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Grammar / Level 3 / Lesson 81

는 데다가, 은/는커녕: on top of that, let alone

By Daniel Buckley · 12 minute read · TOPIK 4

Vocabulary

  1. 좁다 - to be narrow
  2. 똑똑하다 - to be clever
  3. 교통 - traffic, transport
  4. 저축 - saving money
  5. 칭찬 - praise
  6. 욕 - abuse, a telling-off
  7. 평일 - a weekday
  8. 유학 - studying abroad
  9. 명절 - a national holiday
  10. 사과 - an apology

Did you have lunch? You could say no. Or you could say 밥은커녕 물도 못 마셨어요, which is closer to "lunch? I didn't even get a glass of water", and that one word 커녕 has all the eye-rolling in it.

Two moves share this lesson. One piles a second fact on the first, and it builds on 뿐만 아니라. The other names the big thing, rules it out, and drops to something smaller that didn't happen either. You've got 은/는커녕 for the second one, and I'd learn that first.

는 데다가: and on top of that

This is the noun 데 from 는 데, plus the 다가 of 에다가, which puts one thing onto another. So A는 데다가 B lays B on top of A. Write the space, because the 데 is a noun. The 가 is optional, and 는 데다 means the same.

Making 는 데다가

  • Verbs, and 있다 and 없다: 는 데다가.오다 → 오는 데다가맛있다 → 맛있는 데다가
  • Adjectives: ㄴ/은 데다가.똑똑하다 → 똑똑한 데다가좁다 → 좁은 데다가
  • Past verbs: ㄴ/은 데다가.자다 → 잔 데다가
  • Nouns: 인 데다가.의사 → 의사인 데다가

Pick a verb

좋다좋좋은 데다가

  1. 이 식당은 음식이 맛있는 데다가 값도 싸요.

    The food here is delicious, and on top of that it's cheap.

  2. 비가 오는 데다가 바람까지 불어요.

    It's raining, and on top of that it's windy.

  3. 민수 씨는 똑똑한 데다가 성격도 좋아요.

    Minsu is clever, and what's more he's a nice guy.

  4. 어제 잠을 못 잔 데다가 아침도 못 먹었어요.

    I didn't sleep last night, and on top of that I missed breakfast.

  5. 그 사람은 의사인 데다가 노래도 잘해요.

    He's a doctor, and on top of that he's a good singer.

  6. 길이 좁은 데다가 차도 많아서 위험해요.

    The road is narrow, and there's a lot of traffic too, so it's dangerous.

The second half usually has 도 or 까지 in it, as you can see. Both halves usually lean the same way: good plus good, or bad plus bad. For good against bad, 는 반면에 is the better choice.

ㄹ/을뿐더러: not only that

ㄹ/을뿐더러 is a close relative of ㄹ/을 뿐만 아니라, and it does the same job. It can sound a little more formal, so you'll probably meet it more in writing and speeches than across a table. As with 는 데다가, both halves usually lean the same way.

Making ㄹ/을뿐더러

  • Verbs and adjectives: ㄹ/을뿐더러, with no space.힘들다 → 힘들뿐더러좋다 → 좋을뿐더러
  • Past: 았/었을뿐더러.추웠을뿐더러
  • Nouns: 일뿐더러.학생 → 학생일뿐더러

Pick a verb

좋다좋좋을뿐더러

  1. 이 일은 힘들뿐더러 월급도 적어요.

    This job is hard, and not only that, the pay is poor.

  2. 그 영화는 재미있을뿐더러 배울 점도 많아요.

    That film is fun, and what's more there's a lot to learn from it.

  3. 민수 씨는 한국어를 잘할뿐더러 일본어도 잘해요.

    Minsu not only speaks Korean well, he speaks Japanese well too.

  4. 이 동네는 교통이 편리할뿐더러 공기도 좋습니다.

    This area has good transport links, and the air is clean as well.

  5. 어제는 추웠을뿐더러 바람도 많이 불었어요.

    It was cold yesterday, and on top of that it was very windy.

※ The spacing trips people up. 뿐더러 joins straight onto the 을: 좋을뿐더러. But 뿐만 아니라 keeps its space: 좋을 뿐만 아니라. The National Institute of Korean Language treats the first as one ending, and in the second 뿐 is a noun.

은/는커녕: let alone

은/는커녕 goes on a noun. It waves that thing away as out of the question, and then says something smaller didn't happen either. The order is the reverse of English: "I can't ride a bike, let alone drive" starts small, and Korean starts with the big thing.

Using 은/는커녕

  • After a noun: 은커녕, or 는커녕 after a vowel.밥 → 밥은커녕저축 → 저축은커녕커피 → 커피는커녕
  • After a verb: 기는커녕.쉬다 → 쉬기는커녕
  • What follows: 도, 조차 or 만, then a negative or a result that goes against what you'd expect.밥은커녕 물도 못 마셨어요.

  1. 바빠서 밥은커녕 물도 못 마셨어요.

    I was so busy I didn't even get water, let alone a meal.

  2. 저는 운전은커녕 자전거도 못 타요.

    I can't ride a bike, let alone drive.

  3. 요즘은 저축은커녕 월세도 내기 힘들어요.

    Forget saving, these days I can barely make the rent.

  4. 그 사람은 사과는커녕 인사도 안 했어요.

    He didn't even say hello, never mind apologise.

