go to the concert, but her mother finds really liking the idol group isn’t a sufficient enough reason to miss school for.

Easy right? :)

Note: when used in the past tense, the tense is reflected in the word attached directly to -기로서니 and not at the end of the clause/sentence.

벤: 이번에 한 실수로 회사에서 해고될까 봐 걱정돼 죽겠어요. 신행: 실수를 좀 했기로서니 그만한 일로 해고를 하겠어요? Ben: I’m really really worried that I will get fired from work for the mistake I made. Shinhaeng: Just because you made a mistake, why would you get fired for such a trivial thing?

So here, because the mistake/action was something that occurred in the past, the tense is used in conjunction with -기로서니, implying that the mistake alone isn’t enough to get fired over.

That’s right, you can change not only verbs and adjectives into nouns in Korean, but also the copula 이다. Being able to change verbs/adjectives into nouns enables you to make noun phrases, which function as subjects, direct objects and so forth within larger sentences. This grammatical form is used most often in writing.

Adding -(으)ㅁ can be used with verbs, adjectives, and noun+이다. It can be used in the past, present, or future tense. The tense is reflected in the verb/adjective being changed. -음 is added following consonants. -ㅁ is added following vowels.

Past tense verbs and adjectives use -았/었음 (nouns: 였음/이었음) Present tense verbs and adjectives use -(으)ㅁ (nouns: 임) Future tense verbs and adjectives use -겠음 (nouns: 이겠음)

인생의 행복은 돈의 많고 적음에 있지 않아요. The joy of life does not lie in having a lot of or the lack of money.

In this example, the use of 음 with 적다 turns the phrase into a noun that can be acted on by the functioning verb of the sentence, the negative form of 있다.

Let’s go back to our above example.

인생의 행복은 돈의 많고 적음에 있지 않아요. 

As I stated previously, the use of 음 is generally used only in writing (especially popular in poems!). However if you wanted to say the above sentence aloud, you would change the -음 to -는 것. Replacing this grammar form with -는 것 gives almost no change in meaning when used in speech, but its important to note that not every instance of -는 것 can be replaced with -음. To that end:

인생의 행복은 돈의 많고 적음에 있지 않아요. 인생의 행복은 돈의 많고 적은 것에 있지 않아요.

These sentences are identical, only one is better suited for writing, and one is better suited for speech.

This sort of thing is more common than you might think. You have probably already come across several words in Korean that were taught as nouns but are really verb/adjective + ㅁ. For example the word 꿈 (dream) is simply the noun form of 꾸다 (to dream).

Some other incredibly common instances of this are:

기쁘다 →  기쁨 아프다 →  아픔 슬프다 →  슬픔 추다 →  춤 웃다 →  웃음 믿다 →  믿음 얼다 →  얼음 어렵다 → 어려움 외롭다 →  외로움 살다 →  삶 알다 →  앎

한국에 처음 왔을 때는 한국말도 모르고 문화도 달라서 어려움이 많았어요. When I first arrived in Korea because I didn’t know Korean and the culture was different I had a lot of difficulties.

This sort of thing generally isn’t done to verbs that end in 하다 because if you simply remove the 하다 then what’s left of the stem of the verb is a noun in its own right.

In this lesson, we’ll have a look at how to explain to someone else that one idea or statement is more appropriate than the previously proposed one. And while the concept of this grammar point is easy to grasp and understand, using it effectively requires already knowing a good chunk of Korean grammar, which is why this grammar point (and similar ones) are often found in “advanced” books and classes.

Using -는다기보다는 you can easily express that the content of the clause following -는다기보다는 is a more accurate or appropriate description than the previous clause, the one attached to -는다기보다는.

-는다기보다는 is used with verbs, adjectives, and nouns in both the past and present tense. The construction for each of these is different in spelling (via standard conjugation ruling).

[과거, 동사/현용사; past tense, verbs/adjectives]: -았/었다기보다는

촌스럽다: 촌스러워 + 었다기보다는 →  촌스러웠다기보다는

촌스러웠다기보다는 그 옷에는 안 어울리는 것 같았어요. Rather than tacky, those clothes didn’t seem to suit you.

[과거, 명사; past tense, nouns]: -였/이었다기보다는 (-였다기보다는 follows a noun ending in a vowel, -이었다기보다는 follows those ending in consonants)

남자친구: 남자친구 + 였다기보다는 → 남자친구였다기보다는

그 삼람은 남자친구였다기보다는 그냥 친구였어요. Rather than say that person was my boyfriend, he was just a friend.

[현재, 현용사; present tense, adjectives]: -다기보다는

좋다: 좋 + 다기보다는 →  좋다기보다는

그냥 기분이 좋다기보다는 마음이 편안해지는 느낌이에요. Rather than say I feel good, I feel comfortable.

[현재, 동사; present tense, verbs] -ㄴ/는다기보다는 (-ㄴ다기보다는 is used for verb stems ending in vowels, -는다기보다는 is used for those ending in consonants)

좋아하다: 좋아하 + ㄴ다기보다는 →  좋아한다기보다는

그를 좋아한다기보다는 존경한다는 표현이 맞을 거야. Rather than say I like him, it’s more accurate to say I respect him.

[현재, 명사; present tense, nouns] -(이)라기보다는 (-이라기보다는 follows nouns ending in a consonant, -라기보다는 follows those ending in a vowel).

음식 + 이라기보다는 →  음식이라기보다는

맛있는 음식이라기보다는 괜찮은 음식이에요. Rather than say it was tasty food, it was alright.

Let’s have a look at some more examples.

A: 어제 소개받은 남자는 잘생겼어요? B: 그 남자가 잘생겼다기보다는 호감이 가는 얼굴이라고 할 수 있어요.... A: Was the man you were introduced to yesterday handsome? B: Rather than say he was handsome you could say he was pleasant featured....

A: 그 고양이를 많이 사랑하나 봐요. B: 네. 애완동물이라기보다는 제 친구예요. A: You seem to really love that cat. B: Yes. Rather than say he’s a pet, he’s my friend.