There's a second shape. Instead of something smaller, B can be the opposite of what you'd expect, and English says "far from". You'll often find 만 here, or a verb with 기는커녕 in front.

  1. 칭찬은커녕 욕만 먹었어요.

    Far from being praised, I just got told off.

  2. 사과를 하기는커녕 화를 냈어요.

    Far from apologising, he got angry.

  3. 주말에 쉬기는커녕 밤새 일했어요.

    Far from resting at the weekend, I worked all night.

은/는 말할 것도 없고: that goes without saying

말할 것도 없다 says there's nothing to say about it, so it's an obvious case. A는 말할 것도 없고 B takes A as read, and moves on to B, which is the news. B usually carries 도 or 까지.

  1. 제 동생은 영어는 말할 것도 없고 중국어도 잘해요.

    My brother's English goes without saying, and his Chinese is good too.

  2. 주말은 말할 것도 없고 평일에도 사람이 많아요.

    Weekends are a given, and it's packed on weekdays too.

  3. 서울은 말할 것도 없고 작은 도시도 집값이 올랐어요.

    Seoul goes without saying, and house prices have gone up in small towns too.

This one has no bias towards good or bad, so the sentence can end up or down. 커녕 is different: it rejects A, so it can't lead into a plain compliment. 영어는 말할 것도 없고 중국어도 잘해요 works, and 영어는커녕 중국어도 잘해요 doesn't.

은/는 고사하고: leaving that aside

고사하다 means to set aside, so A는 고사하고 B sets A aside as beyond reach, and it works much like 은/는커녕. It sounds a bit stiffer. 커녕 is the one you'll use most, but you'll read this one.

  1. 유학은 고사하고 여행 갈 돈도 없어요.

    I haven't got the money for a holiday, let alone studying abroad.

  2. 집은 고사하고 차도 못 사요.

    Never mind a house, I can't even buy a car.

  3. 점심은 고사하고 커피 한 잔 마실 시간도 없었어요.

    I didn't have time for a coffee, let alone lunch.

  1. 이 식당은 음식이 ___ 값도 싸요.

    The food here is delicious, and it's cheap too.

  2. 바빠서 밥___ 물도 못 마셨어요.

    I was so busy I didn't even get water, let alone a meal.

  3. 제 동생은 영어___ 중국어도 잘해요.

    My brother's English goes without saying, and his Chinese is good too.

  4. 길이 ___ 차도 많아요.

    The road is narrow, and there's a lot of traffic too.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

주말에 여행 잘 다녀왔어요?

Weekend trip well went and came back?

B

여행은커녕 집 밖에도 못 나갔어요.

Trip far from it, outside the house even couldn't go.

A

왜요? 무슨 일 있었어요?

Why? What matter existed?

B

감기에 걸린 데다가 일도 많았어요.

Cold caught, and on top of that work also was a lot.

A

그래서 좀 쉬었어요?

So rested a bit?

B

쉬기는커녕 밤새 일했어요. 우리 회사는 주말은 말할 것도 없고 명절에도 일해요.

Resting, far from it, all night worked. Our company weekend needs no saying, holidays also works.

Common mistakes

  1. 밥은커녕 물도 마셨어요.

    밥은커녕 물도 못 마셨어요.

    With 도, 은/는커녕 needs a negative after it.

  2. 그 사람은 의사는 데다가 노래도 잘해요.

    그 사람은 의사인 데다가 노래도 잘해요.

    Nouns need 이다, so the modifier is 인.

  3. 이 일은 힘든 뿐더러 월급도 적어요.

    이 일은 힘들뿐더러 월급도 적어요.

    뿐더러 only comes after the ㄹ/을 form, and it's written with no space.

One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

민수 씨는 ___ 성격도 좋아요. (똑똑하다, use 는 데다가) Minsu is clever, and he's a nice guy too.

똑똑하다 is an adjective. Keep the space.

Summary

는 데다가 (verbs) forms
DictionaryStem는 데다가 (verbs)
오다오오는 데다가
살다살사는 데다가
듣다듣듣는 데다가
맛있다맛있맛있는 데다가
ㄴ/은 데다가 (adjectives) forms
DictionaryStemㄴ/은 데다가 (adjectives)
좋다좋좋은 데다가
좁다좁좁은 데다가
춥다춥추운 데다가
길다길긴 데다가
ㄹ/을뿐더러 forms
DictionaryStemㄹ/을뿐더러
가다가갈뿐더러
좋다좋좋을뿐더러
힘들다힘들힘들뿐더러
듣다듣들을뿐더러

Adding, and ruling out

  • 는 데다가: A, and B on top. Written with a space.
  • ㄹ/을뿐더러: much the same, and it can sound more formal. Written with no space.
  • 은/는커녕: A is out of the question, and a smaller B didn't happen either.
  • 은/는 고사하고: like 은/는커녕, but a little stiffer.
  • 은/는 말할 것도 없고: A is obvious, and B is the news. It can end on something good.

Now you can say

  1. 이 식당은 음식이 맛있는 데다가 값도 싸요.

    The food here is delicious, and on top of that it's cheap.

  2. 바빠서 밥은커녕 물도 못 마셨어요.

    I was so busy I didn't even get water, let alone a meal.

  3. 칭찬은커녕 욕만 먹었어요.

    Far from being praised, I just got told off.

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